The Kansas City sun. (Kansas City, Mo.) 1908-1924, 1919-06-14
FOOD FOR REFLECTION.

BY Corporal j. Franklyn Bates. U.
| S. A.-B. H. Sec. X, Fort Riley, Kans.
Just arrived in the L. S. A. from
overseas and while waiting at Fort
| Riley, Kansas, for discharge, l was
delighted to pick up the Kansas City
| Sun and read the home news the first
| | have read for over a year.
| I was indeed interested in an ar
ticle in your paper dated May 81, by
Mrs. r. ]. Williams entitled The Sa.
cred Duty OF Negro Men," and wish to
congratulate Mrs. Williams on the
stand she takes for a more sincere,
braver and nober manhood among the
men of our race, the young men es.
| pecially
was greatly impressed with the ar
| ticle as doubtless many young men
are who read it, but there are two
sides to every question-usually the
| bright side and the dark side, the just
and the unjust.
/ The article opened a little wound
in my heart that have tried for the
past few years to heal and forget and
one that has often come to my mind
and caused many hours of grievous
thought.
While walking down a certain thoro.
fare in Kansas City a few years ago,
just about dark, a young white man
was walking about three PAGES ahead
of me in the same direction approach
ing us was q handsome Young color.
ed girl l should judge about twenty
years of age, neatly dressed and very
intelligent looking. The white man
brushed closely by her and uttered
something, she turned and said some
thing in reply and from the expression
on her face when she again turned
towards me, | was led to believe she
had resented some sort of insult from
him. l Immediately Injured if the
white man had insulted her, intending
to call his hand. She politely inform
ed me that she did not think il any of
my business what he said to her.
certainly had food for thought for
the next few days and tried to con-
ceive what I had made of myself and
how | looked in the eyes of the other
few white men that happened to pass
as I was getting my little "bawling
out" and no doubt noticed the little
episode.
have lived in Kansas City for the
past twelve years and believe I am
acquainted with many deplorable cases
that would be a shock to Mrs. Williams
rather than a surprise if she could
see and know them as | have Some
o fthe most beautiful young women
of our race whose clothes are as fine
and fashionable as those of women of
any other race, but the source from
which they come and from whence the
money they bought them cannot be
uestioned. The answer will not bear
telling
How many times have some of our
young colored girls entered shops and
stores downtown and the clerk in at
tendance, by chance a white man who
will say cute, fly and insinuating re.
marks and the young lady will only
smile instead of resenting them. They
are intended for an approach and with
that smile she accepts them. When
some of our young girls learn to let the
color of mans skin be an impossible
barrier between them and their asso.
Citations, as the white women do, be-
lieve every Negro man will make the
supreme sacrifice to uphold it and
maintain it.
The Negro man has been thrust into
most embarrassing position and
when he is rediculed by some of the
women of his own race and murdered
for looking at women at other races,
while the white man has full sway, he
feels the sting of that perfidy more
than any other being, 1t is true that
no race can rise above its womanhood.
The white man contends that the white
women are sacred to them regardless
of nationality, and when all Of our
women will place that value on their
virtue, the innocent will have to suf.
fer no longer with the guilty,
Now l do not mean to besmirch the
virtue of Negro womanhood with sian.
der for | believe the purest. noblest
and most beautiful women that ever
breathed can be found in the Negro
race and l do not believe there is one
of the millions of young men of the
race who would not gladly lay down
} his life to preserve their virtue or re-
sent the insults of degraded white
men. But, it is hard to brand some