Provision for Technical Training of Draftees---Units That Did Not Get to France---Vocation al and Educational Opportunities Opened to Them---The Negro in the Students' Army Training Corps---In the Reserve Officers' Training Corps.

The progress of the war and the gathering up of miscellaneous men from civil life to serve as defenders of the nation, developed the fact that the education of the youth of the land had been woe fully neglected., even in the primary and secondary grades, but particularly in the matter of technical or vocational training. Thousands upon thousands of those inducted into the Army through the operation of the Selective Draft Law, who were ready and eager to battle for the safety of their country's freedom, were sadly deficient in practical knowledge of the simplest things essential to the well being of a military organization. Their experience had been confined largely to the routine of civil life, and the great majority called to the colors knew nothing of machinery, the handling of tools (as in carpentry, construction and repair), electrical work, woodwork, operation and repair of automobiles, horseshoeing, or the proper care of animals, etc. The number actually illiterate was alarming. It was surprising to those unfamiliar with scholastic conditions among the people of this country, that there should be so many men unable even to sign their names to the Army payrolls.

This deplorable situation led the military officials to cast about for a means of raising the mental tone of the Army, to enhance its efficiency by making provision for technical training, and to carry along with such training a system of scholastic improvement, such as would enable the soldiers to read and understand army orders, to comprehend the meaning and import of signals, to grasp the true spirit of service that had brought them into the great war, and to fit them for the largest measure of usefulness and to be ready for the advancement that would naturally come to those who performed their duty most capably. When it was decided that there should be provision for a double system of education and training for soldiers, the Special Assistant to the Secretary of War looked about to see if all soldiers were to be included in this highly important program---that is, if the schedule had in mind the particular needs of colored soldiers, also. To his regret, he found nothing to indicate that colored soldiers were to be given this training. After several full and free conferences with Dr. C. A. Prosser, Director of the Federal Board for Vocational Training, and his assistant, Dr. W. I. Hamilton, to whom, at first, was confided the, responsibility of developing a program of vocational training, a memorandum was drawn up calling attention to the number of colored troops already in the service and the probable number to follow. As a result the whole program was broadened to include also colored soldiers.

A Committee on Education and Special Training was afterward designated by the Secretary of War, and entrusted with the execution of this far-reaching program. Certain educational institutions were set apart under Government contract for the training of student-soldiers. Thirteen of the leading- colored schools of the land were among the number authorized to undertake the instruction of the colored soldiers. The schools selected and the courses of instruction decided upon, together with the number of soldiers allotted to the various terms were as follows:

HOWARD UNIVERSITY, Washington, D. C.---May 15 and July 15, 1918, 300 men, Capt. Jerome Lavigne, C. O.; bench workers, electricians, wireless operators.

ATLANTA UNIVERSITY, Atlanta, Georgia.---120 men, July 1, 1918; bench workers, general carpenters, army truck drivers, blacksmiths.

FLORIDA AGRICULTURAL AND MECHANICAL COLLEGE, Savannah, Georgia.---125 men; July 1, 1918; blacksmiths, carpenters, electricians, whee1wrights.

GEORGIA STATE INDUSTRIAL COLLEGE, Savannah, Georgia.---200 men, July 1, 1918; army truck drivers, general carpenters, bench workers, blacksmiths.

HAMPTON NORMAL AND AGRICULTURAL INSTITUTE, Hampton, Virginia.---Capt. Robert H. Nealy, C. O.; June 15, 245 men; August 15, 1918, 245 men; electricians, carpenters, whee1wrights, machinists, chauffeurs, auto repairers, truck drivers, master truck drivers, horseshoers, blacksmiths, pipefitters.

NEGRO AGRICULTURAL AND TECHNICAL COLLEGE, Greensboro, North Carolina.---Capt. C. C. Helmar, C. O.; 260 men, June 15; 280 men, August 15, 1918; chauffeurs carpenters, tractor operators, truck drivers.

BRANCH NORMAL SCHOOL, Pine Bluff, Arkansas.---120 men, June 15, 1918; carpenters, blacksmiths, auto mechanics.

TUSKEGEE NORMAL AND INDUSTRIAL INSTITUTE, Tuskegee, Alabama. Capt. Edgar R. Bonsall, C. O.; 380 men, May 15; 380 men, July 15; 380 men, Sept. 15, 1918; auto mechanics, carpenters, blacksmiths, general mechanics.

WESTERN UNIVERSITY, Quindaro, Kansas.---100 men, June 15, 1918; blacksmiths, carpenters, concrete workers, electricians, horseshoers.

PRAIRIE VIEW N. AND I. COLLEGE, Prairie View, Texas.---150 men, June, 15, 1918; auto mechanics, chauffeurs,' blacksmiths, carpenters.

WILBERFORCE UNIVERSITY, Wilberforce, Ohio.---180 men, July 15; 180 men, August 15, 1918; machine shop, auto gas engines, general mechanics, cobblers, carpenters, blacksmiths.

STATE AGRICULTURAL AND MECHANICAL COLLEGE, Orangeburg, South Carolina.---240 men, July 1, 1918; auto mechanics, truck drivers, tractor operators, concrete workers, blacksmiths, bench woodworking.

WENDELL PHILLIPS HIGH SCHOOL, Chicago, Illinois.---170 men, July 1, 1918; auto mechanics, truck drivers, bench woodworking, electricity.

SUMNER HIGH SCHOOL, St. Louis, Missouri.---275 men.

These military units are listed under the bead of "Those Who Wait," although many of them so quickly assimilated the vocational instruction given them that in a few weeks they were ready for overseas service, and actually went over and served in several of the great offensives. The preparedness which was theirs, and the cheerfulness that characterized their every activity were large items in preserving the morale of the Negro people on this side of the ocean.

The value of this vocational training cannot be overestimated. The mere fact that the Government should be willing to assume the responsibility for the mental, physical and technical development, pay all the bills, and give these men a brighter outlook for the future, was a revelation to the colored millions of America, and did more to raise the morale of the race than could have been brought about by a thousand speeches or platitudinous proclamations. It was a big, concrete thing, done in a big way, and no single endowment by the Federal authorities in the war period went further to encourage the masses to renewed patriotic endeavors than did the establishment of these vocational detachments in the colored schools of the land. In the first six months more than 3,000 young colored men received the benefits of the training, and plans were laid for an extension of the work to include 20,000 additional men had war continued to the point expected by the military experts.

When the armistice was signed more than 10,000 colored men were on the roster of these Vocational Detachment units and as members of the Students' Army Training Corps, this latter being an outgrowth of the success achieved by the Vocational Detachments.

The War Department recognized that there are many branches of army service in which preliminary technical training is a great asset. This training must be largely secured in intensive, short, practical courses, so that essential industrial production may not be impaired. Much was done at first to meet this need in voluntary classes organized by the Federal Board for Vocational Education, by various divisions of the Army, and by individual schools. Valuable as were the benefits thus secured, however, experience demonstrated that on a civilian basis the desired results could not be obtained; therefore, it was decided to conduct the training under military control.

In order to coordinate the training program with voluntary enlistments and the operations of the selective service regulations, there was established in the War Department, as already noted, the Committee on Education and Special Training reporting to the Chief of Staff. The functions of this committee as stated in the General Order creating it were:

"To study the needs of the various branches of the service for skilled men and technicians; to determine how such needs should be met, whether by selective draft, special training in educational institutions or otherwise; to secure the cooperation of the educational institutions of the country and to represent the War Department in its relations with such institutions; to administer such plan of special training in colleges and schools as may be adopted. "

The War Department undertook to provide this intensive technical training only for soldiers in the service who were under discipline and on pay and subsistence during the period of their training. For the purpose of training them the War Department made use of facilities now in existence, thus offering the different educational centers of the country an opportunity to contribute in a very important way to the preparation of our armies for service in France.

Since the men to be trained were soldiers under military discipline, the War Department was obliged to impose certain general stipulations on communities agreeing to undertake this work. These orders read:

"1. Men will be sent to civilian institutions for technical training in units of from 100 up. Few units will number less than 200 or more than 2,000.

"2. For the maintenance of effective military discipline it is necessary that men be housed and fed in groups of approximately 100-500. Communities and institutions which are willing to receive men for training should note that proper facilities for housing and feeding must be provided. In training centers already established this requirement has been met in various ways; for instance, by utilizing a dormitory or a hotel, by the conversion of a hall or an armory, by the erection of temporary barracks, etc.

"3. Sufficient space suitable for military drill and located at a convenient distance from the quarters must be available.

"4. Institutions providing training and arranging housing and feeding facilities will be compensated at a reasonable per them rate for each man which is intended to cover actual costs.

"5. Men will be ordered in some cases to the training centers directly upon their induction into the service; in this case they will bring extra clothing. They will be provided at once with overalls and, as soon as practicable after arrival, with service uniforms and other equipment. In other cases the men will come from the recruit depots, at which they will be equipped.

"6. It is expected that the work involved in the technical training courses will occupy six to seven hours daily, the remaining time available for training being devoted to military drill.

"7. Most of the men thus assigned are inducted under the selective service system. Any one subject to draft, not under call from the Provost Marshal General, but desiring to volunteer, may be inducted on application to his Local Board, providing such Local Board has been called upon by the Provost Marshal General to supply a share of men and has not already filled the call, and provided he has the qualifications named in such a call. Under special authority given to recruiting officers from time to time this service may be opened also to men not of draft age who can volunteer as enlisted men in the Army."

 

The training required was such as to give the men some practical skill in the simple underlying operations of carpentry, metalworking, blacksmithing, auto mechanics, and other mechanical activities useful in the Army.

