Image provided by: University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries, Lincoln, NE
About The monitor. (Omaha, Neb.) 1915-1928 | View Entire Issue (June 29, 1918)
\ i4=a] The IV ONiTOR\n=n -^—■7--——--» J% .. 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. JUNE 29. 1918 Vol. III. No. 52 (Whole No. 156) 'X Concerning Colored Troops In France Seek Dangerous Duty, Pershing Says, Denying German Story-—Recalls Heroic Fighting Refutes Charge That Colored Troops Are Given More Hazardous Posts Than Whites, in Message to Secretary Baker, Shows Small Losses in Official Fig ures—Lauds Combat Regiments. WASHINGTON, D- C„ June 22.— TT Formal denial of reports cir culated in this country, presumably by German agents, that Negro soldiers with the American expeditionary forces are being given more danger ous work than the white troops was cabled to the war department yes terday by General Pershing. The message said the Negroes were in high spirits and that their only com plaint was that they were not given more active service. General Pershing said he could not * “commend too highly the spirit shown among the Colored combat troops, who exhibit fine capacity for quick train ing and eagerness for the most dan gerous work.” The general’s cablegram, which was in reply to one of inquiry sent by Sec retary Baker, said: “The stories probably invented by German agents, that Colored soldiers in France are always placed in most dangerous positions and sacrificed to save white soldiers, that when wound ed they are left on the ground to die without medical attention, etc., are absolutely false. Figures on Losses. (“The following are the losses as re ported up to June 18 in the four Col ored combatant regiments now in France: The 36!Hh infantry—died of wounds, 3; died of disease, 8; severe ly wounded, 2. The 370th infantry— died of wounds, none; died of disease, 3; severely wounded, none. The 371st infantry—Died of wounds, none; died of disease, 8; severely wounded, none. The 372d infantry—died of wounds, none; died of disease, 3; severely wounded, none. These figures show conclusively that Negro troops have rot thus far occupied positions as dan gerous as those occupied by white troops and that their physical con dition is excellent. “A tour of inspection just completed among American Negro troops by of ficers of the training section of these headquarters show the comparatively high degree of training and efficiency among these troops. Their training is identical with that of other Ameri can troops serving with the French army, the effort being to lead all American troops gradually to heavy combat duty by a preliminary serv ice in trenches in quiet sectors. s “Colored troops in trenches have been particularly fortunate as one regiment had been there a month be fore any losses were suffered. This was almost unheard of on the western front. Tells of Fine Spirits. “The exploits of two Colored in fantrymen some weeks ago in repell ing a much larger German patrol, killing and wounding several Ger mans and winning the croix de guerre by their gallantry, has aroused a fine spirit of emulation throughout the Colored troopr, all of whom are look ing forward to more active service. . “The only regret expressed by Col ored troops is that they are not given more dangerous work to do. They are especially amused as the most dan gerous positions, and all are degirious ' * of having more active service than has been permitted them thus far. 1 cannot commend too highly the spirit shown among the Colored combat troops, who exhibit fine capacity for quick training and eagerness for the most dangerous work.” LIBERIA PREFERS TO BE UNFORTIFIED Washington, June 27.—On the the ory that fortifications only serve to attract attacks from the enemy, the little Republic of Liberia has declined offers from France and America to supply coast defense guns and equip ment to make a fortified port of Mon rovia, the capital. Soon after Liberia formally de clared a state of war with the Central Powers, a German submarine ap peared in the roadstead of Monrovia and proceeded to shfcll and destroy the . wireless station, which the Germans believed served as a receiving base for Entente warships. The French Government suggested the erection of coast defenses, and recently the commander of the Ameri can cruiser Raleigh, offered to supply guns for defense. The Liberian au thorities, however, decided to rely ; upon the principle of international law and the provisions of The Hague con vention, which exempt unfortified ports from enemy bombardment. PHILADELPHIA ELECTRIC CO. EMPLOYS COLORED LINEMEN For several months the Philadelphia Electric company, one of the largest power generating and lighting com panies in the world, has been employ ing Colored linemen, stringing wires and on overhead work and they are giving full satisfaction. GOV. PLEASANT COMMUTES DEATH SENTENCE OF LAI) Baton Rouge, La., June 27.