The words of Provost Marshall General Crowder, the man who knew all about the selective draft and who engineered it through its wonderfully successful course, completely absolved the Negro in this connection.

The following quotation in reference to the above figures is taken verbatim from the report of General Crowder to the Secretary of War, dated December 20, 1918.
"These figures of reported desertions, however, lose their significance when the facts behind them are studied.

There is in the files of this office, a series of letters from governors and draft executives of southern states, called forth by inquiry for an explanation of the large percentage of Negroes among the reported deserters and delinquents.

With striking unanimity the draft authorities replied that this was due to two causes; first, ignorance and illiteracy; especially in the rural regions, to which may be added a certain shiftlessness in ignoring civic obligations; and secondly, the tendency of the Negroes to shift from place to place.

The natural inclination to roam from one employment to another has been accentuated by unusual demands for labor incident to the war, resulting in a considerable flow of colored men to the north and to various munition centers.