! THE MONITOR
. — ■ ■ -. .. ..
A Weekly Newspaper devoted to the civic, social and religious interests
of the Colored People of Neoraska and the West, with the desire to con
tribute something to the general good and upbuilding of the community and
of the race.
Published Every Saturday.
Entered as Second-Class Mail Matter July 2. 1916. at the Post Office at
Omaha, Neb., under the act of March 3, 1279.
THE REV. JOHN ALBERT WILLIAMS, Editor and Publisher.
Lucille Skaggs Edwards and William Garnett Haynes. Associate Editors.
George Wells Parker, Contributing Editor and Business Manager.
SUBSCRIPTION RATES, $1.50 PER YEAR
Advertising Rates, 50 cents an Inch per issue.
Address, The Monitor, 1119 North Twenty-first street, Omaha.
Telephone Webster 4243.
COMBATING RACE HATRED
A notable conference was held last
month at Blue Ridge, N. C., which
should convince even the most skep
tical that there is a growing desire
upon the part of the American people
to set their own house in order that
they may fulfill the God-appointed
task of helping to promote genuine
democracy throughout the world. The
conviction is being forced upon the
choice minds of this nation that we
are justly chargeable with hypocrisy
if, while contending for the establish
ment of democracy in autocratic Eu
rope, we blind our eyes to our own
faults and maintain only a sham
democracy here. Democracy in Amer
ica will be only a sham dem
ocracy, a delusion and a snare, so
long a3 the civil, political and indus
trial rights of a large group of its citi
zens are ruthlessly disregarded. That
this has been dine and is still being
done is a nbtorious fact. The shame
ful admission must be made that this
discrimination against the equal privi
leges and rights of American citizens
receives governmental sanction, in
practice certainly, even if not by legis
lative enactment.
The growing conviction that we
have a tremendously important work
to be done at home is responsible for
such gatherings as the unique confer
ence held at Blue Ridge, which
brought together leading educators,
clergy, jurists and prominent profes
sional and business men of the South
to consider the problem of combating
race prejudice which is responsible
for the recent outbreaks throughout
the country. The conclusions of the
conference as expressed in the resolu
tions are noteworthy and enhearten
ing as showing an intelligent grasp of
the situation and an earnest desire
and determination to remedy the re
sulting evils.
It is stated that this conference on
law and order is “the culmination of
the efforts and the study of that
growing body of citizens of the South
who have long realized the perils of
the situation and who are moved by
the compulsion of Christian conscience
and the call of an obligation that is
founded on justice and brotherhood.”
Undoubtedly this is the right spirit
in which to approach the whole prob
lem.
The conference puts itself on record
as recognizing “with profound grati
tude the remarkable progress made by
the Negro race in material prosperity,
in education and in moral integrity,
and the spirit of helpfulness North
and South that has encouraged and
accelerated these gains.” It notes
that Negroes of the South own prop
erty valued at $900,000,000; that their
young people fill thousands of public
schools and that their own higher edu
cational institutions, industrial schools
and colleges are doing a work and
rendering a service that cannot be
valued too highly, and that “a full
recognition of this is essential to the
complete understanding and co-opera
tion of all forces, North and South,
white and black, that are in the last
analysis necessary to the right solu
tion of a nation-wide problem, with
its nation-wide responsibility.”
The solution of this problem, it is
justly maintained, “is essential to the
task of making democracy safe in
America, that America may help
make the world safe for democracy.”
The so-called Negro problem is a
detail of the age-long problem of
peaceable relationship between dif
ferent peoples, a fundamental element
of which is economic.
The conference advocates speedy
and fair trials by due process of law
for any and all crimes; advocates com
mendation and support of officers who
resist mobs and the cultivation of a
public sentiment which will remove
from office any officer wBc does not
enforce the law he is sworn to uphold.
It recommends home ownership on the
part of the race as making for sta
bility and good citizenship; the estab
lishment of law and order leagues; the
formation of a Southern speakers’ bu
reau of law and order; the placing of
literature on race problems in li
braries; "the editing of textbooks on
elemental morality, on the lives and
works of noted Negroes and on the
problem and progress of the Negro
race, to be placed in the regular cur
riculum of all Negro public schools.”
Among its most suggestive recom
mendations is the following, which we
quote in full:
“Since the chief remedial force for
the prevention of mob violence ia the
development of a right public senti
ment, and since women have a large
share in the creation of public senti
ment, we believe there should be Con
certed action by women for the educa
tion of white women on the evil of
■ mob violence, through the agencies of
the home, the women’s clubs, the
: church organizations, the schools and
1 colleges. We believe that the women
need to impress upon the men of the
country that mob violence is not an
effective protection of womanhood.