—Gover nor Pleasant Thursday commuted to life imprisonment the death sentence imposed December 6, 19X7, by the Dis trict Court of Beauregard parish on Willie Braxton, 16, Colored, convicted of assaulting Joy Goldbold, 5, a white girl, of Deridder. The boy was tc have been hanged in the penitentiary Friday noon. The board of pardons and the tria uidire, Jerry Cline, recommended com mutation, representing that the child suffered little and public sentiment during the trial demanded the death sentence. Uniform Should Be Respected The National Association for the Ad vancement of Colored People Calls Attention of War Department to In dignities Offered Soldiers Travel ing Through the South. EJECTED FROM PULLMAN CAR Frequency of Such Unfortunate Ex periences Upon the Part of Officers and Privates Brings Issue Sqr-xrely Before War Department. NEW YORK, June 22.—Thi Na tional Association for the Ad vancement of Colored People, thiough its secretary, John R. Shiliady of New York, makes public a letter addressed to the Secretary of War in which the Association asks for a ruling on the attitude of the War Department in the case of a colored private, S. P. Jones of St. Louis, who, while on his way to Camp Cody, Deming, New Mexico, traveling on train and trans portation furnished by the govern ment, was ordered out of a Pullman car by the train conductor at Texar kana, on the border between Texas and Arkansas. The Association’s I u ter says in part: “This incident Seems to put squarely up to the War Department for de cision whether the Department will insist that enlisted men traveling un der government orders shall be ac corded the kind of service authorised by the government and provided for by the transportation furnished, to wit, service without discrimination in Pullman cars when Pullman sen-, e is authorized and provided by the ! partment.” In a statement concerning this case Mr. Shiliady said that the case its if involved the question of whether fie government was going to allow us soldiers, because they were Colored, to be denied Pullman accommodations even though the government had or dered and paid for such accommoda tions, merely because prejudiced ele ments in the south were disinclined bo allow Colored people to sit in the same coaches with them. Mr. Shil iady refered to the case of First Lieutenant Tribbet, who on March 2, while traveling under similar circum stances upon Pullman transportation furnished by the government was taken from a Pullman coach at Chtck asha, Okla., arrested and fined $5 and costs, approximately $25 in all, with out redress. “The Association at that lime,” said Mr. Shiliady, "addressed an inquiry to the War Department which was acknowledged during Sec retary Baker’s absence in France, with the explanation that the matter had been referred to the Judge Advocate General of the Army. No further ac tion, so far as the Association knows, has been taken in the matter by the War Department.” DAYTON MAN FIRST OHIO RACE MAN TO DIE IN ACTION Dayton, O., June 27.—Sergeant Jo seph Henderson, 22fi Ziegler street, "•as the first Dayton Colored man to lose his life in the world war, his i The Evolution of Sam How Uncle Sam in His Man-Making Mills Is Grinding Out Men From Physical Beings of the Masculine Gender. BY FRED C. WILLIAMS. FT1HE poets tell you “That the mills A of the Gods grind slowly; yet they grind exceeding well,” but Uncle Sam has a military mill that is grind ing rapidly and also grinding well, for in it he is grinding out men from physical beings of the masculine gen der, who up to a few months ago, were not yet posed as men. A little over a year ago you could have visited almost any city or rural community of the Southland and you could have found young Sam idling h's time away on the lea side of some thady building, whitling on a discard ed packing case, asleep on a cotton bale, or out under the shadow of a large shade tree, or squatted on a rail fence watching some one else do something; or else in the pool halls or saloons of the great city idling away the precious moments, taking a job as porter or waiter long enough to provide a few' pennies for another interim of rest, and you would have sadly shaken your head and wondered what was to become of Sam. But to receive your answer you have only to visit one of Uncle Sam’s numerous man-making mills, where he trains the men he drafts—the canton ments—and a surprise will be yours, lor as you approach the guard line >ou will recognize in the sable hued military figure in the uniform of the American army, w'ho in firm, yet po lite tones coniands you to halt, ques tions you, reads your pass and di rects you to pass on, as “Sam” of a year ago. My but the change is com plete, and all in one short year! As you pass around the training camp you again find “Sam” as ofi'i cer’s orderly receiving and directing the visitors to the commander’s quar ters, as the bugler who sounds the different yet beautiful calls, the ser geant