Sunday Chicago bee. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1925-19??, 1942-08-02
RAILROAD HEAD DENIES
SOLDIERS FORCED To
GO FOODlESS IN KENTUCKY

WASHINGTON, D. c., July 80
Manipulating umbrage at the
publicity given the story con-
corning nine Negro soldiers who
declared they were refused food
while travelling a long distance,
the president Of the Louisville
and Nashville railroad, J. B. Hill,
addressed lengthy letter to
Congressman George H. Bender
Of Ohio, explaining the railroads
side of the case.
Mr.. Bender had denounced the
railroad in an address in the
house Of representatives last May.
However, Mr.. Hills letter found
its way into the Congressional
Record through the good offices
OF Congressman Emmett O'Neal,
who halls from Louisville.
Since your information was
not correct and the untrue charge
which has been widely publiciz-
ed by the press is a serious re-
Election on the Louisville and
Nashville Railroad company, and
in a sense upon the city Of Bow
hing Green, am writing you the
facts in the hope that you will
correct your statement, or at
least put this letter in the record
in some appropriate way" Mr..
Hill said.
"This train, No. 4, which left
Montgomery, Ala, the night Of
April 80, is due to pass Bowling
Green, KY, at 4:10 a. m. and to
reach Louisville at ITO a. m, at
which time dining car is put on
to serve breakfast. On this occa-
sion, however, the train was sew
eral hours late and arrived at
Bowling Green, at 8:44 a. M; so
the conductor Of the train. before
it arrived at Bowling Green,
went through all the cars and an
Z eunced there would be a 20
minute lay-over at that place for
those who wished to get break
fast.
Neither the railroad company
nor anyone for it at that time
operated an eating place in the
station or elsewhere in Bowling
Green. There is a privately-own-
ed restaurant located about half
a square from the station, but
the railroad company had then
and has now, no interest in nor
connections with it.
81 should state, however, that
this restaurant has two dining
rooms with separate entrances,
one for white patrons and the
other for colored patrons and is
patronized by both white and
colored persons without discrim-
nation"
Discussing the failure of the
colored soldiers to enter the din
er when one was attached at
Louisville about noon, Hill says:
after thorough investigation,
including, among other things a
statement of the waiter in charge
(who is a colored MANI l can
state that no colored soldiers
came to the diner for either
breakfast or luncheon. If they
had SO applied, they undoubtedly
would have been. served, as we
maintain separating curtains for
that purpose, in order to comply
with the Kentucky law. requiring
the separation Of races.
$50 far as I can learn, none Of
these colored soldiers has ever
made any complaint and yours is
based solely upon the hearsay
statements of some ladies who
were on the train.
81 may add that since both in
the Bowling Green restaurant
and on the train separate facili-
ties are provided for white and
colored people, the ladies who
told you Of this incident could
not have had personal knowledge
of all the facts as to what hap
pened either at the Bowling
Green restaurant or on the L. &
N. Train