History of the American Negro in the Great World War Part 31

CROWD ON THE LAKE FRONT IN CHICAGO ALMOST SMOTHERS RETURNING SOLDIERS OF "FIGHTING 8TH" (370TH INFANTRY).

It is known that a contingent of them accompanied the very first forces that went abroad from this country. In fact, it may be said, that the feet of American Negroes were among the first in our forces to touch the soil of France. It is known that they numbered at least 136 different companies, battalions and regiments in France. If there were more, the records at Was.h.i.+ngton had not sufficiently catalogued them up to the early part of 1919 to say who they were.

In the desire to get soldiers abroad in 1918, the policy of the administration and the Department seems to have been to make details and bookkeeping a secondary consideration. The names of all, their organizations and officers were faithfully kept, but distinctions between whites and blacks were very obscure. Until the complete historical records of the Government are compiled, it will be impossible to separate them with accuracy.

Negro non-combatant forces in France at the end of the war included the 301st, 302nd and 303rd Stevedore Regiments and the 701st and 702nd Stevedore Battalions; the 322nd and 363rd Butchery Companies; Engineer Service battalions numbered from 505 to 550, inclusive; Labor battalions numbered from 304 to 348, inclusive, also Labor battalion 357; Labor companies numbered from 301 to 324, inclusive; Pioneer Infantry regiments numbered 801, 809, 811, 813, 815 and 816, inclusive. These organizations known as Pioneers, had some of the functions of infantry, some of those of engineers and some of those of labor units. They were prepared to exercise all three, but in France they were called upon to act princ.i.p.ally as modified engineering and labor outfits. They also furnished replacement troops for some of the combatant units.

Service was of the dull routine void of the spectacular, and has never been sufficiently appreciated. In our enthusiasm over their fighting brothers we should not overlook nor underestimate these. There were many thousands of white engineers and Service of Supply men in general, but their operations were mostly removed from the base ports.

Necessity for the work was imperative. Owing to the requirements of the British army, the Americans could not use the English Channel ports. They were obliged to land on the west and south coasts of France, where dock facilities were pitifully inadequate. Railway facilities from the ports to the interior were also inadequate. The American Expeditionary Forces not only enlarged every dock and increased the facilities of every harbor, but they built railways and equipped them with American locomotives and cars and manned them with American crews.

Great warehouses were built as well as barracks, cantonments and hospitals. Without these facilities the army would have been utterly useless. Negroes did the bulk of the work. They were an indispensable wheel in the machinery, without which all would have been chaos or inaction.

Headquarters of the Service of Supply was at Tours. It was the great a.s.sembling and distributing point. At that point and at the base ports of Brest, Bordeaux, St. Nazaire and La Pallice most of the Negro Service of Supply organizations were located. The French railroads and the specially constructed American lines ran from the base ports and centered at Tours.

This great industrial army was under strict military regulations. Every man was a soldier, wore the uniform and was under commissioned and non-commissioned officers the same as any combatant branch of the service.

The Negro Service of Supply men acquired a great reputation in the various activities to which they were a.s.signed, especially for efficiency and celerity in unloading s.h.i.+ps and handling the vast cargoes of materials and supplies of every sort at the base ports. They were a marvel to the French and astonished not a few of the officers of our own army. They sang and joked at their work. The military authorities had bands to entertain them and stimulate them to greater efforts when some particularly urgent task was to be done. Contests and friendly rivalries were also introduced to speed up the work.

The contests were grouped under the general heading of "A Race to Berlin" and were conducted princ.i.p.ally among the stevedores. Prizes, decorations and banners were offered as an incentive to effort in the contests. The name, however, was more productive of results than anything else. The men felt that it really was a race to Berlin and that they were the runners up of the boys at the front.

Ceremonies accompanying the awards were quite elaborate and impressive. The victors were feasted and serenaded. Many a stevedore is wearing a medal won in one of these conquests of which he is as proud, and justly so, as though it were a Croix de Guerre or a Distinguished Service Cross. Many a unit is as proud of its banner as though it were won in battle.

Thousands of Service of Supply men remained with the American Army of Occupation after the war; that is, they occupied the same relative position as during hostilities-behind the lines. The Army of Occupation required food and supplies, and the duty of getting them into Germany devolved largely upon the American Negro.

