r~ ! The Monitor ,n~i
_1 %f _ I
A National Weekly Newspaper Devoted to the Interests of Colored Americans %
THE REV. JOHN ALBERT WILLIAMS, Editor 'ff a,
--
$2.00 a Year. 5c a Copy OMAHA, NEBRASKA, AUGUST 17. 1918 Vol. IV. No. 7 < V jole No. 163)
Brutality of Mob
is Inconceivable
Special Investigator ol tic National
Association for Advancement ot
Colored People Submits Report to
Governor of Georgia.
WILSON VI.SO GIVEN FACTS
Eleven Persons Were 1 inched for
Crime of One Man—The Gruesome
Story o? Mary Turner’s Murder and
That of Her Unborn Babe Cn
matched by Anything in the Annals
of Savagery
EW YORK.—The National Asso
ciation for the Advancement of
Colored People, through its secretary,
John R. Shillady, announces that the
names of two ring-leaders and fifteen
other participants in one of the mobs
which lynched the first two of the
eleven victims of the five days lynch
ing orgy, which took place in Brooks
and Lowndes counties, Georgia, from
May 17 to May 22, were put before
Governor Hugh M. Dorsey of Georgia,
in person by Walter F. White, assist
ant secretary of the association, who
spent four days in South Georgia in
vestigating the affair. A full report
of Mr. White’s findings, which were
of a sensational character, were at
the same time placed 'oefore Governor
Dorsey. The summary of the asso
ciation’s report which follows below
states that eleven authenticated cases
of lynching instead of six as reported
in the press at the time, were discov
ered by their investigator. The re
port describes the lynching of Mary
Turner, the wife of one of the first
victims, which was most revolting and
brutal. The eleven persons lynched
met their fate as the result of mob
frenzy, following the killing of Hamp
ton Smith, a white farmer, and the
< wounding of his wife, on May 16. One
of the, men lynched is said by the as
sociation to have stated to several
persons interviewed by Mr. White,
that he alone did the shooting and
that no others were implicated.
The association says that Mr.
White’s findings were submitted to
Governor Dorsey at the latter’s re
4|uest on July 10 and that a copy
was mailed the president for his in
formation a few days ago.
In making public the results of the
assistant secretary’s investigations
into the South Georgia lynchings, Mr.
Shillady, the secretary said that the
association was gratified beyond
measure at the recent magnificent
pronouncement of President Wilson in
condemnation of the mob spirit and
lynching.
“The association appreciates.” said
Mr. Shillady, “as perhaps no other
organization in the country' can, the
full meaning of the danger which
President Wilson seeks to avoid when
he calls upon the governors of all the
states, the law officers of every com
munity, and above all, the men arm
women of every community in the
United States * * * to make u
end to this disgraceful evil.”
“The lynching of Negroes,” said
Mr. Shillady, “has become so much
a habit in certain sections of our
country that the president’s prestige
was needed to give impetus to the
movement to overcome it. Governor
Dorsey, who in his message to the
Georgia legislature on July 3 de
nounced mc/n violence in strong terms,
and the state of Georgia are now
challenged to measure up to Presi
dent Vjr’ilson’g great appeal. In one
*' memorable sentence President Wilson
has put it squarely up to each com
munity. As the president says, “it
(lynching*and mob violence) cannot
live where the community does not
countenance it.’ ”
A summary of the report follows:
“Instead of six victims of the mob
which ranged over Brooks and
Lowndes counties from May 17 to
May 22, eleven authenticated cases
were discovered during an investiga
tion of the circumstances surrounding
the killing of Hampton Smith, a
white farmer of Brooks eouonty, Ga.,
and the wounding of his wife near
Barney, Ga., on May 16, and of the
lynchings which followed. Press dis
patches at the time named Will
Head, Will Thompson, Hayes Tur
ner, Mary' Turner, his wife; Eugene
Rice and Sidney Johnson, the latter
of whom had stated before i-i
captured to several persons inter
viewed that he alone was implicated
in the affair and that the five who
had previously been lynched (the five
already named) were not involved in
it. Five additional victims were
found, Chime Riley, Simon Schuman,
and three unidentified Negroes whose
bodies were taken from the Little
river just below Quitman, Ga., about
a week after they had been lynched.
