William C. Redfield to WM Trotter
Title
William C. Redfield to WM Trotter
Creator
Redfield, William Cox, 1858-1932
Identifier
SC111313b-c
Date
1913 November 15
Description
Secretary Redfield denies that a segregation policy has been instituted in the Bureau of Domestic and Foreign Commerce.
Source
US National Archives and Records Administration 570/1/16/7 box #332 file #71315
Publisher
Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library & Museum
Subject
African-Americans--segregation
Contributor
Althea Cupo
Maria Matlock
Language
English
Provenance
Digital copy acquired from federal archives by previous WWPL Archivist, Heidi Hackford.
Text
Sir:
Receipt is acknowledged of your telegram of the 13th instant relative to alleged discrimination against colored employees in the Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce of this Department.
This telegram is the first intimation the Department has received with respect to this matter; no protest having ever been made in the Bureau in question by colored employees to the head of that Bureau. The Department finds it difficult to believe that the published statement was made with complete knowledge of the facts. Investigation shows that the situation in the Bureau in question with respect to employees of the colored race is as follows: There are 14 such employees and they are assigned to practically every branch of the office. One is private secretary and stenographer for the Assistant Chief of the Bureau and works in a room with white employees with no other colored clerks. Another is assigned to the library, working with 3 other white employees. Other clerks are assigned to the various sections of the office, all of them working in close proximity with white clerks, and, so far as is known, without any discrimination being shown. Out of 14 employees, 4 are stationed together in a large well lighted room with many other white employees, this arrangement having been made for reasons quite apart from any question of race or color. The Department believes that the published statements presents an unfairly distorted picture of actual conditions in the Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce. Discrimination is obviously not intended, as over 70 per cent of the colored employees of the office are working next to white employees rather than members of their own race.
In view of the situation in the Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce, the Department feels that it would be difficult to find any branch of the Government service where there was less justification for the charge of unfavorable discrimination against the colored race.
Respectfully,
William C. Redfield
Secretary.
Mr. W. M. Trotter,
National Independent Political League,
21 Cornhill,
Boston, Massachusetts.
B-B
Receipt is acknowledged of your telegram of the 13th instant relative to alleged discrimination against colored employees in the Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce of this Department.
This telegram is the first intimation the Department has received with respect to this matter; no protest having ever been made in the Bureau in question by colored employees to the head of that Bureau. The Department finds it difficult to believe that the published statement was made with complete knowledge of the facts. Investigation shows that the situation in the Bureau in question with respect to employees of the colored race is as follows: There are 14 such employees and they are assigned to practically every branch of the office. One is private secretary and stenographer for the Assistant Chief of the Bureau and works in a room with white employees with no other colored clerks. Another is assigned to the library, working with 3 other white employees. Other clerks are assigned to the various sections of the office, all of them working in close proximity with white clerks, and, so far as is known, without any discrimination being shown. Out of 14 employees, 4 are stationed together in a large well lighted room with many other white employees, this arrangement having been made for reasons quite apart from any question of race or color. The Department believes that the published statements presents an unfairly distorted picture of actual conditions in the Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce. Discrimination is obviously not intended, as over 70 per cent of the colored employees of the office are working next to white employees rather than members of their own race.
In view of the situation in the Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce, the Department feels that it would be difficult to find any branch of the Government service where there was less justification for the charge of unfavorable discrimination against the colored race.
Respectfully,
William C. Redfield
Secretary.
Mr. W. M. Trotter,
National Independent Political League,
21 Cornhill,
Boston, Massachusetts.
B-B
Original Format
Letter
To
Trotter, William Monroe, 1872-1934
Files
Collection
Citation
Redfield, William Cox, 1858-1932, “William C. Redfield to WM Trotter,” 1913 November 15, SC111313b-c, Race and Segregation Collection, Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library & Museum, Staunton, Virginia.