WTe believe, further, that no race is
stronger than its womankind, and,
therefore, we exalt the integrity of
the home as the largest asset of any
race, white or colored. W’e believe
that true chivalry on the part of men
demands respect for womanhood,
either white or colored.”
The statement of principles and
suggestions closes with this far-reach
ing pledge:
“We pledge to each other and to the
people of both white and black races
in the South our utmost endeavors to
allay hurtful race prejudice, to pro
mote mutual understanding, sympathy
and goodwill; to procure economic
justice and in particular to condemn
and oppose all forms of mob violence.”
This notable conference, convened
by some of the most influential white
citizens of the South, for the avowed
purpose of combating race prejudice
by the triumph of justice, is like the
I morning that gives promise of a glori
! ous day. It will give inspiration to
the race, remove a growing spirit of
I bitterness and have a rar-reaching in
! fluence in improving conditions
j throughout the nation.
CARRYING FUN TOO FAR
It has been reported that some
j thoughtless fellows who should know
better were giving advice to a rather
ignorant newcomer in a barber shop
; the other day, which if followed would
not only get him into trouble, but
might get many more into trouble. It
| was to the effect that he was in the
! North now and could do practically
what he pleased. We do not here go
into particulars. Suffice it to say that
! what these fellows consider mere fun
is playing with dynamite.
Good behavior and politeness are
demanded in the North as well as
elsewhere. Courteous treatment on
i the part of the white race towards our
! people in business places is not an in
vitation for offensive familiarity or
■social amenities. This should be made
very plain. Let the advice we give be
of the very best in order that the
privileges we now enjoy be-not cur
tailed. /
ENGLAND AND BLACK TROOPS
In a pamphlet, The Gathering of
the Clans, by J. Saxon Mills, the au
thor has the following to say as to
I England’s black colonial troops. “Eng
land could have raised an additional
‘ force of perhaps a quarter of a mil
j lion men from the African Protector
ates. But it must be remembered that
; it is contrary to the English tradition
to employ black aboriginal troops
j against a white European enemy.
There is no reason, at any rate, why
| the British Colored troop should not
j have been used against the Turks,
| and some scores of thousands of best
j African troops would have been very
| useful at Gallipoli, Salonica, and on
1 the Tigris.”
We wonder if this is to be the at
I titude of the United States towards
| the Colored troops?
----
BLACK SLAVES AND WHITE
—
Inspired no doubt by the recent out
l lages in East St. Louis and elsewhere,
William Allen White, in the Emporia
i Gazette gives us a picture of the pres
j ent predicament of the American Ne
gro that is a classic of its kind. Not
only does he portray the Negro under
capitalism with an almost Russian
realism, but he shows a familiarity
with the psychology of religion which
is in itself worthy of some attention.
I We quote in part:
If the black man loafs in the south,
he starves. If he works in the south,
be is poorly paid, more or less in kind
—chips and whetstones—and his wife
becomes a “pan toter.” If he leaves
his low estate in the south and goes
to work in northern industry, he is
mobbed and killed.
He was brought to these shores
from Africa a captive. He is held by
his captors in economic bondage today
—forbidden to rise above the lowest
serving class. He is herded by him
self in a ghetto, and if, while he is
there, he reverts to the jungle type,
he is burned alive. If he tries to break
| out of hig ghetto, and, by assimilating
the white man’s civilization, rise, he
is driven out by his white brothers.
If he goes to school he becomes dis
contented, and is unhappy and dissat
; is fied with his social status. If he
does not go to school, and remains ig
norant, he is then only a "coon,” whom
everybody exploits, and who has to
cheat and swindle in return, or go
down in poverty to begging and
shame. There aren’t ships enough in
the world to take him back to the
I land of his freedom; there isn’t room
| enough for him here except on the
crowded bottom round of the ladder
and there always the grinding heel of
those climbing over him topward is
| mangling his black hands.
Race riots, lynchings, political os*
tracism; social boycott; economic serf
| dom. No wonder he sings:
‘ “I’m gwine for to live with the Lord.”
No wonder as he looks dismally
1 back at the forest whence he came
and dismally forward to the hopeless
I sea into which he is slowly being
! pushed, he lifts his plaintive voice in
i its heart-broken minor and wails:
“Swing low, sweet chariot, cornin’
for to carry me home.”
“Home” is about the only place he
can go, where they don’t oppress him.
! —The Appeal to Reason.
—
“We have more friends than foes
within the Anglo-Saxon race.”
Subscribe for The Monitor. $1.50 a
year and worth it.
