Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1919-01-23
RETURNINGNECRO.
SOLDIER TO Be.
BETTER CITIZEN.
EMMETT ]. SCOTT.

progress of the negro and the efforts
being put forward by the leaders of
the race for the developing of the
black man into better and more use
n tul citizen. Because of this interest,
the following report of the address to-
day of Emmett ]. Scott, who was call
ed to Washington to be an assistant
secretary of war to look after the in
terests of the colored troops in the
great conflict, as delivered at the Tus-
kegee negro conference, will be of
general interest, showing the trend of
negro thought in this period of re-
construction following the war:
TUSKBGEE, Ala, Jan. %
The second days session of the Annual
Tuskegee Negro conference was devot-
ed to a discussion of Problems Con-
nected with the Rehabilitation of Ne
gro Soldiers" The principal address
before this session of the conference
was delivered by DR.. Emmett j. Scott,
secretary of Tuskegee Norrlanl and
Industrial Institute, who mas been
serving in Washington since the out
break of the war as special assistant
to the secretary of war, advising in
matters affecting the interests of col
orad soldiers and colored Americans
generally
In discussing the subject, THE
Negro and the South After the War
Dr. Scott took broad view of the sit
uation and sought to allay and dissi-
pate the spirit of unrest and appTe-
hension which seems to obtain in the
South with reference to the return OF
this section of discharged negro sold
iers. incidentally he revealed the plan
and policy of the war department to
gradually demobilize the thousands of
negroes in the army as RAPIDLY as suit
able civilian employment can be
found for them. Extrasts from his ad-
dress follow:
''Peace hath her victories no less
renowned than war; and the fact that
hundreds of thousands il not millions
of soldiers must soon be discharged
from military service and thus be
changed from a military to civilian
status, presents problem requiring
the best thought for its proper handl-
ing and solution, and, indeed, makes
he problem Of peace equally if not
more complex than the problem of
war. At one time during the war, Ger
man propagandists would have US be-
lieve that the American negro had
neither the inclination nor the ability
to efficiently fight under the Stars and
Stripes and to fully perform his share
so essential in the support of our
country's program at home and over
seas, but the ready response of negro
draftees to the selective service call,
the splendid record made by nearly
100000 negro soldiers in camps and
environments at home, as we'll as in the
war zone and on bloody battlefelds
of France, together with the whole
souled support and numerous patriotic
activities of egro-Americans geneT-
allv. showed how false ana unfOunded
was that thought.
NEGRO LOYALTY PROVED.
In this connection, it is both inter
esting and encouraging to note the
testimony by Mr. A Bruce BielasSi,
chief of the bureau of investigation,
department of justice, and by Captain
George B. Lester, of the army intelli
gence service, before the United States
senate committee, which is investigat-
ing the activities of German prcpa
gandists in this country. In referring
to the efforts that were repeatedly
made to discourage loyalty on the
part of negroes of this country, Cap
tain Lester said:
This propaganda became so Sc
rious from the military end that ac-
tive measures were taken to suppress
it. The real leaders of the race in
this country were called to confer
ence in Washington on June 10, 20, q,
1918 There was large number of
these representative men of the color
ed race present, a list of which have.
AS result of the conference, which
lasted several days, an active counter
propaganda, through the committee on
public information, was prepared, ar
@icles were written, denying state
hents of this character, and, as a net
result, the president Issued 4 state
ment on Friday, July %, 1918, depre-
eating and denouncing mob action, and
that is about the last that was heard
of the German propaganda among the