Evening Star Newspaper, January 24, 1932, Page 28

- 'Why Aliens Are Deported (Continued Prom Pirst Page) 1y the destruction of these things which Americans hold sacred. The law says | that such aliens shall be deported, and it is the @uty of the Department dliptl‘hlpl. it shows the nature of the at- Labor to enforce the law. 1t has been enforced, it is enforced, and it will con- tinue to be enforced. | In the calendar year just ended 511 aliens who had committed crimes in- | volving moral turpitude and who had served sentences therefor in our prisons were deported to the lands of their birth. - These aliens were under the provision in our laws which | says that such foreign-born, non- citizens shall be returned to the lands from which they came. During the year about 18,000 other aliens were sent | overseas, Many of these, the majority, probably, were ordered deported because they had entered this country illegally. Others were deported because they were | preaching the doctrine of destruction of our institutions. Still others were | sent back to their homelands because they had become public charges. It should be said that from time to time aliens legally in this country who have found it impossible to secure work have been allowed to return to the countries of their origin at the expense | of our government. This is a humani- tarian regulation, and the right to exer- cise it frequently is used. No stigma is attached to this proceeding. The Im- migration Bureau of the Department of Labor uses humane methods in all of its operations and does what it can to help aliens whose only trouble is ill- ness, extreme poverty or inability to find employment. I have spoken of an apparent mis- understanding in the minds of many of the people concerning just what slfen deportation means, how it is ac- complished and why deportations are necessary. 1 have even hinted that some of this misunderstanding seems, to me at least, on the verge of the in- tentional and malicious. It is my in- tention to cite here one or two salient cases. Before T came into office as Secretary of Labor, an alien, Guido Serio, an Ttalian subject, was arrested for openly advocating the destruction of this gov- evrnment by force and violence. He was ordered deported. Habeas corpus proceedings were resorted to by per- sons who seem to believe that advocacy of the destruction of the United States Government, carrying with it as a corollary the advocacy of the assassin- ation of government officials, constitutes no crime against the American people. These persons, some of whom are gathered together in organization, say that it is an invasion of the constitu- tional rights of a man to try to prevent him from saying anything that he may choose, even when the “anything” in- ,cludes government destruction and in- dividual assassinations. Serio, the Italian subject, was re- Jeased on bail and his case went to a United States District Court. His ar- rest, as I have said, took place before my entrance into office, and as the case quickly became a United States court case I was enjoined, like others, from having anything to do with it until the court decision had been rendered. Notwithstanding the fact that the case had its origin before my day in office and had become a court matter and could be no present concern of the Department of Labor, the charge was made in press and in public speech that it was the intention to deport Guido Serio to Italy, where he would be ex- ecuted immediately upon landing be- cause of his anti-Fascist activities. It was also publicly announced that the Secretary of Labor had kept Guido Serio in the proverbial if not bromidic “durance vile” for many months and w seen to it that he could not obtain 1. ‘When these charges first were made, Berio had heen footloose for many weeks, and he continued footloose until recently. It was an easy thing to de- termine the status of the Serio case and just as easy to learn that he was free on ball under the protecting wings of certain individuals and organizations who thought he was a much abused man because he was not allowed to go about breathing out fire and brimstone. While Serio was at large awaiting a decision from the United States Court, the charge was made that the Depart- ment of Labor had refused to send this man to Russia, where he would be wel- come, instead of TItaly, his birthplace, where he would be put to death. It seemed—only seemed—to be unknown fo these friends of the alien that the United States Government cannot send anybody to Russia. In truth, the De- partment of Labor had no intention of sending him to Italy if i could be | bo; shown definitely that would be put to death there. In fact, as Secretary of Labor, I told those who were acting in behalf of Serio that if they oould find some means of sending him to Russia I would be glad to have them do so. This expressed willingness on my part to let the man go where he and his friends wanted him to go had little or no effect, for the charges were Tepeated that I was bent on sending him to death. Finally the United States Court to which the case had been taken, having Jearned of my willingness that Serio should go to Russia if means could be found to get him there, upheld the order of deportation, but granted the alien 60 days in which to find means to secure permissicn to enter Russia. On | December 2 he found, or his friends | found for him, a way for him to go to the land of his desire. He sailed on | Peace or War conflicting rights, running loose about | Europe today, it is not surprising that | the various nations turn to force as a | more important argument. But have | they learned nothing from the last re- | sort to force? Do they want another war? “We have never had peace,” de- clare the Germans. And when, down in the Ruhr district, a man who went through the occupation speaks sadly sgainst war and against the exagger- ated nationalism developing in Ger- | many today, an aristocratic German woman looks down her nose at him ‘while a stalwart, military-looking man | wearing the device of the Stalhelms finds £imself unable to remain in the compartment of the train where such absurdities are being spoken If nationalism is to save the world, then the world is saved. And if mad- ness is the better part of life, let us all £0 to hospitals for the insane. So far as International relations are con- cerned, Prance apepars to be quite mad. ‘With the astonishing ring of fortifica- tions into which she has been pouring her gold since the war, with her army and navy, she continies passionately clamoring for protection from aill the world. She is like a man who must always be reassuring himself that the door is really locked. When an indi vidual is that way, it is called & “com- pulsion neurosis.” England recently has been going through her own private attack of hysteria following the lowering of the pound, and a wave of not unpleasant excitement has swept the country. Old England with her k to the wall; if the pound goes the rest of the world oes with it; spend your pounds al gmne! “Buy British! Buy British!” Such the phrases one hears and reads in now. Every shop window unts & legend asserting the British manufacture or the British origin of its . The flower