St. Paul recorder. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1934-2000, 1944-06-02

ne Phlladelphla RecOrd)
that the situation has improved I'M
believably, with the exception of a
few areas in Alabama and Texas.
Those are the broad general facts
and not a bad picture basically;
not a picture, indeed, which justi-
fies the deep concern felt by many
friends and relatives of Negro SOL
diers.
But did find one condition which
is so irritating to Negro soldiers
Especially those from the North)
that I could understand why one
of them said to me recently: 81
feel that if 1 go on the other side,
Pm going to die anyhow. Since I
have this stuff (his uniformly on, I'd
just as soon die here and take a
few of these 'pecks' (white South
erners) with me-"
Camp Transportation Bad.
1t is a problem which seems triv-
ial to tell-so trivial that one won
ders why nothing has been done
about it-and yet which wrings the
hearts and embitters the minds of
men wearing their country's uni
form.
I refer to public transportation
not transportation for long and
important trips, but the simple
matter of getting to town and back
when a soldier has week end (or
a few hours) off duty.
can pretty well sum it up by
telling what 1 saw one night as I
stood on a busy corner of Oak
Street in the heart of the Negro
section of Montgomery, Ala.
There was bus stop sign on the
corner.
A group of Negro soldiers from
Maxwell Field, which grew larger
as the minutes passed, stood with
me.
Driver Armed with Club
Along came bus, rather ram
shackle affair, operated by a local
company. The driver was a tobac-
co-chewing, not-well-shaven "crack-
er" type of man-the sort of per-
son who is referred to in the South
as "poor white trash" He was
armed with club nearly as big as
cattle stick Clubs are standard
equipment for southern bus drivers
these days; some of them even car
ry pistols; one shot Negro SOL
der dead in Alexandria, La, a few
weeks ago.
The traffic light was red. The
driver slowed down, trying to avoid
a stop. He didn't make it. But
he didn't pull up to the curb.
The Negro soldiers surged out as
the bus stopped.
For White People
Without opening the door, the
driver shouted: "This bus for white
people. Cullud bus jest behind"
The light changed and the bus
moved on. The disappointed SOL
diers dropped back to the curb.
Another bus came up after a few
minutes. The driver said the same
thing.
The third bus stopped.
"Going to Maxwell Field?'
shouted one of the soldiers.
'Naw," said the driver, "this
amt no Maxwell Field bus"
He drove on, too.
Want No COlOred Soldiers
"That drivers lynn to you," vol.
unteered native. "They just don't
want no colored passengers, es.
pecially not no colored soldiers.
That incident on Oak Street il
Montgomery is important not just
to the few dozen or the few hundred
soldiers who had to walk 10 miles
back to camp after a "free eve,
ming" It is important to the entire
Nation.
In fact, I feel safe in saying that
At least 60 per cent-probably
80 per cent-of the justifable re,
sentiment of Negro soldiers in the
South (which, of course, is trans.
mitted to their relatives and friends
in the North) is due directly to the
heartless, vicious discrimination Of
the local bus lines.
It seems unbelievable that the
conduct of a few score bus com
panies and a few thousand driver:
should be a major factor in ma
tional morale.
Capitalized by Propaganda
It seems incredible that the re
sentiment aroused by rowdy but
drivers should furnish a major par
of the resentment capitalized b,
such propagandists as Edgar G