The Topeka state journal., 1908-12-14
President Roosevelt Does Not
Wait on the Senate
To Reopen the Subject of the
Brownsville Raid.
SPECIAL MESSAGE
Carrying Additional Evidence of
Guilt of Accused.
Recommends That Some of the
Men Be Taken Back.

Washington, D. c.. Dec. 14.-President
Roosevelt today transmitted the follow
ing special message to the senate on
the Brownsville affair:
To the Senate:
enclose herewith a letter from the
secretary of war transmitting a report
of the investigation made by Mr.. Her
bert ]. Browne, employed by the depart
ment in conjunction with Captain w.
G. Baldwin to Investigate as far as pos
sible what happened at Brownsville on
the 18th and 14th of August, 1906. The
report and documents contain some in
formation of great value and some
statements that are obviously worth
less, but I submit them in their en-
tirity. This report enables us to fix
with tolerable definiteness at least some
of the criminals who took the lead in
the murderouS shooting of private citi-
zens at Brownsville. 1t establishes
clearly the fact that the colored soldiers
trety. This report enables us to fix
did the shooting; but on this point
further record was unnecessary as
the fact that the colored soldiers
did the shooting has already been es-
tabHshed beyond all possibility Of
doubt
Investigation to Continue.
The investigation has not gone far
enough to enable us to determine all
but it has gone far enough to determine
with sufficient accuracy certain facts
of enough Importance to make it ad-
visable that place the report before
you. 1t appears that almost all the
members of Company B must have
been actively concerned in the shoot
ing, either to the extent of being par
ticipanSs or the extent of virtually en-
cOuragfng those who were participants.
AS to Companies and D. there can
be 80 question that practically 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 others in one of the other
troops. This conceaIment was itself a
grave offense which was greatly aggra-
waited by their testifying before the sem
ate committee that they were ignorant
of what they must have known. New
ertheless, it is to be said in partial
eXtenuation that they were probably
cowed by threats made by the more
desperate of the men who had actually
been engaged in the shooting, as to
what would happen to any man who
failed to protect the wrongdoerS. More
over there are circumstances tending to
show that these misguided men were
encouraged by outsiders to persist in
their course of concealment and denial.
1 feel therefore, that the guilt of the
men who, after the event, thus shielded
the perpetrators of the wrong by re-
fusing to tell the truth about them
though serious was in part due to the
unwise and improper attitude of others
and that some measure OF allowance
should be made for the misconduct. In
other words. 1 believe we can afford to
reinstate any of these men who now
truthfully tell what has happened, give
all the aid they can to fix the respon-
sibility upon those who are really
guilty, and show that they themselves
had no guilty knowledge beforehand
and were in no way implicated in the
affair, save by having knowledge of it
afterwards and failing and refusing to
divulge it,
Take some of Them Back.
Under the circumstances and in
view of the length of time they have
been out of the service, and their loss
of the benefit that would have accrued
to them by continuous long time serv-
ice we can afford to treat the men
who meet the requirements given above
as having been sufficiently punished by
the consequences they brought upon
themselves when they rendered neceS-
sary the exercise oe the disciplinary
power. 1 recommend that a law be
passed allowing the secretary of war
within fixed period of time, say
year, to reinstate any of these soldiers,
whom he. after careful examination,
finds to have been innocent and whom
he finds to have done all in his power
to help bring to justice the guilty
Meanwhile the investigation will be
continued. The results have made it
obvious that only by carrying on in
actually carried it on, is there the
slightest chance of bringing the Of
tenders to justice or of separating not
the innocent, for there were doubtless
hardly any innocent, but the less guilty
from those whose guilt was heinous.
THEODORE ROOSEVELT.
The White House, December IA, 1908.
Brownies Report.
Secretary Wright simply submits
the report of Herbert L. Browne to the
president without comment Mr.
Browne makes a general report of the
case and then follows with detailed
statements of those who aided in the
investigation of the raid:
Mr.. Brownies general report is dated
Washington. d. c., December 5, and is
as follows:
sir: I have the honor to submit
the following report relative to the
investigation of the Brownsville raid:
Ex-Private Boyd Conyers of Com
pany B, Twenty-f1fth infantry. now at
Monroe, Ga, told William Lawson,
William G. Baldwin of Roanoke. Va,
that he and three Cor four) other men
of the Twenty-fifth infantry were the
leaders in the Brownsville raid. This
information was obtained at different
dates during the month of June, 1908.
l submit the affidavit as presented.
There are certain discrepancies of a
minor character, due to the fact that
Lawson is illiterate and had to de-
pend on his memory for details. But
it should be borne in mind that Law
son was unacQuainted with the details
of the Brownsville raid and was given
Information which could have come
only from one familiar with the secret
history of the affair. Lawsons first re-
port included the names of Conyers,
John Holloman, John Brown and ian
other man." subsequently he supplied
the name of James Powell, but I think