I| THC MONIXOR j ]
A National Weekly Newspaper Devoted to the Interests of Colored Americans
THE REV. JOHN ALBERT WILLIAMS, Editor
$1.50 a Year. 5c & ty OMAHA, NEBRASKA. FEBRUARY 2, 1918 Vol. III. No. 31 (Whole No. 134)
*—-— ■ ■ ■■■■ —■ V -——_____________
The 92nd Division \
Is Getting Fu
Good Nature is One Reason the Ne
groes Make Good Soldiers.
Troops at Funston Are Only Fart of
the Big Division—Ballou’s Com
mand a Happy, Singing Lot.
(By Staff Correspondent.)
Camp Funston, lvas., Jan. 26.—Over
the headquarters building of the 92d
Division at Camp Funston—the only
Negro division in the United States—
floats a large American flag. Under
it Negroes are being gathered from
many states.
The commanding officers of the di
vision are white men, selected on the
strength of long and successful records
in handling Negro troops in the regu
lar army. Maj. Gen. Charles C. Bal
lou commands the division. He also
, commands Camp Funston as a whole,
* being the ranking general since Maj.
Gen. Leonard Woods’ departure for
France. Lieutenant Col. A. J. Greer
of Tennessee is chief of staff for the
Negro division. Maj. S. Whipple of
New York is division adjutant.
The Division is Scattered.
Not all the division is being mobil
ized at Camp Funston, only' the head
quarters and its attached units and
trains, approximately 2,700 men. The
units here have been made up from
a regiment composed largely of Kan
sas and Missouri men, but also con
taining hundreds from adjoining
states, originally gathered here under
a plan of attaching one regiment of
Negro troops to the 89th Division.
From this regiment men were assign
ed to 317th Trains and placed under
the command of Col. I. C. Jenks. Capt.
E. J. Turgeon was placed in command
of headquarters troop and Maj. Robert
Stirrett made commander of the ma
chine gun battalion of the headquar
ters detachment.
The remaining units of the divi
sion are stationed in srx other camps,
as follows:
Camp Meade, Md.—The 368th Reg
iment of Infantry and the 351st Reg
iment of Artillery.
Camp Dix, N. J.—The 107th Field
Artillery Brigade headquarters, the
349th and 350th regiments of infantry.
Camp Sherman, O.—The Field Sig
nal Battalion and Engineers’ Regi
ment.
Camp Upton. N. Y.—The 184th In
fantry Brigade headquarters and at
tached machine gun battalion and the
367th Regiment of Infantry'.
Camp Dodge, la.—The 366th Regi
ment of Infantry.
Camp Grant, III.—The 183d Infantry
Brigade headquarters and attached
machine gun battalion and the 365th
Regiment of Infantry.
Whether the division will be assem
bled , before embarkation is entirely
problematical, as no intimation of the
War Department’s policy has been
given at any time. However, it is not'
expected to be done, as training is
hampered little by the separation of
the units.
Funston Units Are Complete.
The units at Camp Funston virtu
ally are complete, as they are at the
other camps also, with the exception
of the Field Signal Battalion anti Reg
iment of Engineers at Camp Sherman.
Those two units are short technically
trained men to fill expert positions.
One difficulty encountered at Camp
Funston was a surplus of cooks. When
, a mustering officer would ask that all
who had had experience in cooking to
step out of line the whole line would
advance. The cooks were found to be
adept in other lines, also, however.
A dining car chef, for instance, also
had been chaffeur for millionaires. An
other chef who used to reign supreme
in the kitchen of the Albany hotel at
Denver was also an excellent barber
and followed that trade when the smell
of chicken a la king and breaded pork
chops grew less enticing than the
scent of bayrum and highly perfumed
pomade. He has a second hand bar
ber chair in the comer of his bar
racks which helps his income greatly.
If his record card in the divisional
statistical office reads rightly, Dewey
/Summersmith Robinson of St. Joseph,
Mo., besides being a cook, at one time
attended to the business of polishing
the boots of Theodore Roosevelt. He
made special mention of the fact when
he came to the word “remarks” on the
card he was given to fill out. Dewey
is a trumpeter and enjoys waking his
comrades in the morning.
Were Late in Mobilizing.
In training, the 92d Division is far
behind the other divisions, as mobil
ization was deferred until later. Even
after being assembled the units were
'ot established with the dispatch that j
haracterized the organization of the
other troops, because an uncertainty
existed for some time as to how the
men should be handled.
