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...Chapter IV
...The Work of the Special Assistant
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Guarding the Interests of Negro Soldiers and Civilians---Promoting a Healthy Morale---Cases of Alleged Discrimination Against Negro Draftees---The Edward Merchant Case---The John D. Wray Case---How Justice Was Secured---A War Department Inquiry---Training for Colored Officers.
At the time that the Special Assistant to the Secretary of War was called
to Washington, in October, 1917, the war was in progress and the first draft
law was being enforced. His first duties consisted principally in urging
the equal and impartial application of the Selective Service Regulations
to black men and white men alike, and formulating plans calculated to promote
a healthy morale among Negro soldiers and civilians. In his effort to properly
represent the interests of Negro draftees throughout his tenure of office,
he received and keenly appreciated the prompt and cordial coöperation
and support of the Secretary of War and of the Provost Marshal General's
office. While it is true, and only fair to state, that Negro men, in many
cases, were not treated as equitably and justly as white men in the application
of the draft law, and that in certain sections they were made victims of
many errors, irregularities, and injustices in the matter of classifications,
inductions, etc., yet it is a fact that three Local Draft or Exemption Boards
were removed from office by the Secretary of War, because it was proven
that these Exemption Boards had flagrantly violated the Selective Service
Regulations by discriminating against Negro draftees; furthermore, it was
ordered that all wrongful classifications, etc., made by them should be
corrected forthwith. The office was also instrumental in obtaining justice
for a large number of Negro draftees who sent in countless letters, affidavits,
and the like, registering their complaints against the unfair treatment
of various Draft Boards; and the victories won in their cases, together
In handling these numerous cases of alleged discrimination and injustice, much correspondence passed between the office of the Special Assistant and the office of Provost Marshal General E. H. Crowder and numerous telephone messages and personal conferences were required.
Some Typical Correspondence
A small portion of the correspondence in typical cases is hereto appended that indicate the efforts made on behalf of Negro draftees as well as the sympathetic attitude of the Provost Marshal General's office in its partially successful effort to correct abuses and injustices that arose in the application of the Draft Law by various Local Boards:
Provost Marshal General-Army.
February 21, 1918.
Adjutant General,
Jackson, Mississippi.Number 4496.----Case of Edward Merchant of Local Board of Leake County, serial number 792, has again been brought to this office. Please direct the board to wire at once if they did or did not grant discharge to this registrant prior to November 13, and transmit original reply from local board by mail after wiring contents.
(Signed) CROWDER.
-------
State of Mississippi
The Adjutant General's Office
Jackson, Miss.February 22nd, 1918.
FROM: Adjutant General Mississippi.
TO: F. E. Leach, Govt. Appeal Agent, Carthage, Mississippi.
SUBJECT: Status Edw. Merchant.I am directed by the Governor to inform you that the Provost Marshal General desires the Local Board of Leake County to advise the status of Edward Merchant, therefore, please answer the following questions on the bottom of this letter.
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Did the local board grant Merchant a discharge from the draft?
If a discharge was granted, was it issued, prior to November 13th?
(Signed) EDW. C. SCALES,
Brigadier General.-------
Carthage, Miss., Feb. 23, 1918.
1st. Records of Local Board show that Edward W. Merchant was discharged by them on reconsideration of his claim.
2nd. Date of discharge is November 7, 1917.
F. E. LEACH,
Govt. Appeal Agt., Leake County, Miss.-------
War Department, Washington.
February 26, 1918.
Memorandum for the Provost Marshal-General's Office:
Attention of
Major Roscoe S. Conkling, Judge Advocate.With further reference to the case of Edward Merchant, of Leake County, Mississippi, who was transferred from Camp Pike, Little Rock, Arkansas, to Camp Upton, New York, and to your memorandum bearing on his case which you forwarded me under date of February 14th.
I am venturing to raise the question as to whether or not this man is not entitled to discharge under the Selective Service Regulations in view of the fact that the Local Exemption Board of Leake County, Mississippi, on the 7th day of November, 1917, actually discharged Edward Merchant, as stated in affidavit filed by H. N. McMillan, Circuit Clerk, of said County-notwithstanding the disinclination of the State authorities of Mississippi to recommend such discharge.
