<— THr Moivttor I
Thank You! J X A XJ J ITXv/l lX X V/XV Lift, Too!
A National Weekly Newspaper Devoted to the Interests of Colored Americans
THE REV. JOHN ALBERT WILLIAMS, Editor
$1.50 a Year. 5c a Copy OMAHA, NEBRASKA, AUGUST 18, 1917 Vol. III. No. 7 (Whole No. Ill)
FOLLOW UP SILENT
PROTEST PARADE
—
Greater New York Committee
Goes to Westilngton.
JOHNSON SPEAKS FOR RACE
Petition to President end Congress Aeke
That Lynching Be Made a National
Crime Punishable by Law—Nation
Cannot Fight Battles of Civilization
In Blood Smeared Garments.
Washington.—Negroes of the nation
rarrleU to the White House Wednes
day, Aug. 1, their protest against the
Itroeious attacks made upon their race
,;>t Hast St. Louis mid other industrial
■■enters recently. They appealed to
President Wilson through Secretary
Tumulty to speak “some (jubllc word"
that would give hope and courage to
the colored people of the United States.
Sir. Tumulty listened to the reading
of a petition and promi.*FJ the delega
tion, which was beaded by James Wel
don Johnson, secretary of the National
Association For the Advancement of
Colored People, tbut the matter would
not be neglected.
The remarks of Mr. Johnson, spokes
man for the delegation, in addressing
Secretary Tumulty were as follows:
“We, the committee of the Negro
silent protest parade, in which 15,000
colored men, women and children took
part on Saturday, July 28, in New
York, come to present to you, ami
through you to the president and con
gress, a petition for redress of certain
grievances. We come representing not
only the Negro silent protest parade,
hut the colored people of Greater New
HON. JAMKH W. JOHNSON.
York and the sentiments and aspira
tions and sorrows, too, of the entire
Negro population of the United States.
“We come representing 12,000,000
citizens whose devotion and loyalty to
the nation have never been questioned
—12,000,000 citizens who, when the
present storm broke over our land,
took their unqualified stand with the
original American stocks that landed
at Plymouth rock and Jamestown.
“Wo feel that In coming to you we
are well within our rights—the right
given by birth, the right given by la
bor and the right given by loyalty. We
feel, furl her, that It is especially nt
tfciB ..,uut wc iuiw ut this tfme, when
the heart of the nation is so deeply
touched by the cuuse of democracy and
of humanity.
“We come nsking that the president
use ills great powers to have granted
to us some redress for the grievances
set forth in our petition, and we come,
further, praying that the president may
find It In liis heart to speak some pub
lic word that will give hope and eour
ugo to our people, thus using Ills great
personal and moral Influence in our
behalf. Anti to these ends I have the
honor to read and respectfully present
the following petition:
To the President and Congress of the
United Stales:
We, the committee of the Negro silent
protest parade, representing the colored
people of Greater New York and the senti
ment of the people of Negro descent
throughout this land, come to you to pre
sent a petition for redress of grievances.
In the last thirty-one years 2.S67 col
ored men and women have been lynched
by mobs without trial. I-ess than half a
dozen persons out of the tens of thou
sands Involved have received any punish
ment whatsoever for these crimes, and
not a single one has been punished for
murder. In addition to this mobs have
harried and murdered colored citizens time
and time again with impunity, culminating
In the latest atrocity at East St. Louts,
where nearly a hundred Innocent, hard
working citizens were done to death In
broad daylight for seeking to earn an
honest living.
We believe that this spirit of lawless
ness is doing untold Injury •> our country,
and we submit that the record proves that
the atatea are either unwilling or unable
to put down lynching and mob violence.
We ask, therefore, that lynching and
mob violence be made a national crime,
punishable by the lawa of the United
States and that this be done by federal
enactment,
RIGHT OF FREE
SPEECH DENTED
The Richmond, Va. Planet Barred from
the United States Mails.
Richmond, Va., Aug. 4, 1917.—The
post office authorities here held up
the today’s issue of the Richmond, Va.,
Planet, pending further instructions
on account of the publication therein
of an article from Uzziah Miner, for
mer editor of the Howard University
Journal, Howard University, Washing
ton, D. C.
Miner spoke for himself only and
gave reasons for not entering the
United States army as a volunteer.
