The broad ax. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1895-19??, 1918-11-16
coLoRED SOLDIERS OVERSEES
MAKING GOOD"
French and American Commanders
Praise Their Goodness and Courage
Under Severest Baptism of Fire"
SnaPpy at Drilling and Expert in
Field Maneuvers-"My Oldest Vet
Grams Could Do IL No Better" Said
a Noted French General.

lCd nave dlreduy SSIdohSheu lHeul-
selves in Europe as being cool and
reliable fighters in the front line.
Both American and French COM
mands say so, and if the Germans
ever discovered who it was that held
part of the line through Argonne
forest when the boches failed to get
through some time ago, the german
command has a decidedly high respect
for American Colored infantry.
Up and down the line, after the
test of a years service, you hear no
doubts expressed regarding the col
ored infantry. The colored dough
boys have made good in the line as
well as behind. They have proven
themselves cool and brave soldiers in
the trenches, and gentlemen when
back at rest in French towns. You
are continually running into units of
these colored chaps as you travel up
and down the line from Switzerland
to Flanders.
Pull Of Some Snappy Drilling.
Down in a little town some miles
back of Verdun the correspondent
encountered a large unit of these
colored chaps, all from Chicago or
whereabouts. They had just come
back to rest, after a long period in
the Argonne forest trenches. Like
their predecessors, Negro unit from
New York, they had made great hit
with the French officers in high COM
mand of the sector. Unlike the New
York Negroes, these Chicago boys
had encountered no big fighting, and
they were disappointed at being taken
from the trenches before doing big
fighting.
The French officers explained that
good soldiers can be recognized just
as we'll when they are holding the line
as when they are fighting, but the
colored doughboys were still disap-
pointed. Finally the French general
of the army came down to review the
Negro outfit. Down by the creek they
went through some of the snappiest
exercise ever seen, and the French
general was delighted. When the
review as it had been planned was
finished the general turned to the
colonel:
"If / were an American general
what would | do now" asked the
"Most anything" replied the col
onel.. "These boys will do anything
you wish"
well, suppose the Germans were
the creek" replied the general,
I'D like to have this nearest company
sttaek them" IEE
Difficult Field Maneuver Skillfully
Executed.
The captain of the nearest COM
pany was given the order, and he
marched his men across the meadow,
where they suddenly disappeared.
Pretty soon a whistle sounded, and
the company was up and running to-
ward the creek. Only a minute, and
they dropped, waiting, then running,
always skirmishing in the latest ap-
proved French fashion.
When they dropped it was with two
skirmish lines in advance and two
support lines leading of to the rear,
with each man dropping over the legs
of the chap in front of him. Tin
debries and packs covered the upper
portions of their bodies.
After a bit of a flank movement
by couple of platoons, the supposed
German positions along the creek
were stormed and taken. The French
general was delighted beyond words
for a moment. Finally he said, "My
eldest veterans could do it no better,
even if they were warned it was on
the program, and your boys did that
extemporaneously." The general re-