The Greenville journal. [volume] (Greenville, Ohio) 1850-1918, 1908-04-30

/ OF SAID companies VINO did participate IN
the same, and that he has not at any
time heretofore and does not now with
hold any knowledge with respect to that
occurrence which. II made public, would
| or might lead to the identification of any
| participation in said shooting ARRAY, or
any accessory thereto, either before or
| after the fact. and that he has answered
fully to the best of his knowledge and
ability all questions that have been law
fully put to him by his officers or others
In connection Herewith"
There are other important differ
ences, among them the following:
"The bill offered by the senator
from Missouri does not authorize the
correction Of the records of the men
who are to be re-enlisted. That is
necessary to enable them to have
their rights to pensions, and other
rights. His bill is silent on that point.
| - The record showing their dis
charge without honor shall be, and here
| by is, annulled, set aside and held for
naught."
The bill offered by myself provides
as follows
THAT in any case where the regular
term of enlistment which the soldier was
serving at the time when discharged with
out honor has in the meanwhile expired,
| his record shall ~, and hereby is, cor
| rected so as to show an honorable dis
charge at the time of the expiration Of
such enlistment"
This bill further provides:
| That in case any of the noncommis-
| stoned officers or enlisted men belonging
| to said companies and discharged with
| out honor shall have died since they were
so discharged and before the passage of
| this act, but who shall have testified un-
der oath. or made affidavit before their
death, LAT they did not participate in
! said shooting affray, or have any knowl-
edge with reference thereto. their respec-
| tive records shall be, and hereby are,
corrected in accordance with the pro-
| visions of this act, etc"
There are a number of cases to
which this provision would be appli-
| cable-a num0er of cases as to which
the law would fail in its purpose If it
| did not contain some such provision.
"All these provisions as to the cor
rectiOn OF the records of these men
are absolutely necessary if we pro-
| pose to meet all the cases that will
frise and treat them as equity and
| justice req ire.
Were Forever Barred.
"These oils differ in another re-
spect. The order of the president dis
charging them without honor forever
| debarred them from re-enlisting in
either the army or the navy of the
United States.
The bill introduced by the senator
from Missouri does not remove the
bar against re-enlisting in the navy
Of the Tn ted States. while my bill
does ex?licItlv remove that bar.
The Importance of this is not IN
TO re-enlist IN the navy and find them
selves deb cd thelefrom, but in the
fact that ,Ong as any part of sale
! order of dismissal stands agains,
them they are at least pro tantO In
| disgrace tld deprived of rights t.
which they are entitled.
Another difference is in the fact
that the bill of the senator from Mis-
souri, does not restore to the noncou'
missioned officers who NAV re-enlisU
the rank l. ey held, which my bill
does. Failure to do this would be a
denial Of justice.
Still other differences might BE-
pointed out, but those mentioned are
sufficient f~r present purposes.
he main difference is the first in.
; dicated. That shows that these bills
ar based Oh radically different the
Ories.
The bill introd ced by myself re
| quires eVelJ man who seeks re-en-
|
oa,l as to his innocence Of evC"7
crime conn, cted with tn" shootin'
anray; not only thai he did not pal
ticiDate in tn1 shooting but that he
has no knowledge from anybody.
These are requirements with which
| these men en- comply. and under all
the circumstances the test is sufficient
and all that should be asked
1T is now more than eighteen
| months since this shooting occurred
| 1t Is almost a Year and a half since
the men were discharged and became
| separated from each other.
"They have been during all this
| period under surveillance and practi,
cally on t:i&!.
Numerous investigations have been
| had One by the grand jury of Cam
eron county Tex. another by the Pen
rose courtmartial another by the
| Macklin courtmartial. and another
| by the senate committee on military
affairs.
| "Nearly all these men have in some
connection or in some form or other
| testified as witnesses at least once,
and all those r. ggarued 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 perioG, and notwith-
| standing all THESE trials to which they
| have been subj cted, not one iota of
| testimony has been adduced anywhere
by anybody of any kind whatever to
| point to anv particular one of the
men as guilty of anv otfense OF any
nature in connection with or growing
out of this shooting affray.
This fact aIOne, disregarding al
together their own positive testimony
as to their innocence should be
enough to authorize the acceptance Of
the affidaVits thev will lie required to
make under the bill have offered as
ment, especial" in view OF the fact
mat il Is provided in my bill
THAT nothing in this act contained
| shall be construed to prohibit the pros
| ecution and punishment of any soldier
re-eniisting under the provisions hereof
| as to whom 1t may at any time hereafter
| appear that he did participate In said
| shooting affray or have knowledge there
of which he has withheld"
IF these men are innocent as they
| claim to be. they can not make other
or further statement than my bill re-
| quires 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 it. except 1t
be to account for his whereabouts at
the time when the offense was com.
mitted, and that has been done by
every man in this battalion who was
| present at Brownsville that night.
ITO require more is to require an
impossibility, and to require man
| to prove his innocence is to outrage
| justice by reversing the rule Of evil
dence that obtains in every civilized
country.
But the bill offered by the senator
from Missouri is most extraordinary
in another respect venture to claim
that it is without a precedent in all
the history of the liberty-loving Eng
disappearing nations Of the earth.
1T requires two things of these
men in violation of the fundamental
spirit of our institutions and which, in