The Monitor
A Weekly Newspaper devoted to the civic, social and religious
interests of the Colored People of Omaha and vicinity, with the desire
to contribute something to the general good and upbuilding of the
• . community.
Published Every Saturday.
—-—--—
Entered as Second-Class Mail Matter July 2, 1915, at the Post
office at Omaha, Neb., under the act of March 3, 1879.
THE REV. JOHN ALBERT WILLIAMS, Editor and Publisher.
Lucille Skaggs Edwards, William Garnett Haynes and Ellsworth W.
'■ Pryor, Associate Editors.
Joseph LaCour, Jr., Advertising and Circulation Manager.
SUBSCRIPTION RATES, $1.00 per year.
Advertising rates, 50 cents an inch per issue.
, Address, The Monitor, 1119 North Twenty-first street, Omaha.
The Reason for Our Opposition.
Many cannot understand the oppo
sition of colored Americans to “The
Birth of a Nation.” That they are
tremendously aroused over it must be
apparent to the most superficial ob
server. Why is this? There must be
some reason for it. What is it ?
j Here is the answer. The south,
speaking broadly, has two distinct
parties, differing radically in their
attitude toward and treatment of the
Negro race. One is the party of prog
ress, desirous of helping the Negro
make the most of himself; the other
j,s, the reactionary party, composed
Chiefly, not of descendants of the
kindly old gentle folks, but of the
poor whites, or “white trash” as they
are contemptously called, who are
Unequivocally and uncompromisingly
bnemiefe of Negro progress, and ad- i
vbcate repressive measures, curtail
ment of educational privileges, dis
franchisement and the repeal of the
fourteenth and fifteenth amendments,
they seem to be obsessed with hat
red toward the Negro.
' To this party Dixon belongs. He
js the incarnation of this spirit of
hatred. He is its mouthpiece. He,
With others of his ilk, have under
taken a propaganda which has as its
object the engendering of a hatred
toward the Negro in the United
States which, if he could have his
jway, would result in the colored
Americans’ forced expatriation or his
Annihilation.
, Not only does he hate the Negro,
hut he hates the north and the
Union. He has used his literary
gifts not only to vilify the Negro,
,but to' besmirch, by subtle inuendo,
the m6n who wore the blue and
paved the Union, and to glorify
’those who sought to destroy it. “The
Ueopard’s Spots” and “The Clans
jnan” were the first vehicles of his
propaganda of dual hatred. Then
came the development of the moving
picture. He took unto himself a crea
ture, like unto himself, in the per
son of D. W. Griffith, and the scenic
piarvel, “The Birth of a Nation,”
Which, if it had not been prostituted
to the fostering of race prejudice,
Would bp a tremendous agency for
A'ood, came into being as a powerful
instrumentality for this propaganda
of race hatred, which has as its ob
ject the engendering of the same
spirit in the north as is found in the
south among that class of which Dix
on is the type and literary exponent.
The motive back of the production,
hs expressed by Dixon himself, and
the danger to the welfare of our
common country, which involves not
only black Americans—against whom
it is chiefly aimed—but white Amer
icans as well; because the insidious
and subtle poison of the drama is
hidden in scenic beauty; the adroit
ness and skill with which dramatic
scenes are arranged to stir the angry
passions of men; and the types se
lected to represent the people to be
vilified and discredited explains the
reason for our opposition and indig
nation.
As to the motive and purpose of
this “photoplay” we have only to
quote the admissions of Mr. Dixon
himself. In the sworn statement of
Rolfe Cobleigh, associate editor of
The Congregationalist and Christian
World, published at 14 Beacon street,
Boston, made before George R.
