Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-06-06
NOT OVER THREE MINUTES
Contradiction Of Estimates Of Colored
Soldiers.
HOW THE TESTS WERE MADE
Of the Shooting Up Of
Brownsville Last August Re-
sumed at the Capitol.

| States army, was today before the Senate
committee on military affairs at the Capt.
| toll and gave testimony concerning expert
| ments In cleaning Of rifles that have re-
| Gently been made under his direction in
| order to ascertain the length Of time neces-
| sary to clean a gun within q few hours
after 1t has been fred. His testimony was
to the effect that three minutes was the
limit OF time necessary for such cleaning
| In order to destroy the effect Of the powder
and that in one case gun had been
| cleaned in one minute SO that 1t was diff
cult to tell 1t had been fired by looking
through 1t. although he thought that in
that case II white rag were run through
the gun it would show stains.
| The testimony Of the colored soldiers OF
| the 18th Infantry in connection with the
! Investigation into the shooting up of
Brownsville was almost universally to the
erect that the cleaning Of a gun after 1t
| had been fired several times would require
from twenty to forty minutes.
How the Tests Were Made.
Gen. Crozier explained in detail to the
committee just how he had proceeded with
the experiments in gun cleaning to ascer-
tain the necessary length OF time. He said
he first had four rifles of the Springfield
| model fired five times at Fort Myer, and
ocHl 10 MS once, which they
reached In few hours, from the time they
were fired. These rifles were cleaned in diff
ferent ways. One was cleaned by using a
rag and brass cleaning rod and saIsoda
solution; one by using rag with water
alone. and one by using a dry rag. The
fourth was not cleaned until the next day.
| In each case the cleaning was done in less
| than three minutes, except In the case
OF the rifle left over until the next day. The
latter rife required in its cleaning from
fifteen minutes to half an hour.
A second experiment was made with rifles
| fired five times at Fort Myer and brought
| to Gen. Crozier's Office. In the case Of
those rifles, they were cleaned merely by
| using the thong which is provided with
| each rife. The thong brush was used, and
| then a rag was pulled through by the
| thong instead of being forced through by
the cleaning rod. as done in the first ex-
| pertinent.
The brush was pulled through easily. but
there was some trouble in pulling the rag
through, as 1t was apt to stick, and in one
case 1t broke one of the thongs. In the
| case Of the rifles cleaned by pulling the
| rag through on the thong without stick
| ing, the time consumed was something
| like three minutes. When the thong broke
| it required double that length Of time
third experiment was made in which
| two rifles were fired at Fort Myer FIVE
rounds each and were taken to Gen. Gro
of these rifles cleaned in the dark by
drawing brush through the barrel five
times. That occupied Just one minute. He
brought that rife with him to the COM
mittee room, together with the other rife
that had not been cleaned. He said that
looking through the rifle it is difficult to
see whether 1t has been fired at an.
Gen. Crozier said these guns had been
| cleaned by man in his Office whom he
| did not regard expert in cleaning
| guns. and, in fact, did not think that he
| average soldier. He said that in firing a
| gun the smoke does not get back in the
| chamber, and 1t does not harden in the bar
| rel so as to require much work in cleaning
| 1t under twelve or fifteen hours. In the
| case of the guns cleaned by him. the cham
| bers were not cleaned. as they did not re-
the effect of the firing. He said the car
fridge case formed a perfect gas check, and
in firing nothing goes back of the maya
zine.
identifying Rifles From Shells.
Gen. Crozier also read a letter from Ora
w. knight, analytical chemist, who had
suggested to the President that a micro
scopic examination of the shells found at
Brownsville would show by the mark of
the firing pin from what guns they were
shot. 1t was this letter that resulted in
the examination at the Springfield armory
of all the guns of the battalion of the 18th
Infantry and of the shells found in Browns
willie, all of which were traced to particular
guns by that method.
Gen. Crozier also testified to the results
Of a careful investigation that has been
made to ascertain from what classes Of
guns the bullets found in Brownsville might
have been fired and from what guns the
shells found in the streets Of Browns
vile might have been fired. The result of
this testimony was to the effect that If the
bullets found in the houses Of Brownsville
had come from the shells found on the
streets of Brownsville, they could not have
been fired from any guns except the Spring
field rife, which was in the hands of the
oNIn on11 t,a hall
were of kind that might have come from
a Krag. Springfield a Krag carbine.
as they are of the same size and have
the same number of lands on them. But
If these bullets were from the shells found
in the streets, the size of the shells was
too great to permit them to have been
fired in Krag. The shells and bullets to-
gether could have been used only in
Springfield new model.
Senator Foraker questioned Gen. Crozler
at great length concerning his testimony.
Tests to Be Made at the Capitol
Senator Foraker suggested that the dem
onstration of the time it takes to clean
a rifle be made before the committee at
the Capitol.
This suggestion will be carried out and
Gen. Crozier will have guns fired at Fort
Myer and brought to the committee room,
where they can be cleaned in the presence
of the committee.
zen. oTUZleT Sdlu tlldl SOME OIL the guns
that he had made his demonstration with
had been cleaned by Mr.. Palmer, an en-
ploye of the ordnance office, and others had
been cleaned by Capt. Rice.
While cross-eXamining Gen. CroZier con-
corning the work of the expert of the
Springfield armory who by microscopical
examination determined what guns had
fired shells at Brownsville, Senator Foraker
stated that he had no doubt of the good
faith of that investigation.
Foraker Could Visit Brownsville.
Senator Foraker was given assurance yes
terday afternoon that it would be safe for
him to visit Brownsville, Tex, regardless
of his efforts to prove that negro soldiers
were not guilty of shooting up the town.
At the close of the testimony of Louis
Cowan of Brownsville. who was a witness
before the Senate committee on military
affairs. Cowan said he had been quoted in
special dispatches from ST. Louis as saying
that If Senator Foraker went to Browns
Vile he would he "tarred and feathered
Cowan denied that he had made any such
remark.
Then you think 1t would be perfectly
safe for me to go there?" asked Senator
Foraker
"Oh, yes, sir" said Cowan.
Il greatly appreciate this assurance"
said Mr.. Foraker. The senator then refer
red to another special dispatch saying that