THE MONITOR A Weekly Newspaper devoted to the civic, 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 as Second-Class Mail Matter July 3, 1915. 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 Parker. Contributing Editor. Bert Patrick, Business Manager. Fred C. Williams, Traveling Representative SUBSCRIPTION RATES, 81.30 PER YEAR Advertising Rates, 50 cents an Inch per Issue. Address, The Monitor, 1119 North Twenty-first street, Omaha. Telephone Webster 4243. WHO IS THE TROUBLE MAKER? MAJOR GENERAL BALLOU,com manding the Ninety-second Divi sion, has issued an order which is in tended to avoid the raising of racial animosities. He counsels the Color ed officers of his command to avoid frequenting places where their pres ence will be resented that so by their forbearance and temporary waiving of their legal rights they may set an example in this respect to the enlisted men. That General Ballou has the best interests of his men at heart no one will question. That the advice given will be generally followed goes with out saying, because it suggests and indicates the line of conduct gener ally pursued by all self-respecting people and Colored people are not wanting in self respect. And yet, at the same time it must not be for gotten that there are times and cir cumstances which make it necessary in maintaining one’s self-respect to insist upon one’s legal rights, else those legal rights will not only be de nied and restricted, but-withdrawn. The very war in which we are en gaged is illustrative of this principle. The United States was patient and forbearing to the limit. German ar rogance and the invasion of our na tional rights and liberties were most charitably overlooked. We were “too proud to fight." Too proud, if you please, to go where our “presence” would “be resented.” This magna nimity was not appreciated. Every concession was met by some new in vasion, some new violation of our le gal rights as a nation, until it issued ir. the insolent demand that American ships, even though upon their lawful errands, be kept off of the high seas within a given zone or they would be sunk without warning. To maintain our self-respect it then became necessary to insist upon our legal rights. The pen gave place to the sword. And so we are in this war to maintain our legal rights. We have been compelled to meet force with force. The principle is identical, and it matters not one whit whether that force be physical or legal. And as it is with the nation so it is with the in dividual. The individual who is “too proud to fight,” finding his magna nimity and forebearanee interpreted as cowardice and an invitation for fur ther indignities and encroachments, must, if he would maintain his self respect, fight for his rights. Suspicion is not wanting upon the part of many that nationally and in international Iy mankind would have j been a great deal better off if Amer ica had called the kaiser’s hand when in violation of the rights of humanity he sunk the Lusitania. Our purpose now, however, is sim- j ply to draw an obvious parallel, and to show that those who claim that the ; Colored American will secure his legal rights without ever contending for j them misinterpret and misread the j selfishness of human nature. But to return to Genera! Ballou’s ; order and advice. Under the exigencies of the time; and the necessity laid upon us by ] America’s crude conception of democ-1 racy, -we believe that his advice indi-! cates the wisest plan and really blazes 1 the speediest pathway towards the at-, tainment of all those rights and privi I leges and responsibilities which justly 1 belong to us as American citizens. Only let it be distinctly understood i that when occasion require we will 1 fight for those rights. We agree in the main With his advice and believe it to be sound and applicable alike to civilians and soldiers. There is, however, one unfortunate statement in General Ballou’s order with which we most respectfully join issue. It is this: “The success of the division, with all that success implies, is dependent upon the goodwill of the public. That public is nine-tenths white. White men made the division and they can break it just as easily, if it becomes a trouble-maker.” This statement impresses us as un fortunate and regrettable. It implies that the success of the division de pends not upon the fact that the men themselves show the ability to make good, but upon the goodwill of the public, “nine-tenths white.” In other words, are we to understand that no matter how able are the commanding officers or how skillfully they handle their men and weld them into an effi cient force, that their success or effi ciency depends not upon officers or men, but “upon the goodwill of the public, nine-tenths white”? Certainly this is a hiost remarkable concession to the public. Moreover the statement is unfor tunate because there seems to be a thinly-veiled threat in the words. “White men made the division and they can break it just as easily if ;t becomes a trouble-maker.” The effi cacy of threats in moving men to do their duty is questionable. They are certainly not needed in the case of our people and will only evoke resent ment; and resentment and bitterness must be avoided. Nor must it be for gotten that Colored men as well as white men, through their representa tives in congress, had a voice in mak ing not only the Ninety-second Divi sion, but all the military forces of the United States now engaged in a death grapple with a formidable foe which would ruthlessly trample underfoot the legal rights of nations. The in dividual, be he black or white, who contends for his legal rights is not the “trouble-maker,” but he who denies