Divisional schools have not been es
tablished, as the first few weeks of
training are devoted to study of squad
movements, but when the division does
enter the more advanced training the
Negroes will have a great advantage
over the white soldiers in one way.
Being separated into seven camps,
their schools will be smaller and the
men thus should receive more benefit
from the schooling.
One of Sambo’s hardest tasks has
been mastered—dropping “boss” and
adopting “sir.”
Squad movements offer no problem
to the Negro, for the basis is keeping
time, and that is his natural instinct,
whether swinging a pick, stropping a
razor or whipping a polish on a patent
leather toe.
Negroes Always Good Natured.
To a visitor the camp of Negroes,,
when they are not on duty, is one big
minstrel shpw, a laugh in every bar- j
rack, every street. This good nature,
officers say, is one of the things that
makes the Negro a good soldier.
In equipment the Ninety-second is
behind the white divisions. Most of
the Negroes at Camp Funston are still
wearing the blue denim blouses and
pants issued when they reached here.
Some have leggings, nearly all have |
overcoats, and all have service hats.
Just a hat makes a lot of difference in
the bearing of a Negro soldier. He
throws back his shoulders and is a
different man from the stoop shoul
dered laborer with dragging feet in
civilian life.
The theory that a Negro cannot
stand cold is overturned every day A
strapping big mulatto, too big for the
“baby size” overcoats issued, was
walking post around headquarters
building a recent blustering day. The
division adjutant sent an orderly to
ttJoiiiiiiue'J on fourth page)
Nebraska’s Great
Feeding Ability
Food Administrator Wattles Tells
What State Can Do to Help
Feed World.
Omaha, — Nebraska’s wonderful
ability to feed itself and other people I
was shown by Gurdon W. Wattles, j
federal food administrator for Ne
braska, in an address on “Crumbs
Which Fall From the Rich Man’s
Table.”
“For every man, woman and child in 1
Nebraska the state produced last year
700 pounds of meats, 647 pounds of
flour and 112 pounds of sugar,” said
Mr. Wattles.
"Without wasteful habits, the aver
age consumption of flour per capita is
246 pounds annually; of meats, 150
pounds annually, and of sugar, 88.8
pounds annually. If we did not econo
mize, but continued these habits, we
will have enough left to feed flour to
2,000,000 others, meats to 4,500,000
others and sugar to 267,500 others.
“Hut if we follow the suggestions of
the food administration and eat four
pounds of flour each week, two and a
half pounds of meat each week and
three pounds of sugar each month we
can furnish in addition the equivalent
of 791,666 bushels of wheat, 25,000,
000 pounds of meats and 66,000,000
pounds of sugar.
“What a wonderful army we can
take care of and feed, and what a won
derful tribute to the great state of Ne
braska!”
COMMUNITY HOUSE
FOR FUNSTONj
A campaign for a community house
at Camp Funston has been opened.
The building is to cost $50,000. Omaha
is asked to give $2,500 and, of course,
Omaha, which goes “over the top” for
everything good, will do it. More about
it next week. Colonel Roscoe C. Sim
mons, the famous orator, is expected
to speak at the Auditorium February
11 in behalf of this fund.
GROOM M’CRACK EN
FOR LEGISLATURE
St. l’aul, Minn.—Fred D. McCracken
is being urged by many friends to en
ter the race for representative in the
Eighth ward of St, l’aul against Rep
resentative George Nordlin. He has
manypolitical friends among the white
citizens, made duirng the campaign of
ex-Congressman Fred C. Stevens, for
whom he was secretary in Washington
for sixteen years.
JURY RECOMMENDS
LIFE IMPRISONMENT
Charles Smith Adjudged Guilty of
Nethaway Murder at Second Trial;
Public Sentiment Strongly in His
Favor; Itelated Story Responsible
for Verdict; Prisoner Collapses
When V'erdict Is Announced; At
torneys Move for New Trial; May
Appeal Case to Supreme Court.
Charles Smith, who was accused of
the murder of Mrs. C. L. Nethaway of
Florence on August 26, was found
guilty of murder in the first degree by
the jury last Saturday morning, Jan
uary 26, exactly six months after the
crime was committed. The jury fixed
the penalty at life imprisonment in
stead of electrocution, a significant
fact, which show's that there was an
element of doubt even in the jury’s
mind as to the guilt of the accused.
