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About The monitor. (Omaha, Neb.) 1915-1928 | View Entire Issue (March 23, 1918)
The Monitor n^n 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, MARCH 23, 1918 Vol. III. No. 38 No. 140) Mrs. Howard Gould | States Her Position Supported Ransom's Candidacy Bc capse She Believes That Colored Americans Are Entitled to Repre sentation in Congress; Wants to See Race Have Simple Justice. IS SOUTHERN BORN WOMAN Has No Theories of Race Equality to Exploit. But Believes In Plain Speaking. NEW YORK.—A great deal of com ment has been caused by Mfk. Howard Gould’s enthusiastic advocacy of the election of the Rev. Reverdy Ransom in the recent New York cam paign for congress. This noted wo man of culture,wealth and refinement, who is an active suffragist, made speeches for Dr. Ransom and urged the Colored people to stand unitedly behind him. Dr. Ransom did not re ceive enough signatures, because of his late entry into the campaign, to have his name placed upon the reg ular ballot. He, however, ran inde pendently and his name having to be written in, he received only 500 votes. Mrs. Gould’s appearance and earnest speech at a mass meeting in Zion church, on the eve of the election, in favor pf Dr. Ransom’s candidacy created quite a sensation. Prompted by Conscience. Interviewed by a reporter, Mrs. Gould made the following statement: "I am afraid I can hardly explain in terms that will carry conviction. Frankly, I merely acted in accord with the deepest and most sincere prompt ings of my conscience. When I tell you that 1 am a Southern woman, a Clemmons of Clemmonsville, N. C. you will understand that I have no theories of race equality to exploit. J “I want to see the Negro in Amer ica get simple justice and an oppor tunity to develop all his possibilities for good and useful citizenship. To my mind the blackest page in our na; tional history is our treatment of our citizens of African descent. It sickens me to the soul to read frightful ac counts of Negro lynchings in the South for supposed offenses which a white man might commit with impunity. Knows Conditions. “I have watched with a sad heart the suppression of Negro men and wo men in the Southern states, and in many instances my recent visit to cer tain sections of the South brought tears to my eyes. The lack of educa tional opportunities and the scant po litical recognition is no less than ap palling. I do believe that the Negroes’ only hope in gaining full citizenship and recognition as a man rests in his political representation through the members of his own race. This is no large task, if they would only realize their power, co-operate and concen trate their efforts in a common cause. 1 am aware of this defect, and it is my aim to lend every aid, influence and effort in securing their rights, and to create a true feeling of democracy for' the large mass of people. The Negro is such an elementary part of our daily life that there can be no excuse for overlooking his welfare.” Fairness of Demand. Mrs. Gould said she did not kno.v the candidate at all well. She had first seen a statement of his platform and had been impressed with the fairness of the demands of a section where there are more Negroes than any where else in like area in the world ^ for representation in congress. Lynchings Soul Sickening. Mrs. Gould continued: "As I have said before, it sickens me to the soul to read frightful ac counts of Negro lynchings in theSouth for supposed offenses which a white man might commit with impunity. "It is worth remembering that the bogy of rariul equality has two sides to it. In my studies of the problem, and I have lived in the South and know it as only a Southerner can, I h'ave found that there are more white men ready to break down race lines and cohabit with black women than there are black women desirous of liv , ing with white men." V Equal Educational Chances. “I see no reason why the South should not give the Colored children equal advantage to acquire an educa tion as the white children. It Is a short-sighted policy to follow any other plan if our country is to be raised to its highest power." # ■ Always be a gentleman. Let the other fellow be a boor, if he thinks it best, but not you. Be a gentleman. NO RACIAL FRICTION AT CAMP UPTON No Segregation There and Army Reg ulations Are Strictly Obeyed By All. I "amp UPTON, New York, March 12.