The 24th Infantry

I chose to analyze the Memorandum on Conditions in Columbus, N.M.. The purpose of the author in preparing this document is to bring attention to the governor as to what they believe is evidence of corruption and that the 24th infantry should be removed from Columbus because they are taking advantage of the corruption. I think the author’s argument is that Columbus is overrun with vice and they use the conditions of Columbus as evidence of that. Their solution is to remove the 24th infantry from Columbus. The strategy used is to bring attention to various issues going on in Columbus. The first issue being that Mayor J. R. Blair allows vice and even is said to have participated in it. The next issue the author brings up is prostitution and drugs. The third issue mentioned is the 24th Infantry’s behavior in Columbus. The fourth issue mentioned is that there are more black people than white people in Columbus. The fourth issue is actually a constant theme throughout the document. The author constantly suggests that because the citizens are black that vice is occurring. The intended audience of the text is probably the governor. I think this influences the rhetorical strategy because the author is phrasing their points through ethics and emotion. They are mentioning everything that is “wrong” with Columbus and pointing out what would be considered immoral and illegal. “and while the town fattens on them and submits, the better class of white people live in secret dread and dislike of them” This excerpt is written in a way that is supposed to make anyone say “How horrible!” I think what’s at stake for the author is their reputation because the author is the Director of Bureau of Protective Social Measures. It seems like the entire purpose of the bureau is to protect and I think the author would be adamant about taking measures to protect Columbus and all parties involved with the corruption in Columbus. This is apparent when the author says “If these soldiers were placed in a community already equipped with necessary laws against vice, etc., and made to feel the hand of authority from the beginning both from the civilian and the military quarter they could doubtless be properly controlled and protected.” I find it interesting how the author mentions that the vice is occurring during the time that Mayor J.R. Blair is in office, but the author does not mention removing him from office to improve conditions in NM. Instead, the recommendation is to remove the 24th infantry. I do not believe the author is credible or reliable. First, because they have warped views about black people in my opinion. Also, this document is not even the original field agent’s report, so I don’t know what the field agent may have included or left out in their report and how much of that was translated to the author’s interpretation of the report. The ideas in this document differ from ideas now because when this document was drafted, racism was acceptable. Now blatant racism is no longer acceptable. This document supports the other document we read about Columbus NM because in that document there was a large push to attract white farmers to Columbus and in this document the author is pushing to bring white soldiers to Columbus.

Narrative: The documents begin with the Director of the Bureau of Protective Social Measures (Caroline E. Boone) bringing attention to what she feels is evidence that the 24th infantry should be removed from Columbus, New Mexico. The Governor then sends a request on April 3 1921 to Secretary Albert B. Fall to have the 24th infantry removed from Columbus. A response is received on April 13, 1921 from the Secretary of War, John W. Weeks. He responds that the 24th infantry has been investigated on numerous occasions and it has been found that their behavior is “exemplary”. He explains that even though the town does need to be rid of “undesirable characters” that the removing the 24th Infantry is not the solution especially since there are no white troops to replace the 24th Infantry. On May 16, 1921 Weeks sent a letter to the Governor referencing a letter on May 4th. Weeks mentions that a report was received in which the 24th Infantry was found clean from drugs. A couple months later on June 9, 1921, the Inspector General C.P. Mills sent a telegram to the governor requesting an interview with both the governor and Caroline E. Boone. John Weeks then follows up with another letter to the Governor on June 20, 1921 in which he states that an investigation took place and the inspector drafted a report which did not mention anything about the concerns that Caroline E. Boone had brought up about the 24th Infantry. In fact, Weeks says that the report indicates that the troops cooperate with civil authorities and it is the civil authorities’ responsibility to uphold civil law. Later that month on June 23, 1921 C.V. Safford (Administrative Assistant, Department of War ) wrote a letter to the Governor restating the letter that John Weeks had sent on May 16. Safford write that Week’s inspector found “ no more than a normal number of flagrant violations of law” and implies that John Week’s recommendations will be followed. On July 10th, 1921 W.C. Franklin (Cashier, Columbus First National Bank) wrote a letter to the Governor. Franklin requests that the Governor delay removing the 24th infantry because it could have negative effects on the economy and also there would be no other troops to replace the 24th infantry. There are also two documents from the Village Board of Trustees that I cannot decipher enough to write a narrative from.

That was one of the challenges of analyzing these documents-being able to actually see the written text. There are a lot of testimonies missing from the 24th infantry members, from the field agent’s original report is missing, only Caroline E. Boone’s interpretation of the report is included. Some of the documents are missing dates which makes it difficult to know when it happened. I think it would be interesting to see other documents in this particular archive which may be related to this in order to fill in the gaps.

This exercise taught me to dwell. To examine the source again and again and again until it starts to make sense and questions start jumping out. I learned how to ponder the timeline constantly in the back of my mind and give my brain time to digest everything. I learned how to pick out pieces of the puzzle and put them together to form a bigger picture. I also learned to examine my own biases and what I feel is right or wrong because reading and thinking about opposing perspectives can do that. My only question at the moment is, how does someone know when they are “done” with their research? It seems like it could go on forever with an everchanging narrative.