Cayton's weekly. [volume] (Seattle, Wash.) 1916-1921, 1919-08-09
OUR OWN SUBJECT RACE REBELS

Washington so soon after he had returned
from looking after the needs of supprest
nationalities and subject races in Europe.
'One OF the most brutal forms Of oppres-
siOn,' asserts the New York World in an
editorial entitled ''Our Own Subject Race
lis the punishment Of whole race for the
crimes Of individuals. For many years this
has been. and still is, the practise in Amer
lean States that do not recognize the citi-
zenship of the Negro' In the Washington
riots, for the first time on any considerable
scale, the Negroes met "mobs with mobs,"
and inflicted at least as many casualties as
were inflicted on them This rebellion
against injustice was 'bound to come" ac-
cording to The Worl Id, which concludes:
1--WE grieve over the hardships Of many
subject peoples long way off, and on
occasion manifest something resembling in
dignation, but in all the world there is
hardly population so God -forsaken and
laW-fOrsaken as our own blacks'
The trouble in Washington had it's roots,
according to most observers in crimes COM
mitted by Negroes; cas- a matter Of fact,'
observes the New York Times, "practcaly
all the crimes Of violence in Washington
were committed by Negroes.' In the last
few months violence has so increased that
the Washington Herald called the country's
capital ''the most lawless city in the
Union.'' ''Crmes against women,' ''day-
light hold-ups," and ''other outrages,'' we
read, melted white men, mainly soldiers and
sailors. to a general attack upon the
Negroes. The Negroes armed themselves
and fought back. Automobiles loaded with
black rioters fired on convalescent soldiers
on the lawns Of Washington hotel Eight
persons were killed. and some hundreds
wounded. before troops called through the
initiative Of Secretary Baker and President
Wilson finally got the situation in hand
Throughout the whole trouble complains
the New York Times, the Washington
police ''trained for at least generation
to expect comparatively few crimes from
the whites, and to regard the Negro popula-
ton as in the main not only law-abiding
but even submissive' were incapable of
hanlidng the situation. They failed. since
all their training had been that of con-
stables doing duty in peaceful town. just
as they failed to protect the women suffrage
paraders from rioters few years ago. But
to say that the magnitude Of the trouble
was the fault of the police is simply keep
ing our race question Gin abeyance,' in
the words Of the New York Globe The
Amsterdam News New York;. which re-
fers to itself in a subtitle as "The Leading
Co]ored Newspaper" probes the recent out
break to this effect:
"What is the matter with the white
soldiers and marines that they have come
back from 'over there determined to give
the Afro-American soldiers Sailors and
people all the trouble they possibly can?
eve have had violent outbreaks of white
soldiers and sailors at Norfolk. Charleston
Pensacola. and now at Washington with
isolated instances in all parts of the country
against black soldiers and sailors, some
seven of whom it is said have been lynched
without iustifying provocation: and there
is no justifying provocation for lynch-law
"There must be something at the bottom
of this new hatred which the white soldiers
and sailors have fetched back from France
against the black soldiers and sailors. It is
said that the cause is to be found in the I'M
usual valor Of the black soldiers. brigaded
with the French and commanded by French
officers, and the splendid recognition of
their heroic services that tho Fronch oov