The Monitor
A Weekly Newspaper Devoted to the Interests of the Eight Thousand Colored People
in Omaha and Vicinity, and to the Good of the Community
The Rev. JOHN ALBERT WILLIAMS, Editor
$1.00 a Year. 5c a Copy. Omaha, Nebraska, October 23, 1915 Volume I. Number 17
French Leader Honors
Negro For Heroic Ad
Carried Treasure 8afe on Back Three
Days Behind German
Lines.
SAVES FIFTY THOUSAND FRANCS
Escapes From Foe—First of Turkos
Receiving Legion of
Honor.
Paris, Oct. 10.—(Correspondence of
the Associated Press)—The first and
only trooper of the Turkos, or French
black troops from Senegal and Al
geria, to receive the Legion of Honor
from the French government is a
thick-set, coal-black, middle-aged in
fantryman who went through one of
the queer experiences of the war.
While operations were active at the
front a short time ago, it was deter
mined to fall back from a given point,
and this Turko was given the small
steel safe containing 50,000 francs in
government funds to carry back to
the new position.
He was given a donkey and started
off with the safe and treasure. Sud
denly, however, all the plans of re
moval were interrupted by a German
raid, whicn swept the Turkos and all
other troops, with their horses and
supplies, into the utmost confusion.
Many were killed and the whole force
was badly scattered. It was taken
for granted that the Turko with the
safe and treasure was certainly lost,
as even those not burdened with
heavy loads had been swept away in
the impetuous raid.
Some days later the French out
posts were astonished to have the
Turko, with the safe on his back,
trudge into camp. His donkey had
been killed, and for three days he had
been inside the German lines carry
ing a steel safe on his back. He never
let go of the safe. When the Turko
lines were swept into confusion by the
machine gun fire, he first lost his
donkey and then with his safe crept
under some bushes. The German lines
rushed past his hiding place and he
was left behind the German lines.
He kept concealed during the day
' and at night, with the safe on his
back, picked his way forward through
the German rear guard to some new
hiding place. This was kept up until
at last he trudged into the French
camp and laid down the safe and
treasure before the astonished French
colonel.
They gave him the Legion of Honor,
and the whole regiment was drawn up
as he received it from the representa
tive of the government, who gave the
acolade, or kiss of honor, on his coal
black face. *
“I never deceive my wife." "You
deserve credit for that.” “No, the
credit belongs to her.” “How so?”
“I’m unable to spin a yarn she can’t
see through.”—Birmingham Age-Her
ald-1
Think On These Things
“THE THING THAT GOES THE FARTHEST
TOWARDS MAKING LIFE WORTH WHILE,
THAT COSTS THE LEAST AND DOES THE MOST,
IS JUST A PLEASANT SMILE.”
THE REV. WILLIAM TATE OSBORNE, M. A.
Pastor St. John’s A. M. E. Church.
Atlanta Policeman Shoots
A Ten-Year-Old Boy
Atlanta, Ga., Oct. 22.—The wanton
carelessness and brutality of the aver
age Atlanta policeman is strikingly
shown in the act of Mounted Officer
C. H. Brannan, who, on Wednesday
afternoon, October 6, shot Edward
Shepard, a little 10-year-old Negro boy,
who was carrying lunch to his brother,
who works in Block’s candy factory.
The policeman had absolutely no
case against the boy, who, with a com
panion, was passing near the junction
of the A. B. & A. railroad and West
Hunter street, with a loaf of bread
wrapped up under his arm. Officer
Brannan reported that he saw the two
Negro boys with bundles and com
manded them to halt. They did not
halt and the policeman fired, as he
claims, to scare the boy, expecting
the bullet to strike a stone wall near
by. Instead, the bullet struck the boy
in the back, passing entirely through
the body.
Brannan took the boy to the corner
of Magnolia and Mangum streets and
called a Grady hospital ambulance.
