The morning journal-courier., 1907-12-28
PROMINENT MEN
 BACKING NEGRO Wealthy New Englanders of National Prominence to Probe Brownsville
 Incident.
MOTIVES ABOVE APPROACH
Counsel for Discharged Soldier, Suing the Government for Pay, De- ciaTes the Move is Not
 Political.

Washington, Dec. 2L-War depart
 ment officials are much interested il
 the reported action of firm of Ne7
 York lawyers in bringing a test cas-
 in the United States court for tn,
 southern district of New York. to de-
 .tefinine the right of the executive to
 discharge a battalion of the 25th in
 fantry as an outcome of the rioting at
 Brownsville, Texas It cannot be re-
 called that any such action has ever
 before been brought against the secre-
 tary of war in q United States court
 under the Tucker" act of March ].
 1SSE Officially this New York case has
 not yet reached the war department
 In due course 1t undoubtedly will do so
 through the service of papers upon the
 secretary of war, by an officer of the
 district court directing him to make answer in the suit filed by the New
 York attorneys in behalf of Private
 Reid of Company c, 18th infantry, to recover s123.26, the amount of pay
 which he claims from tis date of his
 dismissal Nov g, 1906, to tie date of the termination of his enlistment, July IS, 1907.
 United States District Attorney Hen ry l.. Stimson said to-day that he had been served with the papers filed in the United States district court by counsel for oscar w. Reid, a member of the battalion of the Twenty-tiftll Infantry, which was disbanded by ex- ecutive order after the rioting at Brownsville, Texas The plaintiff sues the government to recover pay lest by his discharge from the army. but the attorneys in the case have ad- mittad that they were retained by wealthy gentlemen of New England whose real object Is to determine the legality of the presidents action. Mir. Stinson said that he had as yet given the complaint only cursory exam inaticn but that he did not think there was any evidence that Presiden. Roosevelt violated his constitutional | riglitS in dischlrging the colored scl- diers without honor The district at- torney added that he had not dec ded what he would do in the matter. He might, he thought, demur to the com plaint, or, possibly, waive that right and II he was convinced that he was right fin accepting service of the pip.rs. try the case upon its merits.
 Chase Mellen, of, counsel for plain tiff, snid to-day.
 "l am not at liberty to tell who the gentlemen back of this action are. They will disclose their identity at the proper time, and somebody will be surprised They are all men of national prominence. They banded together in an informal organization sor the purpose of seeing that poor individuals received the rights guar lnteed them by the constitution of ne United States. They selected the ase df Reid because his dismissal ppeared to them to be partieularIy E agrant case of violation of the con- utution. He is very poor man e nd could not seek redress himseIf [ ney will help any other individual. lack or white, who has been treated [ the same manner These gentle c len are withholding their names at 2 resent because they do not want the Il upllc to attach any political signin- W ance to their action I can state S ositively for them that politics has d othinE whatever to do with it. Their W ction Is animated by something high V r than that y a