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About The monitor. (Omaha, Neb.) 1915-1928 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 19, 1918)
The Monitor * A Weekly Newspaper devoted to the. cHrIc social 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 aa Second - Class Mail Matter July 3. 1915. at the Post Office at Omaha, Neb., under the act of March 3. 13T9 THE REV. JOHN ALBERT WILLIAMS, Editor and Publisher. Lucille Skaggs Edwards and William Garnett Haynes. Associate Editors. George Wells Parker, Contributing Editor. John D. Crawford, Business Manager. Fred C. Williams, Traveling Representative SUBSCRIPTION RATES. S1.SS PER YEAR Advertising Rates. 50 cents an Inch per Issue. Address. The Monitor, 1119 North Twenty-fIret street, Omaha. Telephone Webster 4243. ALSACE-LORRAINE AND AFRICA When Bismarck took away Alsace Lorraine he told the French, in de rision, to seek compensation in Africa. This was voicing not only contempt for the French, but also contempt for Africa and the Africans. However, France followed Bismarck’s advice, sought compensation in Africa and found it. Out of Africa today are pour ing hundreds of thousands of black fighters, loyal defenders of France, who are striking terror to the heart of the Hun. Out of Africa are pouring supplies to succor the people of France in their fierce contest with Germany. The first troops to pierce the sup posedly impregnable German line were African. Among the most valiant and dependable of the valiant French troops are those from Africa. The restoration of Alsace-Lorraine will be accomplished through the valor of African troops and the supplies that Africa affords. Bismarck’s advice to France, though given in contempt, has proven advan tageous to her, for Africa is not oniy compensating France for the loss of Alsace-Lorraine, but is destined to play an important part in this great world war. This is a world war, not merely a European war. In it Africa has her place and that an honorable and important one. “Seek your compensation for Alsace Lorraine in Africa." Thi3 was Bismarck’s polite way of telling France to go to—the hot place. But Bismarck’s geographical knowl edge was not accurate. Tradition has it that it was in that direction where the Garden of Eden lay. Be that as t may, Africa has proven a paradise for France, and the world may yet learn that Africa is the most favored of th" continents. THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION The Monitor most heartily endorse • the commendation given the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People by the Amsterdar News in the following editorial: “The Colored people of the United States are everlastingly in the debt of the National Association for the Ad vancement of Colored People. This organization of white friends and pro gressive Colored people has done much to endear it to the race. It has fought segregation to a standstill and tackled lynching and other injustice - wherever they have cropped up. It has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars in fighting in the cause of th * race and has greatly advanced that cause. All it asks in return is that every Colored person genuinely de sirous of helping the race should be come a member of the Advancement Association. “In unity is strength, in organiza tion power. And no other body ha done so much to advance the interests of Colored Americans as the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. We earnestly advisr our readers to join the association and so back up the greatest war that ever was waged upon injustice in this or any other country. Stand behind tin Advancement Association! Not only is it able to fight more effectively than the individual or than any othc organization of Afro-Americans, bu' with men like Dr. Du Bois and Jame Weldon Johnson it is fully capable of wise and aggressive leadership.” AMERICAN PREJUDICE — In the American Magazine for Jan uary two men of international fame write articles concerning themselves and their success. One is Bert Wil liams, the greatest comedian in the world; the other, Montague Glass, one of the world’s greatest humorists. The one is a Colored man; the other a Jew. Both have come greatly into contact with their fellow men and both have found prejudice. Both feel it and won der why it is. They can't explain it. They only know that it exists and that it exists everywhere. Both jeer at ,* and make fun of it, yet beneath their humor and sarcasm the reader can sec that there is really a wound. They are both Americans, both men who are struggling to bring some sunbeams of happiness into the lives of their fel lows. Yet these very fellows have placed a stigma upon them because they happen to be of different race. In the articles there is more need for thought than for comment, and ,n thinking upon these two articles one ia brought