The daily banner., 1917-07-24
Training Negroes for Officers

There are few negro officers among |
Uncle Sans professional fighters
a lieutenant-colonel, a major, and
one or two lieutenants. For the ne
gro regiments that the Government
! intends to raise, commanders will be
necessary. and the War Department
! is preparing TO meet this need at a
! training-camp established at Fort
! Des Moines, where 1900 negro stu
dent officers are being nodded into
shape to lead the black fighters who
will join the American Army in
! France.
! The people of Des Moines, few
miles north of the camp. protested
vigorously when it was announced
that the Government intended 20 IS
tablish negro training quarters so
near to their city. Since the opening
of the camp, however, the deport-
ment of the men has been so COM
mendable that the camp no longer
arouses any spirit of opposition, for
the Officer and gentleman Army
tradition is being splendidly upheld,
says the New York Tribune. The
men are described as the highest
types of their race in the country.
one of the leaders is DR.. George w
CabanniSS, negro physician OF
Washington, to whose efforts the in
stituton of the camp is largely due.
There are also in the corps four Har-
ward graduates OF the class of II,
and two members of the Harvard
Law School. The Tribune says:
The men are of all types. There
, are troopers and infantrymen from
the regulars, sent by their command
ers because it was believed that they
were of officer material. Many OF
, them have had experience in actual
warfare. Four of them were pres
ent at the Carrizal massacre.
, Almost every district in the Unit
ed States has furnished its quota.
Even the Philippines has furnished
} delegation of 100 negro troopers,
who are now on their way here. The
majority of the men come from
} north of Mason and Dixon line.
There are few candidates accep-
ted from civilian life unless they
; have had college educations. Most
. of them are professional men who
have already succeeded in their lines
, of work. In one company there are
\ ten physicians, fourteen lawyers four
dentists, a college professor, and
three engineers.
: The Government intends to sup
ply from the training school here
! company officers for the negro regi-
! ments raised by the selective draft.
: Those of the students who are judg-
: ed fit at the conclusion of the term
) will be given commissions as cap
r tains and lieutenants. The higher
officers in the drafted regiments will
, all be white.
The camp here is being conduc-
ted along the same broad lines that
maintain at Plattsburg and else
where. Colonel c. C. Ballou is in
command The companies are Off
cered for the most part by men from
} the regular Army negro regiments
a baseball league has been orga-
, niZed among the men, and a colored
Y. NJ. c. A. is doing excellent work.
' Liquor is absolutely prohibited. Ii
any member of the corps is found
with it in his possession, internally
or externally, he is dismissed in
+ stantly.
NO drill is held, no outdoor exer-
else is taken, without an admiring
, audience of the colored folk of Des
. Moines. They cluster about the camp
, from dawn to twilight, watching
; their dusky brethren in khaki who
, are to become sure-'nuff officers some
: day.
NO member of the camp can walk
: through thet town without a dozen
, small darkies trailing worshipfully
, at his heels.
p ''All of the men here are splendid
physical types. Several of them were
pronounced after examination to be
physically perfect men-something
extremely rare in the experience OF
f regular Army surgeons. They are
=, submissive to discipline and are
: learning rapidly.
The boys are far more obedient
and much less difficult to handle
than similar body of white men
, would be- says Colonel Ballou. They
: learn readily, and | believe that we
, have the making of a large number
. | Of good officers here.