—Visitors to Camp Upton are i especially impressed with the cordial ity which seems to exist between the Colored and white troopers. The white draftees experience no fainting fits ! when required to salute a superior of i ficer whose shade happens to be a | shade or two darker than his. Nor does a junior officer show any embarrass I ment when he meets and salutes a su perior officer of color. Army regulal tions are army regulations, and each and all feel that they are to be obeyed and that without distinctions of any kind. The 367th Colored Infantry is not ! set off into a prescribed territory, as if they were the victims of some com municable disease, and a visitor speed-' ily discovers that the most cordial re lations exist between the two races. Said a visitor to this camp recent1;. : “The Colored officers of this camp are men of the highest type and compare favorably in all things to the white of ficers. As for the Colored draftees, they are showing the beneficial effect? of systematic training, regular habits and army discipline. Many of the draftees knew little discipline before going to camp. Having to respect posi tion; particularly when the superior is a Colored man, is something new to some of them. No one now goes to Upton without paying the ‘Buffaloes’ a visit. They are the central figure of the training camp—a camp where real Americanism is not a hollow mockery and where racial amity and goodwill reign.” EAGER STUDENTS IN CAMP DODGE SCHOOL Camp Dodge, Des Moines, la., March 14.—A school of 1,672 pupils is some school, as every one will acknowledge. This is the number of men in the 366th Infantry at Camp Dodge who are learning their A B C’s. They are re ceiving instruction at one of the Y. M C. A. buildings. Many of these men when they came to the cantonment were unable to read or write their own narnds, but now they are making rapid progress along the line of learning the three R’s. These men seize with avidity the oc casion and opportunity of learning how to read and write and make very apt pupils. Some of the better edu cated men among them are learning French and German. In the work of the regiment they are so well pleased that those who are sent back home on account of disability regret the cause of their going. SERVICES DURING HOLY WEEK AT ST. PHILIP’S CHURCH The Holy Communion will be cele brated every morning during Holy Week, March 24-30, at 7 o’clock, with the exception of Good Friday. On Maundy Thursday the hours for the Holy Eucharist are 7 and 10 a. m. Good Friday the usual three-hour ser vice, commemorating the three hours during which our Blessed Lord hung upon the cross and spoke what are. commonly called “the seven last words,” will be held from 12 noon til! 3 o’clock. Persons are at liberty to come for such portions of the service as other duties may allow. It is best to come at noon and remain through if possible. There will also be service at 8 p. m. GIVES $10,000 FOR BATH HOUSE Pittsburgh, Pa., March 22.—A Pitts burgher has given $10,000 toward a fund to provide proper care for more than 20,000 Negroes from the South, brought here by large concerns to work in mills and other plants. John T. Clark, executive secretary of the Urban League of Pittsburgh, 600 Wylie avenue, made this announce ment. Through the league provision will be made for caring for these Ne gioes, obtaining better housing condi tions and keeping them in work. METHODIST MINISTERS LEAVE FOR CONFERENCE The Rev. G. G. Logan, pastor of Grove M. E. church, and the Rev. G. W. Walton, pastor of the M. E. Mis sion church, South Side, left Tuesday for Tulsa, Okla., to attend the annual conference. It is cheaper to buy than to rent. Band of 15th N. Y. Infantry Making Big Hit Overseas EW YORK, March 14.—A Colored band, headed by Lieutenant Eu rope, who once led the orchestra on the i Forty-fourth Street theater roof, is 1 the pride of Colonel William Hayward and the Fifteenth New York regiment (Colored) in France. In a letter to City Chamberlain Alfred J. Johnson the former public service commission er grows enthusiastic over the joy the band is giving the soldiers and the sensation it is proving on foreign soil. "Our band is the most wonderful thing over here,” Colonel Hayward wrote. “I don’t believe any money evei brought as much pleasure and happi ness for human beings as that $10,000 of Daniel G. Reid’s has given in the shape of a Negro band.” * The band was recruited from musi cians in the United