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About The monitor. (Omaha, Neb.) 1915-1928 | View Entire Issue (July 3, 1915)
Letters from Our Readers Communications for this column must be brief and always signed. Supreme Court Decision. To the Editor of the Monitor: The recent decision of the United States Supreme Court declaring null and void the so-called “grandfather” clauses added to the constitutions of the States of Oklahoma and Maryland lias caused ten millions of Negroes to havel a greater feeling of security and protection in this wonderful govern ment under which we live and of which we are a vital and integral part. In the first reading of this memor able decision, resultant gratefulness and happiness, arouses our enthusiasm to such a high pitch that we feel like wiring our grateful appreciation to those nine men in Washington who, true to the great and sacred trust plac ed upon them, placed the majesty 01 the law above human prejudices and customs, and decided that those war amendments written into our Consti tution after a bitter and bloody si rug gle, were not placed there in fun and play, but were the deliberate judg ments of the best brains of American manhood, and are not to lie lightly observed, but must be rigidly and strenuously enforced. Hut what a travesty upon the moral atmosphere of a country when men must be commended for doing a duty! We do not praise a man for caring for his family; that is liis bounden duty and he is supposed to do so. We commend men for performing the un usual feats of life; feats wherein one uses his personal or moral safety in an effort to aid and protect his fcllov man. Hence, after this maturer view we do not wire Washington but at once enter the field of speculation and wonder what it all portends. While we can see naught hut good m the knocking out of these pernic ious Jim Crow laws of said Southern States, we are not unmindful that mandates of our higher courts where in the rights of Negroes are upheld, and expounded, are not always ob served in spirit and in deed. Synchronous with the advent! into the political world of that self important group of men, now defunct, known as tin- Progressive party, every fad and whim that weak and jingoistic minds could fathom, were heralded be fore the American people!, and unfor tunately some of them were enacted into law. This condition soon brought about a feeling of contempt and dis regard for conservative and lawful methods, and, 1 might add, even sam ideas, and seemingly each man lie came a law unto himself, a judge of j his own deeds and even the acts of his fellow man. This feeling of appar ent disregard for lawful procedure and lawful methods is something which still finds lodgment in the bnasts of many Americans and it is this factor which Negroes should now reckon with and prepare to fight. In do, i, no right-thinking Negro believes this recent d< cision of our Supremp Court will be a panacea for all the ills we suffer in our attempt to secure the universal suffrage to which we are rightly entitled. It is to congress and a higher-mind ed executive to which we must now look for a strict enforcement of this decision. We cannot he too careful in our support of the members of our next national congress; and our presi dent, for in the writer’s view much, if not all depends upon their attitude' and their acts. We know the South ern man too well to believe that he will submit in humbleness to this man date. In any event the first great difficulty has been successfully surmounted and we look with great, hopefulness to a bright future, where all men will join the vast vanguard of humanitarians and the brotherhood of man and the fellowship of God will reign supreme throughout the land. W. W. PEEBLES. FRIENDS. Short, simple word, isn’t it? And yet it means so much. Look back in to the days of your childhood. Run over the list of your classmates in the old fashioned school house where there was not much formality at re cess, but a whole lot of genuine friend ship. Has it been lasting? Few of us know. Most of us grew up and drifted away. Only the memory is left, and we wonder whether or not we are even thought of by those who at one stage of our existence we felt sure were so near and dear that separation from them would be almost intolerable. Hoys, girls, relatives and parents. All, to us, were the salt of the earth. Per haps there is the same affection in hu man beings in the city that there is in a country town, but I doubt it. At least the community friendship is not so apparent. And in the smaller towns disapproval and gossip is given in a whisper, while in a city it is not only reeled off on the public- highway but ballyragged in the public press. But summing up life as a whole, you have but few- real friends. That’s why <hoy should be nursed and cher ished, for once lost, the charm is broken and can never be cemented again except upon the surface. Human beings are so prone to knock. Nine people out of ten carry a hammer, and in many Instances use it thoughtlessly and without intent to injure. But the bruise shows just lhe. same. Many a silent heartache is caused by a slip of the tongue. Hu manity is deceitful. We pretend a whole lot of things that are not real. We put on a bold front and attempt to make the world believe that cer tain discourtesies are overlooked. But down in your heart there is a punc ture that is bleeding. You inwardly breed a feeling for revenge. But if you are big and broad, you pa-ss it by in the hope that you can forget it The hottest corner of hell would be none too W'aim for the scandal monger. The biggest hypocrites in the world frequently pass as saints. They af filiate with some crowd that pretends o have high ideals, get favorable mention in the press and proceed to •;orve the devil in the garb of a Chris tian. But they will get theirs just after the undertaker gets his. But YOUR FRIEND is the biggest asset you have. Cling to him or her. Let nothing occur to kill the germ A friend is the person who will come to your rescue, right or wrong, and w ithout hope of reward. A friend is the person who will not listen to a slobber-mouth denounce you behind your back. A friend is never jealous of you. A friend thinks of you oc casionally. A friend boosts you and your business. A friend is there with consolation in your hour of sorrow or reverses. A friend sincerely hopes you will succeed. A friend remains loyal under all circumstances. Some one has truthfully said that a friend is a person who knows all about you and loves you still. Scarce articles, aren’t they? And yet nearly every body has a few. I extend greetings to ail of mine, and sincerely wish for them all the good things this world affords, including health and happi ness.—Tanner’s Magazine. 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