The broad ax., 1926-04-10

Ii the negro soldier was gOOd III
the Regular Army, why could he not
be made good in this Great War
emergency? We have the word OF
General Billiard that he was good in
the Regular Army.
1t is a pity that a great commander
would take the time in his history of
the war to occupy the space to belittle
men of any race who gave themselves
freely to their country in defense OF
its flag. am sorry that General
Billiard did this He could have been
engaged in a better business. AS a
commander it was his duty to see
that these men, and all other men
under his charge, were properly COM
manded, properly treated without dis
elimination, and encouraged in every
way possible to do their duty as SOL
diers. If he failed to do this as a SOL
der he should not have awaited him
self Of the privilege of traducing the
soldiers of his command when he
came to write the history of their
service.
There was plenty of opportunity
for everybody engaged in the Great
War to do their duty. The history Of
the war should be written without
prejudice. Every man who gave HIM
self to his country is entitled to the
credit which the sacrifice entailed, If
respective of his color. | think when
the history of the war is written with
out prejudice it will be found that the
Negro soldiers did their duty; that
they had courage. bravery, and patri-
otism; that they were willing to make
any sacrifice, and that if any failure
followed their service it was not the
failure Of the rank and file, it was
the prejudice which existed in the
commanders who would not permit
them to succeed if it was possible to
make them fail.
Might it not be appropriate at this
point to recall the fact that the black
people have never faltered in their
patriotism, nor has history ever re-
corded among the race a Benedict
Arnold. 1t is, take it, not improper
to suggest the sacrifices Of the black
soldiers at Lexington, Concord,
Bunker Hill, Valley Forge, Red Bank,
Groton Heights, and other important
battles Of the War Of Independence.
At Lundy Lane, N. Y; Lake Erie,
under Commodore Perry; North
Point; Bladensburg; New Orleans,
and other actions of the War of 1872
1914. They bore conspicuous part in
all the colonial wars and later against
the Indians on the frontier
At Vera Cruz, Mexico, lS47, under
Lieut.. Raphael Semmes, when they
manned the naval battery in that
siege, and again their fidelity to every
obligation assumed was tested in no
doubtful manner on both sides of the
great conflict of 1861. Their loyalty
and fidelity to their former owners,
their wives, and children during that
strenuous period was eloquently de-
scribed in burning language, May 81.
1918, by Congressman Pou, Of North
Carolina, and at an earlier date by the
late lamented Henry Grady, spokes-
man of the new South, who declared
it challenged his highest admiration as
being without a parallel in recorded
history.
They were present on every battle
field in the Spanish-American War
and with Dewey in Manila Bay. But
this is not all. In less militant times
they were conspicuously in evidence.
Pietro Alonzo, man of color, was
pilot of the Nina in 1892 under Co
lumbus. They were with Lewis and
Clark, 18O4-18O6, and with J. c. FIRE.
mont in 1912 in his explorations OF
the Rocky Mountains. One Of their
race stood beside Admiral Robert
Peary at the North Pole and waved
the American flag on the roof of the
world.
Now let them tell their own story
of their patriotism in the Great War.
Here it is:
What Did the Black Troops Actually
Accomplish
After their training behind the line
they were first assigned to the COM