Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-03-19
FORAKER'S ANNOUNCEMENT
Attempt to Fasten Brownsville Affair
on One Company.
sT0REHoUsE GUNS UNTOUCHED
Of Lieut.. Lawrason and
sergt. Mccurdy, Made Many Miles
Apart, Agree on This Point.


on military affairs today Senator Foraker
declared that he was positive that he would
satisfy the committee that the report of
the experts showing that guns of Company
B. 25th Infantry. were used in firing the
bullets found at Brownsville was in error.
He made the declaration in such a positive
way as to thoroughly commit himself on
that point.
Strangely enough, testimony taken in the
court-martial proceedings in Texas and be-
fore the Senate committee here has a direct
bearing upon the report of the experts. and
unless that testimony can be impeached the
very exhaustive report Of the Springfield
experts will fall to the ground.
The expert opinion given by Lieut.. Haw-
kins and by Mr. Spooner of the Springfield
armory was to the effect that they had
identified eleven Of the bullets in one case
and eight Of the bullets In another case
with rifles not assigned to men and which
were held In the storehouse Of Company B.
According to the testimony of Lieut.. Law
rason and Sergt. McCurdy it appears to
have been impossible for any Of those rifles
to have been in the hands Of the soldiers
on that night, as their evidence shows
that they were found in exactly the same
condition in which they were shipped from
Fort Nfobrara three weeks previously.
Tried to Have Testimony Admitted.
Senator Foraker today endeavored to in
corporate the testimony of Lieut. Lawra
son before the court-martal In the pro-
ceedings of the Senate committee, but Sem
ator Pettus objected to so incorporating
this testimony without placing in the
record of the committee all of the test-
mony taken in the court-martial proceed
ingS.
In reply to comment by Senator Over
man that he was trying to prove the
negroes innocent, Senator Foraker said:
II don't wonder that you think so, as
nothing has been shown to the contrary.
And you will try to show that they were
guilty
Senator Overman replied that he wanted
to get at the facts, and Senator Foraker
said that was his purpose also.
Lawrason-McCurdy Testimony.
Lieut.. Lawrason and Sergt. McCurdy were
both of Company B. 18th Infantry. Lieut..
Lawrason testified before the court-martial
in Texas that after counting the rifles in
the possession of the men Of his company
on the night of August Is he proceeded to
the store room, and there found the rest of
the rifles of his company. sufficient to
make up the complete number of seventy.
He found them stored away In box just
as they had been received from Fort Mo
brara. He had this box knocked open by
McCurdy, the quartermaster sergeant, and
the rifles tailed in number with those that
were wanted.
Substantially the testimony of Lieut.
Lawrason agrees with that of McCurdy
taken before the Senate committee in this
CITY, McCurdy said that when Lieut. Law
rason ordered him to go to the store house
he did not know what the visit was for
When they got there Lieut.. Lawrason ask
ed for the company rifles that had not been
assigned to men, and Lawrason found them
in boxes under pile of iron cots and other
material that had come with the company
Lieutenant Lawrason and Quartermaster
Sergeant McCurdy gave this testimony be-
fore there was any indication that there
would be a report from the experts identf-
flying the bullets that were found with par
b. When Lieutenant Lawrason arrives here.
as he will IN short time, he will again be
questioned on this part of his testimony
Effect of Contradiction.
If it is proven that the report of the ex-
perts is erroneous in relation to those two
rifles the presumption will be that 1t is
equally unreliable in respect to the other
two rifles with which the experts claim
to have identified bullets. They claimed
that the rifles assigned to Jos. l.. Wilson
and to Thomas Taylor were also identified
with some of the bullets that were found.
In the case of TaylorS rifle they regarded
the Identification as complete, but in the
case of Wilson's rifle they regarded the re-
suit of their investigation as not quite sat-
isfactory.
At this time the report of the experts is
probably the most important single feature
of the testimony before the committee. If
that expert testimony is broken down 1t
will deprive those who believe that the
shooting was done by the colored soldiers
of one of their most important features in
evidence.
No Testimony Taken Today.
The committee was unat,e to take any
testimony today as five witnesses who
have been subpoenaed failed to arrive in the
city, and one witness who is here was
detained at his hotel on account of illness.
The committee discussed informally the
methods of its proceedings. and finally
adjourned until tomorrow morning at IL
o'clock. :
The committee will either take a recess
on next Saturday to await the coming OF
all the officers of the 18th Infantry who
were at Brownsville. or at that time Xix a
date for its prospective visit to Browns
vile.
The Gray Fake Confession.
Chairman Warren had put In the record
another telegram Of denial in relation to
Galveston that negro soldiers shot up the
town. The telegram was one that had
been sent by Recruiting Officer Chamber
lain to Brig. Gen. McCaskey of the De-
partment Of Texas, Chamberlain having
been sent from San Antonio to Galveston
to investigate the story. The telegram
says:
I'd. c. Gray story all fake. Gray has
been employed here continuously for seven
years, and never has been in the army"