inevitably to the thought that the very’ country to which they belong is waging war to make the world safe for democracy. And it brings in its train another master thought—th> United States has still a greater war to wage than the war with Germany That war is a war within her own bor ders and it is to make democracy safe for the world. Democracy can neve; be safe until every man has a man’ chance, no matter what his color,creed or previous condition. — SKITS OF SOLOMON The Dentist. There are doctors and doctors, and then there are dentists. A dentist is ; sometimes called a doctor, but he isn’t a doctor. He is an executioner. He can cause an individual more pain and | get by with it than any gazook extant. He has one pet phrase that he repeat.; more times than a Mohammedan re - ! peats verses from the Koran, and that is, “That didn’t hurt, did it?” Some how he believes, or pretends to be lieve, that the Christian Scientist slo gan of no such thing as pain is the real dope. If he breaks your jaw in two getting out a six-foot molor, he smiles sweetly and murmurs, "Didn’t hurt, did it now?” If he starts his grinding machine and develops the jim-jams from your toes to the ends of your hair, and then suddenly hits a ,nerve and makes you yell like a Co manche and jump out of the chair, a look of disgust pervades his profes sional map and he wants to know. “Did it hurt?” When he is putting on a crown he gets out a lead mallet and pounds away like an excavator break I ing concrete, and when your head flops back and you knock your brains silly, he pauses a moment to remark. “Did that really hurt?” You long for a six-shooter, but he’s got you at his mercy and there’s no use to squeal. You’ve got to grin and bear it. Ami then when you ask him for your bill, and he murmurs softly,“Fiftyplunks,” you let out a six-cylinder sigh, and again he smiles and says, “Doesn’t hurt, does it?” Buy war savings stamps! Thompson, Belden & Co. I: The Fashion Center for Women Established 1886 u I \ THE COLORED AMERICAN AND THE GREAT WAR By George Gilbert Walker. The United States Is at war with a most ruthless enemy, probably the most ruthless enemy ever faced by any nation. And we are at war not for conquest of territory, nor for military aggrandizement, but for the high prin ciples of justice and freedom. We'en tered the war for these things alone 1 The fact is recognized by the military critics of the Allies and the United States that the war will be won when we get our armies in the field. It is generally recognized now that our coming into the conflict means sure victory for democracy and progress over militarist^, autocracy, mediaeval ism. This is our war, the war of every citizen of the United States, be he or she of whatever race or environment. It not only requires but demands the active, willing, zealous and painstak ing co-operation of every person who believes that autocratic despotism should be once for all shorn of its power, and that “the world shall be made safe for democracy,” for the un hindered and unopposed development of freedom, progress and the higher ideals of political and social and eco nomic justice. From this war great things will surely come to pass. The world has beheld a new vision, a vision of uni versal peace, amity and progress, a vision of the realities of the higher ethical and religious principles. The winning of the war will bring nearer the full realization of brotherhood and righteousness. The great war is a crisis in the world’s history, a final struggle between the outworn and the new. Yet we are not to think of the new as things suddenly injected into the world process, but rather as the maturing of those principles, policies and ideals which are of supreme value, and which have for decades and centuries beer, struggling for mastery. In these things the Colored Amer ican is most intensely interested. The world’s leaders are enunciating the ideals which are nearest and dearest to his endeavor and his dreams. The results of the war will mean much to him, much more, probably, than many of his wise men now think. The great sacrifice of life, which will be the cost of victory, will not be permitted to have been made in vain. The winning of the war depend? upon the active, positive co-operation of every individual. Out duties have been and are being set before us con tinually and plainly, so that for fail ure in them there is no excuse to b< had. From the battlefields of this great conflict shall arise a new era, an era of practical justice, actual brother hood, unhindered opportunity; an era of increased faith in God and His righteousness. The Colored American will be among those who through sac rifice of labor, necessities and life, have made it come to pass. LYNCHING RECORD OF 1917 I send you the following relative to lynching for the year. I find from the records kept by the division of j