The Washington herald., 1907-01-15

the Senate the following message on the
Brownsville affray its contents being
based on the additional testimony secured
by Judge Purdy. the Assistant 10 the At
torney General:
To the Senate:
IN my message to the Senate treating
Of the dismissal. without honor, of GER
tain named members of the three com
panies OF the Twenty-hfth Infantry, 1
gave the reports Of the officers upon
which the dismissal was based. These re-
ports were made in accordance with the
custom IN such cases; for il would, OF
course, be impossible to preserve discI-
pine in the army save by pursuing pre-
ciseIy the course that in this case was
pursued Inasmuch, however. as in the
Senate question was raised as 10 the suf-
fc!ency OF the evidence 1 deemed it wise
% send Maj. Blocksom an assistant TO
Attorney General Purdy to Brownsville
to make a thorough investigation on the
ground IN reference to the matter I
herewith transmit Secretary Taft's re-
port, and the testimony taken under oath
Of the various witnesses examined in the
course of the investigation. I also submit
various exhibits, including maps of
Brownsville and Fort Brown, photographs
Of various buildings. a letter from Judge
Parks to his wife, together with a bando-
leer, thirty-three empty shells, seven ball
cartridges, and four clips picked up in
the streets Of Brownsville within few
hours after the shooting; three steel
jacketed bullets. and some scraps of the
castings OF other bullets picked out of
the houses into which they had been fired
A telegram from United States Commis-
sioner r. B. Creager. at Brownsville. an
nounees that six additional bullets-like
the others. from Springfield rifes-takeR
from buildings in Brownsville. with sup
porting afTidavits. have since been sent to
the Secretary Of War.
Committed by Somebody"
It appears from the testimony that on
the night Of the 18th Of August, 1906. sew
eraI crimes were committed by some per-
son or persons in the city of Browns
Vile Among these were the following:
(a) The murder of Frank Natus.
tb) The assault with intent to kill the
lieutenant of police, Dominguez, whose
horse was killed under him. and whose
arm was shot so severely that it had to
be amputated-
(c) The assault with intent TO kill Mr.
and Mrs. Hale Odin. and their little boy
who were in the window of the Miller
Hotel
(d) The shooting into several private
residences in the City of Brownsville
three of them containing women and chill
dren.
(e) The shooting at and slightly wound
Ing OF Preciado.
These crimes were certainly committed
by somebody.
As to the motive for the commission Of
the crimes. il appears that trouble Of
more or less serious kind had occurred be-
tween Individual members OF the com
panics and Individual citizens Of Browns
vile. eliminating in complaints which
resulted in the soldiers being confined
within the limits of the garrison on the
evening OF the day in question.
The evidence. as will be seen. shows
beyond possibility of honest question that
some individuals among the colored
troops whom I have dismissed commit
ted the outrases mentioned, and that
some or all of the other individuals whom
I dismissed had knowledge Of the deed
and shielded from the law those who COM
mtted it,
The only motive suggested as possibly
influencing any one else was desire 20
get rid OF the COlOTed troops, SO strong
that il impeHed the citizens Of Browns
vile 20 shoot up their own houses 10
kin one of their own number, TO as
sault their own police, wounding the
lieutenant, who had been an officer for
twenty years-all with the purpose OF dis
cTedItlng the negro troops. The sugges-
fe IS 1a4HfrrrRrre1v- Il l.
bic that it is difficult TO treat It as hon
estly made. This theory supposcs that
the assailants succeeded in obtaining the
uniform of the negro soldiers; that be-
fore starting on their raid they got over
the fence OF the fort unchallenged. and
without discovery by the negro troops
opened fire on the town from within the
fort. that they BACKED their faces 50
that at least fourteen eyewitnesses mis-
took them for negroes; that they dis
EuiseG their voices so that at least six
witnesses who heard them speak mistoOk
their voices as being those Of negroes.
They were not MeXicans. for they were
heard by various witnesses to speak IN
English
New Springfield Rifles Used.
The weapons they used were Springfield
rifles. for the ammunition which they
no other. and could not have been used
in any gun in Texas or any part Of the
Union or in Mexico. or in any other part
Of the Union or in Mexico. or in any
Other part of the world, save only in the
Springfield now used by the United
States troops, including the negro troops
in the garrison at Brownsville. and by
no other persons save these trOops-a
weapon which had only been in use BY
the United States troops for some four
OF I'VE months prior 10 the shooting in
question. and which is pot in the posses
sion of private citizens
The cartridges used viii go into one
other rife used in the United States. when
specially chambeTed-the Winchester OF
the 80 model-but il win rarely if ever
go OFF when IN IL. and, moreover, the
bullets picked out Of the buildings show
the markings of the four bo-called lands"
which come from being fired through the
Springfield, but not through the Winches-
ter. the latter showing six The bullets
which I herewith submit which weTes
found in the houses. could not therefore
have been fred from d Winchester or any
other sporting rifle. although the car
tridges might have been put into a Win
chester model Of 80. The bullets might
have been fired from a Krag. but the
cartridges would not have gone into a
Krag. Taking the shells and the bullets
together. the proof IS conclusive that the
new. Springfield rifle was the weapon used
by TIE midnight assassias. and could not
by any possibility have been any other
rife OF any kind in the world. This. OF
itself. establishes the fact that the as
saRsnts were United States soldiers and