Kansas City journal. [volume] (Kansas City, Mo.) 1897-1928, 1898-06-28
TOUGH NEGROES DON'T ENLIST
Only the Better Class of Colored Men
Are Offering Their Services
in KanHaS.

TOPEKA, June 27.-(SpeciaL) Recruit
ing officers were busy here to-day enlist
ing colored soldiers. The applicants were
examined in representative hall by sur
geons appointed by Governor Leedy. There
were enough colored men in and out of
the hall to-day to make up full regiment,
but the indications are that not more than
enough colored recruits will be secured here
to fill one company. FOrty-fivS were re-
cruited to-day. Perhaps there will be a
small overflow. Not all of the colored men
who were around the hall are anxious to
go to war. The great majority OF them
say that Kansas is good enough for them.
They all say that they would go in min
ute. but their wives. or mothers or sweet
hearts object. and for that reason they
will not enlist.
Fully one-half of those who applied did
SO with the hope of winning .captancy or
some other Office at the election There
is big rivalry for the position of captain.
VIII Reynolds, tall negro, claims to have
five votes pledged for himself. John Jones
comes next with four. The others say they
are sure of their own votes, and in the
, break up each hopes to be the compromise
candidate. The percentage of reflections is
very small. The surgeons overlook some
defects. This is a great disappointment
to some.
i Superintendent Hart. of the state reform
| school, is trying arbitrarily to send nine
| of his pupils to the war. He paroled
| them this morning and brought them TO
the recruiting station and ordered them ex-
| amined. They all passed. Six of the nine
| didn't want to go to war; and the reform
school officers are trying to force them
| in. The boys are scared half to death. One
| of the recruiting officers disapproyed the
action of the state officials in that respect.
1T might be a good thing to send them
away from Kansas" but to force them to
enlist is wrong. A man who is forced
| into the war never makes good soldier.
| If their company got in tight place there
would not be enough mules in Cuba to
hold those boys in line. They would desert
sure. What's the use OF enlisting them?
| The government might well save the
trouble of equipping them?"O
1t is noticeable that the colored men
who are enlisting are of the better class.
The negro toughs are not offering their
services at all. They prefer to remain at
home and live by thievery.
| Jacksons colored band of Topeka will
| go with the colored volunteers. The band
| boys are enlisting as privates, with the un-
derstanding that as soon as the two bat
talions are formed they will be taken from
the ranks and detailed to play in the band.
| G. E. Payne. formerly a corporal in the
Ninth United States colored cavalry, is
here from Junction City trying to arrange
to get a number of men from that town
into the service. He says they can't afford
to spend their own money to come to To-
! peka and run the risk of being rejected.
He has asked that a recruiting officer be
sent out there to enlist the men. He says
| that he can rake up about fifty recruits
in that vicinity.
| II the federal government expects to
enlist any colored troops 1t will have to
change the requirements as to weight and
| height said Adjutant General Allen to-
day. Il was greatly surprised to-day to
find out that. on the average, a negro of
the same height as white man is fifteen
pounds lighter. The negroes, like the
Texans hogs were built for speed evil
IDENTIFY. 1t would be impossible to raise
two battalions of negroes from the entire
coiored population of Kansas if the army
requirements for examination as to
weight and height We're followed. We cut
dcWE the average as given in the army
regulations to-day fifteen pounds and then
had hard time getting the colored men
| in under it. OF the men SO far enlisted
at this place not more than twelve of
them could have got in under the usual
regulation.
HUTCHINSON. KAS.. June 27.-tSpecial.) }
A company of colored men is being organ
lied here by Captain Lyman Davis. They
expect to enlist in one of the Kansas bat
talions, to be raised to complete the Kan
sas quota under the second call Forty
eight men are now enrolled and the rest
will be gathered from the surrounding
towns,