States, Cuba and Porto Rico. The first man approached for a contribution was Daniel G. Reid. “How much will the whole shooting match cost?” ho asked. “Ten thousand dollars,” was the re ply. “Shucks!” said Mr. Reid. ‘*Go get your band. I’ll pay the check.” When the first contingent of Amer ican soldiers, on leaving the trenches reached Aix-les-Baine on February 16 the Col. Hayward’s Negro band met them at the train. The soldiers tum bled out to the music of “Hail, Hail, the Gang’s All Here," and medleys of Negro and patriotic American airs. “If Mr. Reid could see the tired, ex hausted men straighten up, shift packs a little higher on their backs and step like school kids when that band plays,” Col. Hayward exclaimed; “if he could see the thin faces lean out of hospital windows to catch every note of melodious cheer from a South ern melody of the Sextet from ‘Lucia,’ he would be pleased with his invest ment.” In the commander’s letter was en closed praise of the band by Johnstor L'e Forest, American Red Cross repre sentative at a base hospital. Mr. De Forest described a concert where the band played to 750 patients and more than 20 Onurses, physicians and corps men. “I have yet to find a single man who does not seem to have been stimulated in spirit by just hearing those Colored boys of your play,’ the Red Cross man wrote. “That they came from the little U. S. A. was so much to the good. I don’t think I am laying it on too thick when I say every man who heard those boys pjay is a better soldier and better able to help win the war.” Protest to Governor of State of Louisiana The National Association for the Ad vancement of Colored People Is ■Steadily on Its Big Job. SEC. SHILLADY IS LIVE WIRE NEW YORK.—The National Asso ciation for the Advancement of Colored People sent to Governor R. G. Pleasant of Louisiana the following telegram of protest against the lynch ing of three Colored Americans by white farmers near Delhi, La., on Tuesday, February 26, the affait growing out of an accusation of hog stealing. The association’s secretary John II. Shillady, characterized the lynching as an indefensible attack upon the morale of the nation and as affecting national prestige abroad. “Hon. It. G. Pleasant, Governor, Baton Rouge, La.: “Press dispatches in New York pa pers report that three Negroes, whose names are given as Jim Lewis, Jim Jones and Will Powell, were lynched near Delhi, La., Tuesday, February 26, as the outgrowth of trouble between whites and Negroes, the lynched Col ored men having been accused of steal ing hogs. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored Peo ple, composed of representative citi zens of both races, most emphatical!:! protests against this defiant disregard of the laws of your state and against this indefensible attack upon the mo rale of this nation at a time when jus tice and law enforcement at home are essential to national prestige abroad. We protest not only in the name of our ninety branches and 10,000 mem bers, for whom we speak directly, but in the name of the law-abiding citi zens of the whole country, who feel chagrined, humiliated and outraged that in the states of our nation mobs are allowed to take the law into theii own hands and wreak vengeance upon men because they happen to be black. “These outrages, we would remind you, are not a matter of- state concern alone, but affect the whole nation. Such acts as this mob lynching be cause of alleged hog stealing put th» president and the United States in a most embarrassing and difficult posi tion when the executive of the country seeks to protect, however rightfully, against outrages committed in Bel gium or Armenia. “This is the second Louisiana lynch ing reported within thirty days by the press of the country. No reply has as yet been made by you to our inquiry of February 6 for information as to any action you might deem fitting to take in the circumstances of a Negro lynched on January 26. For the infor mation of the newspapers of the coun try which receive our regular pres! service we inquire what action you, as governor, propose to take to uphold the laws of Louisiana? (Signed) “JOHN R. SHILLADY, “Secretary, National Association for the Advancement of Colored Peo ple.” Courtesy counts! ; MOTHER OF JACK JOHNSON DEAD; MONEY ALL GONE Chicago, March 18.