Chapter XXX: Victory--Peace (3)

The hour of decision to make the world safe for democracy was the crisis of civilization. Victory on the fields of France has been the satisfactory denouement. The question naturally arises: Shall there be a happy ending of the great drama for the white American and a tragic ending for the Negro? Or, rather, as the American brotherhood gathers about the charmed circle and smokes the pipe of peace, shall the Negro report: "I see and am satisfied?"

In other words, shall the 92nd Division of Negro fighters and the greater hosts of black war workers overseas, return to America with honor in theory, but not pursued in fact to its logical finality? Shall these black bulwarks of the business of world war find the door of the business world of peace slammed in their faces? Shall these black survivors of terrific struggle for world democracy return home only to be declared unfit to vote an American ballot? Shall the black soldier hero be allowed to take his croix de guerre into a jim-crow car? Shall the black Red Cross nurse, rushing to the aid of benighted humanity regardless of color, be refused accommodation at places of public proprietorship whither she may seek rest or refreshment? Tragedy begets tragedy. Seventeen seventy-six begot 1861, and 1861 begot 1914.

The times demand decisive action. Sociological error, committed today, will cause malformation of an important member of the American body politic. It will cause the ship of state to ride an uneven keel. This ship of state must be brought to her ancient moorings, the Declaration of Independence, the Gettysburg Address of Lincoln, and the Farewell of Old John Brown on the scaffold.

The tumult has died. Revelry and shouting fill every program. Is the Negro to return unheralded to homeland, and with his eyes to the hills, undergo patting and pitying and be given a place in the corner? Or are the colored boys in khaki to announce their return by a vigorous knocking at the gate? Shall they have cause to cry to America: "A house divided against itself cannot stand!" And shall they knock and knock and knock until America sets herself to wonder what has this army Negro to do that he becomes so unceremonious? Or shall they find the gate wide open and triumphal arches erected in every section of the country in their honor to signify that defeat of German autocracy means democratization of every section of the entire world? An international conscience demands for the Negro hero a happy ending of it all.

The Negro looks to the military agencies of America to produce a genuine peace wherein he may live happy ever after. Regarded in America as the most alien of aliens before the war, he demands recognition today as the most loyal of loyalists. But yesterday Anglo-Saxon prejudice persisted in viewing him as a physical alien, a mental alien, a moral alien and a social alien. The Negro is willing to discuss no further this prejudicial conception of himself forced home by libelous propaganda and by governmental administration for hundreds of years, if the agencies of reconstruction will perfect and put in operation a vigorous Americanization policy in his behalf.

Military life has taught the Negro the advantage derived from the use of pure food and balanced ration. It has taken him from the ghetto into the pure air of the open country, and filled his lungs with deep draughts of the free breezes of France. It has removed him from the temptation to imbibe the beverage that destroys human faculties and has accustomed him in a measure to the beneficial use of purified water. It has undertaken through carefully selected work, exercise and recreation to perfect the habits of digestion, assimilation and elimination. The result has been indeed marvelous. No America Negro who went to fight for humanity will return to America as the same physical being. No American will dare stand before the returned Negro trooper and say: "Behold a sub-species of mankind, wooly of hair, long of head, with dilated nostrils, thick lips, thicker cranium, flat foot, prehensile great toe and larkheel. Yea, behold him, dark of skin, whose mentality is like unto a child, and closely related to the anthropoid ape; whose weight of brain is only comparable to that of the gorilla." Where is the American who will dare stand before any Negro trooper returned from France and thus mock and deride him? Military agency has completely destroyed the physical concept which the white world had of the Negro in 1914, by placing him in the focus of Caucasian binocular vision, wherein his better attributes become visible in their synthetic relation.

In addition, military life has sharpened the mental powers of the Negro in command to meet the highest exactions of modern warfare. Colonel Charles Denton Young, Negro graduate of West Point, if we may trust the record, is capable of the same high character of mental processes as John J. Pershing. Military test has proven before the world that the Negro is no mental alien, but heir to all the ages of Anglo-Saxon, Roman, Greek and Egyptian culture.

In France the American Negro has produced no notorious offenders against civil or military usage. He has arisen to the moral concept of high responsibility for the future of his race in the estimation of all mankind. There is no story of moral degeneracy which has yet come from abroad concerning him. Pitfall, temptation and opportunity for vice and crime have all been shunned in light of preparation for the higher service. The Negro has proven his power of moral restraint while guided by leadership of his own color. As a social being he has sacrificed his life for the highest form of social existence, democracy. Who, then, is there to call him alien? Today he is no longer Negro, nor Afro-American, nor colored American, nor American of African descent, but he is American--simply this, and nothing more.

He has been raised to erect stature and made a man by the military branch of the United States Government, because of signal service to the American peoples. His prayer is that this military government long may live as such to train the great mass which he calls kin into a synthetic whole.

As he evolved from a student in a military training camp to military leadership, so he desires the great military organization of America to continue to exist, that through its agency he may attend the training camps which lead to industrial, business, political and social success. Universal military education for me and mine and all other Americans is his slogan, and his aim is to recreate the America of the early Seventies, which became hardened and callous through the years by reason of resistance to the German menace of autocracy, but now removed.

