Albuquerque citizen. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1907-1909, 1908-12-16
LODGE REVIEWS FACTS
OF BROWNSVILLE
AFFAIR
Senator SAYS Testimony
Shows That Negro Soldiers
Did Shoot Up the
Town.
WOULD Rt-INSIAIt
SOME TROOP iRS
Fdvors Extending ClemenCy to
Those Who Did Not Take
Part In the Riot
Big Crowd Hears
Speech.

Washington, d. c., Dec. 16.-The
Brownsville affair was discussed in
the Senate today by Senator Lodge,
who is a member of the committee on
military affairs which Investigated the
charge that soldiers of the Twenty
nth regiment "shot up the town.
Lodge remarked that he would not
refer to the report of the investiga-
ton, referred to by the president In
, his recent message.
The senate gallery was filed many
Of the visitors being negroes. Rather
more Democrats than Republicans
remained in the chamber while Lodge
was speaking.
In opening his speech Senator
Lodge referred to two questions to be
discussed in this connection. one re-
lating to the guilt or innocence OF the
soldiers and the other to the bill pre-
sented by Senator Foraker compell-
ing the president to restore these SOL
diers to the army.
after hearing and examining all
the evidence, not only that taken by
the Senate committee of which I was
a member. but that taken before the
Penrose court-martial and before the
citizens committee" said Mr.. Lodge.
| referring to the shooting ARRAY in
| Brownsville on the night % Arsrst
13, 1906, "I have come to the clear
conclusion that the shooting was done
by soldiers of the Twenty-fifth infan-
try stationed at Fort Brown"
This, he said, was also the conclu-
sion of the citizens committee of
Brownsville and of the Penrose court
martial. II was also the opinion of
decisive majority of the Senate COM
| mittee on military affairs.
THE proposition" he said, "de-
claring that the weight of the tes-
| timony shows that none of the SOL
diers of the Twenty-ffth United
States infantry participated in the
shooting ARRAY was rejected by a
vote of IL to 2 and the proposition
that, In the opinion of the committee,
| the shooting was done by some SOL
| diers belonging to the Twenty-ffth
| infantry was adopted by vote Of 8
to 4, one senator not voting. Thus
| 1t will be seen that every official body
| which has heard the testimony has
decided that the shooting at Browns
Vile on the night of the 18th of Au-
gust, 1906, was the work of soldiers
of the Twenty-fifth infantry"
| MT. LOuBe QeCldTeu tndt Wnilt there
is a great deal OF evidence that the
shooting was done by the soldiers,
| there is no evidence whatever that
1t was done by anybody else. There
| is, he said, no physical impossibility OF
| time, distance or alibi to prevent our
| attributing the shooting to the SOL
| diers.
! "In fact" he said. at was easier
/ 90 he tn 40 20
| body else because they we're both
armed and organized. Motive was
not lacking Some OF the soldiers
had had trouble with some OF the in
habitants. Justly or unjustly. some
OF them had been maltreated by some
OF the inhabitants and they had felt,
in greater or lesser degree. the Bit
terness of race prejudice. Their free
dom OF movement had just been cur
tailed owing to an affair in which a
white woman was involved. They
were suffering. therefore, at the mo-
| ment. from the troubles which had
arisen between them and some of the
! people of Brownsville" Mr.. Lodge
! referred to testimony OF witnesses to
show that eleven appearing before the
Senate committee, before the Blocks
man and Burdy inquiry or In the
| Penrose court-martial testified that
the men who did the shooting were
recognized by them as soldiers and
negroes Five witnesses recognized
them as soldiers and six witnesses
recognized them as negroes by their
voices. ~ submit" said Mr.. Lodge,
that that is a mass OF direct evil
dence sufficient to sustain any affirm
ative proposition in court and not to
be done away with by suggestions
about the darkness OF the night and
inferences that all these witnesses
were lying because the artificial lights
were few and there was no moon"
Mr.. Lodge reviewed essential feat
ures OF the testimony In the Browns
VILE AFFAIR and said that the bullets
found in the houses and the she'll
in the streets. taken together, could
have been used in only one rife,
and that was the Springfield new
model, and there were no new model
Springfields In the possession OF any
one except the troops OF the United
States. He spoke OF the testimony OF
the soldiers as constituting "a uni
form denial"
'That which renders all this testi-