The said Edward Merchant, whose letter I brought to your attention under date of January 25th, states that he has "a mother 50 years old and feeble, a wife and baby," and that his wife is pregnant and not able to perform any work whatsoever, that he is their only support and in the shape they are in it will be impossible for the Government allowance to keep them from suffering. This man is also a productive farmer, and it appears from all the evidence at hand that the decision of the Local Board discharging him was wise and just, and should be affirmed.
This man's case was up twice before the Local Board of Leake County, Miss., after which he was discharged, and in your memorandum to me, of February 9th, you stated "This was apparently in accordance with Compiled Rulings No. 12 (m) of this office, and it appears that the
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man (referring to Edward Merchant) should have been discharged from service.In telegram of February 12th, the Provost Marshal General (see last clause of telegram) asks the Adjutant General at Jackson, Mississippi, to "Please advise why Adjutant General's office recommended that registrant be held, to service." I fail to find, in the documents you kindly transmitted (and which are hereby returned as requested) any satisfactory reply to the inquiry above quoted, and in view of the discharge granted Edward Merchant by his Local Board (verified by the affidavit of the Circuit Court Clerk of Leake County) it does seem that a serious injustice has, in some way, been done this registrant, inasmuch as the telegram from "Scales" (presumably the Adjutant General of Mississippi) states "that the records submitted to State headquarters did not grant an exemption from the draft." Will you, therefore, kindly have a full investigation of this case made, and ascertain if the action of the Local Board was properly made known to the State authorities. I would very much appreciate a further report on the findings in this case, as soon as the reasons for ignoring or over-ruling the action of the Local Board by the State authorities can be ascertained.
(Signed) EMMETT J. SCOTT,
Special Assistant to Secretary of War.-------
March 4, 1918.
FROM: Office of the Provost Marshal General.
TO: The Adjutant-General of the Army.
SUBJECT: Case of Edward Merchant, Serial No. 792, Order No. 109,
Ofahoma, Leake County, Mississippi.1. Your attention is respectfully invited to the case of Edward Merchant, Serial No. 792, Order No. 109, Ofahoma, Leake County, Mississippi, inducted into military service by operation of the Selective Service Law and forwarded to Camp Pike, thence transferred to Camp Upton, where he now is. As a matter of identification, it is stated that Merchant was at Base Hospital, Ward G-6, Camp Upton, on February 12th.
2. This case has been under investigation by this office for more than two months, and it appears that on November 7, 1917, after due and proper reconsideration of the facts, the local board. of the proper jurisdiction granted a discharge on dependency grounds; that through an error or negligence the man was not discharged from service.
3. It appears that the regular procedure prescribed by the regulations has been followed up to the point of transmittal of the final recommendation to the Camp Commander, and that through an error of the
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State headquarters, the man has been held to service. It therefore appears that the discharge should have been issued, in due course, more than three months ago.4. A special request is made that prompt action be taken in this matter, as severe hardship and distress is reported to this office from various sources, due to this failure of the proper functioning of local officials, and that this office be advised of the final disposition of the case in order that it may speedily inform the parties interested.
E. H. CROWDER,
Provost Marshal General.
By Roscoe S. Conkling,
Major, Judge Advocate.-------
201 (Merchant, Edward) E. M. 1st Ind.
War Dept., A. G. O., March 7, 1918.---To the Commanding General 77th Division, Camp Upton, Yaphank, N. Y., for investigation, necessary action and report.By order of Secretary of War:
J. W. RILEY,
Adjutant General.-------
201 (Merchant, Edward) 2nd Ind.
Hdq., 77th Division, Camp Upton, New York, March 15, 1918.---To Commanding Officer, 367th Infantry, for compliance with the first indorsement hereon.By Command of Brigadier-General Johnson:
Louis B. GEROM,
Capt., Field Artillery, N. A., Asst. to the Adjutant.-------
111 K 3rd Ind.
Hq. 367th Inf., Camp Upton, N. Y., 19th March 1918.---To Comdg. Gen'l,
Camp Upton.Private Edward Merchant states that on being inducted into the service at Camp Pike, he was informed that his certificate of discharge on account of dependent relatives was unnecessary, as he was to be discharged for physical disability. This not being done, he wrote to his mother who appeared before the Board and obtained the certificate which is inclosed herewith.
