Hon. STEPHEN G. PORTER,
_House of Representatives_.
SIR: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter
of January 10, 1921, with which you inclose a copy of House joint
resolution No. 433, introduced by Mr. Britten, and request that I
furnish the Committee on Foreign Affairs with such facts concerning the
conduct of French colored troops in the occupied territories of Germany
as may be in the possession of the Department of State.
Protests concerning the conduct of French black troops in the Rhenish
area began to reach the department toward the end of May, 1920. On
June 12, 1920, a telegram was sent to the American embassy in Paris
requesting information as to the truth of these allegations and asking
what representations might be made to the French Government, if the
reports appeared to have a basis of fact. (Appendix I). On June 25,
1920, Mr. Wallace telegraphed that an investigation had been promptly
started and that he would arrange with Gen. Allen, in command of
the American troops at Coblentz, to secure all possible facts. In a
further telegram of this same date Mr. Wallace gave a short summary of
the number of colonial troops employed by the French in the occupied
territories, reported what Mr. Dresel, American commissioner in Berlin,
had told him of the agitation in Germany, and suggested that he speak
informally of the matter to M. Millerand. (Appendix II.) The Department
of State authorized Mr. Wallace to speak to M. Millerand on the
subject, and he reported on July 22 that this had been done. (Appendix
II.)
In the meantime, on June 22, the department telegraphed Gen. Allen for
such information as he might be able to furnish. This telegram was
answered shortly on June 26, giving the number and origin of French
colonial troops in the occupied region and an official report of the
number of complaints made to the French during the period of occupation
and the disposition made of these complaints. (Appendix IV.) On July
2 Gen. Allen submitted a full and detailed report on the matter
(Appendix V), in which he pointed out that the allegations of wholesale
atrocities were false and intended for political propaganda, that there
had been cases of serious misbehavior which had been punished by the
French military authorities, that the number of convictions indicated
an earnest effort on the part of the French authorities to deal justly
with the accusations, and that the discipline of the Senegalese troops
had not always been good. I especially commend this report to your
attention as a clear and impartial statement of the case. That the
French are attempting to maintain good relations with the people of the
territory occupied by their armies is made evident in a telegram from
Gen. Allen of August 19, in which he cites a French order instructing
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.” (Appendix VI.)
The department also consulted in this matter the American commissioner
in Berlin, stating on June 15, 1920, that it was receiving many
protests against the alleged misconduct of French black troops and that
the phrasing of the protests suggested possible inspiration from a
propaganda bureau. (Appendix VII.) Mr. Dresel replied that protests in
Germany were general, emanating from all classes and political parties,
that an extensive press propaganda had been carried on and that a mass
meeting of protest was soon to be held in Berlin at which certain
Americans were to speak. Mr. Dresel inclosed a memorandum on this
subject. You will note in this memorandum which includes translations
from the German press and a summary of the discussion in the Reichstag,
various examples of gross exaggeration of facts, as, for example, the
statement of the German foreign minister that France had transplanted
“50,000 black and colored troops to the heart of white Europe,” whereas
Gen. Allen stated that the number of such troops, including regiments
of Arabs, was in the vicinity of 20,000. May I call your particular
attention in this memorandum also to the translation of the French
answer to the German protests? I understand that there has been no
official interchange of notes between the French and German Governments.
Mr. Dresel forwarded to the department also the original German edition
of the pamphlet, “Colored Frenchmen on the Rhine,” the American edition
of which, published by the New Times of Chicago, appears to be a
literal translation with the addition of the words, “An appeal of white
women to American womanhood.” It is perhaps worth noting that this
pamphlet was published not in the Rhineland, but in Berlin, and that
the avoidance of names makes it impossible to verify or disprove the
specific allegations. Furthermore as Mr. Dresel has pointed out to the
department, practically all the alleged instances of misconduct by the
French black troops cited in the German press give no reference to date
or place and are therefore of little value as evidence.
