The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1906-12-20

was my clear duty to terminate those
! contracts when the public interest de-
manded it: and if would have been
betrayal of the public interest on my
| part not to terminate the contracts
which were keeping in the service of
the United States n body of mutinecrs
and murdcrers.
ANY assertion that these men were
| dealt with harshly because they were
colored men is utterly without founda-
ton. Officers or enlisted men, white
| men or colored, would have been treated
in precisely the same way; for there
can be nothing moro important than
| for the United States army, in all its
membership, to understand that it's arms
| cannot be turned with impunity against
the peace and order OF the civil com
munity.
Precedents for Action.
There are plenty Of prscedents for
| the action taken. ] call your attention
| to the memoranda herewith submitted
| from the Military Secretary's office of
the War department. and memoran-
dunn from tho Military Secretary on
closing n piece bv ex.Corporal Hesse.
now chief OF division in the Military
Secretary's Office. together with a let
ter from District Attorney Wilkinson
OF New Orleans. The District Attor
| ney's letter recites several cases in
which white United States soldiers. be-
ing arrested for crime. were tried. and
every soldier and employee OF the regi-
mcnt, or in the fort at which the sol
der was stationed, volunteered all they
knew. both before and at the trial, so
as to secure Justice.
In one case the soldier was acquitted.
In another case the soldier was convict
cd of murder, the conviction resulting
from the fact that every soldier from
al ha h,tr,, k ln9f
private, united in securing all the evl-
dencc in their power about the crime.
In other cases, for less offense, soldiers
were convicted purely because their
comrades in arms, in spirit Of fine 10y
atty To the honor OF the service, at
once told the whole story of the trou-
bles and declined to identify them
selves with the criminals
During the Civil war numerous
prccedcnts for the action taken by me
occurred in the shape Of the summary
discharge Of regiments or companies
because of misconduct on the part of
some or all of their members. The
Sixtieth Ohio was summarily dis
charged on the ground that the regi-
ment was disorganized, mutinous, and
worthless The Eleventh New York
was discharged by reason of general
decentralization and numerous dcser.
tions Three companies of the Fifth
Missouri cavalry and one company or
the Fourth Missouri cavalry were mus
tered out Of the service Of the Unlted
States without trial by court-martial
bv reason Of mutinous conduct and dis
affection of the majority of the mem
bers of these companies Can almost
exact parallel to my actlon). Another
Missouri regiment was mustered out or
service because il was in state bor-
dering closely on mutlny. Other eX-
amples. including New Jersey, Mary.
land and other organizations, are given
in the incloscd papers,
Gen. Grants Action.
| call your particular attention to
the special field order OF Brig. Gen. U.
s. Grant, issued from the headquarters
Of the Thirteenth Army Corps on No
vember 16, 1862, in reference TO the
Twentieth Illinois. Members of this
regiment had broken into store and
taken goods to the value of some
$1p40, and the rest of the regiment,
including especially two officers.
failed. in the words of Gen Grant. TO
the men guilty of the offense.' Gen.
Grant accordingly mustered out of the
service of the United States the two
officers in question, and assessed the
sum Of $l240 against the said regi-
ment as a whole, officers and men to be
assessed pro rata on their pay. In Its
essence this action is precisely similar
to that | have taken, although the of
fense was of course trivial compared
to the offense with which [ had to
deal.
Ex.Corp. Hesse recites what oc-
CURED in United States regular regi-
ment in the spring of 1860 corp.
Hesse subsequently. when the regi-
mcnt was surrendered to the Confed-
crates by Gen. Twiggs, saved the regi-
mental colors by wrapping them about
his body under his clothing, and
brought them North in safety, receiv-
ing medal of honor for his action.)
1t appears that certain members Of the
regiment lynched a barkeeper who had
killed one Of the soldiers. Being un-
able to discover the cu!prits, Col.
Robert T.. Lee, then in command of
the Department Of Texas, ordered the
company to be disbanded and the mem
bers transferred to other companies
and discharged at the end of their en-
listmeDt, without honor. Owing to the
outbreak of the Civil war and the CON
sequent loss of records. and confusion,
it is not possible to say what finally
became Of this case.
When Gen. Lee was In command of
the Army of Northern Virginia, as
will appear from the inclosed clipping
from the Charlotte Observer, he issued