Negroes of the neighborhood told the
investigator that there were eighteen
victims, but no more than eleven could
be authenticated.
“More than 500 Negroes have left 1
the region since the outbreak so that
a number of Negroes who were said
by acquaintances to have mysterious
ly disappeared could not be located
nor their whereabouts ascertained
and are not included in the investi
gator’s findings. Hundreds of acres
of once productive lands . are now
overrun with weeds and dozens of I
farm houses and cabins deserted by
their former occupants despite the
threats involved in the statements '
of the mobs that any Negro attempt
ing to leave the region would he con
sidered to bo involved in the killing
of Smith.
“Chime Riley was lynched and clay
turpentine cups, used to catch the
gum when turpentine trees are cut,
was tied to his body and the body
thrown into the Little river, near
Barney, Ga. Simon Schuman was
called out of his house near Berlin,
Ga., on the Moultrie road, at night
and has not been seen since. The in
terior of his house, as well as the fur
niture, was completely demolished.
“The story of Mary Turner’s fate
was related to the investigator by
men who affirmed that they were
present at her death and is related
with every desire to avoid the grue
some except as is necessary in giv
ing the facts.
“Mary Turner, wife of Hayes Tur
ner, who had been reported by the
press as having been lynched be
cause of ‘unwise remarks’ concerning
the lynching of her husband and who
was approaching confinement, was
tied by the ankles and hung head
downward. Gasoline was taken from
the automobiles of the lynching party
and poured on her clothing which was
then burned from her person. After
her clot Ires had burrvd off she was
disembowled and her unborn child fell
from her womb and while still alive,
was crushed hy the heel of a member
of the mob. The woman’s body was
riddled with bullets from high-pow
ered rifles until it was unrecogniza
ble. She was buried ten feet from
I the tree and at head of her grave
was placed a whisky bottle with a
i cigar stump in the neck of it. A
photograph of the grave as described
| is in the possession of the Associa
tion for the Advancement of Colored
People.”
MAKE RECORD BAYONETING
FOE—FRENCH CALL FOR MORE
London, Aug. 115.—Officers (front
the front bring astonishing reports
[ of the work done by American Negro
troops brigaded with General Gour
aud’s army, east of Rheims. Their
specialty is the bayonet, in use of
which they excel all otheis, and they
have piled up a score with this weap
on in killing Germans, which breaks
all previous records. French officers
are delighted with their prowess, and
will welcome fresh Negro drafts to
work alongside their own men.
( OI NTY ll \s so MEN
TO FILL ORDER
Shelby, Mont.—Toole county has
j been called upon for three Colored
registrants to go toward making up
the next contingent of Colored men
from this state. This puts Sheriff
Alsup in a perplexing position in view
: of the fact that there are no Colored
men in the county and he is at a loss
as to how he is going to fill the re
quisition.
RECEIVES APPOINTMENT
Pittsburg, Pa., Aug. 15.—Elmo
Moles Anderson, die only son of Col.
John Anderson, a mail carrier oI
Pittsburg, has been appointed assist
ant field secretary of the western
camps with headquarters at Camp
Funston, Fort Riley, Kansas. He will
have full charge of plans for all re
ligious, social and educational needs
of the Colored soldiers in camp.
! ARRESTED \ND FINED
FOR LOANING MONEY TO
PROSPECTIVE EMIGRANTS
Galveston, Tex.—Rev. Elijah C.
j Branch was arrested and fined $100
and given 30 days in jail because he
I advanced money to people of his
j race who desired to go North to bet
I ter their condition. 4
Texas Newspaper Gives $100,000
For Suppression of Lynching
Publishers of the San Antonia Itailv
Express Have Set Aside Mum of
$100,000 to Be Employed as Re
wards—National in Its Scope—$!.
000 Where Mob's Victim Is Colored
and $500 When .Mobocratic "Kultur"
Claims White Victim—Recommen
dation of Colonel George W. Brack,
enridge. One of the .Most Humani
tarian Philanthropists in the Entire
Nation—Will Be in Effect Five
Years.
»
HOW FUND WILL BE CSED I
The anti-lynching fund of the !