On July 15 the American commissioner in Berlin sent to the department
a translation of an account of the so-called American protest meeting
against the use by France of colored troops in the Rhineland area,
which was held in Berlin on the evening of July 4. In his covering
dispatch Mr. Dresel pointed out that the addresses were bitterly
anti-American as well as anti-French and that Miss Ray Beveridge and
Mr. Scheffauer, both American citizens, were particularly vehement in
their attacks on the American Government. I have thought it worth while
to inclose this dispatch, with the accompanying translation, to call
your attention to the competence of the witnesses on whose allegations
this propaganda appears in large measure to be based.
Miss Ray Beveridge was formerly employed by the German embassy in
Washington and was the organizer of “embargo conference” meetings
in 1915. She states that she held a public meeting in the Reichstag
Building to protest against the signing of the peace treaty. She
refers to the former Emperor of Germany as “my Kaiser.” Mr. Edwin
Emerson, formerly a newspaper man in Berlin connected with the antially
Continental Times, has been living in Germany since 1917. During and
since the war he has been carrying on antiallied propaganda work in
Germany. John W. DeKay was identified with the Huerta dictatorship
and attempted to import into Mexico rifles and ammunition, which were
intercepted by the United States at Vera Cruz. He was indicted on nine
counts in New York in 1913 for obtaining money on false pretenses and
is a fugitive from justice in the Atlantic National Bank case. He is
said to be the treasurer of the bolshevist party in Switzerland. He
carried a Mexican passport in December, 1920, and was at one time
granted a German passport by the German legation in Berne. Mr. H. G.
Scheffauer, born in San Francisco in 1878, has lived in Germany since
1913. As coeditor of the Continental Times he contributed anti-American
articles under assumed names. On January 6, 1919, he was indicted
for treason--for writing, publishing, and distributing articles and
propaganda in aid of the German cause. These people call themselves
Americans, and as far as the department knows are the authors of most
of the stories distributed in this country concerning the misconduct of
the French black troops. It is necessary to speak of the Englishman,
E. D. Morel, only because he is specifically mentioned in House joint
resolution No. 433. Mr. Morel was, before the war, strongly anti-French
and anti-Belgian. During the Moroccan crisis he upheld Germany and
during the war was indicted under the defense of the realm act for
sending uncensored letters to Switzerland. His articles on the “Black
Terror” were published in the London Daily Herald, an extremely radical
paper alleged to be subsidized by the Russian soviet government.
Finally, it should be called to the attention of your committee that
these accusations against the French troops are also reaching America
direct from Germany. As evidence of this there are inclosed photostat
copies of two printed appeals sent in the mail from Germany to American
citizens and by them forwarded to the department. The leaflet entitled
“The Black Evil” reached America inclosed in a German magazine. You
will note that there is no printer’s mark and that the American flag
at the top is evidently intended to indicate that it was printed in
America. Several of these leaflets have reached the department and
copies have been sent to the Postmaster General for such action as
he may see fit to take. The second leaflet, entitled “An Appeal to
Americans,” contains the accusation against the French colored troops
only as a further argument for American assistance.
As soon as the department received word of the introduction of House
joint resolution No. 433 I telegraphed to Mr. Wallace for information
as to the present personnel of the French troops of occupation. When
his answer is received I shall be pleased to forward it to you. May I,
however, call your attention to the fact that no recent allegations of
misconduct of French soldiers have been made so far as the department
is informed, all those detailed in the various published statements
referring to a time prior to June 1, 1920.
In consideration of what I have said above, the facts that, although
there were undoubtedly outrages, those proved guilty have been
punished; that official American testimony as well as that given by
many reputable Germans largely disproves the specific but unverifiable
charges made by witnesses whose impartiality is certainly questionable;
that the accusations appear to be a method of anti-French propaganda;
that the French have long since withdrawn the Senegalese troops
which were the only pure Negro troops used; that there appear to be
no accusations against the behavior of such French colonial troops
as remain in the occupied territories; that Mr. Wallace has already
discussed the matter with the French prime minister, it would appear to
me inadvisable that the American Government should be asked to take any
further action at the present time.
I am very glad to be able to furnish you with full information in this
matter and request only that the inclosures herewith be considered as
for your confidential use and that of the members of your committee.