man at the corner presents his tray. No, he stoutly de- Cclares, these are not vi'lets, they are English flowers, straight from the Eng- lish flelds. He points to the paler vio- Jets which he does not attempt to sell Palma vi'lets, from Naples, he says, london after the war was for some as dead and sorrowful as Vienna today, but now there is 8 new atti- |of Laber and the baselessness of these | has been joimed by his Italian com- | under, and you lose all the money you |the stesmship Hamburg and probably now s one of the cogs in the machine | of Sowvietism. | "1 have gone into this case at some | length because, better than any other, tacks that have been made on the deportstion policy of the Department attacks. I will cite one other case, that of a Chinese named Li Tao Hsaun, who was ordered depcrted some months ago for activities similar to those of the Ttal- fan, Serio. No seomer was the order issued in the case of the Chines» then individuals and organizations entered protests against Li's deportation to the land of his birth. It was said, as in the Serio case, that if he were deported to China execution would await him be- cause of his affilistions with a certain party of extr-mists. The Chinese min- istry in Washington said that the of- fense which Li had committed was punishable b® death in China. The Department ¢ Labor then expressed its wil 15 allow the man to go to Russia if he could secure permission. Means were found by some of the friends of the Chinese to secure his entrance intp Russia. He went there some time #go and already probably rade. So much for the two cases in which the Department of Labor was charged with an entire willingness to send aliens to certain death. Bpeaking for myself, I am willing to say that in any case where a man is ordered deported and is likely to meet death in his own country, he will be allowed to go to Russia, provided Rus- sia will receive him. Again, let me say | that we cennot deport to that country because with it we have no diplomatic relations. If any of the societies or in- dividuals interested in aliens who they think are likely to be killed if sent to their homelands can arrange for Russia to receive deportees, and will see to it that they go there, I am entirely will- ing that the Russiens shall have their company for all time. I wish to assure Americans that every opportunity to clear themselves of the charges against them is afforded aliens who are apprehended by the immigra- tion officials on deportation warrants. Habeas corpus preceedings are open to them and two United States courts are available to pass upon their cases—the | District Court and the Circuit Court of | . It is within the province of these courts either to uphold the valid- ity of the warrant of deportation or to declare it invalid. The alen's liberty is thus guarded. In all the proceedings his treatment from the beginning is legal and humane. If he is guilty of| the offense charged against him, what- ever it may be, and the courts, if he appeals to them, uphold his guilt, he is sent back to the land from whence he came and his activities, if he continues them, are exercised in his home fields. ‘The door of the labor market is as wide open for aliens legally in this country as it is for native born and | naturalized citizens. However, there are thousands of foreign-born persons in this country who are here illegally and who, while trying to avoid detec- tion, strive constantly to secure work. Every job obtained by one of these aliens means aone less job for an Amer- hl:?n-bum person or a legally entered alien, Bo it is that the deportation or aliens illegally here helps just so much to aid Americans and the legally entered for- eign-born, The inveighers against the deportation operations of the Depart- ment of Labor seemingly gives no con- sideration at all to the benefit which accrues to American labor from the expulsion of those illegally here, who are trying to get work. It is not defi- nitely known how many of these il- legally entered persons are in this coun- try, but it is known that the number is large enough to affect the labor mar- ket materially, Aliens who have managed to get into this country without proper visas are willing to fake work at extremely low ‘wages. This puts a temptation into the F-m of employers to acoept their serv- ices. When one of them suspects that his presence in & certain place has be- come known to the authorities, he moves quickly to another place, doing what he can to cover his tracks. Many of these men have been detected, arrested and sent overseas. If there is anything wrong with this procedure, the Department of Labor is yet to be convinced, On many occasions there have ap- m in print stories to the effect that | ration officers have made unwar- | ranted arrests of aliens who were at work, The charge was made that there was no real suspicion that the foreign- rn ones were here illegally, but that the arrests were made solely “to make & killing.” In all—or, at any rate, virtually all— cases of this kind which have been cited by the non-deportation advocates, the arrests were made by State or mu- nicipal officers because of some infrac- tion of the State or local laws. When such arrests are made and the arresting authorities have reason to believe that some of the arrested ones are illegally in this country, they call in immigra- tlon officers to question those suspected. If it is found that the prisoners are in America legally, the matter ends. If it is found that they are illegally here, the law takes its course. I should like to repeat that the De- partment of Labor does its best to en- force the law in an entirely humane way. I also should like to repeat that the law will continue to be enforced. It is law and it is salutary law. Issue of Hour days of & war. Men whose business may fall next week find themselves whistling happily as they go down the street. ‘The tariff is going to save them, even though it has not by any means saved America from economic distress. What if Germany does lose her recent favor- able balance of trade when she can't sell to England any more> We've got to look after ourselves first, they declare jubilantly. But what if Germany goes have loaned her? They do not answer. The alarming financial interdependence of the great nations is something one reads about in the papers: it does not come close to home like the simplicity of the appeal, “Buy British.” If the tariff is not goirg to save them, then it is the soundness of the coun- | try's heart, the loyalty of the colonies, | the spirit that held back the German | line, the indestructible greatness of the English people. And so they turn out, ilhe“ sentimental Britishers, to stand | an hour in the cold watching the | changing of the Guard, and they go in | mobs to weep over Noel Coward's | new play, a somewhat meretricious piece of work, artistically speaking, about the | greatness of the English people, a play that pulls two ways because it stirs the pulse of nationalism while trying to | lluminate the futility of wars. In spite of all the wet eyes, two Cockneys did not like the play. “I don't lyke it,” |said one to the other. “It mykes me think too much.” It is troublesome to think. Much easier