Obvious Observations
The unions say they will ruin Oma
ha and Omaha says she is going to
ruin the unions. We don’t know how
it will end, but here’s to Omaha!
A press dispatch says that one
third of the bullets furnished our sol
diers in France have failed to explode.
Better test the other two-thirds be
fore they start exchanging compli
1 ments with the kaiser.
That one Colored man at the can
tonment with eats for 150 soldiers
1 must sure be having a peach of a
I time.
Better buy a few cabbages while
they are five cents a head. It will
take a day’s wages to buy one along
in January.
Have you noticed the peculiar odor
of moth balls in the municipal atmos
phere, Genevieve?
We have been expecting the govern
ment to give whiskey a gentle tap,
but we never did expect that it would
use a pile driver.
About ten thousand Omaha citizens
claim that the next promoter who
whispers “wrestling match’’ will be
found dangling from the post office
flag staff the morning after.
Have you interviewed the coal man
jet?
Omaha was quite surprised to learn
that a Colored man could write a
French poem off-hand and didn’t mind
saying so. There are lots of other
things Colored men arid women can
do if given the chance.
No, sir, You can’t have it. I dare
you to touch a jar of those pew
until next December!
Thanking j'ou for your careless at
tention, we will now dig some po
tatoes.
SKITS OF SOLOMON
His Imperial Highness.
It has been said with much wisdom
that one should never slight anything
at any time, because there may come I
a time when the thing slighted reaches
the top of the heap. We have a first
class example today in the hog. A |
few thousand years ago a hog had I
as much chance to win respectability
as an Esquimoux had of raising water-1
melons on an iceberg. He was pre
eminently the outcast. He was called
a swine. He and anyone associating
with him was given the whirling go
by without a passing look. An Egyp
tian, a Hebrew or a Turk would sooner
eat caterpillars for breakfast than to
gnaw a pork chop. The great Indian
rebellion started because the British
gave the Hindus bullets with hog fat
trimmings. If a Persian happened to
rub up against a porker, he usually
committed suicide at sunrise. But it
| is different now'. Mr. Hog has landed
j in nobility snout foremost. A farmer
| who deals in hog heraldies makes the
estates of European lords look like
suburban lots in a town whose boom
has busted. It takes a week’s wages
to eat pork chops, a month’s wages
to nibble bacon, and a railroad mag
nate’s income to tackle a piece of
fried ham. A pickled pig foot runs
a close second to a bottle of cham
pagne. Nothing less than a king’s
ransom can buy a pot of navy beans
with a hunk of salt pork boiled there
in. Head cheese is kept in manganese
safes and chiterlings have guards
with Winchesters. The cost of a nice
pork roast would wreck the bank of
England. Pigtails have jumped into
the social class of peacocks’ tongues.
Why? Nobody knows. We only know
the facts and know that half of the
Colored race is as blue as the third
tub of water on wash day.
A FEW QUESTIONS
To be sure, no one ever asserted
that the English language was logi
cal, but readers may enjoy the amus
ing enumeration of some of the in
consistencies that Life gives these
verses:
If a female duke is a duchess,
Would a female spook be a spoochess?
And if a male goose is a gander,
Then would a male moose be a man
der?
If the plural of child is children,
Would the plural of wild be wildren?
If a number of cows are cattle,
Would a number of bows be battle?
.
! If a man who makes plays is a play
wright,
j Would a man who makes hay be a
haywright ?
If a person who fails is a failure,
Would a person who mails be a mail
ure?
If the apple you bite is bitten,
Would the battle you fight be fitten?
And if a young cat is a kitten,
Then would a young rat be a ritten ?
I
If a person who spends is a spend
thrift,
: Would a person who lends be a lend
thrift ?
If drinking too much makes a drunk-;
ard,
W’ould thinking too much make a
thunkard ?
But why pile on the confusion?
! Still I’d like to ask in conclusion:
If a chap from New York’s a New
Yorker,
I "Would a fellow from Cork be a
Corker?
-Ex.
_
CHINESE PROVERBS
Great wealth comes from fortune,
small wealth comes from diligence.
The money-maker is never weary;
the weary man never makes money.
Hold your temper for a moment
and avoid one hundred days of sor
row.
If you know how, a thing is not
hard; if it is hard, then you do not
1 know bow'.
KEEPING AM) COOKING FOOD
Every woman who buys, supplies or J
cooks the food in her family is called
upon by her country to do her “bit” •
by helping to save. She must buy !
sufficiently and buy wisely. Cooking
plays a very important part, that the
greatest food value may be obtained.
The following facts may prove help
ful to some.)
