i The Monitor lts;.
\—.... _. --
A National Weekly Newspaper Devoted to the Interests of Colored Americans ^
THE REV. JOHN ALBERT WILLIAMS, Editor
$2.00 a Year. 5c a Copy OMAHA, NEBRASKA, AUGUST 3, 1918 Vol. IV. No. 5 (Whole No. 161)
X Editors Conference
Yields Big Results
President’s Strong Stand Against
Lynching—Opportunity for Colored
Nurses in Army and Probably Early
Recall of Colonel Young to Active
Duty, Follow Urgent Appear of
Race’s Statesmen for Justice.
THE COLORED WOMEN REJOICE
Are to Be Given the Long-Desired
Privilege of Engaging in Ministry
of Mercy to Soldiers in Hospitals
and Camps.
Special to the Monitor;
TV7ASHINGTON, D. C., Aug. 1.—
H Already there are numerous evi
dences that the recent conference of
Colored editors and leaders held in this
city in June, which was called by Em
mett J. Scott, special assistant to the
secretary of war, at the suggestion of
the war department and the commit*
[ tee on public information, to consider
the relations of the 12,000,000 Negroes
in this country with the general gov
ernment itself, and to discuss ways
and means how each might co-oper
ate most effectively in the work of
winning the present world-wide war,
is bearing fruit. Three results of the
most significant character have been
worked out within the past fortnight
that fully justify the holding of the
conference and other issues not less
far-reaching are well on their way
toward a satisfactory conclusion.
President Wilson’s Clean-Cut Pro
nouncement Against Lynching.
The first in importance and human
interest of the helpful results that
may be said to have grown directly
out of the recent conference of edi
tors, anil co-operation of Negro lead
ers and friends of the Negro people,
is the frank, positive and unequivocal
declaration of the president of the
United States against the mob spiirt,
which has been sent'to the four cor
ners of the earth by cable and through
the newspapers of this country. Pres
ident Wilson’s firm stand for law
and order ranks with the finest of the
great state papers that have eman
ated from the White House, and it
has electrified the entire country as
it has seldom been thrilled before.
it will be remembered by those
familiar with the proceedings of the
conference at the new interior de
partment building that the full force
of the leaders who spoke were mar
shaled in opposition to the lynehings,
burning and inhuman mob violence
practiced mainly against Colored peo
ple in various sections of the coun
try, and that this lack of respect for
the common rights of citizens was
given as the most potent cause for
. the unrest among Negroes. This was
^X, the underlying reason for bringing
the conference together from far-dis
tant points. The proceedings of the
conference reached the president
the committee on public information
of which Mr. George Creel, is chair
man.
The president’s message is a whole
some rebuke to ruthless violators of
the law, who almost invariably think
they will be immune from punishment
by the courts or by an outraged pub
lic opinion.
The Coioreii people are jubilant
over the timely and straightforward
pronouncement of the president of
the United States and that such an
utterance from the highest authority
in the land will cause a wave of pa
triotic enthusiasm among them and
inspire a keener impulse to assist in
’ the many constructive war activi
ties throughout the republic cannot
be doubtdd.
Colored Women Rejoice in Opport un
ity to He War nurses.
The second outstanding achievement
growing out of the conference is the
opening made for the employment of
the large number of Colored trained
nurses who have patriotically regis
tered their names with the American
Red Cross society for work among
the Colored troops on the field and
in the base hospitals. The confer
ence strongly urged that these skilled
nurses be used at the earliest pos
sible opportunity.
According to an announcement
made through the office of the spe- |
cial assistant to the secretary of war
last week, plans have been laid by i
the surgeon general of the army to !
have Colored nurses assigned to six !
of the base hospitals in this coun- j
try where approximately 38,000 Col- 1
ored troops are stationed; namely,
Camps Funston, Dodge, Grant, Tay
lor, Sherman and Dix, and with a
practical certainty that these skilled
agents of mercy will have a further
opportunity for service among the
Colored soldiers overseas. With the
constant increment of Colored men
in the army the number of women to
be utilized must be correspondingly
enlarged from time to time, with
a constantly expanding area of use
fulness and spiritual influence. This
signal triumph has heartened beyond
measure the women of our land, who
are called upon in time of war to
make the heaviest sacrifices—and yet
are the most willing to sacrifice and
to serve when called upon to do so.
This is the second big achievement
that may. be justly credited to the
recent conference and it will prove
to be a vital factor in alleviating the
unrest that has been breaking down
the morale of Negro Americans.
Colonel Young May Soon lb- Called
to Active Duty.