Large numbers of them were stationed at Toul, Verdun, Epernay, St. Mihiel, Fismes and the Argonne, where millions of dollars worth of stores of all kinds were salvaged and guarded by them. So many were left behind and so important was their work, that the Negro Y.M.C.A. sent fifteen additional canteen workers to France weeks after the signing of the armistice, as the stay of the Service of Supply men was to be indefinitely prolonged.

The Rev. D.L. Ferguson, of Louisville, Ky., who for more than a year was stationed at St. Nazaire as a Y.M.C.A. worker, and became a great favorite with the men, says that during the war they took great pride in their companies, their camps, and all that belonged to the army; that because their work was always emphasized by the officers as being essential to the boys in the trenches, the term "stevedore" became one of dignity as representing part of a great American Army.

How splendidly the stevedores and others measured up to military standards and the great affection with which their officers regarded them, Rev. Dr. Ferguson makes apparent by quoting Colonel C.E. Goodwin, who for over a year was in charge of the largest camp of Negro Service of Supply men in France. In a letter to Rev. Dr. Ferguson he said: "It is with many keen thrusts of sorrow that I am obliged to leave this camp and the men who have made up this organization. The men for whose uplift you are working have not only gained, but have truly earned a large place in my heart, and I will always cherish a loving memory of the men of this wonderful organization which I have had the honor and privilege to command."

Lester A. Walton, who went abroad as a correspondent for the New York Age, thus commented on the stevedores and others of the same service: "I had the pleasure and honor to shake hands with hundreds of colored stevedores and engineers while in France. The majority were from the South, where there is a friendly, warm sun many months of the year. When I talked with them no sun of any kind had greeted them for weeks. It was the rainy season when a clear sky is a rarity and a downpour of rain is a daily occurrence. Yet, there was not one word of complaint heard, for they were 'doing their bit' as expected of real soldiers. Naturally they expressed a desire to get home soon, but this was a wish I often heard made by a doughboy.

"Members of the 'S.O.S.' will not came back to America wearing the Distinguished Service Cross or the Croix de Guerre for exceptional gallantry under fire, but the history of the great world war would be incomplete and lacking in authenticity if writers failed to tell of the bloodless deeds of heroism performed by non-combatant members of the American Expeditionary Forces."

During the summer of 1918, Ella Wheeler Wilc.o.x, the poetess, went to France to write and also to help entertain the soldiers with talks and recitations. While at one of the large camps in Southern France, the important work of the colored stevedore came to her notice and she was moved to write a poem which follows: THE STEVEDORES We are the Army Stevedores, l.u.s.ty and virile and strong.

We are given the hardest work of the war, and the hours are long.

We handle the heavy boxes and shovel the dirty coal; While soldiers and sailors work in the light, we burrow below like a mole.

But somebody has to do this work or the soldiers could not fight!

And whatever work is given a man is good if he does it right.

We are the Army Stevedores, and we are volunteers.

We did not wait for the draft to come, and put aside our fears.

We flung them away to the winds of fate at the very first call of our land.

And each of us offered a willing heart, and the strength of a brawny hand.

We are the Army Stevedores, and work we must and may, The cross of honor will never be ours to proudly wear and sway.

But the men at the front could not be there, and the battles could not be won.

If the stevedores stopped in their dull routine and left their work undone.

Somebody has to do this work; be glad that it isn't you.

We are the Army Stevedores-give us our due.

CHAPTER XXVI.

UNSELFISH WORKERS IN THE VINEYARD.

MITIGATED THE HORRORS OF WAR-AT THE FRONT, BEHIND THE LINES, AT HOME-CIRCLE FOR NEGRO WAR RELIEF-ADDRESSED AND PRAISED BY ROOSEVELT-A NOTABLE GATHERING-COLORED Y.M.C.A. WORK-UNSULLIED RECORD OF ACHIEVEMENT-HOW THE "Y" CONDUCTED BUSINESS-SECRETARIES ALL SPECIALISTS-NEGRO WOMEN IN "Y" WORK-VALOR OF A NON-COMBATANT.

