Chapter XXX: Victory--Peace (4)

"It was found that the ship had been struck by three torpedoes, which were fired as one salvo from the submarine, two of the torpedoes striking practically together near the bow of the ship and the third striking near the stern. The wake of the torpedo had been sighted by the officers and lookouts on watch, but the torpedoes were so close to the ship as to make it impossible to avoid them; and it was also found that the submarine at the time of firing was only about eight hundred yards from the _President Lincoln_. There were at the time seven hundred and fifteen persons on board, some of these were sick and two men were totally paralyzed.

COOLNESS AND DISCIPLINE.

"The alarm was immediately sounded and everyone went to his proper station which had been designated at previous drills. There was not the slightest confusion and the crew and passengers waited for and acted on orders from the commanding officer with a coolness which was truly inspiring. Inspections were made below decks and it was found that the ship was rapidly filling with water, both forward and aft, and that there was little likelihood that she would remain afloat. The boats were lowered and the life rafts were placed in the water and about fifteen minutes after the ship was struck all hands except guns' crews were ordered to abandon the ship.

"It had been previously planned that in order to avoid the losses which have occurred in such instances by filling the boats at the davits before lowering them, that only one officer and five men would get into the boats before lowering and that everyone else would get into the water and get on the life rafts and then be picked up by the boats, this being entirely feasible, as everyone was provided with an efficient life-saving jacket. One exception was made to the plan, however, in that one boat was filled with the sick before being lowered and it was in this boat that the paralyzed men were saved without difficulty.

THE SHIP ABANDONED.

"The guns' crews were held at their stations hoping for an opportunity to fire on the submarine should it appear before the ship sank, and orders were given to the guns' crews to begin firing, hoping that this might prevent further attack. All the ship's company except the guns' crews and the necessary officers were at that time in the boats and on the rafts near the ship, and when the guns' crews began firing, the people in the boats set up a cheer to show that they were not downhearted. The guns' crews only left their guns when ordered by the commanding officer just before the ship sank. The guns in the bow kept up firing until after the water was entirely over the main deck of the after half of the ship.

"The state of discipline which existed and the coolness of the men is well illustrated by what occurred when the boats were being lowered and were about half way from their davits to the water. At this particular time, there appeared some possibility of the ship not sinking immediately, and the commanding officer gave the order to stop lowering the boats. This order could not be understood, however, owing to the noise caused by escaping steam from the safety valves of the boilers which had been lifted to prevent explosion, but by motion of the hand from the commanding officer the crews stopped lowering the boats and held them in mid air for a few minutes until at a further motion of the hand the boats were dropped into the water.

INSPECTED BY THE SUBMARINE.

"Immediately after the ship sank the boats pulled among the rafts and were loaded with men to their full capacity and the work of collecting the rafts and tying them together to prevent drifting apart and being lost was begun. While this work was under way and about half an hour after the ship sank, a large German submarine emerged and came among the boats and rafts, searching for the commanding officer and some of the senior officers whom they desired to take prisoners. The submarine commander was able to identify only one officer, Lieut. E.V.M. Isaacs, whom he took on board. The submarine remained in the vicinity of the boats for about two hours and returned again in the afternoon, hoping apparently for an opportunity of attacking some of the other ships which had been in company with the _President Lincoln_, but which had, in accordance with standard instructions, steamed as rapidly as possible from the scene of attack.

"By dark the boats and rafts had been collected and secured together, there being about five hundred men in the boats and about two hundred on the rafts. Lighted lanterns were hoisted in the boats and flare-up lights and signal lights were burned every few minutes, the necessary detail of men being made to carry out this work during the night. The boats had been provided with water and food, but none was used during the day, as the quantity was necessarily limited, and it might be a period of several days before a rescue could be effected.

THE RESCUE.