The early recall to active duty of
Colonel Charles Young, the idol of
the young Colored men of red blood
and sturdy public spirit, also urged
by the conference, is before the war
i department. It has become known
ihat the secretary of war from the
very beginning has sympathetically
i considered the whole matter of utiliz
ing the valuable military experience
and services of Colonel Young, who,
until his retirement some months ago,
was actively identified with the reg
; ula • army.
The two concrete results here re
ferred to, and the third one now “on
the lap of the gods,” would seem
amply to justify the recent conference
of Colored leaders and editors, who
sacrificed time and business interests
i to crystallize requests into tangible
realities and demonstrate the value
of intensive co-operation with the na
tional government.
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EQUAL RIGHTS LEAGUE
TH ANKS THE PRESIDENT
Boston, Mass., July 27.—At a meet
; ing of the Boston branch of the Na
tional Equal Bights League the fol
lowing telegram was sent to Picz.d in
Wilson:
Boston, Mass., July 26, 1918.
To the President:
W'e thank you for your very able
address on lynching, given to the
country today confirming the position
our league has always taken. We
| trust you will make your wolds ef
I fective by suitable action, authority
i fob which you have under your war
power, making lynching a federal
crime, and to insist on its suppression
at once, as a war measure, if neces
sary by force of arms.
EME’tV T. MORRIS, Pres.
WILcJ AM D. BRIGHAM.
I CRISPUS ATTUCKS
CHAPTER RED CROSS
DOES GOOD WORK
The Crispus Attucks’ chapter of the
Red Cross has been meeting weekly
j for one year and the women’s willing
and busy hands- have accomplished
much in the preparation of needed
supplies. Only a few women at first
realized the importance of this work,
but the membership is steadily grow
ing. During the year the following
articles have been made: Five dozen
bed socks, seven and a half dozen
hot water bottle covers, twenty dou
ble bed socks, twenty operating socks,
twelve sweaters, twenty operating
caps, twenty pairs of booties, twelve
braziers, eleven and a half dozen
towels. In addition to this the chap
ter prepared and sent one hundred
Christmas boxes to the Omaha boys
at Camps Dodge and Funston.
—
HOLLAND HARROLD WINS
CIVIL RIGHTS SI IT
Tuesday Holland Harrold obtained
a verdict for $50 damages in the
municipal court, Judge Daldwin pre
siding, against the McCrorey ten-cent
store, because of its refusal to seive
him at its soda fountain on two oc
casions in June. Mr. Harrold was
first refused on June 10. He wrote
to the headquarters of the company
in New York, receiving a courteous
reply, thanking him for calling their
attention to this discrimination, as
suring him that it was contrary to
the company’s policy and that they
would see to it that it did not oceui
again. On June 22 Mr. Harrold was
again refused. He brought suit for
damages and a jury awarded a ver
dict in his favor. Attorney W. Hat.
teroth represented Mr. Harrold and
in his argument to the jury stated
that the civil rights bill had been
clearly violated and this was not a
matter that concerned the plaintiff
alone, nor merely the race to which
he belongs, but all the people of Ne
braska, who as a matter of right
and justice are interested in seeing
that every individual is protected in
the enjoyment of his civil rights guar
anteed by national and state enact
ments.
I_l
President Wilson Has Spoken
Against American Atrocities
Sends a Thrilling Message and Compelling Appeal to All Citizens
of the United States to Suppress Lynching and Exorcise
the Evil Spirit of Mobocracy Which Belie the
Character and Ideals of Our Republic.
W/TASHINGTON, D. C.—President Wilson in a personal state
™ ment addressed to his fellow countrymen denouncing mob
spirit and mob action, called upon the nation to show the world
that while it fights for democracy on foreign fields, it is not de
stroying democracy at home.
The president denounced most emphatically mob action of all
sorts, especially lynchings, and while he did not refer specifically
to lynchings of Negroes in the south, it is known that he included
them in his characterization of mob spirit as “a blow at the heart
of ordered law and humane justice.”
The president’s statement in full follows:
“My fellow countrymen:
“I take the liberty of addressing you upon a subject which
so vitally affects the honor of the nation and the very character
and integrity of our institutions that I trust you will think me
justified in speaking very plainly about it.
“I allude to the mob spirit which has recently here and
there very frequently shown its head amongst us not in any
single region, but in many and widely separated parts of the
country. There have •vhmi many lynchings and every one of them
has been a blow at the Heart of ordered law and humane justice, j
No man who loves America, no man who really cares for her
fame and honor and chaiacter oi who is truly loyal to her insti
tutions, can justify mob action wlrle the courts of justice are open
and the governments of the states and the nation are ready and
able to do their duty.