He called upon President Wilson to
speak out against the East St. Louis,
111., riots as ex-President Roosevelt
had done and wanted the Department
of Justice to bring the guilty parties
to a “strict accountability.”
Editor John Mitchell, Jr., upon en
quiry, was informed by Postmaster
Hay T. Thornton that the action was
not taken on account of any editorial
utterances, but solely on account of
the matter contained in this contrib
uted communication. An attempt to
secure the return of eighteen sacks of
mail today was without result and
the information was given that a final
decision in this matter would be taken
up Monday.
Editor Mitchell is endeavoring to
find out if the constitutional guaran
tees of citizenship have been suspend
ed and by what rule the management
of the paper must be guided in the ab
sence of an established censorship
by the Congress at Washington.
The edition was subsequently re
i leased.
TEACHERS HOLD
IMPORTANT MEETING
New Orleans, La.—That the Colored
: people should be represented on
boards of education in Southern com
munities and that the race should be
given a more equitable share of school
funds were urged by the National As
sociation of Teachers in Colored
| Schools, which concluded its four
teenth annual session here last Fri
I day.
The meeting was largely attended
by teachers. Besides discussing ques
tions of professional interest, the re
' cent race migration northward was
the theme of several speakers.
—
GEORGE WASHINGTON
FINDS DEAD BABIES
—
Springfield, 111.—George Washing
ton Jones, an employee of the garbage
reduction plant here, found the bodies
of two white babies. He later found
what he suspected to be the body of
a Colored infant, and quit work. He
returned to work, however, when he
found out that the supposed Colored
j baby was only a Negro doll.
MISSISSIPPI CONGRESSMEN
TREMBLE NEEDLESSLY
Washington, I). C.—Fearing that
the Fifteenth New York Regiment
would be sent with three white New
York regiments to the training camp
jat Alexandria, T,a., Mississippi Con
! gressmen made a protest to the War
j Department. They were told that no
\ such action was contemplated.
—
WHITE WELCOME
COLORED CARPENTERS
Pittsfield, Mass.—The white carpen
j ters’ union of this city has welcomed
j the employment of 150 Colored union
: carpenters from the South in building
bungalows here. The men will be
organized into a separate union.
REALTOR INSTITUTES
INJUNCTION PROCEEDINGS
Chicago, 111.—Eugene F. Manns has
instituted injunction proceedings to
prevent white residents of Morgan
Park, a suburb, from interfering with
his renting an apartment building to
Colored tenants.
..
EX-CONGRESSMAN WHITE
SUCCEEDS BASS
Philadelphia, Pa.—George H. White,
a former member of Congress from
North Carolina, has been appointed
assistant city solicitor here to suc
ceed the late Harry W. Bass.
After a strong fight, Colored citi
zens of Savannah, Ga., have prevented
the white bawdy house district from
being located among them.
Wilson Retires Young—
Appoints 200 Generals
Machinery Was Well Oiled and Did Not Slip a Cog in
Eliminating Negro Colonel in Line for Promotion
as Brigadier General.
PRESIDENT RETIRES YOUNG
Washington, Aug. 8.—Col. Charles
Young will not have an opportunity
to serve as an officer in France, his
retirement with the rank of colonel
having been ordered by President
Wilson last Friday, Aug. 3. Physical
disability is given as the reason for
the retirement, which is to date from
June 22, 1917.
The news of Colonel Young’s retire
ment has been expected ever since he
was recently ordered before an exam
ining board at San Francisco. Pro
tests began to pour into the War De
partment against any "shelving” of
Colonel Young because he is a Colored
man. The examining board, it is
said, recommended his retirement on
; the ground that he w'as suffering
from high blood pressure. This was
! astounding news to his many friends,
I who believed that he was in and is
[ now in the best of physical condition,
at least as much so as are many white
: officers who have served in the army
i as long as he.
False Hopes Loom
In response to an inquiry from
Prof. Kelly Miller, of Washington,
Secretary of War Baker replied on
July 7th, that Colonel Young had
been surveyed by an examining board
and found to be “afflicted with a
chronic disease.”
"The report of the board,” Secre
' tary Baker stated, "was approved by
' the surgeon general, but in view of
; the fact that Colonel Young’s record
i is a long and honorable one, and the
government needs officers of his rank
! and ability, it was directed that the
board re-examine the question so ts
! to make quite sure that there could
| not be an error in the matter.