of the mess tents, the quarter master's clerks and assistants, check ing in and out supplies, uniforms and ammunition, the duty sergeant :n command of companies, the trim, well knit muscular figures that move with clock-like precision at the command of their officers, in the evening dress parade as the participants of that beautiful ceremony, the setting up of guard mounts and at the setting of the sun, the firing of the evening gun. I -—— wife, Mrs. I’earl Henderson, having been notified last Friday night by the : adjutant general that he had died ] of wounds May 18, in France. Sergeant Henderson was a mem : her of the former C company, Ninf | battalion, Ohio National Guard, com manded by Captain Robert Mallory of his city. BIRTHPLACE OF JOHN BROWN IS BURNEI Torrington, Conn., Juno 27.—The houso in West Torrington, in whir!) John Brown, the great Abolitionist, was born, was destroyed by fire to day. The building was one of th principal historical landmarks of the city'. The cause of the fire is un known. OLD BATTLE-TORN FLAG OF 15TH N. Y. NOW AT CAPITAL Albany, N. Y., June 27.—The olo battle-torn flag of the 15th New York infantry has been sent from Franco and reposes in a frame at the capi tol as an honored relic. It is so tattered and torn that it is only about the size of a large pocket handker chief. TITSKEGEE SUMMER SCHOOL NOW OPEN Tuskegee, Ala., June 27.—The Tus kegee Summer School opened Monday. June 10, with an enrollment of 445 ! teachers, from twelve states. Two hundred of the enrolled teachers are workers in Rosenwald, rural school: for whom a special course has been prepared. DIRS AS RESULT OF INJURIES Walter Moore, who w'as injured by being dropped by a street car at Thirty-third and Parker streets a short time ago, died at the Lord Tester hospital Tuesday night. ITe was buried from his late residence, 1510 Cuming street, Thursday afternoon, the Rev. John Albert Williams officiating. standing at attention during the cere mony of lowering of “Old Glory,” as the bugle sounds “The Retreat." Uv cverywhere, as I have just told you. on train and Pullman transportation furnished by the government, and you will find “Sam” participating in all of these things, being an active and efficient cog in this mighty military man-making machine; and, of course, you will ask how it is all done. When Uncle Sam receives them ne has his physicians pass upon their physical condition. Those who are physically unfit he sends to his hos pitals and begins to make them over again. Those who are slightly af fected he sends to his infirmary. Those who pass the average mark of physical fitness he turns directly into the coffers of his mill, the barracks. Now follow me through the routine of training, or the grind as we will call it. Up in the morning at the call of reveille, fifteen minutes in which to dress, then roll call, then next in line I or breakfast, when the bugle sounds the call to mess, after which comes thirty minutes of recreation, then military calesthenics, known as set ting up exercises, then the order to fall in line and he is well on his day’s work under the command of the drill rcrgeant, who divides them into squads and teaches them the go.rse .step, to count by fours and how to march and stand erect. He keeps this up until eleven thirty when across the parade ground floats the welcome notes of “The Recall,” and they form n company and march in lines to the mess tents where they break ranks and stand around awaiting the me -s call. As the sun in the high heavens marks the hour of noon there breaks upon the ear a strange reverbrating sound. It is an electric siren which at this hour each day calls to every soldier on land or sea to stand at attention and in this silent manner pay homage to the fighting soldiers “over there” in that mysterious “some where in France,” after which the call to mess gives him a chance o appease that healthy appetite which he so soon develops. Dinner over, back to the drill grounds in the hands of the drill sergeant and he is soon learning to perform evolutions of march and counter march until five o’clock in the evening, when “The Re call” brings him again to the mess nail in time for supper, after which he spends an hour in study to make up lor the days that he played hooky from school and spent in roaming the woods and following the streams. The rest of the evening until nine finds them enjoying the privileges of the Y. M. C. A., which are many and pleasant as well as instructive. So you will see “Sam” of today is not the “Sam” of yesterday, and may our prayer be “Let not his yesterday bo again.” improving General Labor Conditions Seeking a Co-operative Progam to Mobilize Workers in Every Com munity for Effective Work and to Adjust Labor Difficulties. WASHINGTON, D. C., June 24. - Dr. George E. Haynes, Direc tor of Negro economics of the De partment of Labor, has just returned from an extended trip into several j states where he met in