Daily press. [volume] (Newport News, Va.) 1896-current, 1907-01-10
President Roosevelt Has Additional
Evidence and VIII Send
Message 10 Senate.
NAY STOP INQUIRY COMMITTEE
Assistant Attorney General Purdy
During His investigation at Browns.
vile, Tex, Has unearthed Facts
Which Prove Beyond Doubt That
the Negroes Shot Up the Town.

WASHINGTON, D. c.. Jan. o.
President Roosevelt will within few
days send another message to Con.
sress, giving further reasons for his
order discharging the battalion of ne.
gro troops concerned In the Browns.
vile affray. This message will prob.
ably reach Congress next Monday. 1t
VIII be very plain and pointed.
If the Senate has by that time pass.
ed n resolution for an investigation
by the Committee on Military Affairs
1t VIII in all probability discover when
the message Is received that. the ne.
cessity for an inquiry to ascertain -
FACTS has ceased to exist. This will
be because the President will send
with his message the affidavits cbl
lected by Assistant Attorney General
Purdy and others, which. it is bcliey
ed VIII additionally justify his course
in discharging the negroes.
The defence made by the Constitu.
tional Association, which has taken
up the fight for the dismissed troops
was mat the negroes were the vic.
TINS of a conspiracy; that there was
no evidence that they had done the
shooting at all: that, OH the other
hand. there was ground for the be-
liet that the ARRAY was conducted by
white men blackened and wearing
cast'off uniforms OF the Twenty-fifth;
that clips previously holding army
cartridges had been picked up on the
rifle range. and scattered about the
town, to lead TO the impression that
Its rifles had been used; that there
could be no warrant for dismissins
the troops until 1t was established
that some of the battalion had fired
the shots.
New Points Discovered.
This question the President will
meet in the investigation which has
been conducted by Assistant ATTORNEY
General Purdy. These facts have
| thus far been shown by the affida.
Wits that have been received
That the first shots on the town
were fired from the barracks. and
that then party of negro troops
left the barracks and entered the town
firing.
That these were negro troops and
not whitemen with blackened faces
because citizens were close to them.
heard their talk, and noticed their
faces.
That In one instance one of those
firing was recognized as n negro SOL
der who had consulted with the wit
ness as to hiring room.
That bullets fired on the night of
August IS have been recovered, and
these are missiles such as can only
be used in the army rifle used by the
Twenty-fifth Infantry, the size of the
bullet, the marks of the rifling and
other points showing that only from
the arms of the battalion could these
shots have come.
Mr.. Purdy has been very busily EN-.
ployed in taking evidence in and
around Brownsville, and 1t is said
that when he completes his task i'll
will be found that he has left very
little for the Senate committee to do
The administration regards the case
made out by the Inspector General
as very complete, and while it was
ready before to go to the public on
1t, 1t supplies this additional testi.
mony because of the criticism of Sen.
ators who declared that the evidence
was not in such shape as would have
been acceptable in a court of law.