Only fundamental training was possible, and training therefore was thoroughly practical rather than theoretical. Most of the courses of training were two months in length. The work required included the following courses, for which the War Department provided definite directions and outlines:

1. AUTO DRIVING AND REPAIR.---Driving motor vehicles of various types, making all general repairs to motor trucks, cars, motorcycles, tractors.

2. BENCH WOOD WORK.---Splicing frames, joining, pattern making and fine wood work.

3. GENERAL CARPENTRY.---Use of the usual carpenter's tools and materials; practice in rapid rough work with hatchet and saw to qualify the man for building and repairing barracks, erecting concrete forms, rough bridge work.

4. ELECTRICAL COMMUNICATION.---Construction and repair of telephone and telegraph lines; repair, adjustment and operation of telephone and telegraph apparatus; cable splicing.

5. ELECTRICAL WORK.---Installing, operating and repair of electrical machines; inside wiring and power circuits.

6. FORGING OR BLACKSMITHING.---Jobbing blacksmithing; motorcycle, automobile, truck, gas engine and wagon repairing.

7. GAS ENGINE WORK.---Reconstructing and repairing automobile, motorcycle and airplane engines.

8. MACHINE WORK----General machine shop work on lathe, drill, press, shaper, planer, miller, grinder, etc.

9. SHEET METAL WORK.---Coppersmithing and tinsmithing; soldering, brazing and general repairing.

The widest publicity was given to this program as it affected colored soldiers, through the colored papers, in addition to the use of the official circulars of the War Department, and each of the schools under contract was flooded with applications sent by mail or brought in person to the institution by the applicant, to be considered by the Commanding Officers of the Training Detachments. Applicants already in the military service or of draft age and yet to be inducted, were required to have a grammar school education, and were assigned to the courses to which the applicant in question seemed best adapted by education, physical condition or experience.

For sympathetic counsel, practical suggestions and constant encouragement in getting the work of these vocational schools before the people and bringing to the Negro the full fruits of this beneficent program, the author was indebted in the largest measure to General Robert I. Rees, of the General Staff Corps, and Chairman of the Committee on Education and Special Training; Major Grenville Clark, of the Adjutant General's Department; Mr. William H. Lough and Dr. Ralph Barton Perry, executive secretaries, and Mr. C. R. Dooley, educational director, of the Committee on Education and Special Training of the War Department. The results of the training received by the thousands of young colored men in the selected schools, under the control of the Government, are reflected not only in the broader opportunities afforded for helpful service and advancement during the war, but in the wider area created for the soldier after the war, in the way of a more lucrative employment and a larger mental and moral endowment.

The success achieved throughout the country by the Vocational Detachments of the United States Army in the utilization of the young manhood of the Republic, led naturally to a further plan for enlisting the strength of the student forces of the land. The regularly established camps and cantonments were, in many instances, far away from the centers where thousands of youths might be found and who were available for the army of the future, for no one could know at that time how long the war might continue and it was deemed advisable to marshal the entire man-power of the nation to be drawn upon, if the necessity therefor should arise. It occurred to far-seeing military authorities that the hundreds of school plants, some of them almost denuded of men by the operation of the draft, might be utilized to train the still younger men and boys who might be needed to defend the flag. The Government perceived the wisdom underlying this plan of providing for future necessities, and out of the mass of suggestions and discussions was born the Students' Army Training Corps, to include qualified young men between the ages of eighteen and twenty-one, not then acceptable under the selective draft law.

The administration of this new instrumentality for the national defense was also placed in the hands of the Committee on Education and Special Training of the War Department at Washington. Through the prompt action of those entrusted with the welfare of the colored people of the land, provision was made for the participation of colored young men in this work, on equal terms with others, and units of the Students' Army Training Corps were established at colored schools which were able to meet the Government's requirements.

The primary purpose of the Students' Army Training Corps, as described in the military regulations, was to utilize the executive and teaching personnel and the physical equipment of the educational institutions to supplement the labors of the regular camps and cantonments in the training of the new armies of the nation. Its aim was to train officer-candidates and technical experts of all kinds to meet every need of the service. In the list of colleges, universities, professional, technical and trade schools of the country, totaling about 550, a score or more were conducted for the education of young colored men.

For administrative purposes the Corps was divided into two sections, the Collegiate or "A" Section, and the Vocational or "B" Section. The units of the "B" Section were formerly known as National Army Training Detachments, and their especial function, after being incorporated in the "S. A. T. C. " scheme was to continue the program of industrial development and to train soldiers for service as trade specialists in the Army. The colored schools carried into this program included:

Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute, Alabama; Hampton Institute, Hampton, Virginia; Howard University, Washington, D. C.; Atlanta University, Atlanta, Georgia; Georgia State A. and M. College, Savannah, Georgia; North Carolina A. and T. College, Greensboro, N. C.; South Carolina A. and M. College, Orangeburg, S. C.; Prairie View Normal and Industrial College, Prairie View, Texas; Lincoln University, Chester County Pa.; West Virginia Collegiate Institute, Institute, W. Va.; Wilberforce University, Zenia, Ohio; Alabama A. and M. College, Normal, Ala.; Tennessee A. and M. College, Nashville, Tenn.; and Louisiana A. and M. College) Baton Rouge, La.---fourteen in all.

The "A" or Collegiate Section, which was inaugurated October 1, 1918, was open to registrants of authorized colleges, universities or professional schools who were eligible for admission to the S. A. T. C. by voluntary induction into the military service. They thus became members of the Army on active duty, receiving pay and subsistence, subject to military orders, and living in barracks under military discipline in exactly the same manner as any other soldier. The housing, subsistence and instruction of soldiers in both branches of the Students Army Training Corps were provided by the educational institutions under contract with the Government to furnish the same. Students voluntarily inducted into the service were ordinarily allowed to choose the branch of the service for which they wished to be prepared, but this freedom of choice was not absolute, being subject to a very large extent to the particular qualifications of the individual and upon the needs of the service at any specified time. All students were required to meet the physical standards authorized.

The status of a member of the S. A. T. C. was that of a private; the pay was $30 per month. Students were at the beginning divided into four groups, according to age, and were given the same course of two months' military, industrial or other training, followed by a second two months of higher academic subjects of military value, if the soldier was found capable of greater advancement. Members of the Collegiate or "A" Section, who showed by their rating in academic and military work that they had unusual ability were given opportunities for transfer to a Central Officers' Training School; transfer to a non-commissioned officers' school; or assigned to the institution where they were enrolled for further intensive work in a specified line, as, for instance, in engineering, chemistry or medicine.

Those members of a Collegiate Section whose record was such as not to justify the Government in continuing their collegiate training were eligible for assignment to a Vocational Training Section for technical training of military value; or transfer to a cantonment for duty with troops as a private.

Men in "B" unit of the S. A. T. C. were given an equal opportunity with those in the college or "A" unit, to demonstrate their fitness for advancement and their qualifications for officers and noncommissioned officers' schools, or for continuance at institutions for more advanced study. The plan adopted provided that student-soldiers would be transferred to the army for active service at stated intervals, and their places would be taken at the school by new contingents, inducted fox similar training.

The colored educational institutions embraced in the "A" or Collegiate Section of the Students' Army Training Corps were: Howard University, Washington, D. C.; Lincoln University, Chester county, Pa.; Fisk University, Meharry Medical College, Nashville, Tenn.; Atlanta University and Morehouse College (combined), Atlanta, Ga.; Wiley University and Bishop College (combined), Marshall, Texas; Talladega College, Alabama; Virginia Union University, Richmond, Va.; Wilberforce University, Wilberforce, Ohio.

An instruction camp for colored schools and colleges was held at Howard University, Washington, D. C., August 1 to September 16, 1918. Howard University, Washington, D. C.; Atlanta University, Atlanta, Ga.; Lincoln University, Chester county, Pa.; Raleigh University, Raleigh, N. C.; Shaw University, Raleigh, N. C.; Wilberforce University, Zenia, Ohio; Virginia Union University, Richmond, Va.; Straight University, New Orleans, La.; Morehouse College, Atlanta, Ga.; Talladega College, Talladega, Ala.; Bishop College, Marshall, Texas; Benedict College, Columbia, S. C.; Allen University, Columbia, S. C.; New Orleans University, New Orleans, La.; Florida A. & M. College for Negro Youth, Tallahassee, Fla.; Biddle University, Charlotteville, N. C.; Livingston, College, Salisbury, N. C.; the Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute, Alabama; the Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute, Hampton, Va., and Lincoln Institute, Jefferson City, Mo., were among the schools which were asked to send a student representative for each twenty-five and one faculty member for each one hundred of the male student enrollment. These men were trained forty-seven days on temporary enlistment as privates, during which term they received housing, uniforms, subsistence, equipment, and instruction at the Government's expense with the pay of a private, $30 per month (and reimbursement of transportation to and from camp at 4 cents per mile). The plan of operation and the advantages given these men were identical with those of all other Colleges of the country. Wilberforce University alone of all the schools, however, secured a rating for recognized military training. A group of officers was designated by the War Department to take charge of the instruction, including Lieutenant Russell Smith (afterwards promoted to a captaincy), commanding officer.

