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About The monitor. (Omaha, Neb.) 1915-1928 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 6, 1917)
THE MONITOR I ■ - . — A Weekly Newspaper devoted to the civic, eocial and religious interests of the Colored People of Nebraska 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 X, 1916, at the Post Office at Omaha. Neb., under the act of March 3, 1879. THE REV. JOHN ALBERT WILLIAMS, Editor and Publisher. Lucille Skaggs Edwards and William Garnett Haynes, Associate Editors. George Wells Parksr, Contributing Editor and Business Manager. SUBSCRIPTION RATES, 81.90 PER YEAR Advertising Rates. 50 cents an inch per issue. Address, The Monitor, 1119 North Twenty-first street, Omaha. Telephone Webster 4043. “AT FORT DES MOINES” Under the above caption the Omaha World-Herald in last Sunday’s issue published the following admirable and appreciated editorial: One cannot read accounts of what is being done at the training camp for Negro officers at Fort Des Moines without feeling that the men from thi.i camp, before going to the field to fight for their country, are fighting a splendid battle for their race. The representatives of the Colored population of the country at Fort Des Moines come from every state in the union, and, of course, the greater part of them are from the south. They are from the most intelligent, the most ambitious and the most suc cessful class of Colored people, and correspond with the young men of the white race who are in the other training camps. They are students, professional and business men, in large proportion, and they seem to have gone to this camp to set their race forward by their conduct there and by the capacity they would show for the important work with which they are soon to be entrusted. All reports, both in the press and from personal observation of visitors, agree as to the unexceptional behav ior of the men at this camp and as to their capacity as students of mil itary science. For Des Moines is not behind any of the training camps. The young Negro men went there to be gentlemen, they went there to learn to be soldiers and to command soldiers. They went there to be worthy representatives of their race, and so to commend it and win in creased respect for it. And they have succeeded admirably. The people of Des Moines felt at first that they would have to be on their guard against the men at the Negro training camp, and several instances of dis crimination were shown, but the camp has won Des Moines. It fs a favorite objective of excursion and automobile parties. It is just as interesting as any training camp for white officers. The Negroes there under instruction | use the street car line to and from the city that is also patronized by large numbers of white people living in the outer parts of the city which the line serves, and these white people testify to the uniformly good conduct of the Negroes aboard the cars. If the cars are crowded the Negroes are as quick as any whites to give up their seats to women. The Negroes in the camp have “made good,” and there is no reason to suppose that they will not make good in the army camp and on the bat tlefield. And so will the Negro troops. Just now, when preparations are being made to court-martial over a hun dred men of the Twenty-fourth infan try for the deplorable affair at Hous ton, it is gratifying and reassuring to read letters to the press and pri vate statements from old officers, white, who have commanded Negro troops, praisipg their efficiency as soldiers. Notable among these state- j ments is that of Colonel J. A. Cole, re- j tired, which has bepn given wide pub licity in the press. He sums it up by saying that white officers who; serve with Negro troops like, admire and trust them. The Negroes make up 10 per cent of ; the population of the United States. They are called upon to do their share of the fighting. There is no no con spicuous number of slackers among them. The slackers we have han trouble with are whites. The Negroes ask no special,, exemption. They are willing to do their part, and they should be given every chance to do it by being honorably treated in the camps and in the ranks. Their will' ; ingness, patriotism and fidelity to the j flag, in spite of some peculiar griev- | ances they might express, entitles them to this appreciative treatment. Even southern newspapers are frank enough to admit that occasional out- j breaks of Negro troops, such as that of Brownsville and Houston, were! probably caused by their too harsh | treatment by white police officials, | and some of these papers, as if want ing to give the south a chance to atone, suggest that the Negro troops be quartered in the south until the time comes for them to go abroad. A NOTABLE REPORT Two fascinating volumes have just been issued by the government. They are known as Bulletins No. 38 and 39 of the Bureau of Education. Their t'tle is, “Negro Education.” The two volumes present the results of a thor ough, scientific and sympathetic study of the private and higher schools for the Colored people of the United States. Those entrusted with this difficult task have done their work remarkably well. They deserve unstinted praise for their thoroughness and painstak ing work in their collection of data, for the frankness with which they have stated the conditions as they have found them, and for the far sighted wisdom of