San Antcnio Express will he em
ployed in this manner:
A reward of $500 will be paid to
eae. person who shall be directly
responsible for the arrest, with
subsequent conviction and punish
ment, of any person or persons who
Were instrumental in arousing a
mob to commit a lynching, or in
putting through the lynching itself,
when the individual lynched was
not a Negro.
A reward of $1,000 will be paid
in such cases when the victim of
the lynching was a Negro.
The difference in amounts of re
wards, as between the lynching of
Negroes and of others, is due to
the fact that a large majority of
the crimes of lynching have Ne
groes as their victims. Therefore,
the larger reward and the more
stringent measures should W ap
plied to the more prolific phase of
this evil.
This offer of reward will be in
effect for a period of five years,
and applies to all persons, whether
officers of the law or private citi
zens.
4
The publishers of the San Antonio
Express have established and set aside
a fund of $100,000 to he used in com
batting the crime of lynching in this
country; thereby to aid in stamping
out the lawlessness and violence of the
mob.
At the latest meeting of the stock
holders of the Express Publishing
Company, August 1, it was deter
mined to devote this sum of money
to the purpose of rewarding persons
who shall be directly responsible for
the arrest and conviction of those
Who incite riots and mob outbreaks
that result in lynchings, and of those
who perpetrate the lynching crime
itself.
It was the earnest expressed opin
ion of every member of the stockhold
ing body at the meeting that the irre
mediable injustices, the debasement
and degradation worked by a crime
that invariably exhibits a contempt
for law and order, and an enmity to
the decent systems of courts ami law
enforcement, must be brought to an
end throughout the United States.
Lynching must no longer go unpun
ished, or lightly punished, in any
states or district of this nation.
The anti-lynching fund of the San
Antonio Express will be employed in
this manner:
Reward of $500 will be paid to each
person who shall be directly respon
sible for the arrest, with subsequent
conviction and punishment, of any
person or persohs who were instru
mental in mousing a mob to commit
a lynching, or in putting through th<
lynching itself, when the individual
lynched yas not a Negro.
A reward of $1,000 will be paid t<
each person who shall be directly re
sponsible for the arrest, with su'ose
quent conviction and punishment, ol
any person or persons who were in
strumonta! in arousing a mob to com
mit a lynching or in putting throng
the lynching itself, when the individ
ual was a Negro.
This fund of $1.00,000, and the offer
of reward thereunder, will lie main
tained and in effect for a period < '
five years from August 3, 1018.
The system of rewards will apply
to any and every crime of lynching
committed within the bounds of con
tinental United States—that is,.exclu
sive of the American possessions ol
Porto Rico, Hawaii, the Philippine
islands, the Panama canal none, etc.
These rewards will be paid to pri
vate citizens—persons of either sex
or to peace oficors of whatever class;
sheriffs, their deputies and possemen;
constables and their deputies; United
States marshals, their deputies and
possemen; city or state police, rangers, I
etc.; officers and men of the organized
military forces, or National Gtiard, of
the .several states; and to any and
all other persons who may not he
debarred legally from the acceptance
of a reward of this character of I vw
enforcement.
Five hundred dollars is fixed as ' he
reward for directly bringing about the
arrest, conviction and punishment of
a person or persons guilty of lynch
ing an individual other than a Negro
and $1,000 is fixed as the reward in
the case of the lynching of a Negro,
for this reason:
A heavy majority of the crimes of
lynching in this country have Negroes
as their victims.
Therefore, the larger reward and
the more stringent measures should be
applied to the more prolific phase of
this hideous evil of lynching.
As compared with the number of
instances of such outrages against Ne
groes—and against the law, the de
cency and the morality of the people
—instances of the lynching of whites
are rare.
It must be noted that payment of
these rewards is strictly conditioned
upon, not only the arrest, but the con
viction and punishment—by court, or
jury, according to the system that
may obtain in the jurisdiction wherein
the crime was committed—of the
lynchers. Only by stringent punish
ment may this destructive cinie be
kept down and finally eradicated.
Those entrusted with the use of the
Express’ anti-lynching fund will have
nothing to do with the cases in which
conviction is followed by suspended
sentence, or by any punishment that
does not fit the crime; that is there
must be the death penalty, or a term
of years in state’s prison, according
to the circumstances of the crime
in evidence.
