Richmond planet., 1908-06-06

the men were discharged and became
separated from each other.
They have been during all this
period under surveillance and prac-
tically on trial.
Numerous Investigations have been
had. One by the grand jury Of Cam
eron County, Texas, another by the
Penrose court-martial. another by
the Macklin court-martial and an
other by the Senate Committee on
Military Affairs.
Nearly all these men have I'm some
connection or in some form or other
testified as witnesses at least once,
and all those regarded as most likely
TO have knowledge as often as two,
three or four times. They have
been examined and cross-examined,
but during all this period, and not
withstanding all these trials to which
they have been subjected, not one
iota OF testimony has been adduced
anywhere by anybody OF any kind
whatsoever TO point to any particular
one of the men as guilty OF any Of
fense OF any nature in connection
with OF growing out Of this shooting
ARRAY.
This fact alone, disregarding al
together their own positive testimo-
ny as TO their innocence, should be
enough TO authorize the acceptance
OF the affidavits they will be required
TO make under the bill I have offered
as a sufficient basis for their reenlist-
ment, especially in view OF the fact
that IL is provided in my bill
That nothing in this act contained
shall be construed to prohibit the
prosecution and punishment OF any
soldier reenlisting under the provis-
ions hereof as TO whom IL may at
any time hereafter appear that he
did participate in said shooting af-
fray or have knowledge thereof which
he has withheld.
II these men are innocent as they
claim TO be, they can not make other
or further statement than my bill
requires them to make. for all an in
nocent man can do if charged with
the commission of an offense is TO
say he did not do it, and that he
KNOWS nothing whatever about IL, ex-
cept II be TO account for his where
aoouts at the time when the offense
was committed, and that has been
done by every man in this battalion
who was present at Brownsville that
night
To REQUIRE more is to require an
lmpossibility, and to require a man
10 prove his innocence is to outrage
Justice by reversing the rule of evil
uehce hat obtains In every civilized
country.
But the bill offered by the Sena-
- l.
olnary IN another respect. ! venture
70 claim that II is without a prece-
dent In all the history of the liberty
loving Engiish-speaking nations Of
the earth.
1t requires two things of these
men IN violation of the fundamental
spirit or our institutions and which.
IN my opinion, IL would be a disgrace
10 the congress of the United States
to exact:
First, that men accused of crime
shail prove their innocence; and, Sc
cond, that they shall prove their in
hocence 10 the satisfaction of a Judge
VINO has already prejudged their case
soI once, or twice, or three times.
ana casually, but repeatedly and Of
nclaIiy' ana each time with a mani
Ies'auon or the most unqualified
cohvlction that not only some of the
men discharged did the shooting. but
that many, If not all of them had
knowledge of the perpetrators which.
through conspiracy of silence. they
nave refused to divulge.
In his message to the Senate of
December 19, 1906, In response To
resolutions of the Senate calling for
information on the subject, the Pres
ident said:
am glad to avail myself of the
opportunity afforded by these reso-
lutions to lay before the Senate the
Following facts as to the murderous
conduct OF certain members of the
companies inNquestion, and as to the
conspiracy by which many OF the 9TH
er members OF these companies saved
tne criminals from justice. to the dis