"The ship's wireless plant had been put out of commission by the force of the explosion, and although the ship's operator had sent the radio distress signal, yet it was known that the nearest destroyers were two hundred and fifty miles away, protecting another convoy, and it was possible that military necessity might prevent their being detached to come to our rescue. At about 11 P.M. a white light flashing in the blackness of the night,--it was very dark--was sighted, and very shortly it was found that the destroyer _Warrington_ had arrived to our rescue and about an hour afterwards the destroyer _Smith_ also arrived. The transfer of the men from the boats and rafts to the destroyers was effected as quickly as possible and the destroyers remained in the vicinity until after daylight the following morning, when a further search was made for survivors who might have drifted in a boat or on a raft, but none were found, and at about 6 A.M., the return trip to France was begun.

"Of the seven hundred and fifteen men present all told on board, it was found after the muster that three officers and twenty-three men were lost with the ship, and that one officer had been taken prisoner.

CONDUCT OF THE SUBMARINE COMMANDER.

"Although the German submarine commander made no offers of assistance of any kind, yet otherwise his conduct for the ship's company in the boat was all that could be expected. We naturally had some apprehension as to whether or not he would open fire on the boats and rafts. I thought he might probably do this, as an attempt to make me and other officers disclose their identity. This possibility was evidently in the minds of the men of the crew also, because at one time I noticed some one on the submarine walk to the muzzle of one of the guns, apparently with the intention of preparing it for action. This was evidently observed by some of the men in my boat, and I heard the remark, 'Good night, here comes the fireworks.' The spirit which actuated remarks of this kind, under such circumstances, could be none other than that of cool courage and bravery."

CAPTURED BY SUBMARINE, NAVAL OFFICER ESCAPES.

(Condensed from report by Lieutenant Edouard Victor M. Isaacs on his capture and escape from a German prison camp.)

"The _President Lincoln_ went down about 9:30 in the morning, thirty minutes after being struck by three torpedoes. In obedience to orders I abandoned ship after seeing all hands aft safely off the vessel. The boats had pulled away, but I stepped on a raft floating alongside, the quarter deck being then awash. A few minutes later one of the boats picked me up. The submarine U-90 returned and the commanding officer, while searching for Captain Foote of the _President Lincoln_, took me out of the boat. I told him my captain had gone down with the ship, whereupon he steamed away, taking me prisoner to Germany. We passed to the north of the Shetlands into the North Sea, the Skaggerak, the Cattegat, and the Sound into the Baltic. Proceeding to Kiel, we passed down the canal through Heligoland Bight to Wilhelmshaven.

"On the way to the Shetlands, we fell in with two American destroyers, the _Smith_ and the _Warrington_, who dropped twenty-two depth bombs on us. We were submerged to a depth of sixty meters and weathered the storm, although five bombs were very close and shook us up considerably. The information I had been able to collect was, I considered, of enough importance to warrant my trying to escape. Accordingly in Danish waters I attempted to jump from the deck of the submarine but was caught and ordered below.

MADE A PRISONER OF WAR.

"The German navy authorities took me from Wilhelmshaven to Karlsruhe, where I was turned over to the army. Here I met officers of all the Allied armies, and with them I attempted several escapes, all of which were unsuccessful. After three weeks at Karlsruhe I was sent to the American and Russian officers' camp at Villinen. On the way I attempted to escape from the train by jumping out of the window. With the train making about forty miles an hour, I landed on the opposite railroad track and was so severely wounded by the fall that I could not get away from my guard. They followed me, firing continuously. When they recaptured me they struck me on the head and body with their guns until one broke his rifle. It snapped in two at the small of the stock as he struck me with the butt on the back of the head.

PLACED IN SOLITARY CONFINEMENT.

