The Washington herald., 1907-02-07
One Witness Says Raid Was Not Dis
cussed, Others Declare IL Was-TsH
OF GiIcbrIst Stewards Aetivity-E.-
Sergeant EndeavOred Intellectually
10 Get Positive Information.

three witnesses examined, one said the
subject Of the Brownsville raid had not
been discussed by the soldiers. while two |
others declared that it had been. From
none OF the witnesses did the committee
learn the names Of any Of the men who /
participated in the affair. During the
afternoon +. Hopkinson Smith and
Thomas Nelson Page were interested
spectators.
feature Of the session was the admis-
sion by one Of the witnesses. d dis
charged soldier. that a studied effort had
been made by Gilchrist Stewart and an
other member of the Constitution League
to have the soldiers swear 20 statements
intended to show that the citizens Of
Brownsville and not the soldiers had shot
up the town.
This admission was made by Charles
Dade, the cock OF Company ID. under
cross examination by Senator Foster The
witness would not answer the Senator's
question as TO whether or not there had
not been an agreement among the mem
bers OF the company 10 say that the citi-
zens and not the soldiers did the shooting
He did say however. that the statement
which was made 20 the representatives
Of the Constitution league and sworn to
10y the men was Tor that purpose.
Several Humorous Incidents.
There were several humorous incidents
in connection with the investigation. but
the one which amused the Senators most
was Senator Warmers break in asking a
witness how many shots he heard fred
f.E4f#
!ng. Sergt. Reeves also caused a laugh
by declaring that the only gun not found
.in proper condition a. inspection on the
morning after the raid was the one used
by Dade. the company's cook. That he
said, was filed with rust and cobwebs.
because the cook never had occasion to
use the weapon and consequently never
cleaned IT,
1t has been made evident in the hear
ing thus far that Senator Foraker IS
seeking 70 show that it was possible for
the citizens 20 have shot uD" the town
themselves for the purpose Of getting rid
.of the colored soldiers. The first witness
of the day was ex-Sergt Jacob Frazier.
Of Company d. He stated emphaticalIy
that after having formed two other
come TO the conclusion that the citizens
did the shooting. because the soldiers
We're spending their money iu saloon
conducted by "a discharged soldier, and
were not spending ID I'm the white sd
looms Hence they wanted 10 have the
colored men withdrawn and white soldiers
stationed az the fort. Frazier is very
black negro. six feet three and onc-half
inches tall and with a military bearing
He told the committee that be had been
in the service more than fourteen years,
and to prove his good record it was
brought out that DE had served in the
Cuban and Philippine campaigns. He
was at the battle OF Fl Caney and iu
the Philippines he was placed in com
mand of the town of Egier. "a place Of
l.J00 inhabitants. He had also captured
notorious desperate. who had beer
pillaging the country. who was gUbse-
quently hanged.
Tries TO TmpIicate whites.
Frazier said he was not engaged in the
raid. and did not believe any Of his com
pauy were implicated Then Senator For
aker began asking him line of ques-
tious. tending TO show that the citizens
might have been the ones who did the
shooting. In answer, Frazier declared
that when his company arrived at
Brownsville they found scattered about
the barracks empty shells and clips which
had been left there by members of the
Twenty Regiment (white). which
had preceded them. He said that with
cOlored soldiers 1t was always necessary
TO account TO the quartermaster for cart
ridge shells and clips These. ne said.
We're picked up by the people Of Browns
ville who had access to the grounds of
the fort. and even used the bathtubs of
the soldiers The MeXiCanS especially. he
said. picked up these cartridge shells and
everything else they could get He then
went on TO confirm the statement made
I'm the affidavit procured by the Constitu-
tional League, which many Of the men
had signed, that the soldiers had thrown
away their old clothing and it had been
picked up by men and boys living in
/ Brownsville, and il was no unusual sight
10 see them wearing the cast-on uniforms
of the soldiers.
Frazier said he at first thought ths
citizens were firing on the fort. When
informed by Capt Lyon that bullets from
Springfield rifles had been found i'm the
houses shot into, he formed the opinion
that the soldiers did IT,
What is your theory about # now?"
asked Senator Overman.
MY belief is, after thinking II over.
that the citizens of Brownsville did the
shooting themselves. If the soldiers had
done il they would have kept quiet about
il for a few days. and then. when it WAS
over. have Dragged about what they had
done"
As q reason for thinking that the citi-
zens did the shooting, he said they were
opposed TO the presence of the negro
troops because they patronized a saloon
opened by a colored soldier v no had been
discharged. On pay day this negro was
Obliged TO hire five or six assistants to
serve drinks, and the white people saw
that the negro was getting all of the sol
diers money. and wanted to get rid Of
them. Asked how the citizens got gov
eminent ammunition. he thought they
might have bought it from the members
Of the Twenty-siXth regiment
Could Not Get Information.
The witness said he had endeavored to
find out whether or not men of his com
pany were engaged in the shooting. but
was unable to get any information from
them. He concluded his statement by
saying:
Il was unable to find out anything. and
1 do not know anything about it now. II
! did I would say so here"
The testimony Of Charles Dade. cook of
D Company, was practically a repetition