The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1933-07-15
Tell of Provocations
in Interview With
Daily Worker
BY PAsCUAL

NEW YORK.-Interview given ex-
cluSively to the Daily Worker by the
six Negro forced laborers imprisoned
for five days at Camp Preston for
petitioning against discrimination,
revealed there was no instruction,
riot or disorderly conduct in the
camp. Their Imprisonment was sim
ply an attempt to beat the young Ne
gro boys into a submissive Jim Crow
ism, since the food rations were run
ming low.
AS a result the six were dragged
into a drum-head court martial
staged for so-called illegal" purposes
before Justice of the Peace Flanagan.
When confronted by the boys the
first words were uttered by the JUS
tice of the Court Martial Flanagan:
You'll get six months in jail and $50
fine If you don't plead sguilty and
save the county the expense of a
trial" And with this threat the court
was opened.
All but one of the boys live in
Harlem. All of their families were de-
pendent on their forced labor SAL
arts to feed and house from to 9
people. Consequently they are now
faced with the question, will we get
onto the relief list when our boys have
'dishonorable discharges from the
camp" This same question confronts
the families of the "a Negro boys who
quit out of sympathy for the other
boys.
Shrugg's Proyocation
While no actual rioting took place,
according to the boys statements, the
commandant, Major Shrugg attempt
ed to provoke one by challenging the
boys to step out of line and fight
him. rs there any one here who
wants to step out and fight me?" he
asked in his most clustering manner.
Had any Of the boys accepted the
challenge, he would have had an ex-
cuse to read the riot act, call the
guards out and shoot or club the boys
down.
What actually happened is that the
two Negro clerks, Richard Cooper of
20S w. Hath st. and Cyril Dore, rs
w. 141st ST.. learned Thursday night
July that two white clerks were to
replace them. The next morning at
work call when they were lined up
in preparation to go out into the
woods, Cooper and Dore stepped out
of line and asked Major Shrugg why
they were being removed.
Placed Under Arrest
The major flared up Immediately,
shouted they were being replaced for
inefficiency and that they would be
shown no consideration whatsoever.
The two boys were then quickly plac-
ed under arrest, and the major chal-
lenged the boys to a fight. Then he
ordered them back to their tents, and
the boys ebeyed though in a sulky
manner. That was all there was to
the riot.
The next step was for the major to
select at random four other Negro
recruits and place them under ar
rest They were John Dingle. 200 w.
133d St; Bernard Green, 206 w. 146th
ST.; Desmond MCCOY, 1887 Fulton st.
brooklyn, William wyath, 1850
Eighth Ave.
Solidarity
While the six boys were being hus-
tied away to the court the major
lined the boys up again and asked
them if there was anybody who want
ed to go home. One recruit Harris,
raised his hand and SO others stepped
forward with him.
Camp Preston had been in exist
ence b1ief two weeks when the in
cident took place. The Negro company
number 2se, consisting of 1877 boys
was considered crack company at
Camp Dix where most of them had
spent three months. The boys had to
tear their way through the under
brush to establish the camp. Toilets
consisted of holes in the ground
which were even without lime to dis
infect them. The flies, according to
Cooper, were simply terrible; and
the toilets, hell, they were straddle
pits and SO filthy the boys didn't want
to use them"
The water was never inspected and
was never too clean. For the two
weeks the boys were in camp food
rations were very low, and the major
explained this to the boys when they
started grumbling, that funds were