Perth Amboy evening news., 1907-01-15

Of their having been mistaken. Two
other witnesses, Joseph Bodin and De
nero Padron, Jaw some Of the assail
ants and testified that they were sol
diers, the only soldiers in the neigh.
borhood being the colored troops. -Four
other witnessesznnamely, S. C. Moore
DIR. Thorn, Charles IS. Canada and
Charles A. Hainnond-testified to hear.
ing the shooting and hearing the voices
of the men who were doing it and that
these voices were those of negroes, blu;
did not actually see the men who were
doing the Shooting. About twenty-five
other witnesses gave testimony cor.
roboratiug to a greater or less degree
the testimony OF those who thus saw
the shooters or heard them. The testi-
mony of these eye and ear witnesses
would establish beyond all possibility
of contradiction the fact that the shoot.
ing was committed by ten Or fifteen or
more of the negro. troops from the gar
rison, and this testimony of theirs
would be amply sufficient in itself II
not a cartridge or a bullet had been
found, exactly as the bullets and car
tridges that we've; found would have
established the guilt of the troops even
had not a single eyewitness seen them
or other witness heard them.
''The testimony Of the witnesses and
the position of the bullet holes show
that fifteen or twenty of the negro
troops gathered--inside the fort and
that the first shots fired into the town
were fired from within the fort, some
of them AT leastffrom the upper gal
lerles of the barracks.
s.The testimony further shows that
the troops then camel out over the
walls, some of them perhaps going
through the gate and advanced a dis
lance of 300 yards or Whereabouts into
the town. During their advance they
shot into two hotels and some nine OF
ten other houses. Three of the private
houses into which they fired contained
women and children. They deliberate
ly killed Frank Natus, a bartender,
shooting him down from a distance of
about fifteen yards. They shot at. a
man and woman, Mr.. and Mrs. Odin,
and their little boy as they stood in the
window of the Miller hotel, the bullet
going less than two inches from the
head of the woman. They shot down
the lieutenant of police, who was on
horseback. killing his horse and wound
ing him so that his arm had to be am
putated. They attempted to kill the
two policemen who were his compan-
ions, shooting one through the hat.
They shot at least eight bullets into
the Cowen house. putting ou a lighted
lamp on the dining table. Mrs.
Cowen and her five children were in
the house. They at once threw them
selves prone on the floor and were not
hit. They fired into the Starck house,
the bullets going through the mosquito
bar of a bed from eighteen to twenty
inches above where little children were
sleeping. There was a light in the chill
dren's room.
1.-THE additional evidence thus taken
renders it in my opinion impossible to
question the conclusions upon which
my order was based. l have gone most
carefully over every Issue of law and
fact that has been raised. l am now
satisfied that the effect of my order
dismissing these men without honor
was not to bar them from all civil en-
ployment under the government and
therefore that the part of the order
which consisted of, a declaration to this
effect was lacking in validity, and !
have directed that such portion be re-
voked. AS to the rest Of the order.
dismissing the individuals in question
without honor and declaring the effect
of such discharge under the law and
regulations to be a. bar to their future
re-enlistment either in the army or the
navy, there is no doubt Of my consti-
tutional and legal power. The order
was within my discretion under the
constitution and the. laws and cannot
be reviewed or reversed save by an
other executive order. The facts did
not merely warrant the action I took
they rendered such action imperative
unless l was to prove false to my
sworn duty. asi 95s
'If any one of the men discharged
hereafter shows to my satisfaction that
he is clear of guilt OF of shielding the
guilty l will take what action is war
ranted, but the circumstances | have
above detailed most certainly put upon
any such man the burden of thus clear
ing himself"