to shout, “Buy British!” Back in 1926 the franc was cutting strange capers, and the French people were shouting at the English and the Americans in the street. “Des lais!” I have heard them hiss in tones of furi- ous hatred. Their troubles were due to the malignancy of the Anglo-Saxons, they thought. Now the pound is cut- ting capers, and it is the fault of the Americans and the French. “We'll pay them back for it,” say the English, “the Prench will get theirs yet.” They feel hopefully that the Americans have already begun to get theirs. America and France are not big enough to con- trol all the gold in the world, tbey de- clare, truthfully enough. And then the unshaken conviction of the British is voiced again in these words: “After all, England is the only country big enough to run the world.” Down in Hungary they have a joke about the English: What is one Eng- tude of hopefulness. It is like the first lshman? A country gentleman. What ~ [} THE SUNDAY STAR, WASHINGTON, D N are two Englishmen? A political party. Wh?dt are three Englishmen? The world. Run the world? Yes, the great na- tions are as one in that paranoid de- lusion. In the psyc! c wards at Bellevue you can probably find one seedy individual who is Jesus Christ. another who is Napoleon and a third who is Mohamet. Each of them has unlimited power, he will tell you, an unlimited and peculiar capacity. Each of them believes that he could run the world. Germany, Britain, Prance would run the world. America and Russia exhibit the religious slant; each of them has a passion to save the world. The smaller countries do not appear to think on such a large scale. Over in Hungary they are content with breath- ing fire and fury, and shouting still “No, No, Never” will we accept the treaty of Trianon. In the morning the children go to school and recite a new Lord's prayer, affirming their belief in eternal justice and in the resurrection of a reunited Hungary. In the House of Parliament the guides lecture the tourist by pointing to the large paint- ings on the wall. Behold the castle of this and that, a Hungarian castle now in the possession of Rumania; the castle of that and this, now in the possession of Jugoslovia, other castles in the possession of Cazechoslovakisa. No, No, Never! the children learn to say it. They have a square on the Pesth side that they will show you. Here are four mourning statues. One for the territory taken from Hungary and given to Rumania, one for the lands now in the possession of Jugoslavia, one for Czechoslovakia and one for Austria. And the flag is kept at half- mast_here, because Hungary is always mourning over her dismemberment. Yes, of course, the square is like that other square in Paris, where the statues of Alsace and Lorraine reminded the French of their wrongs before & nice new war came to right them. You go to dinner with a charming woman and over the coffee cups you receive a lecture, with maps, about the territory of Hungary before and after the war. Hungary must have a large army, you say, because there are s0 many soldiers in the streets and cafes. But no, you are told, Hungary's army is very small. We are not allowed to have an army, but we must have an army. Why? Because we are entirely surrounded by enemies—that old, now classic, phrase. Pratection is the usual plaint, but - aggression is clearly the underlying motif. A Hungarian lawyer declares that every small village has its secret society, ostensibly for cultural or athletic purposes, actually for mili- tary preparation, and that members who fail to report for training are punished. The Treaty of Versailles broke a lot of eggs and made a strange dish out of its distribution of national minori- ties, and no one knows how to un- scramble the mess. Over in Czecho- slovakia, German lads and Czsch lads attend the same school year after year and come to the distinction of the university without speaking, exchanging | silent salutes on the street. The Czechs refuse to speak German, which they know very well. In one case recently the Czechs in a train compartment re- fused to understand any of the five languages spoken by a young Hungarian girl, and the conductor put her off the train just because there was no one to stop him. An English girl crossed the country, going from Australia to Berlin. The large Czech in her com- ! TAXES KECEIVED a letter from a Senator, inclosing an advance copy of & speech which he has since de- livered to his fellow countrymen io. Wleg ?nesr:dgood speech, but I did not see exactly why it was any part of his official function to deliver it. In fact, I have wondered & little how, with all the speeches he is making constantly, rticular public servant gets any chance to do his work. o ter 1 was rather fresh. I said: i h}lfielex}l:re all the time that the rising cost 1, State and local—must be one of the resent distress. the American people frankly be curtailed to this fnfi is being borne in upon of Government—National important factors contributing to our “Some day I wish you would tell how many of the actvities of Washington could their profit. i ight start,” I suggested, “with the prohibition enforce- ment u‘x’m‘ft,nehge Federal T‘radg gCommi‘sslcm. the Interstate Commerce “ommission and the Departments of Agriculture, Labor and Com- merce. “I specify these not because of any special animus toward them, but because they are comparativey recent creations. And the American people seemed somehow to get on pretty well before any of them were started.” yI did not expect that he would reply to the letter, and I was not disappointed. In c%‘r)nmon with all other men whose names are well adver- tised, I receive in the mail every day one or more “plans” for end- ing the depression. 5 The n?ost common suggestion it that the Nation, State or communities should borrow more money and engage in more public works to increase employment. \ JANUARY 24, 1932—PAR I am against all these I think we have gone wi the State where I spend my the authorities are constantly cu ing new I wish Thomas Jefferson wou! “plans.” d in this country on public works. In Summers we have plenty of roads, but concrete highways through the woods. Every railroad line in the country is paralleled by a concrete highway, built by taxpayers’ money, on which trucks carry the +usiness that used to be carried by the rairoads. And many of the railroads, saddled with taxes, are almost bankrupt. Capitol cn his horse, as he did so lon; “Boys, that government is best whicl where we can cut down expenses. (Copyright. tting down great trees and push- Id come to life and ride up to the ago, and say: governs least. Let's see 1932)) partment growled in Prench—inten- tional insult—something about these Germans who travel everywhere, even to Berlin. Noting that he hnd the same destination, the English girl answered promptly, “comme des Czechs, n'est ce pas?” The man sprang from his seat, red-faced, enraged, and stood over her as if he were going to strike her. Pinally he went into the aisle to cool off. The Czech soldiers swagger as the German soldiers used to do, and Ger- mans within their territory hasten to get off the sidewalk. A middle-aged German woman steps down in the mud to allow three young louts to have the sidewalk