The Kansas City sun. (Kansas City, Mo.) 1908-1924, 1917-10-06
DR.. Nurse AT ALLEN CHAPEL SUNDAY
NEGRO SOLDIER PROBLEM.
(From Wednesdays Kansas City
Journal.)

JOulhdl"J
There has been a singularly ill-ad-
Vised handling of the Negro soldiers
ever since the mobilization of the
American forces began. Numerous
race riots" and outbreaks of greater
or less seriousness have occurred as
a result of quartering Negro regulars
in communities where race prejudice
might naturally have been expected
to result in friction, if nothing worse.
These occurrences, however, appear
to have been controlled, and there
have been no special reasons for COM
plant for some time.
But the wrong lesson appears to
have been learned by the govern
ment's military authorities from
these occurrences Ever since the
registered forces have been in pro-
cess of selection under the new law
there has been evinced a seeming dis
prospective units of the new national
army, with the result that a two-fold
injustice has been worked. In the first
place, white men who w ould not have
been called for months, in all prob
ability, have been advanced" in the
lists while the Negroes have been held
back. Let it not be understood that
considerations of race or color should
operate to relieve white men of any
obligations which are entailed upon
them as citizens or available soldiers,
or that Negroes, because they are Ne
groes, should be sent to places of
danger ahead of white men. That is
not the fundamental principle in
volved. Before the law all are equal
in the matter of responsibility. But
wholly unnecessary and wholly avoid
able dissatisfaction is being caused
by this injustice which is being
wrought in the case of the white men
who are sent to the training camps,
while Negroes are held back by order
of the authorities.
There is also an unnecessary in
Justice wrought upon the tens of
thousands of willing Negroes who
ought to take their places in the
, ranks but who are deprived of that
privilege. They are being placed in
the position of men who are either
unwilling to assume the responsible
ties of citizenship or who are not re-
garded as worthy of assuming the bur-
dens falling upon all alike. Either
assumption is unjust.
In view of prejudices which exist
and which cannot be consistently ig-
nored, the problem of the Negro sol
dier will not be solved by promis-
cuous mingling of the two races, and
certainly not by sending white sol
diers alone while Negroes are held at
home. There is no apparent reason
why several divisions of Negroes
should not be formed, officered main
! ly by men of their own race, within
the regulations prescribed. There is
no reason why these Negro soldiers
should not be trained at one or more
training camps devoted exclusively to
fundamental results would be secured
without the friction and dissatisfac-
ton which have already been caused.
Under proper conditions the Ne
groes might give as good an account
of themselves as soldiers of the white
race and they should be allowed the
opportunity of doing so. If it is not
considered an opportunity by all of
the available Negro soldiers, they
should be required to assume the
duty deveolving upon them as such.
They must be credited, .how>yeV, with
having shown as yet no disposition
to shirk these duties and responsible
ties and they should be invested with
their proportionate share of the bur
dens of membership in the national
forces.