After the white American men had enlisted or were drafted into the Army and Navy, there were left vacant thousands and thousands of responsible positions. The European foreigners who had previously immigrated here and were immediately given (even before they could understand the laws of the land or speak its language) full American opportunities and privileges, except the ballot, were now found unreliable. Great hordes of them showed their gratefulness to America for earlier throwing wide open her doors to them by refusing to come up to her test of one hundred percent Americanism. Even after all of the available mothers, wives, daughters and sisters of the departed white American soldiers were used in such places, there still remained many thousands of positions unfilled. All that time millions of Colored men and women who were loyally and willingly asking and waiting to fill such places were at first purposely ignored. Because of the lack of sufficient man power, the cog-wheels of industry all over the country began to stop. It seemed as though the American white sentiment of prejudiced feeling against the Colored people had become so bitter that the country was willing to commit industrial suicide while stopping to wallow in its mires of racial hatred.
But a certain good white sentiment (that usually turns up sooner or later, and in some cases more later (than sooner) after great sufferings have been caused) gently but firmly reminded America that there were millions of Colored people who were able and willing to fill those places. They were the people who had made and spent their money here to enrich and build up America as well as at all times and under all conditions had proved themselves most loyal and trustworthy citizens. That reminder although known to be wholly true was still laughed and sneered at by many until they were suddenly and painfully brought to realize that they must either employ Colored people in those positions or let the country go in starvation and ruin for want of sufficient and proper productions. Colored men and women were then at first reluctantly given employment in all parts of the country in almost all kinds of work. Thus for the first time since their forefathers and mothers had arrived in America nearly three hundred years before, Colored people were nationally allowed to use and enjoy many of the opportunities and privileges that had been stingingly withheld from them merely because they were Negroes and freely given to (many times forced upon) alien enemies just because they were Caucasians.