Santa Fe new Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1898-1951, 1907-01-14
NEGRO SOLDIERS
NIGHT ASSASS|NS
Says President in
Special Message
to Congress
DETAILS OF FATAL AFFRAY
At Brownsville Given. Bull
lets and Cartridges from
Springfield Rifles.

Washington, d. c., Jan. 14.-Presj.
dent Roosevelt today sent to the Sen
ate special message regarding the
Brownsville incident which gives ad.
ditional evidence collected by Assis-
tant Attorney General Purdy and
Major Blocksom. who were sent TO
TeXas by the President to investigate
the affair. The President submitted
with ms message various exhibits, IN
Guiding maps Of Brownsville. Fort
Brown. Bandoller, three empty shells.
seven ball cartridges picked up in the
| streets few hours after the shoot
ing, three steel jacket bullets and
some scraps Of castings of other bull
lets picked out Of the houses into
which they had been fired.
Negro Soldiers Shielded Criminals.
| The President declared the evi-
dence Is positive that outrages were
committed by some OF the colored
troops that have been dismissed and
that some or all Of the members Of
three companies Of the Twenty-ffth
Infantry have knowledge of the deed
and have shielded the guilty ones.
Calls Soldiers Midnight Assassins.
The negro troops are referred to in
this message as midnight assass-
ins," and he declares that very few
if any of the soldiers dismissed could
have been ignorant of what occurred.
The discharge of the troops, the
President maintains was within his
legal and executive power. Secretary
Taft's report giving the sworn testi
mony Of witnesses is transmitted with |
the message. The testimony of four !
teen people is incorporated in the
report.
President Defends His Action.
The President in his message de.
tends his action in discharging the
negro troops, saying that it would be
absolutely impossible to preserve
army discipline by pursuing any other
course. TO justify his action he sub
mits the report of Major Blocksom
and Assistant Attorney General
Purdy giving the results of an ex-
haustive investigation they made at
Brownsville upon the Presidents
order.
Maps of Scene of Disturbance.
The President, with his message,
submits maps with diagrams and
designed to aid the Sen
ate in reaching an intelligent under,
standing of the situation together
with empty shells and bullets from
Springfield rifles. The crimes com
mitted at Brownsville upon the night
of August 13, according to the inves
tigation ordered by the President are
as follows.
Murder One of Crimes.
(a) The murder of Frank Vatus.
(b) Assault on Lieutenant of Police
(c) Assault upon Mr..
and Mrs. Hale Odin and son. (d)
Shooting into house containing wo
men and children. (e) The wound
ing of Ureciado. f) "My evidence"
says the message, "proves beyond a
possibility of a doubt that some indi-
viduals among the colored troops
have dismissed committed these out
RACES and others had knowledge of
the deed and shielded the guilty from
the law"
President Acquits Brownsville People
The President dismissed as ridicu-
ous the charge that Brownsville citi-
lens committed the outrages with a
view to throwing odium on the negro
1roops and obtaining their dismissal.
That the criminals We're soldiers us
shown by the fact that reputable citi-
sens saw the uniforms, heard the
voices recognizing them as negroes;
-he fact that Springfield rifles We're
used, no weapon of that kind being
IN the hands of civilians, and the ex-
of shells and cartridges
showing they could not have been
fred from Krag Jorgensep rife or
, Winchester.
Ammunition Establishes Guilt.
The finding of this ammunition in
tself," says the message, establish
IS the guilt of the soldiers and would
,e conclusive even If The soldiers ;
rad not been seen or heard by
residents upon the night {
n question" The evidence of four t
cen reputable witnesses is submit t
ed to making sworn statements to /
he Presidents investigators. Twen- |
y-tive other witnesses saw minor :
,hases of the affair making state
nents accordingly.
Town Fired Upon From Fort. {
From all this the President gath.
red that fifteen or twenty negro {
oldiers committed the outrage and
hat some numerous shots were fired
nto the town from the fort. s
Attacked Town at Night.
"The shooting" said the President, s
was done at midnight, After the c
lrst volley, the soldiers advanced up I
N the town, firing into a residence. a
'ew of the soldiers therefore could Ii
ave been ignorant of the affair In {
eed, it Is probable that but few of
he soldiers dismissed, could have s
missed seeing the attack. t
resident Carefully Reviewed Case. a
81 have gone carefully over each b
ssue of law and fact that has been