The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-11-07
NEGRO SOLDIERS DISCHARGED
DRASTIC ORDER ISSUED BY PREsI-
DENT ROOSEVELT.

Three Companies Of the Twenty-nfth In
fantry Win he Dismissed without
Honor and Forever Declared From ne
cnIlsting In tho Army or tho Navy.
WASHINGTON, Nov. 8.-By order Of Presi-
dent Roosevelt, acting upon a report made
to him by Brig .-Gen. E. A. Darlington, In
spector-General of the army, every man OF
companies b. c, and D of the Twenty-hHth
Infantry, a colored organization, will be dis
charged without honor from the army and
forever debarred from reenlisting in the
army or the navy, as well as from employ
ment by the Government In any civil ca
pacity.
The action IL one OF the most drastic ever
taken by the President and Is sure to cause
a sensation throughout the service. The
refusal of members Of the battalion to give
Gen. Darlington or 10 their immediate
superiors the names Of the men implicated
in the shooting OF citizens at Brownsville,
Tex, near Fort Brown, where the troops
were stationed on August IS, led the Inspec-
tor-General to recommend the discharge Of
all of the men and the President concurred.
IL is an example for the enlisted personnel
Of the service which will doubtless have O
good effect.
On August Is some OF the enlisted men
Of the battalion which is to be so summzrily
punished engaged in a disturbance in
Brownsville, for no particular reason, as
far as the investigation shows. which re-
suited in the killing of one citizen. and tho
chief Of police OF the town was so badly
wounded that he lost an arm. The case
dragged along and finally Gen. Darlington
went to Texas to make a personal inVesti-
cation. Full opportunity was given the men
to tell -all that it Is reasonable to believe
they know concerning the shooting" 1t
was impossible to fix the guilt. Gen. Gar
lington says in his report that the men
appear to stand together to resist the de-
lection of the guilty, and that for this reason
they should stand together when the penalty
falls.
The following is the concluding portion
OF Gen. Garlington's report, which embodies
the recommendations that, by direction of
the President, will be carried into effect
Immediately by the Wa Department:
Il recommend that orders be issued as
soon as practicable discharging, without
honor, every man in companies B, c and D
of the Twenty-ffth Infantry serving at
Fort Brown, Tex, On the night OF August
10, 1901, and forever debarring them from
reenlisting in the army or navy of the United
States, as well as from employment in any
civil capacity under the Government. In
making this recommendation l recognize
the fact that a number Of men who have
no direct knowledge as to the identity Of
the men Of the Twenty fifth Infantry who
actually fired the shots on the night Of
August ~, 1905, will incur this extreme
penalty.
1t has been established by careful in
v~estigation beyond reasonable doubt that
the firing into the houses of the citizens
of Brownsville while the inhabitants
thereof were pursu ng their peaceful voca-
tons or sleeping and by which one citizen
was killed and the chief of police so seri-
ously wounded that he lost an arm was
done by enlisted men of the Twenty-ffth
Infantry, belonging to the battalion sta
toned at Fort Brown. After due oppor-
tunity and notice the enlisted men of the
T~wenty-fifth Infantry have failed to tell
all that it is reasonable TO believe they
know concerning the shooting. If they
had done so, il they had been willing TO
relate all the circumstances-instances
preliminary to the trouble-it is extremely
probable that a clue sufficiently definite
to lead TO results wcnld Rave been dis
closed. They appear TO stand together
in a determination to resist the detection
Of the guilty; therefore they should stand
together when the penalty falls.
"A ~forceful lesson should be given to the
army at large, and especially to the non
commissioned officers, that their duty does
not cease upon the drill ground with the
calling Of the company rolls. making check
inspections and other duty of formal char
acter, but that their responsibilities of Office
accompany them everywhere and at all
times, that it is their duty to become thor
oughly acquainted with the individual
members Of their respective units, to know
their characteristics, to be able at all times
TO gauge their temper, in order to discover |
the beginning of discomfort or of mutinous
intentions, and TO anticipate any organized
act Of disorder; that they must notify their
officers at once of any such conditions.
Moreover, the people of the United States
wherever they live, must feel assured
that the men wearing the uniform Of the
army are their protectors n not midnight
assassins or riotous disturbers of the peace
Of the community in which they may be
stationed"
MAY PUNISH COL. PITCHER.