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About The monitor. (Omaha, Neb.) 1915-1928 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 25, 1919)
[□=§□ the Monitor i ■= .i A NATIONAL WEEKLY NEWSPAPER DEVOTED TO THE INTERESTS OF COLORED AMERICANS. (THE REV. JOHN ALBERT WILLIAMS, Editor $2.00 a Year. 5c a Copy OMAHA. NEBRASKA. DECEMBER 25. 1919 Vol. V. No. 25 (Whole No. 234) : The Monitor Wishes Its Readers a Merry Xmas Tk 'RED COMMERCIAL CLUB V1KE STATEMENT OF OBJECTS % % - ■s Organization rnied for the Encouragement, Development and Promotion of Business, Commercial and Industrial Enter prises Among Omaha’s Rapidly Growing Population and for General Civic Betterment—Strictly Non-Political and Non Sectarian—Officers Well-Known Men in Community and Res idents of Long Standing, Who Have Demonstrated Ability to Do Worth While Things in Other Spheres of Activity—Com mittee Chairmen and Members. L *VT$HB Colored Commercial Club of A Omaha" is the official name of a ^ new organization which proposes to do telling and constructive work along commercial and industrial lines among the race in this rapidly grow >, lng city. / As a matter of fact this organization *ts the outcome of a process of think ing which has engaged the minds of some of the business men of the race for some months. As early as last April Fred C. Williams of The Mon itor staff invited the business and pro fessional men of the city to a con ference for the purpose of discussing some business organization among them and the formation of a tentative branch of the National Negro Business League was the result. This organi zation, however, did little more than pass the embryonic stage. A mention of it properly finds place here In order that it may be seen that there has been a felt need or organization and co-operation among the colored t people of the city along business lines. Business Men Confer and Co-operate. Not only did the colored men of the city appreciate the fact that great op . port unities for commercial develop nient were within their grasp, if prop erly organized ami directed, but men like S. S. Caldwell, of War Camp Com munity Service; Leo Rosenthal, who is associated with him in this work, and H. O. Wilhelm, prominent busi ness men saw them, too. These gentle men are also influential members of the Chamber of Commerce. A series I of conferences was held with these gentlemen and three separate groups of colored citizens, in which there was frank discussion and much plain speaking. The advantage of such an organization for the commercial up building of Omaha and of co-opera tion with the Chamber of Commerce was mutually recognized and ad mitted. As a result of (1) The felt need for some ade quate business organization; and (2) This series of conferences. The Colored Commercial Club of Omaha has been duly organized, and ) has entered upon its work. Objects of ('lull. Its objects are best stated by quot ing from article two of the articles of incorporation, for the club is to be incorporated for $5,000, divided into 500 shares of the par value of $10, each member to be entitled to one share of stock and no more. The ar tides pf incorporation have been filed, and their official publication begins in next issue. Read them, if you would understand what the club aims to do. | Article two specifically states that the club has as its chief object ‘‘the j promotion of the commercial, Indus- ; (rial and public interests and welfare of the city and the bringing about of a better understanding with the bust- j ness and commercial interests of ; Omaha.” Classes of Membership. The membership of the club is di vided into three classes—active, hon orary and non-resident. The entrance membership fee for active members is $10, which entitles a member to one share of stock; and the annual dues ; are $5.00 payable quarterly in ad vance. Non-resident members pay annual fees of $3.00 payable quarterly in advance. The membership is not , confined to business and professional j man, but any man of good character is eligible to membership. Scope of Work. Some idea of the scope of the work and activities of the Commercial club may be gathered from the fact that there arc twelve standing committees, each composed o? a chairman, a vice chairman, and three other members, five in all, or a total of sixty on the twelve committees. Each committee is given Its specific work. For example, the municipal affairs committee is charged with the specific duty of look ing after municipal improvements, such as paving, lighting, etc.; the re tail committee is charged with the ! duty of looking after the interests of the retail trade, noting what oppor- 1 (unities there are for various lines, etc. The chairmen of these several committees constitute the executive committee. Officers of the Club. The Colored Commercial Club has j as its first officers men who are well- I | known in the community, having I been residents of iong standing and demonstrated ability in their chosen I lines of activity. They are all prop- I erty owners and are necessarily vital- j I ly interested In whatever affects the ; welfare of the city. Ellsworth W. Pryor, president, has ; been a resident of Omaha for nearly ■ thirty-five years, where he has estab lished an enviable reputation among the business men of the city. For j twelve years lie was steward of the (Continued on Page 2.) MR. ELLSWORTH W. PRYOR, President Colored Commercial Club. SOUTHERN NEWSPAPER MAN, MANAGING EDITOR OMAHA BEE, SUPPORTS MONITOR’S CHARGE OF ROBBERY OF NEGRO FARMERS IN 1917 Taylor Kennerly, a brilliant southern newspaper man, was on the staff of the New York Evening Post of which