those rights. Is America or Germany the “trouble-maker”? The individual who contends for his legal rights and protects his legal rights against then invasion and denial is justified by America’s just and righteous position in this war. The principle is the sto e. The “trouble-maker” is the invade: cf legal rights, not the defender there of. WHAT ARE YOU DOING? THE Amsterdam News of NewYork City editorially calls attention to the I fact that there is a vast deal of igno rance in Harlem! Harlem, New York! (Think of it! This is not only time of j the newcomers from the Southland,] I who have been deprived of opportuni-1 I ties of learning, but also of those who j have neglected to make use of th<- j j privileges at hand. It pleads for a ! j more general use of the opportunities (offered by libraries, night and voca-j tional schools, debating clubs and lit-' ] erary societies. And then it drives! | home much-needed information in the i following well-chosen words: “And those guilty of neglect of op-, | portunities, and so lax in their duties ] to themselves and the race, are not j the illiterate alone, but many who are educated and in a position to tiield great influence over their fellows, but do not do so because of their unthink ing selfishness and criminal disinter estedness. They forget the case of the man who was not his brother’s keeper! They forget that the strong should help the weak, that the advanced must aid the backward, that the race, in spite of its highly educated members is judged by what the white man sees of the large ignorant masses. Thej ignore the fact that there can be no true advance without universal educa tion and united effort.” It is very necessary that truths of this kind should be proclaimed in every community, because there are so many who could and should be doing something for social uplift and better ment, who are idlers and parasites moth-eaten to bareness, by their own selfishness and self-sufficiency. We would emphasize and pass on all that The Amsterdam News says in its timely editorial not applicable to i New York City alone, but to every | large centre where our people are feund. Here is the closing apeai, mark it well: “It is up to you, educated men and ] women, to be big brothers and sis ters to the illiterate members of the race. And don’t, please, be patronis ing. Be earnest and interested! Prod the dormant ambition, arouse the yearning for learning. Advance your own and the race’s interest by spreading the light and knowledge among the benighted of the race. Start them reading, studying. Set them thinking, planning, struggling, on ward-forging.” Seriously, what are you doing with what you have received ? Get outside of your little shrivelling-up self and become interested in some kind of helpful service to your fellow' men. KINDNESS AND COURTESY KINDNESS and courtesy are marks of the true gentleman and gentle woman. One may be bom in the hum blest conditions, which is true of the majority of people all over the world and yet be more nobly bom than they who “dwell in kings’ houses.” Unfail ing marks of nobility and gentility are courtesy and kindness. There is a vast truth in the well-known aphorism. “Manners make the MAN; the want of jt the FELLOW.” Good manners manifest themselves chiefly in cour tesy and kindness. Some people seem to think that be ing courteous is a mark of servility. No one could make a greater mistake. It is an indication of superiority which any one might covet. We covet for all our people the best gifts of mind and heart and will, of things spiritual and things temporal, but one of the gifts we covet most and urge our readers to acquire and cultivate is the gift of courtesy, and with that, of course, go kindness,considerateness for and help fulness of others. We should all strive to be courteous at all times and in all places, not only to the good and gentle, but also to the froward. Courtesy and kindness have a compelling force that is irresistible. If you have not yet acquired these vir tues—for that is what they really are —acquire and cultivate them. A GREAT PRIVILEGE AND RESPONSIBILITY \ GREAT many of our race have come and are coming to us from the Southland. Many of them have been deprived of privileges and advantages which we have enjoyed, and of which, be it said to our shame, we have not all made the best use. Our ways may be strange to them, as theirs are to us. They are coming among strangers. It is our duty to give them cordial and hearty welcome and make them feel at home. It is our duty to help them adjust themselves to their new sur roundings; to help them fit into and avail themselves of those larger op portunities for self-development that we enjoy and of which they have been deprived. Some splendid people are coming to our city from the South. No one but a snob or an ignoramus will poke fun at them, or do aught but to help them in every way he can. These people are not seeking charity, but work, and they are finding it; better educational advantages for their children, and they are finding these. Let them find among us of the west warm and lov ing hearts and a welcoming hand. Their coming brings to us, if we will only use it, not only a great re sponsibility but a great privilege of service to our people and nation. “PASSING OF THE GREAT RACE” REVISED A BOUT a year ago The Monitor tV took occasion to call to the notice of its readers Madison Grant’s star tling book, “The Passing of the Great Race." A new edition of this work has appeared and has been so thoroughly revised that it is almost entirely a new book. Indeed, Mr. Giant has added many new statements that have elicited and will continue to elicit much severe criticism. He