"I was given two weeks' solitary confinement for this attempt to escape, but continued trying, for I was determined to get my information back to the navy. Finally, on the night of October 6th, assisted by several army officers, I was able to effect an escape by short-circuiting all lighting circuits in the prison camps and cutting through barbed wire fences surrounding the camp. This had to be done in the face of a heavy rifle fire from the guards. But it was difficult for them to see in the darkness, so I escaped unscathed. In company with an American officer in the French army, I made my way for seven days and nights over mountains to the Rhine, which to the south of Baden forms the boundary between Germany and Switzerland. After a four-hour crawl on hands and knees I was able to elude the sentries along the Rhine. Plunging in, I made for the Swiss shore. After being carried several miles down the stream, being frequently submerged by the rapid currents, I finally reached the opposite shore and gave myself up to the Swiss gendarmes, who turned me over to the American legation at Berne. From there I made my way to Paris and then London and finally Washington, where I arrived four weeks after my escape from Germany."

The accounts and incidents heretofore mentioned are but a few of the exceptionally meritorious cases, of the many, in which the devotion to duty and the unquestioned heroism characterized the conduct of the Negro under the galling fire of danger and death.

CAN NOT SPECIFY THE WORK OF THE NEGRO SEAMEN.

Primarily due to the difference in organization between the army and navy of the United States, it is well nigh impossible to point out and record with any degree of accuracy the signal and patriotic sacrifices of any great body of Negroes as a unit in the naval service. While in the army, where segregation and discrimination of the rankest type force the Negro into distinct Negro units; the navy, on the other hand, has its quota of black men on every vessel carrying the starry emblem of freedom on the high seas and in every shore station. The operations of the navy of the United States during the World War has covered the widest scope in its history without a doubt. It carried the Negro in European waters from the Mediterranean to the White Sea. At Corfu, Gibraltar, along the French Bay of Biscay, in the English Channel, on the Irish coast, in the North Sea, at Murmansk and Archangel, he was ever present to experience whatever of hardships were necessary and to make whatever sacrifices demanded, that the proud and glorious record of the navy of the United States should remain untarnished.

WORK OF COLORED SEAMEN.

He formed a part of the crew of nearly two thousand vessels that plied the briny deep, on submarines that feared not the under sea peril, and wherever a naval engagement was undertaken or the performance of a duty by a naval vessel, the Negro, as a part of the crew of that vessel, necessarily contributed to the successful prosecution of that duty; and, whatever credit or glory is achieved for American valor, it was made possible by the faithful execution of his duty, regardless of his character. For, on a battleship where the strictest system of co-ordination and co-operation among all who compose the crew is absolutely necessary, each man is assigned a particular and a special duty independent of the other men, and should he fail in its faithful discharge the loss of the vessel and its enterprise might possibly result.

TRAINING FOR SERVICE.

Far be it from the intention of this article to condone the existing policy of the navy of the United States as regards the Negro, where unwritten law prescribes and precludes him from service above a designated status. It is well known that no Negro has ever graduated from the United States Naval Academy, at Annapolis, Maryland, which is primarily essential to receive a commission as a line officer of the navy. It is true that some three or four Negroes have attempted to complete the course of instruction at this academy, but, their treatment, as a result of race prejudice, made their efforts futile, as well as their stay there more miserable than a decade of confinement in a Hun penitentiary. Intimidation, humiliation, and actual physical violence, notwithstanding their determination, finally resulted in the conclusion to abandon the coveted goal of becoming officers in the great navy of the United States.

It is also known that notwithstanding the urgent pressure for experienced men to officer the expanding navy as a result of the World War, it became necessary to commission hundreds of men, who as a result of their experience as enlisted men, are temporary officers. But none of these commissions was given to a Negro, despite the fact that scores of them had rendered honorable service of from ten to twenty years and were exceptionally qualified as stated by their commanding officers for these commissions. During the war there were approximately eleven thousand men commissioned as officers. A great majority of this number were commissioned as pay clerks, paymasters, medical officers, and other ranks, wherein no technical naval knowledge or experience is required. And it is strange to note that not a single Negro received one of these commissions.

INSUFFICIENT NUMBER OF OFFICERS.

