Part 2

10. The impression gained from contact with and observation of the French colonial troops is that, as a general rule, they are quiet, orderly, and well behaved. Discipline has a purely relative value and is hardly of the same order as that which we would require. That the discipline of the Senegalese brigade was not always good, is established by the incidents which recently occurred at Marseille, when a part of these troops committed serious infractions of discipline when ordered aboard their transports.

11. The attitude of certain classes of German women toward the colored troops has been such as to incite trouble. On account of the very unsettled economic conditions, and for other causes growing out of the World War, prostitution is abnormally engaged in and many German prostitutes and women of loose character have openly made advances to the colored soldiers, as evidenced by numerous love letters and photographs which are now on file in the official records and which have been sent by German women to colored French soldiers. Several cases have occurred of marriages of German women with French Negro soldiers. One German girl of a first-class burgher family, her father a very high city functionary of a prominent city in the Rhinelands, recently procured a passport to rejoin her fiance in Marseille. He was a Negro sergeant. Other Negro soldiers have had French wives here, and the color line is not regarded either by the French or the Germans as we regard it in America; to keep the white race pure. At Ludwigshafen, when the Seventh Tirailleurs left for Frankfurt, patrols had to be sent out to drive away the German women from the barracks, where they were kissing the colored troops through the window gratings.

CONCLUSIONS.

I. The wholesale atrocities by French Negro colonial troops alleged in the German press, such as the alleged abductions, followed by rape, mutilation, murder, and concealment of the bodies of the victims are false and intended for political propaganda.

II. A number of cases of rape, attempted rape, sodomy, attempted sodomy, and obscene mishandling of women and girls have occurred on the part of French Negro colonial troops in the Rhinelands. These cases have been occasional and in restricted numbers, not general or widespread. The French military authorities have repressed them severely in most cases and have made a very serious effort to stamp the evil out. The amount of evidence necessary to convict in such cases is a very delicate matter to express opinion upon. However, the number of acquittals is not large and there is nothing surprising about these acquittals, except in one case where a girl of 14 years was known carnally. In this case the acquittal followed upon the claim that the girl had consented.

III. As a rule the number of convictions and the thoroughness of the reports of the investigations and trials indicate the very earnest effort of the French trial authorities to do justice and to stamp out the evil by stern repressive measures. That their sentences are often milder than ours would be is largely due to extenuating circumstances found in the evidence according to their rules of evidence which are very different from ours, and to the fact that in general French courts do not punish these crimes as severely as American and English courts do.

IV. The discipline of the Senegalese Tirailleurs was not always good as evidenced by the refusal of some of them to get aboard transports at Marseille when ordered to Syria.

HENRY T. ALLEN. The SECRETARY OF STATE, _Washington, D. C._

APPENDIX VI.

COBLENZ, _August 19, 1920_. SECRETARY OF STATE, _Washington, D. C._:

In a communication from the French high commissioner to the general commanding the French Army of occupation the former requests that instructions be given all members of that Army concerning their relations with and attitude toward German civilians. The French general has adopted the suggestion, and by means of conferences, orders, and schools in the units of his command, is instructing all officers and men that the occupying forces are not in Germany to provoke the Germans but as a guaranty that the terms of the treaty shall be carried out and that all members of the Army must be dignified, courteous, and just, thus setting the example to the German population of tolerance in order that good will and mutual respect may be established and promoted and ill will and hatred overcome. This is most encouraging and hopeful and should be productive of great good. This has been the governing principle of the American occupation, and since coming to the commission I have urged the application of this principle throughout the entire occupied region. Millerand has heartily approved the action of the French high commissioners and of the commanding general. Recently French relations have been more antagonistic than at any other period since the signing of the peace treaty.

ALLEN.

APPENDIX VII.

JUNE 19, 1920. AMERICAN MISSION, _Berlin (Germany)_.

Your 625, June 15, 11 a. m.

Department is in receipt of frequent protests from various organizations and individuals against conduct of French troops in occupied region, particularly alleged mistreatment of German women by French black troops. The wording of these protests suggests that they are inspired by a propaganda agency and are based on reports in German press. Department assumes that you are not in a position to definitely determine the facts in the matter but requests your opinion. Please forward by mail press clippings and other information you may be able to obtain on the subject.

COLBY.

APPENDIX IX.

No. 464. JULY 16, 1920. The SECRETARY OF STATE, _Washington_.

