The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1899-12-11
1ITIIG Tue COLOR LINE.
49, v,rsrn sorDrERs nErusr TO
aALurr NEGRO OFFICERS.
...s>.s Trouble Narrowly Averted
q tAe Presidio ON Account OF
stuafed Insults TO Colored Men
~ Their Interiors in Rank.

.srleut. Bntierg' repeated the sentry.
.suhich one--blsck or whittier
~ vas black himself. but he put the
rn.stiou In such business-like. imper-
sinsl manner a. to require like answer.
n 40 tho black lieutenant, Of course.
nj wanted to see. Where Is the pr1-
vsfs. white or black. who darcs deny the
ssh,te TO Lieut.. Butler--white? Lieut. But
ler black, sailed yesterday afternoon Tor
rrovledes that Uncle Sans military rules
NV be interpreted two ways-a white
Wv and black way.
ma white way Is undressing, for 1t
4 the everyday Interpretation. The black
Nv Il that most radically expressed by
! certain white sergeant In the Third ar
fiIIery the other day,
sTske that coat en- he shouted to his
n,perior officer (colored). and I'll salute
Isl straps, but I'll be Aicatrazed II I'll
snlute you'll"
N "a moment later there was a negro lieu
tsnant knocked down by his military In
eeviors. There was dishonor.ng OF gilt
shnulder-straps, whose significance nearly
. hundred thousand men were taught to
respect during our last war. And there
vas . hasty lining-up OF two rows of
threatening men, one white. the other
HACK, quite as though the war before the
MI had not put an end to race hatred In
America.
IT repor. a man for disrespect for
reriecttng to salute me az his superior
6Gcer." said q negro oficer out at the
PYesidio yesterday, The is brought up be-
fore his judges, and so am !. To me they
nv. You are quite right. The offense
Il plain. 1t was an open disregard OF
military regulations To him they say.
after am gone, Well. Of course. there
IL the rules and Their meaning IL plain.
hut I'm admit it's pretty hard luck to have
q salute 4 Niger put the blame for
this disrespect TO the uniform on the white
ofncsrA We teach our men to salute the
mark Of military rank, no matter who
wears it. The white officers whose men
refuse us the salute Is half in sympathy
with them himself"
yesterday at the Palace hotel" said the
officer. II happened to be in the court.
and, turning. saw white officer. sur
Eeon just beginning, you know. in his
profession" he added. with gentle dis
dain. II really hadn't had time to recog-
nize the fact that he was an officer before
he turned completely around to avoid sa-
iuting me. Doesn't It seem absurdT'
This question isn't new one" said
colored philosopher who happens to be
an ofzicer 'In Jefferson barracks, Mis-
souri,. where We were stationed, the
thing had finally TO be recognized and a
test made to enforce discipline"
Down In Arizona, where come from"
said a negro sergeant, who had just
brought prisoner up to Alcatraz for
disobedience and disrespect to a superior,
hts the same way. It's ignorance usual
", and the low-class volunteer who
makes a personal matter OF It,"
"And the fact is" said lieutenant In
the Forty-ninth, the man who happens
to be wearing the uniform has nothing
to do with the matter. The salute is a
mark Of respect to q certain rank. 1t
ought not to matter to the man who
the same government that do, whether
that uniform IL worn by a white man or
black man or q yellow man. by a man
Of honor or a scoundreL And the Ques-
ton Of discrimination was not left to the
discretion of individuals. It's purely a
matter Of form and military detail.''
"You won't understand, will you." in
terposed Lieut. Tillman, good-naturedly,
that we are deliberately seeking the sa-
lutte? 1t makes no difference to man
Of sense whether prejudiced white SOL
der goes out of his way to make per-
! sonal matter out of what Is simply a
military regulation. We haven't been
chasing the salute at all. When group
Of men are standing at the head Of the
street here. I'll not zigzag across in order
to relieve them of the painful necessity
Of saluting. But II these men feel that
It humilates them to salute colored
ofdcer. I'll spare them the salute. Yes
terday overheard two men take third
to task for saluting the rank I wear
What dye mean one said. by giving
that Niger the salute? I'd see him In
- before I'd salute him. Now, think
the common sense way is the way to
treat this thing. Rigidly considered,
should have these men arrested. put In
the guardhouse and made to stand trial
That Is my right and their fit punish
ment. But there is no man living, white
or black, who will dispute the human
necessity of departing at times from the
rigid rule. Discretion, good judgment
xpediency-whatever you choose to call
it-suggests that man should ignore
these things for a time. In ten years.
fifteen years 1t will have passed.
wouldn't make tragedy of 1t. 1t isn't
worth while"
Among the regulars" said tall.
straight, soldierly-looking black fellow
with stripes on his sleeves. I'VE find that
mans too much of soldier, as rule,
to take up a class war. It's the volun-
teers, who aren't accustomed TO colored
oficers, who'll say what a white soldier
said Of me at the Thanksgiving football
game.
Salute that thing.' he sneered, when
his companion stood at attention. Touch
your cap to that niger? I'll be - II
dop
'of course there are regulars. officers
and men, who'll have urgent business off
at tangent from their line of walk the
moment a colored officer appears. And
there are those among the white privares
who make a distinction between 'swelled-
head niggers' and those who are not I'M
duly elated at being above white men.
but, after ALL this is not the serious
side of the matter. If lot of white sol
diers are running away from the posi-
biiity of being compelled to salute, col
ored officer would make dignif1ed pic
ture, wouldn't he, running after them?
The only part of it that a person need
consider is the effect 1t has upon the
men. The black private has as much 10y
atty TO his officers as the white man has:
often more. If two officers of the Forty
ninth, friends of Buffers. hadn't been at
hand TO quiet things last week there
would have been bloodshed. with whites
on one side and blacks on the other. Col
OreQ DriV1tSS f1rY1dant and