The Kansas City sun. (Kansas City, Mo.) 1908-1924, 1918-06-22
THE sCENSORED AND
UNCENSORED.
A Little Comment on an Article
Appearing ia the Kansas City
Star on Our COIOred Troops
in France.
BY Chas. A. Stark.
Not DELAYED by CensorA

| We who live in these parts have
| long felt that there is one big power
/ full institution whose policy toward us
| is calculated more or less to humilate
where it cannot annihilate or pro.
nouncedly ignore altogether the noble
aspirations of this people. But we
flatter ourselves on our growing abil-
ity to discern Right from Wrong in
| public statements-the Sincere from
| the Hypocritical-the Praiseworthy
! from the Degrading-the Serious from
the Humorous, and most certainly the
! Sublime from the Ridiculous.
And so therefore we read the article
published in Tuesdays Star captioned,
| The Bushes, Better HIDE" by one
| Floyd p Gibbons, with considerable
disgust And we wonder why many
white Americans, affectedly educated,
can find inclination or time in this Sc
rous perod of our National existence
| to try to be funny and superior" at
the expense of the colored people of
this country
The correspondent proceeds to state
his own opinion" through the mouth
of Negro Lieutenant" (who prob
ably never eXisted) of the war aims
of our race. If within the bounds of
the possible there is such a person as
this suppositonal one, then we say
that there are several million Negroes
who could express what we are fight.
ing for with finer feeling and far more
nobler language than he did. l would
like to see the color of the Negro who
could reason in language like this:
I'VE are supposed to have had equal
rights for fifty years now, but many
times we have thought (Ye Gods, We
have thought those rights have been
denied us and many times it has been
neld (by sworn enemies of the Race
that we have never done anything to
deserve them Do you believe any
dyed-in-the-wool American Negro
would say such a thing in such a way?
Mr.. Gibbons then proceeds to give
the Negro credit for some things
which he is compelled by virtue of
merit itself. But Notwithstanding he
finds their morale of a high order he
cannot resist the temptation to secure
more effect by subjecting the race
to the obsolete trick of fictitious dia.
lect. Instead of "Rastus" or "Sambo"
it is now 'Lucius" who is made to of
fer up the sacrifice on the altar of the
ridiculous. The reporter actually re
lates that he invited "Lucius" (conde
scendingly of course to a seat in his
motor car with him (ostensibly) "tc
guide him to headquarters" but in
reality to publish the following en-
Tightening interview: What do yor
think of these French Black Troops
(speaking to the imaginary Lucius,
asked. The supposed answer
Never seen them drill, but l know
We got better Band than they has,
ne said. while particles of the Englisl
walnuts he was munching formed ;
white fresco about his lips" (narrate
the interviewer).
We understand then that this article
was certainly not designed to cente
attraction on the intelligence and man
illness of colored American troops
There is other junk embraced in tn,
article which anyone can see by read
ing it.
By way of counteraction we men
tion the following: Note-Those onl.
who have read the article in the Sta
can appreciate the obvious sarcasm
in reference TO (uncensored).
Notes.
That band from the (uncensored
II NOld 18th New York Colored Regimen
has been stated to be the best band il
the (uncensored) Whole Army. An
they don't (uncensoredt always pla
Ragtime either.
Somewhere in France there are so
diers from the Old 9th and 10th Cav
alries who are hailed as America
best (uncensored and speaking tn
!" correct English is not considered an
distinction by them.
Over here the whole American
Army is cherished by the Negro. TIL
n Negro is proud of America evel
though he has just cause (no doub
- about it, to complain of certain unto
l. ward conditions and that he does no
e. complain at this hour stamps him a
II. this country's sublimest unit. (uncen
:. sored),
~ We almost forgot to state that tn,
u article in question was reprinted from
the Chicago Tribune. But in view o
the fact that there was little in it tina
would raise the tone of conception o
readers of the Associated Press, re
garding Negroes is probably the rea
son the (censoredl published it at all