Image provided by: University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries, Lincoln, NE
About The monitor. (Omaha, Neb.) 1915-1928 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 23, 1916)
The Monitor A National Weekly Newspaper Dev'-^o^® he Interests of the Colored Americans of N'*' tne Northwest THE REV. ALBERT WILLIAMS, Editor $1.50 a Year. 5c a Copy Omaha, Nebraska, Dec. 23, 1916 Vol. II. No. 26 (Whole No. 78) King Sam Lured Many to African Coast Vessel In Which Adventurers Em barbed to Found Empire Across the Sea Returns to Port. AN AMBITIOUS DREAM FADES Members of Race Seeking Asylum From American Prejudice Scat tered Along Coast. Moored to a pier in Erie Basin is a huge old rustpot of a steamship, barnacle encrusted, sticky with mil dew, rotten. But three short years ago a thousand persons builded upon her dreams of an empire, of a huge and wealthy country where they would be better than the best in this country. Some of them have died in their at tempt to make their dream a reality; others, after passing safely through compound dangers of drowning and disease, are now scattered along the west coast of Africa, picking up their living as they can, scorned and mis treated in the land where their em pire was to lie. So ends their faith in “King Sam," the magic tongued Negro who had woven the scheme that made happy their sleep with soft dreams. For months now they have been awake, and aware that it was all a night mare. Sam’s Ambitious Scheme. Three hundred feet from the spot where she was moored two years ago last spring the Liberia was tied on Sunday after a dangerous trip from Africa. When “King Sam” was fill ing the Negro newspapers of this country with his stock selling scheme the authorities got after him quickly, but he was able to point to the vessel in Erie Basin, which he had relabelled Liberia, as proof of his good faith. So the authorities permitted him to continue, as there was nothing illegal in his methods, and because they more than half suspected that he w as honest, although a visionary. His scheme was to transplant American Negroes to Africa, where they would build an empire. One share of stock at $25 entitled its pur chaser to a free voyage to the empire, where land would be given him. Sam was to be emperor. Money Came Rolling in. The British authorities tried to pre vent his work, but could do nothing except trumpet warnings in the Ne gro newspapers. But in spite of that Negroes of both sexes flooded Sam's office with their subscriptions; he bought the Liberia for about $200, 000 in cash. He injected religion into the scheme, and surrounded every com monplace with the mysticism and for mality that the Negroes love. The Liberia, under a crew of Ne groes, few of whom were sailors, steamed to Galveston and there the first load of passengers for Africa was taken aboard. The trip was (Continued on Page 13) I* lUL&Ltd. tfK MMmOMfNMHK at «K AC WW j« «£ W«K w ww w * ffi 1 A (ttljriatmaa j | | frsujrr 1 ;‘ /^\ Blessed Lord Jesus, give us 5 St £ 1 thankful hearts today for js fie Thee, our choicest Gift, our g xk su dearest Guest. £ K 3 Let not our souls be busy inns that £ J® ' have no room for Thee and Thine, but S '■A quiet homes of prayer and praise X 21 where Thou mayst find fit company, X H? where the needful cares of life are * «e wisely ordered and put away, and g jxk wide sweet spaces kept for Thee, g ^ 3 where holy thoughts pass up and £ 51 Jj down, and fervent longings watch and 5 P/J V wait Thy coming. 5 21 So when Thou contest again, O S St blessed One, mayst Thou find all K things ready, and Thy servants wait- 8 X* ing for no new master but for one g VC long loved and known. £ 51 Home Owners Among Race in North Carolina Greensboro, N. C.—At the close of the recent first Colored fair of Guil ford county residents, 200 Colored people subscribed to funds needed to secure a fair ground. 