The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1907-01-15

| address, Binghamton, n. Y, on every
bottle.
even had not a single eye witness
seen them, or other witnesses heard
them The testimony of the whites on
the position of the bullet holes show
that fifteen or twenty of the negro
troops gathered inside the fort and
that the first shots fired into the town
were fired from within the fort; some
of them at least from the upper gal
laries of the barracks.
Advanced Upon Town.
The testimony further Shows that
the troops then came out over the
! walls, some of them perhaps going
through the gate, and advanced a dis
lance of three hundred yards, or
Whereabouts into the town During
this advance, they shot into two
hotels, and some nine or ten other
houses. Three of the private houses
into which they fired contained
women and children. They deliberate
ly killed Frank Natus, the bartender,
shooting him down from a distance of
about Is yards They shot at a man
and woman, Mr. and Mrs. Odin and
their little boy as they stood in the
window of the Miller hotel, the bull
let going less than two inches from
the head of the woman. They shot
down the lieutenant OF police, who
was on horse back, killing his horse
and wounding him, so that his arm
bad to he amputated. They attempted
to kill the two policemen who were
his companions, shooting one through
the hat They shot at least bullets
into the Cowen house putting out a
ngnted lamp on dining table Mrs.
Cowen and her five children were in
the house; they at once threw them
selves prone on the floor and were not
hit. They fired into the Starck house,
the bullets going through the mosquito
bar of bedroom from Is to 20 inches
above where little children were
sleeping. There was a light in the
place near midnight. The panic
caused by the utterly unexpected at
tack was great. The darkness of
course, increased the confusion. There
is a conflict of testimony on some of
the minor points, but on every essen
tial point is established belond posi-
bility of honest question. The care
full examination of Mr.. Purdy, assist
ant to the attorney general resulted
in merely Strengthening the reports
already made by the regular army
officers. The shooting, it appears oc-
cupied about 10 minutes, although it
may have been some minutes more OF
less. 1t is out of the question that
the fifteen or twenty men engaged in
the assault could have gathered be-
hind the wall of the fort, begun firing
some of them on the porches of the
barracks, gone out into the town fired.
in the neighborhood of 200 shots In
the town and then returned-the total
time occupied from the time of the
first shot to the time of their return
5eing somewhere in the neighborhood
of ten minutes-withOut many of their
comrades knowing what they had
done Indeed the fuller details as es-
tablished by the additional evidence
taken since last communicated with
the senate, make it likely that there
were a few if any OF the soldiers dis
missed who could have been ignorant
of what occurred. It is well nigh i'm
possible that any of the non-commis-
stoned officers, who were at the bar
racks should not have known what oc-
Cured.
The additional evidence thus taken
renders it in my opinion impossible
to question the conclusions upon
which my order was based. I have
gone most carefully over every issue
of law and fact that has been raised
| am now informed that the effect of
my order. dismissing the men without
honor, was not to bar them from all
civil employment under the govern
ment and therefore that the part of
the order which consisted of a declara-
ton to this effect was lacking in valid
ity. and have directed that such Dor
ton be revoked AS to the rest of the
order dismissing the individuals In
question without honor and declaring
the effect of such discharge under the
law and regulations to be a bar to
their future re-enhstment either in the
army or the navy there is no doubt of
NV constitutional or legal power. The
order was whiting my discretion. IN
Ger the constitution and the laws and
cannot be reviewed or reversed save
bv another executive order The facts
did not merely warrant the action |
took-they rendered such action I'M
perstfve unless / was to prove false TO
my sworn duty
II any one OF the men discharged here
tcfore shows TO nv satisfaction thai
he is clear of guilt CT Of sheltering the
guilty, l will take what action is war
ranted: but the circumstances I have
above detailed most certainly put
upon any such man the burden Of thus
clearing himself
THEODORE ROOSEVELT.
The White House. January IA 1907