In his annual report to the Congress of the United States, the secretary of the navy department made the following statement: "The regular navy personnel as it existed at the beginning of the war has been repeatedly combed for warrant officers and enlisted men competent for advancement to commissioned rank, and this source furnished experienced and capable officers. But more were needed and they came from new recruits. It early became evident that as the new men came into the service they should be tried out for officer qualifications and that those having talent should receive special instruction to prepare them for officer duty. Officer material schools were hastily improvised in the various naval districts at the outbreak of war to train the new men coming in, etc."

In the face of the above admission of the serious shortage of qualified men, it can not be understood why the awarding of commissions was made to inexperienced white boys with no prior naval experience or demonstrated ability in preference to the Negro, who has demonstrated his fitness and ability by years of faithful service in every phase of naval activity to which he has been given access.

GERMAN PROPAGANDA EFFORT.

But, in spite of these outward and open acts of prejudice and oppression, the Negro never wavered in the loyal performance of any duty, however humble or arduous with which he was charged. And it might be mentioned that these acts of oppression were brought to his attention and emphasized by subtle German propagandists, who hoped to alienate his affections and devotion from his native country. As an example of this diabolical scheme, the following letter, which was dropped from German balloons over a sector held by Negro troops, in September, 1918, is quoted:

"To the Colored Soldiers and Sailors of the United States: Hello, boys! What are you doing over here? Fighting the Germans? Why? Have they ever done you any harm? Of course, some white folks and the lying English-American papers told you that the Germans ought to be wiped out for the sake of humanity and democracy. What is democracy? Personal freedom, all citizens enjoying the same rights socially and before the law. Do you enjoy the same rights as the white people do in America, the land of freedom and democracy? Or, are you not rather treated over there as second-class citizens? Can you go into a restaurant where white people dine? Can you get a seat in the theatre where white people sit? Can you get a berth or a seat in the railroad car, or can you even ride in the South in the same street car with white people? And how about the law? Is lynching and the most horrible crimes connected therewith, a lawful proceeding in a democratic country?

"Now, all this is entirely different in Germany, where they do like colored people, where they treat them as gentlemen and as white men, and quite a number of colored people have fine positions in business in Berlin and other German cities. Why, then, fight the Germans only for the benefit of Wall Street robbers and to protect the millions they have loaned to the English, French and Italians? You have been made the tool of the egotistical and rapacious rich in England and America and there is nothing in the whole game for you but broken bones, horrible wounds, spoiled health, or death. No satisfaction whatever will you get out of this unjust war. You have never seen Germany. So you are fools if you allow people to make you hate us. Come over and see for yourself. Let those do the fighting who make the profits out of the war. Don't allow them to use you as cannon fodder. To carry a gun in this service is not an honor, but a shame. Throw it away and come over to the German lines. You will find friends who will help you along."

THE PROPAGANDA FAILS.

Such a piece of infamous treachery scarcely deserves comment; for, if the Negro had been the least inclined to be a traitor, he could not forget the atrocious treatment accorded the black man in the African colonies controlled by Germany. For the Negro well remembers the treachery of von Trotha, who invited the Herero chiefs to come in and make peace and promptly shot them in cold blood. And the words of his cruel and inhuman "Extermination Order" directing that every Herero man, woman, child or babe was to be killed and no prisoners taken. All of which had the sanction of Berlin.

But, aside from his intimate knowledge of German treachery and duplicity, a still higher principle inspired the Negro; for to forget the loyalty to his own native country in this hour of trial and darkness would be scandalous and shameful and would blacken the Negro in the eyes of the whole world. Of this class of treachery, the Negro is absolutely incapable. They have endured some of the greatest sacrifices and humiliations that could be demanded of a people, but, they always have kept before them ideals, founded on loyalty and devotion to duty, and never, in their darkest days, have they sought to gain their ends by treasonable means. For the path of treason is still an unknown path to the Negro. Their duty and their conscience alike bade them be faithful and true to their government and their flag in this hour of darkness and trouble.