conferences : and interviews at different points .n each state a number of representative ' white ond Colored men and women, tc discuss with them the plans of the de partment for improving local labor conditions. The director visited points in Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Missis ippi, Tennessee and Kentucky. He is also in correspondence with persons in Pennsylvania, Ohio and Illinois for the purpose of similar visits to these states. The purpose of these first visits is to get the advice and solicit the help of persons of both races in each state in carrying out a co-operative program to take practical constru tive steps for enlisting all in a cam paign to mobilize Negro workers for 1 more strenuous labor to win the war. Due consideration, of course, is given tc improving the conditions of Negro workers along all lines and to encour aging all who labor. Briefly stated, the plan is to secure in each locality co-operating commit tees of white and Colored citizens composed of the strongest men and women of both races to work out plans and methods of adjusting local labor problems, in the interest of both employers and employees. When interviewed by a representa tive of the press, Dr. Haynes said: “In all parts of the country, now, representative white and Colored peo ple are feeling that this is the time to pool their efforts and pull together. In my work of previous years I have found in almost every locality some white and Colored citizens who were responsive to a practical program of work to meet the needs of their com munity. The various betterment and civic organizations that the Colored people have organized have shown such activ ity along many lines to improve loc.il conditions and race relations. “On the basis of such experience, the Department of Labor is building I its plans for meeting local labor sit uations that are affecting the Negro and his employers in various parts of the country. Already the depart ment is meeting with gratifying co operation of both white and Colored people in various counties, towns and cities.” “Just as in all the nation’s past wars, the Negro is ready to do his share of the fighting in the trenches i end dying on the field of battle. No ! less zealous has he been in doing the work to raise food and make sup plies for our allies and our men at the front. The Negro workman needs to be told, in ways to make it clear, that his toil of all kinds is appre ciated and of value in winning this war. He needs to have it made plain to him that victory in this war v/d! bring rewards of democracy to h'm. If this is done, Charles Knight’s ex ample in breaking the world’s riveting record will be repeated in many oth*r occupations. “There are two kinds of people in our country at this time: Those who do and those who don’t. We plan to enlist every Negro in the country in , the ranks of those who do.” COUNCIL OF’ DEFENSE BANS “BIRTH OF A NATION" Charleston, W. Va., June 22.—The Executive State Council of Defense Wednesday placed a ban on the exhi bition of “The Birth of a Nation” ai.d all similar plays in this state during the period of the war. The action of the state council came as a sequel to the passage of a reso i lution by the McDowell County Aux iliary Conucil of Defense protesting against the showing of “The Birth of a Nation.” The McDowell County Council, composed of Colored citizens of that county and one of the units of the State Auxiliary Advisory Council, of which J. C. Gilmer is secretary, set forth that the attraction is one “cal culated to arouse hatred and prejudice between the white and Negro races of the state, and likely to hinder and re tard the proper co-operation between the races in promoting the greatest efficiency in war work of all kinds.” The order of the council is broad m its inhibition of plays or motion pic tures written or staged in the spirit of “The Birth of a Nation,” and :s specific in making it unlawful and subject to penalties to show such a play or picture at any time prior to the termination of the present war. NATIONAL COLORED SOLDIERS’ COMFORT COMMITTEE AIDS MOTHER OF SLAIN SOLDIER Washington, D. C., June 27.—Being advised today that Mrs. Pearl Hender son, of Dayton, O., widowed mother of Sergeant Joseph Henderson of the 372d Regiment, the first Colored sol dier to die in action over in France, was in urgent need of funds to pay her house rent, installment on the fur niture in her modest little home and her insurance, the National Colored Soldiers’ Comfort Committee immedi ately dispatched a check to her for a substantial sum to take care of all her immediate needs. The prompt ness with which the committee re sponds to calls for aid is earning for it the love and confidence of the race. The committee’s contribution to the relief of this poor, sorrowing Colored mother who had given a son for the cause of “our new freedom," is not | a loan, but a gratuitous gift to a needy | and deserving mother.