The Kansas City sun. (Kansas City, Mo.) 1908-1924, 1918-01-05
coLoREp TROOPERS MAKING
GOOD.
By Henry C. Newell.

have ever known before. The fact
that they are in the army means now
If it never meant before a broader
education, a better physical body, n
clearer brain and a brighter future.
AS one goes about from one big can
tonment to another he cannot help
observing that the Colored race is
figuring in this greater opportunity,
that there is a stirring of ambition
that is bound to result in great good.
Men of the race who never had held
pen or pencil between their fingers
in all their lives are now learning
their A B C's with the same delight
that children do. The presence of
hundreds of men in the Y. M. G. A.
huts doing the same thing spurs them
on When they have really learned
to write so that they can get word
back to their friends they have left
behind, then they are in the way of
becoming efficient soldiers.
1t may seem strange oyou, but
actually some of these men could not
even understand orders when they
first came to camp. For one thing,
they didn't know their right from
their left; and lots of them could not
tell what the sergeant meant when he
said Right about face" They didn't
know which way to turn.
OF course, that was to be expected
for there are some well educated peo-
pie l know who wouldn't have exc
cuted orders any better than these
fellows in the Colored regiments. But
it did not last great while. The
boys learned-they learned mighty
rapidly, too.
At Camp Grant, near Rockford, Ill,
there is a particularly fine piece of
work going on for the Colored troops.
1t is under the. supervision of the
Army Y. M. c. A, the Colored branch
of which employs four able secretar-
les to study and solve the physical, in
tellectual, social and religious prob
lens and needs of the men encamped
| there.
Early in the encampment, only
| few letters were written in and mail
ed from the Y. NJ. G. A. hut for Colored
soldiers but after a campaign that
had this slogan: Every Man Must
Write His Name" the sale of postage
stamps increased greatly-simply be-
cause men who had never been able
to write even their names learned to
do so and also began to write letters
to friends and relatives.
The story of Bill Bailey is rather
typical. Bill had been coal HEAVIER
and education never had appealed to
him; he couldn't use it in his business.
He could neither read nor write and
the little figuring he found necessary
could be done on his fingers.
But as soon as he got into camp
away from the Chicago friends, he
grew lonesome and eve ma bit home
sick for them. Just then the Y. NJ.
C. A. campaign came on and Bill
Bailey discovered that writing was
the thing that would Immediately
connect him with his friends again.
So he enrolled in a class in writing
and after a week or more of harder
; labor than he had ever done in his
life, he was able to scrawl his name.
The achievement whetted his appe-
tite, he wanted to learn rapidly now
; so that he might soon write letter
to his folks in Chicago thing he
had never been able to do. But sew
eral weeks later, Bill actually wrote
his first letter-wrote it and then
surveyed it with the proud eye of an
artist. 1t looked good to him-and
it was good. too.
But all of this was only the begin
ming of Bill Bailey's adventure in
education. Very shortly he was ask
ing if he could not learn to do Sums -
: A class in mathematics was organized
by the Y. NJ. G. A. secretaries and Bill
and a number of his fellow soldiers
were enrolled. They are now being
instructed in the subject and when
they have mastered it they will take
up French. geography and other stud
|, les. Thus Bill Bailey is better able
to entertain himself and use his leis
; ure hours to some good purpose than
he would have been without the Y. M
C. A. campaign for every man to write
his nance
I He Is also having a chance to play
I games and build up muscles that he
1 never used before. The oudoor games
I are teaching him to think and act
4 quickly; boxing he enjoys most oi
! all, perhaps; it is boxing that trains
1 him for trench fighting, bayonettins
I and grenade throwing, all Of which
4 the good soldier now knows.
4 In all of the cantonments the Y. M
4 c. A. religious program for the Col
8 ored troops has had beneficial et