NUMBER OF NEGROES ENGAGED.

During the World War, there were approximately ten thousand Negroes who voluntarily enlisted in the navy of the United States. They were distributed throughout the various ratings of the enlisted status. Many of them were chief petty officers who had rendered years of faithful service and were regarded as experts in their profession, and, consequently, played an important part in the organization and function of the battle units. In the transport service, his powerful physical endurance and strength made him a determining factor in the Herculean efforts to supply men, munitions, and provisions for the battlefields of France. In order to appreciate the magnitude of his service, let us briefly note the following facts:

Two million American fighting men were safely landed in France. To do this the transport force of the Atlantic fleet of the United States had to be utilized. At the outbreak of the war the transport force was small, but it now comprises twenty-four cruisers, forty-two troop transports, and scores of other vessels, manned by three thousand officers and forty-one thousand enlisted men, two thousand of whom are Negroes.

PERIL AND DANGER.

To think of the peril and dangers of this service at best, even in peace times, seamanship is a comfortless and cheerless calling. But in war, to the ordinary perils of the sea are added unusual hardships which reach their maximum in the dangers and perils of the war zone--the attack without warning of the invisible foe whose presence is too frequently known only by a terrific explosion, which casts the hapless crew adrift on surging seas, leagues from a friendly shore. Think of the terrific strain under which these men perform their perilous tasks. Gun crews on continuous duty, ever ready with the shot that might save the ship; the black men below in the fire room, expecting every moment to receive the fatal blast which would entrap them in a hideous death; the watch, ceaseless in its vigil by day and by night, peering through the darkness and the mist, conscious that upon their alertness depended the lives of all. Yet under these conditions of unprecedented hardships every black man performed his duty with the highest degree of courage and self-sacrifice.

We will mention one of the many instance of the matchless intrepidity of the men engaged in this hazardous service. In September, 1918, a transport with several hundred sick and wounded soldiers on board, was torpedoed when a short distance out from Brest. Thirty-six men of the fire room met their death in the fire and steam and boiling water of the stokehold. With two compartments flooded, their comrades dead and dying, with a seeming certainty that the attack would continue, which would mean that every man in the compartment where the torpedo struck would be drowned or burned to death. Yet despite all, when volunteers were called for to man the still undamaged furnaces to keep up steam for the run back to port, every man in the force stepped forward and said he was ready to go below.

HARD AND GRINDING WORK.

There was nothing spectacular about this grinding duty. Winter and summer, by day and by night, in the fog and in the rain and in the ice, it demanded constant vigilance, unceasing toil, and extreme endurance. The work of this dangerous service was endless and its hardships and hazards are barely realized. During the winter storms of the north Atlantic the maddened seas all but engulfed these tiny but staunch transports, when for days they breasted the fury of the gale and defied the very elements in their struggle for mastery. No sleep then for the tired crew; no hot food; no dry clothes. Yet despite it all, with each hour perhaps the last, with death stalking through the staggering hulls, not a man--black or white--to the everlasting glory of the American navy, not a man but felt himself especially favored in being assigned that duty.

CEASELESS VIGILANCE.

Since this country entered the war practically all the enemy's naval forces, except the submarines, have been blockaded in his ports by the naval forces of the Allies, and there has been no opportunity for naval engagements of a major character. The enemy's submarines, however, formed a continual menace to the safety of all our transports and shipping, necessitating the use of every effective means and the utmost vigilance for the protection of our vessels. Concentrated attacks were made by enemy U-boats on the ships that carried the very first contingent to Europe, and all that have gone since have faced this liability to attack. Our destroyers and patrol vessels, upon all of which Negroes served in addition to convoy duty, have waged an unceasing offensive warfare against the submarine. In spite of all this, our naval losses have been gratifyingly small. Not one American troop ship, as previously stated, has been torpedoed on the way to France, and but three, the _Antilles_, _President Lincoln_, and the _Covington_, were sunk on the return voyage.

