Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1907-04-11

they had shot up the town as the
expression goes, and that they had
killed one man, and wounded an.
other. and put in jeopardy the lives
Of many. He believed that this was
done by few, but that others of the
battalion knew and refused to dis
close the identity of the men who
did it. S5 III
AS result, he ordered that the
whole battalion should be dismissed
| without honor, the innocent because
they could not be distinguished from
the guilty. Il. .,S
! Among these men were old SOL
diers who had seen many years of
service. Their services had been hon
est, faithful, gallant and 4 distin-
/ guished One of them had served
continuously for 26 years. In fifteen
months more he could have retired
on pension for life. His services
had been rendered not only on the
frontiers of this country, but in Cuba
and in the Philippines. It has COW
cred both war and peace. In all
that long period not one single black
mark had been registered against
him. He had never been court mar
tailed !; he had never been punished;
he had never been even reprimand-
ed; on every one of his numerous
! discharges it was recorded that his
1 character was excellent and that his
services had been efficient. .a3 Y 'se:s 3.
/ His case is but an illustration, in
a little stronger degree, of many oth-
ers. A number had served more than
| twenty years; many of them almost
| twenty years; all had acquired dis
| tinct and valuable rights, and all
| these rights were swept away from
them in an instant by an executive
order which put them all alike in
common disgrace, and sent them
| adrift among their countrymen,
whom they had done so much to de-
fend, branded as criminals who had
either participated in the shooting.
| or who had become accessories after
the act, by protecting criminals who
| had.
t. These men had been given no
/ opportunity to be heard. 1t seemed
| to me that no man in this country
was so humble that he should not be
given day in court somewhere, or
more time, or some place, to make
his defense, confront his accusers,
and refute their testimony against
him; and especially should soldiers
1 have the benefit of such a hearing.
81 believed that this was their
| right under the constitution I did
not believe that even the president,
as commadner-in-chief of the army,
had power to deprive them Of this
right. -5~f&&& g
"But without regard to that ques-
tion, felt that they should have this
opportunity. Il secured it for them.
/ 1t was a long, hard contest in the
senate which resulted in the adop
ton of a resolution ordering an in
yestigation. s-,5 =,
III spoke repeatedly in favor of the
proposition, but the record will be
searched in vain to find one word of
4 disrespect toward anybody from the
president down to the humblest man
figuring in any way in connection
with the matter. s5
4 1t was with me simply great.
broad question of constitutional pow
/ err on the one hand and constitutional
right on the other 1t has been said
that it was an effort to secure the
1 negro vote. 1t tries the patience to
answer such charges-but that claim
/ might be disposed of. one would
think, by the simple statement that
for more than thirty years / have
been honored with that vote almost
to a man, and simply because, as in
this case. 1 have always upheld their.
/ rights under the constitution and the
laws. @
The investigation has been In
progress, II is not vet completed. T
would prefer not to speak of the res
suits until they have been fully de-
termined; but challenged as + am
do not hesitate TO say shat the testi-
meny So far taken jastifies the In
vestigation cannot here ana now
i f{lnglf5nsYfa or sssT,. &