The Colorado statesman., 1918-05-18
By MONROE N. WORK.
Editor of the Negro Year Book.
1FROM SOUTHERN WORKMAN

In the campaign in 1914 against Ger
man Southwest Africa, the contingent
from the Union of South Africa was
made up of white soldiers with black
men acting as servants and laborers.
In contrast, the contingent from West
Africa which took part in the cam
paign was composed mainly of black
troops. Although denied enlistment at
home, hundreds of Individual black
men from both South Africa and Can
ada went to Europe and enlisted in
British white regiments or in the
French Foreign Legion
Modern warfare depends not only
upon the soldiers on the firing line,
but in as great degree on the main
tanning of supplies and lines of COM
munication back of the line. For this
reason almost as large an army has to
be maintained to provide supplies for
the soldiers, and to keep open the lines
of communication as are employed in
actual fighting. To help supply the
laborers for the work back of the line,
Great Britain has brought thousands of
black men from Africa. over 10000
have been regularly recruited in South
Africa and sent to France. These ma
tives have been enlisted, formed into
DattallOnS, ana drilled just the same as
the regular soldiers. They have been
given to understand that the service
that they are rendering is just as i'm
portant as that done on the firing line.
construction battalion of Negroes
was recently raised in Canada and sent
to France. Its work is to build bridges,
railroads, artillery roads and other
work to assist in keeping up the lines
,fg,.,t u1
front.
The difficulties, climatic and other
wise, in connection with the campaign
against German East Africa caused the
Union of South Africa, recently, to ask
and receive permission to enlist black
soldiers within the Union for use in
this campaign. Western African black
troops were also used there. The very
gallant manner in which the native
troops on both sides fought in Ger
man East Africa has called forth great
praise from the South African CONF
manders.
Let us now consider the problem of
efficiency as it relates to the Negro.
The exigencies of the war situation
have caused many inventions and dis
coveries to be made When peace
will be applied to the arts of industry.
One result of the war has been the
opening of large industrial opportuni-
ties for the Negro in the United States
and other parts of the world. The prob
lem that he faces is to be able to take
the fullest advantage of these opportu-
mites. His ability to measure up to
their requirements will. in a large
measure, determine whether he will
continue in them. Still another result
of the war is the breaking down of iso-
lation. No longer will any race or
group of people, however backward,
work unto itself. They will compete
with the most Intelligent, the most
skilled in the occupations in which
they are engaged. The competition of
the future is to be wider, stronger,
more subtle and intense. In proportion
as black men fail to increase their ef-
ficiency, in that proportion will they
be swept from the face of the earth;
for the industrial and commercial war
that will follow peace will be no less
a life-and-death struggle than the
present war.
In the readjustments, therefore, that
will take place after the war, eff
ciencv demands upon the Negro will
be very great. In ADDITION TO thoSe
for Industrial efficiency there will be
the demands for efficiency along other
lines, as in education and health con-
servation.
Because of these great demands
there will need to be readjustments in
all forms of Negro education. There
are already great changes in the occu-
pations in which Negroes were en-
paged when the war began. For eN-
ample. there are changes in agricul-
ture, the occupation in which the ma
jority of black men throughout the
world are found. In the regions which
they inhabit. the changes in this oc-
cupation are almost revolutionary.
Second, the opportunity has come to