St. Paul recorder. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1934-2000, 1943-10-29

trouble - feeling like unwanted
pariahs even though clothed in the
uniform of soldier. There are
many other complaints; sometimes
bloody violence figures in them.
There is no use quoting these
letters, or raking over the details of
riots and shootings. This supple
ment is not intended as an expose
but as exposition and analysis of
the problem.
It must be observed also that the
morale of many white troops, many
who have an actual philosophical
understanding of the principles of
democracy, and a belief in them,
and a desire to fight for them but
not for fascist principles, has been
damaged by observing the undemo-
cratic indignities suffered by Negro
soldiers. It is significant that at
least three-fourths of the articles
and letters sent to The New Re-
public by soldiers deal with the
problem. This does not mean that
three-fourths of the white person
mel of the army is concerned about
it-far from it; soldiers who read
journals of opinion in preference
to magazines with pin-up girls must
be in a very small minority. But
it is nevertheless a fact of signifi-
canoe; it argues that there must
certainly be elements of native de-
mocracy and decency in the army
on which more enlightened, and
less dangerous, race policy could
be built by the commanding gen
erals.
A reading of Southern news
papers discloses the fact that the
South is laboring under the illusion
that race clashes are caused almost
exclusively by "uppity" Negroes in
Northern units who don't know
their place like Southern Negroes.
A study of the facts of these clashes
disproves this. A listing of the
home towns of Negro soldiers in
volved in riots discloses a large
number of them, probably ma
jority, to be from Southern states.
And it is also true that the folk
way of discomfort is firmly en-
bedded in Southern Negro civilians
whose men are in the army. This
forebodes tragic day for the South
when white troops and Negro troops
are mustered out and return home.
It is impossible for the army to take
a Negro youth and make a soldier
out of him, teach him how to kill
on battlefield, how to defend him
self, how to sustain himself in crisis
through courage, daring and skill,
and then expect him to slip back
easily into his former role of COM
placency, servility and caution.
Clearly the only way to avoid the
tragic results that are looming in
Southern history is for the South
to learn-for the South's leaders to
teach it-that the Negro, by all the
rights of democracy, by all the
ethics of Christianity, by all the
arguments of prudence and COM
mon sense, must be accorded a
greater measure of freedom and
respect than he has known before.
For the South to develop some tech
niques of actual cooperation with
Negroes would be a way out, but
cooperation does not mean patroniz-
ing-the subtle, dictatorial AFRO
gance which has often passed by
this name in the past. The only
other answer is to hold the Negro
to the old pattern by force and vio-
lence. The South's history stands
proof that it can be done, for a
time at least; but it also suggests
what the CHASTITY cost will be.
It is known fact that the army
is gravely concerned with its race
problem as military factor. Some
of the top command are convinced
that segregation is uneconomical,
miitarily wasteful and harmful.
Much attention is being given to
the problem-but unfortunately,
with the field of remedial action al
ways limited, perhaps in the long
run fatally SO, by the swollen power
of Southern politicians.
The single, dramatic, sound and
clear-cut act by which the army
could give an incalculable lift of
spirit to its Negro troops, to thou
sands of white troops, to Negro
civilians and to millions of white
ones, is the creation of a volun-
tarily mixed division of white and
Negro soldiers. Responsible Amer
leans in great numbers have petit
toned the War Department to take
this step. The division could un-
doubtedly be filled instantly with
volunteers; many soldiers, includ-
ing numbers of liberal Southerners.
have already made known their
wishes to serve. Undoubtedly, the
division would draw an intelligent.
high-type personnel. But the army
will probably not take this step lin
the American race question it often
seems that the right steps are the
ones which must be summarilv
ruled out). From the army's point
OF view. there ara +xuo oh,4o.1.