Baker Requests Report
“I have directed that the report of
the board be returned to me personal
I ly before being acted upon, not be
| cause I find myself able to believe
; that any prejudice would produce the
deep dishonor of a false report, but
because I want to be able to give the
assurance to all who inquire that I
have given my own personal thought
and attention to this case, in which
so many are interested.
“I hope that the board will find
Colonel Young still able to perform
active duty". In the meantime, I have
directed that he be restored to active
duty, :yid have at least the hope of
being able to have his assistance for
the present.”
A report was sent out from Wash
ington that a new examining board
had found him physically fit and
recommended that he be advanced to
a colonelcy.
President Writes Moton.
In response to a query from Maj. R.
R. Moton, President Wilson, under
date of July 9, wrote the Tuskegee
principal:
“I have your letter of July 7th.
You may be sure that I am no less
deeply interested than yourself in
the matter to which you call my at
tention, and I think that you are
laboring under a misapprehension as
to the case of Lieut. Col. Charles
Young. There is no possible ground
in that ease for the fear that he is in
any way being discriminated against,
and you may be sure that he will be
treated as any other officer would be
in similar circumstances. I know
that is the disposition of the au
thorities of the War Department, and
it is certainly my own purpose.”
War Secretary Apprehensive.
It will be noticed that both the let
ters of President Wilson and Secre
tary Baker were written two weeks
later than the time from which
Colonel Young’s retirement is to data
(June 22.) Secretary Baker shows
in his letter to Professor Miller that
he was apprehensive of criticism
when he stated that he ordered
"the report of the board be returned
to me personally . . . because I
want to be able to give the assurance
to all who inquire that I have given
my own personal thought and atten
tion to this case, in which so many
are interested."
Retirement General Talk.
The news of his retirement became
WILSON APPOINTS GENERALS
Washington, D. C., Aug. 14.—Nom
inations of more than 200 new major
generals and brigadier generals who
will hold commands in the new army
were sent to the senate today by Pres
ident Wilson. They include all the
National Guard general officers.
The seniority rule has been followed
generally in the nomination of gener
als, although there are numerous in
stances where men have been passed
over. The commissions for brigadier
general were distributed proportion
ately among the three arms of the
service—the infantry, cavalry and ar
tillery.
Some of the new- major generals
were colonels a year ago and only
recently received their promotions to
be brigadiers.
a general conversation topic, and it
i.s probable that no officers being tak
en from active duty in recent yea*v
created such interest. On one side
was the feeling that Col. Young had
been discriminated against because of
his race and on the other was the
desire to assure all that he had been
treated fairly. The prospective re
tirement has been the theme for dis
cussion in race journals throughout
the country.
A West Pointer.
Colonel Young, who has an unblem
ished record, was graduated from
West Point in 1889. He, Lieutenant
H. O. Flipper and a cadet named Al
exander have been the omy Colored
men graduated from West Point, so
great has been prejudice at this gov
ernment school as well as at the Na
val Academy. Nine other Colored
men have not been able to complete
courses at West Point. Young rose
to the highest rank ever attained by a
Colored man in the United States
Army.
A man of ability, and popular, Col.
Young slowly waded through race
prejudice to his present rank. He
has been stationed with the Ninth.
Tenth and Seventh Cavalries, the lat
ter composed of whites. He was at one
time military instructor at Wilber
force University and has also served
as military attache both in Haiti and
Liberia. A little over a year ago he
was presented the Spingam Medal as
a recognition of his achievements.
His retirement means that he will
lose the chance of becoming a briga
dier general.
LIEUTENANT COLONEL YOUNG
Do not overlook the fact that there j
is a scheme on foot to retire Lieu-1
tenant Colonel Young. He is sixth in
line for promotion as a brigadier gen
eral. It is suddenly been discover- ]
ect that his “blood pressure is too
high” for service in the army and it
is rumored that he is to be retired,:
although he has never felt better in
his life. Pretest through your sena
tor and representative against Col.
Young’s retirement. France may
point with pride to her Negro gen
eial. A Negro general in the United
States army would be regarded as a |
calamity. If Young is not retired he
will be a general. Can you not see
why it has suddenly been discovered
that his “blood pressure is too high”?
