Cayton's weekly. [volume] (Seattle, Wash.) 1916-1921, 1918-12-07
THE NEGRO AND THE WAR
(By Harrison RhOd

THE NEGRO AND THE WAR
(By Harrison Rhodes)
There are something like twelve million Negroes
inhabitng these United States; roughly speaking,
one in every ten of us Americans is black.
statement of the large numbers of Negroes in the
country is usually prelude to the consideration
OF the black problem" 1t is here sug
gested that in time of the question had per-
haps better be how much is he national asset,
Before the outbreak of the Negro had for
some years been represented in the Regular Army
by the 9th and 10th Cavalry and the Oath and 25th
Infantry. These regiments service in the
Philippines, in Hawaii and in the far West, where
the Indians called them Buffalo solders'-a
name assumed with pride by the seth
Buffalo Regiment. In Mexico, particularly at
the ambuscade of Carrizal, they demonstrated
their value, and the services rendered by black
troops in Cuba, notably at San Juan HILL still
vivid in the public mind. Negroes here and there
complain that the courage of their troops there
never sufficiently recognized by the nation,
but most white people could them that
theirs was the best-remembered military exploit
OF that Cuban campaign; not the less wellremem-
bered of course, because it afforded an opportun-
ity for good-natured jibe at the popular Rough
Riders.
There were colored officers, too, before the war;
One Negro, Charles Young, graduate Of West
Point, who organized the Liberian Constabuary
in the Republic of Liberia as the representative
of the American Government, and performed
similar work in the Republic of Haiti rose to the
rank of colonel. The race had one major, Benja
min O. Davis, of the 9th Cavalry; several cap
tains and a great many non-commissioned officers
With the coming into being of the National Army
the number of coloerd soldiers has greatly in
creased In filling the first draft quota of 687,OOO
men, the number of coored men called for
trainment was 94,4S3, almost fourteen per cent
And on June 1st the available figures that
an additional 62213 had already been called since
the first draft, making total of 1885,
About 1000 Negro line officers have been COM
missioned in the National Army as captains, first
and second lieutenants with approximately 25O
coored medical officers in the Medical and Dental
Reserve Corps. The 92nd Division and the 93rd
Division (ProvsionaD, the first comprising about
10000 Negro soldiers and the latter so far about
half that number, made up of National Guard
Units, have been organized, and are commanded
by Major-General G. c. Ballou and Brigadier-Gen-
eral Roy c. Hoffman, respectively These dvis-
ions Will embrace, when fully constituted practi-
cally all branches of military service, including
infantry, Engineer and Artillery (Feld and Coast)
Regiments, Signal Corps (radio or wireless tele-
graphers, etc.,, Hospital and Ambulance Corps
Medical Corps, Aviation Corps (Ground Division),
Service Battalions, with men technically trained
in all branches of scientific work.
The training of colored officers, after being
considerably hesitated and debated was un-
dertaken last year at Fort Des Moines, Iowa-the
Negro Plattsburg The training camp was quickly
filled up for the four months course and about
75O commissioned officers were turned out, large
part OF them already college graduates colored
man from Tuskegee, Emmett J. Scott, is Special
Assistant to the Secretary of War, and George NJ
Haynes from Fisk University occupies a similar
position in the Department of Labor, Mr. George
Creels Bureau thinks it important to send out
speakers to the colored population. So that one
may say that in many if not in most ways the ad
mlnlstration which might colorably be accused of