This American has made good in public. He has demonstrated both efficiency and initiative. He has compelled popular belief to conceive him as a man. The Caucasian world he has caused to perceive that he might function as a valuable and serviceable element of twentieth century civilization. Will the Anglo-Saxon issue to him the warrant of immunities and privileges certifying that he is four-square with the dominant opinion of mankind, and, therefore, entitled to superior status?

To this dark-skinned American are attributed all elements of beauty and racial grandeur. Forever in survival of the world's most fit, he goes on, blending readily with civilization's high ideal, philosophically tolerating abuse offered by the less refined, effecting a racial consciousness of purity in inter-social relationships, adapting himself with symmetry and poise to the tasks of the world, and bowing in humble respect before the higher laws whose harmonies order and rectify all creation.

What will the black Rip Van Winkle behold as he walks through the corridors of the American Department of State twenty years hence? Will he behold a great black mass still at the veriest bottom of our governmental organization, or will he be caused to marvel at the synthetic gradations of black American from lowest to superior? As he views progress in all departments of the government, will he see this real American organized synthetically in all branches of the service, or will he behold him still employed as the boy or the mere high private? Time and the great heart of America will tell.

The center of gravity of world interest of 1914 has shifted and come to rest at a spot most significant for darker peoples. Victory to all participants in its glorious achievement must be less disastrous than defeat. In order to satisfy the liberal opinion of the world, some form of autonomy must be devised for the newly organized man in America. Durable peace requires that American prejudice be utterly and forever stamped out; first by the reconstructed organization of the American Expeditionary Force, which beheld its organizations of every race and creed under fire and in action; second, by the American people of every locality, who have had forced upon them by world war the new concept of a branch of the species once considered inferior; and, third, by the powers of the world, who must prevent the upgrowths in America from offering malignant germs of unrest to their own systems of national government.

After the Negro has proved his value and worth in all of these trying ways, when after this he asks for a full measure of equal rights, what American will have the heart or the hardihood to say him nay?

THE NEGRO IN THE NAVY.

ACHIEVEMENTS OF THE NEGRO IN THE AMERICAN NAVY--GUARDING THE TRANS-ATLANTIC ROUTE TO FRANCE--BATTLING THE SUBMARINE PERIL--THE BEST SAILORS IN ANY NAVY IN THE WORLD--MAKING A NAVY IN THREE MONTHS FROM NEGRO STEVEDORES AND LABORERS--WONDERFUL ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF OUR NEGRO YEOMEN AND YEOWOMEN.

Stranger than fiction, the story of the organization, development and expansion of the United States navy from a mere atom, as it were, to the present time, when her electrically propelled men-of-war, equipped with the most luxurious compartments and modern mechanism for despatch and communication as well as her great merchant marine, floating the emblem of freedom and democracy in every civilized port of the world, is one of the most fascinating pages in the history of human achievement.

And, as it were, the very culmination of wonder and admiration, the chain of events reciting the deeds of valor and unselfish devotion to duty upon the part of her black sons, constitutes an illustrious record easily marking its participants as conspicuous representatives of a people, who have won their tardily conceded recognition in every phase of American public life.

The services of the Negro in the American navy very properly begin with the stirring and thrilling events of the American Revolution, which terminated in the independence of the colonies and the establishment of the United States.

THE NEGRO IN THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR.

The Negro in the navy was then and has been ever since no less devoted to duty and as fearless of death as Crispus Attucks, when he fell on Boston Commons, the first martyr of American independence.

In speaking of colored seamen, who showed great heroism, Nathaniel Shaler, commander of the private armed schooner _General Thompson_, said of an engagement between his vessel and a British frigate: "The name of one of my poor fellows, who was killed, ought to be registered in the book of fame, and remembered with reverence as long as bravery is considered a virtue. He was a black man by the name of John Johnson. A twenty-four pound shot struck him in his hip, and took away all the lower part of his body. In this state, the poor brave fellow lay on the deck, and several times exclaimed to his shipmates, 'Fire away, my boy! No haul color down!' Another black by the name of John Davis was wounded in much the same way. He fell near me, and several times requested to be thrown overboard, saying he was only in the way of others. When America can boast of such tars she has little fear from the tyrants of the ocean."

British gold and promises of personal freedom served as futile incentives among the Negroes of the American navy; for them, the proud consciousness of duty well done served as a constant monitor and nerved their strong black arms when thundering shot and shell menaced the future of the country; and, although African slavery was still a recognized legal institution and constituted the basic fabric of the great food productive industry of the nation, it was the Negro's trusted devotion to duty which ever guided him in the nation's darkest hours of peril and menace.

NEGROES IN THE WAR OF 1812.

In the second period, the War of 1812, a second fight with Great Britain, again made it necessary to call upon the Negro for his assistance. Whether with Perry on Lake Erie, Commodore MacDonough, Lawrence or Chauncey, the black man played his heroic and sacrificing role, struggling and dying that American arms and valor, the security of American lives and property, would suffer no destruction at the hands of the enemy. The fine words of Commodore Chauncey, commending their dauntless intrepidity and unswerving obedience and loyalty to the rigorous demands of duty, should be read and carefully studied by all men friendly to human excellence and courage.

COMMODORE CHAUNCEY'S TRIBUTE.

