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About The monitor. (Omaha, Neb.) 1915-1928 | View Entire Issue (July 15, 1920)
LAKE STREET COMMUNITY SERVICE SUSPENDS ACTIVITIES By Geo. H. W. Bullock, Director. On account of the lack of sufficient funds with which to operate, the board of directors of the Lake Street Com munity Service met Thursday evening, July 8tli, and voted to close the work. For some time this organization has been operating in our city. It was financed entirely by its New York headquarters up until February 1 and until June 1 that office furnished two nationally paid worker s something not done for any similar work in the en tire country. For nowhere has na tional headquarters given two work ers four months after it withdrew its general support. This was done in the hope that at least the colored peo ple of Omaha would raise their own budget and keep the work going in their own interest. The New York office had assurance from the old War Camp Committee, headed by Mr. S. S. Caldwell, that this would be done and it was upon the strength of this assurance that it lent two of its workers to the colored and abbut five to the white people. This Com mittee made up a budget for the white and colored works amounting to $23,240 for the operation of the works for one year beginning February 1, $8,240 of which was to be devoted to the colored department. Plans were made for the raising of this money and the colored people were told not to make any attempt to raise any part of their quota until the whites had raised theirs, “so that,” as the chaii-man put it, “the white people could thoroughly convince the colored people of their genuine interest in them by doing their part.” In the meantime the colored directors began forming their committee, but took no definite action toward the raising of money, until May 1, at which time they were informed-by Mr. Caldwell that the money which was being raised by them was not to be devoted to the colored Community Service at all, but to the support of a labor bureau which was to 'be operated by the colored Commercial Club. By this date there had been debts already ac cumulated to the amount of $871.69, not including furniture. Many of these bills were far past due when the colored committee took over the work and the creditors pressed them immediately upon this committee to settle at the risk of serious embar rassment. All of these have been paid at the date of this writing ex cept $80 in addition to their current obligations. When th ecommittee was informed that the colored work was to receive none of the money then be ing raised by the white committee they were very much at a loss as to what to do, knowing how difficult it would be to get money from people to pay debts for which they were not responsible. They knew that they had to face the difficulty of persuading people to subscribe to the support of a work whose program was entirely new and with whose policy the peo ple generally were so little convers ant. However, they shouldered the task and have carried it on thus far. In next week’s issue of this paper we shall publish the financial report in full. We trust that every colored per son who has been at all interested in this work will get a copy of this pa per in order that you may see exactly how the money we have raised has been spent. I feel it my imperative duty as director to say a few words in de fence of this organization because I feel a more or less personal responsi bility for its conduct. Within the last few days there have come to me some criticisms concerning the con duct by the children in the halls. One person complained that the organiza tion had not done anything worth while. All of these criticisms have come since the work has closed. First let us see whether we did our duty in giving to the closed organization those things which were needed to keep it open and whether we put our finger to the wheel to help it to ac complish those things wrtilch we say it ought to have done and did not do. If you have a horse and don't feed him, it would be foolish to blame him for not doing the work required. The same rule works in Community Serv ice. We have published time and again our program which we contem plated and have made personal ap peals to you for your support in or der that we might carry it out. Our records do not show where a single one of these four critics has given one penny to the support of the work. We find also that only one of them has ever visited the Community Serv ice except in connection with some club to which they belonged, which club or organization used the com munity halls for which its pays a monthly expense of over $500, with out cost at all to the club. Some of them have children for whom we have provided recreation to the best of our means. We confess our shortcom ings. We have done our best with the means given us. We hardly be lieve our critics would have done more under the same circumstances. But we are not able to very deeply im press ourselves with the criticisms which have come to us when our rec ords show the critics have neither morally nor financially supported us. “He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her." He that is among you who feels that he has done his full duty to ameliorate the condition of which he complains, let him first cast a stone at the work. We have tried to do our duty by our city and people. Have you done yours? Let us not forget that all of these children that come to our care are not members of the most cultured families, but are neverthe less your children and must be served. Community Service would be deprived of its usefulness if it attempted to discriminate. We came here to ren der seivice to those who need our services. But all of these children are a part of our community and race and we as workers have drawn as much help as. we could from an en tirely disinterested source to aid you in doing a work for yourselves which has no sijbstitute in Omaha. If we are so far in advance of almost every city, town and hamlet in this coun try that we don’t need this service, then we a're justified in closing. IT HAS WELL SERVED THE PEOPLE Since March 10th, the date of the present directors’ administration, these two humble rooms alone have served 9,478 boys and girls, men and women in some way. If these had been different persons on every oc casion, we would have served the en tire colored population of Omaha. During the four months 24 different clubs and organizations have had the use of these rooms absolutely free of any charge. These organizations represent over 5,000 colored people. Our records show that only three of those clubs have subscribed to its support. These subscriptions total $129. Thus far we have received sub scriptions from 57 persons and or ganizations together amounting to about $1,300. This includes all ef forts such as tag days and sales. Of this amount we have received from all sources $1,130.77. In a later state ment we shall publish our records. We fail therefore to see the reason for the close of this service. We know it can be run by the colored people themselves, if they go about it in a business-like way. We believe the people of this city will eventually reopen the work. We feel keenly the ; mistake that we have made in allow ] ing it to close. But if it is to be ; closed, fellow citizens, for heaven’s sake let us not go about excusing our mistake by hurling criticisms at a work whose shortcomings are the di 1 rect result of our negligence. The i best that we can say is we had a j glorious opportunity with national | help to do a great work, an oppor i tunity which will never come to us again, and we failed to measure up ( to it. Let it rest in its grave at that. We wish to thank those who have co-operated with us in doing your own work and for the encouragement you have given us by your warm friend- I ship while in your midst. The di- | rector will be in your city for some | time and will be very glad to do what- \ ever he can to help you. Call upon i him at 2723 Miami street. Webster | 2677. Talking “To" and "With." To talk to a person Is to address words to him; to talk with a person i Is to speak and listen alternately—to carry on a conversation; to talk of | or about a person Is to say things con cerning him; to talk at a person is ! to address words to another or others for the purpose of having them heard by the one for whom they are meant Patronize The Monitor advertisers. iM'Mimiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiij USE Sultox I 1 A KAFFIR PRODUCT 1 Tniiiiiininiiniiiiiiiininnmiinnniiiiiif OMAHA OFFICE I! Telephone Douglas 7841 { \ Office Honrs 2 to 4 P. M. SO. 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