30 acres have been secured and suitable buildings will be erected. The fair was held on the grounds of the Agricultural and Technical College, and was largely attended. The exhibits were highly creditable. In connection with the “human” nterest displayed by the directors of the fair was a card with a comparison of the home-owning capacities shown by Negroes in some of the larger towns of North Carolina. This chart showed the following: Asheville has i Negro population of 5,359, and Ne groes own one home to each 16 mem bers of the race, and the town is third n the state in the comparison made. The other figures given are first the population, second the number to each home owned and, third, the standing in the relationship of the town to the other towns given: Charlotte, 11,759, 21, 6; Durham, 8,869, 26, 7; Greens boro, 5,170, 17, 4; New Bern, 5,649, 12, 1; Raleigh, 7,367, 17, 4; Wilming ton, 12,107, 15, 2; Winston-Salem, 7,828, 30, 8. MT. MORIAH BAPTIST CHURCH A Christmas cantata and tree will be given at Mt. Moriah Baptist church, Twenty-sixth and Seward streets, Sat urday night, December 23, to which the public is cordially invited and re quested to remember their friends by placing gifts for them upon the tree. Lynchers Are Held Charged With Murder Abbeville, S. C., December 22.— Charged with murder in connection with the lynching of Anthony Craw ford, Colored, eight white men were held for trial in the Circuit Court here Dec. 5, after a preliminary hearing be fore Magistrate Hammond. Those held were: J. V. Elkin, Samuel Ad ams, Jess Cann, William Cann, Samuel Cann, Eugene Nance, B. Grant and R. B. Ferguson. Sing Finlay, George White, Jr., M. R. Casey, Jim Dawson, John T. Cheat ham, Lester Cann and J. S. Banks, on whom warrants were served yester day, were released. The arrests followed an investiga tion ordered by Governor Manning in to the lynching in Abbeville several weeks ago. Crawford, who was charged with assault and battery on a white man, was first severely beat en, and then was taken from jail, where he had been placed for safe keeping, and put to death. PEORIA’S COLORED SOCIAL CENTER MOVE — Peoria, 111., Dec. 15.—All arrange ments have been completed for the opening of the building at 200 Main street for the B. T. Washington so cial center for Colored people. Nearly $800 of the $1,200 necessary has been raised and it is expected that the building will be occupied sometime between December 1 and January 1. Negro Immigration Bill Is Defeated Amendment Providing For Exclusion of Colored Immigrants Fails to Pass Senate. HITCHCOCK DODGES THE ISSUE Sanity of Some Senators Saves the Country Spectacle of Absurd Race Proscription. Washington, December 23.—After some debate in which the Negro was lambasted and defended, alternately, an amendment to the Immigration Bill excluding Negro immigrants was defeated in the Senate Tuesday, De cember 12. The debate followed an amendment to the bill offered by Senator Reed, of Missouri, which would have prevented native Africans, except they were of the white race, from taking up resi dence in this country. Senator Gal linger pointed out that African immi gration here was of a negligible quan tity, only 71 persons came here with in the past ten years. Senator Reed’s amendment was then defeated by a vote of 37 to 32. Senator Reed then offered another amendment to the committee amend ment, excluding all, except white im migrants, from the West Indies, Cape Verde and Azores Islands. This would have hit at the great bulk of Negro immigrants to this country. Senator Reed alleged that immigrants from these islands were undesirable, and that 43,067 had come therefrom since 1907. Senator Gallinger said that this amendment would exclude many Cu bans who were not of the white race. “There are a great many good people in Cuba, as I happen to know person ally, who are not white and who would make good citizens,” he added. He suggested that if this amendment pre vailed Cuba should exclude American immigration. Calls Negro Inferior Senator Reed replied that he would not say that there were not some good Cubans who are not white, but “that no man not of the white race ought to be permitted to settle permanently in the United States. Already in our laws relating to naturalization we have excluded from the privileges of citizenship every race except the white race and the black race, and the black race no man can claim is the equal of the white race or the yellow race." By a vote of 36 to 28 this amend ment was lost. Reed then offered another amend ment designed to exclude Filipinos which was also rejected. He then rose and said sadly: “Mr. President, I have had a number of other amendments which I had in tended to submit, the import of which would have been to bar all immi grants from this country except those of the white race. I have sufficiently tested the temper of the Senate upon the amendments which have been of (Continued on Page 9)