Metropolis weekly gazette. (Metropolis, Ill.) 1???-19??, 1916-09-15

| sight, the wages OF the common labor
er will advance sharply. In the South
| to keep the Negro at home, and In the
North to lure him away from Dixie.
Among the recent promotions In the
army was that of Maj. Charles Young.
Tenth United States cavalry, to the
grade of lieutenant colonel. Special
interest attaches to this case for the
reason that, although Colonel Young
is not the only colored man TO have
been graduated from the United States
Military academy, he is the only man
of his race to have reached the rank
of lieutenant colonel, the second high
est In regimeEtal organization. He was
graduate In 1889 and most of his serv-
ice has been I'm the Ninth and Tenth
cavalry, In which he rose gradually to
his present rank. For nearly a year.
while holding the rank of first iienten-
ant, he was attached to the Seventh
cavalry. white regiment. During the
Spanish war he served as major Of the
Ninth Ohio colored infantry, a regi-
ment he helped TO organize. For sew
eral months past he has been serving
with his regiment In the punitive expe-
dltlon to Mexico under General Per-
shIng.
In addition to Lieutenant Colonel
Young. there are eight other colored
men holding commissions In the army.
These are: Maj. John r. Lynch Of the
pay corps. formerly a member OF con-
gress. who Is retired; Capt. John T..
Green. Twenty-hfth Infantry. who IL
military attache at Monroyia. Liberia |:
Capt Benjamin o. Davis of the cav
airy, who Is military instructor nj VIII
berforce university. Ohio. and Chap
lains w. W. +. GLADDEN., Twenty-fouTth
Infantry: George w. Prioleau. Twenty
fifth infantry; o. J. w. Scott, Tenth
cavalry Louis A. Carter. Ninth caxal-
ny. and T. G. Stewart and William Il.
Anderson. both OF whom are on the
retired list. Chaplain Anderson has
the rank of major, the others being
either captains or first lieutenants-
In the period covered by one yigor-
Gus manhood. approximately colnei-
dent with the half century following
emancipation. things changed very
much for the American Negro. He
more than doubled In numbers and
accumulated wealth exceeding S7O0.-
100000. His school property for higher
education built and paid for In that
time amounted 10 $20.0O0.o00: his
church property to s7o.0Oo.0o0.
In the half century the percentage Of
literacy was raised from TO 20. Al its
close there were 100000 Negro chill
dren In public schools instead OF a
meager 10000 In 1853. The number OF
Negro churches wns Increased from
$50 to 10000; the number Of communi-
cants from $4,000 10 4. 10000. Sunday
schools increased from 200 to 1000
and pupils from 10000 to 100000.
This Is very credItnble record for
an uneducated. illiterate race suddenly
thrown ON its own resources In the
midst of highly organized white CIV
illzation. which had no place ready for
Its former slaves. And the Negroes
are by no means standing still. They
are entering every branch OF business
and making good: they are rapidly ex-
| tending their real estate holdings they
are giving themselves a secular and re-
ligious education that ranks high In
| the Christian world. What their fu-
tnre In this country Will be no mau
dares to prophesy. but undoubtedly
| they viii be ready TO meet boldly and
capably whatever fate has In store for
them. They have learned TO stand on
their feet.