GRATIFYING RESULTS OF NAVAL ACTIVITY.

Only three fighting ships were lost as a result of enemy action--the patrol ship _Alcedo_, a converted yacht sunk off the coast of France, November 5, 1917; the torpedo boat destroyer _Jacob Jones_, sunk off the British coast, December 6, 1917, and the cruiser _San Diego_, sunk off Fire Island, off the New York coast, July 18, 1918, striking a mine supposedly set adrift by a German submarine. The transport _Finland_ and the destroyer _Cassin_, which were torpedoed, reached port and were soon repaired and placed back in service. The transport _Mount Vernon_ struck by a torpedo on September 5th, proceeded to port under its own steam and was repaired.

The most serious loss of life due to enemy activity was the loss of the coast guard cutter _Tampa_, with all on board, in Bristol Channel, England, on the night of September 26, 1918. The _Tampa_, which was doing escort duty, had gone ahead of the convoy. Vessels following heard the explosion, but when they reached the vicinity there were only bits of floating wreckage to show where the ship had gone down. Not one of the one hundred and eleven officers and enlisted men of her crew were rescued; and though it is believed she was sunk by a torpedo from an enemy submarine, the exact manner in which the vessel met its fate may never be known. Among the number of men lost on this vessel were at least a score of black men. Taking into consideration all the dangers and difficulties attending this service of the transport force, the comparatively light casualty list is eloquent testimony of an efficient personnel organized and trained under a wise administrative command.

THE NEGRO IN THE MERCHANT MARINE.

Now let us briefly consider the contribution of the Negro to the construction and development of the merchant marine, a force vitally essential to the successful prosecution of the war. When America entered the war, it is a well-known fact that her merchant marine was insignificant; and, to respond to the urgent appeal of France and her allies to hurry men, provisions and munitions, a gigantic task of constructing the necessary ships stared her in the face. For the Germans at this time were making a desperate effort to starve England, France and the other Allies by destroying their commerce with America and the world, by a resort, as was brazenly announced to the world, to a heartless campaign of ruthless submarine warfare. Therefore, the very first efforts of the United States were to use every power of the navy to destroy and neutralize the effect of the lurking submarine and enter upon a policy of ship construction, which in its gigantic magnitude and comprehensiveness was unprecedented.

The manner in which the Negro generously contributed to the effectiveness of this policy is well known to all the world. For the very first record breaking riveting feat was won by a Negro crew at Sparrows Point, Maryland. His ability in this field of endeavor was ably demonstrated in all of the great industrial plants in which his services were so generously utilized. Heretofore, he had been debarred from identification in the capacity as a laborer in these plants; but, now, that war in all of its desperation was threatening the very existence of the country, the barriers of prejudice gave way and he again proved the falsity of the statement that the Negro could not handle machinery. The managers of great shipbuilding plants along the Atlantic seaboard testified before the Federal Shipbuilding Labor Adjustment Board that Negroes had worked on machines, gauged to as fine a degree as one one-thousandth of an inch with perfect satisfaction.

WONDERFUL ACHIEVEMENTS.

To the achievements of the navy, in erecting great training camps, destroyer and aviation bases, hospitals, in training thousands of men for oversea duty, the army of merchant ships, the building of a vast fleet of smaller vessels, the construction of great warehouses at home and abroad, the manufacture of heavy guns and their mounts, the production of powder and technical ordnance must be added the most spectacular achievement of all--the repair of interned German ships, in all of which the Negro participated with zeal and enthusiasm and in many instances won the admiration and commendation of his superior officers.

