Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1907-03-22
MICROSCOPE is
AGAINST NEGROES.
Secretary Taft Islands Pat" After Min
ute Search Into Evidence
of Case.

WASHINGTON, d. c., March 1S-
Secretary Taft in his report to the Sen
ate Brownsville investigation committee,
Stands pat" in charges under which
the negro troopers We're ousted.
The report concerns the microscopic
examination made by the war depart
ment among evidence collected to sub
stantiate the case of the President
against the colored troopers. The re-
port says in part:
THAT the marks on eleven of the
shells picked up at Brownsville CORE
spond exactly with the marks ON the
cartridges discharged by them from one
of the guns of B company.
Correspond Exactly.
THAT the marks on eleven of the
shells correspond exactly with the marks
on the cartridges discharged by them
from another of E company's guns.
THAT the marks on eight more OF the
shells correspond exactly with the marks
on the cartridges discharged by them
from a third gun of Co. b:
THAT the marks of the remaining
three of the shells correspond with the
marks on the cartridges discharged by
them from a fourth gun of 3 company
but that in this fourth case, due prob
ably to the fact that the cartridge nad
failed to discharge in another rite, they
bore double marks and so maze me
Identification with the fourth rifle shell
less certain and complete than IN ING
first three cases. 49,
Beyond Reasonable Doubt.
Lieut.. Hawkins and Inspector Spoon
er state that their examinations prove
beyond reasonable doubt that the three
groups of shells-eleyen, eleven and eight
were discharged from three specifically
1 "a IN y
probability that the fourth gun shell
was discharged from another number
gun of the same company.
Secretary Taft's letter stated further
that from an official list of Cos b, & and
d and the number of guns assigned to
them on August Is, it appears that two
of the guns one from which eight OF
these shells were discharged, and one
from which eleven of the shells were
discharged. were guns in the store
house of Co. B, which had not been IS
sued to enlisted men, but were IN charge
of the quartermaster sergeant. Inc
third gun from which eleven of the shells
as Taylor a private of Co. B, and the
fourth gun from which three shells were
discharged was a gun>assigned to Joseph
L. Wilson; private of Co. &.
Hard to Get Actual Perpetrators.
Concerning this evidence the secretary
saws: "Of course the very reasonable
hypothesis that the men who did the
shooting used such guns as they could
get on August 10, and would not neces-
sarily have used the guns officially as
signed them makes this evidence Welghty
in showing rather that some members Oh
the battalion did it than the individuals
above mentioned are guilty.
The final report of Lieut.. Hawkins
shows that the cartridge shells discharged
in the guns of the Twenty sixth infantry
which preceded the negro soldiers at
Brownsville had no marks which lden-
titled them with the shells under eXaml-
nation. The lieutenant also examined
the question as to the marks of the
grooves and lands which would be made
in the bullets discharged from the guns
of the Twenty-ffth infantry, and he
has samples of two bullets discharged
into sawdust or water from each gun
of the three companies of the Twenty
fifth infantry Bullets discharged by
Lieut. Hawkins from all of the rifles of
the Twenty fifth infantry, according to
the report had the impression Of the
lands of the rifing quite as plainly
marked as the bullets taken from the
Brownsville houses.
Can Clean Guns Quick.
Regarding this, Secretary Taft's letter
says:
Lieut. Hawkins had advised me that
in his judgment a reasonable time for
cleaning a gun is from three to five
minutes as shown by the experience at
the Springfield arsenal and / have d.
rected the foreman of the gun cleaning
squad at the arsenal to be present at the
disposition of the committee"
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