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 _
$1.50 a Year. 5c a Copy. Omaha, Nebraska, April 1, 1916_Volume I. Number 40
Colored Cadets Who
Attended We& Point
Twelve Young Men of Race Have Been
Students in Famous National
Military Academy
THREE RECEIVE COMMISSIONS
Flipper, Alexander and Young Gradu
ated. No Colored Cadet Ad
mitted in Last Thirty Years.
Washington, D. C., March 31.—In
response to an iiquiry forwarded by
J. Henry Lewis, 458 American Bank
Building, the Adjutant General of the
United States Army has given um
following information concerning the
Negroes who have been nominated to
the West Point Military Academy at
various times, with data as to when
thpy entered and when they left the
Military Academy, and the manner
thereof:
The information given shows that
three men, Henry 0. Flipper, of Geor
gia; John H. Alexander, of Ohio, and
Charles Young, of Ohio, were the only
ones to graduate, though twelve were
admitted in the years from 1870 to
1886. Young is the only Negro West
Point graduate now in the army, he
having attained the rank of major,
commanding the second battalion of
the 10th cavalry, now on duty trying
to capture Villa in Mexico. The letter
from the adjutant general to Mr.
Lewis is as follows:
The following sets forth the names
of all Negroes who have been admit
ted to the United States Military
Academy at West Point, together with
additional data showing the year in
which each man was admitted and tne
manner and year each left the Acad
emy:
No. 1. James W. Smith, South Car
olina, admitted, 1870; discharged 1874.
No. 2. Henry A. Naplier, Tennes
see, admitted, 1871; discharged 1872.
No. 3. Thomas Van It. Gibbs, Flor
ida, admitted, 1872; discharged 1873.
No. 4. HENRY 0. FLIPPER, Geor
gia, admitted, 1873; graduated 1877.
No. 5. John W. Williams, Virginia,
admitted, 1874: discharged 1875.
No. 6. Johnson C. Whittaker, South
Carolina, admitted, 1876; discharged
1882.
No. 7. Charles A Minnie, New
York, admitted, 1877; discharged 1878.
No. 8. JOHN H. ALEXANDER,
Ohio, admitted, 1884; graduated 1889.
No. 9. CHARLES YOUNG, Ohio,
admitted, 1884; graduated 1889.
No. 10. William T. Andrews, South
Carolina, admitted, 1885; discharged
1886.
No. 11. William A. Hare, Ohio, ad
mitted, 1885; discharged 1889.
No. 12. Henry W. Holloway, South
Carolina, admitted, 1886; discharged
1886.
The official records also show that
(Continued on elslith pase) i
Something to Make You Think
BY WAY OF RETALIATION
HATS OFF TO THE ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH. It fought a noble
though losing fight at St. Louis against the damnable segregation ordinances.
The Negroes of that city should rally to its standard in the future and taboo
all the other daily papers who raised a voice against them in their great battle
for justice in the election held there. As a token of appreciation this great
defender of the true Amrican principles of freedom should be welcomed into
every Colored home in the entire city, and all of those who aided the denation
alization of the race should be openly excluded. Unity of action in carrying
out this program would entail a loss of many thousands of dollars annually
to each of the papers who took a stand for segregation. Their advertising
value would be equally reduced in proportion to the losses sustained in their
circulation. The damage would not stop here. The income from 18,000 or
20,000 Colored readers would Aggregate an item any daily would give much
to avoid. This is the kind of organization the Negroes of St. Louis will find to
be the most effective in the final summing up of accounts.
A campaign of careful investigation should be instituted at once of how
every tradesman who has hitherto enjoyed a liberal Negro patronage voted
on the segregation ordinances. Several “gum-shoe” committees should be put
out on this work as soon as possible—the sooner the better. Printed lists of
all such persons who took an active part against the cause of the race should
be handled through the various ward headquarters and mailed directly to the
home of every Negro voter listed on the poll-books with full information as
to the stand of the individual on the segregation question. This is a practical
method of retaliation, and easy of accomplishment. If it is carried out the
merchants in the heavily populated Negro districts of the city will be made
to rue, most bitterly, their part in bringing about this unlawful humiliation.
