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 8, 1916 Volume I. Number 41 Villa Is An American Negro Claim of Texan George Bond Alleges That The Hunted Mexican Was Bom in Baltimore, Maryland. FRANCESO’S FATHER MULATTO Married Woman of Spanish and Mex ican Blond Who Took Her Son to Mexico. Baltimore, Md.—Various reports from time to time have declared tnat Villa, the leader of the Mexican revo lutionary forces, for whose capture the United States army has invaded Mexico, is an American Negro. The Age carried a report some months ago that he was a former member of the 10th U. S. Cavalry. It has been stated by the Rev. Alfred Young, pas tor of the Eastern M. E. Church, that he believed Villa to be a long-lost brother. The Baltimore American, in its is sue of March 25, carried the follow ing story which was given to its correspondent at Carlisle, Pa., by George Bond, a native Texan, who de clares that Villa is the son of a wo man of Spanish and Mexican blood, who married a Negro in Baltimore. A new light is thrown on the per sonality of Francesco (Pancho) Villa by George Bond, a native Texan, pass ing through Carlisle. Bond is known throughout the Southwest among cat tlemen as Buck Bond. He declares that he has known the Mexican revo lutionary leader practically all of his life, having worked for five years be tween 1903 and 1908 with Villa as a fellow-employee and intimate on u ranch a few miles outside of the city of Chihuahua, Mexico. Bond says that notwithstanding re ports to the contrary, that he knows that Francesco Villa was born in Baltimore, Md. As a child Bond knew Villa’s mother, who was of Mex ican and Spanish blood, and who was married to a mulatto in Baltimore, from which city she took Francesco to the southwestern border when the latter was 12 years old. He heard her speak many times of bringing the bandit chief from Baltimore. Working in close contact with Villa later he often heard him refer to boyhood ex periences associated with localities in and around Baltimore. Bond repudiates the thought that Villa is a bad man by nature and says that although he was by no means in tellectual, during their acquaintance he showed a distinct capacity for handling men, an admirable tact in acquiring language and dialects and was always selfrestrained. Bond thinks the United States government should know that Villa can raise an armed force of somewhere around 80,000 men if pushed to the limit. He believes and frankly states that Car ranza's subordinates are responsible for most of the attacks against Amer icans of late in Mexico. 1 Use the Monitor to Reach the Colored People of Nebraska, j THE Z. C. TRACK TEAM Winners of the Church Quarter Mile Relay Race at the Auditorium, Friday Evening, March 31, 1916. Bishop Johnson Tells of Africa and People The Rt. Rev. J. Albert Johnson, D. D., the eloquent and scholarly Metho dist bishop who for eight years has had charge of the work of that church n South Africa, deilvered a most in teresting and instructive lecture on ‘Africa and Her People” in St. John's A. M. E. church last Thursday night before a large and appreciating audi >nce. The lecture was to have been illustrated with stereopticon views, but the lantern which had been se ured did not work satisfactorily, and o the pictures could not be shown; but the simple and graphic language >f Bishop Johnson enabled the audi ence to make mental pictures of the people and scenes which he described. The people of South Africa are classified as Europeans, which in dude all white people from whatever and they may come; Colored people vho are those of mixed blood result ng from intermarriage of whites with he natives; and the natives. The lat er are divided into various tribes, differentiated by language, customs, ohysique and mental capacity. The anguages of the Africans are n6t mere tribal dialects, but distinct highly inflected languages, submit ting to grammatical constructions and principles just like Latin, English, French or German. The highest types of the Africans ire represented by the Basutos and Zulus; the lowest by the Hottentots md Bushmen. The former are men >f fine physique, and marked mental ibility; the latter are small of stature, 1 ilmost dwarfs, and of lower men ality. The Basutos have never been I conquered. The Zulus, too, are a brave people, with a high sense of honor which also characterizes all the higher types of Africans. The native Africans, despite the fact that it is customary for them to be scantilly clad, generally in very little more than their birthday suit, are a modest and chaste people. Un chastity among their women is pun ishable by death, and a man who vio lates or dishonors a woman is given short shrift. “The work of the Methodist church among these people is largely educa tional,” said the bishop, “because while they are a deeply religious peo ple, they must be reached through the intellect and not the emotions. They pay most respectful attention to what is said, without showing the slightest emotion, no matter how vociferously one may preach. After the speaker has gone they begin dis cussing among themselves what he has said. If the truth appeals to them they accept and remain loyal and true Christians. They have no need of periodical revivals or mis sions to stir them up to do their duty.” The lecture was under the auspices of the Grant Brotherhood. ONE MORE ISSUE, APRIL 15TH Before Primaries. This Issue Will Go to Every Registered Colored Votes In Douglas County and to Many in the State. Candidates Will it be any Advantage to You to Get Y’our Name Before 2,000 Voters? From Fair Nebraska to Sunny Tennessee Incidents of the Trip and Impressions Received by Editor on First Visit to the Southland. SOME OTHER QUEER IDEAS. Black and White Have One Entrance to Street Cars, But Leave by Separate Exits. Several readers have been kind enough to say that they anxiously look for The Monitor from week to week because they enjoy reading the articles on our trip to Memphis. We are glad that what we have written has proven of interest and given pleasure and perhaps not a little in struction. As a matter of fact, we don’t believe we have gotten to the most interesting part yet, because we have said practically nothing about Memphis itself or the delight ful people it was our pleasure to meet, or of the homes, schools, the churches and business establish ments which we visited or saw. So you see there is lots to come. Should Be Off the Front Page. It is customary, you know, in news papers after one subject has been run for one or two issues to retire it from the position of a front page at traction. By this time we should be off the front page and giving place to some more live topic like Villa, who is the leading current event. Do you get that? He is leading our “boys in blue”—no, that’s wrong, now, for they are in khaki—quite a chase, and that he is current cannot be denied, for all the reports we re :eive say he is still running and run ning rapidly. We still hold the front oage, but can at any time gracefully retire to an iner or back page. Let us get through with what we iave called strange inconsistencies in the observance of queer social cus toms. About Street Cars. The street cars have no partitions separating the races. All passen gers enter by the one door. Sugges tive isn’t it ? All men, whatever their race or tongue, must enter into life through the one gateway of human birth, and all must pass through the one gate of death. But this aside. All passengers enter the Memphis street cars, or all those we saw, by the same entrance. The front end of the car carries this notice: “This end for white people.” The back end bears the sign: “This end for Colored people.” The Colored people must begin at the back and fill up—the seats, of course; what else could you think we meant? Because Memphis is sup posed to be a “dry” town—we beg your pardon, city? The white people must begin at the front end and fill up—the seats of course—from the front towards the back. Each race (Continued on eighth page)