The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1907-01-08

Ones-ResOiutiOn Went Over Until
Monday.
Washington, January Soon after
| the senate met today Senator FOraker'S
| resolution providing for an inquiry by
| the senate into the discharge of the
negro troops of the 18th infantry on &C
count CT the Brownsville, Texas, mat
ter was laid before the nj and Sen
ator Culberson made an address on he
subject. He said that he would have
kept quiet but for the fact that great
injustice had been lone the people OF
Brownsville. senator Culberson said
that the conduct of the negro soldiers
had been very irritating to the Browns
Vile people and especially SO to the
women. He related that on August
4 last, the day before the shooting up
Of the town. a criminal assault had
been committed by one of the soldiers
| on the wife Of a reputable citizen and
| said that no arrests had been made
| for the crime. Mr.. Culberson defended
Captain Mcdonald of the Texas rang
| ers to whom Mr. Foraker had referred
because of Major BlOcksOm's reference
| to him as a man who was so brave
| that he would not hesitate to charge
hell with a bucket of water"
Mr.. Cudberson also said that he
| knew Major BlOcksom to be a gentle
man.
In defending President Roosevelt for
his dismissal Of the troops, Mr.. Culber-
son said the fact that the troops
were negroes had had nothing to do
wit htheir discharge.
The confusion as to the legal Ques-
tons involved a he said, responsible
for the statement that the president
had no authority to make the discharge
The presidents constitutional authority
and the authority given him by the ar
ticles OF war clearly covered the case
and made his action legal, he declared.
| He contended that discharges for GRIM
inal offenses are covered in the articles
| of war as are also discharges made to
effect punishment.
Mr.. CulbersOn said that there was d
| distinction between a discharge with
OUT uOlOi, anu IL ulolOLOI dDlS lis
charge" In the former case the presi-
| dent could exercise his discretion as he
had done in this instance, while a
dishonorable discharge could only be
| made as the result of a cOurt-martial.
He instanced several cases TO sus-
tain his position.
To establish the motive actuatlng the
negro soldiers in creating the alleged
| disturbances, Mr.. CulbersOn read reso-
| buttons recently adopted by negro citl-
| zens of Boston, which admitted that
the soldiers "shot up the town" and
| said they were determined to do for
themselves what the uniform of their
country would not dO-prOteCt them
from insults and punish at the same
time the authors of their misery"
Disclaiming any p~artisanship for the
president, Mr. Culberson created u
wave of merriment by saying:
II have nothing to do with the presi-
| dent in this matter. [ care nothing
| about him. My personal relations with
| him are about as cordial as those OF the
| senator from Ohio CMr. Foraker)
In all fairness. Mr.. Culberson said.
the country ought to know that the
report made to the president was re-
liable.
After reading much of the testimony
taken before the Brownsville grand
| jury, Mr. Culberson drew the conclu-
| sion hat the fact that no indictment
was returned was not an evidence CT
the weakness of the case. but rather
of the fairness of the people Of Browns
| vile, who did O wish to do injustice
to the innocent. The evidence, he
~contended. proved beyond doubt that
the shooting was done by the negro
soldiers. but failed to identify the
guilty ones.
He concluded his speech by a brief
reference TO the negro question in gen.
eral saying it had existed from the
early history of the county down TO
| the present time, and still continued 10
be the most important and the most
dangerous question which confronts
the American people. He referred TO
the growth of this question leading 10
the civil war wherein nearly a million
| white men lost their lives. Today, he
said, the condition of the black race
| with it's ages of clavery. its ignorance
| and poverty. excited the deepest sym
| pathy of the great body of the white
people of the south.
But" he continued, "in spite OF the
| past with its conflicts and sacrifices.
| sorrows and destruction of life and
| property this problem is still the great
/ est with which we have to deal. 1t in
| wolves labor, education, suffrage, social
order, civil liberty, self-government
and the integrity OF the white race