New-York tribune., 1906-12-06
TAFT on NEGRO TROOPS
DISMISSAL UPHELD.
Conduct of Mcn at Brownsville
.SeUcrely Condemned.

Conduct of Wcn at Br0TnSOilIe
Severely Condemned.
washington. Dec. 5.-SecretaTy Taft devotes
,siserable space in his annual report TO a
s.fenoe and an explanation Of the course OF the
-r.r Department in connection with the dis
.,o-sa without honor from the military service
- the battalion Of the 25th Infantry which was
s+stioned at Brownsville. Tex. last summer. The
secretary details the occurrences Of the night
:, August lS involving the shooting In the
town of Brownsville by anywhere from nine 10
.,rentvs members Of this battalion He is severe
a, his condemnation Of the non-comnlissioned
a7cars Of the battalion for falling TO discover
ond report the perpetrators Of the outrage, and
~ the enlisted men Of the battalion who by
maintaining silence when, as he says. they must
have known the guilty persons connved at the
crime He insists that no obligation OF COM
,s6eship should prevent the men from telling
The truth, but indicates that such OF the men
as are guiltess may be re-enlisted- The ex-
tract follows
am very sorry to record a most serious
breach Of discipline and the commission OF a
beinous crime by certain members of a battalion
OF the 25lh Infantry, Companies B. G and D. on
The night Of August l3 and the morning OF the
lsth, at Fort Brown Brownsville. Tex.
In June last objection was made TO the sta
tiouing Of this battalion at Fort Brown by q
resident Of Brownsville in a letter transmitted
through Senator CuIberson, 20 which the fol-
lowing answer was made:
War Department, Washington. June 1. 1904
Hon. {. A cu9eTson United States Senate. Wash
My Dear Senator: I have the honor TO acknowl-
edse receipt 3. your nq5e E 81 June l. transmitting
Tex, stating certain objections TO the stauoning
o. Ngt' e Itfer of ossbe Sc ln Fep4y 1 ht 70
character very carefully considered before the
order was made. and regret that cannot see my
VaV clear 10 ItSc-nu Il
The fact Is that certain amount Of race prejudice
almost universal throughout the country, and no
RSTs some who make objections to their coming
j is fact however. as shown by our records,
behaved the average of other troops and it does
noJ seem logical TO anticipate any greater trouble
from them than from the rest. Friction occasion
ally arises with Incorporate soldiers wherever they
stationed but the records OF the army also tend
10 show thar white soldiers average greater de-
Sometimes happened that communities which OBJ
.eced 10 the coming OF colored soldiers have, on
view ana commended their good behavior TO the
A change OF station was necessary for these coll
ored troops. and onethtrd Of the regiment "a bat
more than six months ago: Since that time no
e9hI.S - ll-1-E - SIae @ t!S rs ! % @ ttle
sary 70 send the entire regiment 20 the To-
a1 P nTogei two moves Tor the bsttalon @ o% RO at
Fort Bliss M M!Ihla SIX Inontnsc ms MS Wonid nave
would in addition have entaied considerable extra
trusting this explanation may be satisfactory 70
vOT1r l
WM H TAFT. Secretary of War.
THE BROWNSVILLE TROUBLE.
The battalion was accordingly sent to Fort
Brown IN command Of Major c. w. Penrose, and
arrived there July %. 1906. Soon after its
rival unfortunate differences arose between the
enlisted men and some townspeople, As is usual
IN such cases, there was contradictory evidence
as to cause for the troubles, though they
were doubtless due primarily to the resentment
Of certain OF the toWnspeople at the proximity
OF q Negro battalion. The instances OF fric-
ton were numerous and notorious enough 20 be
the cause Of much discussion In the barrack
rooms Of the three companies. The feeling Of
the enlisted men was also aroused by a discrtmi-
nation 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
col0red soldiers. although one OF them was
Tate with a dubbed revolver for JostIng his
wife, as he charged, and another was pushed off
gangp.aIk by a customs inspector into the
mud OF the Rio Grande, because drunk and dis
orderly, X was claimed.
On the 18th Of August IL reported IN
Brownsville that white woman was seized by
the hair by cOored soldier and dragged on the
ground This report among the townspeople
caused great bitterness and excitement Of feel
Ing, which gave such concern to the officers OF
the battalion that the night OF the same day
they sent patrols into the town TO bring back
their soldiers 10 the fort. A few minutes after
y O'clock midnight Of the next day, August 13,
E., or the morning Of August IA shots were
fred in the fort toward the town from the
neighbOThoOd Of each barrack Of the three COM
panies The fort is really in the town and only
separated from the houses by a wall The first
shots seem 70 have been fred IN the air. I'm
medately a1terWaTd a number Of men. variously
estimated from nine TO twenty, climbed over the
wall between the fort and the town. There was
much direct evidence that these were col
oIec soldiers IN khaki and blue shirts, carrying
The new service rife. From seventy-fve TO one
hundred cartridge shells and used clips and
some uncischarged cartridges were found upon
me streets Of the town the next morning. and
Major Peargse, commanding the battalion. then
Identified them ammunition for the new
service rife and reluctantly admitted their con-
cuslEe weight as evidence that the shooting
was done by some OF his men.
me raiders advanced up an alley leading from
tne Tort through the town, and first fired into
lne room OF q house the alley at the end of
the first block IN which were two women and
i've children. one Of the bullets knocked over
and Put out lighted lamp the table in the
room Ten shots were fred, nearly all going
through the house about four and a half feet
above the floor. The raiders then encountered
he chief Of police on horse He had heard tho
shooting and hurried toward the sound When
he saw the soldiers the number Of whom he
esl1ated 70 be fifteen, he turned and tried
escape They fired on him, killed his horse and
wounded him in the that It had 10 be
amIutatea Two policemen who had separated
H"in him were also shot at a bullet pierced
lhe bar of one Of them. The raiders then fired
mo All.ers Hotel, the alley at the end Of
tLe second block. There was light in the
motel and guest at one OF the windows. Six
day
The party then divided. one squad proceeded
further down the alley 10 the third block toward
q saloon which had been one Of those in which
y had been insisted that the colored men must
otlAk at d separate bar The barkeeper heard
t-em coming and attempted to close the door,
nut was shot and instantly killed near the door.
lhe fatal wound was declared by a competent
surgeon with army experience TO have been
mace by q bullet Of the calibrs OF those used in
The service rife 4 Mexican in the same saloon
vas shot ia the hand. There were five or six
SHots IN the saloon door. The other squad shot
INTO Z house next TO the house of the man who