Richmond planet. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1883-1938, 1906-12-22

ANiN"NNb lSloato IN the " ar DSt
partment. for he. himself hath
said it,"
As TO the Philippines. it is well
known that the colored soldiers
have made remarkable record
there Tor bravery. endurance and
good behavior and yet Secretary
Taft mas the temerity to declare
,bat this battalion which has proven
itself the proper instrument to be
sent to both OF these places is not
the proper instrument to be sent 20
either Cuba or 20 the Philippines.
We confess that the vehem ent de-
clarations Of this statesman and
lurist read Ike extracts from the
speeches of Senator B r. TiHman
or excerpts from the messages Of
Gov James X. Vardaman
After these outbursts. ne should
take his place upon the pedestal in
the art gallery Of these latter-day
Negro haters. Although he knows
that Negro troops have never been
false to the nation or traitors to
the government, ne insidiously
leaves the impression that they are
so disposed. What else could the
following language infer2 Here il
is;
Suppose q dozen men OF the bat
talon stationed at Fort Brown in
time of war with Mexico carried
plans and ammunition TO the enemy
on the other side Of the Rio Grande
river. and then returned under cir
,umstances which made IL clear
that a large number of men in the
battalion must have known who
they were. but that every man in
the battalion denied an knowledge
Of it, and thus all means of detect
ing the guilty were lacking. Would
competent general for one mo-
ment hesitate ia the interest of theI
public to d,sband the entire batfai-I
ion and discharge IL from the ser
vice i'm order to avoid a repetition
OF the danger"
But. Secretary Taft. this is no
time of war with either Mexico or
Texas and there are no indications
that there viii be. The conditions
which YOU presume and the premis
as that you lay down are not SINH
Tar and the comparison therefore
necessarily ends before it has a be
ginning There is nothing TO COM
pare
But let as grant that the War
Department had the right TO disband
this battalion for the good OF the
service" what right did it nave 20
visit punishment upon the individ-
ual members thereof without trial
in a criminal court or before a milf
tary tribunal?
The question answers itself and
so true is 10 that the War Depart
ment and the President of the
United States had no legal right 60
do what il has done that Secretary
Taft "side-steps" and suavely an
nounces that dismissal from the
service without honor is not a pun
ishmcnt that the debarring OF a
soldier from re-enlisting In the army
or navy of the United States is not
punishment that debarring a sol
der from holding any civil Office in
the government is not a punish
ment. that preventing him from re-
firing from the service is not a pun
ishment. and that marring over
twenty years OF service is not "a
punishment.
This is the declaration Of a states
man. a jurist and prospective can
didate for the position OF Chief
Justice of the United States IL not
an aspirant for the presidency it
self. 20. the pity of IT," What
must the diplomatic service OF the
world as represented at Washington
think of such an exhibition.
In this Secretary Taft fouls his
own nest" for he is attacking a unit
OF the very department Of which he
is the Official head He may not be
a Negro-hater himself but he has be-
come the Official mouth-piece OF
that contingent in our form OF gov
eminent. He then asks this Ques-
ton:
Can a real and logical distinc-
ton be made between the crime OF
treason. under the circumstances
supposed, and the crime OF murder
in this case2 Both are capital Of
lenses, one perhaps more heinous
than the other, and more dangerous
TO the government itself, but in
both cases il seems 10 me clear tina.
the government must protect itself
and the community TO which IL Is
responsible, from a recurrence OF
SUCH Offenses. not by Furnishing
guilty and innocent alike, but by
separating both the guilty and in
nocent from the service, so as tol
deprive the guilty OF a second OPP