The following is a statement of Commodore Perry, expressing dissatisfaction at the troops sent him on Lake Erie: "I have this moment received by express the enclosed letter of General Harrison. If I had officers and men,--and I have no doubt that you will send them,--I could fight the enemy and proceed up the lake; but, having no one to command the _Majestic_ and only one commissioned officer and two acting lieutenants, whatever my wishes may be, getting out is out of the question. The men that came by Mr. Champlin are a motley set,--blacks, soldiers, and boys. I can not think that you saw them after they were selected. I am, however, pleased to see anything in shape of a man."

The following is the reply from Commodore Chauncey to Commodore Perry in answer to the above letter: "Sir, I have been duly honored with your letters of the 23d and 26th ultimo and notice your anxiety for men and officers. I am equally anxious to furnish you; and no time shall be lost in sending officers and men to you as soon as the public service will allow me to send them from this lake. I regret that you are not pleased with the men sent you by Messrs. Champlin and Forest; for, to my knowledge, a part of them are not surpassed by any seamen we have in the fleet; and I have yet to learn that the color of skin, or the cut and trimmings of the coat, can affect a man's qualifications and usefulness.

"I have nearly fifty blacks on board this ship, and many of them are among my best men, and I presume that you will find them as good and useful as any on board your vessel; at least if you can judge by comparison; for those which we have on board this ship are attentive and obedient, and, as far as I can judge, are excellent seamen. At any rate, the men sent to Lake Erie have been selected with the view of sending a proportion of petty officers and seamen and I presume upon examination, it will be found that they are equal to those upon this lake."

THE COLORED MAN IN THE MEXICAN WAR.

In the Mexican War (1845-1848) we find him, in his humble positions of service and usefulness, a positive factor in the final success and triumph of American ideals. No insidious treacheries, no dark plots of poison, arson and unfaithfulness characterized his conduct, and, in the final and complete blockade of the Mexican ports, his contribution of faithful and loyal service made effective the terms by which Generals Scott and Taylor taught the ever-observed lesson of American dominance upon the Western Hemisphere and thereby preserved the Monroe Doctrine.

IN THE DAYS OF THE CIVIL WAR.

In the Civil War--when the violence of domestic strife menaced the continuance of the National Union; when the preservation of slavery constituted the subject of angry and stormy debate in every section of the country, it was in the navy, no less than in the army, that the Negro evinced that dauntless fidelity to duty which aided in stabilizing the discipline of the field forces, thereby effectively contributing to the success not alone of forcing the Mississippi, and intersecting the Confederacy, but also in hermetically sealing all Southern ports and reducing to imperceptible insignificance the possibility of foreign trade with the South,--a factor which made it doubly sure that Northern arms would ultimately triumph and the Union be saved. It was a colored man, Robert Small, who single handed, stole the Union cruiser _Panther_ from Charleston harbor, foiled the Confederate fleet, and navigated her safely to a Union port. In all the annals of courage and dazzling gallantry, this incident has been recited; and it constitutes a commendable example, with many others, however, of devotion to duty and undying love for freedom. Mr. Small became a successful business man, and was one of the few Negroes who served in the Congress of the United States.

THE NEGRO IN THE SPANISH WAR.

The Spanish-American War (1898-1900) also has its roll of honorable dead and surviving heroes--it was a Negro who fired the first shot at Manila Bay, from the cruiser _Olympia_, flag ship of the late Admiral Dewey, commanding the American forces on the Asiatic station. He was John Christopher Jordan, chief gunner's mate (retired) U.S.N. His career is a fair example of the Negro's ability. He was first enlisted in the United States navy on June 17, 1877, as an apprentice of the third class, the very lowest rating in which he could have entered. He advanced, despite opposition, through the different grades in direct competition with his white shipmates to the grade of chief gunner's mate, the highest rating that could be reached in the enlisted status.

It was not because of his lack of desire for further advancement that he did not go higher, nor was it due to his not being qualified, for it was conceded by all officers under whom he served that he was thoroughly competent and highly qualified for advancement. He was finally recommended by his superior officer for the position of warrant gunner, and the papers passed up for final approval by the commander-in-chief of the fleet, before being sent to the secretary of the navy. There he encountered the Negro's most formidable foe--prejudice. That official very unceremoniously forwarded the papers to the navy department with the following endorsement: "Respectfully forwarded to the secretary of the navy--disapproved. The explanation of disapproval will be found in the applicant's descriptive list."

However, this slur did not deter Jordan in his determination to go higher, for at the battle of Manila he was a gunner's mate of the first class, and his record was so conspicuous that it could not go unnoticed by the officials in Washington.

FINAL RECOGNITION.

The following letter was then addressed to Jordan's commanding officer by the bureau of navigation: "The Bureau notes that John C. Jordan, gunner's mate first class, has served as such with a creditable service since August 6, 1899. The chief of bureau directs me to request an expression of opinion from the commanding officer as to whether Jordan possesses that superior intelligence, force of character and ability to command, necessary for a chief petty officer and particularly as to whether he is in all respects qualified for the position of chief gunner's mate of a first-class modern battleship."

Employees of Navy Department, Washington, D.C.]

Seaman. Lost on the U.S.S. ALCEDO, November 5, 1917.]

