The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1907-01-15
SENDS
BULLETS TO SENATE
Accompanies Message With
Relics of Brownsville
SURE OF TROOPS GUILT
Revokes Former Order Which Barred
Discharged Men From All Civil
Employment Under the
Government.
SURE OF TROOPS GUILT

Roosevelt today sent to the senate spe-
cial message regarding the Brownsville
incident. which gives the additional evil
dence obtained by Assistant Attorney Cen
eral Purdy and Major Blocksom, who
were sent to Texas by the President to
investigate the affair. The President sub
mltted with his message various exhibits,
including maps of Brownsville and Fort
Brown, a bandolier, thirty-three empty
shells, seven ball cartridges picked up in
the streets few hours after the shoot
ing three steel jacketed bullets and some
scraps of the castings of other bullets
picked out of the house into which they
had been fired.
The President declares that the evidence
is positive that the outrages of August
10 were committed by some of the col
ored troops that have been dismissed and
that some or all of the members of the
three companies of the Twenty-fifth in
fantry had knowledge of the deed and
have shielded the guilty ones. The negro
troops are referred to by the President
in his message as midnight assassins,'
and he declares that very few, If any of
the soldiers dismissed without honor"
could have been ignorant of what &C.
cured
That part of the order which bars the
soldiers from all civil employment under
the government is revoked by the Pres
ident. This clause, the President says,
was lacking in validity. The discharged
troops, however will be forever barred
from re-enlisting in the army or navy
and as to this the President says that
there is no doubt of my constitutional
and legal power
Secretary Taft's report, giving the
sworn testimony of witnesses, is transmit
ted with the message. The testimony of
fourteen eye witnesses is given and the
President declares that the evidenc is
conclusive that the weapons used were
Springfield rifles now used by the United
States troops, including the troops who
were in the garrison at Brownsville.
The message is in part as follows:
ITO the Senate:
I'm my message TO the Senate treating
of the dismissal, without honor, of GER
tain named members of the three COM
panies of the Twenty infantry, l
gave the reports of the officers upon
which the dismissal was based. These
reports were made in accordance with
the custom in such cases; for it would, of
course, be impossible to preserve dlscip-
line in the army save by pursuing pre-
cisely the course that in this case was
pursued Inasmuch, however, as in the
Senate question was raised as to the
sufficiency of evidence, | deemed 1t wise
to send Major Blacksom and Assistant At
torney General Purdy to Brownsville to
t... Nt.rpt to- fla..
ground, in reference to the testimony
taken under oath of the various wit
nesses examined in the course of the in
vestgaton.
also submit various exhibits, nclud-
ing maps of Brownsville and Fort Brown,
photographs of various buildings a let
ter from Judge Parks to his wife, together
with a bandoller. thirty-three empty
shells, seven ball cartridges and four clips
picked up in the streets of Brownsville
within a few hours after the shooting:
three steel jacketed bullets and some
scraps of the castings of other bullets
picl<ed out of the house into which they
were fired. A telegram from United States
Commissioner r. p. Crieger at Browns
VILE, with six additional bullets like the
others from Springfield rifles taken from
buildings in Brownsville, with supporting
affidaVits. have since been sent to the Sec
rotary of War.
ut appears from the testimony that on
the night of the 18th of August, 1906, sew
eral crimes were committed by some per-
son or persons in the city of Browns
vile. Among these were the following'
"a The murder of Frank Natus.
"'B The assault with intent to kill the
lieutenant of police. Domnguez. whose
horse was killed under him, and whose
arm was shot so severely that it had to
be amputated.
&C The assault with intent to kill
Mr. and Mrs. Haeodin and their little
boy. who were in the window Of the Mil
Ter hotel.
% The shooting into several private
residences in the city of Brownsville
three of them containing women and chill
dren.
1.-The shooting at and slightly wound
ing of Preciado.'
"These crimes were certainly commit
ted by somebody.
"As to the motive of the committing of
the crime 1t appears that trouble of more
OF less serious nature had occurred be-
tween individual members of the COM
panies and individual citizens of Browns
VILE. eliminating in complaints which re-
suited in the soldiers being confined with
in the limits of the garrison on the even
ing of the day in question
1.-THE evidence. as will be seen, shows
beyond any possibility of honest question
that some individuals among the colored
troops, whom | have dismissed, commit
ted the odtrages mentioned; and that
some or all of the other individuals who
| dismissed had knowledge of the deed,
and shielded from the law those who COM
mitted 1t.
1.-THE only motive suggested as possibly
influencing any one else, was a de-
sire to get rid of the colored troops, so
strong that 1t compelled the citizens of
Brownsville to shoot up their own houses
to kill one of their own number. to as
sault their own police, wounding the lieu
tenxnt who had been an officer for twen-
ty .ears, all with the purpose of discred-
iting the negro troops. The suggestion Is
o,, its face so ludicrously impossible that
IL is difficult to treat IL as honestly
made This theory supposes that the as
sailants succeeded in obtaining the uni
forms of the negro soldiers; that before
starting on their raid they got over the
fence of the fort unchallenged, and with
out discovery by the negro troops opened
fire on the town from within the forts:
that they blackened their faces so that
at least four eve witnesses mistook them
for negroes; that they disguised their
voices so that at least six witnesses who
heard them speak mistooli their voices as
being those of negroes. They Were not
Mexican. for they were heard by various
whites to speak in English.
The weapons they used were Spring
field rifles for the ammunition which
they used was that of the Springfield
rifle and no other, and could not have
been used in any gun in Texas or in any
part of the union. or in Mexico, or in any
other part of the world. save only in the
Springfield rifle now used by the United