The Monitor
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A Weekly Newspaper Devoted to the Interests of the Eight Thousand Colored Pt^ 1e
in Omaha and Vicinity, and to the Good of the Community \
The Rev. JOHN ALBERT WILLIAMS, Editor \
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$1.50 a Year. 5c a Copy. Omaha, Nebraska, July 22, 1916 Vol. II. No. 4 (Wit^ ' No. 56)
Major Charles Young
Has Been Promoted
This Distinguished Officer With Most
Interesting Career. Made a
Lieutenant Colonel.
OHIOANS PROUD OF NATIVE SON
llis Rise Has Been Steady, the Result
of Ability and Close Application
to Duty.
Wilberforce, O., July 22.—The ap
pointment of Major Charles Young,
U. S. A., as Lieutenant-Colonel, was
made on July 1, together with a num
ber of other U. S. army officers. This
news will be received with great in
terest by his many friends in Ohio
and throughout the country. On June
25, he received a message from Gen
era! Pershing’s headquarters, asking
him to report at Dublan, Mexico,
where he was examined by Brig. Gen.
Pershing, Cdl. Berry and other high
army officers. Following the exam
ination he received his promotion of
Lieutenant-Colonel.
Major Young well merits the honors
conferred upon him in the U. S. Army.
He has proven his ability as a soldier
of the first rank. He is a graduate of
West Point and his mental average
in the army stands high and few men
of his years, in the army, have seen
more practical service than he. Just
recently he returned from Liberia,
Africa, where he re-established the iji
berian Constabulary, and the military
police forces in that country are now
considered among the best, due chief
ly to the unceasing labor of Major
\ oung. He has been given meritorious
praise for his work in this connection,
and as a consideration of his high
military achievements, he was award
ed the Spingaim medal, which is giv
en annually to the Afro-American
who most meritorious work.
Major Young was among the first
to go into Mexico. The statement
that he is stationed in Brownsville,
Texas, is without foundation, and
should not be credited. He is simply
“somewhere in Mexico” and has com
mand of the second squadron of the
Tenth Cavalry. The Major is simply
one among many of the race who have
demonstrated to the world that Amer
ica should be proud of our loyal peo
ple. Major and Mrs. Young and his
mother live here.
ORGANIZE CADET REGIMENT
(Special to The Monitor.)
Kansas City, Mo., July 22.—Major
M. Clark Smith of this city, is organ
izing a high school cadet regiment
and band at the Lincoln High School.
It is the plan to have the Band or
ganized and well under way by the
opening of School in September. Also
to have a number of officers—cap
tains, lieutenants, sergeants and cor
porals—ready to take hold of the
Cadet organization.
The Winners in the
Free Trip Contest
By Which More Than $700.00 Was Raised to Pay the
Debt on the Negro Women’s Christian
Association Home.
MISS MADELINE ROBERTS MISS FRANCES SHAW
Who Received 2164 Votes and Won Who Received 4459 Votes and Won
the Second Prize, $20.00 in Gold. First Prize, a Trip to Chicago.
Preparing Chorus for
Business League
(Special to The Monitor.)
Kansas City, Mo., July 22.—Maj.
N. Clark Smith, who has just been
placed in charge of music in the Col
ored schools of Kansas City, has or
ganized a chorus of 150 Colored men
to sing August 17, 18 and 19 for the
convention of the National Business
Men’s League. The chorus w’ith Ma
jor Smith’s Colored orchestra, re
hearsed at the Lincoln High
School. They will play every Sunday
until the date of the convention, with
the intention afterward of holding !
community concerts and possibly
singing in the parks:
MEDALIST IN CONCERT TOUR
_
Los Angeles, Cal., July 21.—Mrs.
Florence Cole Talbert of this city,
who won the diamond medal for vocal
proficiency at the Chiacgo Musical
College last month, is on a tour with
Hahn’s Jubilee Singers, filling Chau
tauqua dates. Her husband, Wendell <
Talbert, accompanies her.
TO SUBSCRIBERS
Please look at the number on the
yellow label on your paper. If the
number there is the same as the
“Whole No.” on the front page it i
shows that your subscription is due.
If the label is blue pencilled, it also
shows that your subscription is now
due.
A Kansas University
Graduate at Eighteen
Parents of Louise Craig, Negro Girl,
Also Hold Degrees.
(Special to The Monitor.)
Lawrence, Kas., July 22.—Louise
H. Craig, a Negro girl, 18 years old,
will receive her A B degree at the
close of the summer session at the
University next week.
Miss Ctaig was graduated from
high school at the age of 15 and en
tered the university the following
September, doing the four years’ work
in three. Miss Craig’s father, A. U.
Craig, was graduated from the school
of engineering in 1895 and her mother
was graduated from the college the
same year.
COLORED FILM AT
THE ALHAMBRA THEATRE
Wednesday evening, after the show
at the Alhambra Theatre, 24th and
Parker streets, the “Realization of a
Negro’s Ambition,” a two reel drama
owned, acted and produced by Ne
groes, was run off for the benefit of
the management. The leading role of
James Burton was played by Noble
N. Johnson, Universal City’s favorite
Negro actor, and, by the way, author
of the play. The film tells in a con
vincing way the story of the success
of an ambitious Negro handicapped by
prejudice. It is a film well worth
seeing. Monday night it will be
shown at the Alhambra and Wednes
day night at the Alamo.
Something About
Liberia, Africa
Many Statements About the Dark
Continent Inclined to be
Misleading.
EX-SECRETARY OF LEGATION
Guy B. Robbins Begins a Series of In
teresting Articles on Liberia and
Her People.
From the various reports we get on
Africa in this country we are inclined
to form our own opinions of the peo
ple and conditions on that continent,
never stppping to take into consider
ation climatic and social conditions and
their effect upon the people of any
country, especially a new one as com
pared with our western development.
We therefore carry our expectations
of a country as old as Liberia to ex
tremes. We either look for develop
ment along such lines as we find in
our Western cities of the same age
or else we expect to meet cannibals,
lions, elephants, and other beasts of
prey at the landing places; and to find
all the people living in mud and thatch
huts. While some of this is true, it
is quite misleading.
Hirst Acquaintance with Africa.
The first sign of African civilization
I met, was upon the steamer south
ward bound from Europe. Here I
found the native African working on
the decks and in the engine and boiler
rooms of the steamer. And natur
ally he was interesting to me. You
will find him affable and ready to
talk. He will talk to you in pigeon
English, telling you what he does,
where he lives, what he eats, and what
he earns. He earns about nine dol
lars and sixty cents a month, plus his
board, which consists chiefly of palm
oil, rice and fish. How would you like
this diet? He may live at any one
of the coast towns, and is very willing
to tell you about the people of his
country.
Natives Dive for Coins.
Further on the steamer stopped at
an African port. Here I got to sec
some real life among the natives. They
came alongside of the vessel with
scant or no clothing. Most of them
were innocent of any covering, but
their “birthday suits.” They asked
the passengers to throw coins into
the ocean so they could dive for them
and get them. They were some divers
too. If they ever failed to get the
coin the passengers never knew it.
They also came aboard and in their
native dialect were chattering con
tinually at one another.
Noisy Farewells.
Some who were going with the ves
sel came on board with their babies,
tin trunks, chickens, baskets, bun
dles containing rice, palm oil and
other provender to provision them
during their journey. They also had
a whole lot to yell to the people they
left down in the small boats and when
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