—Teenie John son, mother of Jack Johnson, for fer champion pugilist died last night. For a brief time in the hey day of the career of her son, she knew a prosperity and notoriety such as seldom comes to a Colored “mammy," but the curious who gazed at the house at 3444 Wabash avenue today saw the mute testimony of fallen grandeur, a sign reading “Boarders Wanted.” ■ When Jack became champion and money rolled in upon him he bought the Wabash avenue house and pre sented it to his mother. He bought her gowns and jewels and an auto mobile and employed a chauffeur to drive it. Then came the champion’s convic tion of violating the Mann act, his j flight and the forfeiture of the heavy bonds under which he was at liberty, j I I The automobile went; the house wac mortgaged and then came the last resort of humbled womanhood, “Boarders Wanted.” Johnson is said to be in Barcelona, Spain, where he has, according to friends, become a bull fighter. Owing to his conviction he dare not return to the United States. Mrs. Johnson was 74 years of age. CHICAGOANS PUT TO WORK IN PLANT HERE Two cars of Colored men, from Chi cago, in charge of William Devereese chief of the Armour police, were taken to Armour’s packing plant on the South Side Wednesday. Manager R. C. Howe says forty la borers, both white and Colored, skilled in the packing house work, were brought here because of a shortage oi labor on the market here and a sur plus in Chicago. They are used to working in coolers. Ordinary laborers, according to Mr. Howe, are not “acclimated” to these working conditions and are not prop erly outfitted—as is necessary—as the men just brought in. Increased speed in preparing meats for shipment to the allied forces is un der way in the packing houses, Mr. Howe says. EDUCATOR LEAVES $50,000 ESTATE — Prof. H. T. Healing Owned Both City and Farm Property. Kansas City, Mo.—The will of Prof, j H. T. Healing, the educator who re cently died, has been filed in the i Wyandotte county probate court./, H* left $50,000 in property, which is di vided among his widow and children, i The property consists of residences in Philadelphia and Bordentown, N. J., a ranch near Waco, Tex., and a farm in Wyandotte county. HARLEM WANTS HOSPITAL _ New York.—An effort to raise $80,- | 00c to erect a Negro hospital in Har lem, N. Y., is on foot and several meetings have been held in churches and other places to interest the people in this latest venture among the Col ored people of this section of New York City. The McDonough Hospital association is the organization under which the movement is being launch ed. Celia Pai>\ Wooley Summoned by Death A Staunch Friend of the Race Sincere ly Mourned by Thousands; Founded the Famous Frederick Douglas Cen ter; Was Brilliant Woman. CHICAGO.—Celia Parker Wooley, the aged Christian worker, moth er of Frederick Douglas Center, in which she labored for the upbuilding of the Colored race and attracted the foremost white philanthropists of the country, was buried from Abraham Lincoln Center, Monday, March 11, at 2 p. m. Rev. Malvina Morse Manns delivered the eulogy. The platform was bedecked with flowers and a Col ored choir sang soft chants and car lied out the flowers behind the coffin. Mrs. Manns, who is pastor of tho Third Unitarian church, spoke bril liantly and said in part: “Mrs. Wooley had a moral vision which was a standing power of good ness. She did not possess it, but it possessed her. Her thoughts were given to abundance of life. Her treaty was in gentleness and not aggression. Her kindness and beauty shone in the very face of darkness. Hers was a message of life; something greater than a tool in the management of life. In her moral vision she rather weeps for us than we for her. Her power was unconscious in every difficult talk. The words she has spoken for freedom can not die. Hers was a moral triumph of a human creature. Love is crucified every day, yet love and truth abide. Her poems showed that no matter how low or unconcerned a person may be they always glean some knowledge of the better way.” ATTORNEY HEUSTON FOR ALDERMAN Kansas City, Mo., March 21.—Wil liam Clarence Heuston, the talented and popular attorney, has been nomi nated by the republicans of this city for alderman of the Eighth ward, which has a large Colored population. Mr. Heuston is one of Kansas City’£ most substantial and progressive citi zens, irrespective of race. He is a graduate of the Kansas university and enjoys a liberal practice in his profes sion. With the united support of the race in Kansas City, Mr. Heuston will bo elected.