SIR: Adverting to my dispatch No. 442, of July 5, and to my telegrams Nos. 806 and 807, of July 12, and No. 812, of July 15, I have the honor to transmit herewith a translation of a newspaper account of the so-called American protest meeting against the use by France of colored troops in the occupied Rhineland area, held in Berlin on the evening of July 14. I beg likewise to inclose a copy of the issue of the European Press (formerly the Continental Times) dated July 9, which contains an article by Rutledge Rutherford announcing the meeting in question. This article states that the American speakers were to be Col. Edwin Emerson, Miss Ray Beveridge, Hermann George Scheffauer, Edith Talbot Scheffauer, Lora Vincent, John De Kay, Rutledge Rutherford, and Agatha M. Bullitt. The three last-named persons did not actually appear, however, although messages were read from Messrs. De Kay and Rutherford. Other than these Americans, the only speaker was a German woman from the Rhineland; but messages were read from E. D. Morel, Henri Barbusse, Jean Longuet, and others.

A member of the commission who attended the meeting informs me that the large auditorium of the university was crowded long before the meeting opened, and that the audience, composed largely of women, was most enthusiastic. The newspaper account does not, however, give an accurate impression of the tone adopted by the speakers, inasmuch as mention of the bitterly anti-French and anti-American character of the addresses is apparently omitted, whereas it was expression of these sentiments which created the greatest applause. In fact, the meeting took on more the character of a violent chauvinistic gathering than a protest against the black troops. Miss Beveridge and Mr. Scheffauer were particularly vehement in their attacks on President Wilson and the United States Government and devoted most of their time to assailing America for her entrance into the war, while Col. Emerson directed his thrusts chiefly at France. It is interesting to note that Miss Beveridge, who has now spoken more than once on this subject, is invariably introduced as one who has done much for German children by aiding the work of the American Quakers in Germany. The head of the Quaker mission in Berlin informs me, however, that Miss Beveridge has not now and has never had any connection with their activities, in spite of her repeated efforts to become associated with them, and that her persistence and such misstatements as that referred to above have caused them great embarrassment.

During the course of the meeting, letters were read from Mrs. Bayard Taylor and Prof. Thomas C. Hall, but I am inclined to believe that the writers were not acquainted with the circumstances under which the meeting was held.

(Signed) ELLIS LORING DRESEL, _American Commissioner_.

JANUARY 31, 1921. Hon. STEPHEN G. PORTER, _House of Representatives_.

SIR: Referring to my letter of January 17, 1921, concerning the propaganda being carried on as to the conduct of the French black troops in the occupied territory of Germany, I have the honor to inclose for your information a paraphrase of a telegram received from the American ambassador in Paris giving the official statement as to the number and origin of the French troops of occupation at the present time.

I have the honor to be, sir,

Your obedient servant, BAINBRIDGE COLBY.

[Telegram from American Ambassador at Paris, Jan. 29, 1921.]

The total number of troops in the French Army of occupation was 86,000 in December; 16,386 of this number were Moroccans and Algerians and 3,224 were Malgaches. The remainder were white. The figures for January are approximately the same.

Properly speaking, there are no black troops. The Moroccans and Algerians are Arabs of the Mussulman religion and are entirely distinct from the Negro race. The Malagaches are Malays from Madagascar.

Incidents occurring between these colored troops and the natives of the occupied district, and which have been investigated by French military authorities, have been in the proportion of 1 to 1,594 men. About one-fourth of such cases have resulted in condemnations of from 30 days to 10 years’ imprisonment, according to the gravity of the charge. The remaining cases have been dismissed on account of inability to substantiate charges or because of a lack of good faith on the part of German authorities who brought charges.

The French Government has made no attempt to officially disprove the accusations concerning the behavior of the troops. It has, however, unofficially supplied facts and figures through its press agencies to various countries. So far as I am able to ascertain, the recent behavior of these troops has been on an average with the conditions above reported.

The delay on the part of the foreign office in supplying this information after several requests was not due to lack of interest, but to difficulty in obtaining figures. That office has promised further information within a few days, which I shall forward as soon as it is received.

WALLACE.

FEBRUARY 11, 1921. Hon. STEPHEN G. PORTER, _House of Representatives_.

SIR: Again reverting to my letter of January 17, 1921, in regard to the House joint resolution No. 433, concerning French colored troops in occupied Germany, I beg to refer to Appendix X of that letter, which was a photostat copy of a leaflet entitled “The Black Evil,” and bearing the American flag at the top. This matter was brought to the attention of the American commissioner in Berlin, with instructions to make inquiries in regard to its origin.

I am now in receipt of a telegram from Mr. Dresel stating that the minister for foreign affairs, Mr. Simons, assures him “emphatically that the foreign office has had nothing to do with this propaganda, of which he utterly disapproves as injurious to Germany.” Mr. Simons further stated that if he could discover who was financially responsible for this leaflet he would insist on these activities being stopped.

I beg to send this information to you as pertinent to the subject of joint resolution No. 433, which is being examined by your committee.

I have the honor to be, sir,

Your obedient servant, NORMAN H. DAVIS.

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TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES:

Italicized text is surrounded by underscores: _italics_.

Obvious typographical errors have been corrected.

No Appendix VIII appears in the original.