Albuquerque evening citizen. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1905-1907, 1907-01-14
Was Imperatively Demanded
by Good of Service and
Fully Sustained
BY ALL THE FACTS IN
THE ESTABLISHED CASE
Recalls Part of Order Deprivinq
Them of Civil Govern
ment Work.


Roosevelt today sent to the senate a
special message regarding the
Brownsville incident, which gives adj
ditional evidence collected by Assist
ant Attorney General Purdy and
Major Blockson, who were sent to
Texas by the president to investigate
the affair.
The president submitted with his
message various exhibits, including
maps of Brownsville, Fort Brown,
Bandoleer three empty shells, seven
ball cartridges picked up in the streets
a few hours after the shooting, three
steel jacket bullets and some scraps
of castings of other bullets picked out
of houses into which they had been
fired.
The president declares the evidence
Is positive that the outrages of Au-
gust 13 were committed by some of
the colored troops that have been dis
missed, and that some or all of the
members of the three companies OF
the Twenty-fifth infantry had knowl-
edge of the deed and have shielded
the guilty ones.
The guilty negro troops are referred
to in the message as midnight as
SasStilsb anu tnS pTtSiucnt
that very few IL any of the soldiers
who were dismissed could have been
ignorant of what occurred.
The discharge of the troops, the
president maintained, was within his
legal and legislative power.
Secretary Taft's report, giving the
sworn testimony of witnesses, is trans
mitted with the presidents message.
The testimony of fourteen people is
incorporated in the report
The president in his message de-
| fends his action in discharging the
negro troops, saying that 1t would be
absolutely impossible to preserve
army discipline by pursuing any otner
course. To justify his action, he sub
mits the report of Major Blockson and
! Assistant Attorney General Purdy,
| giving the results of an exhaustive in
vestigation they made at Brownsville
| upon the presidents order.
The president, with his message
submits maps with diagram and pho
| tographs desired to aid the senate in
! reaching an intelligent understanding
of the situation; also the empty shells
and bullets from Springfield rifles.
The crimes committed at Browns
! Vile upon the night of August 13. ac-
| cording to the investigation ordered
by the president, are as follows:
(a) Murder of Frank Vatus.
OBJ Assault upon Lieutenant al
Police Dominguez
(c) Assault upon Mr. and Mrs
Hale Odin and son.
(d0 Shooting into a house con
tanning women and children
(e) Wounding of Preciado.
MY evidence" says the message
| proves beyond the possibility of 1
doubt that some individuals among
the colored troops l have dismissed
committed these outrages, and tina
others had a knowledge of the deet
and shielded the guilty"
The president described as ridicu
lous the charge that Brownsville citi
zens committed the outrage with
view of throwing the blame on th'
negro troops and causing their dis
missal. That the criminals We're tn
soldiers themselves was shown by TIN
fact that reputable citizens saw th'
uniforms, heard the voices and recog
nized them as the negroes; tina
Springfield rifles were used; that m
cartridges of that kind could be II
the hands of civilians, and that ex
!. dfntnduOnS OF the snellS ana cart
ridges showed that they could no
have been fired from Krag- -Jorgenson
or Winchesters
THE finding of this ammunition il
itself" says the message, "establishe
the guilt of the soldiers, and would b.
conclusive even If the soldiers ha'
not been seen or heard by Browns
Vile residents upon the night in ques
| ton"
The evidence of fourteen reputab'
witnesses is submitted. These sa'
the attack in its various features an,
submitted sworn statements TO tn
presidents investigators. Twenty
five other witnesses saw minor phase
of the affair, making statements aC
cordingly.
From all this the president gather
that fifteen or twenty negro soldier
committed the outrage, and that mum
erous shots were fired into the tow
from the fort
"The shooting" said the presideu
was done at midnight After tn
first volley the soldiers advanced upO
the town, firing into residences. Fe
r of the soldiers. therefore. could hay
? been ignorant of affairs. Indeed, 1t
= probable that but few Of the soldier
l dismissed could have missed seeir
2 the attack.
Il have gone carefully over each I!