The broad ax., 1926-04-10

Mr.. Madden Mr. speaker, under
leave to extend my remarks ! insert
an article on "The Negro in the
World War" which is as follows:
THE NEGRO-A PATRIOT
(By Hon. Martin B. Madden)
Robert Lee Billiard must have
been considered a good military Off
Ger, or he would not have been Sc
lected to command an army in the
war between the United States and
Germany. Being great officer and
having had his reputation made for
him as a commander OF colored
troops, one would naturally suppose
that when he took command of the
Second Army that he would not be-
gin his command by expressing doubt
as to the success Of Negro COM
mand as great as a division, though
he said he found himself with most
kindly feelings toward the Negroes.
1t always seemed to me that great
commander was "a man who would
have the ability to coordinate the
forces under him and make them
function successfully in war, but Gen.
eral Billiard says, on page 2o4 Of his
book, "The Negro division seems in a
fair way to be failure" He seems
to have said that without making
much effort to see that the command
was co-ordinated.
He goes on later to say, at is a
quiet sector, yet can hardly take care
OF itself, while to take any offensive
action seems wholly beyond its pow
ers." Then he goes on: Il have
been here now with it three weeks
and have been unable to have it make
a single raid upon the enemy" They
are really inferior soldiers" There
is no denying il" Their Negro Off
GERS have an inadequate idea of what
is expected of soldiers, and their
white officers are too few to leaven
the lump" "The Ninety-second Ne
gro Division is not making much, if
any, progress toward efficiency, and
/ am afraid it never viii be worth
anything as a fighting unit" This
coming from a man who processes to
be a friend Of the Negro soldier
seems rather strange, particularly
since the general admits in the early
part of the chapter from which /
quote that his great success as sol
der was in command of Negro troops
which he himself recruited.
And he goes on again: Its division
commanding general is not very
strong as a military man. I'm in
clined to think he will have to be
S o Sd and I'll have to have this
DONE
AS the commander Of the Army it
was the duty Of General Billiard to
have generals in command who had
strength as military men; men who
would be capable Of commanding sol
diers of any color. If I understand
it correctly, to have troops fight with
great vigor and bravery they must be
commanded by men Of vigor and cour-
age.
General Billiard says, "The enemy
troops against them were Of second
or third class, not by any means the
best" How does he know that7 Why
does his class his own troops as the
worst, without courage or initiative,
and then seem to make that matter
still worse by asserting that the
troops against them were second or
third class7
/ quote the general again from
page 200: "The Negroes were great
disappointment" But again he admits
that there was no need for the Negro
soldiers to be a great disappointment,
because he says, This experience did
not agree with the experience of the
Regular Army Of the United States
with Negro soldiers This is but
another evidence that the failure was
not in the soldiers. if failure there
was, but that the failure was in the
commanders. whoever they might be,
black or white"
The general says: 7 could not as
cribe the failure to poor quality in
their higher officers; these officers
generally. as | have said, were good,
in most cases excellent"