The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-12-21
President 0verstepped His Authority. DENIES CULT OF SOLDIERS Says That Hockson is a Prejudiced
 Democrat. Senator Lodge Defends The Action oi Roosevelt Deciarine That He rn- vestisasea the Matter With
 Great Care.
DENIES CULT OF SOLDIERS

#washington. Dec. 20--Immediately after the Senate convened today Sena- tor Foraker's resolution looking to an investigation by the Senate of the Pres ident's discharge of the three negro connuauies of the z5th Infantry was taken up and Senator Foraker ad- dressed the Senate in its support,
 He began with the broad declaration that the "President misconceived his constitutional power when ne dis- charged the troops and he also mis- conceived the testimony on which his action was based.
 Mir Foraker said that the Presidents s constitutional power was simply to command the army and navy as com mander in chief. while to Congress the constitution gave power to raise armies and to make rules and regula- lions for it's government. The negula- tionA prescribed that no man could bc Eummsrily discharged without right to be tried and the articles of war, he argued, prescribed minurefy how these trials are to be conducted; but all pun lshments should be in accordance with the directions of court martials.
 He contended after reading at length from the articles of war it was tn- conceivable that the President should be absolutely without restraint:
 The President. he saids stated in his message that these soldiers were guilty of mutiny and had been discharged for that reason. He followed this with the article of war providing that a court martial should direct this pun lshment. This was all to guard against the exercise of an autocratic power. Congress to proivde against excessive punishment had limited penalties.
 Senator Lodge asked an explanation of s52 discharges from the army with out honor" duting the past year, but Mir. Foraker contended that these dis charges had not been ordered as pun lshment The men in these cases could be separated from the service in lieu of punishment by court martial and in cases where the men wouI rather take q discharge without honor than re- main in the service and take punish ment.
 afhe case of the negvo troops was al@ together different. The negroes had desired to stay in the service. As to punishment in these cases, he read the Presidents remark that he regarded the discharge as punishment wholly inadequate, Mr. Foraker agreed that If the men were guilty of murder the punishment was wholly inadequate, but If they were innocent the punishment was 'abrutally harsh," and these men so forth branded as murderers, con spirators and pArJurers.
 Taking up the individual records of the soldiers, Mir. Foraker said, the first man on the list was sergeant who had served 'twenty-six years. Each time his enlistment had expired his record was good and was characterized as "ex- celIent," good soldier" character ex- eeIlent," etc.
 AtrOciOns Crime Committed.
 why, Mir. President,r declared Mir. Foraker with great vehemence. "an att rocious crime has been committed if that man is not guilty. He goes forth branded as murderer"
 Mir. Foraker hel dthat the case did not present. an open question. but that the authorities gave instances of cases along similar lines. in all of which jus tice had been administered after trial by court martial
 Congress has always been careful, he continued, ito provide that no man found guilty of an offense should be punished otherwise than as Congress might direct.
 The President says this is the most atrocious crime ever committed. If these men committed the crime and did shoot up Brownsville, agree with him. have no sympathy with that sort of thing, and 1t may be that It was done But repeat that whae I want to call attention to is that the President has
  power and the evidence in this case.
 'sThe President says the guilt of these men has been established by the testimony of scores of eye-witnesses as shown by the report of Major Bloekson. have counted the witnesses in the re- port of Major Blockson and there are just twenty-one of them. A score would mean at least twenty. Their testimony was taken by a self-constituted Citi- zens' Committee, and no oaths admints- tered"
 MT Foraker then went through the evidence in question, reading extracts from the testimony and eliminating as "eye witnesses those who said they had not seen those who did the shoot ing until he had reduced the number of actual eye witnesses to eight. As to these, he remarked, that their testi- mony was utterly unsatisfactory and insufficient" to find the men guilty of the crime with which they are charged.
 BIOcl<sOm a DemOePat.
 Mir. Foraker spent some time paying his respects to Major Blaeksom, who made the report. The major. he said was a native of Zanesville, Ohio, his father was an ardent Vallandingham Copperhead Democrat, of school known to entertain violent ;-ntipathy to the negro. Major Bloeksom, Mr. Foraker continued, had evidently de- veloped an enthusiastic admiration for one of the witnesses, Captain McDon- ald of the Texas rangers, as evidenced by the statement in his ~eport that ''This man was so brave that he would charge hell with bucket of water"
 'T would like to cross examine a man so brave as, that" remarked the Senator
 Replying to a question from Senator Knox as to whether there was no evil dence except that furnished in the BIocksom report MT. Foraker said he had been unable to discover any other and in this he believed the -resident had been misled.
 "should the military committee be given authority to examine witnesses, NIT. Foraker continued. T think I can gel some testimony that will throw additional light on this matter lc not hesitate to say that ] w'll promise the senate that can, and know what am talking about in this matter. Ian not a boy on a frolic.
 T am not here talking in an idle way on account of hardship that mas