to themselves. An English woman, outreged, walks straight ahead on the sidewalk. The soldiers swing on, expecting to force her out. She stands face to face with one of them, and finally the soldier steps aside while some officers across the way stare in amazement and the German woman in the mud shudders and says she would not dare do such a thing. Pleasant little episodes crop up wherever one travels. The Poles hiss at the Russians, the Germans at the Poles, the Czechs at the Germans, the Hungarians at the Czechs, the Russians at the Hungarians and everybody at the French, International amity is briefly secured these days, in many a train compartment, by the first person who says something against the French. In three months I heard but one kind word spoken for the French; that was spoken by a Turkish Jew and denied by ! his Austrian hearers. France is the new scapegoat, but he had not dis- covered it; he was still blaming Amer- ica for all the troubles of Europe. Underneath, of course, they are still blaming America for being so rich, for coming out so easily from the war, for going into the war at all. Bad times in America. are, however, beginning to win for us more kindly remarks. In Russia America is the modst misrepre- sented and, ironically, the most ad- mired. But everywhere, and especially in Germany, one finds the feeling that America is the foal of the family and therefore should be left to pay for the war. Even the British are now saying that national dtbts are not the same as private debts, and that the same con- siderations of honorable responsibility do not apply. “America must take the lead” de- clares a Berliner, thinking that we still fall for this line of flattery. “I don't know,” I interpose, “America has enough enemies over here already. Per- haps she had better not meddle any more.” ddenly the mask goes off his face and the true man is crying out a little wildly, with an old bitterness, “Then why did she have to meddle be- fore? We would not have had the Ver- sailles treaty if America had stayed out.” ‘We agreed that reparations will never be paid again, that Germany will turn to Hitler first and then, if need be, to the Communists rather than pay any- thing mcre. But what, I ask, of the private debt to America, the money lent by bankers which you have used to build your fine theaters, your museums, rajlroads which, an American engineer tells me, are much better than we can afford to have in America, because we have to make our enterprises pay? What of that money? Will we g=t any of it back? “Oh, I think s0,” he an- swers casually, shamelessly—but it is clear that he does not care. B0 now we may as well recognize the fact that we are going to pay for the last war; we may as well begin to won- der if we are not slated to pay for the next war as well. With nationalism rising like a tide in Europe, with every country conscious of its wrongs and de- termined to right them, with hunger threatening many people and cver all ‘Western and Central Europe the dread shadow of the Bolsheviks, what reason have we to hope for peace? There are soldiers mrchfnx in every country, and armed guards standing at frontlers, 1 looking across the line at other guards, bristling with weapons. And there is bitterness, much of it justified, and suffering and terror. And all the admireble qualities of the Germans, the French, the English, the Russians, etc., will cease to be im- portant if enough people are hungry and enough demagogues rise to preach the religion of nationalism, a religion that is founded on hate. There is no different logic among the different na- tions of Europe today; their boasted ineradicable national differences fade out before the one overwhelming sim- ilarity that they are all afraid and they all want more than they have. When the Highland chieftains saw that the crops and the flocks of the downlanders were in tempting condi- tion they swooped down into the val- leys and took what they wanted. Life In Colonies’ (Continued Prom Third Page.) It was the duty of this committee, which met at Cambridge, to consider the condition of the Army and to de- vise means of improving it. “Ought not Negroes to be excluded from the new enlistment, especially those such as are slaves?” was the question discussed seriously and long. Mettle Proved by Colored Soldiers War With England| South as well as in the North who | strongly believed Gen. Washington was right in accepting the colored man as a soldier. Especially did the number of those who took this view increase when | conditions in the army enabled them to | call the public’s attention to the ne- | cessity of taking this step. Washington | needed reinforcements. The army in camp at Valley Forge was in desperate Gen. Washington was present at this | Straits. The encampment consisted of meeting and took part in the delibera- | huts and there was danger of famine. tions. It was agreed they should be | The soldiers were nearly destitute of rejected altogether, But so many North- | comfortable clothing. Many had no ern officers and soldiers who had fought shoes and walked barefoot on the with colored men and knew their worth | ground. Few, if any, had blankets. protested against their exclusion, and | Great numbers became fll. Moreover, the dissatisfaction among their white | the British army was in Philadelphia, comrades was g0 great that Gen. Wash- | only 15 miles away. It was then that ington decided to take the matter into | the advocates of enlisting colored men his own hands and wrote the following | in the army again put forth strenuous letter to the President of Congress in | efforts to carry out their plan. 1775: “It has been represented to me that free Negroes who have served in this army are very much dissatisfied at being discarded. As it is to be appre- hended that they will seek employment in the Ministerial army, I have pre- sumed to depart from the resolution re- specting them and have given license for their being enlisted.” But the gen- eral promised, of course, “to put a stop to it” if his decision to allow colored men to enlist was disapproved by Congress. Congress Sustains Action. Gen. Washington's letter was sub- mitted to Congress and his action was sustained by the passage of the follow- ing resolution: “That the free Negroes who served faithfully in the army at Cambridge might be enlisted therein, but no others.” It would be difficult to cite a finer illustration of George Washington's high moral courage and his sense of justice than the decision to allow colored men to enlist in the army in spite of the fact that, acting upon the advice of the Committee of Safety, ure which he knew existed in a large section of the country to which he him- self belonged. However, there were many in the ment Conference, will there be any dele- gates present who will be genunely oconcerned about increasing the chance of peace for a tormented world? “I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him.” The delegates will be saying in many pompous ways— ‘We come to praise peace, not to bury it” But will they speak the truth? Russia, per- haps, America, perhaps. Russia knows she cannot afford war just now. America suspects that she has nothing to win from war. And in both