Mess Attendant, 3c, U.S.N. Lost on U.S.S. CYCLOPS, June 14, 1918.]

Mess Attendant, 3c, U.S.N. Killed when shell exploded on board U.S. Von STEUBEN, March 5, 1918.]

Mess Attendant, 2c, U.S.N.R.F. Died from exposure after Lake Moor was sunk, April 11, 1918.]

Mess Attendant, 2c, U.S.N.

Lost when U.S.A.C.T. TICONDEROGA was torpedoed and sunk, September 30, 1918.]

Ship's Cook, 1c, U.S.N.R.F. Lost when U.S.A.C.T. TICONDEROGA was torpedoed and sunk September 30, 1918.]

Mess Attendant. Lost on the U.S.S. ALCEDO, November 5, 1917.]

Ship's Cook, 2c, U.S.N.R.F. Accidentally drowned while in swimming, May 19, 1918.]

Fireman 1st Class, U.S.N. Commended for seamanlike conduct and services rendered when boiler was disabled. S.S. MacDONOUGH, Oct. 27, 1916.]

Mess Attendant 3c, U.S.N. Lost on U.S.S. CYCLOPS, June 14, 1918.]

Fireman, 3c, U.S.N. Lost on U.S.S. CYCLOPS, June 14, 1918.]

Mess Attendant, 3c, U.S.N. Killed on U.S.S. Von STEUBEN, April 10, 1918.]

Employee U.S. Navy.]

The reply to this letter was to the effect that Jordan was in all respects qualified, and by order of the secretary of the navy, he was advanced to the grade of chief petty officer, filling this position with efficiency to the service and with credit to his race, until December 1, 1916, at which time he was retired, after serving thirty years in the navy of the United States. The following letter was addressed to him by the secretary of the navy upon this occasion:

"The department desires to congratulate you upon the completion of thirty years' service in the navy. The fact that you started as an apprentice and now retire as a chief petty officer, your several honorable discharges and good conduct medals, show that you were a valuable man in the upbuilding of the navy, and while the department is glad to know that you will now enjoy the benefits of the retirement law, yet it regrets very much to see you retire from active life in the navy. The department hopes that you will always take a lively interest in naval affairs, and wishes you many years of good health and usefulness."

OTHER INSTANCES.

Another very interesting character of the navy during this period was Mr. C.D. Tippett of Washington D.C., who enlisted in the navy in 1875, and who served honorably and faithfully, until recently, when he was retired for honorable service. Mr. Tippett enjoys the distinction of having crossed the equator on two different occasions, and holds a certificate from Neptune, a relic highly treasured by all naval men fortunate enough to hold one.

It has been the object of the preceding paragraphs to briefly recite some few instances of the Negro's activity in the American navy from its beginning up to the present struggle. Space and time will not permit a more detailed and accurate exposition of the many other cases equally as interesting, instructive, and illustrative of the superb discipline and devotion to duty of this race whenever and wherever called upon to serve.

THE NEGRO SEAMAN IN THE WORLD WAR.

The extent of the Negro's work in the army and the record of its brilliant achievements may in some degree obscure the service rendered our country and its Allies by the Negro in the navy, but the Negro was represented in this branch of the military service almost in the same proportion, and, just as with Perry on Lake Erie, Farragut on the Mississippi, Dewey at Manila Bay, Hobson at Santiago, and Peary at the North Pole, he rendered efficient heroic and honorable service during the World War. It must be remembered that our ships were a part of the great war forces which kept open the highways of the deep and made possible the final triumph of the Allied armies, for, had the command of the ocean slipped from our hands those armies would have languished and been beaten back for lack of support in men and material. Had the sceptre of the seas passed to our foes, our own black boys would never have inscribed on their banner the imperishable name of Chateau-Thierry, The Argonne, and Hill 304. The one essential and indisputable element of victory was the supremacy of the Allied fleet.

NEGROES IN THE GRAND FLEET.

The Negro's part in the organization of the Grand Fleet is far from being inconsiderable, his services were utilized in the complement of every vessel and shore station and at this time as in the past, black blood was among the very first to be gloriously shed in the American navy, that free government should live imperishably among the sons of men.

On November 4, 1917, the _U.S.S. Alcedo_ proceeded to sea from Quiberon Bay on escort duty to take convoy through the war zone; she had as members of her crew two young Negroes, just in the prime of life and patriotic to the core. It was the crew of this vessel that was first called upon to make the supreme sacrifice. Robert McCray and Earnest Harrison were their names, and the following report fully indicates the manner in which they gave their lives in order that democracy might not perish from the earth: "At or about 1:45 A.M., November 5th, while sleeping in emergency cabin, immediately under upper bridge, I was awakened by a commotion and immediately received a report from some man unknown, 'Submarine, Captain.'

"I jumped out of bed and went to the upper bridge, and the officer of the deck, Lieutenant Paul, stated he had sounded 'General quarters,' had seen submarine on surface about three hundred yards on port bow, and submarine had fired a torpedo, which was approaching. I took station on port wing of upper bridge and saw torpedo approaching about two hundred yards distant. Lieutenant Paul had put the rudder full right before I arrived on bridge, hoping to avoid the torpedo. The ship answered slowly to her helm however, and before any other action could be taken the torpedo I saw struck the ship's side immediately under the port forward chain plates, the detonation occurring instantly.

