Chapter XXX: Reconstruction and the Negro

BY JULIUS ROSENWALD, PRESIDENT SEARS, ROEBUCK & CO, AND TRUSTEE OF TUSKEGEE INSTITUTE--A PLEA FOR INDUSTRIAL OPPORTUNITY FOR THE NEGRO--TRIBUTE TO NEGRO AS SOLDIER AND CIVILIAN--DUTY OF WHITES POINTED OUT--BUSINESS LEADER AND PHILANTHROPIST SOUNDS KEYNOTE.

Although American sacrifices in the European War have been great, we find compensation for them in many directions. Not the least of these is the vastly increased number of opportunities the reconstruction period will offer to many of our citizens.

Today the United States is the leading nation of the world in virtually every line of activity. We have been thrust into a new world leadership by the war. It behooves us to make the most of our new opportunities. To equip ourselves creditably we must utilize the best there is in the manhood and womanhood of our nation, drawing upon the intellect and ability of every person who has either to give.

Approximately ten percent of our present population is colored. Every man, woman and child of this ten percent should be given the opportunity to utilize whatever ability he has in the struggle for the maintenance of world leadership which we now face. Just insofar as we refuse to give this part of our population an opportunity to lend its strength to helping us set a pace for the rest of the world, as best it can, so do we weaken the total strength of our nation. In other words, we can either give our colored population the right and the opportunity to do the best work of which it is capable and increase our efficiency, or we can deny them their rights and opportunities, as we have done in many instances, and decrease our efficiency proportionately.

Of course, the question naturally arises as to how efficient the colored man and the colored woman are when given the opportunity to demonstrate their ability. No better answer can be found than that given by the splendid work of the majority of our colored people during the war. On the firing line, in the camps behind the line, and in civil life our colored population has done well indeed. Four hundred thousand Negroes offered their lives for their country. Many more made noble sacrifices in civilian life.

It was my privilege not only to observe the work done in civil life by colored persons in this country during the war, but to visit colored troops in France during hostilities.

There is no question that the Negro has given a splendid account of himself both as an exceptionally fearless fighting man and as a member of non-combatant troops. I made diligent effort to ascertain the manner in which the Negro troops conducted themselves behind the lines. It is much easier for a man to become lax in his conduct there than in actual fighting. Without exception every officer I questioned stated he could not ask for more obedient, willing, harder working or more patriotic troops than the Negro regiments had proven themselves to be. Every account I have read regarding the engagement of colored men in fighting units and every case in which I had the opportunity to inquire personally regarding the bravery of colored troops has led me to believe our colored men were as good soldiers as could be found in either our own army or the armies of our allies, regardless of color.

One needs only to scan the records of the War Department and the official reports of General Pershing to find positive proof of the valor, endurance and patriotism of the colored troops who battled for liberty and democracy for all the world. The entire nation notes with pride the splendid service of the 365th to the 372nd Infantry units, inclusive. When historians tell the story of the sanguinary conflicts at Chateau Thierry, in the Forest of Argonne, in the Champagne sector, Belleau Wood and at Metz, the record will give reason to believe that the victories achieved on those memorable fields might have shown a different result had it not been for the remarkable staying and fighting abilities of the colored troops. French, English and American commanding officers unite in singing the praises of these gallant warriors and agree that in the entire Allied Army no element contributed more signally than did they to the final downfall of the German Military Machine in proportion to their numbers.

Not only did the combatant units of the colored troops win laurels across the sea, but the 301st Stevedore Regiment was cited for exceptionally efficient work, having broken all records by unloading and coaling the giant steamer "Leviathan" in fifty-six hours, competing successfully with the best stevedore detachments on the western front of France. Everywhere, behind the lines as well as when facing shot, shell and gas, the colored soldiers have given a most creditable account of themselves and are entitled to the product of their patriotism and loyalty.

Those who remained at home during the war realize fully that the patriotic service rendered by colored persons in civil life, both in doing war work and in the purchase of Liberty Bonds and War Savings Stamps is to be commended.

Surely after the many demonstrations of patriotism both on the battlefield and at home the white people of this country will be willing to accord the colored people a square deal by at least giving them a fair opportunity to earn a livelihood in accordance with their ability.

