Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-12-20
Alleged Witnesses of Shooting.

murderer
Alleged Witnesses of Shooting.
When Mr.. Foraker came down to the
Presidents statement to the effect that
scores of eyewitnesses had testified to the
guilt of these three colored companies he
asserted that the President was surely
misled in making such a statement. Then
| he analysed the testimony taken by Maj
Biocksom, and counting the witnesses that
We're examined he found but twenty-one
In all. Analysing the testimony of these
twenty-one witnesses he found that all but
eight had specifically stated that they were
not eyewitnesses.
So, he said, when the President stated
that there were scores of ye-witnesses
who had testified. he was surely mistaken
unless there was testimony he had not sent
to the Senate
Senator Foraker said that he did not wish
TO make any remarks about Maj. Darlington
or Maj. Biocksom. Maj. Darlington the in
.spector who had been sent to Brownsville
by the President to look into this matter
was a southern man, born in South Caro-
lima and appointed from Georgia
MAI. Blocksom was from his own state
or ONO and he read a letter from some
one who had correspondent with him to
the effect that Blocksoms father was an
Ohio copperhead, an intense democrat who
had the opinions concerning colored men
that were of the kind entertained only by
the copperheads of Ohio.
zoioChSon Alleged fTeJuQ1ce.
Maj Blocksom," he read, was born in
GAINESVILLE, Ohio. His father was prom
inent attorney, radical democratic poll
tlcian and entirely consistent in his views
with all the old war democratic ideas and
he never lost an opportunity to express
those views in public. And being something
OF an orator he always got attentive hear
ers'
This kind of milk" said Senator For
aker, the son has been fed upon. If there
was any man who had antipathy to the
negro it was the copperhead of Ohio
This boy, he said, has received his preju-
dice from that kind of a father. 1t was
most natural that he should inherit that
prejudice.
L think that anybody who reads his
report VIII discover that there is a screw
loose somewhere he declared
He read what Maj. B1ocksom had said
in that report about the colored soldier
being more aggressive on questions of So
clal equality than he formerly was. Senator
FORAKER declared that that statement had
no place in the report because it had moth
ing to do with the fixing of the RESPONSE
bility of this crime.
But the Presidents action, he declared
if it stands as precedent will apply to
white as well as to black men. 1t will ap-
ply to the whole country.
He spoke of the honorable record of these
soldiers. one of whom had been discharged
seven times and each time with comments
record
1t was about this time that Senator Knox
interrupted to ask if that was all the testi-
mony in this case. Senator Foraker de-
clared that it was all the President had
sent to the Senate, and the President stat
ed that he had sent it all.
Foraker Promises Some Facts.
II don't hesitate to say said Mr. For
aker that will promise the Senate that I
VIII give them some testimony. will give
them testimony bearing on this subject be-
fore we get through. know what l am
talking about. am not boy going to a
frolic. This question may be argued as to
the power of the President, but the facts
should be established by testimony taken in
the proper way.
The testimony of the witnesses examined
by Blocksom had not been taken under
oath. He wanted the Senate committee
authorized to take testimony under oath
so that they could know something about
these men,
He pointed out that Mai Darlington had
specifically said in his report that while it
looked as if there was a conspiracy on the
part of these soldiers to give no testimony
he was unable to find any testimony of such
conspiracy. Yet the President had said
that there were scores of eye witnesses to
establish the facts in the case, and it had
been concluSvely shown that there a
conspiracy among the soldiers themselves
to cover up all evidence of that kind.
As to PrecedentS.
He said the President had nothing to show
from the judge advocate of the army that
there were precedents for his action. He
declared that in spite of the Presidents
statement that there were precedents, there
was not a single case that was cited that
any man would accept as a precedent The
military secretary had stated that after a
protracted examination of official records
there was no precedent in the regular army
for the discharge of the three companies of
infantry, the President had zone.
There was a case in which General Rob-
ert Z. Lee had transferred men in Company
of the Sth Infantry of the confederate
army to other regiments, and prohibited
the men from re-enlisting at the end of
their terms. But that was not precedent
for the Presidents action. The military
secretary has said that in the volunteer
service of the civil there were numer-
Gus instances of this kind, but Senator
Foraker declared that any one may read
the instances quoted by the military sec
rotary and fail to find what would be re-
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