St. Paul recorder. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1934-2000, 1944-03-17
UncOvering
Washington
By Harry S. McAlpin
(White House Correspondent
NNPA)

For the past two weeks, we've
been talking about the White
House press conferences. From
time to time, as developments JUS
tify it, we'll do more of that type
of thing. But now, let's uncover"
some of Washington.
Without lot of fanfare or pub
icity, the WAC has been fully inte-
grated into the Army. It happened
officially on March 1. Col. Oveta
Culp Hobby, the WAC director, has
been promoted to the general staff
corps. She will now set the broad,
general personnel policies for the
WAC here and abroad.
Of the approximately 80 WAC
officers who were on Col. Hobby's
headquarters staff, only four have
gone along with her to the person
mel division of the general staff. No
one of those four is a Negro.
But that isn't our point. We'd
like to see a Negro officer on the
general staff, yes. We aren't even
complaining about the assignment
that is in prospect for Major Har-
riet West, one of the two highest
ranking Negroes in the Women's
Army Corps. We think a Negro
should be in such a spot, too.
But since the WAC is being re-
organized, and integrated-and
since the undemocratic policy of
segregation into white and colored
units exists despite our fighting a
war against the Hitlerian theories
of "Aryan supremacy" and "divide
and conquer"-why can't we have a
Negro WAC in charge of the Negro
division?
One reason may be the fact that
such a person would be equivalent
to a division commander, which
would rate a rank of full colonel.
But is there any law against that /?
This person could take over the
whole thing step up the recruiting
campaign for Negro WAC's, which
is now being given no attention by
anyone, find assignments for the 80
or more Negro officers languishing
at Des Moines with nothing to do,
plug for overseas service for Negro
WACs, set personnel goals and
standards, and help remove a stig-
ma which has attached itself to the
corps so far as Negroes are con-
cerned since it's inception.
AS political move, it could be
surpassed only by eliminating the
color line in the American Army
which isn't in the cards just yet.
And while we're on the Army,
let's look at the significance of Rep.
Andrew ]. Mays objections to the
Army using the pamphlet on the
"Races of Mankind" as orientation
material for its instructor person.
mel.
Rep. May is the Democratic Con-
gresham from the 7th District in
Kentucky. He is also chairman of
the House Military Committee. He
has boosted of blocking the use of
the Army because his ire was
famed by a statement in it to the
effect that a survey showed the
average Negro in New York, Mas
sachusetts and Connecticut has a
higher intellect than the average
white in Kentucky, Arkansas and
Mississippi-not because they are
in the North or the South, but be-
cause of the differences in educa-
tional advantages.
We are willing to wager that for
individual differences, one doesn't
have to leave Kentucky, Arkansas
or Mississippi to find Negroes with
higher intelligence than Rep. May.
In his own state, we'd put our
chips on Rep. Charles Anderson of
the State Legislature, for example.
"We're going to keep our eyes
open to see that this pamphlet does
not go out to our soldiers through
War Department channels. If il
does" he said, somebody is going
to have to do plenty of explain
ing"
What has not appeared in the
papers is the fact that Rep. May
is from a district which has poten-
tial Negro vote of 3,543. In the last
election, he won by a bare majority
of $40 votes. The shift of 271 Ne
gro votes could have defeated him
then.
What Explanation" is Rep. May
gong to nave In NoVember-lt he
runs??
Perhaps it would be wise fol-
Congressman May to transfer his
allegiance to South Carolina, where
the State House of Representatives
passed that NASTY" Cor Nazi) reso-
luton in support of "white su-
premacy."
The best answer to the State
of South Carolina appeared in an
editorial in the Washington Post,
which concluded:
ut is lonely war that the South
Carolina House of Representatives