W. G. DRANE,
Lieutenant-Colonel, 367th Infantry, Administrative Officer.
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-------
March 28, 1918.
Memorandum for Colonel Easby-Smith:
In re Edward, Merchant, Leake County, Miss.The discharge of this registrant was recommended by this office in our letter of March 4th to the Adjutant General of the Army. We have received no advice that such discharge has been granted.
History of the Case
December 26, 1917, registrant wrote Special Assistant Emmett J. Scott of the War Department, stating that his Local Board had by order of the Adjutant General of Mississippi, reopened his case and granted his exemption. November 7, 1917, his discharge was refused by the Camp Commander.
January 25th, Mr. Scott referred the matter to this office.
February 11th, the Adjutant General of Mississippi advised that the Local Board for Leake County had refused to grant exemption to the registrant. The certificate of the Secretary of the Local Board showed that the discharge of the registrant was recommended by his Local Board on November 7, 1917.
On February 18th, the matter was presented by Senator Williams.
On February 27th the Adjutant General advised that their records show that the discharge of the registrant was actually recommended on November 7, 1917. The error in the case was obviously in the office of the Adjutant General of Mississippi.
March 4th, discharge recommended by this office in letter to The Adjutant General of the Army.
March 22nd, memorandum from Mr. Scott, "Is this in accordance with the decision reached?"
JAMES H. HUGHES, JR.,
1st Lieut., Infantry, R. C.-------
The John D. Wray Case
September 3, 1918.
Memorandum for Colonel Roscoe S. Conkling,
Office of the Provost Marshal-General:Dear Colonel Conkling:
Mr. John D. Wray, who is a substantial Negro farmer engaged in Coöperative Extension Work, headquarters A. & T. College, Greensboro, North Carolina, has written me the enclosed letter concerning certain definite cases of alleged injustice to colored draftees in said State, and I
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wish to bring the same to your attention for such investigation as they may merit.Sincerely yours,
(Signed) EMMETT J. SCOTT,
Special Assistant to Secretary of War.Enclosures.
WHD-------
September 9, 1918.
Honorable Emmett J. Scott,
Special Assistant, Office of The Secretary of War.
Washington, D. C.Dear Sir:---Your letter of September 3, with enclosure from Mr. John D. Wray attached,, has been referred to The Adjutant General of North Carolina. with instructions to have an immediate investigation made of the matters complained of in Mr. Wray's letter and to make a report of the results of said investigation.
Upon receipt of this report you will be further advised.
(Signed) E. H. CROWDER,
Provost Marshal General.
By Roscoe S. Conkling,
Lieut. Colonel, J. A., Chief, Classification Division.JDL
-------
October 11, 1918.
Mr. Emmett J. Scott
Special Assistant,
Office of the Secretary of War, Washington, D. C.Dear Sir:
There is returned herewith a letter from John D. Wray of Greensboro, North Carolina, which accompanied your memorandum of the 3rd ult., together with photostat copies of reports from the Adjutant General of North Carolina and from various Local Boards, relating to the cases of the several registrants named in the complaint filed with you by John D. Wray.
(Signed) E. H. CROWDER,
Provost Marshal General.
By Roscoe S. Conkling,
Lieut. Colonel, J. A., Chief, Classification Division.WGdeR-gm
Encls.
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War Dept., P. M. G. C., September 9, 1918.-To The Adjutant General, Raleigh, N. C.
1. Referred.
2. Nothing could be more harmful to the Administration of the Draft than to have an impression prevail that race discrimination exists in any section of the country.
3. You are requested, therefore, to cause an immediate investigation to be made of the matters complained of in the attached letter, and upon completion of the investigation, to make a full report to this office.
4. It is suggested that, in making such investigation, the attached letter from Mr. John D. Wray be treated as confidential.
(Signed) E. H. CROWDER,
Provost Marshal General.
By Roscoe S. Conkling,
Lieut. Colonel, J. A., Chief, Classification Division.-------
The following communication is typical of the manner in which the author took up a number of matters involving injustice to colored workers in the departmental service at Washington and elsewhere:
March 21, 1918.
