The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1906-11-23
THE PRESIDENT
Defended by War De-
partment For Firing
CoIored Troops.
ORDER WAS JUSTIFIED

UkuEh WAS JUSIlfltU
Washington, Nov. 21.-The war de
partment this afternoon made public
what it considers to be an excellent
defense of the presidents recent order
dismissing without honor the three
companies of colored troops, B., C. and
M, of the 25th infantry, because of
the failure of the soldiers to peach
on those guilty of shooting up" the
town of Brownsville, Texas. This was
in the form of official reports of Major
A.. p Blocksom, lieutenant Colonel
Leonard A. Lowering and Brig. Gen. e.
A. Darlington, inspector general of the
army, upon the Brownsville riots. They
were made public Immediately follow
ing announcement by Secretary Taft
that in compliance with instructions
from the president the discharge Of
the troops in question now at Fort
Reno, Oklahoma, would be proceeded
with.
An inclination in some quarters to
discover friction between the presi-
dent and his secretary of war be-
cause the latter temporarily suspend
ed the order Of his superior because of
the receipt of many protests can find
no basis at the war department. 1t is
declared that after the president had
issued the order he left for Panama.
Deeming the protests worthy of atten
tion, Secretary Taft suspended the or
der until he could hear from the presi-
dent. This was on Saturday. For
some unexplainable reason no reply
was received by the war department
until today. The constitutional league
of New York city, however, received
message direct from the president yes
terday in which it was informed that
unless new facts could be presented to
warrant the suspension of the order
it would be executed.
Following Secretary Taft's an
nouncement this morning, a message
from the president was made public
in which he reiterated the statement
that the order discharging the colored
troops was taken after due delibera-
ton. In his report Major Blocksom
tells of the bitter racial feeling be-
tween the troops and the people of
Brownsville and of numerous insults
offered to white women there by cer-
tain of the soldiers, which acts were
resented in drastic manner by white
men. He says that soldiers of Com
pany B. fired a volley of shots at night
to create an alarm and then nine or
Is of them jumped the walls of the
barracks and started through the town.
They fired at people on the streets and
through the sides of houses. At the
house of a Mr.. Cowan ten shots pieSc-
ed the siding. One shot extinguished
the lamp on table around which were
two women and five children. A hotel
was firel into. The lieutenant of po-
lice was killed.
None of the individual raiders was
recognized" the major reports. "That
there were soldiers of the 25th infan-
try cannot be doubted. Every effort
was made by the officers of the COM
panies to find the criminals, but they
clue to such terrible, preconcerted
crime committed by so many men. /
believe that the battalion had an ex.
cellent reputation up to the 18th of
August, but the stain now upon it is
the worst l have ever seen in the ar
my. Many of it's old soldi--s who
had nothing to do with the raid must
know something tangible as to the
identity of the criminals. If they do
not disclose their knowledge they
should be made to suffer with others
nit
Brigadier General Darlington, a por-
tion of whose report was made pub
lie by the president when he issued
his order of discharge, corroborates
all that the other officers found and
forcibly recommended their dismissal
without honor, so that the country
might know that the men in the un-
form Of the army are their protect
ors and not midnight assassins."
1t is announced that twenty-five
members of the negro companies have
been discharged, making thirty-two
in all. The men will now be dis
missed in groups of twenty-five until
the entire membership of the three
companies is out of the army. 1t is
further announced that many of the
men will be permitted to re-enlist
upon presentation to the president of
satisfactory evidence that they were
not implicated in the riot and that