coun- tries there is a sentiment for peace among a number of the people, despite the efforts of other militaristic groups But the opportunism and the peculiar idealogy of the Russian government raise the immediate question whether any dependence can be placed upon her statements, indeed, that question must hang like a canopy above the heads of the Disarmament Conference delegates —whether depedence can be placed in the statements of any people concerning matters which run contrary to what they believe to be their own self-inter- est. A rhetorical question, perhaps. One sees by the papers often enough that the United States is incapable of bargaining over war debts and disarma- ments. We sound like & simpering schoolmarm who says that if you will take the smallest piece of cake. We shall be paying for & long time for the last war, though perhaps we did not bargain for that either, The European countries want money from us; they think it is all we have, and perhaps they are right. We want peace and markets from them, I have the notion that we will lose the money and not get the peace. A bargain is an appeal to the self- interest of all the participants. It seems merely childish to deny the im- portance of national bargaining. But then, as the Europeans like to say, America is young. But it would seem that we might grow up enough to say that if we have to pay the piper we shall help to call the tune, I would Frerer to begin paying for peace rather han paying for wars, past and immi- nent. And it is difficult to see possi- bilities of peace in Europe except through the coercion of a super-power which does not exist, or through pur- is much more complex in these days, but the pattern of desires has changed S ow i allithe t ow, Wi sugust represen. tatives of these sovereign nations come together next month for the Disarma. chase, “We come to praise peace,” the dele- gates will be saying next month beside ? hlh: waters Lake Geneva; but e \per their countries toda will be glving them the le, i Congress had taken a stand agajnst it, and despite the opposition to the meas- | all be good children you will want to| | _After the British transferred their military activities from the North to the South some of the ablest men in | that section strongly advocated enlist- | ing colored men | " The necessity for recruiting the army | became so great that Congress for the second time debated enrolling the col- |ored man as a soldier. A series of res- | olutions were adopted recommending to | Georgia and South Carolina that 3.000 | able-bodied Negroes should be armed. Col. John Laurens, a distinguished South Carolinfan, went to his native :Sla(e to use his personal influence to | induce the Legislature to authorize the | enlistment of colored men. He had been commissioned lieutenant colonel by Congress, had acted as alde-de-camp to Gen. Washington and haa seen serv- ice in Rhode Island and elsewhere. In & letter to Alexander Hamilton he wrote: “It appears to me that I should be in- excusable in the light of a citizen if I did not eontinue my utmost efforts for | carrying out of the black levies into | execution while there remains the small- est hope of success.” Col. Laurens’ Mission. Alexander Hamilton whote a letter to John Jay concerning Col. Laurens’ mis- sion to South Carolina and strongly approved of it. He urged that the slaves be given their freedom with their muskets. He declared that “the dic- tates of humanity as well as true policy equally interest me in favor of this class of men.” James Madison also favored the plan of arming the colored men. Gen. Lincoln, who commanded the American forces at Charleston, 8. C., wrote to Gov. Rutledge of that State: “‘Give me leave to add once more that I think the measure of raising a black corps & necessary one; that I have rea- son to believe that if permission is given for it that many men would soon be obtained. I have repeatedly urged this matter, not only because Congress has recommended it, and it twereby becomes my duty to have it executed, but because my own mind suggests the utility and importance of the measure, as the safety of the town makes it necessary.” But the advice of her own great mili- tary leaders was not by the | South; nelther were the gecommenda- tions ‘that Congress adopted. Never- theless, the slaves of the South rendered invaluable service to the cause of independence by building breastworks, driving teams and Itot- ing the Army through dense woods, | swamps and ‘across rivers. Some of them acted as spies and scouts. James Armistead was a spy for Gen. Lafayette during his campa in Virginia, and on one occasion he informed the mar- quis that the British intended to sur- prise his forces. There is no doubt that this information enabled the French officer to prevent what would' probably have been a rout of his . After the surrender of Cornwallis at York- town Armistead was returned to his master. But the Legislature of Vir- ginla passed a special act to free the slave in recognition of the great service he had rendered the American Army. Referring to Cornwallis, recalls to mind what & colored soldier is reported to have said to him after his surrender: “You used to be named ‘Cornwallis, sald the colored soldier to the British officer, “but it is ‘Cornwallis no longer. It must now be ‘Cobwallis’ for Gen. ‘Washington has shelled off all the corn.” Proves Himself a Prophet. When Gen. Washington wrote Con- gress, stating that he had “presumed to depart from the resolution” which had excluded colored men from the Army, he declared that it was “to be appre- hended that they would seek employ~ ment in the ministerial army” if they were not allowed to fight with and for the colonies. The commander- an in-chief U TWO. proved himself a prophet when he made that prediction. As early as 1775 Lord Dunmore had issued a proclamation offering freédom to slaves who would join the British army. An English historian quotes Lord Dunmore as saying that “since the colonists were so anxious for more free- dom themselves than was consistent with the free institutions of the mother country and the charter of the colony, that since they were so anxious to abolish a fanciful slavery in a depen- dence on Great Britain, he would try how they liked abolition of real slavery by setting free all their Negroes and indentured white servants, Who were, in fact, little better than white slaves. A colored man who had been taken prisoner at Long Island escaped and reported that 800 of his race had been enlisted on Staten Island by the British to be formed into a regiment. Five months after he issued the proclamation Lord ore wrote to the secretary of state: “Your lordship will observe that I have been endeavor- ing to rmise two regiments here” (in Virginia,” one of white people, the other black. The former goes on very slowly, but the latter very well, and would have been in great forwardness had nota fever crept in among them which carried off a great many fine fellows. Had it not been for that horrid dis- order,” he wrote later on, “I am satis- fled I should have had no doubt of penetrating into the heart of this colony.” There is no doubt whatever that many colored men fought under the British flag. Thomas Jefferson