seems to hold that the day of the white race is over and that it will only be a matter of time when it will become a mem ory. He says: “There is no melting pot. or if there is its operation is so ; slow, stretching over thousands of years to effect the smallest fusion j that man cannot take it into his cal- j culations at all. Therefore those who look cheerfully to see America effect a blending of racial strains are simply deluding themselves. One race either j displaces another, contrives to liv< side by side with it or is swallowed jp j by it. The people of India speak an j ancient white man’s tongue, but not a distinguishable drop of his blood is left to show their Nordic conqueror Always in a fusion of races the infe rior race triumphs.” “In America,” says the author, “we must prepare to see the West Indies the coast region of our gulf states perhaps also the black belt of the lower Mississippi valley, abandoned tc Negroes. The white men in India, the East Indies, the Philippines and China will not leave the slightest trace be hind them in the blood of the native populations.” The book is well worth reading, and , while it is filled with many erroneous conclusions as to racial values and racial contributions,it contains enough that is worthy of careful study and thought KEEP FAITH WITH OUR FRIENDS 4 LL great newspapers are built i\. upon faith, and this same element of faith enters into every department, that has anything to do with the reali zation of a hoped-for greatness. Firms advertise because they have faith that a newspaper will bring them business and their advertisements are accepted in the faith that the host of subscrib ers are loyal enough to their paper to have faith in its advertisers. The Monitor is particularly favored with high-class advertising. Only the best firms are solicited in The Monitor and when its readers see an advertisement in The Monitor they may rest assured that the firm advertising has built Its business by keeping faith with its cus tomers. Omaha is a rapidly growing city and the Colored population is making strides in proportion. They cannot keep the faith better with themselves and their race than by pa tronizing those firms who solicit their trade. Let our constant watchword be: KEEP FAITH WITH THOSE WHO HAVE FAITH IN US! SKITS OF SOLOMON Instinct INSTINCT is another of those mys terious shanties inhabiting the frames of human prunes and concern ing which more has been written than will be read for many million years to come. No one knows just what instinct is, and that is the main reason why so much is written about it. If all the books written about things we knov. nothing about were taken out of the world, the rest could be tucked away in your right eye. But ambling back to the subject of instinct, when a chicken tumbles out of a shell and immediately starts pecking around foi com and other chick feed instinct th day of April. 1918. 'Seal) GEY B. ROBBINS Notary Public. (My commission expires June 18, 1920.) | F0R | I Good Shoe Repairing I l H. LAZARUS, 2019 Cuming St f r .. ' * “With backs to the wall do not yield one foot of ground!” What splendid courage and determination ring out in these words which will become historic. BUY LIBERTY BONDS. Thomas Kilpatrick & Co. V_. • • • • • • • • • • mm* m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m ! FLOWERS FOR ALL I OCCASIONS v •!• * '{■ Alfred Donaghue •{• (Established 1866) | X Phone Douglas 1001. 1622 Harney Street. X | “SAY IT WITH FLOWERS” | ^ 111111111111111111111111111 n 111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111 ii 11111111111111 | GO TO | | Jones Poro Culture College [ I 1516 NORTH 24TH STREET 5 Where Quality is Supreme, Workmanship the Best, E and Service Excellent E = MRS. ANNA E. JONES, Proprietor. = E MRS. HATTIE B. HILL. Webster 5450 E ^fi 111111111111111111111111111M111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111 m 1111111111 i 1111111111 The Deep Water Fisit Market 1409Lj NORTH TWKNTY-FOI RTH STREET We handle first-class fish of all kinds. We will quote some of the best varieties: Red Snapper, Fresh Spanish Mackerel, Mullett, Carp and Buffalo. DRIED AND SALT FISH OF ALL KINDS. We ask the friends in Omaha when in need of anything in our line to call in and see us. We deliver within twelve blocks. E. HAYNES, Proprietor. Webster 3943. Trade at the Washington Market The Most Sanitary and Up-to-Date Market in the Middle West. Visit Our Branch at the McCrory 5c and 10c t Store in the Basement. Washington Market 1407 DOUGLAS STREET I Obee-Hunter-Wakefield Funeral Home I (People’s Undertaking Co.) North Side 2101 Cuming St. Phone Douglas 8103 South Side 21th and Q Sts. Nights and Sundays Call South 2614 All other times call Doug las 8103, main office and calls | will be answered at once. We belong to most all Fra Iternal orders. Can secure county burial for those who have not means for burial. Ring and ring again until you get us, Douglas 8103. I G. W. OBKE, Mgr. J. H. Wakefield, Secy.NAT. HUNTER, Treas. Einbalmer Phone South 2614 Res. Tel. Web. 4740 FRANK GOI.riKN, Auditor. ANNOUNCEMENT V The Woman’s Auxiliary of St. Philip’s Episcopal Church take pleasure in announcing that they will present MRS. FLORENTINE F. PINKSTON, Formerly of the New England Conservatory of Music, in PIANO RECITAL MAY 21, 1918 Mrs. E. R. West, Chairman of Committee. Warden Hotel On Sixteenth Street at Cuming. STEAM HEATED ROOMS—HOT AND COLD RUNNING WATER—BATHS By Day for One.50c, 75c, $1.00 By Day for Two.$1.00. $1.25, $1.50 By Week .$2.00 to $4.50 BILLIARD PARLOR IN CONNECTION FOR GENTLEMEN WHO CARE EASY WALKING DISTANCE TO HEART OF CITY Douglas 6332. Charles H. Warden, Proprietor. -BUY THRIFT STAMPS