The Atlanta Georgian. (Atlanta, GA.) 1906-1907, December 19, 1906, Image 2

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This will be your last opportunity to buy a high-grade Piano for a little money and on easy payments of $5, $6, $7, $8, $10 per month. Only four days more, and then our Special Holiday Sale will positively close. You cannot afford to miss this opportunity. Come today, and select your Piano, and we will deliver when you are ready. They will soon all be gone. Many shrewd buyers have taken ad vantage of this opportunity and secured a fine Piano at a saving of from $126 to $200. They are honest Pianos at honest prices, and only case damaged by shipping, and old styles dropped from our 1907 catalogue. Come early and get first choice. They are going very fast. Every Piano guaranteed. , ' \ 64 Peachtree DPEN evenings. 64 Peachtree OPEN EVENINGS. ROOSE VELT BRANDS NEGRO SOLDIERS WHO STARTED BROWNSVILLE, TEX., RIOT$ Continued from Page On#. In these difficulties there was blame attached to both aides; but thin Is a wholly unimportant matter for our present purpose, as nothing that occurred offered In any shape or way an excuse or Justifica tion for the ntroclous conduct of the troop# when. In lawless and murder- oua spirit, and under cover of tho night, they made their attack upon the cltl- "Thi# attack was made near midnight on Ai.fust IS. The following facts us to this attack nre made clear by Ma jor Blocksom's Investigation and have not been, and. in my Judgment, cannot be, iuccessfully controverted. Prom 9 to 1G or 20 of the colored soldiers took part In the attack. They leaped over th# wall# front the barracks and hur ried through the town. They shot at whomever they saw moving, and the/ ■hot Into houses where they saw llghtf. In eome of these houses there were women and chlldron, ns the would-be murderer# must have known. In one house In which there were two women and five children sonic ten shots went through at a height of nbout 4 1-2 feet above the floor, one put ting odt the lamp upon the table. The lieutenant of po lice of the town heard the tiling und rode townrd It. He met the raiders, who, as he stated, were about fifteen colored eoldlere. They Instantly start ed firing upon him. He turned und rode off, and they continued firing upon him until they hnd killed his horse. They shot hint In the right arm (It was afterward amputated above the elbow). "A number of shots wore also tired at two other pollcomen. The raiders fired aoveral times Into a hotel, some of the ehots being alined at a guest sit ting by a window. They shot Into u saloon, killing the bartender and wounding another man. At the same time other‘raiders fired Into another house In which women and children were sleeping, two of the shots going through the mosquito bar over the bed In which the mistress of the house and her two children were lying. Several other houses were struck hy bullets. It was at night, and the streets of the town are poorly lighted, so that none of the Individual raiders was recogniz ed; but the evidence of many witnesses of all classes was conclusive to the ef fect that the raiders were negro sol diers. The shattered bullets, shells uttd clip# of government titles, which were found on the ground, are merely cor roborative. Ho are the bullet lades in the houses; some of which It appears must, from the direction, have been fired from the fort Just at the moment when the soldiers left It. Not a bullet hole appears In any of the structures of the fort. '•The townspeople were completely surprised by the unprovoked anil mur derous savagery of the attack. Tho soldiers were the aggressor* from start to finish. They nu t with no substan tial resistance, and one and all who took part In that mid stand as delib erate murderers, who did murder one man, who tried to murder others, and who tried to murder women and chil dren. The act was one of horrible Atrocity, und so far as I am aware, un paralleled for infamy in the annals of the United Htutes army. "The white officers of the companies were completely taken by surprise, and at first evidently believed that the fir ing meant that the townspeople were Attacking the soldiers. It was not until 2 or 3 o’clock In the morning that any of them became aware of the truth I have directed a careful investigation Into the conduct of the officers, to «»*»• If any of them were blameworthy, and 1 have approved tin* recommendation *>f the war department that two ^ be brought before a courtmartlal. Officers Must Have Known. *’As to the ii**a romintsslor.'Ml officers nn<l enlisted uien, U»etv call l*e n<* doubt what .ever that many were necessarily privy, aft er. If not l*efore, th** sttark, to th** conduct of those w&o took actual part In this uiur tferous riot. “General Nettleton, In his letters, states that next door to where he Is writing In Brownsville Is n small cottage when "The effort to confute this testimony so fnr has consisted In the nsiMTtlou or Ini plication that the townspeople shot •thcr In order to ills*' ri'ult the soldiers—nn nhsiirdlty too gross to need discussion, and unsupported hy n shred of evidence. Then* Is no questimi its to the murder and the attempted murders: there Is no question une of the soldiers were guilty there- U no question that many