—Editorial in Monitor July 7, 1917.
AGITATION AGAIN WINS
The tremendous protest that went
to Washington against the retirement
of Lieut.-Col. Young has again demon
strated what the race can do by united
action. It shows, too, the power of
the Negro press. The press was a
unit in its dignified, but insistent de
mand that Col. Young’s physical in
capacity for active service be fully es
tablished before he be retired. The
physicians’ finding that his “blood
pressure was too high" was taken with
a most liberal allowance of salt by
the race throughout the country. His
forced retirement would have aroused
resentment, as in the light of events
which reasonable and thoughtful men
cannot ignore, it would have been re
garded as a clever ruse to rob us of
representation in the higher ranks of
the army. Fortunately, however, “for
the present,” to quote the suggestive
words of Secretary Baker, Col. Young
is not to be retired. He has been re
stored to active duty and promoted
to Colonel, his promotion dating from
June 22. This is a victory won
through alert and united action.
Just how elastic the term “for the
present” will prove, remains to be
seen. But “for the present,” agitation
again wins. It is now Colonel Young.
We indulge the hope that in due time
this gallant officer whose record is
untarnished, may become General
Young.—Editorial in The Monitor July
28, 1917.
TRAIN NEGRO OFFICERS
FOR INFANTRY ONLY
Des Moines, la.—Col. C. C. Ballou,
commander of the Seventeenth Provi
sional Training Regiment for Colored
officers at Fort Des Moines, la., called
a meeting of the entire regiment last
week, and after congratulating them
on their wonderful progress and de
cided success, announced that upon his
recommendation to the Secretary of
War, infantry training only would be
taken up at the camp for the remain
der of the course.
It has been hoped that enough offi
cers would have been trained in all
arms of the service to completely out
fit an entire Negro division, which
would be composed of nine regiments
of infantry, one regiment of cavalry,
three regiments of artillery, one regi
ment of engineers, one signal corps
and one medical corps.
It was Col. Ballou’s own pet scheme
to train enough officers in all these
various arms to completely officer
such a division, but owing to the size
of the camp, which is only 1,250, it
will be impossible to provide suffl-1
oient men; secondly, owing to the lack
of Colored non-commissioned artillery
officers at Ft. Des Moines, it would
necessitate the sending away of men
to be trained at other camps in the
East. Cavalry training has been prac
tically dispensed with at the majority
of white camps throughout the coun
try.
Col. Ballou thinks that the best \
plan will be to keep the idea of a com- j
plete Negro division but the regi- i
ment’s of artillery and engineers |
should be officered by white officers!
until the Colored men under them ac- J
quire enough knowledge to get their;
commissions. The present camp will
furnish the officers for nine regiments J
of infantry. This plan has been ap- j
proved by the War Department.
JORDAN, CHIEF GUNNER’S
MATE, BACK IN SERVICE
Philadelphia, Pa.—William F. Jor
dan, who was retired from active ser
vice as chief gunner’s mate several
months ago, having served in the
r.avy the required number of years, is
at League Island, having recently |
been ordered to duty by the Navy De- j
partment. He is not serving as a
mess attendant, but enjoys the rank j
of chief gunner’s mate, as he did be
fore retirement.
There are many high officials in
the navy who do not share with Sec
retary Daniels the belief that the
Negro is only fit to serve as coal
passer or mess attendant. “Fighting ,
Bob” Evans is often quoted by navy
men as saying during the battle of
Santiago, "I’d like to have two or
three ships of Colored boys and I’d
wipe out the whole harbor.”
TEXANS TRYING TO ENJOIN
NEGROES FROM GOING NORTH
Dallas, Tex., Aug. 1—An applica- |
tion for an injunction to prohibit the
transportation of a number of Ne
groes from Dallas to work as laborers
in the north was filed in district court
here recently. The application named
“D. Garza and others,” and specifically
mentioned the Pennsylvania railroad.
It was signed by Ben F. Swift and
others. .
Garza, acording to the application
for the injunction, maintains an em
ployment agency in Dallas to recruit
Negroes for labor on the Pennsyl
vania railroad.
The order ordered the defendants
to appear in court August 1 for dis
position of the injunction.