Negroes in America are justly proud of their contributions to war relief agencies and to the financial and moral side of the war. The millions of dollars worth of Liberty Bonds and War Savings stamps which they purchased were not only a great aid to the government in prosecuting the war, but have been of distinct benefit to the race in the establis.h.i.+ng of savings funds among many who never were thrifty before. Thousands have been started on the road to prosperity by the business ideas inculcated in that manner. Their donations to the Red Cross, the Y.M.C.A. and kindred groups were exceptionally generous.

An organization which did an immense amount of good and which was conducted almost entirely by Negro patriots, although they had a number of white people as officers and advisers, was the "Circle for Negro War Relief," which had its headquarters in New York City.

At a great meeting at Carnegie Hall, November 2, 1918, the Circle was addressed by the late Theodore Roosevelt. On the platform also as speakers were Emmett J. Scott, Irvin Cobb, Marcel Knecht, French High Commissioner to the United States; Dr. George E. Haynes, Director of Negro Economics, Department of Labor; Mrs. Adah B. Thorns, Superintendent of Nurses at Lincoln hospital, and Dr. W.E.B. Du Bois, who presided.

Mr. Roosevelt reminded his hearers that when he divided the n.o.bel Peace Prize money among the war charities he had awarded to the Circle for Negro War Relief a sum equal to those a.s.signed to the Y.M.C.A., the Knights of Columbus, and like organizations.

"I wish to congratulate you," Mr. Roosevelt said, "upon the dignity and self-restraint with which the Circle has stated its case in its circulars. It is put better than I could express it when your officers say: 'They, (the Negroes) like the boys at the front and in the camps to know that there is a distinctly colored organization working for them. They also like the people at home to know that such an organization, although started and maintained with a friendly cooperation from white friends, is intended to prove to the world that colored people themselves can manage war relief in an efficient, honest and dignified way, and so bring honor to their race.

"The greatest work the colored man can do to help his race upward," continued Mr. Roosevelt, "is through his or her own person to show the true dignity of service. I see in the list of your vice-presidents and also of your directors the name of Colonel Charles Young, and that reminds me that if I had been permitted to raise a brigade of troops and go to the other side, I should have raised for that brigade two colored regiments, one of which would have had all colored officers. And the colonel of that regiment was to have been Colonel Charles Young.

"One of the officers of the other regiment was to have been 'Ham' Fish. He is now an officer of the 15th, the regiment of Negroes which Mr. Cobb so justly has praised, and when 'Ham' Fish was offered a chance for promotion with a transfer to another command, I am glad to say he declined with thanks, remarking that he 'guessed he's stay with the sunburned Yankees."'

A guest of honor at the meeting was Needham Roberts, who won his Croix de Guerre in conjunction with Henry Johnson. The cheering of the audience stopped proceedings for a long time when Mr. Roosevelt arrived and shook hands with Roberts.

"Many nice things were said at the meeting," commented the New York Age, "but the nicest of all was the statement that after the war the Negro over here will get more than a sip from the cup of democracy."

One of the splendid activities of the Circle was in the providing of an emergency relief fund for men who were discharged or sent back, as in the case of Needham Roberts, on account of sickness or injuries. Many a soldier who was dest.i.tute on account of his back pay having been held up was temporarily relieved, provided with work or sent to his home through the agency of the Circle.

While the war was in progress the Circle attended to a variety of legal questions for the soldiers, distributed literature, candy and smokes to the men going to the war and those at the front; visited and ministered to those in hospitals, looked after their correspondence and did the myriad helpful things which other agencies were doing for white soldiers, including relief in the way of garments, food, medicine and money for the families and dependents of soldiers.

The organization had over three score units in different parts of the country. They engaged in the same activities which white women were following in aid to their race. Here is a sample clipped from one of the bulletins of the Circle: "On the semi-tropical island of St. Helena, S.C., the native islanders have, in times past, been content to busy themselves in their beautiful cotton fields or in their own little palmetto-shaded houses, but the war has brought to them as to the rest of the world broader vision, and now, despite their very limited resources, 71 of them have formed Unit No. 29 of the Circle. They not only do war work, but they give whatever service is needed in the community. The members knit for the soldiers and write letters to St. Helena boys for their relatives. During the influenza epidemic the unit formed itself into a health committee in cooperation with the Red Cross and did most effective work in preventing the spread of the disease."