declared that under Lorn Cornwallis alone the State of Virginia probably lost 30,000 slaves, and that of this number 27,000 died of smallpox and camp fever. Of those remaining he declared that some were sent to the West Indies and ex- changed for rum, sugar, coffee and fruit. Some were sent to New York and went to Nova Scotia or England after the peace, and some of them were sent to Africa. ‘“History,” declared Thomas Jefferson, “will never relate the horrors committed by the British army in the Southern States of America.” Many Re-ensiaved. But justice was not always meted out to the colored man who enlisted in the Continental Army by those for whom he fought. In practically every State from which they entered the Army freedom was promised to the slaves after they had served a certain length of time (usually three years) and had been honorably discharged. But in spite of these fair promises many Negroes who had battled hard for sr.nerécm independence were re-en- Placing colored men who had fought in the war into bondage again after they had been honorably discharged was such a flagrant violation of the pledges that had been made them that in 1783 the Legislature of Virginia passed an act directing the emancipa- tion of those “who had served as 5ol diers in this State and for the emanci- pation of the slave Aberdeen.” “Aber- deen,” sald the Legislature, “hath la- bored a number of years in the public service in the lead mines, and for this meritorfous service is entitled to free- dcm. Be it therefore enacted that the sald slave, Aberdeen, shall be and 15 hereby emancipated and declared free in as fill and ample a manhood as if he had heen born free.” Gen. Washington was greatly exer- cised when he heard that a man by the name of Hobby claimed as his property a colored man who was serving in a Massachusetts regiment. He wrote to Gen. Putnam and ordered that a court of inquiry, “consisting of five as re- spectable officers as can be found in your brigade,” should “inquire into tha validity of the claim and the manner in which the person in question came into service® = After this information had been secured Gen. Washington or- dered that the report should be sent to Gen. Putnam and then forwarded im- m!lt:‘lately to himself. many instances the master placed his slave in the Army as a suhgmute for himself. In commenting upon this o Hessian officer wrote: ‘“The Negro can take the field instead of his master, and no regiment can be seen in which there are no Negroes in abundance, and fix}nng_them are able-bodied, strong ellows.” Washington Democratic. Gen. Washington is usually pictu: as an aristocrat of the first {vl‘:er, ll;‘udt his attitude toward his subordinates and particularly toward colored men Wwith whom he came into close, personal contact, was very democratic indeed. This side of his nature was very clearly shown once when he paid an officer a Vvisit. Col. Pickering was one of Gen. Washington’s best friends. There was no officer to whom he unbosomed him- self more freely in discussing his plans and with whom he enjoyed taking f:unserl, wthedrzst:;y were stationed with- a shorf ce of eacl Lh(a)n wlthol. Pickering. SLTROTS nce when the Commander had visited his friend and 1"el:l|(l:xl’r‘1‘kzedf until night came on, he told the colonel he would like to remain until morning, provided he had a spare blanket and straw. The colonel appealed to Primus Hall, his body servant who was a free- man. “Oh, yes,” said Primus, “there is plenty of siraw and blankets.” Being %Fus@;easured.’ Gen. Washington con- nu confer wi until it was time to retirec- ICKeFing “Two humble beds wer, by side in the tent,” said !l, s:f;ellgn;gl’: minister of the period-who related the incident in a magazine, “and the offi- cers laid themselves down, while Primus scemed busy with duties which required his attention before he him- self could lie down. He worked or appeared to Work until the breathing of the prostrate gentlemen satisfied him they were sleeping. Then seating him- self upon a box or a stool he leaned his head on his hands to obtain such repose as so inconvenient a position would allow. In the midst of the night Washington awoke. He looked about and descried the negro as he sat. He gazed at him a while and then spoke. ‘l‘bi'rhnu.!!‘mwt:d he calling; ‘Primus.’ “Primus star up and rubbed eyes. ‘What, Genernl%‘ said rl‘:‘e, o Primus’ Sacrifice. “Washington rose up in his ‘Primus’ said he, ‘what did you m‘l'.‘i; by saying that you had blankets and straw enough? Here you have given up your blanket and straw to me that I may sleep comfortably, while you are obliged to sit through the night.’ “‘It's nothing. General,’ said Primus. ‘It's nothing. T'm well enough. Don't trouble yourself about me, General, but go to_sleep again. No matter about me. I sleep very good.’ “‘But it is matter—it is matter,’ said Washington, earnestly. ‘I cannot do it, Primus. If either is to sit up, I will. But I think there is no need of either sitting up. The blanket is wide enough for two. Come and lie down here with me. “‘Oh, no, General’ said Primus, starting and protesting against the proposition. ‘No, let me sit here. Il do very well on the stool. “ ‘1 say, come and lie down here!’ said Washington authoritatively ‘There is room for both and I insist upon it.” “He threw open the blanket, as he spoke, and moved to one side of the straw. Primus fesses to have been exceedingly shocked at the idea of lying under the same covering with the Com- mander in Chief, but his tone was so resolute and determined that he could not hesitate. He prepared himself, therefore, and Iaid himself down by | Washington, and on_the same straw and under the same blanket the Gen- eral and the Negro servant slept till morning.” This same Primus Hall served throughout the Revolutionary War and was among those who in the War of 1812 went to Castle Island, in Boston Harbor, to assist in building fortifica- tions. He was the son of Prince Hall, founder of the Masonic Lodge of that name in Boston. There is a well known engraving of ‘Washington crossing the Delaware on the evening previous to the battle of ‘Trenton, December 25, 1779. In this pic- ture a colored soldier is seen on horse- back near the Commander in Chief. It is the same figure that is seen pulling the oar in other sketches of that mem- orable crossing. Prince Whipple is the name of this colored soldier, body guard to Whipple of New (Continued Prom First Page.) Bolivia, and in Tarapaca Province, | then belonging to Peru, the Chileans became convinced that these provinces should belong to them. So they pro- ceeded to march north and take them. The conquest of these territories gave the Chileans a practical monopoly of the best natural fertilizer known to man. They proceeded to export it in | great quantities. They not only sold it at a handsome profit for the ex-| ploiters, but they put a heavy export tax upon it, pald, of course, by the final consumers, many of them our | own farmers, which furnished half or more of the government revenue for years. | It was her surplus revenue that made | Chile the nation she is today. It en- | abled her to do things that otherwise could have been accomplished, if they | could have been done at all, only by