the recommenda tions for improvement suggested. The studies were prepared in co operation with the Phelps-Stokes fund, under the direction of Thomas Jesse Jones, specialist in the educa tion of racial groups, Bureau of Edu cation. The Phelps-Stokes fund was founded by Miss Caroline Phelps Stokes, who left her fortune of nearly one million dollars “for the education of the Negroes, North American In dians and deserving whites.” Gov ernment experts, co-operating with the trustees of such as fund as this, would naturally prepare a most satis factory report of educational condi tions as they found them. At some other time we shall speak of particular features of this report. | For the present we desire simply to | call attention to these volumes, which : can be obtained from the department at Washington, and to express our profound gratitude that such a no- i table work has been done for the cause of education, which must neces- j partly improve conditions among the : race in the United States. It notes another mark of advance , in frankly meeting and improving ra- j cial conditions in this country. _ A UNIQUE PUBLICATION "Little Talks on Furniture and Fur- i nishings” is the name of a unique and attractive eight - page, illustrated magazine “devoted to the beautifica tion and enrichment of our homes,” edited by E. Lewis Holland, the pro gressive advertising manager of the well known and always dependable firm of Orchard & Wilhelm company. The September number, which is the initial issue, begins with a friendly “foreword” which gives one a home like feeling. “The Evolution of the Rug,” by William J. Eldridge, is an interesting article which grips the attention. “The Story of Span-Umbrian Furni ture” tells you something you would not ordinarily otherwise know, and “Period Styles” sends you delving into history. The samples of furniture and furnishings, artistically illustrated, makes one regret that his editorial in come is so limited that he cannot gratify his desire to refurnish his home. Mr. Holland is to be congratulated upon this splendid publication. GIVES GOOD ADVICE The Richmond Planet, edited by John Mitchell, jr., whom we have never met, but long admired, has a most happy way of giving excellent advice to its large reading constitu ency in terse sentences. Here are two i good examples from its last issue: “Save some of your money, Colored folks. If it is only one cent per day, save some of your money.” “When you are tired, rest. When you are hungry, eat. When you are illiterate, learn. When you are anx- j ious for a good time, look at your pocketbook and consider your actual I needs, and pause before you engage in reckless spending.” Pretty good advice, isn't it? We are of the opinion that it is be- 1 cause John Mitchell has practiced what he preaches that he has been for I 1 I’ ■III 1^ V for the announcement in JL m. • the Sunday papers about our 3 3 Third Anniversary Sale I 2 in the DOWN STAIRS STORE Which Starts Next Monday Morning BURGESS-NASH COMPANY a number of years a highly respected member of the American Bankers’ Association. What do YOU think about it? W’hen you are inclined to complain of some injustice which you feel you have been called upon to endure from some individual of the so-called supe rior race, just recall how many disin terested kindnesses you have been the recipient of from other individuals of the same race. Don't condemn all for the injustice of the few. T1 "ft’s not fair, is it? Obvious Observations Everything on the western front is a quiet as a city park on a beautiful moonlight night. Uncle Sam is ready to let drafted Colored men volunteer for the regular army, so step to the front, boys, and hand in your monicker. One nice thing about King Ak-Sar Bcn is that he rests more comfortably than most kings. His reign only lasts a year. Wish coal would stop dancing the giddy glide so that we common peo ple could find out whether our pen nies in the little iron bank are suf ficient to fill the shed. As to conservation of food, one Omaha daily says to eat all you want to eat and the other says to eat as little as you possibly can eat. We are daily waiting to have the third come out and tell us to stop eating anything. The Literary Digest of last week had three articles in it concerning the culled race. We sho’ must be an impo’tant factah in the community, how? No wonder there isn’t any beef in Germany. German diplomacy has re ceived so many black eyes lately that all the beef steak had to be requisi tioned and used for plasters. There are still a large number owing subscriptions. Please remember that winter is coming and that a newspaper has to keep warm the same as you. Thanking you kindly for listening to these few deals of dull dope, we will now attempt to dodge the bill collector for another four weeks. SKITS OF SOLOMON The Harvest. Now comes the beautiful time of the year when we gather in the har vest from our gardens. When said fruits and grains and vegetables were planted, the visions were great. Even old Jeremiah didn’t have anything on us when it came to prophesying what was behind the big green plush cur tains of time. We watched the moon closer than a Chaldean star-gazer, figuring out which seeds to plant when the moon was new and when it was wobbly from being full. We had the dope and we tended the soil until our crop of blisters were the squares and cubes of our crops of seed shoots. But