“We are at this very moment fighting lawless passion. Ger
man has outlaw-ed herself among the nations because she has
disregarded the sacred obligations of law and has made lynchers
of her armies. Lynchers emulate her disgraceful example. I, for
my part, am anxious to see every community in America arise
uliove that level, with pride and a fixed resolution which no man
or set of men can afford to despise.
“We proudly ciaim to be the champions of democracy. If
we really are in deed and in truth, iet us see to it that we do not
discredit our own. I say plainly that every American who takes
part in the action of a mob or gives any sort of countenance is
no true son of this great democracy, but its betrayer and does,
more to discredit her by that single disloyalty to her standards,
of lav and of right than the words of her statesmen or the
sacrifice of her heroic boys in'the trenches can do to make suf
fering peoples believe her to be their saviours. Howr shall we
commend democracy to the acceptance of other peoples if we dis
grace our own by proving that it is, after all, no protection to the
weak? Every mob contributes to German lies about the United
States what her most gifted liars cannot improve upon by the way j
of calumny. They can at least say that such things cannot hap*,
pen in Germany except in time of revolution, when law is swept |
away!
"I therefore very earnestly and solemnly beg that the gov
ernors of all the states, the law officers of every community, and,
above all, the men and women of every community in the United
States all who revere America and wish to keep her name without
stain or reproach, will co-operate—not passively merely, but ac
tively and watchfully, to make an end of this disgraceful evil. It
cannot live where the community does not countenance it.
“I have called upon the nation to put its great energy into
this war and it has responded—responded with a spirit and a
genius for action that has thrilled the world. I now call upon
it, upon its men and women everywhere, to see to it that its
laws are kept inviolate, its fame untarnished. Let us show our
utter contempt for the things that have made this war hideous
among the wars of history by showing how- those who love liberty
and right and justice and are willing- to lay down their lives for
them upon foreign fields, stand ready also to illustrate to all
mankind their loyalty to the things at home which they wish
to see established everywhere as a blessing and protection to the
peoples who have never known the privileges of liberty and self
government.
“I can never accept any man as a champion of liberty either
for ourselves or for the world who does not reverence and obey
the laws of our beloved land, whose laws we ourselves have made.
He has adopted the standards of the enemies of his country whom
he affects to despise. WOODROW WILSON.”
Britain Calls Home
Her Colored Subjects
The Thousands of British Birth Now
in the United States Are Being
Called to Share in the Glorious
Achievements of Their Compat
triots on England's Far Flung Bat
tle Line “Over There.”
MEN HAVE GLORIOUS RECORD
British and Canadian Recruiting Mis
sion Predicts That the Colored
Britisher's Response to Country’s
Call Will Astound the World.
Special to The Monitor.
NEW YORK, Aug. 1.—The British
and Canadian recruiting mission
has just issued a highly compliment
ary article on the valor and loyalty
of Colored British troops, concerning
whose glorious achievements in the
great world war on England’s far
flung battle line far too little has
been written. Only the official rec
ords will reveal what wonders have
been wrought by the sentiment of
loyalty and deeds of valor of the
Colored race. Here is the statement
in full:
Unheralded, yet glorious, is the part
which has been played by the Col
ored race in this great world war.
Far too little has been written of their
part and only when the official rec
ords of the allied nations have been
perused sometime in the future will
it be known and realized how com
pletely the sentiment of loyalty or
the colored race in a good cause has
swept away time-honored distinctions,
erased deep-seated prejudices, spurn
ed geographical distances and even
over-ridden all selfish interests at
this crucial time. Countless numbers
of dark skinned patriots have taken
their places upon the battle fields of
Mesopotamia, the Balkans, Africa and
the other fighting fronts, displaying
th<} same skill, the same valor, and the
same tenacity as their white breth
ren. Many, too, have made the su
preme sacrifice for the great ideal
which has led the peace loving nations
of the world to do battle with the
bestial Huns.
Will Furnish Interesting Page of
History.
Some day a history of their part
in the greatest of all wars shall be
written and it must prove one of the
brightest chapters in the brilliant
story of the allies’ achievements for
liberty and righteousness.
It is unfortunate that so little has
been heard of the exploits of our
Colored soldiers for they have proven
themselves to be equal of all others
in actual combat. The great predom
inance of white soldiers and the fact
that the Colored troops have done
most of their fighting on the far off
fronts of Mesopotamia and Africa has
probably been the cause. Upon their
battle record is inscribed the expul
sion of everything German from the
great continent of Africa; in the re
clamation of the Holy Land they have
played their part, and on the battle
fronts in Flanders and France they
have helped to stem the German on
slaught. Indeed it would he impos
sible to even touch upon their many
achievements. They would fill many
large volumes.