"I was thrown down and for a few seconds dazed by falling debris and water. Upon regaining my feet I sounded the submarine alarm on the siren, to call all hands if they had not heard the general alarm gong, and to direct their attention of the convoy and other escorting vessels. Called to the forward gun's crew to see if at stations, but by this time realized that the forecastle was practically awash. The foremast had fallen, carrying away radio aerial. I called out to abandon ship.

THE SINKING SHIP.

"I then left the upper bridge and went into the chart house to obtain ship's position from the chart, but, as there was no light, could not see. I then went out of the chart house and met the navigator, Lieutenant Leonard, and asked him if he had sent any radio; he replied 'No.' I then directed him and accompanied him to the main deck and told him to take charge of cutting away forward dories and life rafts. I then proceeded along starboard gangway and found a man lying face down in gangway. I stooped and rolled him over and spoke to him, but received no reply and was unable to learn his identity, owing to the darkness. It is my opinion that this man was dead. I then continued to the after end of ship, took station on after gun platform.

"I then realized that the ship was filling rapidly and her bulwarks amidships were level with the water. I directed the after dories and life rafts to be cut away and thrown overboard and ordered the men in the immediate vicinity to jump over the side, intending to follow them. Before I could jump, however, the ship listed heavily to port, plunging by the head and sunk, carrying me down with the suction.

STRUGGLE IN THE WATER.

"I experienced no difficulty, however, in getting clear and when I came to the surface I swam a few yards to a life raft, to which were clinging three men. We climbed on board this raft and upon looking around observed Doyle, chief boatswain's mate, and one other man in the whale boat. We paddled to the whale boat and embarked from the life raft. The whale boat was about half full of water and we immediately started bailing and then to rescue men from the wreckage, and quickly filled the whale boat to more than its maximum capacity, so that no others could be taken aboard. We then picked up two overturned dories which were nested together, separated them and righted them, only to find that their sterns had been broken.

"We then located another nest of dories, which were found to be seaworthy. Transferred some men from the whale boat into these dories and proceeded to pick up other men from wreckage. During this time cries were heard from two men in the water some distance away who were holding on to wreckage and calling for assistance. It is believed that these men were Earnest M. Harrison and John Winne, Jr. As soon as the dories were available, we proceeded to where they were last seen but could find no trace of them.

"About this time, which was probably an hour after the ship sank, a German submarine approached the scene of torpedoing and lay to, near some of the dories and life rafts. She was in the light condition, and from my observation of her I am of the opinion that she was of the U-27-31 type. This has been confirmed by having a number of men and officers check the silhouette book. The submarine was probably one hundred yards distant from my whale boat, and I heard no remarks from anyone on the submarine, although I observed three persons standing on top of conning tower. After laying on surface about half an hour the submarine steered off and submerged. I then proceeded with the whale boat and two dories searching through the wreckage to make sure that no survivors were left in the water. No other people being seen, at 4:30 A.M. we steered away from the scene of disaster. The _Alcedo_ was sunk, near as I can estimate, seventy-five miles west true of north end of Belle Ile. The torpedo struck ship at 1:46 by the officer of the deck's watch and the same watch stopped at 1:54 A.M. November 5th, this showing that the ship remained afloat eight minutes. The flare of Penmark Light was visible, and I headed for it and ascertained the course by Polaris to be approximately northeast We rowed until 1:15, when Penmark Lighthouse was sighted. Continued rowing until 5:15 P.M., when Penmark Lighthouse was distant about two and one-half miles. We were then picked up by French torpedo boat number 257, and upon going on board I requested the commanding officer to radio immediately to Brest reporting the fact of torpedoing and that three officers and forty men were proceeding to Brest. The French gave all assistance possible for the comfort of the survivors. We arrived at Brest about 11 P.M. Those requiring medical attention were sent to the hospital and the others were sent off to the _Panther_ to be quartered. Upon arrival at Brest I was informed that two other dories containing Lieut. H.R. Leonard, Lieut. H.A. Peterson, P.A. Aurgeon, Paul O.M. Andreae, and twenty-five men had landed at Pen March Point. This is my first intimation that these officers and men had been saved, as they had not been seen by any of my party at the scene of torpedoing."

DISAPPEARANCE OF THE CYCLOPS.

The next contribution of life on the part of the Negro in the American navy was made when the U.S.S. war vessel _Cyclops_ so mysteriously disappeared. Loaded with a cargo of manganese, with fifty-seven passengers, twenty officers, and a crew of two hundred and thirteen enlisted men (twenty-three of whom were Negroes). The vessel was due in port March 13, 1918. On March 4, the _Cyclops_ reported at Barbadoes, British West Indies, where she put in for bunker coal. Since her departure from that port there has not been the slightest trace of the vessel, and long continued and vigilant search of the entire region proved utterly futile, as not a vestige of wreckage has been discovered. No responsible explanation of the strange and mysterious disappearance of this vessel has ever been given by the officials of the Navy Department. It was known that one of her two engines was damaged, and that she was proceeding at reduced speed; but, even if the other engine had become disabled, it would not have had any effect on her ability to communicate by radio.