whither, oh, whither, have gone the dreams of April and May and June? The boys are gathering our potatoes to play marbles with and the worms have made sieves out of the cabbages. The corn has anemia and the squash the ricketts. The turnips have refused to fatten and the onions are just about the same age and height they were several months ago. Our bit for Uncle Sam hasn’t helped much and the big eyed speculator is rub bing his hands and pussyfooting around with a large purse jammed into his hip pocket. Our prodigious harvest will last us until October the halfway, and then we will saunter to the grocery with the market basket ind holler on the high cost of living. The mistake wo made was following the words on the back of the seed package. The best way to raise a ! crop is to ignore all seed catalogued instructions. A seed catalogue and a patent medicine pamphlet belong in the same class. Remember this ad- j vice when you start exercising next ; spring, because you’re going through , the same thing again. You wouldn’t j fee! right unless you did. Hope springs eternal in the human breast, as Mr. Pope said the morning he tried to swat the fly that was entertaining him. - I, MAINTAIN SCHOOLS _ The United States Commissioner of ; Education has issued the following: I “To parents, teacher associations, I mothers’ clubs, etc.: During the pres ent school year and while the war continues, there will be many tempta tions for parents and guardians of children to keep their children out of school, and there will be many diffi culties in the way of maintaining < schools at their full measure of ef- 1 ficiency. On the other hand, it is of the very greatest importance that the efficiency of the schools shall be main tained in every way and that there shall be no falling off in attendance. This is necessary both for the pres ent defense of the country and for the welfare and safety when the war is over. While we are fighting for the maintenance of democracy we must do everything possible to make the democracy strong and efficient in > every way. This will depend on the schools more than on any other one agency; and I am, therefore, taking the liberty of suggesting to all par ent-teacher associations and other sim ilar organizations that they imme diately use all of their influence in this direction. Of course each asso ciation will know what is best to do for its particular school and com munity.” FACT AND COMMENT Incesasnt activity does not always indicate intelligent industry. Who answers Evil Speaking with a Flood Of Evil Speech would wash off Dirt with Mud. He who loses his temper seldom finds it as good as before it was lost. I’upils in certain Iowa public schools are signing a pledge that binds them not to find fault with the food set before them while the country is at war. The penalty for each violation is a fine of one cent, which will go into a fund to help the children of Belgium. It were a good pledge for all of us to sign. GEORGIA BEGINS TO LEARN Atlanta, Ga.—The State legislature ; has just passed a bill providing for | the establishment of an industrial and j normal school for Colored students! as the first move towards educating i the Negro beyond the common schools j in this State. This bill grew out of! the fact that Georgia whites have be- : gun to realize the best way to keep ' the Negro in the South is to treat him j like a citizen. I II H || Thompson, Belden & Co. The Fashion Center for Women Established 1886 __ , , T.... . Particular Dentistry j Nitrous Oxide and Oxygen Gas for Painless Extractions Best 22K gold crowns.—.*f®0 *;>'00 Gold fillings ....-.J2-<>0 and up Casted gold inlays---$5.00 and up Heavy 22K bridgework.-.....*5 00 and *6.00 per tooth Porcelain crowns —...J™ Full upper or lower plates, best material. *10.00 Silver fillings-- *!-00 Temporary filling3-- * -“0 Extractions ------* *50 and up Clarence H. Singleton, D. D. S. 109 South 14th Street (Over Peoples’ Drug Store) Office Hours, 9 A. M. to 12 M. 1 p. M. to 7 P. M. Phone Douglas 7812 .... .. Our Growing Popularity Up-to-date methods, courteous atten tion, clean, sanitary surroundings, five barbers who know thtir business. This is what my shop offers you. Omaha's Most Successful Barber. P. H. JENKINS „ . , „ ,, , . Telephone Bed 3357 I Omaha* Most Successful K S Barber. 1313 Dodge Street Omaha, Neb. | A Church Where All Are Welcome — - Services Sunday School, 10 a. m. Preaching, 11 a. m., 8 p. m. League, 6:30 p. m. Florence P. Leavitt Club, Mon day afternoon. Prayer Meeting, Wednesday Evening. W. H. M. S. Thursday Afternoon GROVE METHODIST CHURCH Ladlea’ Ald’ Fr‘day Aft«rnoon 22nd and Seward St*., Omaha, Neb. Re(|> j'628 N. 22nd.M> Web.’ 5003 if THIS IK A PICTURE OF St. Philip’s Episcopal Church it ON TWENTY-FIRST ST., BETWEEN NICHOLAS AND PAUL STS. f * Easily Reached From All Paris of Cily Hy Street Cars. • Within Walking Distance of a Large Number of Colored People. If You Are a Member of the Episcopal Church this Will Let You Know Where It Is. If You Are Not a Member of the Church, You Ought to Be, Come to the Services Anyway and Get Acquainted. SUNDAY SERVICES Holy Communion, 7:30 a. m. Church School (Sunday School) 10 a. m. Holy Communion and Sermon, 11 a. m. Evening Prayer and Sermon, 8 p. m. Please accept this as a personal invitation to attend servicee. All seats are free. Everybody is welcome. It’s your Heavenly Father’s House—Come. JNO. ALBERT WILLIAMS, Pastor. . 1