of their privy to the deed have combined flint of; the eoinrndi t» shelter the crlinliiiils from Justice. These ecmritdes of the murderers, by their own nctlon, have rendered It necessary either to leave nil the men. Including the murderers, In the army or turn them nil nut;, und mi tier lrcuiiistnii*'CN there was no niter- for the usefulness of tho nriny he nt nn end were wo to permit sticii n outrage to he committed with Impunity. nut IV vldeniHj proves In short. slvely that n number of tlis soldiers eu gaged In n deliberate and concerted attack, us cold-blooded ns It wns cowardly; the purpose being to terrorise the community, and to kill or Injure men, women and the 1 this at nil hour of the night when concerted or effective resistance or defense was out of the qucNtlnii, und when of the criminals the bouse was riddled by I'nit** ballets, fired l»y t'ldted States troops, fr<» United State* Kprlngrtoli! rifle*, at *•!*« range, with the purpose of killing * •urb circumstances was astonishing. (loniiy Idcntlflcnth „ - In the tidied States uniform was well nluli Impomiido. Mo niurli for the original crime. A blacker never stained the annals of our army. It has been supplemented hy another, only less black, III tin? slmne of n successful conspiracy or silence for the pur pose of shielding those who took part In the original conspiracy of uiurdor. Army Becomes « Mob. “The non-commlsaloned officer* arc primarily responsible for the discipline and good conduct of the men. Under any ordinary circumstances tho first duty of the non-commissioned officers, ns of commissioned officers, Is to train the private In tho ranks so that he may ho nn efficient fighting man against u foreign foe. IJut there Is an even high er duty, the duty of training the soldier so that ho jliall ho u protection and not n menace to his peaceful fellow - citizens, and above all. to the women und children of the nation. Unlese this duty Is well performed, the army be come# u mere dangerous mob; and If conduct such as that of tho murderers in question Is not, where possible, pun ished, and, where this la not possible, unless the chance of Its repetition Is guarded against in the most thorough going fashion. It would be better that the entire army should be disbanded. "Hy my direction every effort was made to persuade those Innocent of murder umong them to separate them selves from the guilty by helping bring the criminals to Juatlce. They were warned that If they did not take ad vantage of the offer they would all lie discharged from the service and forbid den again to enter the employment of the government. They refused to profit by the warning. I accordingly had them discharged. If nny organisation of troop* in the service, white or black. Is guilty of similar conduct In the fu ture I shall follow precisely the same course. Don't Deserve Sympathy. "The soldiers of longest service and highest position who suffered because of the order, eo far from being those who deserve most sympathy, deeerv least, for they are the very men upon w hom we should be able especially to repel, to prevent mutiny and murder. •People have spoken as If this dls churge from the service was a punish ment. I deny emphatically that such Is the case, because a# punishment it Is utterly Inadequate. The punishment for mutineers und murderers such as those guilty of the Drownsvllle assault Is death; and a punishment only less se vere ought to he meted out to those who have aided and abetted mutiny help in their detection. I would That It were jKJsslble for me to have pun ished the guilty men. I regret most keenly that 1 have not been able to do so. Any assertion that these men were dealt with harshly because they were colored men is utterly without founda tion. Plenty of Precedents. *Th.*re are plenty of precedents for the action taken. During the civil war numerous precedents for the action ta ken hy me occurred In the shape of the summary discharge of regiments or companies because of misconduct on the part of some or all of their mem bers. Three companies of the Fifth Missouri Cavolb and one company of ca every 25c the Fourth Missouri Cavalry were mus tered out of the service or the United States without trial by court-martial by reason of mutinous conduct und dis affection of the majority of the mem bers of these companies (an almost ex act parallel to my action). "When (ienernl Lee was In command of the Army of Northern Virginia, as will appear from the enclosed clipping from The Charlotte Observer, ho Is sued nn order In October, 1864, dis banding a certain battalion for cow ardly conduct, stating at the time his regret that there were some officers and men belonging to the organization who, although not deserving It, were obliged to share in the common dis grace because the good of the service demanded It. In nddltlon to the dis charges of organisations, which nre of course Infrequent, there nre continual cases of the discharge of Individual enlisted men without honor and with out trial by court-martial. The Negro Problem 8ide. "So much for tho military side the case. But I wish to say something additional from the standpoint of the race question. In my message at the opening of congress I discussed the matter of lynching. In U 1 gave utter ance to the abhorrence which