The Birmingham age-herald., 1906-12-06

and oral examina ton of many witnesses conducted by a citizens committee at the invitation of Major Penrose, and by the report of Major penrose Major Blocksom began his investigati ton three days after the occurrence.
 Every Effort to Place Guilt. Since the occurrence every effort has been made by the commissioned officers and by competent military inspectors sent for the purpose. through cross-examina- ton of each member of> the company who was present in the fort that night. to find some clue by which the enlisted men who committed this crime could be detected. and not the slightest evidence tending to establish the Identity of single man has been forthcoming. All the enlisted men of the battalion were advised that if evidence was not forthcoming leading to the Identification of those who planned and committed these murders and at tempted murders. it would become neces- sary to discharge all the men present at Fort Brown that night without honor. and to bar them from re-enlistment in the army or service in the navy or in the civil service
 Inspector General Darlington then ex- amined every man who came within the operation of the proposed order. and was entirely unable to elicit single circum- stance leading to the identification of the murderers. He became convinced that there was conspiracy of silence in the battalion to protect the criminals. and while he conceded that there might be number of men in the battalion inno- cent both of the crime and of suppress sion of evidence, he deemed 1t necessary in the interest and for the good of the service to recommend the issuing of the order which by authority he had told the men would be made and enforced. un- less evidence pointing to the criminals was forthcoming. This department con cured in General Garlington's recom- mendation and the President then di- reeted the discharge of certain named members of the battalion, which includ- edf all the enlisted men of the battalion who were present at Fort Brown on the night in question: without honor, and forever debarred them from re-enlisting In the army or navy of the United States as well as from employment in any civil capacity under the government The or der of discharge has been duly executed. Hull copy of the proceedings and evi- dence is hereto appended.
 The order has attracted much attention and has been severely criticised as un- just because it condemns many innocent men to undeserved punishment. It is not Improper, therefore. in this report to re- view the case and state the reasons which not only justified 1t, but made it necessary
 Reasons for Discharge.
 1 Out of battalion of 17O enlisted men in the army of the United States. from nine to twenty men formed preconcert- ed plan to revenge themselves upon the people of town + which they were stationed for the insults they felt that the townspeople had heaped upon them In accordance with the plan they Jeff their barracks under cover of the dark ness-about midnight-and proceeded to discharge their weapons into the houses Of the town for the purpose of killing some one or more of the three women and seven children who were sitting or sleeping in two of the lighted rooms into which they fired. They in fact. did kin one man, wounded another and seriously injured the chief of police They accom- panied their firing with expressions in- dicating the malice which prompted their action. There can be no doubt, therefore. that the squad of men who moved to- gether from the fort to the town and did this shooting were guilty of murder. and murder in the first degree, and that if they were discovered they could be prop erly subjected to capital punishment. The purpose of one was the purpose of all.
 2 Within ten minutes or more after tbis crime was committed, when the whole garrison was aroused by the noise of the fusillade and by the call to arms which followed it, the guilty men returned to their places, for the reason that the firing continued after the formations had begun. The absence of the rifles from the racks could not have escaped the attention of the sergeants who had the keys of the racks, if indeed they had the keys; and yet all the sergeants swear that the rifles were in the racks un- touched Before the next morning, all the guns were clean. It is impossible that many of the battalion who did not take part as active members of the conspir- acy 10 murder were not made aware by one circumstance or another of the iden- tity of the persons who committed this henous offense,
 5. Instead of giving to their officers, or to the military inspectors who were di- rected to make the examination, the hem eft of anything which they knew tend Ing to lead to conviction of the guilty persons, there was conspiracy of silence on the part of the many who must have known something of importance in this regard. Thus the murderers were taken back into the battalion and protected en- tirely from punishment.
 Is Government Helpless?
 Under these circum tances the aues- ton arises, Is the government helpless? Must it continue In its service a bat talion many of the members of which show their willingness to condone a crime of capital character committed by from ten to twenty of its members, and put on a front of silence and ignorance which enables the criminals to escape just pun ishment? These enlisted men took the oath of allegiance to the government, and were to be used under the law to main tain its supremacy. Can the government properly therefore keep in it's employ for the purpose of maintaining law and order any longer body of men, from 5 to 10 per cent of whom can plan and com init murder, and rely upon the silence of number of their companions to es- cape detection?
 1t may be that in the battalion are a number of men wholly innocent who know neither who the guilty men are nor any circumstances which will aid in their detection. though this cannot be true of many. Because there may be innocent men in the battalion, must the government continue to use it to guard communities Of men, women and children when 1t contains so dangerous an element imposi-