The daily Gate City and constitution-Democrat. (Keokuk, Iowa) 1916-1922, 1920-08-25
The Rev. q. N. Murrell Of Quincy
Speaking at Chautauqua at Pill
qrim's Rest Pays Them
Tribute.
OFFICER DURING WAR
He Spoke of the Hardships of the Me a,
and How They Successfully
Lived Down False Propa-
sanda.

! How the colored soldier lived down
the reputation given him by propa-
I gandists and won the hearts of French
people was told last night by the Rev.
! B. n. Murrell OF Quincy who spoke at
| the opening of the chautauQua at Pill
| grim's Rest church. DR.. Murrell said
! the most difficult task of the colored
! soldier in the world war was to keep
! his morale and faith in the democ-
racy for which he was fighting and yet
| in which he did not enjoy the full
| privileges.
DR.. MurrellS utteranceS were fire.
quenrly interrupted by applause, and
he emphasized many OF his statements
with the word that he had proofs Of
all he said and would make affldavits
if necessary. DR.. Murren served
through the world war as an officer in
a colored regiment, and is now mem
Der Of the Illinois national guard, as
he expressed il buck private in
Captain Fields company" The cap
tain he referred to is d former Keo-
kuk man.
The chautauqua at Pilgrims Rest
was made possible through the activi-
ties Of the Rev. J. Sterling Moore, it
was explained by A. w. Draine, the
platform manager. Mr.. Draine pre-
sided in his usual fine manner, and in
trcduced the speakers and announced
the programs. He paid d tribute to
the enterprise and progressiveness Of
the Rev. Mr.. Moore in making the
chautauqua possible. .... a
The Peoples Institute band under
direction of Fred D. Fields played the
prelude to the program, and gave sew
eral unusually fine numbers. Miss
Beulah Gillian Anderson gave read
ing, AT Napoleon's Tomb and was
heartily applauded. She read The
masterpiece in an unusually fine man
ner, and her expression and gestures
were appropriate.
Speaks on Soldier.
DR.. Murrell, the speaker OF the eve
ming, spoke of the record that colored
soldiers had made, and said he was
prouder than ever of his race. he
commented on the fact that there
were in the American army between
4 500 and 1900 negro officers, trained
at Fort DeS Moines. He traced brief
ly his career in this country in camps.
and said he served at Sherman, Meade,
New York and Washington before go
ing overseas. In France he served
on practically every front and was in
three of the heaviest drives.
DR.. Murrell paid tribute to The
ability of the Germans to fight and 10
manufacture instruments for fighting,
and he said that the Germans recos-
nized the ability Of the colored Amer
lean soldier. He had heard from the
lips of German officer with whom he
was billeted in Germany when he
went in with the army of occupation,
praise Of the black soldier. When
ever we found out that colored SOL
diers were opposite us, business al
ways picked up with US" he said the
German told him.
The colored soldier, DR.. Murrell
said, met propaganda when they first
went over that struck them hard. He
said that it did not come from Eng
land or France or Germany but from
America, and was to the effect that
the colored soldier was an ignoramus
and rapist. He was interrupted with
a storm Of applause when he said that
the first soldier to be executed in
France for the crime of rape was a
white soldier.