Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1906-12-11
The AFFAIR At BROWNSVILLE
Secretary Taft Gives the Facts In
the Case.
NEGROES we're MURDEROUS REBELS.

NEGROES WERE MURDER0US REBELS,
Facts as Developed by Careful lnves-
tisation Shows That All of the En-
listed Men Had Entered Into Con-
spiracy Not to Give Any Evidence
Against the Active Offenders-lt Is
a Clear Case That Is Not Open to
Much Question.
WAsHLSGToN, Dec. 5.-The Browns
vile affray and the causes which led
to the discharge, without honor" Of a
battalion Of negro troops Of the 25th
infantry are discussed by the secre-
tary Of war I'm his annual report.
The action taken by the government
in discharging these troops Is vigor-
ously defended "It was" says Secretary
Taft, 1.-The only means Of Kidding the
military service Of band Of would-be
murderers of women and children, and
actual murderers of one man."
Secretary Taft alleges that there was
undoubtedly a conspiracy to protect
the men guilty of the outrages Of Au-
gust 13, when the town of Brownsville
was raided, one man being killed and
the whole town terrorized. The de-
partment's reasons for entertaining
this belief are clearly set forth, as Is
the right of the government to pursue
the course taken in discharging the en-
tire battalion.
Stationed In Texas Over Protest.
The report says:
am very sorry to record a most
serious breach of discipline and the
commission Of a heinous crime by cer-
tain members Of a battalion Of the
25th infantry, companies B, c and D,
on the night of the 18th and the morn
ing of the 14th Of August, at Fort
Brown, Brownsville, Texas.
In June last objection was made to
the stationing of this battalion at Fort
Brown by a resident of Brownsville In
a letter transmitted through Senator
Culberson, to which the following an
swer was made:
WAR DEPARTMENT,
WASHINGTON, June 4, 1906.
Hon. G.. A. Culberson, United States
Senate. Washington, d. C.-My Dear
Senator: have the honor to acknowl-
edge receipt OF your note of June !,
transmitting the letter from Mr.. Sam
P. Wreford of Brownsville. Texas, stat
ing certain objections to the stationing
Of negro troops at Fort Brown, and in
reply to say that the matter Of possi-
BILE objections Of this character was
very carefully considered before the
order was made, and I regret that /
cannot see my way clear to rescind II.
The fact Is that a certain amount OF
race prejudice between white apd
black seems to have become almost
universal throughout the country, and
no matter where colored troops are
sent there are always some who make
objections to their coming. 1t Is a
fact, however as shown by our rec
ords, that colored troops are quite as
we'll disciplined and behaved as the
average Of other troops, and 1t does
not seem logical to anticipate any
greater trouble from them than from
the rest Friction occasionally arises
with Incorporate soldiers wherever
they are stationed, but the records OF
the army also tend to show that white
soldiers average greater degree OF
intemperance than colOred ones. 1t
has sometimes happened that commu-
mites which objected to the coming OF
colored soldiers have, on account OF
their good conduct entirely changed
their view and commended their good
behavior to the war department.
A change of station was necessary
for these cOlored troops, and one third
Of the regiment "a battalion) had al
ready been sent to Fort Bliss, Texas,
more than six months ago. Since that
time no complaint concerning their
conduct has reached the war depart
ment, so far as l know. 1t was also
necessary to send the entire regiment
to the same locality, and to have sent
Il anywhere else would have involved
two moves for the battalion now at
Fort Bliss within about six months.
This would have been an injustice to
the troops concerned, and would, In
addition, have entailed considerable
extra expense upon the government.
Trusting this explanation may be
satisfactory to your constituents | re-
main very truly yours,
w. H. TAFT,
Secretary Of War.
The battalion was accordingly sent
to Fort Brown in command of Major
c. w. Penrose. and arrived there July
%, 1906. Soon after its arrival un-
fortunately differences arose between
the enlisted men and some townspeo-
ple As is usual in such cases, there
was contradictory evidence as to the
cause Of the troubles, though they
were doubtless due primarily to the
resentment of certain Of the tOwnspeo-
pie at. the proximity Of a negro bat
TALON The instances Of friction were
numerous and notorious enough to be
the cause of much discussion in the
barrack rooms of the three cOmpa-
nies. The feeling of the enlisted men
was also aroused by a discrimination
insisted on in most of the saloons OF
the town, in which separate bars were
provided for them. No serious injury
was done to any Of the colored soldiers,
although one of them was knocked
down by a government official named
Tate with a dubbed revolver for jost-
ling his wife, as he charged, and an
other was pushed off a gang plank by
customs inspector into the mud OF
the Rio Grande, because drunk and
disorderly as it was claimed.
Soldiers Raid the Town.
On the 18th of August it was re-
ported in Brownsville that a white
woman was seized by the hair by
colored soldier and dragged on the
ground. This report among the towns
people caused great bitterness and ex-
citement of feeling, which gave such
concern to the officers of the battalion
that on the night of the same day they
sent patrols into the town to bring
back their soldiers to the fort. A few
minutes after IL o'clock midnight OF
the next day. August 13, that is, on
the morning of August A. shots were
fired in the fort toward the town from
the neighborhOod of each barrack OF
Nla 10 l.