The Detroit times. [volume] (Detroit, Mich.) 1903-1920, 1908-12-14
INNOCENT MEN TO.
Be RE|NSTATEO
To SERVICE
PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT SUBMITS
MESSAGE ON BROWNSVILLE AZ.
FAlR-HE REeukEs OUTSIDERS
WHO FIGURED IN CASE.

WASHINGTON, Dec. 14.-President
Roosevelt. In his special message to-
day accompanying the report OF Inves-
tigator Herbert J. Browne into the
shooting up or Brownville. Texas. re-
iterates his former declaration that
the shooting by colored soldiers has
been established beyond any posi-
bility OF doubt" He again recon-
mends the passage of law by con-
gress Offering the discharged soldiers
an opportunity to re-enKst In the army
II they can clear themselves of re-
sponsibility for the murderous attack
10 the satisfaction OF the secretary OF
war The investigation Will be con-
tinued, the president says, in order to
separate the less guilty from those
whose guilt was heinous' for he be.
lieves there was hardly any innocent
person the colored men stationed at
Fort Brown.
Among the documents accompany
Ing Mr.. Brownies report are the con-
fessions Of Boyd Conyers, a private In
company b. Twenty-fifth infantry,
who claimed to be a leader in the af-
fair; the affidavit OF William Lawson,
detective. to whom Conyers made
his first confession; summary OF the
testimony involving Conyers, Private
Carolina De Sausser, Sergt j. r. Reid
and others and the opinions OF ex-
perts as TO the identity OF the ammu.
milton used In the raid.
In his message the president says
In part:
This report enables us to fix with
of aat Of
the criminals who took the lead In the
lmurderous shooting of private citizens
at Brownsville. Ii establishes clearly
the fact that the colored soldiers did
the shooting; but upon this point fur
Their record was unnecessary, as. the
fact that the colored soldiers did the
shooting has already been established
beyond all possibility Of doubt
1t appears that almost all the mem
bers OF company b must have been
actively concerned in the shooting.
either to the extent Of being partici-
pants or to the extent Of virtually en-
lcouraging those who were partici-
pants. AS to companies G and ID.
there can be no question that prac-
| tically every man in them must have
had knowledge that the shooting was
done by some of the soldiers of b
troop, and possibly by one or two 9TH
ers In one OF the other troops. This
concealment was itself grave offense,
which was greatly aggravated by
their testifying before the senate COM
mittee that they were ignorant OF
what they must have known: never
theless II must be said In partial ex-
tenuatlon that they were probably
cowed by threats. made by the more
f, desperate of the men who had actual
/ ly been engaged In the shooting, as ID
what would happen to any man who
failed to protect the wrongdoers."
Moreover, there are circumstances
tending to show that those misguided
men were encouraged by outsiders TO
persist in their course Of concealment
and denial. feel, therefore, that the
( Guilt of the men who. after the event,
| thus shielded the perpetrators OF the
wrong by refusing TO tell the truth
about them, though serious, was In
part due TO the unwise and improper
attitude OF others, and that some meas-
ure of allowance should be made for
the misconduct. In other words. be-
| lieve we can AFFORD To- reinstate any
OF these men who now truthfully tell
what has happened, give all the aid
they can To tx the responsibility upon
those who are really guilty. and show
that they themselves had no guilty.
knowledge beforehand and were liz no
way implicated In the affair, save by
having knowledge OF IL afterwards
and failing and refusing 10 divulge ".
Under these circumstances and II
view OF the length OF time they have
been out OF the service and the loss
that would have Rccured TO them by
continuous long time service, We can
afford to treat the men who meet the
requirements given above as having
been suft ciently punished by the con-
sequences they brought upon them
selves when they rendered necessary
the exercise OF the disciplinary power.
81 recommend that a law be passed
allowing the secretary OF war within
a fixed time, say a year, -
reinstate any OF those soldiers whom
he. after careful examination. finds TO
have been innocent and whom he finds
bring TO justice the guilty.
Meanwhile the investigation will
be- continued The results have mads
IL obvious that only by carrying on the
investigation as the war department
has actually carried IL on Is there ths'
slightest chance of bringing the
offenders To- Justice or OF separating
not the innocent. for there were doubt.
less hardly any innocent, but the less
guilty from those whose guilt was
heinous. tSigned)
THEODORE ROOSEVELT"