The opinion has been freely expressed
everywhere by lawyers and others that
Smith is not guilty. It is believed that
his insistence upon going on the stand
at the last hour, after months of si
lence, testifying that he saw' two men
deposit the body of Mrs. Nethaway on
the ledge where it was found and a
third scattering evidence of the crime,
and that when he came down and saw
it to be the body of a murdered woman
he became frightened and ran away,
prejudiced his case. Indeed, he told
The Monitor that he knew his law'yers
had acquitted him, but that he insisted
on going on the stand over their pro
test to tell what he knew to free his
mind.
He saiii: “I am responsible for my
conviction, but I told the truth and my
mind is now free. I wanted to testify
in the first trial. I told just what I
saw. I have no kick on my lawyers. I
didn’t kill that woman and the truth
will come out some day.”
On the first trial the jury stood nine
for acquittal and three for conviction.
The prosecution offered no new evi
dence on the second trial, w'hile the de
fense added some damaging testimony.
A. Anderson, postmaster of Florence,
who was present with Nethaway when
he undressed the Sunday night of the
murder, testified that Nethaway had
blood on his collar, necktie and shirt.
Nethaway’s explanation was that he
got this blood on him when he was
kissing his wife after he found her
body some hours after her death. No
blood was found on Smith.
M. O. Cunningham, a prominent
Omaha attorney, and William Sievers,
a merchant of Calhoun, testified to
seeing a path leading DOWN from the
bluff to the body. The state’s claim
was that Smith attacked Mrs. Neth
away on the railroad right-of-way and
carried her body up to the bluff along
the single diagonal path, leading up
from the railroad, on which her hat
and other articles were found.
The defense was about to rest its
case Friday morning when Smith went
on the stand and testified that he saw
two men carry the body of Mrs. Neth
away to the spot where it was found
and soon after he saw a third man
come to the spot and scatter the hat
and other articles which were discov
ered in the vicinity of the body.
Saw Men “With Big Bundle.”
Smith’s testimony was interrupted
frequently by objections and colloquies
of counsel. Detailing the incidents di
rectly connected with the sight of the
two men he said carried the body to
the cut, he, said:
“I had walked up the track till I
came to the bridge at Briggs’ station.
I climbed up on the bridge and sort o’
looked around, and I saw the two men
come down from the top of the cut,
down to the little bench where the
V
body was found.
“They had something—a big bundle,
like, they were carrying between them,
and it looked like it was heavy.”
Asked if he had a suspicion what it
might be, he said:
“I did. I thought it looked like may
be it might be a body of some kind.”
Counsel for the state asked him if it
were not true that he knew that the
body was there at the time he went to
see what the men had put down.
“Got Down and Prayed.”
“I did not,” Smith answered. “I kind
o’ thought it looked like a body they
was carrying, but I surely never know
ed nothing about it until I climbed the
bank and saw it.”
“What did you see?”
“It was a woman with her throat
cut. A twisted rag was laid across the
cut and it was soaked with blood. I
looked at it a minute and her hands
were tied. And then I was scared of
the dead body and left. After I got
away up the track I knelt down and
prayed, because I was scared, and then
I got some apples out of an orchard
and sat on some ties until the train
came along. I swung on and at a grove
of trees, a little beyond, three other
men got on the car next behind the one
I was in. They got off at the junction
near Calhoun.”
Smith said one of the men was tailei
than the other, and that from a dis
tance they appeared to be roughly
dressed.
Claude R. Nethaway, husband of
the murdered woman, was not in the
courtroom at the time Smith gave his
sensational testimony.
His story of his arrest by the sheriff
of Washington county at Blair did not
vary from the statements made by
himself and officers several times
since the arrest.
Sticks to First Story.
Smith was on the stand practically
all forenoon and part of the afternoon.
A rigid cross-examination did not
shake his story. He stated that his
real name is Larkin McCloud and his
home in Ottawa, Kan. He said he be
came known as “Smith” while he was
wrestling as a semi-professional in the
South and was advertised as “Cannon
ball” Smith, and later as Charley
Smith.
The defense rested shortly after 3
o’clock and the jury was sent for a last
inspection of the scene of the crime.
The court allotted two hours to each
side for argument and recessed until 7
o’clock.
When the night session opened the
courtroom was packed to its limit of
capacity, many people even encroach
ing upon the space back of the judge’s
bench.
Major Ray Abbott and L. J. Piatti
of the county attorney’s office de
mar 'i.'d the death penalty' for Smith,
charging that the case had clearly es
tablished his guilt.
Major Abbott made much of the op
portunity afforded him by Smith’s
story and he used it in his eloquent
way to great advantage. Mr. Piatti
was melodramatic but not convincing
in his argument.