overtaxing herself. It enabled her to| maintain an army and navy which | gave her a place among the four powers of the American continent. It gave her a voice in international politics far more potent than was warranted | either by her population or her strategic tion. It enabled her to develop er agriculture and her industries | much more rapidly than otherwise would have been possible. ‘When the Great War broke over the world Chile was in clover. The demand for her nitrates was so great that it necessitated & rapid expansion of the industry. The export tax brought | in millions. A still more magnificent future seemed to lie ahead | But the Germans, deprived of ac- cess to the Chilean supplies of nitrate, | turned their chemical abilities to the | creation of a synthetic substitute, and with striking success. They not only supplied their needs during tke war but built up an in- dustry which since has continued to supply much of Chile's former market. Worse than that, German methods have been copied in other countries, such as the United States, which formerly were wholly dependent upon Chilean nitrate. Chile’s proportion of world produc- tion fell from 37 per cent in 1918 to 28 per cent in 1929. That meant bad business if a world crisis should come. | And when it came it was quite obvious that the days of Chilean pros- perity, based mainly upon the nitrate subsidy, were over. Strenuous measures must be taken if the industry were to be saved. It fell to Americans to undertake the task of reorganization, with all its certain grief and possible satisfactions. Three years ago there were between | 50 and 60 separate companies operating | nitrate plants. With the advance of | synthetic competition, it was clear that | the industry was doomed unless its torces could be mobilized to meet the| defeat, or at least hold in check this deadly foe. | The Guggenheim organization was deeply involved in the nitrate industry. | It turned its emormous powers to thei solution of the problem. One of its| engineers devised & new process for| recovering the nitrate—a process de- | signed to cut the cost of production by | more than a third. That was a start. | But the export tax of $12 on each ton was an obstacle that mere tech- | nical improvement could not overcome. | If this tax were continued Chilean nitrate could not meet synthetic com- petition in the markets of the world. 1f it were discontinued the Chilean gov- ernment treasury would be in a bad| way. S0 it was proposed to form the great Chilean nitrate corporation known as| “Cosach,” from the first syllables of | the name Compania Salitre de Chile, | which should take over the bulk of the | nitrate companies. In consideration for | the use of the government nitrate lands | and the abolition of the export tax half of the stock was to be given to the Chilean government. The management of the new enterprise was to be in the | hands of the Guggenheims, and it was | American Money in Chile able Chilean nitrate to compete on the world's market with the synthetic product. If the price was high enough to carry a profit the government would gt half of it. Because of the treasury's dependence upon the nitrate income its share was guaranteed for four years. There was prompt criticism and op- position. There was some oratory about “an invasion of American capi- tal.” The Ibanez government, how- ever, was fully alive to the danger that the industry would be doomed unless a reorganization was carried out. It ac- cepted the proposal. and a new experi- ment in co-operation between Ameri- can capital and a foreign government was launched. But the critics of the Cosach were numerous and vocal among the men exiled under the Ibanez regime. Their contention has been that the overhead charges on the capital necessary to operate under the new methods add more to the cost of production than is saved. Some even claim that this would be heavy enough to offset the export tax. Add these to the political charges that the whole project was merely a scheme to saddle & Guggen- heim liability onto the Chilean Govern- ment, and it is easy to see why some Americans looked with apprehension on_the return of Alessandri. But Chile had moved on beyond Alessandri. Chile was looking for new men, not fdt those who had been tried and found wanting. From the confusion sur- rounding Ibanez's departure, Dr. Este- ban Montero had emerged as a man who kept his head, who said and did the right thing at the right time. He seemed to have carried with him into political life, which was entirely new to him, something of the clear thinking of the study where he worked as a pro- fessor of law. The final returns of the election showed approximately 180,000 votes for Montero against 100,000 votes for Alessandri. “Don Arturo” may now enjoy the tranquility he has professed to desire. And Dr. Montero will have the opportunity to demonstrate once more what a professor in politics can or cannot do. His election by no means settles the Cosach matter. Already investigations are under way. A congressional in- vestigating committee has made an adverse preliminary report. How much of this is based on science and how much on politics it is still too early to Judge. There is another matter which must be included among the delicacies of our business relations with Chile. This is the financlal aspect. American banks and investors have loaned to the Chilean Government $300,000,000. It may be properly assumed that Chile was glad to get this money when it was loaned to her, and that she somewhat resents the necessity of pay- ing it back now that she has had the fun of spending it. But something further needs to be said with regard to our loans to South America in general and to Chile in particular. As a nation we had but a limited knowledge of international banking when we were thrust into the role of “the world's banker” after the war. Some of our “bankers” appeared to think that it was only necessary to give any government as much money as it could be persugded to sign a note for. Chile and her neighbors were loaded up with debts with little regard for the ultimate destination or productivity of the money. When the crash came and they could not pay, they at first tried to borrow more to cover the loan services. Failing this, they must default and then seek solace to their own injured pride by blaming the American bankers for giv- ing them money when mx did not need it and refusing it to them when their need was sorest. 