Gunnison news-champion., 1918-05-03
AGAIN THEY ANSWER
THEIR C0UNT8Y3 CALL

THEIR COUNt8YS CALL
Inaerestiag Sessy e IL Neesss Rssl
} In Or Wae Hks1sEy Wsiet0 Dy A
Cunnissa Cssn1y nsy
BY Pvt Rfed Lspsz, II 0BossuBt }
Every Hvo ADeE5enn Fe5o6enB h u
valoruus deedb Il his aneestpRs. II
scenes of battles bag go azs haDt
fresh IN tie minds of succeeding 90
eratioas By tie boast ef tnsal deocent
from heroes ef other dayA Nsa ~
joice in paying tribute 70 the lsyal
kand Of Coloaists, who. for he sake
Il liberty, mingled tAeir Mod With
the Land ve love ih de4anes 1t .
struag natiea- Il Il . heritage prsad-
,ly shared by thoasands- Womea guard
with Jealous care thoee ereaienfials
which open % them Tie dsen rof fel-
lowship with tie Daughters ef the
American Revolutioa- Il Il written in
bleod. and around tie 6resids o win
ter nights ehildrens' childrea are IN
dueted into the sacred knewlsdge Of
tie part played of thoss whose bloed
courses throagh their bodies.
Nor ID the negro set aside in this
review Of ferefa4hen AgAting pFvW-
ess, for he has Q share h the soldieEy
memories Of cur nation from the b.
ginning. The hrst negro bleed b
dow was that Of CEiss1s Attacks, .
runaway dave, Who led IN attack Of
citizens o. TIE British soldieTs March
s, ITO, in what q kAown today - TIE
Boston Nassaere. From Boston Com
mons 70 Caxyixal, the negro has man
ifested tie same bravery and loyalty
by dying for the Starr and Stripes
whenever opportunity has offered tts-
eli. His cheerful and eonspieuous
courage 1t the bsttle Of New Orleans,
in 1912. brought forth the public COM
mendation Of General Andrew Jack
son. In that same war II was to neg
70 soldiers that the post of guarding
the city Of Washington from traitors
at home and enemies within was given
because among them there were no
traitors.
The feature Of q negro regiment
il singing. Their favorite song was:
1.-THE Old Flag Never Touched the
memory Of the gallant 5Ath Massachu-
setts, . negro regiment under Colonel
Robert Gould Shaw. In . brave
struggle in which nearly al the offi-
cials were killed, including Colonel
Shaw. a loyal sergeant seized the reg
mental colors from falling comrade
and kept the flag afioat. When mang-
led and bleeding he was carried from
the field, he lifted his voice with the
expultantcry: Boys, the old flag never
touched the ground"
Once more black hands are holding
up the colors. Through the smoke
and flame of battle are seen the tense
black faces Of the negro troops. The
training camps are alive with the
drawl Of the plantation and the harsh
er tones Of the, northern cities. Moth
ers and wives and sweethearts are
trying to adjust themselves to the
absence of their men. Little children
look with wonder and ask question.
But the negro himself, has asked
none. The nation said: "Come." and
once more he il answering his eoun-
try's call to demonstrate that the
&irit Of heroism and sacrifice has de-
veloped since the blood Of the black
man and the blood Of the white man
Arst wst the soil Of Cur land IN ths
cause Of liberty and justice. From
teld and factory and school alike they
oave come. The slow and the swift;
the unlettered and the educated; the
untrained> and the gifted-esch has
come Offering his al with which to
keep the torch Of American liberty
ablaze. Some eighty thousand Of the
best physical types Of negro Ameri-
can manhood are in the army. Six
hundred and twenty-four Of the choie-
est negro men are among the commits
stoned officers who will lead them
.over the top" out into mo mans
land
None has hesitated. The universi-
ty professor has set his frogS and
testing tubes 70 gather dust or 70 b
used 6y less ab1e' men than he. The
colleee boy has swapped his bet and
bail for . khsd guit and Springfield
rife. The physician. who has minist-
cred to the needs Of the lowiy homes
IN tie countless rural communities, Of
tie south, viii now rebuild the torn
and shattered bodies Of the heads of
these households. Not oaly tie lev-
ing devotion Of the home folks and
friends stamps ttese men g the sert
that makes IN army strung, but the
government also has said that they
count, for the SECRETARY of war u fnl-
II eoenissnt q ana sppseciates ths
loyalty and patriotism q the. negro :
Ths appcmtnsat of E1nusst Jay Scett
q special assistant seerutayy of war,
3 Q further reeognition ef tie use
.end value o& tie neGreSs unqualified
support q IL nation eriais.
Camp HE y rsemphaaizing IT, fat
that the negro = pre-e1ninenely .
. :.