Salt Lake Tribune | 1917-11-02 | Page 7 | 63 Negroes are Placed on Trial for their Lives

B8 NEGHOES AHE PLACED OH TRIAL FOR THEIR LIVES Prisoners Are Soldiers of Twenty-Fourth Infantry Who "Shot Up" Houston, Tex. ALL ENTER PLEAS OF NOT GUILTY Major K. S. Snow Is First Witness and Tells Story of the Attack; Powerless Power-less to Prevent. SAN ANTONTO, Texas, Xov. 1. Sixty-thre negro soldiers of the Twenty-fourth infantry on guard duty at Camp Logan, Houston, who Tvere placed on court-martial trial here today on charges of mutiny, murder and rioting in Houston on the night of August 23 last, during which twenty-two lives were lost, armed themselves and left the camp in disobedience to orders from Major Ma-jor K. 8. Snow after he had warned them of the consequences and advised them that Corpora! Charles W. Baltimore, Balti-more, negro soldier, had not been killed by Houston police officers, Major Snow testified this afternoon. Earlier reports, Major Snow said, were that Baltimore ,liad been killed and the negro soldiers ; were incensed. Major Snow, of the Twenty-fourth infantry, in-fantry, was in command of the third -battalion of the infantry, numbers of whi'-h participated in the shooting up of Houston. lie was the only material witness at the first day of the military trial. Trial in Chapel. The trial is being held in Gift chapel at Camp Travis, which has been converted con-verted into a temporary courtroom. Armed guards with fixed bayonets are stationed at points of vantage in the auditorium and spacious yard surrounding surround-ing the building during the course of the trial. Spectators are permitted in the gallery. All of the defendants were , seated in the courtroom. " There were originally sixty-four de- Tcndants, but one, Grant Anderson, ill Tvf pueumonia, was unable to attend. The det'ondants entered pleas of not guilty when court opened. Major Snow testified that a report reached camp about 2 o'clock on the afternoon preceding the shooting, that .Corporal Baltimore had been shot and lulled by a Houston policeman. Later, the witness said, he went to Houston "police hoadquarters, where the chief of Eiolice told him that Baltimore had not ecu shot but had been arrested and - roughly handled by a policeman named Sparks, that Spark's bad been suspended and would be further punished. Baltimore's Balti-more's arrest is said to have followed his asking Sparks why he had arrested a negro woman. Warned the Negroes. Returning to camp, Major Snow testified, testi-fied, he found the negroes already an-grv an-grv and making threats. It was then he told them Baltimore had not been killed as they believed. 4 ' I talked with them, telling them .... they were sticking their necks in ropes; j- committing suicide and to put their suns clown, f ' Major Snow testified. ' "But J all I Raid was-unavailing. " i Twenty or thirty of the negroes had !' guns pointed at him, Major Snow said, and, seeing he could do nothing, "he ,r dodged between some tents and went into K company street." Z When ho reached T company's empty ; supply tent, the major aaicJ, ho eaw ..many negroes helping themselves to Ttflos and ammunition, and shortly .r,."fhe firing broke loose." Major Snow estimated that 1000 or !" 1200 shots wore fired within ten min-IVtes. min-IVtes. The negroes scorned to bo firing : toward the city of Houston, he said. It was too dark to recognize any of them, but ho kept trying to persuade them to lr.top firinc. About this lime, according to the tcs-timony, tcs-timony, upwards of 100 negroes left camp, starting toward Houston. Snow a, then had all the negroes in camp Touud-cd Touud-cd up ?o ho could check up on those present. The firing, meantime, could be hoard in the directioo of the city, he I testified. Snow did not witness any of the shootinc in the city, ho said, and did not ' know the names of any of the negroes who mutinied.