1t would be most regrettable if these | two matters—the Cosach and the credit problem—were not solved to the satis- to have the use of the so-called Gug- O | faction of both sides. For in the main | the great influx of American capital It was hoped | into Chile has been so handled as to e cause little friction. Pleasant relations are particularly | noticeable in the copper mining indus- try. The great copper mines of Chile |are all in American hands. In the |north is the enormous Chuquicamata | mine, a veritable mountain of copper | ore, American engineers are taking this "by this means to en- Hampshire. He was born in Africa of wealthy parents and was sent to this country to be educated, as an elder brother had been. But the captain who brought the young African and his cou- sin over took them to Baltimore and sold them to Portsmouth men, one of whom was bought by Gen. Whipple. Scattered Throughout Army. When Maj. Montgomery was lifted upon the walls of Fort Griswold and called upon the Americans to surren- der, it was John Freeman, a colored man, who pinned him to the earth with his pike. But, one bent upon ascertaining the colored man’s contribution to the tri- umph of the Colcnies over Great Brit- ain has set himself a task which is herculean indeed. It is possible to wade | through tome after tome of the his- tories of that time without finding the information which one seeks. Of course, there is a reason for the his- torian’s failure to give the colored man the credit which he so richly deserves. In the majority of cases colored men did not fight in organizations ex- clusively their own, as has already been stated. They were scattered through- out the Army, two or three in a com- pany composed of whites, a squad in a regiment, a few companies with an army, so that it was almost impossible to separate the record which they made as a racial group from that of their white comrades with whom they fought side by side. One must undertake the gruelling job of reading painstakingly the his- tory of villages and towns. One must browse carefully among the archives of the States, must go over Army rolls patiently, name by name, in order to distinguish colored men from their white compatriots, so close was the comradeship which existed between them. It is possible only to give a bird's-eye view of the services rendered by colored men—<iting a few of the battles in which they engaged—relat- | ing their deeds of prowcss either as individuals or small groups. One of thg finest tributes ever be- stowed upon colored soldiers in the Revoldtionary War was delivered in the House of Representatives in 1820 by Charles Pinckney of South Carolina. Among other things he declared that “Negroes were then as they still are as valuable a part of our population to the Union as other equal number of inhabitants.” “They were,” he said, “in numerous instances the ploneers, and in all the laborers of your armies. To their hands were owing the erection of the greater part of the fortifications raised for the protection of our coun- try, some of which, particularly Fort Moultrie, gave at the early period of the inexperience and untried valor of our citizens immortality to American arms; and in the Northern States nu- merous bodies of them were enrolled into, and fought side by side with the whites, the battles of the Revolution.” In this day and generation practi- cally everybody clothed in his right mind stands aghast at the very thought of war. Therefore it seems decidedly out of tune with the times to be sound- ing the praises of those who engaged in the wholesale siaughter of human beings, which for centuries has been sanctioned by civilized nations under the name of war. Nevertheless, in re- viewing the valuable contributions made by colored soldiers in the struggle for independence many will agree with John Greenleaf Whittler, the Quaker poet, who was asked to give some facts relative to the military service of col- ored Americans in the Revolution of 1776 and the War of 1812. Beifg a member of the Society of Priends, Mr. Whittier aisclaimed any desire to deliver a eulogy upon those who shed human blood. “But,” he said, “when we see a whole nation doing honor to memories of one class of de- fenders to the total neglect of another class, who had the misfortune to be of darker complexion, we cannot forego the satisfaction of inviting notice to certain historical facts which for the | mountain piecemeal into the concentra- | tion plant, extracting the copper, and | setting the mountain down on the op- posite side of the plant, At the Braden mine in Central Chile, almost on the crest of the Andes, the | copper is deposited around the crater | of an extinct volcano. The main en- | trance to the mine is some 3,000 feet below the summit, and the work pro- ceeds upward through the huge circle of ore toward the top. Some of the | extent of the enterprise may be ob- | tained from the fact that there are over f&u miles of railway inside the moun- n. These mines provoked a comment by & British mining engineer. He knew that both of these deposits had been examined by British and French ex- perts and rejected as unworkable. And he remarked to one of the Amer- icans who was actually carrying on operations: ‘“You American engineers have perfectly fantastic ideas. The trouble is you carry them out!” The quality of daring, or at least un- conventionalism, on the part of the American promoters has not only made Chile one of the great copper produc- ing countries of the world after both native and other foreign talent had failed to do so, but it has been associ- ated with a consideration for the rela- tions of foreign capital in a sensitive country. The banks and trading houses which were the first to establish themselves in Chile have expanded their business and their investments. At the same time new enterprises have entered the fleld. The great North American industrial organizations have begun to supersede agencies by branch houses, and in some cases have even set up local factories. The total of these investments runs to about $22,500,000. This type of “merican activity sup- plies goods or services to the Chileans in competition with national or other foreign business. The ‘“Morte-Ameri- cano” not only enjoys no special favors in offering his credit facilities, his con~ struction efficiency or his motor cars, sewing machines and typewriters to the Chilean market, but he has to meet se- vere and not always entirely friendly competition from German, English, Spanish and other rivals. A still larger Amerigan interest in Chile is of even more recent develop- ment. The great organizations of American brains and money which are stretching out across the world have made extensive purchases in the fie'd of pubtic utmmties. Over $80,000,000 of American money has gone into Chilean street car lines, telephones and air services, In the fleld of utilities, American capital has, of course, come into. much closer contact with the government. ‘The whole story of contracts, coaces~ sions, franchises, rates and taxes has been gone over between the capitalists from North America and the govern- ment officials of Chile. One after an- other of these inherently difficult affairs has been ironed out with apparently no more friction than is common in the solution of such problems in this country, satisfact This mutually ory result augurs well for the ultimate solution of the Cosach and the financial problems. The same spirit of co-operation and mutual acommodation should continue uninterrupted. Chile and the United States can be of the greatest service to each other, economically and political- ly. They are the only two American Eowexs in the Pacific, and collaboration much more desirable than opposition. Earmarks of a Straddler. Frgm ihe Colorado Springs Gazette and That California politician who was of “a bare-faced attempt to last half cent have been quietly el- Dowed aside, i Al hide his identity” ought to be ful '8¢ VOUDE dry, and QriKig Weh