NEGROES AT THE FRONT.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XL, Issue 1870, 29 August 1918, Page 2

NEGROES AT THE FRONT.

UNDER arms to-day in the American Army are 180,000 'negroes. If the man-power of the United States is w"holly put into the held, on the same .scale as in Europe, 900,000 black soldiers will appear in France and Flanders. What sort of lighting stock can be expected to come of a savage and slave ancestry? Every student'of the American Civil War knows the answer. Some of the best troops in that terrible struggle were blacks. Since then the traditions of the negro soldier have been worthily maintained by the famous 9th and 10th Black Regiments of Cavalry and the 24th and 25th Regiments of Infantry. From the selected stock that survived the most terrible ordeal of the slave-raiding days on the African coast a negro race has sprung with a physical stamina apparently more hardy than the white. This is indicated by the records of medical examination for the National Army. Among the first 2,500,000 men between 21 and 31 years of age who were summoned for examination, 25 out of every 100 whites were passed-as physically perfect, 32 out of every 100 negroes. It is not in the ranks alone that the negro fighter is found. There are 650 commissioned officers, all men of college education, among them, commanding coloured troops, and fresh promotions are frequently made. And, in addition, 225 negro : es are serving as doctors and dentists, which implies that they hold diplomas from colleges. A military expert has written concerning the historic four negro regiments of the American Army; “They are notably steady under tire, patient to endure hardship, cheerful and good-natur-ed at all times; and they can light.” One of the first -experiences of the negro troops in France resulted in two negro privates on sentry duty winning the coveted Croix de Guerre.