Many theories have been advanced, but none seems to account satisfactorily for the ship's complete vanishment. After months of search and waiting, the _Cyclops_ was finally given up as lost and her crew officially declared dead. This vessel was under the command of a German-born officer, who, prior to his connection with the Navy Department, was an officer of the merchant marine. Many accusations were made reflecting upon his loyalty. Some even going as far as suggesting that he had intimidated the crew and delivered the vessel into the hands of the enemy; but, it is strange to note that none of these insinuations was directed to the loyal and ever true Negroes who formed a part of its crew and presumably went to their watery graves in order that German militarism might be crushed.

What a strange episode if, indeed, these are the facts in this most unfortunate incident. In intelligent circles, it should and will mark the beginning of a period of racial justice and equity. When one's deeds and character will invariably constitute the exponent of one's appreciation.

THE NEGRO TRUE AND LOYAL.

Caucasian treachery in some of our national perils presented no charms for the Negro whose proven fidelity everywhere and on every occasion marks him the great American advocate in fact as well as in profession.

If these accusations should in the end prove true, which is highly possible, would it not have been wiser on the part of the directors of our naval policy, when the urgent pressure for manpower to officer the expanding navy of the United States asserted itself, to have recognized the ability and merit of scores of black men, whose years of faithful and efficient service in the navy of the United States and unquestioned fidelity to duty justly entitle them to the command of a vessel of this character, instead of utilizing the services of men of questioned loyalty and doubtful allegiance to command our naval vessels? For such an act of base and unpardonable treachery is unthinkable to a Negro. Rather would he most willingly have seen his last drop of rich loyal blood flow in torrents of effusion than to leave to his progeny such a record of shame and infamy.

THE JACOB JONES.

Another incident in which the Negro displayed his constant willingness to die for the cause of America and its ideals was when the United States torpedo boat destroyer _Jacob Jones_ was destroyed by a torpedo fired from a German submarine. This ship was one of six of an escorting group which was returning independently from Brest, France, to Queensland, Ireland. The following extract from the report of its commanding officer gives in brief detail the manner in which the majority of its crew met their death in an effort to uphold the principles of democracy. On this vessel, as well as all others that were lost, the Negro served, bled, and died, side by side with white men in a desperate struggle to subdue the German U-boat.

"I was in the chart house and heard some one cry out, 'Torpedo.' I jumped at once to the bridge and on the way up saw the torpedo about eight hundred yards from the ship approaching from about one point abaft the starboard beam headed for a point about amidships, making a perfectly straight surface run (alternately broaching and submerging to approximately four or five feet), at an estimated speed of at least forty knots. No periscope was sighted. When I reached the bridge, I found that the officer of the deck had already put the rudder hard left and rung up the emergency speed on the engine room telegraph. The ship had already begun to swing to the left. I personally rang up the emergency speed again and then turned to watch the torpedo. The executive officer left the chart house just ahead of me, saw the torpedo immediately on getting outside the door, and estimates that the torpedo when he sighted it was one thousand yards away, approaching from one point, or slightly less, abaft the beam and making exceedingly high speed.

"After seeing the torpedo and realizing the straight run, line of approach, and high speed it was making, I was convinced that it was impossible to maneuver to avoid it. The officer of the deck took prompt measures in maneuvering to avoid the torpedo. The torpedo broached and jumped clear of the water at a short distance from the ship, submerged about fifty or sixty feet from the ship and struck approximately three feet below the water-line in the fuel oil tank between the auxiliary room and the after crew space.

THE SLOWLY SINKING SHIP.

"The ship settled aft immediately after being torpedoed to a point at which the deck just forward of the after deck house was awash, and then, more gradually, until the deck abreast the engine room hatch was awash. A man on watch in the engine room attempted to close the water-tight door between the auxiliary room and the engine room, but was unable to do so against the pressure of water from the auxiliary room. The deck over the forward part of the after crew space and over the fuel oil tanks just forward of it was blown clear for a space athwartships of about twenty feet from starboard to port, and the auxiliary room was wrecked. The starboard after torpedo tube was blown into the air. No fuel oil ignited and apparently no ammunition exploded.

"The depth charges in the chutes aft were set on ready and exploded after the stern sank. It was impossible to get to them to set on safe as they were under the water.

"As soon as the torpedo struck, it was attempted to send out an S.O.S. message by radio, but the mainmast was carried away and antennae falling and all electric power had failed. I then tried to have the gun sight lighting batteries connected up in an effort to send out a low power message with them, but it was at once evident that this would not be practicable before the ship sank. There was no other vessel in sight, and it was therefore impossible to get through a distress signal of any kind. Immediately after the ship was torpedoed every effort was made to get rafts and boats launched. Also, the circular life belts from the bridge and several splinter mats from the outside of the bridge were cut adrift and afterwards proved very useful in holding men up until they could be got to the raft.

STRUGGLING MEN IN THE WATER.

"The ship sank about 4:29 P.M. (about eight minutes after being torpedoed). As I saw her settling rapidly, I ran along the deck and ordered everybody I saw to jump overboard. At this time, most of those not killed by the explosion had got clear of the ship and were on rafts or wreckage. Some, however, were swimming and a few appeared to be about a ship's length astern of the ship, at some distance from the rafts, probably having jumped overboard very soon after the ship was torpedoed.

