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on my supply officer or commissary steward to get it for me and he relies to a large extent on his friendship with the issuing storekeeper, whenever there is competition. We got our milk and vegetables and beef because we carefully watched our relations with other units and did as many favors for other people as we could. We got our repairs in the repair yard and our supplies and equipment because we were courteous and friendly. In a country not yet free of prejudice, an all-Negro unit would be a target for all kinds of unfriendly treatment which could never be handled by others.

On the other hand, an all-white unit is a sort of segregation in reverse. The white sailors are removed from the race problem and can never learn that prejudice is artificial, that they can work just as well with Negroes as whites.

A unit with a crew of more than fifty per cent Negroes tends to be subjected to the same problems as an all-Negro unit. It also must face one minor problem. As a group, the Negroes are not as skilled mechanically as white sailors. This I attribute again to inadequate and unequal educational facilities, environment greater degree of poverty, etc. Negro boys, as a group, are not as acquainted with auto and household or farm machinery. thus,

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