The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1906-12-20
CLAIMS RIGHT
AS HEAD OF ARMY
Roosevelt Sends Message to
Senate on Discharge of
the colored Soldiers.
ALSO SENDS TAFT'S REPORT
PRECEDENTs GIVEN AND ARGU-
MENTS ADVANCED.
ALSO SENDS TAFT'S REPORT

Washington, Dec ls.-President Roose-
welt today complied with the request of
the senate in transmitting to that body
transcript of testimony and documents
connected with the discharge of battal-
ion of negro troops of the Twenty-fifth
infantry. The message was decidedly Sc
we're in its criticism of the soldiers al
legged TO be concerned in shooting up
the town of Brownsville Tex. Its read
ing was listened TO intently.
Presidents Message.
TO the Senate:
In response TO senate. resolution of Dec
addressed TO me. and TO the two senate
resolutions addressed to him. the secre-
tary of war has, by my direction, sub
mitted 10 Inc a report which l herewith
send to the senate. together with several
documents, Including letter of General
NettletOn and memoranda as to prece-
dents Tor the summary discharge or mus
teriRg out of regiments or companies
some or all of the members of which had
been guilty of misconduct.
/ ordered the discharge of nearly & Il
the members of companies 3, c and d Of
the IWenty-ffth infantry by name. in the
exercise of my constitutional power and
in pursuance of what, after full consid-
grafton, L found to be my constitutional
A<Outy as ommander-in-Chief of the United
4 States army l am glad to avail myself
Of the opportunity afforded by these reso-
iutions TO lay before the congress the fol-
lowing facts as to the murderOus conduct
of certain members of the companies in
question and as to the conspiracy by
which many Of the other members of
these companies saved the criminals from
Justice, to the disgrace of the United
States uniform.
Calls Attention to Reports.
1 call your attention to the accom-
ranyins reports of Major Augustus F.
Blocksom. of Lieutenant Colonel Leonard
a. Lowering and of Brigadier General Err
nest A. Darlington, the inspector general
of the United States army, of their in
Nestigation into the conduct of the troops
IN question. An effort has been made to
ton INTO the conduct of these colored
troops by pointing out that General Gar
lngton is g southerner. Precisely the
same action would have been taken Ind
the troops been white-indeed, the dis
charge would probably have been made
II more summary fashion. General Car
lngton is a native of South Carolina;
Lieutenant Colonel Lowering is a native
of New Hampshire; Major Blocksom is a
EatiVe of Ohio. As il ha opens. the dis
closure of the guilt of the troops was
made in the report of the officer who
comes from Ohio. and the efforts of the
officer who comes from South Carolina
were confined to the endeavOr to shield
the innocent men of the companies in
question. if any such there were, by Sc
curing information which would enable
us adequately 10 punish the guilty. But
fact of the Birthplace of either officer is
one which I absolutely refuse to consider.
The standard Of professional honor and
of loyalty TO the flag and the service is
the same for all officers and all enlisted
men of the United States army, and / re-
sent with the keenest indignation any e
fort to draw any line among them based
upon birthplace. creed or any other con-
sideration of the kind. | should put the
same entire faith in these reports if ii had
happened that they were all made by
men coming from some one state whether
in the south or the north, the east or the
west, as / now do. when. as II happens,
they were maze by officers born in dill
ferent states.
Testimony of Eyewitnesses.
Major BlocksOm's report is most care
full, is based upon the testimony of scores
of NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. which con-
fcted only in non-essentials and which es-
tablished the essential facts beyond
chance of successful contradiction Not
only has no successful effort been made
20 traverse his findings in any essential
particular, but, as matter of fact, every
trustworthy report from outsiders amply
eorrobOrates them, by far the best of
these outside reports being that of Cen
AgTal a. b Nettlet0n, made IN a letter to
nc secretary of war. which 1 herewith
<%Dpeud. General Nettleton being an ex-
stplOn soldier, a consistent friend of the
colored man throughout his life, life
loEg Republican, a citizen of illinois and
assistant secretary of the treasury under
President Harrison.
II appears that in Brownsville the city
Immediately beside which Fort Brown Is
situated. there had been considerable feel
ing between the citizens and the colored
troops of the garrison companies Dill
Culties had occurred, there being con-
flct of evidence as 10 whether the cit-
zens or the colOred troops were to blame.
nv impression is that. as a matter of
fact in these difficulties there was blame
attached 10 both sides; but this is a
wholly Unimportant matter for our pres
cnt purpose. as nothing that occurred Of
fered in any shape or way an excuse or
justification for the atrocious conduct of
the troops when. in lawless and murder
Gus spirit and under cover of the night,
they made their attack upon the citizens.
Attack at Midnight.
The attack was made near midnight OF
Aug. Is. The following facts as to this
attack are made clear by Major Block
SONS investigation and have not been.
and. in my judgment cannot be, success
fully cOntrOverted. From nine to fifteen
or twenty of the cOlored soldiers took part
i'm the attack They leaped over the walls
from the barracks and hurried through
the town. They shot at whomeVer they !
saw moving. and they shot into houses
where they saw lights In some of these |
houses there were women and children, /
as the wOuld-be murderers must have |
known. In one house in which there were |
two women and five children some ten |
shots went through at a height of about |
four and one-half feet above the floor |
one putting out the lamp upon the table |
The lieutenant of police of the town |
heard the firing and rode toward it. He |
met the raiders. who, as he stated were |
about fifteen colored soldiers They in |
stantiy started firing upon him. He |
turned and rode off. and they continued 1
firing upon him until they had killed his |
horse They shot him in the right arm |
cit was afterwards amputated above the /
elbow) A number of shots were also |
>fiSed at two other policemen. The raiders |
fireSf eeveral times into a hotel. some of |
the sbots ne;ng aimed at a guest sitting /
nv a vii. dow. They shot into saloon. /
killing The bartender &nd WOunding an /
other man At the same the other raitr- I
ers fired into another house in which wo- |
mon and children were sleeping, two of /
the shots going through the mosquito bar
over the bed in which the mistress of the |
house and her two children were lying |
Several other houses were struck by bull |
Continued on Page 9.