For the most part, the Guard and the
police stood by. According to some reports, they occasionally
participated themselves.
According to official reports thirty-nine Negroes and two whites
had been killed, but the police contended that, because so many
bodies had been burned, thrown in the river, or buried in mass
graves, the figure was really much larger. They estimated the
number of dead at a hundred, and the grand jury accepted their
calculation. It was also estimated that as many as 750 had been
wounded. The Guard held an investigation of the riot, and it
exonerated the behavior of its soldiers. However, a Congressional
investigation later accused the Guard's colonel of cowardice, and
it said that the Guard had exhibited extreme inefficiency. The
Washington Evening Mail carried a cartoon which depicted Wilson
standing before a group of Negroes reading an official document
proclaiming that the world should be made safe for democracy. The
caption over the cartoon read "Why not make America safe?"
When the Negro soldiers returned home from Europe, they
brought new experiences and changed attitudes with them.
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