The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1907-08-19
WHO SHOT Up
BROWNSVILLE?
The Twenty-Fifth Infantry, Now
Here, May Be Innocent
of Riot.

The honor of the Twenty-ffth Infan
try, L. S. A, colored, may yet b
INDICATED. This regiment is now il
| Honolulu en- route to Manila aboard
the U. S. A. transport Crook. and thu
following from the Army and Nav!
Register of August is timely:
Direct and positive evidence thai
Brownsville, Tex, was not shot up By
three companies of the colored Twenty
fifth Infantry is expected from several
new witnesses who. it is asserted, viii
appear before the Senate Committee on
Military Affairs when, in November. ii
resumes its investigation OF the riot
of August Is, 1906. These witnesses, il
is declared, will testify that the town
Of Brownsville was shot up by an
organized band of desperate men who
have since that time been terrorizing
those residents of the town who are
willing to tell the whole story.
This sensational evidence, it is said,
has been obtained after two parties OF
detectives have been driven out of
Brownsville.
an. B. Marshall of Washington, an
attorney for the Constitution League,
and Gilchrist Stewart of New York, a
member of the same organization, are
credited with having sought out the
evidence by which it is expected to
prove the contentious of Senator For
aker that the coIored soldiers are not
guilty. The witnesses of Messrs. Mar
shall and Stewart will go further, it is
asserted, and name the men said to be
guilty. Mr.. Marshall is a graduate OF
Harvard. He may be one of the prin-
cipal witnesses before the Senate COM
mittee, as he viii be able to testify
from personal experience as to the des-
perate extremes to which the alleged
conspirators in Brownsville are willing
to go in an effort to suppress the evil
dence in the case.
According to the allegations made
by the Constitution League, the pur-
pose of melting the riot was to force
the government to remove the colored
soldiers from Brownsville. The resi-
dents there had protested to the Texas
Senators and also the President against
the sending of the colcred soldiers to
Brownsville. Failing in this effort to
change the purpose of the government.
at several secret meetings plans were
carefully arranged by which the SOL
diers could be driven away from the
post.
Some of the more desperate favor
ed a night attack upon the barracks,
but the counsel of the more cautious
was for a sham riot. It was thought
by this that the colored troops could
be drawn out of the barracks by the
shooting in the town in such manner
as to create an impression that the
soldiers were making an attack upon
and that the conspirators
would thus be able to appear in the
role of defenders of their homes.
"A dark night was selected, accord
ing to the allegation made, and dis
guised as colored soldiers a crowd Of
men started out to terror
Ize the town and draw an attack upon
themselves from the barracks. It was
not planned by the leaders to kill any
body in Brownsville. The shooting of
Frank Natus, the bartender, according |
to the view of the Constitution League |
who investigated il, |
was the result of mistake. The bar
tender, it is said, was fully advised of |
he plans of the conspirators. and /
when the crowd rushed up past his sa-
Don he ran to the door with the in
ention of taking part in the fun He
discharged his revolver in the air, but |
he rioters thought he was resisting
md shot him. In the darkness they
we're not able to recognize him.
1.-The shooting of Lieutenant Domin-
yuez is laid at the door of some of
hat officers political enemies.
Mr.. Marshall today refused to dis
lose the results of his investigation.
lie admitted that he had been working
n the case for some time, and that he
lad made a trip to Brownsville, but
insisted it would be discourteous to the
enate committee to make any state
nent as to what it is expected to prove
" the witnesses"
|