all de cent citizens should feel for the deeds of the men (In almost* nil cases white men) who take part In lynchlngs, and nt the same time 1 condemned, decent men of any color should con demn, the nctlon of those colored men who actively or passively shield the colored criminal from law. "In tho case of these companies had to deal with men who in the first place were guilty of what was practi cally the worst possible form of lynch ing—for lynching Is in its essence law less und murderous vengeunce taken by nn urined mob for real or fancied wrongs—and who, in the second place, covered up the c rime of lynching by standing with vicious solidarity to pro tect the? criminals. "More evil und sinister count'd never wns given to nny people than that given to the colored men hy those ad visers, whether black or white hy upology and condonation, encour age conduct such ns that of tho thro companies in question. If the colored men elect to stand hy criminals of their own race because they are of then- own race, they assuredly lay up for themaelves the most dreadful day reckoning. He Challenges Support. "Throughout my term of service In the presidency I have ucted on the principle advocated. In the North, os In the South, I have appointed colored men of high character to office, utterly disregarding the protests of thoso who would have kept them out of o cause they were colored men. ns was In my power I have sought to secure for the colored people all their rights under the law. I have dune nil I could to secure them equal school training when young, equal opportun ity to earn their livelihood and achieve their happiness when old. I hav striven to break up peonage; I have upheld the hands of those who, like Judge Jones and Judge Hpeer, have* warred against this peonage, because I would hold myself unlit to he presi dent If I did not feel the same revolt at wrong done a colored man us I feel .it wrong done a white man, "I have condemned in unstinted terms the crime of lynching perpetrat ed by white men, and I should take In stant advantage of any opportunity whereby I could bring to justice a mob of lynchers. In precisely the same spirit I have now ucted with reverence to these colored men who have been guilty of a black and dastardly crime. In one policy, as In the other, I do not claim as a favor, but I challenge as a right, the support of every citizen of this country, whatever his color, pro vided only he hus In him the spirit of genuine and far-sighted patriotism." PILE8 CURED IN 8 TO 14 DAYS. PAZO OINTMENT is guaranteed to cure any case of Itching. Blind, Bleed ing or Protruding Piles in t to 14 days or money refunded. 60c. Nursing Moiners and Malar!#. The Old Standard. Grove's Tasteless Chill Tonic drives out malaria and builds up the system. Bold by all dealers for 3? years. Price 60 centa / 25 per cent reduction at Stillman's Furniture Co* 52 N. Broad atraat, on Chriatmaa gift*. DRESDEN CHINA CLOCK AND CANDLESTICKS i We picture here a handsome set in Dresden China, white and 1 rv An 1 L 0*7 gold. These are in two sizes. The three pieces, set . . . ' Uanr/ 3HQ J Clocks that embody the artistic in the mouuting of the clock—they came from abroad, every one of them, where the artistic has been turned toward the craft in producing really worthy things for cverv-day use. Things that develop the artistic sense about the nome. The dock pictured here will help you to understand the hundred or more other different designs liex-e in these tilings. * , Clock as shown here with pr. of 2 branch candle s ticks to match in Dresden China. White and gold. The set of three pieces at $6.73 and $10.43. Clocks in Rococo designs, with a Cupid perched upon the base. Above the clock is the head of old Father Time, the wings at each side tvpical of time's flight $10.57 Clocks with two draped fig ures representing “Music.” One with a flute in her hand, the other a tambourine: The - dock face in bronze held be tween them .$7.47 Clocks in green stone ware, with bronze clock set in the center.. On the top a group in dark green bronze effect. Two classic nude figures $18.67 Clocks suspended in a bronze eagle with out stretched wings poised upon three onvx columns $3.93 Clocks in white Dresden China with Cupids $2.89 Clocks with nude figure in pose as if rising from the water, surrounded hy cat tails and leaves. The Clock at the base. Price .., .$7.49 Clocks with figure of wom an reclining upon a bed of sea plants, with swimming fish. The clock mounted in the base $4.98 Clocks with two draped fe male figures at either side $4.37 Clocks with - fishenvoman with net, as if returning with the catch. The clock mounted in a rock .. Clocks done in the effect of gray marble with seated fig ure of woman across the base. The figure done in white and gold. The clock dial of etched copper $11.47 Clocks to represent a stone gateway with two exquisite figures in dark green bronzfc —a man and woman.. $18.39 A Clock typical of the sculp ture with a panel in bas re lief and a semi-draped figure standing before the clock $24.97 Clocks with seated draped figure with woman holding a raven The Dancing Girl in an ar tistic, light, graceful pose with a dock in the base upon which she is dancing. This- clock is done in a rich elec tric green $9.87 Jacobs 9 Pharmacy