The Colorado statesman. [volume] (Denver, Colo.) 1895-1961, 1919-03-15

rASHINGTON, District of Column
w Tbs offsIsI fGSwIag Iegort eStrass of sSt
Provost Marshal General of the
United States Army to the Secretary
of War; gives a highly interesting and
informing story of the part played by
the colored soldiers who were called to
the defense of the flag of this nation
through the operation of the Selective
Draft law
THE part that has been played by
the Negro in the great world drama
upon which the curtain is now about
to fall is but another proof of the COM
plete unity of the various elements
that go to make up this great nation.
Passing through the sad and rigorous
experience of slavery; ushered into
sphere of civil and political activity
where he was to match his endeavors
with those of his former masters still
embittered by defeat; gradually work
ing his way toward the achievement of
success that would enable both him
and the world to justify his new life
of freedom: surrounded for over half
century of his new life by the specter
of that slavedom through which he had
for centuries past laboriously toiled;
met continuously by the prejudice
born of tradition: still the slave to
large extent, of superstition fed by ig-
norance-in the light of this history
some doubt was felt and expressed, by
the best friends of the Negro, when
the call came for a draft upon the
man-power of the Nation. whether he
would possess sufficient stamina to
measure up to the full duty of citizen
ship. and would give to the Stars and
hot had srtIa for him
the same liberty now sought for all
nations and all races, the response that
was its due. And. on the part of
many of the leaders of the Negro race,
there was apprehension that the sense
of fair play and fair dealing, which is
so essentially an American characteris-
tic would not. nay could not. in
country of such diversified views. with
sectional feeling still sumberinS but
not dead be meted out to the members
of the colored race.
Fears GroundIess.
How groundless such fears. how ill
considered such doubts, may be seen
from the statistical record of the draft
with relation to the Negro. His race
furnished its quota, and uncomplain-
fngIy, yes, cheerfully. History, indeed,
will be unable to record the fullness of
his spirit in the war, for the reason
that opportunities for enlistment were
not opened to him to the same extent
as to the whites. But enough can be
gathered from the records to show that
he was filled with the same feeling of
patriotism the same martial spirit
that fired his white fellow citizen in
the cause for world freedom.
LAS a general rule, he was fair IN
his dealings with draft officials and
in the majority of cases, having the
assistance of his white employers ne
was able to present fairly such claims
for deferment or discharge as he may
have had for the consideration OF the
various draft boards. In consequence
there appears to have been no racial
discrimination made in the determina-
tion of his claims. Indeed, the pro-
portion of claims granted to claims
filled by members of the Negro race
compare favorably with the proper
tion of claims granted to members OF
the white race.
That the men of the colored race
We're as ready to serve as their white
neighbors is amply proved by the re-
ports from the local boards. a Penn
sylvania board, remarking upon the
eagerness of it's colored registrants TO
be induced, illustrated this w the ac-
tton of one registrant, who upon
learning that his employer had had