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 WIH.^soc^ 1itor
--
$1.50 a Year. 5c a Copy. Omaha, Nebi lO, 1916 Volume I. Number 50
From Fair Nebraska
to Sunny Tennessee
Incidents of the Trip and Impressions
Received by Editor on First Visit
to Southland.
GROWTH OF SILVENT SAVINGS
Shows Confidence in Promoters and
Management. Something About
Its Officers and Employes.
The Solvent Savings and Trust
Company is just about ten years old.
It opened for business, as we have al
erady said. June 18, 1906. It goes
without saying that such a venture
as this took a great deal of faith and
courage of a high order. Not only
did it call for faith and courage upon
the part of the founders and promot
ers of the bank but also upon the part
of the depositors.
People Cautious of Small Hanks.
The people with ability to make
large deposits would, very naturally,
be exceedingly cautious about placing
them in young and untried institutions
officered and operated by men of lim
ited banking experience. They would
prefer to entrust, and ordinary
business prudence would dictate
that they should, entrust their
money to older, stronger and
proven substantial and well-es
tablished banking institutions. Busi
ness prudence would suggest this even
though it might be shown that large
and heavily capitalized banks some
times fail from various causes.
Then, too, people with small sav
ings would also naturally be anxious
to place them where they had reason
to believe they would be safest. Or
dinarily, of course, that would be in
the larger and older banks or trust
companies. Then there is always a
large class, among all people, who
must be taught how and encouraged
to save and whose confidence in sav
ings banks is to be won. These facts,
we take it, confront any financial in
stitution like a bank.
Race Hank Handicapped.
A bank founded and run by Colored
Americans, whose business and com
mercial life is necessarily in its in
fancy, starts off under a tremendous
handicap. Can you not see that it
does? And do you not also see that
it takes faith and courage and con
fidence in one’s self and one’s people
to launch a business enterprise of
this kind ? When you think about
this the full significance of banks
as factors in our racial evolu
tion will become increasingly more ap
parent. It takes sublime faith and
couarge to start and successfully
conduct a bank depending upon the
patronage of our people.
Solvent Justifies Faith of Founders.
That the deposits of the Solvent
Savings Bank and Trust Company
have in ten years risen well up toward
the $200,000.00 mark, is, of itself, an
eloquent tribute to the men who are
■ v - i?:.. y .>-' ..i.:.,-.^-«<m*,:.- _^221
SJX OF THE CONTESTANTS FOR FREE TRIP TO CHICAGO, DENVER OR ST. LOUIS FOR THE BENE
FIT OF NEGRO WOMEN’S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION
From left to right: Miss Pearl Ray, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Ray, of 2865 Miami St., quite a
Sunday School worker and one of the leading soprano singers of St. John’s A. M. E. choir. Miss Ruth Jeltz,
daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John Jeltz,an accomplished pianist, and a maid at Burgess-Nash in the drapery de
partment. Frances Shaw, granddaughter of Mr. and Mrs. Warren Brooks, seamstress at Lord Lister Hospital.
Olga Henderson, daughter of Mrs. Susie Henderson. Her father was the first Negro fire captain of Omaha.
Ozelia Dunning, granddaughter of Martha Jackson, freshman of Central H gh School, listed on the honor roll
with 3 A’s. Oletha Russell, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Clarence Russell, st nographer for Western Realty Co.
The three other contestants do not appear in this picture. They are Maddaine Roberts, daughter of Mr. and
Mrs. H. R. Roberts, a junior in Central High, and one of the soprano singers in St. Philip’s choir. Blanche Lawson,
daughter of Mr. and Mrs. William Lawson, a graduate of Central High, Hazel Hall, sophomore of Central High.
I
back of it. It shows that their faith
and courage have been justified. It
shows that they have won and kept
the confidence of the people. And
what is true of this bank is also true
of its competitor, the Fraternal Sav
ings and Trust Company, which is lo
cated at 358 Beale avenue, and of
which we hope to tell you in a later
article.
The Officers and Employes
We wish we might introduce you
to the officers and employes of both
these banks. You would be impressed
with their keen, alert business-like
manner and courteousness, factors
which always count for much in any j
successful business, professional o>
other enterprise. Personality is a tre
mendous factor in success. And a
pleasing personality can and should
be cultivated. One of the chief assets
in a pleasing personality is good man
ners. The people of this bank have
good manners and courtesy.
Mr. Sanford, the president, is a suc
cessful and large contractor in early
middle life. Mr. Hayes, the first vice
president, we should judge to be a
little younger. He is a successful un
dertaker. E. W. Irving, the second
vice president, is a young man, we
should say in his early thirties. He
is a physician. One noteworthy fact
about the bank is that its officers and
its employes are young men, with one
exception, and the exception is a
young woman, Mrs. Fannie E. Martin,
who is the assistant bookkeeper. We
shall not be so presumptuous as to
try to guess her age. Mr. Bert M.
Roddy is the cashier. He is a young
man of pleasing address and appar
ently thoroughly understands his busi
ness. Mr. A. P. Bentley, the assist
ant cashier, is also an alert and pleas
ant young man. The same is true
of M. J. B. Woods, Jr., the bookkeeper,
and Mr. Sherman G. King, the man
ager of the Christmas Savings De
partment. We do not recall having
met Mr. Thomas Wade, who is the
collector.
Seven Employes.
With the president, these persons
named make seven employes of this
bank. As it grows and enlarges it
will of necessity give employment to
other young men and women of the
race. Can you not see not only thef
wisdom, but the imperative necessity
of supporting and building up race in
stitutions ? If we are to have employ
ment besides that of janitors, porters,
waiters and bootblacks—all honorable
(Continued on Page 3)
Doctor Washington’s
Last Magazine Article
Sets Forth Some Illuminating Facts
Showing Praise-Worthy Progress
of Colored Americans.
ADVANCE DESPITE OPPOSITION
Has Reduced Illiteracy; Increased
Wealth In Farm and City
Property.
A few days before he died Booker
T. Washington wrote to the editor of
the Forum magazine suggesting the
printing of an article dealing with
“the definite, indisputable facts relat
ing to the Negro’s progress as a
race.” He inclosed what he called a
rough outline of such an article,
which, of course, was never completed.
What he wrote is presented in its un
finshed state in a recent issue of the
magazine:
Reduces Illiteracy.
First he presented striking figures
to show Negro progress toward lit
eracy. On emerging from slavery, he
wrote, the Negro was not more than
(Continued on Page 7)