records and research of Tuskegee In stitute, Monroe N. Work in charge, . that there were 38 persons lynched in 1917, of whom 36 were Negroes and two were whites. Thirty-seven were males and one female. Twelve, or a little less than one-third of those put to death, were charged with rape or attempted rape. The offenses charged against the whites lynched were: Rape and ♦mur der, 1; fomenting strikes, 1. The offenses charged against the Negroes were: Attempted rape, 5; rape, 6; murder, 3; killing officer of the law, 2; for not getting out of road and being insolent, 2; attacking wo men, 2; disputing white men’s word, 2; entering woman’s room, 2; wound- ; ing officer of the law', 1; molesting women, I; stealing coat, 1; intimacy with woman, 1; killing man in alter cation, 1; accidentally killing child by running automobile over it, 1; va grancy, 1; wounding and robbing j man, 1; attacking an officer of the ! law, 1; opposition to war draft, 1; in sulting girls, 1; writing insolent let- j ter, 1. The states in which lynchings oc- i curred and number in each state were j as follows: Alabama, 4; Arkansas, 4; j Arizona, 1; Florida, 1; Georgia, 6; Kentucky, 2; Louisiana, 5; Missis-j sippi, 1; Montana, 1; Oklahoma, 1; South Carolina, 1; Tennessee, 3; Texas, 6; Virginia, 1; Wyoming, 1. Very truly yours, R. R. MOTON, Principal. SECOND SMITH TRIAL BEGINS MONDAY — The second trial of Charles Smith, accused of the murder of Mrs. C. L. Nethaway last August, will begin Monday morning in Criminal Court Room No. 1, Judge Sears presiding. He will be defended by Attorney Scruggs and Timlin. The jury in the first trial stood nine for acquittal and three for conviction. Our Women l and Children Conducted by Lucille Skaggs Edwards Quartermaster of the World. Uncle Sam is today the quartermas- i ter of a hungry world. He is playing the game squarely and counts on you to do the same. The American people cannot expect more than their share of the food supply, which for 1918 does not measure up to expectations. It is now time for every American to get these facts by heart. In order that you may know' the facts the United States food adminis tration from time to time issues state ments and announcements which are printed in the newspapers for the in formation of the American people. The food administration and Herbert Hoover in giving you the facts of the food situation believe that you have the courage to face the truth and ad just your household to new war sacri fices. As the war goes on and the need be comes greater we Americans must be ready for greater sacrifices. More tnan 10,000,000 families hav» pledged themselves to help make the food go around. This pledge, unless we interpret patriotism as mere lin | loyalty and insincere affectation, is a i pledge to service as real as that of the soldier. The pledge card is not a mere scrap of paper, but the pledge of the American women to stand by the dec laration of war. Men, help the women! Every particle of diminished con sumption by the American people is one particle more for the soldiers, men, women and children of our as sociates in this war and for the starving people in other countries. This is a personal obligation upon every one of ue toward some individ ual abroad who will suffer privation to the extent of our own individual negligence. A PRAYER Let me be a little kinder, Let me be a little blinder To the faults of those about me, Let me praise a little more; let me be when I am weary Just a little bit more cheery— Let me serve a little better Those that I am striving for. Let me be a little braver. When temptation bids me waver, Let me strive a little harder To be all that I should be; Let me be a little meeker With the brother who is weaker, Let me think more of my neighbor And a little less of me. Let me be a little sweeter— Make my life a bit completer, By doing what I should do Every minute of the day. Let me toil without complaining, Not a humble task disdaining; Let me face the summons calmly When death beckons me away. For dressmaking, call Miss Alexan der. 2413 N. 29th st. Web. 3927. RATHER JOLTING TO MASCULINE VANITY Mrs. Carrie Chapman Catt Claims That Colored Women Are More In tellectual and Progressive Than Colored Men. _-_ Washington, D. C.