The Cairo bulletin., 1908-12-17
LODGE BELIEVES
SOLDIERS GUILTY
or SHOOTING UP BROWNSVILLE
MADE CAREFUL STUDY OF
THE EVIDENCE.
UNUSUAL UNIFORMITY
Renders il Douby Valuable Says Sen.
ator in Speech Yesterday-MotiVe
Was Not Lacking-Fagors
Warner Bill.

"diiSi Dill'
| Washington, Dec. 1G.-The senate to
day informally agreed to postpone un
i'll after the Christmas holidays ac
tion Of the bills providing for the re-
enlistment of the negro soldiers who
were discharged on account Of the
Brownsville affair of 1906.
Senator Lodge Speaks.
In opening his speech on the
Brownsville affair Senator Lodge re.
felred to two questions to be DIS
cussed In this connection, one relas,
lne to the guilt or innocence Of the
soldiers and the other to the bill pre-.
sented by Senator Foraker com
pelling the president to restore the5 .
soldiers to the army.
"After hearing and examining all
the evidence, not only that taken by
the serate committee of which ! was
a member but that taken before the
Pcurose court martial and before the
citizens committee" said Mr. Lodge,
referring to the shooting atlray IN
Brownsville on the night of August
Is, 1896 II have come to the clear
conclusion that the shooting was
done rs soldiers OF the 25th infantry
stationed at Fort Brown"
This he said, was also the con-
clusioG Of the citizens committee of
Brownsville aud Of the Peurosc
court martial 1t was also the
opinion Of decisive majority of the
senate committee on military af-
fairs.
The proposition" he said, "de.
daring that the weight Ct the testi
mony shows that none OF the sol
,diers Of the 25th United States in
iantfj participated IN tue shpoung
afiray, was rejected by vote ef II
to and the proposition that IN the
opinion Of the committee, the shoot |
ing was done by some soldiers to |
longing to the 25th infantry was
adopted by a vote OF S to I, one se''
ator not voting Thus ii will be seen |
that every official body which haa |
heard the testimony has decided that |
the shooting at Brownsville on IN"
night of the 18Th Of August, 1906, |
was the work of soldiers of the 25th
infantry"
Mr.. Lodge declared that while
there is great deal Of evidence that
The shooting was done by the sci
diers there is no evidence Wh2tever |
tha, it was done by anybody else.
There is, he said no physical impos
sibility of time. distance or aIibi 20
prevent our attributing the shooting
to the soldiers.
Motive Was Present.
"In fact" he said. 1t was easier |
for the soldiers to do it than for any.
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
inhabitants. Justly or uniustly somo |
of them had been matreaucl b.
some of the Inhabitants AMI they |
felt IN greater or lesser degree, thn
bitterness of race prejudice. Their |
freedom of movement had just been
curtailcd owing to an affair I'm which |
n white woman was involved. They |
were suffering. therefore at the mo
ment from the troubles which had |
arisen between them AMI some of
The people of Brownsville.
Mr.. Lodge reviewed essential fca
tircs of the testimony in the Browns |
Vile affair and said that the bullets
found I'm the houses and the shell |
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 Spring |
fields in the possession Of anyone ex- |
cent the troops of the United States. |
Tie spoke Of the testimony Of the
solliers as constituting uniform
denial"
THAT which renders all this tts.
t;mcny To me. Of doubtful value. anil !
dciriyes it Of the weight which it
wouM otherwise have sail Mr..
Lodge. lis its extraordinary uni
formity Il Is possible for $50 or 200
men 10 tell without exception a story
agreed upon before hand but no two
witnesses can tell the truth. a. they
understand IT, i'm precisely the same
wav. about the same event
Favors Warner Bill.
TIE favored the Warner bin which !
allows the president 90 restore the
int nccnt To the army whenever hr
Is satisfied that aHv Of them were
tiameless. He condemned the Foi-
-tcr bin which he said attempts %
force back into the army not onir
innocent men but whe1 who were
gritty os a serious crime. Iin madr
an exhaustive argument IN the un-
cretituiigualHv Of the Foraker tii
which ohiiges the president t1 reen-
r-4 fhrsa solIirrs whether D. thinks
fii-r out 70 he reeuIisteI or not such
an act would Do m eHcru1chmcnt
,,rou the constitutional rights Of tie
president u eouIl he slhsFrsire of