The Mena weekly star., 1906-12-13
SENATE WANTS THE FACTS
Foraker and Penrose Resolutions Regarding Dismissal of Negro
 Troops Passed.
ACTION FOLLOWED TWO HOURS DEBATE
Both Resolutions Carried Amrnd- ments by caibertsoa Regardins Orders to sial. Pcnrose - seere- t"ry Taft wi1 Furnish au the Information Required.

Washington. Dec. S.-The senate Thursday adopted the Penfose reso. lution asking the President for infor. nation regarding the discharge of tha negro troops of the 25th infantry and 8isc the Foraker resolution directing the Secretary of War Co transmit ia. formation on the same subject. Both resolutions carried an identical amend ment by Mir. Culberson asking speoi- fically for the order to Major Pen. rose commanding the troops. which directed him not 10 turn over to the Texas authorities certain of the troops demanded.
 This action followed two hours de bate on the propriety of asking the president for the information or of dl. recting the Secretary of War Co fur nish it.
 Mir. Spooner urged that in matters where Congress had an absolute right to information in the possession of the executive, 1t had always been GUS tomary to direct a cabinet officer to AdA htoh H. III iAtaAAtiN NAEAN " NA4 not this right and in which there was some doubt about the advisability of publicity, congress usually made request on the president if it desired the information with the understand ing that 1t should be furnished If not incompatible with the public in- terest" This view was supported also by MT. Foraker, while MT. Lodge quoted precedents to the contrary.
 MT. Carter observed that it had been alleged and not denled' that the troops in question had committed murder in Texas. This brough Mir. Foraker to his feet with an emphatic disclaimer
 Well" coatinued Mir. Carter" it has been alleged and not denied tha' there was a disturbance participated in by troops"
 That, too, has been denied" assert. ed MT Foraker
 Mir. Tillman interrupted to say that he had read in the morning papers "an alleged report" from the Secretary of War in which that official had al legged" that there was a disturbance and that ten or twenty of the troops had "shot up the town of Browns ville' MT. Foraker here produced printed copy of testimony in the case which he had obtained at the War de partment, extracts of which he read to show as he said, that 1t was ''un- satisfactory, incomplete and of a flimsy character.
 Mir. Culberson took the opposite view of the testimony, but both agreed that with the unsatisfactory information" at hand 1t was useless t. discuss the case.
 Mir. Penrose said he had introduced his resolutions in the interest of d large negro constituency in Pennsyl Nania, and had addressed it to the President because the action had been by the president, and he regarded 1t IS a matter of courtesy to ask him for the information.
 The resolution of Senator Penrose. was received at the White house Fri day, and at once turned over by the president to Secretary Taft, who will furnish the information desired.
 Sergeant Mingo Sanders and Pri-- yate Elmer Brown. who were among those discharged without honor as the result of the Brownsville incident, have appeared at the war department and applied to Secretary Taft for re- nstatement and will be given hear ing