"Before the ship sank, two shots were fired from No. 4 gun with the hope of attracting the attention of some nearby ship. As the ship began sinking I jumped overboard. The ship sank stern first and twisted slowly through nearly one hundred and eighty degrees as she swung upright. From this nearly vertical position, bow in the air, to about the forward point, she went straight down. Before the ship reached the vertical position the depth charges exploded, and I believe them to have caused the death of a number of men. They also partially paralyzed, stunned, or dazed a number of others, some of whom are still disabled.

SAFEGUARDING THE SURVIVORS.

"Immediate efforts were made to get all survivors on the rafts and then get the rafts and boats together. Three rafts were launched before the ship sank and one floated off when she sank. The motor dory, hull undamaged but engine out of commission, also floated off and the punt and wherry also floated clear. The punt was wrecked beyond usefulness and the wherry was damaged and leaking badly, but was of considerable use in getting men to the rafts. The whale boat was launched but capsized soon afterwards, having been damaged by the explosion of the depth charges. The motor sailor did not float clear, but went down with the ship.

"About fifteen or twenty minutes after the ship sank, the submarine appeared on the surface about two or three miles to the westward of the raft, and gradually approached until about eight hundred or one thousand yards from the ship, where it stopped and was seen to pick up one unidentified man from the water. The submarine then submerged and was not seen again.

BY MOTOR DORY TO THE SCILLY ISLANDS.

"I was picked up by the motor dory and at once began to make arrangements to reach the Scillys in that boat in order to get assistance to those on the rafts. All the survivors then in sight were collected and I gave orders to one of the officers to keep them together. The navigating officer had fixed the position a few minutes before the explosion and both he and I knew accurately the course to be steered. I kept one of the officers with me and four men who were in good condition to man the oars, the engine being out of commission. With the exception of some emergency rations and a half bucket of water, all provisions, including medical kit, were taken from the dory and left on the rafts. There was no apparatus of any kind which could be used for night signalling.

"After a very trying trip, during which it was necessary to steer by stars and by direction of the wind, the dory was picked up about 1 P.M. by a small patrol vessel about six miles south of St. Mary's. The commander informing me that the rest of the survivors had been picked up. I deeply regret to state that out of a total of several officers and one hundred and six enlisted men on board at the time of the torpedoing, two officers and sixty-four enlisted men were killed in the performance of duty. The behavior of the men under the most exceptional and trying conditions is worthy of praise, and the following cases are a sample of the spirit of the men under these conditions.

INSTANCE OF RARE SELF-DENIAL.

"One man removed parts of his clothing (when all realized that their lives depended upon keeping warm), to try to keep alive men who were more thinly clad than himself. Another man at the risk of almost certain death, remained in the motor sailor and endeavored to get it clear for floating from the ship. While he did not succeed in accomplishing this act (which would have undoubtedly saved twenty or thirty lives) he stuck to his duty until the very last. He was drawn under the water with the boat, but later came to the surface and was rescued."

Wallace Simpson, a young Negro, was a petty officer aboard this vessel. Young Simpson was a graduate of the high school, Denver, Colorado, and at the call of his country, when but in the prime of his life, made the supreme sacrifice in order that the world might be made safe for democracy.

NEGRO FIREMEN AND COAL PASSERS.

It seems that fate always throws the Negro in a line of service wherein he can by some method, peculiarly his own, have an opportunity to display his ability, loyalty and usefulness, in spite of prejudice and opposition. I particularly refer here to the positions of firemen and coal passers, because of the physical strength required for work of that kind. The Negro can serve better in the American navy in this capacity than in any other, with the possible exception of the messman branch of service; but, nevertheless, in the former positions he has a decidedly better opportunity to bring into play originality and foresight, for the fire-room is the life of the ship and especially so when attacked.

When one of the vessels of our navy had been hit with one torpedo from an enemy submarine and was about to be hit with a second, the commanding officer had the following statement to make: "I realized that the immediate problem was to escape a second torpedo. To do so, two things were necessary, to attack the enemy, and to make more speed than he could submerged. The depth charge crew jumped to their stations and immediately started dropping depth bombs. A barrage of depth charges was dropped, exploding at regular intervals far below the surface of the water. This work was beautifully done. The explosions must have shaken the enemy up, at any rate he never came to the surface again to get a look at us.

"The other factor in the problem was to make as much speed as possible, not only in order to escape an immediate attack, but also to prevent the submarine from tracking us and attacking us after nightfall.

"The men in the fire rooms knew that the safety of the ship and our lives depended on their bravery and steadfastness to duty. It is difficult to conceive a more trying ordeal to one's courage than was presented to every man in the fire room that escaped destruction. The profound shock of the explosion, followed by instant darkness, falling soot and particles, the knowledge that they were far below the water level, practically enclosed in a trap, the imminent danger of the ship sinking, the added threat of exploding boilers--all these dangers and more must have been apparent to every man below, and yet not one man wavered in standing by his post of duty.

WONDERFUL DEVOTION TO DUTY.

"No better example can possibly be given of the wonderful fact that with a brave and disciplined body of American men, white or black, all things are possible. However strong may be their momentary impulses for self-preservation in extreme danger, their controlling impulses are to stand by their stations and duty at all hazards.