As no institution, however well-intentioned, is without its flaws in the administration of its purposes, the S. A. T. C. had its "fly in the ointment." The color question came to the fore, especially as related to those institutions which had not been in the habit of accepting colored students, or in which but few had previously been registered. Trouble on this score was reported by colored students who attempted to secure entrance to the military units at certain colleges in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Nebraska and perhaps other states. A declaration was issued by the War Department officially discountenancing all discriminations based on color. This declaration as officially announced by the War Department was signed by Col. Robert I. Rees, an upstanding American. He always stood for justice and fair play so far as the men of the S. A. T. C. and the R. O. T. C. units were concerned. His declaration read as follows:

"No color line will be drawn in inducting men into the S. A. T. C. Colored men eligible for induction will be inducted at institutions which they attend and will not be required to transfer to other institutions. "

Such problems as arose in connection with attendance of colored students at Northern institutions were left by the War Department to be settled by the college authorities, the War Department refusing to be a party to any program which would introduce the color line into those schools where it is not already drawn. At the same time announcement was made that the War Department did not seek through its program to break down the color line in any institution where it was observed. The general effect of this prompt decision on the part of the War Department was gratifying to colored people throughout the country. The controversy and its satisfactory adjustment was described in clear fashion in an interesting news item making note of the circular letter sent out by the Secretary of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. The statement of Mr. John P. Shillady, Secretary of the organization referred to, touching the matter of the rejection of colored student applicants to the Students' Army Training Corps, was:

"Certain college authorities, acting under a misapprehension of War Department regulations, denied the privileges of the Students' Army Training Corps to colored students of Ohio and Nebraska colleges. In one case this action was taken upon instructions of the regional director of a section of the Training and Instruction Branch of the War Department Committee on Education and Special Training, and in another case by direction of the War Department's District Inspector. In the Ohio case inquiries were addressed to the War Department by the students themselves, by the National Office of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, and by the Cleveland and Columbus, Ohio, branches. These branches and the students arranged for conferences with the college authorities on the matter. The following telegram on the subject, signed by Emmett J. Scott, Special Assistant to the Secretary of War, under date of September 25, 191S, is self-explanatory:

"'The War Department has not issued any instructions preventing Negro students from joining Student Army Training Corps at Ohio State University or any other institution. Any student mentally and physically qualified and accepted by the school officials is eligible for admittance into any Student Army organization.

'EMMETT J. SCOTT,
'Special Assistant to Secretary of War.'

"It is apparent from a reading of this telegram and from the statements of Mr. Scott made personally to the Secretary of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, while in Washington, on September 28, that the War Department has made no ruling requiring a separation of colored and white students in barracks or dormitory arrangements in the colleges, and that the acceptance of a student by a college under the terms and conditions usual to such colleges qualifies the student for admission to the Students' Army Training Corps provided he is able to qualify.

"The branches and the members of the Association generally are requested to put this matter clearly before the colored students who may desire to enter the Students' Army Training Corps. This will serve as a guide to appropriate action in case any colleges deny admission to colored students under a similar misapprehension to that alluded to above."

 

Although the country was keenly alive to the necessity for some system of general military training for the youth of the land that would serve as a medium for insuring the national safety, when the armistice was signed November 11, 1918, discussion arose at once as to the future of the Students' Army Training Corps. The War Department was at first of the opinion that the organization could be maintained with profit to itself and to the students until the end of the fiscal year at least, while others high in authority contended that the war emergency being over, the corps should be demobilized at once. Among the forces that desired the continuance of the S. A. T. C. was the Merchants' Association of New York City, which laid before the Department an offer of financial assistance, if necessary, to maintain the organization along the original lines.

Major Ralph Barton Perry, executive secretary of the Committee on Education and Special Training, administering this branch of instruction under the War Plans Division of the General Staff of the Army, replying to the communication of the Merchants' Association urging the continuance of the S. A. T. C., gave as follows the reasons why the War Department did not consider it practical to carry on the military training units in colleges:

"It was not, as had often been assumed, an educational measure, but a plan for creating a reservoir of officer material with which to supply the Officers Training Camps and the other needs of the army for specially trained men. There were certain strong reasons for continuing to June 30, 1919, but these reasons were not military reasons, and did not justify the expenditure of money appropriated for specifically military purposes. While this is the fundamental reason for the demobilization of the Students Army Training Corps, for various reasons it would have proved difficult, if not impossible, to continue it in any case."

According to Major Perry, about 25 per cent. of the institutions were opposed to maintaining the units, once war ceased. He also said that many of the members of the corps immediately sought discharges in order to pursue civil studies, and these men could not be held in service against their inclinations. "The War Department," said Major Perry, "is fully aware of the force of the arguments in favor of continuing the Students' Army Training Corps. The demobilization will, in some cases, doubtless result in inconvenience to the institution. The Committee on Education and Special Training has, however, been authorized to make equitable financial adjustments. It is also recognized that in many cases the individual Students will suffer hardships.

"It should, however, be clearly borne in mind that no man was inducted into the S. A. T. C. on promise of an education at Government expense. He was inducted into the army for the purpose of receiving special additional training in connection with his purely military training, always with a view to the needs of the service."

On December 21, 1918, Secretary Baker authorized the statement that, with the demobilization of the Students' Army Training Corps, the colleges of the country would turn their attention to another phase of military preparedness---that of establishing the Reserve Officers' Training Corps. This offered another opportunity for the training of youth, colored men along with others, for the national defense, and many of the colored educational institutions which had maintained the S. A. T. C. up to the period of its demobilization, filed application for units of the new R. O. T. C., and also asked that colored officers of experience and capacity be installed as instructors in military science and tactics.

Below is a complete list of the schools selected up to April 1, 1919, together with a roster of the officers designated as military instructors therein. Most of the instruction at the beginning was in infantry movements.

Howard University, Washington, D. C.---Major Milton T. Dean and First Lieutenant Campbell C. Johnson.

Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute, Tuskegee, Ala..---Captain Russell Smith, First Lieutenant James C. Pinkston and Second Lieutenant Harry J. Mack.

Wilberforce University, Wilberforce, Ohio.----First Lieutenant Percival R. Piper.

Negro A. and T. College, Greensboro, N. C.---Second Lieutenant Horace G. Wilder.

South Carolina A. and M. College, Orangeburg, S. C.---First Lieutenant Samuel Hull.

Hampton A. and I. Institute, Hampton, Va.---First Lieutenant Leonard L. McLeod.

Virginia N. and I. Institute, Petersburg, Va.---Second Lieutenant Ernest C. Johnson.

Prairie View N. and I. College, Prairie View, Texas.---First Lieutenant Walter A. Giles.

Tennessee Agricultural and Industrial School, Nashville, Tenn.---First Lieutenant Grant Stuart.

West Virginia Collegiate Institute, Institute, W. Va.---First Lieutenant John H. Purnell.

Branch Normal School, Pine Bluff, Ark.---First Lieutenant Elijah H. Goodwin.

Straight College, New Orleans, La.---Captain Charles C. Cooper.

One important change in the organization was worked out, allowing the units of the R. O. T. C. to specialize in training officer material for Field Artillery, Engineer, Coast Artillery, Ordnance, Medical, and Aeronautics Corps, instead of the uniform training for Infantry, which was the rule before the war. In addition to the collegiate units, plans were formulated for the establishment of junior units in secondary schools. The Committee on Education and Special Training was able to take advantage of the opportunity afforded by the war to make available a large amount of scientific, and technical material, which bad been developed by the experience of Military leaders on both sides of the ocean, and in all units special emphasis is placed on physical training and mass athletics.

The formation of these units of the R. O. T. C. came in response to the national demand for Military training for the youth of the land, to provide the preparedness necessary as a safeguard to protect the general welfare. The sentiment was everywhere heard that "Even if we have no wars, universal military training will make better citizens." The discipline and courtesies which grow out of the relations of military men among themselves and the lessons that soldiers learn in keeping themselves "fit to fight" are fine additions to what young men have been able to get in colleges.

The difference between the Students' Army Training Corps and the Reserve Officers' Training Corps is that the S. A. T. C. trained the private; the R. O. T. C. trained officers: the former took a short cut and laid stress on military training; the latter took the long way and laid stress on the general education of the individual and emphasized the value of administrative or executive ability. One taught the individual to obey without question; the other taught the individual to command judiciously and to get results from the correct application of military science. The Reserve Officers' Training Corps was designed to give a large number of capable young men (colored and white) such training as would qualify them to serve their country as officers in case of another war. All found to be qualified mentally, physically and temperamentally, have been placed on the reserve officers list subject to call in the event of another war. This branch of the service proved to be of inestimable value to hundreds of live and ambitious young men of the Negro race.

Insidious Efforts to Create Dissatisfaction Among Colored Americans---Germany's Treacherous Promises---How the Hun Tried to Undermine the Loyalty of Our Negro Citizens---Steps Taken to Combat Enemy Propaganda---Work of the Committee on Public Information.

Many were the methods resorted to by Germany and her allies in their desperate efforts to win the war. Some of them were among the most despicable, dishonorable, and unscrupulous ever recorded in the annals of military history. By no means did the Imperial German Government confine its war activities to soldiers, to battleships, or to battlefields---those open, legitimate methods which honorable nations use, as a last resort, to settle international differences. On the contrary, Germany sought in many nefarious, secret ways (as was discovered and revealed by the Military Intelligence Bureau and the Department of Justice) to aid her war program right here on American soil, through propaganda work among enemy civilians, and through acts of open outlawry committed either directly by her subjects or by pro-German sympathizers.

Even prior to the breaking out of hostilities, Germany diligently endeavored to promote anti-war sentiment in America, designed to produce an increased number of pacifists who were opposed to the declaration of war as well as to our country's war program. She tried in a number of ingenious ways to appeal to and to cause dissatisfaction among various racial groups which go to make up America's composite population, and to make them lukewarm in the support of their Government. For instance, in her effort to disaffect the Irish-American group, she paraded before them in certain newspapers, in the form of subsidized articles, by lectures, public speakers, and otherwise, the Irish Home Rule Question so dear to the Irish heart, the alleged mistreatment of Ireland by England, the execution of Sinn Feiners and of Sir Roger Casement; by which sort of propaganda work she hoped to set Americans of Irish descent against the idea of supporting this country as an ally of England.

