Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-04-07
The Brownsville Finding.

Inc court OF inquiry appointed Dy the
Secretary of War under the act of Con-
gress passed year ago to investigate
the so-called Brownsville shooting af-
fair of August 1914. 1906. has after a
year of faithful, painstaking, intelligent
work rendered report which commends
Itself to public approval a conscien-
tious finding in most difficult inquest
The court was composed of able officers,
its personnel being exceptional in point
of capacity and high standing. The court
finds, in terms that will command re-
spectful agreement that soldiers of Com
panies b, and D of the 10Th Regiment
of United States Infantry shot up the
town of Brownsville. Criticism of Presi-
dent Roosevelt's action in dishonorably
discharging the members of this bat
talon from the service without trial or
hearing has not involved the claim that
the shooting was not done by members
of the battalion. The finding of the court
must now be. accepted as final and con-
elusive in this respect.
1t is gratifying that fourteen of the
soldiers who were dshonorably dis
charged were able to perform the
miracle of proving the negative, of
demonstrating to the satisfaction of
nocent of participation in the raid on
Brownsville but that they had no guilty
knowledge regarding ii and were unac-
quainted with the identity of the guilty
men. In the inquiry just concluded
II was incumbent upon the members of
the battalion who desired to re-enlist to
assume the burden of proof. which had
been shifted upon them by the unjust
nj a in
sarding all members of the battalion
guilty until they were proved innocent.
This finding of the court leaves a large
bod. of men in respect of whom it is not
known and it will probably never be
known whether they are guilty or inno-
cent of the charge The fact that only
fourteen of the members of the battalion
wer" able to prove themselves innocent
does not justify the conclusion that all the
remaining members are guilty. OF some
of them it is undoubtedly true that they
are innocent, both in fact and in knowl-
edge of the shooting, but they are I'M
fortunately unable to demonstrate their
innocence and ignorance of the crime.
As far as these fourteen men are con-
cerned the finding of the court fully JUS
titles all the trouble and expense in
voved in the inquiry.
The court goes on record as holding the
opinion that IL the officers of the bat
talon had done their full duty before the
shooting it would probably have been
prevented and furthermore that if they
had done their duty Immediately after
the raid it would have been possible to
identify those who were guilty of this
crime. 1t is to be noted that no action
has ever been taken to apply the rules
of military justice to those whom the
court of inquiry now holds to have been,
through negligence, responsible in large
measure first for the commission of the
crime and secondly for the failure to
fasten the guilt directly upon the par
Elephants. The great injustice that was
done in the first instance in the whole
sale dismissal of the entire battalion,
fourteen of whom are now exonerated
10y the most difficult process known to
law might have been averted, the court
of inquiry in effect suggests, had not the
officers failed in their duty, failure for
which no punishments have ever been ad-
ministered proposed.