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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Monitor
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PRINTING CO
522-24 South Thirteenth St.
Telephone Douglas 2190
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