In order to influence German-Americans, she energetically fostered in this country various kinds of propaganda designed to make this racial group support the "Fatherland" more and America less; she urged German-American workers in munition plants and in other establishments supplying war materials "to be true to the Fatherland" and to withdraw their labor from all such industries, and not only that, but her agents aided and abetted German sympathizers to commit acts of sabotage and violence in order to impair or destroy the power of this country to produce war materials and the implements of war. Her secret service agents and paid hirelings strove to promote strikes and friction among various groups of American workingmen, and even encouraged and engaged in the blowing up of bridges, railroads, munition plants, and other indispensable adjuncts connected with the successful prosecution of war.

In addition to her insidious plans to disaffect those of alien birth or parentage, she also attempted propaganda work among native-born Americans both white and black, and it required all the courage, and intelligence of the white press and the Negro press, ably assisted by the Committee on Public Information and its countless number of loyal public speakers, white and black, to counteract the pacifist propaganda, "Made in Germany," which threatened for a time to keep our country from participating in the world's great struggle for freedom and democracy.

Foremost among those who successfully combated this pro-German propaganda was Colonel Theodore Roosevelt, whose forceful opposition to hyphenated Americans and pacifists will ever stand as a monument to his 100-per-cent Americanism. Even before our country's entrance into the arena of war as an ally of Great Britain and France, German propaganda made itself manifest in a determined effort to influence American voters in favor of placing an embargo upon all shipments of arms, ammunition, etc., to belligerent nations; the defeat of Germany's plan in this regard led up, indirectly if not directly, to the Lusitania disaster, which may be said to have brought the United States into the war.

Active German propaganda of various kinds was attempted, and was officially recognized to exist among the colored people of this country, and it is one the most remarkable facts of the war that in spite of so many insidious plans to bring about disaffection among them by emphasizing racial discriminations, injustices, and the like, in spite of so many temptations to be disloyal, the entire racial group of colored Americans remained absolutely loyal and actively patriotic. Authentic information that the Germans tried to incite the colored people of the South against the United States was brought out by Mr. A. Bruce Bielaski, Chief of the Bureau of Investigations, Department of Justice, in a Congressional inquiry conducted by the Senate Committee which investigated German propaganda in America. Mr. Bielaski said that "The colored people did not take to these stories, they were too loyal. Money spent among them for propaganda was thrown away." During the course of the same official hearing, Captain George B. Lester, Military Intelligence Officer, told the Senate Propaganda Investigating Committee that German propaganda among Negroes of the South was particularly active in the Spring and Summer of 1918.

In the course of his testimony, Captain Lester said: "When the thirty-one propagandists who reached this country (from Germany) shortly after the outbreak of the war organized the Fuehr publicity bureau in New York, they set aside one 'section' for dealing with American race problems. They kept records of every lynching, every attack by a Negro upon a white person, and every item of alleged oppression of the Negro race by the whites. The directing head of the propaganda was the German ambassador at Mexico City. In this country Reiswitz, former Consul at Chicago, acted as his assistant. The Negroes were told by the propagandists that in Europe there was no color line; that there the blacks were equal to the whites; that if Germany won the war the rights of Negroes throughout the world would equal those of whites. On the military side the propaganda took the form of stories that Negro soldiers were left on the ground to die and that they always were put in the first line trenches in France and used almost exclusively as 'shock troops.' The German agents passed the word among Negro recruits that if Germany won the war, a certain section of the United States would be set aside where the Negroes could rule themselves."

As later developments proved, this was an unsuccessful attempt to weaken the morale of Negro soldiers. In his story of the work of Germans among colored Americans generally, Captain Lester said that "the propaganda became so annoying that a conference of leading Negroes (referring to the Negro Editors' Conference which was also attended by a number of other leaders of Negro thought and opinion) was called in June, 1918, in Washington, D. C., and a movement immediately started through the War Department and the Committee on Public Information to offset it." "As a result," he added, "the activity of the German agents soon ceased." It was the splendid team work of Negro editors throughout the country that, in large measure, helped to guard colored Americans against such propaganda and to maintain a 'healthy morale among them.

While German propaganda failed to affect the colored people to the extent of diverting them from their loyalty to the United States, yet the truth of the matter is that the morale of the colored people was kept more or less disturbed and at a frazzled edge during most of the war by what came to be known as "anti-Negro propaganda." Much of this could not be traced to German sources, but plainly had its origin in age-old prejudices which have existed in America against colored people along certain well defined lines. The number of lynchings of Negroes seemed to be on the increase during the course of the war, and THESE LYNCHINGS, BE IT REMEMBERED, WERE NOT "Made in Germany." According to the records compiled by Monroe N. Work, in charge of records and research of Tuskegee Institute, there were 58 Negroes lynched in 1918 and 38 lynched in 1917, a total of nearly 100 Negroes lynched on American soil while our country was at war and while hundreds of thousands of loyal Negro soldiers and millions of law-abiding colored Americans were supporting the Government with unfaltering patriotism.

This unfortunate condition gave German newspapers abroad much ground for effective criticism, and the following press reports indicate the kind of articles which frequently appeared in the German press, some of which were reprinted in American newspapers Many of these articles carried the impression to the German people that Germans were being lynched in America.

The Munich Neueste Nachtrichten said that at the Berne prisoner-of-war conference the German representatives would have the opportunity of bringing up the question of Praeger, who was lynched, remarking that questions were asked of the foreign office representative at the last session of the Reichstag on this case. It called attention to the cases of Consuls Bopp and Schack of San Francisco, which, it said, should be made the subject of an interpellation in the Reichstag. The paper said that the German delegates should bring up the whole question at the conference and be able to assure better treatment for Germans in America.

The Kolnische Volkszeitung published a long article headed "JUDGE LYNCH, MISTER MOB." The article asserted that formerly American writers alleged that the crime of lynching existed only in the black belt, but now, the paper declared, lynch law belongs to the approved rites of "culture" in the United States.

"The most horrible scenes of human bestiality which can be recorded," it goes on, "are quite natural for the Yankee. * * * He no longer gets excited over a lynching, and is only ashamed when foreigners call attention to this 'people culture.'"

It is always asserted, the paper proceeded, that mobs and the scum of the people are responsible for lynchings.

"Every American who uses the word MOB in this sense," it adds, "lies, because he knows that all classes of society, without exception, including men and women, partake."

At Brookhaven, Miss., the paper sets forth, a colored man was lynched by 20,000 persons, and many landowners from Lincoln drove in during the night in order to "enjoy the crime."

That paper also referred to Praeger, and declared that after energetic action by the German government, Washington gave the press the tip to discourage lynching. It scoffed at President Wilson's message regarding crimes committed by the German army, saying "he lives in a glass house and should not throw stones."

Articles of this kind generally appeared prior to and to excuse what the Germans call "reprisals," otherwise Hun brutality.

No question was fraught with more danger to our national security in time of war, and none will be more deserving of radical treatment in time of peace than the unlawful practice of lynching, regardless of the state or section in which it occurs and regardless of the nationality of the victim.

Some of the lynchings that occurred during the war were cases of colored women (5) accompanied by barbarities that cannot properly be described in print and wholly unworthy of civilized groups of people. There were burnings of human beings at the stake, modeled after medieval horrors, and, in several instances well-known colored citizens of wealth, intelligence, and upright character were tarred and feathered and nameless outrages committed upon their persons and property. Reports of these outrages found their way to the colored people through the Negro press, which stoutly maintained that if America had gone forward to fight battles for freedom and democracy abroad, it should at least give full protection to all of its citizens at home. Foremost among the white friends of the Negro, who vigorously opposed lynching and whose trenchant pen and eloquent voice have always been enlisted on the side of Right and Justice, was Mr. Moorfield Storey, the well known lawyer of Boston, who delivered a most remarkable address on "The Negro Question" before the Wisconsin Bar Association, on June 27, 191S, in the course of which he said:

"Negroes are denied the protection which the law affords the lives and property of other citizens. If only charged with crime or even misdemeanor, they are at the mercy of the mob and may be killed and tortured with absolute impunity. In many States they cannot obtain justice in the courts. At hotels, restaurants and theaters they are not admitted or are given poor accommodation. In the public parks and public conveyances, even in the public offices of the nation, they are set apart from their fellow-citizens. The districts which they occupy in cities are neglected by the authorities, and of the money which the community devotes to education, a very small fraction is allotted to them, so that their schoolhouses and their teachers are grossly inadequate.

"It is notorious that in many cities they are wretchedly housed and charged unreasonable rents for their abodes. Labor unions will not receive them as members, and as non-union men they find it hard to get employment. If in spite of every obstacle they gain an education, they find door after door closed to them which would have opened to receive them gladly had their skins been white.

"The deliberate effort is made to stamp them as inferior, to keep them "hewers of wood and drawers of water," to deny them that opportunity which America offers to every other citizen or emigrant no matter how ignorant or how degraded. These are the unquestionable facts, and they are not controverted."

Mr. Storey then proceeded to quote some testimony from the Southern Press, as follows:

"Let me give you some testimony from the South. Says The Atlanta Constitution: 'We must be fair to the Negro. There is no use in beating about the bush. We have not shown this fairness in the past, nor are we showing it today, either in justice before the laws, in facilities afforded for education, or in other directions.'