Shepard was taken to the Grady hos
pital and is in a critical condition. It
is not expected that he will live.
Brannon, of course, continues on
duty, ready to shoot down some more
infant Negroes.
"If I could get some one to invest
a thousand dollars in that scheme of
mine, I could make some money.”
"How much could you make?”
"Why, a thousand dollars.”
Special Pullman For
Three Colored Students
Atlanta, Ga., Oct. 22—Because a
white man, coming from Louisville,
Ky., objected to the presence of three
young colored people in the Pullman
ear, the Louisville & Nashville rail
road put on a special sleeper for the
accommodation of three young col
ored students, from Louisville to At
lanta, Tuesday, October 5.
Miss Louise Matthews, daughter of
Prof. W. B. Matthews, principal of
Central high school; Miss Willie Mo
see, daughter of Revenue Agent Wil
liam Mosee, and Rufus McKinney, all
of Louisville, were en route to this
city to enter Atlanta university. Their
railroad tickets had been purchased
and Pullman accommodations secured,
but when they entered the Pullman
car at the L. & N. union station,
Tenth and Broadway, Louisville, a
Georgia -cracker on his way back
home entered an objection to riding in
the same car with the three young
folks.
After a delay of thirty minutes, an
other sleeper was put on, and the
young students were invited into it.
As interstate passengers, they were
entitled to the service, but the preju
diced attitude of the Georgia cracker
made it cost the railroad more than
$100. They were accorded every cour
tesy by the train and Pullman officials.
Perfection consists not in doing ex
traordinary things, but in doing ordi
nary things extraordinarily well.
“The Star of Ethiopia”
A Striking Pageant
History of the Negro Race, Depicted
in Five Symbolic Scenes, Wins
Hearty Applause.
PROF. DU BOIS THE AUTHOR
Spectacle, Presented Under Auspices
of Horizon Guild of New York,
an Inspiration to the Race.
Washington, D. C., Oct. 22.—Begin
ning with the prehistoric ages and
ending with a prophecy of a future of
happiness, peace, progress and pros
perity, “The Star of Ethiopia,” pre
sented at the American League ball
park, under the auspices of the Hor
izon Guild of New York, held the at
tention of several thousand persons
at each performance. With symbolic
music and dances, and a brilliant dis
play of costumes, the history of the
Negro race was presented in such
manner as to bring forth frequent and
hearty applause.
Large searchlights were used to il
luminate the actors and actresses. The
size of the ball field enabled them to
move about with a freedom which
added greatly to the realism of the
pageant. Even with the large size of
the erstwhile stage taken into consid
eration, the 1,000 or more participants
were sufficient to give a vivid impres
sion of savage hordes swarming into
Egypt, or of the Union armies sweep
ing into the South and liberating the
slaves.
The First Scene.
Five scenes are used to depict the
history of the Negro race. In the first
the discovery of how to weld iron is
the principal feature. Here the abo
rigines take their first progressive
step, through learning the use of the
wonderful metal.
In the second scene the more primi
tive men are seen mixing with the
mulattoes of Egypt. Rushing out of
the wilderness with their spears,
ready to slay, the warriors are halted,
apparently through the civilizaticpi
which greets their eyes. They ex
change greetings with the Egyptians,
and the result is an intermarriage of
the races. Here the “Star of Ethiopia”
is shining brightly.
This is followed, in the third scene,
by the culmination of the African civ
ilization in the years between 200 A.
D. and 1500 A. D.- Here the champions
of diverse religions battling for su
premacy weaken the entire race, the
weaker party of worshipers being sold
into slavery.
The Liberation of the Slaves.
Next is shown slavery in America.
Under the lash of the slave overseer
the men and women are seen at work
until they are liberated through the
civil war.
In the final scene the colored people
are seen gathering the fruits of free
dom. They are shown in various ac
tivities, largely of a recreative nature.
Even here the ghosts of slavery con
(Continued on third page)