Brackett, notary public, May, 26,
1916, he says:
“I asked Mr. Dixon what his real
purpose was in having ‘The Birth
of a Nation’ produced; what he hoped
to accomplish by it. He said that
one purpose in his play was TO
CREATE A FEELING OF ABHOR
RENCE IN WHITE PEOPLE,
ESPECIALLY IN WHITE WOMEN
AGAINST COLORED MEN. * *
* * HE WISHED TO HAVE ALL
NEGROES REMOVED FROM THE
UNITED STATES AND THAT HE
HOPED TO HELP IN THE ACCOM
PLISHMENT OF THAT PURPOSE
BY ‘The Birth of a Nation.’ ”
We cannot refrain from observing
that Dixon does not pay a very high
compliment to the noble women of
his race when he implies, as his words!
would indicate, that colored men are
so attractive to them that they must
be taught abhorrence of them. But
doubtless he is too stupid to see the
reflection in his words, as he is to
perceive that his desire to “have all
Negroes removed from the United
States” is impracticable. But he
leaves no doubt as to what his pur
pose is in “The Birth of a Nation,”
and that is to arouse and propagate
race hatred; “TO CREATE A FEEL
ING OF ABHORRENCE IN WHITE
PEOPLE, AND ESPECIALLY
WHITE WOMEN, AGAINST COL
ORED MEN;” to make that hatred
and abhorrence so deep, if you
please, that its prenatal influence
is to engender hatred of white
against black. Suppose this diaboli
cal purpose succeeds, and the influ
ence of this propaganda is being felt,
what of America’s future?
-1
Sodus, Mich., Nov. 9, 1915.
Dear Father Williams:
I have been receiving The Monitor
and have read it carefully and found
t very interesting indeed. Enclosed
find $1 for one year’s subscription
or the paper.
Respectfully yours,
MISS BEULAH WASHINGTON.
Fremont, Neb., Nov. 9, 1915.
Dear Father Williams:
I enclose $1 in payment of sub
scription for the paper.
With best wishes,
Very faithfully,
VIOLA BRANNAN.
A CLASS INHUMANLY CRIMINAL
“The artificial character of the
whole show does not always occur to
young people or older people who see
such exhibitions. The result, or at
least the effect of the show, is sub
stantially to make out that the Ne
groes were then, and are now, a class
so inhumanly criminal that some
thing violent ought to be done to
them; they ought to be dealt with
in some new fashion. I protest
against that as I would protest
against any similar attempt to vilify
the Irish or the Germans, or the
Slavs, or the Scandinavians, or any
other race that rests within the
United States.”
From stenographic report of ad
dress by A. Bushnell Hart, professor
of history, Harvard university, be
fore the New England Asosciation
of Teachers of English at Huntington
hall, Boston, Mass., May 7, 1915, and
published in Vol. XI, No. 128 of the
English Leaflet.
“I have expressed my disapproval
of “The Birth of a Nation,” follow
ing each view of it on the grounds
of falsifying history in a riot of emo
tions glorifying crime, especially
lynching, immorality, inviting preju
dice against the Negro race, falsely
representing the character of colored
Americans and teaching the undemo
cratic and unchristian doctrine that
all colored people should be removed
from the United States. I especially
disapprove the play because Mr. Dix
on frankly explained that his pur
pose in the play was to promote a
propoganda with the desire to accom
plish the results that I have stated.”
ROLFE COBLEIGH,
Associate Editor The Congregation
alist and Christian World.
“It is a grave and intolerable in
sult to the Negro race.”
RABBI STEPHEN S. WISE,
New York City.
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«■■■■—Mliil'l III
Something About
Government Ownership
No. 6
Considerable has been
said about government
ownership of telephones—
about its efficiency and
low cost of service.
Every government own
ed telephone system con
siders the Bell
System as a stand
ard, uses the Bell
operating methods
and either uses
Bell apparatus or
copies it.
Yet there is not anoth
er system in the world
that gives an approxima
tion to the facilities that
the Bell System gives, or
gives as good or as cheap
service on the same basis
of accounting, franchise
conditions and wages
paid.
The reason is that
there is no such a thing
as economical gov
ernment adminis
tration; that low -
cost of govern
m e n t operated
utilities is, as a
rule, due to lack of qual
ity, or to the fact that de
ficits of operation are '
being supplied out of the1.?
public treasury. :t
Bell Telephone Service Has Set the
Standard for the Rest of the World.
NEBRASKA TELEPHONE COMPANY