"Some years ago," said Mr. Storey, "a Mississippi lawyer, addressing the Bar Association of that State, said: 'A Negro accused of crime during the days of slavery was dealt with more justly than he is today. * * * It is next to an impossibility to convict, even upon the strongest evidence, any white man of a crime of violence upon the person of a Negro, , * * * and the converse is equally true that it is next to an impossibility to acquit a Negro of any crime or violence where a white man is concerned,' and well did he (the Mississippi lawyer) add: 'We cannot, either as individuals, as a country, as a State, or as a nation continue to mete out one kind of criminal justice to a poor man, a friendless man, or a man of a different race, and another kind of justice to a rich man, an influential man, or a man of our own race without reaping the consequences.'

"From the Vicksburg Herald come these words (continued Mr. Storey) : 'The Herald looks with no favor upon drafting Southern Negroes at all, believing they should be exempt in toto because they do not equally 'share in the benefits of government.' To say that they do is to take issue with the palpable truth. 'Taxation without representation,' the war-cry of the Revolutionary wrong against Great Britain, was not half so plain a wrong as requiring military service from a class that is denied suffrage and which lives under such discriminatious of inferiority as the 'Jim Crow' law and inferior school equipment and service.'"

It was the attitude and just such sentiments as that voiced by the Vicksburg Herald as well as by a number of other Southern white newspapers, and by certain Senators and Congressmen, including Senator Vardaman, of Mississippi, that led the colored people of the United States to feel for a time that it was not desired that, they should have any participation in the world-wide struggle for "Freedom and Democracy."

The prevalence of lynching Negroes in America had become so noticeable that not only the German press, but the newspapers and diplomatic representatives of other nations as well, have from time to time commented upon the practice as a sad reflection upon our boasted civilization, our high ideals, and our ability to preserve and enforce law and order. Pregnant with grave danger in time of peace, the lynching evil constituted an even greater menace in time of war, and when the epidemic began to spread and to include white victims as well as black victims, citizens of this country as well as citizens of foreign countries, the President of the United States saw fit to issue from the White House a strong public statement denouncing lynching and mob violence, and later, in Now York City, on May 5th and 6th, 1919, a National Conference was held for the purpose of (1) promoting propaganda against lynching in every State of the Union; (2) urging the passage of Federal laws against lynching, and (3) bringing about the formation of white and Negro committees throughout the South to agitate against mob murders and the like.

How the Harlem colony of Negroes in New York City was stirred up or, in a measure, influenced by German propaganda, may be gathered from a letter written to Mr. George Creel, Chairman of the Committee on Public Information, by a well-known New York citizen, Mr. Trumbull White, whose wide-awake patriotism and deep interest in the welfare of the Negro people are numbered among his many commendable virtues. His letter to Mr. Creel follows:

INVESTORS' PUBLIC SERVICE
(Incorporated)
149 Broadway, New York.

March 15, 1918.

Mr. George Creel,
Chairman of the Committee on Public Information,
Washington, D. C.

Dear George:

This is a matter which seems to me very important and immediate.

The big Negro colony in Harlem is badly infected with a series of rumors arousing great distress and disquiet. I happen to know about it because of very intelligent colored servants at our house who have relatives in the Expeditionary Forces in France.

The rumors are of various kinds. One is that the Negro regiments are being terribly abused by their white officers. Another is that the Negro regiments are being discriminated against in the distribution of troops where the danger and suffering will be the greatest. Another is that the Germans have vowed that they will torture all Negroes who may be captured, in order to prove that this is a white man's war and that no Africans are wanted in Europe. Another is that already more than 200 Negro soldiers with eyes gouged out and arms cut off, after being captured by Germans and then turned loose by them to wander back to the American lines, have been sent home to this, country and are now in the Columbia Base, Hospital, No. 1, up in The Bronx.

These rumors are spreading like wildfire in the Negro colony through churches, Negro papers, clubs and in general conversation. The colony is seething. I do not know whether German propaganda started the rumors or whether some even less responsible source is the cause. It is clear, however, that serious harm can result and indeed is now resulting.

I have two recommendations. One is that a permit be arranged for one Negro preacher, one Negro doctor, and one Negro woman of intelligence from that colony to be admitted to a complete inspection of the Base Hospital, in order that they may report back to their own people the falsity of the stories.

The other is that some lecturer, preferably Irvin Cobb, if he is in this country, be sent up to that colony to lecture at one of their big churches, specifically on the subject of what he has seen of the Negro troops in France, the work they are doing, and the conditions surrounding them. Cobb has the southern affection for the Negro and could do the thing right. Failing him, can you get a returned Negro minister, Y. M. C. A. worker, or wounded or invalided Negro private of intelligence to tackle that job?

I will help arrange it through the Negro preachers and editors of the colony.

I know that the matter should be expedited. Please do not think this matter a light one.

As ever yours,

(Signed) TRUMBULL WHITE.

The following press dispatch further indicates the kind of German propaganda which sought to influence the colored people in New York and elsewhere:

New York, April 11, 1918.---After an alleged threat to kill an aged colored woman in Harlem; Max Freudenheim was arrested yesterday by Agent Davidson of the Department of Justice. He was sent to Newark jail to await internment proceedings.

Charles F. DeWoody, Federal Investigating Chief here, left for Washington last night. He will lay before Attorney General Gregory today an amazing story of German propaganda among Negroes, revealed by Freudenheim's arrest.

Mr. DeWoody believes that behind Freudenheim's activities for several months in Harlem lies a Berlin plan like the "Committee for the East " which had for its object the alienation of all the Jews in the world from the allies.

It is known that the trail has led to several, States. It was less than a year ago that the same sort of propaganda which had been made rife around One Hundred and Thirty-fifth street and Lenox avenue caused almost a panic among the Negroes of the South. Thousands of them left their homes and fled to Northern States at word of an uprising in favor of Germany which it was said would start in South America and Mexico and sweep through this country.

Freudenheim, who is married and has three children, has been in this country for eighteen years. He says he is an Austrian, but the Federal officials say he was born in Germany.

Posing as an insurance solicitor, the man has been working in Harlem exclusively among Negroes. The Federal authorities say he would meet men and women and when the talk touched on the war, would declare:

"Germany is sure to win this war and it is a good thing for you colored people that she will. Germany is the greatest friend the colored man ever had. All her colonies in East Africa were started to better the conditions of the black man. When she wins the war her intention is to start a colony exclusively for Negroes in one of the Southern States. This will be virtually a Black Republic. The colored men will choose their own rulers.

"In this city the Negroes will get the recognition the United States has denied them so far. They will be made the social equals of white men." An elderly woman whose mother was a slave freed by Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation reported Freudenheim's activities to Superintendent DeWoody. Men were sent to shadow the man.

He was followed and his conversations were listened to. He discovered this, and within hearing of a Department of Justice agent he shouted to this woman whom he suspected of betraying him: "I'll see that you are killed long before this war is over. Germany has many friends in New York and they will strike."

As a part of the activities of German propagandists who were seeking to incite the Negro people of the United States to be disloyal to their country and to their flag, they constantly hinted that the Kaiser's love for the Negro was so great that if ever Germany should be triumphant and should win the war, he would dominate affairs in America and would parcel out one or more States of the Union where the Negro would be given real freedom and the full right of self-government. The utter fallacy of such false promises was clearly brought out by Harrison Rhodes (of the Vigilantes), the celebrated newspaper and magazine writer of New York City, who wrote an informing article which was printed in many of the leading newspapers throughout this country.

In order to weaken the morale among colored American soldiers in France, German airships dropped among them all sorts of literature, of which a typical example was given in Chapter XI.

Thus it was, "with fightings within and foes without," the Negro soldiers and civilians of America stood firm against every temptation to divert them from their primary duty of helping to win the war. What more remarkable and commendable record could be made, or has ever been made by any class of citizens than was made by Negro Americans who remained steadfastly loyal to the Stars and Stripes notwithstanding the fact that they had been, and were being subjected to unjust and embarrassing conditions and discriminations which even the enemy government noticed, ridiculed and condemned! It is a record which should, and doubtless will vouchsafe to this racial group not only the eternal respect and gratitude of America but radical reforms and practical rewards befitting their unfaltering patriotism.

Their Co-operation in. All the. Liberty Loan Drives---The Negro and the Red Cross---In the United War Work Campaign---How the Negroes Bought War Savings Stamps---Special Contributions and Work of Colored Citizens---The "Committee of One Hundred" and Its Valuable Work.

Not halting at the cheerful giving of their man-power through volunteer enlistment and under the operation of the selective draft, the 12,000,000 American Negroes contributed with equal cheerfulness and promptness and liberality to the call of the Nation for their money-power. The total amount of money brought by Negroes to the country's relief through the sale of Liberty Bonds of the first, second, third, fourth and fifth issues, has not been carefully compiled, and may never be definitely known, because of the diffuse method by which the collections were made; but it is safe to say that the figures will run into many millions, representing untold sacrifices and a measure of patriotism unexcelled by any similar number of citizens of the American Republic.

To extend this good work the War Department and the Committee on Public Information, charged with preserving the morale of the great body of American citizens, and especially of groups known to have what they term "special grievances," decided that a vigorous campaign of education was necessary to instruct the Negro on the war aims of the Government, to secure at the hands of the race the full measure of co-operation which it was capable of giving. Early in May, 1918, therefore, a patriotic campaign was determined upon, and upon the recommendation of the author, the Committee on Public Information organized a "Committee of One Hundred," made up of strong, well-poised and thoroughly trained men, representing practically every organization of Negroes in the land, and having undisputed influence with all classes and conditions of the Negro race throughout the land. Bishops and ministers of all denominations, editors of every kind of publication, heads of every known fraternal organization, heads of educational institutions, prominent factors in all of the professions, industries and business agencies formed a part of this unique body of missionaries and messengers.

