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has been enlarged
upon and not understood by the Negroes of other parts of the world, so
that as it seems to me, to organize a constabulary officered by white
Americans, would be inviting murder; for agitators from other
governments, if they so desired, would soon cause a rebellion, and then
you would have it all to do over again.
“Colored troops from this country, I mean officers as well, would tend
to cause a good feeling among the natives, not at first but later on as
each became used to the other. The white man thinks he is superior to
any negro, and would show it even though he tried not to, and the
Haitian would be going around with a chip on his shoulder looking for
someone to knock it off.
“You have three men in the regular army who could supervise the
organization of these troops, and one who is already a Colonel of the
Eighth Illinois National Guard, also several others if you wished to
consider them.
“Hoping that you will see the advisability of such an organization for
diplomatic reasons and for justice to the American negro—who has been
loyal—and served from Bunker Hill until now, I am,
Very respectfully,
R.P. Roots,
400 26th St. N. Seattle, Wash., Late Capt. Eighth Illinois Volunteer
Infantry during Spanish War.”
upon and not understood by the Negroes of other parts of the world, so
that as it seems to me, to organize a constabulary officered by white
Americans, would be inviting murder; for agitators from other
governments, if they so desired, would soon cause a rebellion, and then
you would have it all to do over again.
“Colored troops from this country, I mean officers as well, would tend
to cause a good feeling among the natives, not at first but later on as
each became used to the other. The white man thinks he is superior to
any negro, and would show it even though he tried not to, and the
Haitian would be going around with a chip on his shoulder looking for
someone to knock it off.
“You have three men in the regular army who could supervise the
organization of these troops, and one who is already a Colonel of the
Eighth Illinois National Guard, also several others if you wished to
consider them.
“Hoping that you will see the advisability of such an organization for
diplomatic reasons and for justice to the American negro—who has been
loyal—and served from Bunker Hill until now, I am,
Very respectfully,
R.P. Roots,
400 26th St. N. Seattle, Wash., Late Capt. Eighth Illinois Volunteer
Infantry during Spanish War.”
As touching upon the above, Editor E.S. Abbott of the Chicago defender, made the following comment:
“There may be reasons deemed good and sufficient upon the part of President Wilson and Secretary Garrison for not having replied to the very courteous and finely conceived letters of appeal and suggestion, having to do with a new deal—with justice and fair play in the future towards the Negro soldiery of our country, written them some weeks ago by Capt. R.P. Roots of Seattle.
“It is not always meet, especially in times like these, of war and stress, of worries and apprehension, reaching across the world, for our rulers and servants facing great responsibilities and perplexing situations, to respond to every query and satisfy all curiosities. Much reticence must be permitted them. Much accepted, as a matter of course, without pursuing curiosity to the limit.
“There may be ideas conveyed by Captain Roots to the president, through his communications to Secretaries Garrison and Tumulty that some people may not agree with, but there can be no disagreement over the proposition that the lot of colored soldiers in the armies of the United States—in the past, and at the present, is much different than that accorded to white soldiers; very little to really be proud of; very, very much to be ashamed of—much