Memorandum for Dean F. P. Keppel, 3rd Assistant Secretary of War
Dear Dean Keppel:
I very much hope it will be possible to hold up the suggestion which has been made to eliminate all of the colored messengers who have successfully passed the Civil Service examination for that grade, and have thereby secured their positions through Civil Service regulations in the Procurement Division, Office of Chief of Ordnance, War Department, Washington, D. C. Such a recommendation has been made, and, I understand, is being seriously considered.
It is highly desirable, in my judgment, to ameliorate rather than inflame Negro public opinion here at the National Capital by these movements and suggestions of one kind or another which seem to indicate a willingness to altogether disregard this group of people who are striving in every way possible to support our Government.
(Signed) EMMETT J. SCOTT,
Special Assistant to Secretary of War.
Nation's Call to All Alike
Likewise, in the Camp Lee (Virginia) case, the Special Assistant found
hundreds of educated young colored draftees, many
"War Department,
"Washington, November, 30, 1917."Mr. Emmett J. Scott,
"Special Assistant, War Department:"Referring to various telegrams and letters of protest received at the Department, to which you have called my attention, concerning certain alleged discriminations against colored draftees, I wish to say that a full investigation of the matters complained of has been ordered.
"As you know, it has been my policy to discourage discrimination against any persons by reason of their race. This policy has been adopted not merely as an act of justice to all races that go to make up the American people, but also to safeguard the very institutions which we are now at the greatest sacrifice engaged in defending and which any racial disorders must endanger.
"At the same time, there is no intention on the part of the War Department to undertake at this time to settle the so-called race question. In this hour of National emergency and need white and colored men alike are being called to defend our country's honor. In the very nature of the case some must fight in the trenches, while others must serve in other capacities behind the firing line.
"I very much regret what seems to be a certain amount of over-worked hysteria on the part of some of the complainants who seem to think that only colored draftees are being assigned to duty in Service Battalions, whereas thousands of white draftees already have been, and more of them necessarily will be, assigned to duty in such Service Battalions.
"Some of the complaints or charges of discrimination seem all the
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more unwarranted in view of the fact that there is far less hazard to the life of the soldier connected with the Service Battalion than is true in the case of the soldier who faces shot and shell on the firing line. Furthermore, the attitude of the War Department toward colored soldiers is clearly shown by the following facts: More than 626 of the 1,250 colored men who completed the course at the Reserve Officers' Training Camp, at Fort Des Moines, Iowa, have been commissioned as officers in the United States Army, nearly 100 colored physicians and surgeons have received commissions as officers in the Medical Reserve Corps, and a full fighting force of 30,000 colored soldiers, including representatives in practically every branch of military service, will constitute the Ninety-second Division, to be detailed for duty in France under General Pershing."The relations between the colored and white men in the camps containing both have been worked out on a very satisfactory basis, and little or no trouble seems likely to arise. All of my reports indicate that the colored men are accepting this as an opportunity to serve and not an occasion for creating discord or trouble, and white men and officers are passing over the question of race difference in a helpful spirit. What we need in this emergency is the help of right-thinking people in the cities and towns around the camps, and we are getting that coöperation so generally that our course seems free from embarrassment if German propagandists, who want to make discord by stirring up sensitive feelings, are simply not allowed to do their work.
"As a matter of fact, the colored people and the white people in this country have lived together now for a good many years and have established relationships in the several parts of the country which are more or less well organized and acquiesced in. Gradually the colored people are acquiring education in the industrial arts, and are rendering themselves more and more useful in our civilization and more and more entitled to our respect. On the other hand, the white people are coming more generally to realize the value of the good citizens among the colored people through their industrial importance and their eager desire to learn and qualify themselves for usefulness in the country, and this has brought about a growth of good feeling, marred, it is true, here and there by such incidents as that at Houston and that at East St. Louis, which grew out of sad misunderstandings and were perhaps contributed to, in at least one of these instances, by the malicious activities of people who would rejoice to see any embarrassment come to us as a sign of weakness against our enemy. Therefore, unrest among the colored people and suspicion of the Government on their part are, by all means, to be discouraged at a time like this.