—Mrs. Carrie Chapman Catt, president of the Na tional Woman Suffrage association, paid a tribute to Colored women when she cited the reason given for the op position to the federal enfranchise ment of women. She said that the Colored women are more intelligent, more ambitious and more dependable than the Colored men. The South, the only section of the country arrayed against suffrage, con ceives that the vote of Colored women would far exceed that of Colored men. Colored women, they say, would be more willing and ready to pay the $2 poll tax and would double the Colored vote in the South. SOME SUGGESTIVE STATISTICS CALL FOR CONSIDERATION F. L. Hoffman, in the Insurance Spectator, gives the statistics for homicides in thirty-one cities. An in crease over the previous five years’ average is shown and is attributed to the war, while the tendency is toward a decrease from the high-water mark in 1896. The homicide rate for our race is seven times as high as that of the whites, though the rate for the for eign-born whites is considerably high er than that for native whites. The five cities with the lowest rate have a large foreign population and show a decrease, while the five cities which have the highest rate have a large Colored population and are in dry ter ritory. They are Memphis, Atlanta, New Orleans, Nashville and Charles ton. Memphis has a rate 100 times greater than that of Rochester and Milwaukee, an increase of 25 percent.. The rate for the Colored people of Memphis was 133.7 per 100,000. Strange to say, New York has fewer homicides than Chicago, and its rat" shows a decrease. With the largest Colored population of any > rthem city, this showing is most g:atifying. BIRTH STATISTICS Birth statistics issued by the.Bureau of United States Census record for 1915 12,405 births for the registration area containing 600,821 Colored peo ple, which is a rate of 20.6 a thousand, as compared with a rate of 25 for the whites. One hundred and eighty-one deaths of infants under 1 year of age and one thousand births were recorded I'lmmimmiiiiiiiiiiiiimimiimiiimiimi for Colored people, as compared with ninety-nine for whites. The report says: “It is possible, however, that the registration of births is not as complete among Col ored as among white persons, and that therefore the rates shown for the for mer class are too low.” il A Sin DeLUXE ICE ALAmU CREAM GARDEN Open Every Evening Cabaret En tertainment Special Dance Every Monday and Thursday Evening. De Luxe Matinee Every Sunday Afternoon KILLINGSWDRTH BROS. Webster 2861 Proprietors You Are at Liberty to buy your PHOTOGRAPHS where vou pleas*1, but TO GET THE MOST VALUE FOR YOUR MONEY GO TO Butters’ Studio Phone Web. 6701. 1306 N. 24th The Jones Poro Culture College Positively Grows the Hair Try our scientific method of treat Ing the scalp. We positively grow hair or money refunded. Electric massage for scalp and face. System taught. Sterilized equipment. Steam heated booths. All work private. JONES PORO CULTURE COLLEGE Anna Evans Jones 1516 North 24th St. Webster 5450 Harney 5100 .... I Dunham & Dunham I | MAKERS OF THE BEST ( $15.00 § SUITS AND OVERCOATS IN THE WORLD REPAIRING, CLEANING AND PRESSING E 118 South 15th Street. Omaha, Neb. E Efiiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimiimiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii' ^ 1 What War Savings Stamps Are A War Savings Stamp is a “baby bond” of the United States Government. If is made in the form of a small sticker or stamp. You can buy a War Savings Stamp this month for $4.12. If you want to keep it until January 1, 1923, the Ceversfweftfc will buy it back of you and pay you $5.00 for it. The 88 cents profit to you on the transaction represents the interest the Government pays for the use of your 84.12—at the rate of 4% compound ed every three months. This means that your money actually earns near ly 4 each year. If you do not want to keep the stamp until January 1, 1923, you can get the cash for it, plus whatever interest it has earned, by simply giving written notice to the postmaster at any money-order postoffice that you desire the money. There is no red tape, no difficulty about it. The money derived by the Government from the sale of War Savings Stamps is spent in this country for manufacturing the millions of things required by the army and navy to win the war. It helps buy rifles and clothing arid food, ammunition and airplanes for the boys in France. The Government can raise all the money it needs by selling bonds to rich men. But it wants YOU to have a par t in this war. Therefore, it goes to the great trouble and detail of issuing “baby bonds” like these War- Savings Stamps so that every one, no matter how situated, can feel that he or she is actually helping to win the war. Then, too, the Government wants you to save your money and sooner- or later thus learn the way to prosperity. War Savings Stamps will teach you to save. You can buy one a month or four or ten a month—whatever you wish. But, beyond all that, buy War Savings Stamps and you not only learn to • save and get paid for doing so, but you show the boys in Fr ance that you are standing behind them here at home—doing all you can to help them in their terrible duty. You can order your first War Savings Stamps TODAY. Just tell your em nlover how many you want and he’ll get them for you. Or call up the DOUGLAS COUNTY WAR SAVINGS COMMITTEE, 1612 Farnain Street, Douglas 1917, and we’ll deliver it Back Up Our Boys in France . —'