Richmond planet., 1907-04-06

washington poht. March IS, OIL
Lieut.. George Carson Lawrason,
who was In command OF Company b,
Twenty-hfth Infantry, on the night OF
the ARRAY at Brownsville. Tex, was
on the stand nearly all OF yesterday
in the investigation being conduct
cd by the Senate Committee on Nil
itary Affairs. on practically all ma
terial points his testimony corrobo-
rated that given by the men of his
command and also by men of Com
panies b, c and ID.
He was shown bullets taken from
the walls OF houses in Brownsville,
but could not say whether they had
been fred from the Springfield rifles
with which the Twenty-hfth Infantry
was equipped, or whether they had
been discharged from Krag-Jorgen-
sen cartridges by Krag rides or car
Dfns-.e. IA. further gave testimony In
ferring that the shells picked up in
the streets may have been discharged
on the range at Fort Niobrara and
carried 70 Fort Brown, and also that
he was certain that two of the rides
Unidentified by expert examination of
the shells as having been used TO
fire a certain lot of cartridges had
not been out OF the chests in which
they had been packed at Niobrara-
COULD NOT HAVE CLEANED
GUNS.
The examination of Lieut.. Lawra-
son was begun just before noon,
most of the morning session having
been devoted TO the cross-examina-
tion of Spottswood w. Taliaferro,
the former sergeant major of the
battalion, who was on the stand Tues
day.
Lieut.. Lawrason told of having
been awakened by the firing. and Of
his efforts TO get the company form
ed amid the confusion attending the
call to arms, as we'll as a mum ber Of
other matters on which all of the
members of Company B had been
examined. He said that he had pos
ted his men along the wall in tho
rear OF the barracks at the order OF
Maj. Penrose.
Senator Foraker asked the witness
If the men could have cleaned their
guns while stationed along the wall.
Lawrason thought this would have
been impossible, as they had no e.
quipment except that in the butt OF
their guns and which he thought in
inspection II the guns nad been fred.
According TO his story, on direct
examination, Lawrason was with his
company along the garrison wall for
about two and a half hours when
they were dismissed by the command
or Maj. Penrose. who first gave in
StructionS to LawrasOn to see that
all or the company guns were locked
In the racks and that all OF the guns
not In use were accounted for. Law
rason saw the guns placed in the
racks and the racks locked after he
had carefully verified the count.
Then he called his quartermaster
sergeant, Walker McCurdy, and went
to the stOrenouse. The witness
said that the quartermaster sergeant
did not know the mission at the store
house until their arrival there.
ARMS CHESTS UNDER IRON
BUNKS.
Lawrason called Tor the arms chests
and they were found, as ne had pre-
viously testified at the Penrose court
martial at San Antonio, Tex, under
iron hunks, iron bars for the support
or mosquito netting, and other pro-
perty. He detailed to the committee
mis- examination of the arms chests
which Contained all of the reserve RI
hes as we'll as three company shot
guns. He told the committee that
ne was sure he would have detected
II II any OF the rifles had been miss
ing, and he was equally sure that
the chests had not been tampered
with since they were packed at Fort
Niobrara, before the removal of the
negro troops from that post to Fort
Brown.
Ine report OF experts who made
tne microscopic examination OF shells
picked up In Brownsville identified
one lot OF these shells as having been
zred rom one or the guns known 70
nave ooen In the arms chests.
All OF the guns. he said. were In
1peceed the following morning when