“A dream; a bloody tale more lurid
in its fantastic coloring than one of
‘The Arabian Nights,”’ was Assistant
County Attorney Abbott’s characteri
zation of the version of the crime of
fered in Smith’s testimony in his own
defense.
Attorneys Scruggs and Timlin, for
the defense, appeared to good advan
tage in their calm, incisive analysis of
the evidence. They insisted that the
state had not established Smith’s guilt
and warned the jury against the dan
ger of circumstantial evidence.
“We have been criticised,” Attorney
Timblin declared, “for casting asper
sions on the husband of the dead wo
man, by innuendo insinuating that he
might have been guilty. There is a
mystery in this case that will not be
cleared up by conviction of Charles
Smith. If the evidence adduced in this
case has seemed to point to any per
son, no matter who, it is not our fault,
but the trend of the evidence."
Smith’s counsel declared that death
alone should be the penalty for the
murder of Mrs. Nethawa.v, but urged
that Smith had not been found “be
yond reasonable doubt” to have com
mitted the crime.
Saturday morning the jury brought
in a verdict of guilty and recommend
ed life imprisonment.
When the verdict was delivered
Smith collapsed in a fit of hysterical
screaming and it took the efforts of
four deputies to remove him from the
courtroom. The prisoner threw him
self on the floor, cried out, beat the
floor with his feet and finally lapsed
into semi-consciousness, in which con
dition he was returned to his cell.
This was in striking contrast to
his absolute composure maintained
throughout this and the former trial.
Smith’s counsel Monday filed a peti
tion for a new trial, which is to be ar
gued today. If refused by Judge Sears,
which is quite likely, the case will
probably be carried to the supreme
court.
Despite the jury’s verdict the Omaha
public is by no means satisfied of
Smith’s guilt. The sentiment sets the
other way.
Washington, D. C.—A police census
reported November 1 gives the popula
tion of Washington as 395,000, and
places the Colored population at 102,
000. Colored females exceed the males
by 9,234.
i MARY CHURCH TERRELL
GETS RESOLUTION PASSED
Washington, D. C.—At a general
meeting in the rooms of the Y. M. C.
A. Monday, January' 14, the National
Council of Women, composed of prom
inent female leaders from all parts of
the United States, voted unanimously
in favor of opening trades and pursuits
to women which are nowclosed against
them. Resolutions to this effect were
put through by Mrs. Mary Church Ter
rell, seconded by Rev. Anna Garland
Spencer. Mrs. John Hays Hammond
(white) put the matter to a vote and
it was carried without debate. Mrs.
Terrell was elated at the result, as she
has endeavored for more than twenty
years to secure the passage of such
resolution.
ECHOES FROM EAST ST. LOUIS
St. Louis.—To judge from the many
arrests and convictions of Colored men
one would think that they were solely
responsible for the race riot at East
St. Louis. The latest victim is Charles
Collins, who fled from the city during
the riot. He is charged with being a
j member of the mob that killed two de
tectives. His bond is fixed at $2,000.
YOUNG COLORED WOMAN
RANKS HIGHEST
Cleveland, O.—Miss Minna Bell
Wallace is receiving congratulations
from her many New York friends for
standing highest in a class of acci
dent nursery and minor surgery, and
has secured a position with Dr. A. W.
Binckley, accident surgeon for the ln-‘
dustrial Commission of Ohio. Miss
j Wallace won over thirty white com
| petitors.
_
Government Urges
Saving of Food
The American People Are Not Asked
to Go Hungry, But to Use
Discretion.
Washington, D. C.—The American
j people are depending upon the United
! States food administration to see that
i our soldiers, allies and ourselves have
I plenty of food at as reasonable a price
as the war conditions will allow. This
is one thing to remember, that we are
living in war times, hence we must
govern ourselves accordingly.
The number of food administration
j window cards in the windows of loyal
j homes is one of the best signs that
| they who pass may see that the people
| of those houses have pledged them
! selves to do what their government
asks them to do in the saving of
I wheat, meat, fats and sugar, by using
I less of these foods and substituting
| other foods in their stead. So don’t
be a slacker. Let other people know
that you are with them in doing your
“bit.” If you have no card in your win
dow, get one from the federal food ad
ministrator of your state. If you want
to have that “great, grand and glori
ous feeling” do all the things your
government asks you to do.
