Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1906-12-19

ted. In another case the soldier was
convicted OF murder, the conviction re-
su1ting from the fact that every SOL
der. from the commanding officer to
the 'humblest private, united in secur-
ing ali the evidence In their power
about the crime. In other cases. for
less offense, soldiers were convicted
purely because their comrades in
arms, in a spirit of fine loyalty to the
honor Of the service, at once told the
whole story of the troubles and de-
clined to identify themselves with the
criminals.
During the civil war numerous pre-
cedents for the action taken by me
occurred in the shape of the summary
discharge of regiments or companies
because of misconduct on the part OF
some or all Of their members. The
Sixtieth Ohio was summarily dis
charged, on the ground that the regi-
ment was disorganiZed mutinous and
worthless. The Eleventh New York
was discharged by reason of general
decentralization and numerous deser-
lions. Three companies of the Fifth
Missouri cavalry and one company of
the Fourth Missouri cavalry We're
mustered out of the service of
the United States without trial
by court-martial by reason OF
mutinous conduct and disaffection
of the majority of the members of these
companies Can almost exact parallel
to my actiom. Another Missouri reg
iment was mustered out of service be-
cause 1t was in state bordering
O1n ffV,v1 y.ltrr Ylln
including New Jersey, Maryland and
inclosed papers.
Followed Grants Example.
II call your particular attention to
the special field order of Brig. Gen.
U. S. Grant, issued from the head
quarters Of the Thirteenth Army Corps
on November is. 1862, In reference to
the Twentieth Illinois. Members Of
this regiment had broken into a store
and taken goods to the value of some
$1.240. and the rest of the regiment,
including especially two officers, failed,
in the words Of General Grant, to Eek
ercise their authority to ferret out the
men guilty of the offenses." General
Grant accordingly mustered out of the
service of the United States the two
officers in question, and assessed the
sum of 1920 against the said regi-
ment as a whole, officers and men to
be assessed pro rata on their pay. In
Its essence this action is precisely sim
liar to that have taken; altllo the Of
Tense was of course trivial compared to
the offense with which l had to deal.
$50 much for the military side OF the
case. But wish to say something adj
ditional from the standpoint Of the race
question. In my message at the open
ing of congress l discussed the matter
of lynching. In 1t gave utterance to
the adherence which all decent citl-
zens should feel for the deeds Of the
men Gin almost all cases white men)
who take part In lynchings and at the
same time condemned, as all decent
men of any color should condemn, the
action of those colored men who ac-
lively or passively shield the colored
criminal from the law. In the case O.
these companies we had to deal with
men who in the first place were guilty
Of what was practically the worst pos
sible form of lynching-for a 1ynching
is in it's essence lawless and murderous
vengeance taken by an armed mob for
real or fancied wrongs-and who in the
second place covered up the crime of
lynching by standing with a vicious
solidarity to protect the criminals
ut is of the utmost Importance to all
our people that we shall deal with each
man on his merits as man, and not
deal with him merely as a member of
a given race; that we shall judge each
man by yhis conduct and not his color.
This is important for the white man,
and it is far more important for the
colored man. More evil and sinister
counsel never was given to any people