Richmond planet. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1883-1938, 1919-07-12
aAstsa.assySAls. 50 AeyssA

out any interviews, except through the
censorship Of the Intelligence Section
Of the General Staff"
lie landed in America, March 81
and in the ensuing issue of The Girls
is he felt it his duty to ask Mr.. Scott
our special representative in the War
Department three simple questions Of
fact.
Those three simple questions Of
fact have aroused all of this Juror
and have caused no end OF trouble.
No one doubts but what Emmett J..
Scott knew about these conditions
and a great deal moro than he will
w. L. Ii. Dubois signed Il pledge i'll
France, not to communicate to this
country what he saw there, how
could Emmett J. Scott communicate
to the public what he knew here?
There was only one way out and
that was through the door Of resigna-
ton. Even had he resigned, he dared
not disclose what he knew when he
held Office.
DR.. w. e. b. Dubois, as captain
would have had official iock-jaw up
to this time and certainly he knows
it. There is one confirmation i'll the
Scott letter that DR.. Dubois has re
produced and that is that it shows
that Emmett ]. Scott did advocate
and favor the appointment Of DE-. Du
Bots to Il captaincy i'll the regular
army. 1t looked to us like a trap, i'll
to which the able scholar walked.
Certainly, it has married his career
in no small degree and it has eStrang-
cd an army of people who formerly
admired and praised him.. Hero IS
more Of the same kind of. jnforma-
ton.
Tue Crisis diEikcs and. avoids per
sonal controversy. The Crisis knows
that it is easier to criticiSo than to
do. The Crisis is eager to give Mr.
Scott every credit due aud to make
every allowance for tho singular DIFF
ficulty of his position. But, tho Crisis
in its position as public men
tor and adviser and newspaper alb
solutcly refuses to be turned ono
moment from its determination to
know why it was that in this the
most critical period Of the existence
of tho Negro race, 100000 Of tho best
blood Of our young manhood-mcn'
WHO offered their lives Tor their peo-
plc and their country could DO cruel
fled, !nsultcd, degraded and maltrcat
cd while their fathers, mothers' Sis
tors and brothers had no adequate
knowledge OF the real truth.
What good would it have done
these fathers, mothers, sisters ana
brothers to have known tho truth
when there was not lfelp and citizens
here were, being denied the fundament
al rights guaranteed under tho Con-
stitution of the United States? we,
who were in this country were not
permitted to speak above q whisper.
The press was silenccd and many Il
man is in the penitentiarY today,
who is as guiltless OF any crime as
the dripping snow. Did MI. Scott con-
ccal fatal knowledge? Had he given
out the information, would no have
saved human life? Could he haVc
mitigatcd or Improved conditions by
giving the facts to the country, when
there was not newspaper III the
land that would have dared to nave
given space to his disclosures or a
mail carrticr, white or colorcd, who
would have dared to knowingly trans
nit this information even i'll tAc
mails?
The same rule Of conduct that pre-
vailed inside of the American lines
in France operated outside of the
American lines in this country. Dr.
Dubois continues:
II is not simply question Of what
Mr.. Scott personally could or couia
not accompliSh--GOd knows We are
all of us helpless enough In this PIT
tor right-it is the vastcr question OF
the right of conccaling fatal kno"l-
edge; if Mr.. Scott could do nothing
how did he know that others were
equally helpless? How did he Know
that all of us together would be cquai
ly helpless? ...-.,-,x
..,.-... <:'' S',
Again we ask the question, did MI
Scott conceal fatal knowledge? That
&c did he conceal facts that would
if known have avertcd the execution
Of a human being? If he did, then
DR.. Dubois is correct in his conclus
ions. DR.. Dubois tells him what he
could have done. Here 1T Is:
s~~7-:s r -7-.l x ~
Why could he not have reassempl
ed the editors conference or even