Zones of activity were worked out and men of varying qualifications were given assignments where they could do the most effective work for the cause at stake and to serve the United States Government in its hour of national emergency and need. These men, without exception, took hold of the work with a will, and their intensive campaign of education, driving home the war aims of the Government in a plain and straightforward fashion, had a powerful influence in inspiring a livelier patriotism throughout the race and encouraging them to engage whole-heartedly in the countless activities designed to help America to win the war. Specially equipped by nature and by experience for dealing with collective humanity, the Committee of One Hundred performed its duty well, and their labors were made more potent for good by the close relationship they were able to establish with the State Councils of Defense in the North, East, South and West, from which they derived much valuable data which enabled them to counteract the particular disadvantage to patriotic endeavor in each of the communities they were called upon to visit and evangelize.

At the opening of each specific campaign inaugurated by the Secretary of the Treasury for the flotation of the big loans, running into billions---a denomination which had heretofore held for the Negro, as well as for the white people, a very vague meaning---some well-known member of the race invariably launched the "drive" with a formal address, outlining the necessity for the money asked for and pointing out to the Negro the significance of a victory over the Teutonic allies in its relation to his future, as an integral factor in the American body politic.

The Special Assistant Secretary of War was asked to launch the Fourth Liberty Loan Campaign among the colored citizens of the District of Columbia, and spoke at Howard Theatre, Washington, Saturday evening, October 29, 1918, as follows:

"This is as the President says, the people's war. It is not a white man's war. It is not a black man's war. It is a war of all the people under the Stars and Stripes for the preservation of human liberty throughout the world., Civilization is in peril, and the natural rights of mankind are menaced for all time by the unholy aggressions of the Imperial German Government. The triumph of autocracy means the destruction of the Temple of Freedom which our fathers helped in 1776 to erect, and. which their sons have sacrificed blood and treasure ever since to perpetuate. The failure of democracy in this mighty conflict will entail disaster upon humanity throughout generations beyond number.

"The American Negro is beginning to realize that if the American white man is enslaved by reason of this Republic's inability to rout the Hun in the present struggle, the ultimate result will be his own re-enslavement and the loss of all that he has gained since the Emancipation Proclamation. His fate is indissolubly bound up with the fate of the Republic, and he must join with it, loyally, whole-heartedly and to the finish, in every movement that will add strength to the American arms in the death-grapple with Germany. This common purpose must be contended for by a common brotherhood.

"Already, the Negro has responded promptly and cheerfully to the call for his man-power, and three times since the declaration of war against the Imperial German Government he has answered generously, readily and without stint to the call for his money-power.

"Now comes a fourth call for financial aid and it is not doubted that the 12,000,000 free. colored Americans, who wish to remain free, will again respond with the same or greater measure of liberality and enthusiasm that has characterized them when the previous demands were made.

"Appropriately, indeed,---in view of the onward march of General Pershing's Invincible Crusaders on France's western front, the Fourth Liberty Loan is styled "The Fighting Loan." Black men are among these Crusaders. We who must remain at home are in duty bound to lend the limit of our aid to those who have gone abroad to bare their breasts to shot and shell in defense of our flag and the sacred ideals for which it stands. We cannot do this in a more effective way than to offer our dollars to sustain the Government-the only Government we know---and its fighting men while they are braving death, to insure freedom and justice to all mankind. Even as they are making their bayonet fight in protection of the jewel of liberty, we can. make our DOLLARS fight. to gird up their loins for stronger efforts in trench and on field.

"We can ail rest assured that the response of the colored millions to the fourth call for financial aid will be in keeping with our public-spirited and intensely patriotic rallies of the past. The success of the Fourth. Liberty Loan should overtop all of its predecessors in the volume of subscriptions accredited to the Negro race everywhere, and this should be the absorbing mission of colored ministers, editors, teachers, merchants, lawyers, doctors and speakers and workers day by day and night by night until that objective is gained. 'He gives twice who gives quickly.' Let us buy bonds---and then buy more bonds!

"Every dollar loaned, every sacrifice made, every useful service performed will give to ourselves the rich consciousness of duty well done and will tend to win for the colored American everywhere the fullest measure of American opportunity."

This address was sent out by Mr. Frank R. Wilson , Director of Publicity for the United States Treasury Department, to all Directors of Publicity, as an appeal to be addressed to the colored people of the United States.

Secretary W. G. McAdoo, of the United States Treasury, made public acknowledgment of the whole-souled cooperation of the colored people throughout the country in connection with the Liberty Loan "drives."

 

Although it has not been possible to keep any accurate record of the amount of War Savings Stamps purchased by colored people throughout the country, the scattering reports and personal observations of individuals everywhere indicate that the total is very large. The stamps are purchased through so many and such widely-separated agencies that no accurate compilation by race or creedal groups can be attempted with any hope of success.

A typical instance of the aggressive work done by the War Stamps committees of the colored people is found in the District of Columbia, where during a drive of eight weeks among the children of the public schools, a sale averaging $800 per week was reported---this period covering the months of March and April, 1918. About the same time, the Washington Citizens' Committee on W. S. S., headed by Dr. W. A. Warfield and Dr. D. E. Wiseman, collected $52,000 through their own plan of campaign, in addition to the immense sums subscribed through the government departments and commercial houses where colored people were largely employed. It cannot be doubted that the Washington example was repeated many times over in the many communities all over the land where colored people are found in appreciable numbers.

The "Victory" issue of Liberty bonds found colored Americans ready to help the nation finish the job of winning the war, to help furnish funds to bring the boys back home, and to pay the cost connected with the establishment of freedom and democracy for the world.

Throughout the entire country colored organizations and colored leaders set in motion forces which brought from the colored people a response which again served to indicate the willingness of the Negro people to help bring the war to a close With the last of the drives for money to complete the financing of the cost of the war.

Mr. John W. Lewis, president of the industrial Savings Bank, Washington, estimates that the colored people of the District of Columbia purchased $2,200,000 Worth of the First, Second, Third and Fourth issues of Liberty bonds. He arrived at this total by checking up as far as was possible the amounts known to have been subscribed by colored men and women through the banks, the Federal departments, and business houses. The Fifth or "Victory Loan" was taken quite largely by Negroes in the Government service, and by persons in private employment as well. For the Fifth Liberty Loan the total subscribed for through his Industrial Savings Bank amounted to something more than $30,000, the investors being exclusively colored.

Notwithstanding certain lack of information at the outset relative to the attitude of the authorities responsible for the management of the American Red Cross Society, the masses of the Negro people early came to realize the vast benefits accruing to them through the universal operations of this great agent of mercy and humanity, and in every community where the colored people constituted any large per cent of the population, they rallied to the standard of the Red Cross. They gave freely of their means, invariably at a large personal sacrifice, and strove earnestly, early and late through existing organizations or to perfect additional organizations for the furtherance of this movement.

In the "drive" of the American Red Cross for a relief fund of $100,000,000 in 1918, the colored citizens of the country contributed their proportionate share. In the churches, schools, theaters, and on the streets, colored speakers eloquently pointed out the duty of the race to give liberally to the fund and women and children daily took up collections in all kinds of public places, and with gratifying results.

The State Councils Section of the Council of National Defense early recognized the importance of having the colored people organize under Councils of Defense as was true of other citizens of the republic. It was with this thought in mind that Mr. Arthur H. Fleming, Chief of the State Council, Section, addressed the letter following to the Southern State Councils of Defense with reference to this matter, since the great mass of the Negro population is to be found in the Southern section of our country:

COUNCIL OF NATIONAL DEFENSE
WASHINGTON
STATE COUNCIL SECTION

February 23, 1918.

Subject: Organization of the Negroes.

To the Several Southern State Councils of Defense:

The Negro population can render valuable assistance in the present crisis. Their support of the Government depends largely on their clear understanding of the events which involved the United States in the war, and the purposes and principles which it is upholding. To this end we call to your attention a plan for the organization of Negroes based upon the most successful work for reaching them already accomplished by State Councils of Defense and State Divisions of the Woman's Committee in the South. We ask your opinion of this plan as to its wisdom both in general and in the light of the local conditions in your own State.

We hope that this matter will receive your thoughtful consideration and that you will advise us promptly as to your views.

Yours very truly,

ARTHUR H. FLEMING,
Chief of Section.

The result of the plan referred to, was the successful organization of Negroes under the State Councils of Defense.

An outstanding force that helped to win the war was the Negro press of the country. Aside from the effective work done by this aggressive element of power through the conference of Editors at Washington, which is referred to elsewhere, the press was an asset of incalculable value in pushing the war work among colored people by the regular publication of the bulletins of information the Special Assistant caused to be sent out from the War Department week after week, beginning shortly after the assumption of his duties. His mailing list embraced more than two hundred Negro journals and magazines, having a large circulation in practically every State in the Union, and reaching every class of the Negro millions, North, East, South and West, besides the Speakers' "Committee of One Hundred" and many newspaper correspondents, special writers, heads of schools and colleges and men of influence and standing in the strategic centers of the nation.

This service proved to be of the greatest possible assistance to those charged with the conduct of the war, as it won and held the confidence of the people, maintaining their morale and stimulating their patriotism at the crucial hour, when the nation needed the loyal and earnest cooperation of every element of its citizenship to assure victory to its cause. Our editors were conservative on all current questions, at no sacrifice of courage and absolute frankness in the upholding of principles. The author has always held to the belief that the only way to gain the united and cordial support of the people is to take them entirely into one's confidence and to throw upon the screen of action the full glare of publicity touching every plan, policy or achievement, withholding nothing that might lead to a suspicion that behind the veil of secrecy there might lurk something that could not stand the light of day.