“Keep food clean in the home by
screening from flies and dirt; covering
and keeping milk cold, washing the | j
hands before eating, and allowing no . j
sick person to handle food.
Cooking is important for it affects
the food value, digestion and appe- j
tite.
To roast or bake, use hot oven at
first to sear the outside and keep in
the juices. Then salt, pepper and
flour all over. Have fat in the pan,
not water, with which to baste con
stantly.
Pan trailing may be done the same
way as the above, only in a pan, using
no fat, but heating the pan until it
smokes.
For stewing, brown the meat in a |
frying pan first to add flavor. Boil j
five minutes, then simmer.
When making soup, soak small \
pieces of meat in cold water half an
hour, then gently for five or ten min- !
utes. Cook slowly till within half an ]
hour of serving, when add vegetables ‘ i
and boil gently.
Avoid frying which makes food hard !
to digest.
Cook vegetables in boiling, salted I
water; those with a pleasant flavor
j cook in a small quantity of water with j
| the lid on; those with a strong flavor i
| cook in a large quantity of water with !
■ the lid off.
The water in which the vegetables \
were cooked is good for soups and j
gravies. *
Long soaking of dried vegetables
and cereals in cold water will save
I fuel.
A few suggestions as to what to
combine at a meal:
Crisp salt pork, milk gravy, pota
toes, beets, custard.
Salmon, potatoes, cabbage, friel cold
cereal, brown sugar.
Baked beans, spinach, apples and
raisins cooked together.
Rice, bacon and tomatoes cooked to
gether, bread, peanut butter, or cot
tage cheese.
Plan closely. Thrift in food means
providing enough food—neither too
little nor too much.
Try to make enough for a meal so
that there will be no waste.
Cultivate good food habits in chil
dren by having a suitable amount of
suitable foods served to them, and
then expecting them to eat what is
set before them."—Ex.
I
All Columbia Records (Domestic or
Foreign) all the time.
Delivered Free Anywhere. Ask for
Catalogue.
Quick Service. Write or Phone Or
ders to
Schmoller & Mueller
Piano Co.
Douglas 1623 1311-13 Farnam St.
Columbia Distributors.
Accordion, fide, knife. ™nbur«t or box
pleating. Covered button*. *>•■“*
Styles. Hemstitching, plcot edging Km
* hr of Her v beading. braiding. corning,
j eyelet, cut work, buttonholes, pennants.
Ideal Button & Pleating Co.
Douglas 1936 BldB'
(Opposite Brondeis Stores.)
HOLSUM
AND
KLEEN MAID
Why Buy Inferior When
The Best
COSTS NO •"'TOT
JAY BURNS BAKING CO.
...-.
Phones: Office, Douglas 3841; Res-1
idence, Harney 2156
Reference—Any Judge of the Dis-|
trict Court of Douglas County, j
E. F. Morearty
ATTORNEY AND COUNSELLOR
AT LAW
640 Bee Bldg. Omaha, Neb.
DO YOU EAT? ".SBfflT
THE WASHINGTON CAFE
Mrs. L. Cuerington, Proprietress 1719 Cuming Street.
.. ■ __ _ -. .A .. - --
ANNOUNCING
THE OPENING OF OMAHA'S FINEST MEN'S HAT ANCk.FURNISHING
STORE BY THE RELIABLE
BRODKEY’S
We Invite Your Inspection of a Stock that is New, High in Quality and
Popularly Priced.
HATS
We Have a Complete Line of STETSONS at $4.00 Up, Alio an Endless
Variety of Shapes and Colors at $2.00 and $2.60.
BRODKEY’S
MEN'S FURNISHINGS. 1403 Douglas Street. j
• i it it: 1111111 i 1111111 hi ii 111 mi 11111111 n r 1111 it 1111 ii 111 m m i ii 111 m 1111111111 in ii 111111111 li i ii:
| Special Shoe Sale |
Our Entire Stock on Sale—Nothing Reserved
E Take a look at our windows and you will be convinced that E
§ we can save you dollars on your footwear. =
= We fit every pair, no bargain tables. §
Loyal Shoe Store 1
E At the sign of the Electric Shoe E
E 203 IxiyaJ Hotel Building 16th and Capitol Ave. E
2413 N Street, South Side.
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■ jl
Thompson, Belden & Co.
The Fashion Center for
Women
'
Established 1886
I =
25% to 35%
off
Come and see us in our
new' location at
1409 Douglas Street
Every garment is new. You know us, we used to be at 206
North 16th Street. You and your mother bought of us
before. Take advantage of our offers this week on
Cloaks, Suits, Dresses, Skirts, Waists and Furs.
i I
BONOFF
1409 Douglas Street.