BISHOP WALTERS
MONUMENT UNVEILED
New York.—With impressive serv
ices, a monument to the late Bishop
Alexander Walters was unveiled in
Cypress Hills Cemetery Wednesday,
August 1.
CAVE HIS LIFE
TO FELLOW MEM
Entire Nation Mourns Death of
Dr. Hollis B. Frissell.
HAMPTON’S HEAD FOR YEARS
H« Labored With Voice and Pen For
Uplift of Institution Which Has Ccan
Power For Good In the Land—Mem
ber of Many Philanthropical Boards
and Recipient of Many Honors.
By the death at his summer home,
Whitefleld, N. H., of the Rev. Dr. Hol
lis Burke Frissell ou Sunday evening,
Aug. 5, the colored race and the nation
at large have lost one of their very
best friends and valuable citizens. Dr.
Frissell had been president of the
Hampton (Va.) Normal and Agricul
tural Institute for nearly a quarter of
a century. He was greatly beloved by
the faculty and students at Hampton
and a long list of educators and busi
ness men and women throughout the
nation.
Dr. Frissell was born In Amenta,
N. Y„ on July 14, 1851, the son of A.
C. and L. B. Frissell. He spent three
years at Phillips academy, Andover,
Mass., going from there to Yale, where
he was graduated with the class of
1874. After graduation he taught for
two years in a young woman’s seminary
at Rhinebeck, N. Y., which place he left
to enter Union Theological seminary.
He was graduated from the latter in
stitution in 1879, and l>ecame assistant
pastor of the Madison Avenue Presby
terian church. New York city, where
he remained until 1880, at which time
he became chaplain of Hampton Insti
tute, Hampton, Va. It was in 1893 that
he became principal, and In this impor
tant office he devoted all of his time
and energy to the upbuilding of the
school and the problem of the educa
tion and betterment of the Negro race.
Any account of Dr. Frissell’s life is
necessarily also an account of the
growth and development of Hampton
Institute, for which he ceaselessly
worked to raise funds and for the or
ganization and welfare of which he
constantly strove. Under his guidance
It became not only the leader and pio
neer in the industrial education of the
American Negro and its center of up
lift, but also a forum where southern
and northern white men and Negroes
meet on common ground to discuss
problems of education, agriculture and
sanitation in the south. It has sent out
over 7,000 Negro teachers, farmers,
tradesmen and home builders to south
ern states, and it has been instrumental
in decreasing the illiteracy of the race
from almost 100 per cent to the pres
ent figure of 27.5 per cent.
In 1893 Dr. Frissell received the de
gree of D. D. from Howard university,
in 1900 the degree of S. T. D. from
Harvard, in 1901 the degree of LU. D.
from Yale and in 1909 that of LIj. D.
from Richmond college. He was a
member of the Century, City and Ynle
clubs of New York, of the Society of
Scroll and Key of Yale and of the
Cosmos club of Washington.
He is survived by bis wife and one
son, Sydney Dodd Frissell, who until
he recently joined the army had been
connected with Hampton Institute and
who has done much toward the prac
tical education of the Negro along the
line of scientific farming.
SPECIAL TRIBUTE TO HOLMES
Evening World Praises Courage of the
Murdered Police Officer.
Honor to the courage and devotion to
duty shown by the Negro policeman,
Robert Holmes, who was shot to death
early on the morning of Aug. 0 while
pursuing a burglar known to be armed
and desperate.
This city can well afford to pay a spe
cial tribute to the bravery and faithful
ness of one of its Negro guurdians of
public sufoty at a moment when in oth
er parts of the country white men who
call themselves Americans have been
ready to cast aside law and justice and
plunge into vicious, insensate, murder
ous iiersecutlon of unoffending citizens
whose skins are black.
New York has felt nothing but dis
gust for such brutal perversions of true
Americanism. It lias sympathized with
the aroused sentiment of law abiding
Negroes in this city and lately viewed
With understanding and approval the
orderly demonstration by which the
colored people of New York silently
registered their protest.
Policeman Holmes was shot while
faithfully performing Ills duty.
For the rest of the country that
means that the city of New York trust
ed a Negro with one of the most re
sponsible functions of its public service
—that of public protection—and Is
proud to report that he gave his life to
show himself worthy of that trust.
