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nied and restricted, but-withdrawn.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 <s
proven. It is also instinct for a son
of Ham to keep an eye on said chick
en until it has developed into pulbt
size. A baby is the only animal that
isn’t strong on instinct until it tops
the first or second year. Then it starts
in on instinct with a vengeance. It
samples everything from dirt to stove
pockers to test food value, thereby
imitating its prehistoric ancestors
who had such a hard time developing
a menu that could be digested pain
lessly. Baby also pulls kitty’s tail to
find where the screech comes from;
sticks its hands into the fire to find
out the cause of its beauty, and
splashes coffee over mamma’s dress
to see if it cannot make the design
prettier. All this is instinct teaching
the kid to get wise to the wicked world
it has splashed into without its con
sent. When baby grows up it shed"
instinct and takes on heredity. Tills
is something else nobody knows any
thing about, but about which big beans
constantly create much chatter.
This concludes our lecture on in
stinct and if we have given jou any
inside dope on the subject please tel!
us what it is.
COLORED MEN HELP, TOO
The Monitor is proud to be able to
call the attention of its thousands of
readers to the fact that the Colored
business and professional men oi
Omaha have paid for and contributed
a full page of the Third Liberty Loan
advertisement to this paper. These
advertisements are prepared by the
Liberty Loan Committee and the
newspapers are charged with the task
of soliciting merchants and business
men to pay for the insertion of these
advertisements in their columns. Of
course, such advertising boosts the
sale of Liberty bonds and also helps
the newspapers which are cheerfully
publishing free as their bit a great
deal of government information foi
the people.
Our own business and professional
men have thus cheerfully shown theii
willingness to do their bit in paying
for the Liberty loan advertising and |
also to help support The Monitor. It j
is noteworthy that these gentlemen 1
have themselves subscribed for Lib
erty bonds.
The regimental band, Dan Des- j
dunes, leader, has also, as will be !
noted, paid for a Liberty loan adver- !
tisement.
Gentlemen, The Monitor not only!
thanks you for the spirit manifested j
but is proud of you.
STATEMENT OF THE OWNERSHIP, j
Management. Circulation, Etc., Re
quired by the Act of Congress of
August 24, 1912,
Of The Monitor, published weekly at I
Omaha, Neb., for April 3, 1918.
State of Nebraska, )
County of Douglas, t s*.
Before me. a notary public in and for
the state and county aforesaid, personal
ly appeared Rev. John Albert Williams,
who, having been duly sworn according to
law, deposes and says that he is the edi
tor of The Monitor and that the following
is. to the best of bis knowledge, a true
statement of the ownership and manage
ment of the aforesaid publication for the
date shown in the above caption, re
quired by the Act of Congress of Augu.it
24. 1912. * inbodied in Sertion 41::. Po: tal
Laws and Regulations, to-wit:
That the names and addresses of the
publisher, editor, managing editor and
business managers are:
Publisher -Rev. John Albert Williams
1119 North Twenty-first street, Omaha,
Neb.
Editor—Rev. John Albert Williams, 1111'
North Twenty-first street. Omaha, Neb.
Managing Editor Rev. John Albert
Williams. 1119 North Twenty-first street.
Omaha, Neb. t
Business Manager—Bert Patrick.
That the owner is Rev. John Alberl
Williams. That the known bondholders,
mortgagees and other security holders
owning or holding 1 per cent or more of
total amount of bonds, mortgages oi
other securities are none.
REV. JOHN ALBERT WILLIAMS,
Editor.
Sworn to and subscribed before me thb
P>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