The superb and generous support given to the war aims of the Government by the colored press was one d the most gratifying features of the trying conflict, and unstinted praise should be given the colored editors and publishers for their timely services and countless sacrifices, all cheerfully contributed in behalf of the nation's cause.

The Food Administration, of which Mr. Herbert Hoover was Director, recognizing the importance of having the support of the large colored civilian population, gave attention to organizing then . Some work had been done among the Negroes through one of the divisions of the Educational Department of the Food Administration, and during the carrying out of the preliminary features of this program, A. U. Craig, a teacher of the Paul Laurence Dunbar High School, Washington, D. C., was for awhile in charge of the Negro Press Section of the Educational Division. About September 30, 1918, he gave up his work as director of that section, which was discontinued.

A colored Field Worker, Ernest T. Attwell, who for fifteen years or more had served as Business Agent of the Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute, Alabama, was made organizer, first for the State of Alabama, and afterwards for the Southern States. In September, 1918, his activities were enlarged and he was brought to Washington where from September, 1918, to January 1, 1919) he served as director of the activities of the colored people from the headquarters of the Food Administration organization.

The campaign of the Food Administration among the colored people was opened by a strong appeal made by Director Herbert Hoover, who circulated an open letter to the 12,000,000 Negroes of the United States, asking for their cooperation as a unit every-where to help in general food conservation. The appeal indicated a deep appreciation of the potential value of cooperation on the part of this racial group, of which over 2,000,000 were engaged in agricultural pursuits, and, therefore, exerted a tremendous influence in solving the problem of raising food crops. Thousands of the race were also engaged in the domestic occupations, buying and dispensing provisions for the use of many families, serving as cooks, stewards, etc., for hotels, clubs, institutions and restaurants of every conceivable size and grade. This kind of service placed them largely in control of the food consumption in the homes, not only of their own people, but of other races as well. The program of Mr. Hoover contemplated the thorough organization of this important group by, first, naming a national director, in the person of Mr. Attwell, and then the appointment of Negro State Directors, county deputies, local food committees, and like agencies, taking in every class of helpers, with a view of mobilizing all forces for the purpose of stimulating propaganda work along the line of increased food production and the conservation of the supplies in hand. Mr. Hoover's appeal is reproduced in facsimile below.

One year of food conservation found a colored organization each of the following named States, with Negro directors as indicated: Alabama, J. H. Phillips; Arkansas, Milton W. Guy; Florid Nathan B. Young; Georgia, J. P. Davis, Illinois, Alexander L. Jackson; Indiana, F. B. Ransom; Iowa, Herbert R. Wright; Kentucky Phil H. Brown; Louisiana, J. Madison Vance; Maryland, C. C. Fitzgerald; North Carolina, James B. Dudley; Oklahoma, T. H. Wiseman; South Carolina, R. W. Westberry; Missouri, J. B. Coleman Tennessee, William J. Hale; Texas, E. J. Howard; West Virginia C. E. Mitchell; New York, E. P. Roberts.

The publicity system adopted by the Colored Section served to arouse the masses to the necessity for food conservation and production, to supply home needs and to replace the enormous amount of foodstuffs lost at sea on the way to the allied governments. Besides numerous news releases to the colored press a series of striking pamphlets were issued, notable among them being one bearing the admonition, "Don't Cut the Rope!" Illustrated lectures, moving pictures slides in the theaters, public cooking demonstrations, etc., formed a part of the publicity campaign so well carried out by Director Attwell.

The signing of the armistice did not cause the immediate discontinuance of the Food Administration, and the organization of food clubs went on as before. The Director of the Negro Section saw to it that every Negro home was reached with the propaganda of "keeping on in the good work." During "Conservation Week for World Relief," the first week in December, 1918, Mr. Attwell addressed large meetings in Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky, at which he pointed out the necessity for continued conservation of food, in view of the fact that contracts for the current year called for not less than twenty million tons of food products for European countries. In all respects the results flowing out of the activities of the Negro Section of the National Food Administration amply justified its creation and the unstinted praise which Director Hoover and other governmental agents so cheerfully bestowed upon it.

Organization for War Work---The Division of Negro Economics---Pioneer Work of Dr. George E. Haynes---Negro Representation in Council---Seeking to Improve Race Relations---Good Work by Negroes in the Shipyards---Attitude of Organized Labor---The Opportunities of the War.

Because of unsettled conditions among the Negro people migrating hither and thither during the World War, and still more disturbed conditions obtaining among them after the intervention of the United States in the great struggle, it. was deemed necessary to make a scientific study of Negro labor and establish an organization for its direction. After considering the available material, the Secretary of Labor decided, in June, 1918, to call as one of his assistants to take charge of this work, Dr. George E. Haynes, founder of the Urban League and Professor of Social Sciences at Fisk University. Dr. Haynes's work was that of a director of the Division of Negro Economics, around which the organization to carry out these purposes would be organized and from which it would receive its direction.

As no special effort had hitherto been made in this field, Dr. Haynes came to his task largely as a pioneer. His first effort was to arouse interest in his cause through personal interviews and conferences with public-spirited citizens of both races, North and South. He, therefore, approached school officials, State Councils of National Defense, Chambers of Commerce, the United States Employment Service, social welfare organizations, and educational societies.

Interest was soon manifested far and wide. The proposed work of the Department of Labor with reference to the Negroes was given careful consideration at a meeting of the Southern Sociological Congress held at Gulfport, Mississippi, July 12, 1918. Soon there followed a State conference of representative white and Negro citizens at Jacksonville, Florida, called by Governor Sydney J. Catts, who presided at a number of the sessions. On August 5, 1918, a conference was called at Columbus, Ohio, by the Department of Negro Economics with the cooperation of the Federal Director of the United States Employment Service and Governor James M. Cox.

In the meantime conferences of more satisfactory results were being held. The first of these was that called by Governor Bickett of North Carolina, on June 19, 1918. At this meeting the Governor appointed a temporary committee, which drafted a constitution providing for a State Negro Workers' Advisory Committee and for the organization of local, county, and city committees. This plan of organization, with slight modifications and adjustments for other States, served as a model for the development of voluntary field organizations for the Southern States and six Northern States.

An important conference was then held in Kentucky on August 6, 1918. There were both white and colored representatives in attendance. This conference was unique in that the plan of organization adopted was that of a united war work committee, with a special committee of white citizens appointed by the-State Council of Defense as cooperating members. This war work committee included representatives from the Department of Agriculture, the United States Food Administration, the Red Cross, the Council of Defense, and the Department of Labor. Governor A. O. Stanley of Kentucky attended the morning session and made an enthusiastic address to the delegates. Very soon thereafter the influence of the State conferences so proved their effectiveness and their usefulness as a means of forwarding the State movement and creating good feeling and a favorable sentiment that other conferences followed almost as a matter of course. The most important of these were held in Georgia, Missouri, Illinois, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey, and steps were taken for conferences or central organization of the work either in New York or South Carolina.

The Division of Negro Economics also called upon the Information and Education Service to carry out the departmental plan for publicity and educational campaigns to improve race relations of workers and to increase the morale and efficiency of Negro workers. The Division also assisted the Bureau of Industrial Housing and Transportation in carrying out its purposes. It welcomed also the cooperation of the Public Health Service in its educational campaign among Negro workers, and maintained a similar cooperative relationship with the War Department through the office of the Special Assistant to the Secretary of War.

It has often been reported that the Division of Negro Economics withheld from rather than conferred upon the Negro the benefits resulting from the scarcity of labor during the World War. For example, Negroes were employed in large numbers in the shipyards, then undertaking to furnish the fleets adequate to the task of transporting American soldiers to France. In the early part of the war the Negroes as illustrated by the unusual record of Charles Knight, at Sparrow's Point, Maryland, exhibited the highest efficiency as riveters in the shipyards. But their increase in efficiency did not lead to an increase in the number employed in the various shipyards. The same condition of affairs, for instance, obtained in the employment of Negroes at Hog Island. After they had manifested the same evidences of efficiency, they suffered from most invidious discriminations while endeavoring to contribute their part to the winning of the war. These untoward conditions tended to continue, and while the number of Negroes employed by the United States Government increased, the Government did little to facilitate their entering the higher pursuits of labor.

It is unfair, however, to charge to the account of Dr. Haynes, the Director of the Division of Negro Economics, the shortcomings of the Department of Labor or of the United States Government. It is decidedly unjust and ludicrous that in the midst of all of these injustices to the Negro laborer there was no effort on the part of the Department to do anything to relieve the situation. A public official is not always in a position every time to divulge exactly what his attitude in a certain situation may be, or whether or not he has taken any steps leading to definite action in matters coming before him for consideration. It may safely be assumed that Dr. Haynes, at all times and in every way possible, did what he could to secure to the Negro laborer the recognition and the remuneration belonging to every man, and in some of these cases he succeeded. That he failed in materially changing the attitude of the Department of Labor or of the country toward the Negro, should not excite surprise. If reformers have bad, according to history, to labor for years to effect a change in public opinion it is ludicrous to expect that one colored man could, by holding office two years in a Department of the United States Government solve the economic problems of the race.

During these same years other forces were at work to assist in the solution of the same problems. Organized labor had become somewhat excited and finally concluded that because of a scarcity of labor it would soon need the. support of the Negro. During these, their trying hours, therefore, leading Negroes of the country were approached with a view to obtaining their support toward the end of organizing all Negro wage-earners.

