The Brownsville daily herald. [volume] (Brownsville, Tex.) 1897-1910, 1908-09-19


do not wear it. The Miller hotel has
no lobby, and the scene occurred in
the office, in which there is no bal
cony whatever, and there were no
ladies present. Neither Mcdonald
nor his sergeant had guns in their
hands, although, of course they wore
pistols. The sheriff and party car
ried no weapons, except a pistol in
their belt Judge WEIGH, far from
clustering, merely smiled, when he
told Captain Mcdonald what was his
duty, and, while he assured the ran
ger captain that he knew he was a
brave man, merely eXpostulated with
him upon the folly of opposing the
order from Washington.
AS to Sheriff Garza's being locked
in his own Jail during and after the
raid, which Mcdonald says the sheriff
told him himself, that is false The sher
if had just returned to Brownsville
the night of the raid, after a trip to
Terrell, where he went to convey
some lunatics. He had heen travel
ing day and night to get back home,
and after seeing his wife and chill
dren and brief visit to the jail, had
gone home and to bed. When the ne
gro soldiers attacked the town, he
was in bed asleep. The firing awak-
ened him, and he arose and dressed
hastily, thinking Immediately that
probably someone was attempting a
jail delivery always his first
thought. AS the testimony of nearly
every Brownsville witness showed,
the raid lasted not over ten or twelve
minutes. AS he was leaving his
house the last shots were being fired,
and he heard the bullets whizzing
over the Catholic church half a block
from the Jail. He hurried to the
Jail. and when he got there fnnnd
nothing wrong. His deputies and
the jailer at once went to investigate
and Mr.. Cara remained for a short
time at the Jail, and was standing in
front of the building when Capt.Lyons
and his patrol rode up. He was not
then or at any other time locked into
the jail.
The gross insinuations and accusa-
lions of Capt. McDonald's letter do
not need even a denial On the part of
Brownsville officials or The Herald
The entire conduct OF our people, as
well as the course OF The Herald,
throughout that trying ordeal has
been complimented by voriaus
outside papers. While there was
difference of opinion perhaps regard
ing tn ewisdom or justice of removing
the accused, yet the insinuation that
Judge Welch or any other officials
were bought off is too absurd to be
noticed. If they were bought off, by
whom pray? And what reason could
there have been TO rthe citizens of
Brownsville not Wishing to see
punished the fiends who had out
ragged the town? The presumption
is equally absurd.
The claim that Capt. Mcdonald was
mot invited to testify" before the
grand jury has already been proven
false, by the publication in The Her
aid of Sept. of the returns of sheriff
after sheriff, to whom writs were sent
him as a witness, and the
final service of a writ upon him at
Mineral Wells and the physicians
certificate through which he was ex-
cused from coming back TO Browns
vile. His sergeant did go before the
grand jury, but he, like every other
witness, was utterly unable to swear
to the identity of any supposed par
ticipant in the raid upon the town.
That grand jury was composed OF
twelve good men, who beyond a
doubt did all in their power to ferret
out the guilty fiends, but, as William
Volz, the honorable and highly re-
spected man who was its foreman
says. although there was oVerwhelm
ing proof that the soldiers committed
the crime. it was absolutely inlpossi-
BILE to find sufficient proof to identify
a single individual as being one Of the
guilty parties, and so no indictment
could be found"
1t is to be regretted that Capt. Nc
Donald went away with so much bit
ter feeling against Brownsville and
resolutely refused to do another
thing to ferret out the criminals, and
it is to be regretted still further that
he has seen fit to add to the burden
which Brownsville already bore that
of being held up to public contempt
in, not only every newspaper that he
could get to quote him. but even in
the columns of a leading magazine.
He may be a valiant man, but he
shows neither kindness nor wisdom
in so doing.
The most reprehensible part of the
entire course of Capt. Mcdonald is
his attack upon the motives and char
acter of a dead man, Judge Stanley
WEIGH, who since that memorable
time has been put by the cowardly
hand of a midnight assassin where he
cannot resent an insult so publicly
Even Judge Welch's enemies
never accused him of cowardice, and,
in truth, he was one of the most fear
less of men, and did not deem it ne
cessary to make a walking arsenal of
himself in order to perform the du-
tipc Of his office