A Striking Example.
A striking example of the glorious
achievements of the Colored race is
the British West I*»»» :«*s regiment. At
the outbreak of the war such an or
ganization as this regiment was little
known. The cause of the empire was
the cause of our Colored subjects in
these tropical islands and they clam
ored for recognition that they might
do their share. Though miles and
miles of ocean lay between them and
the battle field the Colored popula
tion in the islands, as one man, flock
ed to the cause and from every island,
from every far off British colony they
came eager to do their share for the
cause. The British West Indies regi
ment, with its numerous battalions
has given to the armed forces of the
British empire, one of the most re
markable examples of successful mili
tary amalgamation in the annals of
the war. They have won a place
in the forefront of Britain’s fighting
forces.
Summons Subjects From States.
Great Britain realizes what her
Colored subjects have accomplished,
but until a short time ago, owing to
the great numbers of Colored sub
jects who flocked to the colors in the
West Indies and other colonies, the
recruitment of her Colored subjects
in /the United States was of necessity
somewhat limited. It has been de
cidlid, however, to sound the call to
those in this country and orders have
recently been received by the British
i and Canadian Recruiting Mission to
: to increase their efforts in this di
rection. Already large numbers have
proffered their services and many Col
ored Britishers from this country are
now on their way to take their place
beside their compatriots on the battle
! front.
It is predicted that before the Brit
ish and Canadian Recruiting Mission
has completed its work in this coun
try the answer to their appeal for
Colored Britishers to enlist will as
tound the world.
Conditions of Enlistment.
Conditions governing the enlistment
of Colored British subjects are prac
tically the same as for their white
compatriots. To enlist they must be
British subjects, physically fit, and
must not be prevented by religious
persuasion from eating ordinary Brit
ish army rations.
OVER 200 DRAFTEES
LEAVE MONDAY
Are Liven Reception I'nder Auspices
of the Ministerial Council Wednes
day Night—A Big Crowd Will See
Them stiart for Berlin Via Camp
Funston.
St. John's A. M. E. church was
unable to hold the immense crowd
which turned out Wednesday night
to honor the Omaha draftees who are
to leave for Camp Funston Monday
morning. The delightful affair was
under the auspices of the Colored
Ministerial Council of Omaha of which
the Kev. W. F. Botts is chairman, and
, the Rev. W. C. Williams, secretary.
' The Rev. Mr. Botts presided during
the rendition of a well-selected pro
gram which consisted of the singing
of patriotic songs by the choir and
I audience; prayer by the Rev. John
' Costello; a solo by Miss Irene Coch
ran, and addresses by A. M. Harrold,
M. F. Singleton, Sergeant Bailey, the
Rev. W. C. Williams, Judge Charles
■ E. Foster, N. P. Dodge, Mr. Ray Par
ker, the Rev. G. G. Logan, and closing
prayer by the Rev. M. H. Wilkinson.
The draftees were then served by
a committee of ladies to lunch in the
lecture room where the reception was
held. The ladies of the Crispus At
tucks’ chapter of the Red Cross pinned
a flower on the lapel of each select
man.
More than 200 draftees will leave
for Camp Funston Monday morning
at 8'50. This will include 183 from
Omaha and several from other points
in the state. An immense crowd will
see them off. All citizens and frater
nal organizations and societies are re
quested to turn out and march from
the court house to the Union station.
Provide yourself with small American
flags. The following is the tenta
tive program:
I.
7:15 a. m. Assemble at court house.
1. “Star Spangled Banner” by
band and unfurling of flag from court
house roof.
2. Colored male quartette.
3. Four-minute address by Rev.
Griffin G. Logan.
4. Four-minute address by Mayor
Ed P. Smith.
5. “America,” band and assem
blage joining.
II.
7:30 a. m. Formation for march
on north side of court house square.
1. Red Cross organization and
Chamber of Commerce committee pre
sent comfort gifts as soon as men
form for march.
2. Colored Red Cross organization
will present gifts at train.
3. Standards and flags provided
by Chamber of Conierce will mark
positions of men of various local
boards.
III.
7:45 a. m. March starts to train
at Union station. Order in march
will be as follows:
1. Police.
2. Band.
3. Committees.
4. Veterans of civil war.
5. Red Cross organization.
6. Colored Red Cross organiza
tion.
7. Selective service men and lo
cal boards.
8. Colored organizations and fra
! temities.
9. Colored citizens.
10. Citizens generally.
All citizens are requested to join
in march.
Hiawatha Chapter No. 57 will give
a lawn social at 2708 Corby street
August 12. Admission 15 cents, in
cluding cream.—Adv.