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"We are bending all our energies to the building up of an Army to defeat the enemy of democracy and freedom, and the Army we are building contains both white and colored men. We are expecting that they will all do their duty, and when they have done it they will be alike entitled to the gratitude of their country.
(Signed) "NEWTON D. BAKER,
"Secretary of War."
Cases of Unfair Treatment
Every case of racial discrimination or injustice that was brought to official attention, involving either Negro draftees and soldiers or Negro war workers and civilians, was taken up and brought to the attention of the proper officials of the Government, including the War and other Departments, the Military Intelligence Bureau, and in some cases the Department of Justice. The Special Assistant to the Secretary of War regarded all such cases of unfair treatment as calculated inevitably to affect the morale of the Negro people, the maintenance of which was such an essential factor in the winning of the war.
The official files of the Adjutant-General of the Army, which is the
administrative branch of the War Department, as well as the files of the
Office of the Secretary of War, contain scores and scores of memoranda which
the Special Assistant has submitted in the interest of Negro soldiers, Negro
chaplains and Negro officers in the National Army, now known as "The
Army of the United States." They reveal a strenuous effort to have
the worth of the Negro as a soldier fitly recognized by the formation of
combatant Negro units in addition to the noncombatant units, known as Stevedore
and Labor battalions and the like, to which latter class of military service
Negro soldiers, at the beginning of the war and regardless of their educational
and special qualifications, seemed to be disproportionately assigned, if
not completely doomed. An effort in behalf of the proper training and increased utilization
of Negro men as infantry and artillery officers, as medical officers, as
chaplains, and of colored women as army nurses and the like, likewise, in
part, succeeded because it was worthy in itself and received the hearty,
intelligent, and continuous support of practically the entire Negro press
of America, to whom the Special Assistant to the Secretary of War owes so
much personally as
To any one who is acquainted with the military status of the American Negro before the war with Germany, and who is familiar with the organized and determined efforts that had to be put forth to have the merits and rights of Negro soldiers suitably recognized, there must come the conviction that the privileges, opportunities, and honors accorded him during the war were, in spite of some discouragement, not merely incidental or accidental; but were due, in some measure at least, to the fact that the Negro soldiers were permitted to have a "friend at court" who was backed up by the best thought and sentiment of the Negro race and by influential white friends of that race in formulating and carrying forward a constructive program that has given to them quite a number of military and other advantages never before enjoyed in the history of our country. While the Special Assistant to the Secretary of War would not by any means exaggerate the importance of the office which he has been holding in the War Department, nor assume any credit which does not rightfully belong to it, yet it is highly significant and proper to note the contrast between the condition of the Negro in the United States at the beginning of the war and the military opportunities and advantages which our race acquired during the progress of the recent world-wide conflict.
Before the European war the Negro was represented in only two branches
of the United States Army, namely, the Ninth and Tenth Cavalry, and the
Twenty-fourth and Twenty-fifth Infantry units, comprising all told less
than 10,000 men, and less than a dozen Negro officers; while during the
war, approximately twelve hundred (1200) Negro officers were admitted into
practically every branch of military service, including Field Artillery,
Coast Artillery, Cavalry, Infantry, Engineer Corps, Signal Corps (radio
or wireless telegraphy, etc.), Medical Corps (physicians, surgeons, dentists,
etc.), Hospital and Ambulance Corps, Veterinary Corps, Sanitary and Ammunition
Trains, Stevedore Regiments, Labor Battalions, Depot Brigades, and quite
a number of them served as Regimental Clerks, Surveyors, Draftsmen, Auto
Repairers, Motor Truck Operators, several Regimental Adjutants, one or more,
Judge
These increased opportunities for Negro men and officers were not a matter of chance, for they would not have been possible if the "fight for a chance to fight as Negro combat units" had not been successful. The Special Assistant to the Secretary of War made a systematic effort to mobilize college-trained Negro men for Artillery and other technical branches of military service, including the 317th Engineer Regiment, the 325th Field Signal Battalion, and as Negro officers for the 92nd Division, etc., realizing, as he did, the imperative necessity of obtaining the very best material his race could afford in trying out this most important, this historic, and now successful military experiment. Scores of technically qualified young men were enabled to consummate their desire to render that particular service in the Army for which they were best fitted by talent and special training.