When these vessels, many of them of the largest type of trans-Atlantic liners, were taken over by our government, it was found that the machinery of several had been seriously damaged by the maliciously planned and carefully executed sabotage of the crews. The principal injury was to the cylinders and other parts of the engines, and, as the passenger ships were potent factors in the transportation of troops, their immediate repair was of vital necessity. Nothing daunted by the magnitude of the task, our navy undertook the repair of these broken cylinders by employing the system of electric welding, and so successful was this work, in which scores of black men were utilized, that during all the months of service in which these vessels have been engaged, not a single defect has developed.

HONOR TO WHOM HONOR IS DUE.

All honor to the officers who risked their professional reputations and carried forward to complete success and accomplishment, which expert engine manufacturers considered impossible; and all honor to the patience, zeal, industry and intelligence of the noble band of laborers whose persistence and ceaseless endeavor made possible the accomplishment of these world-renowned examples of constructive and inventive American genius.

Let us not forget the mighty and tireless work of those in the department whose efforts were as assiduous as their success was complete. From the humblest yeowoman upward to the secretary of the navy, through the bureaus and their chiefs, all were animated by the same spirit of energy, of foresight, and determination to place the fleet on the highest basis of efficiency and strength. In this generous and sacrificing spirit, black men and black women, working side by side, shared in proportion and never wavered or faltered in the task of measuring up to the expectations of those whose confidence and regard are so highly esteemed.

GENEROUS RECOGNITION OF SERVICE.

Another just and appreciated evidence of the generous recognition with which the consistency and faithfulness of his service was awarded, may be noted in the organization and development of the muster roll section of the bureau of navigation of the navy department. Owing to a widespread demand upon the part of the citizens of the country shortly after we entered the war, for accurate and specific information concerning the whereabouts of their kinsmen in the naval service, a demand which it was practically impossible to comply with in view of the ancient methods in vogue at the time in the file section of the bureau of navigation, and in further view of the fact of the unprecedented expansion of the enlisted personnel of the navy, the secretary of the navy found it absolutely necessary to convene a conference of all the officials who had any positive and direct knowledge as to the details and operation of the file section.

This was done in order to evolve out of the multiplicity of seasoned counsel a competent and successful solution of the very important and grave problem which so heavily weighed upon the mind of the civil population of the country, when they were offering freely upon its altar their most treasured blood, as a precious sacrifice. Indeed, so important and so urgent became the necessity for an immediate and satisfactory solution of this problem that there was no evasion in a high browed manner of any creditable source of needed information. Accordingly, the bureau of navigation, in obedience to the inevitable expansion necessitated in all the bureaus of the navy by the exigencies of war, determined to organize and operate a muster roll section, charged primarily with the duty of apprehending the present whereabouts of every man of the enlisted personnel in a systematic and scientific manner.

ORGANIZATION OF THE MUSTER ROLL SECTION.

The execution of the very essential duty of chief of the muster roll section was entrusted to John T. Risher, a colored man, to whom was given plenary power to engage and select his corps of assistants. Of course, Mr. Risher determined immediately in the face of all opposing precedents, to fully utilize the services, abilities and talents of the colored youth of the country, upon whose educational development millions of dollars had been spent in the past. In consequence, more than a dozen young colored women have been engaged in the capacity of yeowomen in this muster roll section. This is quite a novel experiment, as it is the first time in the history of the navy of the United States that colored women have been employed in any clerical capacity. And it may be noted that while many young colored men have enlisted in the mess branch of the service, it was reserved to young colored women to invade successfully the yeoman branch, thereby establishing a precedent. They are all cool, clear-headed and well-poised, evincing at all times, in the language of a white chief yeowoman: "A tidiness and appropriate demeanor both on and off duty which the girls of the white race might do well to emulate." The work of this section has proven highly efficient and satisfactory, as the plans in vogue there under its modern management are both scientific and accurate. Many of the superior officials have scrutinized the experiment very closely and are a unit in the sincerity of their admiration of its success and effectiveness.

PERSONNEL OF THE MUSTER ROLL SECTION.

