The Colorado statesman., 1918-05-11

! thoughtless, adventurous way, for
many of them had jobs and reason
ably comfortable homes, but they felt
it their patriotic duty to offer their
services to their country. In several
cities where Negroes volunteered for
the Navy, they were frankly and
abruptly told that Negroes We're only
wanted for the mess departments.
Many of these same men went from
the navy recruiting station to the
army and volunteered. their services
where they could be assigned to direct
combative service. When the War De-
partment, as a result of the earnest
and persistent efforts on the part OF
colored people and their white friends
opened "A camp for the training of Ne
gro officers at Des Moines, Iowa, and
asked for 1900 Negroes to offer their
services for training, Notwithstanding
| the fact that it was less than 30 days
the required number reported for three
months training. out of the number
that took the training, 625 received
commissions Some people have VEN
| tured the suggestions that this pres
| ent crisis is an opportune time Tor the
Negro to demand his rights" but sub
| sequent developments have shown that
| the Negro, while clearly conscious OF
what he considers his rights. has been
most earnest and persistent in ms ell
| forts to be granted the chance to DO
his duty by his country. The leaders
have felt that that was sufficient Tor
| the present. Just now the important
thing is the opportunity to serve in the
/ great struggle for democracy.
Negro Division.
/, " *
| the staff of Gen. c. C. Ballou, of the
sad division. a division to be composed
of Negroes, has been making a tour of
Negro schools and colleges of the coun-
| try with a view of selecting four or
| five hundred men for a particular
| branch in this division. At every school
| visited he has been asking for men
who were below the draft age. He has
| received a most hearty response in vol
| unteers from practically every school
! to which he had gone. At Tuskegee
Institute thirty of the upper class men
| with whom he talked offered their SER
| vices and left within As hours for
| Chillicothe, Ohio, where they are now
being trained. About one hundred
| Negro soldiers are under arms at the
| present time. as follows:
| These troops are divided among
| many states ana many reBiHehts heS
are in the infantry, the cavalry, and IN
| condiserable numbers in the National
| Guard not only in southern states but
| also in northern and western states
| In many instances, their officers are
| men of their own race but white Off
| GERS assigned to Negro regiments are
| almost invariably pleased with their
| men, and convinced that they are ex-
| cellent material of which to make sol
diers. The Negro is ordinarily proud
! of his uniform, falls readily into the
| discipline so necessary to military pro-
| fiicency, and when occasion demands
! he is faithful to his trust even against
i overwhelming odds. He is of the stuff
! from which good soldiers are made
| and properly differed he becomes a
| soldier in the best meaning of the
word About $4,000 Negro men were
called in the first draft, making, as
! stated n total of about 100000 men
| This however, is not the largest num-
| ber of Negro soldiers who have been
! under arms. for in the Civil war 17S,OOC
black men bore arms on the Union
| side
| Including those who We're commits
| stoned at the officers training camp at
| Fort Des Moines, those who were al