The morning journal-courier. (New Haven, Conn.) 1907-1913, 1908-04-16
Thursday, April 10, 1908.
THE BROWNSVILLE AFFAIR.

ihE bnpN Ssf'bb' ARIA
There must he and is something more
serious and far reaching in the alleged
shooting up of Brownsville, Texas, by
the colored regiment stationed there
than political purpose on the part Of
anybody connected with the affair.
There must be something more impress
sive In Senator Foraker's attitude Of
mind than a determination to make It
hot for the administration, from some
of whose policies he has strongly dis
scented. In fact at the outset of his
remarkable speech In the senate of the
Disted States Tuesday on the Browns
villetragedy, he disavowed any inten-
tion OF making "any capital of any
kind. political or otherwise, against
anybody or for anybody" Those who
read his speech in defense of the brave
negro soldiers cannot but take him at
his word, even though he may person
ally be Objectionable in their sight.
The shooting up of Brownsville and
the events which followed 1t furnish
one Of the most remarkable chapters in
the history of a remarkable admins
tratlon. The friends of President
Roosevelt have been harder put to 1t
to explain his conduct in that connec-
ton than in any other. No one of them
has had the temerity to openly defend
him. That the town of Brownsville
was shot up by somebody admits of no
doubt. That 1t was shot up by the
disciplined soldiers of the Twenty
fifth regiment of infantry admits of
every doubt. and yet President Roose-
Welt impulsively and without complete
knowledge did discharge the regiment
from the service of the country with
out honor, and withheld from the mem
beers, innocent and alleged guilty alike,
the right to enlist In either the army
or the navy. With this sweeping or
der, the first of its kind in the history
of the country, went the summary dis
charge Of brave men, who had by the
period and character of their service
earned the right of pension when re-
NJ % he IA; IL.
cations which has been held, those by
the administration itself and that by
the United States senate, demonstrated
the fact that 1t was the soldiers who
did the shooting. On the contrary the
evidence points clearly to the fact that
It must have been somebody else who
did the shooting. In fact the only ex.
cuse for believing that the soldiers
were guilty is that they were stationed
In an unfriendly country, and that they
might have taken this course to show
their displeasure at III treatment. This
excuse however rather falls to the
ground in view of the testimony Of the
men, that they had been subjected to
no intolerable treatment. Had they
been It would have been the duty Of
the war department to remove them at
once to a friendly environment, and
not keep them within the zone of a
possible outbreak.
This in effect is the attitude taken by
Senator Foraker Of Ohio and Senator
Buckley Of Connecticut. They deny
the Justice of the Presidents act and
decline to vote for bill which would
give him the power Of judging who and
what members of the discharged rcgi-
ment should be restored to the service
They favor a bill making the re-enlst-
ment of the colored soldiers mandatory
upon their taking an oath that they
were innocent Of the charge. That
the President Is at last more or less
doubtful Of the security of his own no.
sition is shown by his support of the
bill which would permit him to restore
to the service such members Of the
regiment as he concludes may be limo
cent. His willingness to consider tho
restoration Of n possible single soldier
proves concluslvely that he has con
cluded that he was wrong when h,
summarily discharged the entire reg
ment without a hearing and withou
honor. That Is considerable Of move
backward Of itself and justihes the In
oulry of the friends of the Golored sol
der why he should withhold his sup
port from the measure supported b,
Senators Foraker and Buckley. Presi
dent Roosevelt cannot forget, no
should he be allowed to forget, that h,
is the disciple Of the gospel of TIN