Similar and enlarged activities were characteristic of the units all over the nation. They made manifest to the world the Negro's generosity and his willingness in so far as lies in his power, to bear his part of the burden of helping his own race.

After the war the units of the Circle did not grow weary. Their inspiration to concentrate was for the relief of physical suffering and need; to a.s.sist existing organizations in all sorts of welfare work. As they had helped soldiers and soldiers' families, they proposed to extend a helping hand to working girls, children, invalids and all Negroes deserving aid.

To the lasting glory of the race and the efficient self-sacrificing spirit of the men engaged, was the wonderful work of the Negro Young Men's Christian a.s.sociation among the soldiers of this country and overseas. Some day a book will be written dealing adequately with this phase of war activity.

The best writers of the race will find in it a theme well worthy of their finest talents. The subject can be touched upon only briefly here.

To the untiring efforts and great ability of Dr. J.E. Moorland, senior secretary of the Negro Men's Department of the International Committee, with his corps of capable a.s.sistants at Was.h.i.+ngton, belongs the great credit of having organized and directed the work throughout the war.

Not a serious complaint has come from any quarter about the work of the Y.M.C.A. workers; not a penny of money was wrongfully diverted and literally not a thing has occurred to mar the record of the organization. Nothing but praise has come to it for the n.o.ble spirit of duty, good will and aid which at all times characterized its operations. The workers sacrificed their pursuits and pleasures, their personal affairs and frequently their remuneration; times innumerable they risked their lives to minister to the comfort and well being of the soldiers. Some deeds of heroism stand forth that rank along with those of the combatants.

The splendid record achieved is all the more remarkable and gratifying when the extensive and varied personnel of the service is taken into consideration. No less than fifty-five Y.M.C.A. centers were conducted in cantonments in America, presided over by 300 Negro secretaries. Fourteen additional secretaries served with Student Army Training Corps units in our colleges. Sixty secretaries served overseas, making a grand total of 374 Y.M.C.A. secretaries doing war work.

Excellent buildings were erected in the cantonments here and the camps overseas, which served as centers for uplifting influences, meeting the deepest needs of the soldier's life. In the battle zones were the temporary huts where the workers resided, placed as near the front lines as the military authorities could permit. Many times the workers went into the most advanced trenches with the soldiers, serving them tobacco, coffee, chocolate, etc., and doing their utmost to keep up spirits and fighting morale. Much of the uniform good discipline and behavior attributed to the Negro troops undoubtedly was due to the beneficial influence of the "Y" men and women.

As an example of the way the work was conducted it is well to describe a staff organization in one of the buildings.

It was composed of a building secretary, who was the executive; a religious work secretary, who had charge of the religious activities, including personal work among the soldiers, Bible cla.s.s and religious meetings; an educational secretary, who promoted lectures, educational cla.s.ses and used whatever means he had at hand to encourage intellectual development, and a physical secretary, who had charge of athletics and various activities for the physical welfare of the soldiers. He worked in closest relations.h.i.+p with the military officers and often was made responsible for all the sports and physical activities of the camp. Then there was a social secretary, who promoted all the social diversions, including entertainments, stunts and motion pictures, and a business secretary, who looked after the sales of stamps, post cards and such supplies as were handled, and who was made responsible for the proper accounting of finances.

The secretaries were either specialists in their lines or were trained until they became such. Some idea of their tasks and problems, and of the tact and ability they had to use in meeting them, may be gained by a contemplation of the cla.s.ses with which they had to deal. The selective draft a.s.sembled the most remarkable army the world has ever seen. Men of all grades from the most illiterate to the highly trained university graduate messed together and drilled side by side daily. There were men who had grown up under the best of influences and others whose environment had been 370TH or vicious, all thrown together in a common cause, wearing the same uniform and obeying the same orders.

The social diversions brought out some splendid talent. A great feature was the singing. It was essential that the secretary should be a leader in this and possessed of a good voice. These were not difficult to find, as the race is naturally musical and most of them sing well. Noted singers were sent to sing for the boys, but it is said that frequently the plan of the entertainment was reversed, as they requested the privilege of listening to the boys sing.