From The Indianapolis Star, Tuesday, May 21, 1919: W. E. B. DuBois addressed a crowded auditorium of the colored Y.M.C.A. last night on The Negro and the War. He emphasized seeing, as a war correspondent, how kind the French were towards the colored troops. Most of the 200,000 negro troops in France were stevedores, but only 1,000 negro officers, none with the rank higher than a captain. The famous 93rd Division was almost entirely officered by negro soldiers, and when a sudden demand came for reinforcements the division went to the front where the superior officers were French. All France knows the heroic fight made by those men, and as a result the 93rd Division received more French citations than any other American unit. Dr. DuBois spoke under the auspices of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.
From The Indianapolis News, Thursday, June 5, 1919: The Indiana Society of Selective Board Members was formed today by over 100 former local and district draft board members at a meeting in the Claypool Hotel. The organization’s purpose “is to keep alive the associations formed by men on whom rested the primary responsibility for the selection of soldiers so that the valuable knowledge of military preparation acquired by these men may not be lost, to preserve historical data now in the possession of the various boards, and to obtain for drafted men who served in the war full recognition for their services.” Indianapolis attorney Emsley Johnson was elected president of the Society. Annual sessions will be held each June 5, the day commemorating the first registration of selective service men. Maj. Robert Baltzell, state conscription agent, delivered the principal address.