We have been asking the impossible of the colored man and the colored woman. We have demanded that they be honest, self-respecting citizens, and at the same time we have forced them into surroundings which almost make this result impossible. In many places they are deprived of a fair opportunity to obtain education or amusement in a decent environment. Only the most menial positions are offered them. An educated girl particularly has practically no opportunity to earn a livelihood in the manner for which her education fits her.

We whites of America must begin to realize that Booker T. Washington was right when he said it was impossible to hold a man in the gutter without staying there with him, because "if you get up, he will get up." We do not want to remain in the gutter. We, therefore, must help the Negro to rise.

If we are to obtain the best results from colored labor, unions should admit it to their membership. It is not the universal practice to admit colored persons to unions. The result, of course, is that even if a colored man has the opportunity to learn a trade, knowing he will not be permitted to enjoy the benefits of a union, he does not have the highest incentive for learning it. The north is especially neglectful in not providing openings for the colored men in trades. In the south it is not unusual to see a colored brick-mason working alongside a white brick-mason. But in the north the best a colored man can hope for on a building job now is a position as a hod-carrier or mortar-mixer.

When the alien arrives in this country, he is given opportunity for virtually every kind of employment. But the colored man who is born in the United States, and, therefore, should share in its opportunities, is not given as fair a chance as the alien worker.

Naturally, we cannot hope that these conditions will be remedied in a day or a month nor can the colored man expect that the millennium will come to him through the action of white people alone. He can improve his chances of securing greater rights and opportunities in the United States, if he will make the most of the limited opportunities now afforded him. He who does the best he can with the tools he has at hand is bound in time to demand by his good work better tools for the performance of more important and profitable duties. The conviction is general that "He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much."

The late Colonel Theodore Roosevelt, who was a good friend of the black man as well as the white, struck the right note in his introduction to the biography of Booker T. Washington when he said:

"If there is any lesson more essential than any other for this
country to learn, it is the lesson that the enjoyment of rights
should be made conditional upon the performance of duty."

There exist certain rights which every colored man and woman may enjoy regardless of laws and prejudice. For instance, nothing can prevent a colored person from practicing industry, honesty, saving and decency, if he or she desires to practice them.

The helpfulness of the colored race to the Government need not be confined to fighting in the army nor to service in the manifold domestic callings. It is the duty of the colored citizens, as it is their right, to have a part in the substantial development of the nation and to assist in financing its operations for war or peace. The colored people, as a rule, are industrious and thrifty and have come to appreciate their importance as a factor in the economic and financial world, as indicated by their prosperous business enterprises, their large holdings in real estate, their management of banks, and their scrupulous handling of the millions of deposits entrusted to their care. This capital, saved through sacrifice, has been placed in a most generous manner at the disposal of the Government throughout its period of need, and the list of corporations, fraternities and individuals who have aided in bringing success to American arms by the purchase of Liberty Bonds and War Savings Stamps and by contributions to other war relief agencies, is indeed a long one.

Opportunities of the colored people to make safe investment of their savings never were so great as they are today. The financial program the Government has entered upon and is continuing to carry out to meet the expense of the war gives a chance to save in sums as small as twenty-five cents and makes an investment upon which return of both principal and interest is absolutely guaranteed. Too often colored people have entrusted their savings to wholly irresponsible persons, lost them through the dishonesty of these persons, and in discouragement abandoned all attempts at saving. Today, however, there is no excuse for any man not saving a certain amount of his earnings no matter how small it may be. It is a poor person, indeed, who cannot invest twenty-five cents at stated intervals in a Thrift Stamp. Many are able also to buy small Liberty Bonds. It is a duty and a privilege for colored persons to help the Government finance the war, which was for both whites and blacks.

It is the particular duty of white persons, in cooperation with the most influential members of their own race, to explain these Government financial plans to the colored men and women that they may make safe investments, acquire a competence, and thus become better citizens.

It is my belief that the Negro soldier returning from France will be a better citizen than when he left. He will be benefited mentally and physically by his military training and experience. He will have a broader vision. He will appreciate American citizenship. He will know, I believe, that freedom, for which he risked his life and all, is not license. He will find his brothers at home who did not go overseas better for their war sacrifices. Both the soldier and the civilian have proved their devoted loyalty. Justice demands that they now be rewarded with an equal chance with the white man to climb as high in the industrial and professional world as their individual capacity warrants.