"In at least two instances in this crisis below, men who were actually in the face of death did actually forget or ignored their impulse of self-preservation and endeavored to do what appeared to them to be their duty. One man was in one of the flooded fire rooms. He was thrown to the floor and instantly enveloped in flames from the burning gases driven from the furnaces, but instead of rushing to escape, he turned and endeavored to shut a water-tight door leading into a large bunker abaft the fire room. But the hydraulic lever that operated the door had been injured by the shock and failed to function. Three men at work at this bunker were drowned. If this man had succeeded in shutting the door, the lives of these men would have been saved as well as considerable buoyancy saved to the ship. The fact that he, though profoundly stunned by the shock and almost fatally burned by the furnace gases, should have had presence of mind and the courage to endeavor to shut the door is a great example of heroic devotion to duty as is possible for one to imagine. Immediately after attempting to close the door he was caught in the swirl of inrushing water and thrust up a ventilator leading to the upper deck.

STRANGE EFFECT OF THE EXPLOSIONS.

"The torpedo exploded on a bulkhead separating two fire rooms, the explosive effect being apparently equal in both fire rooms, yet, in one fire room not a man was saved, while in the other fire room two of the men escaped. The explosion blasted through the outer and inner skin of the ship and through an intervening coal bunker and bulkhead, hurling overboard seven hundred and fifty tons of coal. The two men saved were working the fires within thirty feet of the explosion and just below the level where the torpedo struck.

"It is difficult to see how it was possible for these men to have escaped the shower of debris, coal and water that must instantly have followed the explosion. However, the two men were not only saved but seemed to have retained full possession of their faculties. Both of them were knocked down and blown across the fire room. Their sensations were at first a shower of flying coal, followed by an overwhelming inrush of water that swirled them round and round and finally thrust them up against the gratings of the top of the fire rooms."

THE ATTACK UPON THE TORPEDO BOAT CASSIN.

Another instance of self-sacrifice and unparalleled heroism is contained in the account of the attack upon the torpedo boat _Cassin_ by a German submarine, while on patrol duty off the coast of Ireland. The following is the story briefly related in the official report of her commanding officer:

"When about twenty miles south of Minehead, at 1:30 P.M., a German submarine was sighted by the lookout aloft four or five miles away, about two points on the port bow. The submarine at this time was awash and was made out by officers of the watch and the quartermaster of the watch, but three minutes later submerged. The _Cassin_ which was making fifteen knots continued on its course until near the position where the submarine had disappeared. When last seen the submarine was heading in a southeasterly direction, and when the destroyer reached the point of disappearance the course was changed, as it was thought the vessel would make a decided change of course after submerging. At this time the commanding officer, the executive officer, engineer officer, officer of the watch, and the junior watch officers were all on the bridge searching for the submarine.

THE ATTACK.

"About 1:57 P.M., the commanding officer sighted a torpedo apparently shortly after it had been fired, running near the surface and in a direction that was estimated would make a hit either in the engine or fire room. When first seen the torpedo was between three or four hundred yards from the ship, and the wake could be followed on the other side for about four hundred yards. The torpedo was running at high speed, at least thirty-five knots. The _Cassin_ was maneuvering to dodge the torpedo, double emergency full speed ahead having been signalled from the engine room and the rudder put hard left as soon as the torpedo was sighted. It looked for the moment as though the torpedo would pass astern. When about fifteen or twenty feet away the torpedo porpoised, completely leaving the water and sheering to the left. Before again taking the water the torpedo hit the ship well aft on the port side about frame one hundred sixty-three and above the water line. Almost immediately after the explosion of the torpedo the depth charges, located on the stern and ready for firing, exploded. There were two distinct explosions in quick succession after the torpedo hit.

"But one life was lost. Osman K. Ingram, gunner's mate, first class, was cleaning the muzzle of number 4 gun, target practice being just over when the attack occurred. With rare presence of mind, realizing that the torpedo was about to strike the part of the ship where the depth charges were stored and that the setting off of these explosions might sink the ship, Ingram, immediately seeing the danger, ran aft to strip these charges and throw them overboard. He was blown to pieces when the torpedo struck. Thus, Ingram sacrificed his life in the performance of a duty which he believed would save his ship and the lives of the officers and men on board."

TORPEDOING THE PRESIDENT LINCOLN.

One of the most spectacular and thrilling incidents of our naval warfare in which more than a score of colored men bravely and heroically participated, was the attack and sinking of the _U.S.S. President Lincoln_, the commanding officer of which reports as follows:

"On May 31, 1918, the _President Lincoln_ was returning to America from a voyage to France, and was in line formation with the _U.S.S. Susquehanna_, _Antigone_, and _Ryndam_, the latter being on the left flank of the formation and about eight hundred yards from the _President Lincoln_. The ships were about five hundred miles from the coast of France and had passed through what was considered to be the most dangerous part of the war zone. At about 9 A.M. a terrific explosion occurred on the port side of the ship about one hundred and twenty feet from the bow and immediately afterwards another explosion occurred on the port side of the ship about one hundred and twenty feet from the stern, these explosions being immediately identified as coming from torpedoes fired by a German submarine.