publication Oswald Garrison Villard, grandson of William Lloyd Garrison and treasurer of the National Asso ciation for the Advancement of the Colored People, was for so many years the editor-in-chief. Mr. Villard retired from The Evening Post some months ago to devote his time to the publication of The Nation. The policy of The Post dur ing Mr. Villard’s editorship was most friendly to tne Negro. It was the one great New York publication which fearlessly championed the Negro’s cause. Then, too, it is noteworthy that in 1917 the United States entered the world war. The Negro was needed. Newspapers, north and south, were sounding his praises. There was a vast deal of truth telling about the mistreatment of the Negro in the United States and especially in the South. Conscience-smitten, America pleaded eloquently for a square deal to the most loyal of her citizens, the black American. The patriotic press, and espe cially that portion of it which was friendly to the Negro, sought writers who knew the truth about southern condi tions and specifically the causes underlying the exodus from the south, and employed such writers to prepare articles to carry out the policy of the paper in bringing such facts to the attention of the discerning public. Newspapers have a policy. It is the duty of members on the staff to carry out that policy. The Post could not have secured a more competent writer than Taylor Kennerly, formerly managing editor of the Montgomery (Ala.) Advertiser, to prepare a series of articles on “The Negro Exodus From the South.” Three articles written by Mr. Kennerly, under this caption and published in The Post of May 25, and June 2 and 9, throw such a flood of light upon the conditions responsible for the so-called “Negro uprising against the whites” at Elaine, Arkansas, a few weeks ago and for which eleven Negroes j were sentenced to death in SEVEN MINUTES and more than sixty others were given life or long-time sentences in the penitentiary, that their republication will prove timely, interesting and instructive. In this connection, it will be recalled that The Monitor’s special correspondent, who gave the facts about the Elaine “uprising,” stated that “The Negro Farmers’ Protective Association” had been formed to seek legal redress against a system of robbery of which they had been victims at the hands of unscrupulous whites for | years. Mr. Kennerley’s articles, and the fact must not be overlooked that they are from the pen of a southern white man who would much rather write a different story, fully corroborate The Monitor’s position. Mr. Kennerly has for the past year been managing editor of the Omaha Bee, which also evidently has a policy. His articles as published in The New York Evening Post will be republished in The Monitor under the exact headings given them in the original publication. They are articles worthy of preservation. Here is the second: THE NEGRO EXODUS FROM THE SOUTH Low Wages and the Slavery of Debt Keeping the Colored Farm Laborer in Condition Below That of His Mule—Harrow ing Pictures From Recent History—Those Who Could Help Are Blind. Second of a Series of Three Articles by Taylor Kennerly. IN the previous article (published in the Evening Post last Saturday) I discussed the attempts of Alabama in particular, and other states of the old south in general, to combat the Ne gro exodus and the widespread alarm the awakening of the Negro to labor and rural living conditions was caus ing among a certain class of the white population of the south. In that ar ticle it was necessary, unfortunately, to picture the worst type of the white man—'the type we might compare to the sweat-shop operators in the north and east- the man who has grown rich through stifling the life of human beings. It was the aim of that article to tell why this white man, who has kept the Negro In ignorance and parctical slavery since the civil war. so that he might be the gainer by such ignor ance, is now the one who cries the loudest against the Negro leaving the south. He feels that the Negro belongs to him, and he is putting up every bar rier possible, as, for example, by pro bitlve licenses and laws against la bor agents offering employment to the Negro In the states of the north and east. But the one true remedy—bet ter wages and conditions in the homes on the farms -has never occurred to him. This article will deal with “Why the Negro is Leaving the South.” The basic cause of the Negro exodus, now in progress throughout the south, is low wages, whatever may be said of political and civic disabilities and lynch law. No one loves the south better than the Negro, and he does not expect a large wage, but the time has come when he does expect, and will Insist upon, at least a living wage for his services, whether It be given as a laborer or a tenant. If he can’t live in the south he will go to the north or east—to any section of the United States that offers him a home and a living for his labor. Land monopoly by the white man has virtually put the laborer, especial ly the Negro, into industrial slavery. Workings of Land Monopoly. This land monopoly means that the Negro must either work as a laborer, at anything from $2.50 to $5 a week, according to what he is doing, or else take his chances on the tenant plan, which in the majority of cases, ends with the Negro farmer in debt to his employer at the end of the year—not because the Negro hasn't made any thing, but because the Negro has not been given a square deal. High rents and low wages are driv ing the Negroes off the farms. The average Negro farm-hand gets little more for his work than the very mule tie ploughs with—that