The Morgan City daily review. (Morgan City, La.) 1916-1920, 1917-10-18
Has Camp Pike
Negro Question!
Continued from Yesterday

What would you do if you met :
negro commissioned officer?' {
youthful descendant OF a follower OF
Lee and jackson, asked another, as
they sd; in the SHADE Of peach
tree, for that portion of Camp Pike
was at one time vel kept or
chard
I'D salute the very best ! know
how, promptly came the reply. Il
wouldn't be saluting the niger. I'd
salute that uniform no matter who
had it on"
And strange as it may appear,
that is the disposition on the part Of
twenty odd thousand men ana off
GERS at Camp Pike. They are for
the flag, the uniform, and their
country-not right or wrong, Lut
the right, as they know it will ever
be.
The negro question, il must be ad-
mitted, has caused no end OF worry
to high army officials, but if South
ern people had been consulted they
would have taken the wrinkles out
of headquarter foreheads quite ear
ly in the game They want the ne
gro trained in the South where he
will be treated humanely, and right,
by people who know how to get the
best there is in him, out in the most
useful way
Little Rock has never protested
against the training CT the negroes
from Alabama, Arkansas. Louisiana
and Mississippi at Camp Pike" de-
clares Mayor Charles E. Taylor Tc
he contrary. we have always ox.
pected him, and we have made prep
arations for his coming, We do not
anticipate any trouble with the ne
gro soldier. He understands what
he must do when he comes to town
Cor the uniform does not permit hin
to take liberties, and he knows it
The Negro is as proud Of his uni
form as an. race could be, and he
takes pains to exploit it as the garb
of law abiding citizen"
Few changes in civic life of Little
Rock We're made or even, contemplate
ed by city authorities, because of
the influx of negro troopers. The
War Service Board took charge of
this when the first intimation was
given that Camp Pike was to re
ceive its full quota of negroes. Sew
eral of the wealthy and respected
colored citizens, led by Scipio \.
Jones, an attorney; Chester Bush
officer of a Nationwide negro fra
ternal order; Bishop j. NJ. Conner
and others, were called into confer
ence. It was explained to them that
race riots were usually caused by
negro esta blishments being upon
streets which were much used thor
oughfares. These establishments
draw also low class of whites, and
the business houses adjoining which
are patronized by this character of
white people, and the jostling of one
or the other started fights which re-
suit in riots. These prominent ne
groes agreed with the members Of
the committee that it was best to
absolutely segregate the negroes
from the whites by closing the ne
gro places in the white district and
giving them a district all to them
selves. The wealthy negroes furth-
er agreed that if the negro soldiers
were denied admission to the white
theatres and picture shows, and
there were a sufficient number of
negroes at the camp, they would
erect theatres and provide such en-
tertainment for them in the negro
section of Little Rock. The commit
tee agreed to such a program, and
it now remains to be seen if Uncle
Sam is going to bring enough ne
groes to Camp Pike to make the
business venture renumerative.
Negro soldiers will be permitted
in Little Rocks shopping section on
" to make purchases, but the negro
declare that they will
make this unnecessary. So Little
Rock does net anticipate trouble
with negroes. The officers at
Camp Pike expect their stay here to
be pleasant for all concerned, the
white soldiers expect 10 receive
much entertainment from the negro
and his antics, and if instruments
are used, oh Lordy, what band
there'll be
The matter of who shall be drum
ma Tor is rightfully a matter for ar