The personnel of the muster roll section is divided in three classes, to wit:

(a) Civil service employes, who are Messrs. Albert D. Smith of Texas; David C. Johnson of Texas; George W. Beasley of Massachusetts, and W.T. Howard of Louisiana. All of the above have had years of valuable experience and are considered expert in all matters pertaining to the enlisted personnel of the navy of the United States.

(b) Yeowomen, who are as follows: Misses Armelda H. Greene of Mississippi; Pocahontas A. Jackson of Mississippi; Catherine E. Finch of Mississippi; Fannie A. Foote of Texas; Ruth A. Wellborn of Washington, D.C.; Olga F. Jones, Washington, D.C.; Sarah Davis of Maryland; Sarah E. Howard of Mississippi; Marie E. Mitchell, Washington, D.C.; Anna G. Smallwood, Washington, D.C.; Maud C. Williams of Texas; Carroll E. Washington of Mississippi; Joseph B. Washington of Mississippi; Inez B. McIntosh of Mississippi.

(c) Young men of the naval reserve force, who are: Messrs. William R. Minor of Virginia; L.D. Boyd, Brown Boyd of Virginia; Minter G. Edwards of Mississippi; Fred Jolie of Louisiana; M.T. Malvan, Washington, D.C.; U.S. Brooks; Thomas C. Bowler; Albert L. Gaskins, Washington, D.C.; Daniel Vickers of Alabama, and Mr. Fuller.

SIGNING OF THE ARMISTICE.

On November 11, 1918, there came that long expected and welcome message announcing to an anxious and war-weary world that an armistice had been concluded, by the terms of which actual hostilities were to cease.

On November 21, 1918, five American dreadnaughts were in that far-flung double line of Allied ships, through which passed in surrender the dreadnaughts, cruisers and destroyers of the second most powerful navy in the world. When Admiral Beatty sent his famous signal, "The German flag is to be hauled down at 3:57 and is not to be hoisted again without permission," the work of our navy as a battle unit in the war zone was over. And the following tribute from Gen. John J. Pershing, Commander-in-Chief of the American Expeditionary Forces in France, was sent to the commander of the United States naval forces: "Permit me to send to the force commander, the officers, and men of the American navy, in European waters, the most cordial greetings of the American Expeditionary Force. The bond which joins together all men of American blood has been mightily strengthened and deepened by the rough hand of war.

"Those of us who are privileged to serve in the army and navy are to one another as brothers. Spaces of land and sea are nothing where a common purpose binds. We are so dependent one upon another that the honor, the fame, the exploits of the one are the honor, the fame, the exploits of the other. If the enemy should dare to leave his safe harbor and set his ships in battle array no cheers would be more ringing, as you and our Allied fleets move to meet him, than those of the American Expeditionary Forces in France. We have unshaken confidence in you and are assured that when we stand on the threshold of peace your record will be one worthy of your traditions."

Eloquent and memorable, indeed, are these beautiful sentiments expressed in behalf of every man, black and white who had the rare good fortune to be a participant in the conflicts of these illustrious and ever memorable times. They should be indelibly carved upon the heart and soul of every loyal citizen, whose anxiety to serve his day and generation easily outvies all other sentiments of which he is capable.

RETURN OF THE VICTORIOUS FLEET.

Out of the mist and the snow of the morning of December 26, a great battle fleet entered the harbor of New York and in the majesty of its power steamed past the Statue of Liberty. It came as a messenger of a conflict won, a silent victory, but a triumph as complete and overwhelming as any ever won by the American navy.

Too high a tribute can not be paid the black men of the American navy, who faced the dangers of war and the perils of the sea with exalted courage and unfaltering determination. Their loyalty and patriotism have never been questioned, their valor and heroism never doubted. By their deeds they have added new lustre to the glorious annals of the American navy and have fully demonstrated that the color of the skin is but a feeble indication of the depth of love and affection with which the heart and soul of every loyal black man of America beats in sympathy with the loftiness of her ideals.