is, something to eat and a very poor place to sleep. In many instances, especially when It comes to food, the mule fares bet ter than the Negro. The large major ity of them have no encouragement to work. It is only in isolated cases that you find a Negro tenant who is getting an honest deal. When you do, that Negro has no more idea of em igrating to the north or east than the average man has of going to the north pole. If It were not so tragic it would be amusing, to compare that beautiful mind-picture—the one about the "Fields of Snowy White with Darkies Singing Soft and Low"—with the true conditions under which most Negroes of the old south live today, and have lived these many years. Unfortunately for the Negro, that picture is only a true and glorious tribute to a very small majority of the white people who have had the moulding of his destiny In their hands. The aver (Continued on Page 8.) MILITARY SCHOOL DRAWS “COLOR LINE;” PREJUDICE IS REBUKED Cornwall Obects to Colored Boy on Visiting Football Team— Poughkeepsie High Stands Pat, Severs Relations and Cancels Concert by Military Academy Band. Poughkeepsie, n. y., Dec. 23.—; The New York Militaiy Academy, Cornwall, N. Y., would not let its football team meet the Poughkeepsie High School team because of the pres- j ewe on the P. H. S. team of Abe Crooks, a Negro boy, and as a conse quence the local school authorities would not permit the band from the Cornwall institution to give its con cert which was scheduled for Decem ber 12 at the high school auditorium for benefit of the school athletic asso ciation. Athletic relations were severed when the military school team ob jected to meeting Crooks as a member of the high school team. When word of this objection reached the local team, a meeting of the football team and the school athletic council was called. Every member of the team joined in the sentiment expressed by one of the boys, a Hebrew, who de clared, "If Crook can’t play, I can’t play.” The local high school authori ties cancelled the game with the Corn wall school without further corres pondence. Citizens Sanction Action. Arrangements for the concert by the New York Military Academy band had been perfected in connection with the fixed program of the local school’s | winter entertainments and had no con nection with the athletic activities other than thatt he school athletic as sociation would be financially bene fited from the proceeds. These ar rangements were cancelled, however, by the local school authorities, who took the position that since the down river institution maintains a policy of racial discrimination which necessi tated the severance of athletic rela tions between the two institutions, it would be highly inconsistent to bring the body of musicians here. The action of the high school au thorities has the sanction of the peo ple of Poughkeepsie. The situation is tersely summed up by the statement of the local school officials, who say: “So long as the down-river institu tion maintains its present policy -.here will be no relations of any kind be tween it and the local school.” Objected to Brooklyn Student. This Incident recalls a similar affair which happened five years ago, with the New York Military Academy ob jecting to the presence of a Negro player, Edward Williams, in a game with the Brooklyn Commercial High school. The game was scheduled at the Cornwall school on December 14, 1914, and it was not until the Brook lyn boys began to warm up on the gridiron that the Cornwall team gave any expression to its race prejudice. Williams was left tackle on the Brook lyn team. When Tom Thorpe, Corn wall coach, ordered his men to the field to warm up, one of them refused, saying he would not line up against the Negro player. Thorpe then ap proached Robert Shearer, who was in charge of the Brooklyn boys, being not only the coach but also a member of the school faculty. Thorpe told Mr. Shearer that Williams would have to be withdrawn from the line-up or there would be no game. Refused Cornwall Hospitality. This Shearer refused flatly to do. He said that Williams had played against different teams, including all the New York high schools, and that the young men on those teams were of as high quality as anybody on the military academy team. “Never heard an objection to him before,” said Shearer, “and he’ll play now or there’ll be no game.” There was no game, for the objection was not with drawn. One of the Brooklyn boys said: “They were afraid to play with us after they saw what we could do. That’s a fine bunch from which to make soldiers. They might do all right at a sewing bee.” Further than this ,Mr. Shearer re fused to accept the luncheon which had been prepared for the visiting team, declined to receive any expense money, and he, with the entire Brook lyn contingent, walked three miles to the railroad station in preference to using the busses tendered for the trip by the Cornwall school. BISHOP C. S. SMITH ENDS FIFTY YEARS OF SERVICE Detroit, Mich., Dec. 23.—In cele brating the close of his fiftieth year in public life, Bishop C. S. Smith of the A. M. E. church and Mrs. Smith entertained at their hime, 35 Alexan drine avenue, East, having as their guests the delegates attending the In ternational Y. M. C. A. convention and a few other friends. DALLAS EMBALMERS’ SCHOOL Dallas, Tex., Dec. 23.—Dallas has the distinction of having the only rec ognized school of colored embalmers in the southwest. This institution is known as the Gunter School for Em balmers. Envy is blind and knows nothing except how to depreciate the excel lencies of others.—Livy. I)R. JESSE H. HUTTEN, Vice President Colored Commercial Club.