were not given any instruction in certain lines and then the White soldiers claiming that none of the Black officers were fitted for work. In the artillery and engineering fields, the poorest Negro candidates were persistently picked instead of the best to take the examination and tests. This act resulted in making any failure conspicuous. The White officers were using court martials and efficiency boards for trivial offenses and wholesale removals of the Negroes. The Black officers soldiers were subjected to persistent insult and discrimination by refusing salutes. Black officers and soldiers were "Jim-Crowed" in places of accommodation and amusement, refusing leaves, etc. The Army discriminated by failing to supply the Black American troops with proper equipment and decent clothing. And finally, there was a systematic attempt to poison the minds of the French against the Negroes and compel the French to follow the dictates of American prejudice.
These are serious charges. The full proof of them cannot be attempted here, but a few examples will serve to indicate the nature of the proof:
1. At the colored Officers' Training Camp, no instruction was given in artillery and a maximum rank was established by which no one was commissioned higher than Captain, despite several recommendations.
2. Certain Captains' positions, like those of the Headquarters Companies, were reserved for Whites, and former non-commissioned officers were given preference with the hope that they would make better officers than college-bred men. This hope usually proved delusive.
The American-Black divisions were never assembled as units in the United States. General Ballou, a timid, changeable White man, was put in command of the 92nd Division. He antagonized the 92nd Division from the beginning.
General Ballou's attitude toward the Black men of his command was expressed in his famous, or rather infamous, Bulletin 35, The Bulletin was issued during the period of training in the United States. The bulletin was manifested throughout the division during the entire time that he was in command in France. Whenever any occasion arose where trouble had occurred between White and Black soldiers, the burden of proof always rested on the Black soldier. All discrimination was passed unnoticed and
J.Linzy-11
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