This proposal did not generally appeal to the Negroes throughout the United States. Their attitude was rather, "Beware of the Greeks bearing gifts." Negroes had for so many years been barred by the trades unions and had suffered so much at their hands that they saw in this change of attitude only some advantage which the trades unions hoped to obtain thereby. Why was it that no effort had ever been put forth by white unions in all these years when the Negro was forced to work for starvation wages? Why is it that Negro laborers have been driven away and in some cases, as in East St. Louis, exterminated by the agents of the trades unions---and could now be received with open arms? "Believing that the need of Negro labor was absolute and imperative in unionized territory and that efforts to exclude the Negro from employment would be futile," said these Negroes, "great solicitude was then expressed for the Negro, at the very time that he was so well treated and so well paid and his prospects for even better treatment so much brighter." Some Negroes, therefore, advised that nothing could be hoped for but base betrayal, and that it would be a blunder to surrender their independence to accept work when they could get it, and on terms suitable to their own peculiar needs. They openly declared that trades unions were planning, not for the Negroes but for the whites, and Negro leaders were cautioned not to be induced thereby and advised the people not to accept these "gifts of the Greeks," who intended thereby merely to control the Negroes for their own good, having seen that they could no longer keep them down.

These leaders, however, did not oppose the organization of the laborers of their race in separate units primarily concerned with their own welfare, but maintaining their independence of the white unions. They were urged to unite among themselves, but not to connect with any movement which convenienced, encouraged, or incited lawlessness, or that sought to prevent men who desired to work from working because they did not wear the badge of an organization. Complying with such suggestions a number of Negroes' organizations were formed. Chief among these was that of the Associated Colored Employees of America, which aimed to bring about a systematic distribution of laborers.

The majority of the Negroes of this country, however, were not of this opinion. They felt that the time had come for the two races to unite and this was its greatest opportunity. As a step in this direction the American Federation of Labor at its meeting in Buffalo in 1917 passed a resolution to this effect. On the 12th of February in 1918, therefore, the Council of the American Federation of Labor met according to appointment a number of representative Negroes who were invited to discuss with that body plans for carrying out these resolutions. Among the persons invited were Dr. R. R. Moton, Principal of Tuskegee; Mr. Emmett J. Scott, Special Assistant to the Secretary of War; Mr. George W. Harris, Editor of the New York News; Mr. A. H. Grimke, President of the Washington Branch, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People; Mr. E. K. Jones, Executive Secretary 'of the League on Urban Conditions Among Negroes; Mr. John Shillady, Secretary of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, and Mr. Fred R. Moore, Editor of the New York Age.

These gentlemen, representing the colored people, set forth as a vital war measure the necessity for the removal of the barriers preventing Negroes from entering the higher pursuits of labor. They asked that the American Federation of Labor organize the Negroes in the various trades to include skilled as well as unskilled workmen, Northern as well as Southern; Government as well as civilian employees; women as well as men workers. They wanted Negro labor directed by the American Federation of Labor in the same way as white labor, when workmen are returning to work after a successful strike, when shops are declared open or closed, and when union workers apply for jobs.

When the American Federation of Labor held its meeting in Atlantic City, New Jersey, in June, 1919, it voted with only one dissenting vote, and that the Railway Postal Clerks Union, to give full membership rights to Negro wage-earners. The discussion of the question, and there were some seven hundred delegates in the convention, was very general, broad and fair, with few exceptions. For some time past Negroes have enjoyed membership privileges in the Federation, but in a restricted sense only. It now remains for them to make their standing in the American Federation what it should be. Several causes contributed toward this decision. The World War taught the American Federation and all others that Negroes were prepared, by the industrial and technical teaching and instruction they have been subjected to for the past twenty-five years, to do the highly necessary work required by the Government and the essential industry corporations; while the migration movement indicated that there was plenty of labor to be had for the asking.

As soon as the Special Assistant to the Secretary of War entered upon his duties in the War Department he found that there was need of building up a healthy morale among the colored people. Aside from what seemed to be a regular epidemic of racial disturbances culminating in riots, lynching, mob violence, and the like, be found many other conditions that were making for disquiet and unrest. Although colored men were being drafted and called to fight for their country on battlefields abroad, many of their relatives and dependents at home, even those upon the Civil Service register as eligible for appointment, were being denied employment and discriminated against in nearly every branch of the departmental service in Washington. One of the first cases brought to his attention was that of a cultured and refined young colored woman, a relative by, marriage of the late Frederick Douglass, the great Negro leader. She had met the Civil Service requirements, had been duly certified to serve the Government as "Index and Catalogue Clerk," but when she reported for duty and was found to have an admixture of Negro blood, she was told that a "MISTAKE HAD BEEN MADE." Manifestly the same racial discrimination was practiced in dozens of similar cases, and led to the author's taking up the matter with a number of the Government officials who were responsible for such injustices. While he always recognized the fact that his duties were primarily to look after the interests of colored soldiers, yet as far as was practicable, he endeavored to look after the interests of colored civilians as well, and the attached correspondence concerning the young woman above referred to is typical of his efforts in this direction, though he frankly admits that such cases of racial discrimination in the Government bureaus at Washington have been far too numerous for him to give to each of them the personal attention required:

December 13, 1917.

Memorandum-For Lieut. Ernest J. Wesson,
Officer in Charge, Civilian Personnel Section,
Administration Division, U. S. Signal Corps:

At the instance of Dean F. P. Keppel, Confidential Adviser, Office of the Secretary of War, I am writing you in the following matter which has been brought to my attention.

Mrs. Fannie H. Douglass, 910 T Street, N. W., Washington, D. C., has brought to the Office of the Secretary of War, a telegram received by her, dated December 7, 1917, which reads as follows:

"Mrs. Fannie H. Douglass, 329 You St., N. W. (which was her former address), Washington, D. C.

"Your name certified by Civil Service Commission for appointment Chief Signal Officer, twelve hundred dollars per annum.; if you accept, report as soon as possible, Room 826, Mills Building Annex, this city, for duty. Wire reply, Government, collect.

(Signed) SQUIRE, Chief Signal Officer."

Mrs. Douglass states that she telegraphed her acceptance of the offer, and reported for duty as requested; that she was given certain blank forms to fill out; that she filled out the forms given her, and that a detached portion, headed: "The appointee will detach this portion of the sheet and retain it for his information and guidance," was given her, which detached portion she has brought to the Office of the Secretary of War; and that, after these proceedings, she was informed that "there had been a mistake."

Inquiry at the office of the Appointment Division elicits the information that Mrs. Fannie H. Douglass was certified to the office of the Chief Signal Officer on December 6, 1917, as Index and Catalogue Clerk, grade of clerkship for which she had been examined, and to which position she has been certified.

Will you kindly let me have, for the Secretary of War, all the facts bearing on this matter?

(Signed) EMMETT J. SCOTT,
Special Assistant to Secretary of War.

---

War Department, Washington, December 15, 1,917.

Memorandum----Mr. Emmett J. Scott,
............................Special Assistant,
............................Office of Secretary of War.

In reply to yours of December 13, 1917, you are advised from the investigation in this office it would appear that Mrs. Fannie H. Douglass has been the innocent victim of a series of unfortunate errors. The facts surrounding this case are as follows:

On December 6th the Equipment Division of the Signal Corps applied for certification of a large number of Index and Catalogue Clerks. This application was referred to the Appointment Division by telephone and this office was informed that all certificates covering the eligibles for this position were in the Ordnance Department, that these people probably being engaged in that Department, this office was authorized to make temporary appointments of that grade. The Equipment Division informed the undersigned that they had the names of persons at various points in the United States to fill these positions. Upon receipt of this authority to make temporary appointments they were to telegraph these persons to come to Washington, A C., and did so. Shortly afterwards fourteen certificates covering eligibles for the position of Index and Catalogue Clerks were received in this office from the Appointment Division, they undoubtedly having received these from the Civil Service Commission subsequent to our telephonic conversation.

In view of the fact that a large number of persons had been directed to proceed to Washington at their own expense from various parts of the United States to accept temporary appointments, the undersigned did not care to take any action on these certificates, knowing that vacancies would shortly occur in the Air Division in which the appointees covered by such certificates could be placed. Nevertheless, through clerical error, all of these persons were notified by telegram. However, Mrs. Douglass was the first person to report, and as no transportation had been involved in her case, and further, that upon questioning the clerk in this office, who handles these matters, it was found that Mrs. Douglass had not given up her position and would not suffer any pecuniary loss, the undersigned instructed this clerk to inform Mrs. Douglass that she had been notified to appear through error, this due to the fact that vacancies existing had been filled by temporary appointments and it seemed hardly just to displace these persons who had come to Washington at their own expense, and that the undersigned had full knowledge that further openings were to occur in the near future when the services of all Index and Catalogue clerks could be utilized.

At. a later date, which cannot be recalled, Mrs. Douglass called at this office and was voluntarily informed by the undersigned that vacancies were now existing and she would receive telegram in due time to report to this office for duty.

With reference to Mrs. Douglass filling out the blank forms, you are advised that the first impression in this office was that she had been certified as a Departmental Clerk, certain statements on her papers that she had taken the Departmental examination, being the cause of this error, and it was not until after these forms had been completed, was it determined that she had been erroneously summoned as Index and Catalogue Clerk.

Mrs. Douglass has been notified to appear for duty Monday morning next, as Index and Catalogue Clerk.

By direction of the Chief Signal Officer,

(Signed) E. J. WESSON,
1st Lt., Signal Corps, U. S. R.

It is worth while remarking that this young woman proved so capable and painstaking that she was afterward placed in charge of the group of young women who did the file-indexing in her division.