The food administration does not
| want you to go hungry. The food ad
I ministration wants you to have plenty
i to eat, but you are asked not to eat all
I you want of those foods which we
I must ship to our soldiers and the al
ilies. Eat a little less wheat, meat, fats
j and sugar, and all you need of the
I other foods. Patriotic people are cheer
fully making personal sacrifices in
| their eating. Thi§ is not the time for
the “big eats.”
—
HOSPITAL REFUSED
AID TO DYING M AN
Savannah, Ga., Jan. 8.—Friday of
| last week a Colored man fell upon the
j sidewalk of Huntingdon street, in the
rear of the home of Mrs. W. W. Gor
don, a wealthy white woman. The ser
vants called Mrs. Gordon, who saw the
man was ill. She called the Savannah
hospital, just across the street. They
sent over, but finding the man was
Colored, refused to take him to the
hospital. Mrs. Gordon frantically
plead for help, but the hospital people
permitted the man to die on the side
walk.
Galveston Sentinel
Guarding the Sea
Monitor Correspondent Recounts Mat
ters of Interest Gleaned on Visit
to Southern City.
San Antonio, Texas, Jan. 21, ’18.
To the Readers of The Monitor:
Monday morning found me riding
along a low level country full of veg
etation that shows the effect of the
recent extreme cold weather, every
thing dying and decaying. You must
remember that this is the land where
the markets are supplied with the
green stuffs the year round.
Twenty miles south of Houston I
stopped at Ellington aviation field
and witnessed the capers of a hundred
planes in the air at one time. I lin
gered here just a few moments, then
continued my journey south to Gal
veston, the island city, sometimes
called the wall call city because of
the great sea wall that was built to
prevent the flooding of this city dur
ing the storms that often frequent
this coast. Entering the city from
Point Texas on the main land over
the great concrete causeway, passing
; over the bay for the distance of two
i miles on to the island, one gets the
: best view of this great, and at one
; time the most important southern port
and city. Rising abruptly out of the
ocean, with hills of granite walls sur
rounding it on every side, we proceed
ed by' large and imposing government,
city office buildings and beautiful
residences, well paved streets, lined
with palms. You have but to forget
the present century and recall the
stories of ancient history, and you will
think you are entering portals of some
strong, ancient island kingdom.
Upon entering the central portion of
the business district you will be much
impressed by the air of militarism that
exists here. The streets are patroled
everywhere by the soldiers in full uni
form and gun and bayonet; also by
the special military police, who are
provided to help the civil authorities
I properly police the city. It is guarded
at both east and west ends by Forts
San Jacinto and Crockett.
The entrance to the bay, where the
shipping of the world enters for this
poi't and the city of Houston, fifty
miles up Buffalo bayou, is at the east
ern end of the island. I only stayed
here for a day, as the inquisitive
stranger is viewed with suspicion.
The race population, which formerly
numbered many thousands, is now al
most depleted, for the lack of suffi
cient employment. They have been
forced to seek new homes further
north. Occupation of this important
and strategical gulf port by the United
States government has imposed an air
of secrecy and silence which is felt by
every one. Standing at Market and
Twenty-fifth streets, I gazed across
the dome of the government building
and custom house. I saw a flag being
rapidly hoisted. As it reached the top
and a strong breeze caught its folds it
displayed to our gaze a white flag with
a black center. , My companion said it
was a storm signal, the one thing that
puts fear in the heart of every Galves
tonian, for he instantly remembers
September, 1900, and August, 1916. I,
too, thought of those two destructive
events and inquired the schedule of the
! next north interurban, which I board
ed and, crossing the bay over the
causeway to the mainland, I felt the
effects of a strong breeze, which was
whipping the waters of the bay into a
choppy, white-capped sea, the kind
usually taken as an indication of rough
weather. My last view of Galveston,
as I passed rapidly north, was like that
! of a stern white sentinel keeping
! guard over the safety of that great
| Gulf of Mexico.
Into Houston that night and out
! over the main line of the Southern Pa
cific, due west to San Antonio, where
I arrived late Saturday evening, after
stopping at Richmond, Rosenburg,
Eagle Lake, Columbus, Schulenburg,
Tulling and Sequin, at each point in
troducing The Monitor and meeting
with success, which I hope to continue
in this city, of which I will write you
next week.
Until then I am correspondingly
yours, FRED C. WILLIAMS,
Traveling Representative of The
Monitor.
—
SOUTHERN COLLEGES TO GET
HALF A MILLION DOLLARS
Cincinnati, Jan. 18.—In the general
distribution of educational funds the
Freedman’s Aid society has appro
priated $500,000, to be expended be
tween twenty-one Southern schools
and colleges.