he character of Marines, just as
the Pioneers partake of the character of infantry, but in general
respects resembling more the engineer and stevedore units. About 600 men
had been selected for this service when the project was abandoned on
account of the ending of the war.

With the exception of a very limited number who have been permitted to
attain the rank of petty officer, Negroes in the Navy were confined to
menial occupations. They were attached to the firing forces as coal
passers, while others served as cooks assistants, mess attendants and in
similar duties. Quite a number were full rated cooks. A few were water
tenders, electricians and gunners' mates, each of which occupations
entitled them to the aforesaid rank of petty officer. Among the petty
officers some had by sheer merit attained the rank of chief petty
officer, which is about equal to the rank of sergeant in the army.

The idea of separate ships for the Negro might to some degree ameliorate
the sting incident to race prohibition in that arm of government
service. The query is advanced that if we can have black colonels,
majors, captains and lieutenants in the army, why cannot we have black
commanders, lieutenants, ensigns and such in the Navy?

Negroes have often and in divers ways displayed their intelligence and
efficiency in the Navy. Take, for instance, the case of John Jordan, a
Negro of Virginia, who was chief gunner's mate on Admiral Dewey's
flagship the "Olympia" during the Spanish-American war, and was the man
who fired the first shot at the enemy at Manila Bay. A Negro chief
electrician, Salisbury Brooks, was the originator of inventions which
were adopted without reservation by the Navy designers and changed the
construction of modern battle ships.

One of the principal instructors on the U.S.S. Essex, the government
training ship at Norfolk, is Matthew Anderson, a Negro. He has trained
thousands of men, many of them now officers, in the art and duties of
seamanship. Scores of Negroes; men of the type of these in the Navy,
would furnish the nucleus for officers and crews of separate Negro
ships.

In a recent issue of "Our Navy" a magazine devoted entirely to naval
affairs, especially as regards the enlisted man, a writer reflects the
opinion of these men in the following article:

"Whether you like the black man or not, whether you believe in a
square deal for him or not, you can't point an accusing finger at
his patr