Perhaps one of the most important and far-reaching projects developed by the War Department was the provision for the training of nearly 20,000 young colored men in military science and tactics, at Government expense, in conjunction with their general education, through Students' Army Training Corps and Vocational Detachments, established in some twenty or more of the leading colored schools, institutes, colleges, and universities of the United States. Similar provision has also since been made for the formation of Reserve Officers' Training Corps for colored men in a number of colored educational institutions, North and South.
Another useful function performed by the Special Assistant to the Secretary
of War, and one which has afforded him as much genuine satisfaction as any
other service he has rendered in the War Department, is the matter of looking
after hundreds, if not thousands of cases relating to voluntary and compulsory
allotments, extra Government allowances and compensations, war risk insurance,
and the like, due to the families and dependents of enlisted men and of
deceased Negro soldiers. The Special Assistant to the Secretary of War has
personally looked after or handled through his office many of these cases
pending before the Bureau of War
Training of Colored Officers
Along with many others the Special Assistant to the Secretary of War fought for the establishment of the Fort Des Moines Reserve Officers' Training Camp for Negro officers; likewise, after his appointment in the War Department, he used every argument and resource at his command to induce the War Department to make adequate and equal provision for the training of Negro officers in connection with the various camps and cantonments where the National Army was being developed. Never before in the history of our country did we have a Special Officers' Training Camp for the training of Negro officers, to serve in the United States Army, like the one which was conducted by Army officers at Fort Des Moines, Iowa, from June 15 to October 15, 1917, where nearly 700 Negro officers were commissioned; or like the Third, Fourth and Fifth Series of Reserve Officers' Training Camps that were later conducted for the benefit of enlisted men, Negroes and whites alike, in conjunction with the National Army camps and cantonments throughout the country.
The admission of Negro officers into Field Artillery units was only secured after a struggle. It seemed difficult to convince certain subordinate members of Secretary Baker's staff that Negro men possessed the mentality and college training considered as a necessary prerequisite to being trained as Field Artillery officers, but with the creation of the 349th, 350th and 351st Field Artillery regiments (all Negro organizations) the "ice was broken" and quite a number of Negro soldiers, hailing from some of the leading colleges and universities of America, were trained as artillery officers.
The retirement of Colonel Charles Young from active service occasioned much feeling among the colored people. This is referred to elsewhere in this volume. Nothing gave the Special Assistant to the Secretary of War greater pleasure than to coöperate with the friends of Colonel Young to bring about his call to active duty again through the following order:
Illustrations in Chapter IV
WAR DEPARTMENT.
The Adjutant General's Office.Washington, Nov. 6, 1918.
FROM: The Adjutant General of the Army.
TO: Col. Charles Young, U. S. Army (retired),
1912 1/2 Fourteenth St., N. W.,
Washington, D. C.SUBJECT: Assignment.
The Secretary directs as necessary in the military service that you proceed to Camp Grant, Rockford, Illinois, and report in person to the Commanding General of that camp for assignment to duty in connection with the Colored Development Battalions at Camp Grant.
WILLIAM KELLY, JR.,
Adjutant General.
One of the most important functions of the office of the Special Assistant to the Secretary of War was to help maintain a healthy morale among Negro soldiers and the twelve million colored Americans, whose continued loyalty was so severely tried during the war. In coöperation with the Committee on Public Information, he conducted a systematic campaign of publicity through the Negro press, the Official Bulletin, leading white newspapers and magazines, etc., which kept the colored people and the country at large fully informed as to the aims and policies of the Government and especially as to the attitude of the War Department with reference to opportunities offered and treatment accorded colored draftees and soldiers. This campaign did much to reassure the colored soldiers, to maintain the morale of colored Americans generally, and to vitalize their efforts toward winning the war.
While it was not possible to accomplish even a small proportion of favorable results in all of the matters which arose; and while in many instances the full measure of justice was not accorded Negro soldiers, sailors, and civilians, it yet remains a fact that during the whole period of the war the office of Special Assistant continued to urge a program of One Hundred Per Cent Americanism, it sought to obtain for them the fullest measure of opportunity possible and to promote friendly feelings between white and colored citizens of the country, based upon the highest ideals of justice and fair play.
