The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1906-12-25
THE DISCHARGE OF THE NEGRO
TROOPS.

I President Roosevelt's message to the
senate in compliance with the re5olu-
lions OF that body calling On him for
information as I'd his action In dis
missing from the service the members
of three companies OF the Twenty-ffth
regiment for their conduct in the
Brownsville affair is a manly and
{ straight forward declaration on the
cours he pursued and his reasons for
, adopting such course His reply 10 the
resolutions is, as he says therein. &C
companied by a report on the subject
by the secretary of war which in
cludes reports OF the officers who in
vestigated the affair, a letter from Cen
| eral Nettleton and memoranda as to
~precedents for the summary discharge
Or mastering out of regiments Or COM
panies, some or ali OF the members of
which had been guilty of misconduct"
The president takes upon himself all
responsibility for the discharge Of the
troops and he maintains his right t.
act as he did by saying:
I ordered the discharge OF nearly all
the members of COn panieS r. G, and
. of the TWenty-fifth infantry by
name, in the exercise of my conStitu-
tional power in Of what,
after full consideration, found TO be
my constitutional duty as commander
in-chief Of the United States army
After calling the senate's attention
to the accompanying reports Of Major
Augustus P. Blocksom. OF Lieutenant
Colonel Leonard a Lowering and of
Brigadier General Ernest 4. CARING
ton, the last named the Inspector gen
eral OF the United States army, Of heir
Investigation into the conduct Of the
troops in question the president says:
An effort has been made to dis
credit tht, fairness # the Investigation
into the conduct Of these cOiOrcu
troops by pointing out that General
Darlington is q ~SOutherncr. Precisely
the an action would have been taken
had the troops been White-indeed,
the discharge would probably have
been made in more summary fash
ion. General Darlington is q native OF
South Carolina: Lieutenant-COlonel
Lowering is a native Of New Hamp-
shire; Major Blocksom is IL native
of Ohio. AS it happens, the disclosure
of the guilt of the troops was made in
the report of the officer who comes
from Ohio. and the efforts Of the Of
ficer who comes from Out Carolina
were confined to he endeaVor to
shield the innocent men OF the Coin-
panieS in question, if any such there
were, by securing information which
would enable ~ adequately to punish
the guilty.
That paragraph pretty effectually
settles the contention Of soIne that
there was prejudice against the sol
diers in the reports of the officers who
made the investigation and in the final
action of the president. Mr.. Roosevelt
goes on to say in regard to this charge
OF prejudice, that he wishes It dis
tinctly understood that the fact Of the
birthplace Of either officer is one
which absolutely refuse to consider"
and that he PRESENTS with the keenesl
indignation" any effort to draw n
line among the officers CT the army
'based upon birthplace, creed or any
other consideration Of the kind that
he would put the same entire faith
in these reports had it happened that
from some n state, whether in the
south, or the north, the east or the
west as [ now do when it happens they
were made by officers born in different
states"
After reviewing the testimony in the
case of shooting up the town" the
president says:
In short, the evidence proves con
| clusively that a number of the sol
| diers engaged in q deliberate and
! concerted attack, as cold-bloOded as
it was cowardly; the purpos being TO
| terrOrize the community and to kill
| Or lnjure men, women and children
in their homes and beds or on the
| streets and this at an hour Of the night
| when concerted or effective resistance
or defense was out of the question, and
| when detection by identification Of the
| criminals in the United States uniform
was we'll nigh impossible. So much
| for the original crime. A black
er never stained the annals Of our
army. It has been supplemented by
another only less black. in the shape
OF a successful conspiracy of silence
for the purpOs Of shielding those who
took part in the original conspiracy.
Then when he comes to the action
of the men of the three companies in
refusing to aid in the detection Of the
guilty ones Or to give any infor1na-
ton which would lead to their detec-
| ton, and the dismissal from the service
of the men who had thus banded to-
gether, to protect their comrades from
just punishment for cold blooded muir
der he says:
Yet some of the commissioned of
ficers and many of the men of the
three companies in question have
banded together in a conspiracy to
II nrnfHrt fha ncc0ccirr c-l 1yo,,J1 no