Bingham Bulletin | 1920-10-15 | Page 6 | Probe Killing of Haitien ' Bandits'

PROBE KILLING OF HAITIEN 'BANDITS' ... t 'n CHARGED THAT MARINES AND HAITIEN OFFICIALS HAVE . EXCEEDED AUTHORITY. Evidence of Practically Indiscriminate Killing of Natives, It Being Reported Re-ported That 3250 Armed Bandits Ban-dits Have Been Killed. Washington. Approximately .'5250 "armed Haitien bandits" have " been killed by United States marines or Haitien gendarmerie during the five and a half years of American occupation, occupa-tion, Brigadier General George Bar-nett, Bar-nett, former commandant of the marine ma-rine corps, says In a report made public pub-lic Wednesday by Secretary Daniels. Evidence of "practically indiscriminate indiscrimin-ate killing" of Haitien natives, by United States marines was brought to the attention of Colonel John H. Rus-eell, Rus-eell, commanding the marine forces in Haiti,' In a confidential1 letter written by General. Harnett, commandant of the corps, In October, 1919, calling for a thorough Investigation of conditions. General Barnett's report on the matter mat-ter to Secretary .Daniels was submitted submit-ted last month. It revealed that tils orders for an -Investigation resulted from evidence brought out at the court-martial trial of two privates in the marine corps on charges connected with unlawful executions of captive Haitien bnpdlts, ." General Barnett declared in his letter, let-ter, which wasi made public Wednesday Wednes-day In a report on operations In Haiti while he was commandant of the corpa, that he was "shocked beyond expression" expres-sion" to hear of such conditions in Haiti and "to know that It was at all possible that duty could be badly performed per-formed by marines of any class."