St. Paul recorder. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1934-2000, 1942-12-18

4OA Vic AONdIlCCIlcIiI VI SOlOICu {
the Halle Q. Brown Community
House, $50 Aurora Street, St. Paul
In his remarks at the beginning
of the meeting, Frank Boyd, well
known local labor leader and Sec
ond vice president of the St. Paul
Branch, presiding officer of the
meeting, scored the "Undemocratic
and discriminatory treatment OF
Negro soldiers in and about mill
tary reservations throughout the
nation" Mr.. Boyd introduced the
principal speaker for the meeting
the Rev. T. R. Nelson, pastor of the
Camphor Memorial Methodist
Church and president of the St
Paul Branch of the N.A.A.C.P.
Rev, Nelson said that he was
sorry that such a meeting should
have to be held. "This is rather
paradoxical," he declared" Here we
are, civilians, gathered here to
make a fight for the democratic
rights of Negro soldiers, who are
fighting that all of US may have
democracy" "This meeting OF
rather the news of this meeting
makes good Axis propaganda and
would be hailed in Berlin or Tokyo.
Rev. Nelson then gave a resume
of the incident at Camp Lee, which
brought about the demotion of two
former sergeants to privates. Reed,
a native of st. Paul and president
of the local N.A.A.C.P. ranch
when he was indicted in 1941, and
Clemmens, were two of the group
of Negro non-commissioned Off
GERS in the Virginia camp, that pre-
scented recommendations to the
commanding officer of Camp Lee,
requesting that Negro soldiers be
given full and equal rights in and
about the camp. These recommen-
dations had to do with alleged dis
elimination in the assignment and
equipment of Negro Military Po-
lice; discrimination on public con-
veyances; discrimination in the
use of the facilities Of the camp,
e.g, post exchanges, theatres, ser
vice clubs, sport centers and GER
tain areas; the discriminatory pol
icy of the War Department in linn
iting Negroes by quota in some
branches of the service, e.g., Army
Air Corps, and the opening of
branches now closed to Negroes,
e.g., the Army Glider Pilot Train
ing.
It is reported that when the COM
handing officer of the camp, Major
General James E. Edmonds, re-
ceived the recommendations
through regular military channels,
that he became enraged and the
demotion of Reed and Clemmens
followed.
Rev. Nelson told about the ap-
pointment of a coordinating COM
mittee for the Minneapolis and st.
Paul branches, known as the "Sam
Reed Committee" to take the lead
in protesting against the demotion
of Reed and Clemmens, in particu-
lar, and the ill-treatment of Negro
soldiers in general. kilograms and
letters of protest and asking for a
congressional investigation have
been sent by both branches to
President Roosevelt, Secretary of
War Henry Stimson and the Min
nesota senators and representa-
tives in Washington. The speaker
commended the st. Paul Pioneer
Press the morning daily, for its
editorial on the Incident at Camp
Lee" (Dec. 81 in which an investi-
CATION was urged. "The fact must
not be overlooked that Sam Reed
and his colleagues were only ask
ing for the full and equal rights
given to white soldiers, but dis
gracefully denied to Negro SOL
1iers," Rev. Nelson asserted.
J. L. Rowland, adjutant of the
Leslie Lawrence Post of the
American Legion, st. Paul, related
the story of how his son, Harold
and other Negro soldiers, were de-
Med Pullman. Accommodations from
Memphis, Tenn. to Camp Shelby,
Mississippi, on the Illinois Central,
in spite of the fact that they had
been given tickets for such service
from the induction center at Fort
Smelling. Mr.. Rowland declared
hat discrimination and segrega-
lion could by abolished almost ov-
erpight if the President and the
Government would take real pos
tive stand in the matter. He cited
he placing of United States Mar
mes on mail trains to stop the wave
Of mail robberies several years ago
and the enacting of a Federal anti
kidnapping law, the so-called
"Lindbergh Law" that has practi-
cally abolished the crime of kid
mapping, as incidents to prove his
assertion.
Maceo Littlejohn, secretary of
Dining Car Employees Local SIC,
declared that the practice, or rath-