The following record of rape in the 92nd Division was given to the writer by Major A. E. Patterson, judge advocate: “Ten soldiers were tried for assault with intent to rape. Five of those were bona fide efforts to accomplish that crime. The other five were simple assaults with no evidence to support the charge of assault with intent to commit rape. Three of the cases were actual rape cases, only one of which was in the 92nd Division. The other two were in units commanded by white officers. The other two men convicted, one of whom was hanged, were in labor battalions in the 92nd Division area, neither of the three cases of rape occurring in units commanded by colored officers.” The judge advocate in the headquarters of the service of supplies at Tours said that “since February, 1919, there had been only one assault with intent to commit rape in sections 4, 6, 7, and 9, where there were more than 75,000 Negro soldiers. The rape stories seem not to be substantiated.” In American camps there were two cases of the crime, one at Camp Dodge and one at Camp Grant.

The rape charges against Negro soldiers appear to have been greatly magnified. They were simply a part of the general propaganda to discredit Negro men in arms. It is not our intention to give the impression that there were not a few individuals who were guilty of the crime. It is a fact, however, that the wild rumors were simply one more effort to influence the French people in their dealings with Negro Americans.

CHAPTER V
THE LURE OF THE UNIFORM

Historians tell us that when, in the fifteenth century, Jeanne d’Arc led the soldiers of France to victory, no women followed the army. This was not true of the victorious armies in the World War. Wherever the soldiers camped, in the North, East, South, or West, in a camp near a great metropolis or in one far from cities and railroads, in America or in France, there women were to be found. For the first time also the War Department made formal provision for the American soldiers to have the gentle and civilizing influence of women; and barracks and tented camps were soon followed by hostess houses or other structures, tastefully furnished and decorated, and presided over by kind-hearted hostesses.

When this great plan was conceived, little thought was given at first to the Negro soldier and to the entertainment of his women folk. For some time, if they visited camp, they found that no provision was made to receive them. Sometimes it was a mother who had traveled miles just to see if Uncle Sam was kind to her only son, or a wife from a distant state, who arrived discouraged and with depleted funds, only to find that her husband had just embarked for a distant land; or perhaps a sweetheart hoped to get a last glance and bid a last farewell.

There was still another woman who had no such innocent mission and whose heart went out to every soldier. It was this one who made a real problem. Little interest was shown in her by camp authorities. Sometimes she remained in camp streets until as late as eleven o’clock at night; or she might be seen under the trees, in the groves, or waiting along the camp roads. At Camp Dodge women were allowed in camp from early morning until late in the evening, with no restrictions whatever. Some were the wives of soldiers, but some others came to the camp for the purpose of forming acquaintances. Occasionally a girl was seen giving her address to a crowd of soldiers surrounding her. At Camp Hancock, Augusta, Ga., a quarantine stopped the daily visiting of women, who were required to register in the “Y” tent, which they soon practically deserted. In general the commander of a camp made such regulations as he thought best. On rare occasions women were compelled to secure passes before entering; but in most cases they could enter during the day without passes, being governed only by visiting hours, which were usually from 8 a. m. to 5 p. m.

As the war progressed, the tendency throughout the country was to improve conditions in this connection. Even before the spring and summer of 1918, when some hostess houses were erected for colored soldiers, there were bright spots where an effort was made to meet the problem. One of the best systems regulating the visiting of women found anywhere was at Camp Funston, where a visitors’ day was held the first Saturday of each month. This rule was strictly enforced and not even officers could take women into the camp except on this day. On this occasion, however, the officers and soldiers became the hosts, entertaining their friends at dinner, after which there were usually socials and dances. Large numbers of colored women visited Camp Taylor, Louisville, Ky., and their conduct is said to have been excellent. The Y. W. C. A. had the use of a small building, conveniently located on the car track, and here the women were helped to get in touch with relatives. Where the number of women who visited a camp was small, the problem of providing facilities was naturally less difficult. At Camp Devens, Mass., near which the colored population was small, women visited the “Y” buildings and also the houses in charge of white hostesses, if they so desired. The soldiers were permitted to invite them to dinner in their mess halls. All were expected to leave the camp by 7.30, and the military police saw that this rule was enforced. In general where there was a sincere effort on the part of the authorities and the different agencies to provide for the welfare of colored women visitors, the problem was reduced to a minimum, and the visits contributed to the happiness of the soldiers and the morale of the army, as was the intention from the beginning.

The problem which grew to be vexing in the camps became far more difficult to control in the cities; and Government officials familiar with the popularity of the uniform proceeded immediately to clean up every city adjacent to the cantonments by abolishing all forms of legalized vice. Cities thus located were able, with Federal aid, to introduce in one week reforms that had been desired and worked for, with no results, for decades. The closing of the districts, however, did not mean the complete elimination of the evils which existed. It often meant simply a distributing of the problem to various sections of the city. New restaurants, hotels, and boarding houses were opened, and there were usually to be found in them attractive girls who served as waitresses. Although the café sign was sometimes seen on the windows, “no meals were ever served nor fire ever seen in the kitchen.” It was through such places as these that well-intentioned women and girls sometimes found themselves in the clutches of the law.

It was in one of the large cantonment cities that a party of four such women arrived from the far South to see their husbands before they entrained for parts unknown. The women were not met at the station by their husbands, as was planned, because they were several hours late in arriving. They were directed to a hotel just two blocks from the station, and here they found the parlor and dining room filled with soldiers and their friends. Among the men in uniform they felt more at ease, and they asked several soldiers if they knew their husbands. Finally a young man said that he was in the same company as one of the men named, and that he would tell him about his wife as soon as he reached camp, as it was not possible to reach him that night. Tired from travel and anxiety, the women retired with pleasant thoughts of meeting their loved ones in the morning. In the very early morning, however, while the city still slumbered, a knock on the door awoke them. One sprang to the door, but instead of finding her husband she was greeted by an officer, who told all four to dress and follow him. All their tears and explanations did not suffice to move him. With a score of other women they were carried away to prison. As the turnkey closed the great iron door some of the number seemed indifferent, but the hearts of others were seized with fear lest some awful thing should happen. The next morning the husbands of the four women were reached and they were released, made wiser by their bitter experience.