The silent contemplation of the wreck they have made of their commercial
future will make them secretly curse the man or set of men wro originally
fostered the plan of forcing these ordinances upon the people. This sort of
thing would show the “double-crossers” that there is absolutely a new Negro
to deal with, now-a-days, who refuses to “turn the other cheek” to the cow
ardly blows of American prejudice.—The Indianapolis Ledger.
“THAT MAN OWNES HIS HOME. ’
(Editorial in Indianapolis Ledger.)
THE OTHER DAY ONE OF THE GREAT DAILY PAPERS carried a
full page illustration of two men holding a conversation, and one was pointing
to a third man passing, a man with a confident, determined, successful aii
about him, and the man pointing said: "That Man Owns His Home.”
This was not an advertising proposition. It was simply a new idea of a
great daily paper to impress on the minds of its readers, the importance, the
satisfaction, the inspiration of being the possessor of at least one piece of
real estate.
This is the season of the year when the mind turns to home changes, and
the man who has always paid rent, and has nothing but a bunch of receipts
to show for it, ought to sit down and ask himself: “Why continue to pay
tribute to Caeasr?”
There is one commendable thing about the earnest people or our race:
They are investing in real estate more and more each year. Real estate dis
criminations, segregation ordinances, and the like, are serving only to make
them more determined to become a freeholder, a real possessor of a small
piece of terra firma, and the home privileges that possession permits.
it is a very inspiring and encouraging sight in traveling from city to
city, and from town to town, for that matter, and have some well informed
inhabitant of that community accompany you about, and point out place auer
place, ami tell you: “This is owned by Mr. Johnson, one of our highly
esteemed citizens.” Nothing about the places has the traditional car
marks of "Colored.” In external appearance, the most exclusive son of
Caucasian blood could justly criticize the arrangement and design.
Go within, and from attic to basement, you will find cleanliness, taste,
beauty, comfort, and in not a few instances, real luxury. These places, these
homes, are the real beacon lights of racial progress. They are increasing
from year to vear, as the younger men and women fit themselves for tho
business life and the professions, as the laborer learns the secret of saving;
end now is the time, this spring time, to think where you stand in this analysis
of progress, and if you are not “up in the running” get busy and act.
Let it be said of you soon, if not now:
“THAT MAN OWNS HIS HOME.”
From Fair Nebraska
to Sunny Tennessee
Incidents of the Trip and Impressions
Received by Editor on First Visit
to the Southland.
STRANGE INCONSISTENCIES.
A Colored Servant in Attendance Upon
a White Person Given Admission
Where Otherwise Denied.
—
I said that the provisions made for
the separation of the races impressed
an outsider as being strangely incon
sistent. For example: a Colored serv
ant, in attendance upon a white per
son, is given entre to public places
whereas if the same person, but in an
independent capacity, should attempt
to enter the same place to which he
was before admitted as the attendant
upon a white person, admission would
be emphatically and peremptorily de
nied him or her.
I was told of the following cases
which illustrate this point.
Race Given Work.
A prominent clergyman of Memphis
has a Colored nurse girl; and by the
way, the Colored people have an al
most exclusive monopoly of domestic
work in the South. Not only is this
true, but you see Colored men doing
the work that generally falls to white
men in Northern and Western cities.
Whatever else may be said about the
South, it is only fair to state that the
people of the South give our race the
opportunity to work, in many, many
lines of employment from which they
are excluded in the North.
An Explanation.
I commented on this and one of my .
facetious friends said: “You know the
reason for that, don’t you?”
“It's because they are good work
men,” I ventured.
“Not only that,” he replied, “but
you know the Southern white man has
what they call the ‘hook worm,’ a
euphuism for laziness, which incapaci
tates him for work, and as the Negro
just loves to work, and somebody must
do it, why, our white friends just let
us do it. That’s why.”
As my friend lives there and knows
conditions, or ought to know them, it
may be the part of wisdom to accept
his explanation.
Be that as it may, I was immensely
pleased to see the work our people are
doing; and I was told that the wages
received are reasonably good. You
may not know that I have just enough
socialistic symptoms to believe that
the average wages paid anywhere are
seldom as large as they should be; but
as wages go, I was told that Colored
labor in Memphis receives good wages,
and what pleased me more was to
learn that the people are putting their
wages to good use.
“Nursie” Goes to Movies.
But to return to the aforesaid cler
CContinued on eighth page)