Wherever claim shall be made for
the payment of reward out of this
fund, the management of the Express
will investigate fully as to the claim
ant’s connection with the arrest and
trial of the lyncher; whether the
lyncher’s conviction and punishment
were affeicted through the genuine in
terest of the claimant, by informa
tion to the authorities and by honest
testimony in court.
Further details as to the operation
of this system of rewards may be an
nounced at same future date.
The creation of this fund was voted
by the stockholders on the recommen
dation of Gaorge W. Krackenridge of
San Antonio. Mr. Brackenridge has
been energetically and practically in
terested for years in the various ef
forts of both legal authority and so
cial organizations throughout the un
ion to do away with mob violence,
especially when it takes the .form of
lynching.
The San Antonio Express, like most
other self-respecting newspapers on
either side of the Mason and Dixon
line, has for years made its vigorous
fight editorially against a combination
of lawlessness and brutality that
blackens the name and besmirches the
citizenship of any community, South
or North, that witnesses and allows a
single lynching.
Public sentimeint against this crime
is steadily gaining in strength in the
numbers of adherents pledged to law
and order, and in stern expressions
by assemblies of good citizens, every
where in the United States.
Some two years ago the presidents
of universities and colleges in this
state and region met in Waeo and
organized a plan and propaganda
against lynching, after denouncing in
strongest terms the vicious effects of
the practice upon the people and civic
structure of the commonwealth. Espe
cially since the entrance of this nation
into the world war, and the attendant
creation of a demand for the fullest
possible measure of law-abiding, or
derly conduct here at home while ev
ery energy of the government and the
people is being devoted to the cause
of military and economic strength, is
the inimical practice of mob violence
condemned.
CANDIDATE FOR LEGISLATURE
Charleston, W. Va,—Attorney T.
Gillis Nutter, long prominent in fra
ternal circles, has announced his can
didacy for the lower house of the
West Virginia legislature and is mak
ing an active campaign for the nomi
nation.
FIRST AMERICAN
FIGHTER IN FRANCE
New Orleans, La., Aug. 15.—Wal
ter Washington, a New Orleans Col
ored man, was the first American
fighter to set foot on French soil, ac
cording to a telegram from the war
department receivied Wednesday by
Chief Clerk Raphael of local exemp
tion board No. 4. Washington reg
istered June 6, 1917, and was sent to
Camp Pike by board No. 4, being one.
of the first men to go there. He went
over with the first transport which
left for France. <
NEW COLORED REGIMENTS
ARE BEING FORMED
Washington, L). C., Aug. 15.—The
war department has authorized the
organization of eight Pioneer Regi
ments of Infantry (Colored). These
regiments are designated as the 809th
to 816th, inclusive.
Additional officers authorized will
be provided. The 801st to 808th In
fantry (Colored), now being organ
ized, will be designated as the 801st,
802d, etc., Pioneer Infantry.
NEGRO HOY SCOUTS
ORGANIZED IN KANSAS
Wichita, Kas., Aug. 15.—The first
Nd£ro troop of Boy Scouts ever or
ganized in Kansas under the Kansas
Scout Council has 'oeen organized here
with thirteen Colored lads. The boys,
three of whom are members of the
Calvary Baptist church, will meet in
their own church for instructions. Two
other Colored troops were organized
in Kansas City, Kas., but under the
jurisdiction of the Missouri council.
APPOINTED OUARANTINE
OFFICER; HER WORK
HIGHLY COMMENDABLE
Chicago, 111.—Mrs. J. H. McPherson
has been appointed quarantine offi
cer in the city health department. She
is not only the first woman of color
to hold the position, but also first
woman, and her work has been high
ly commended by the Health Commis
sioner.
FIRST COLORED BISHOP
FOR UNITED STATES
Consecration of Archdeacon Demby
(o Take Place in All Saints' Church,
St. Louis, Mo., August 24—Digni
taries of the Church Will Take Part
in Impressive Ceremonies Attend
ing f irst Consecration of Colored
Priest as a Bishop of the American
Episcopal Church.
Special to The Monitor.
ST. LOUIS, MO., Aug. 15.—Great
preparations are being made here
for an epoch-marking event in the his
tory of the Episcopal church. On the
Feast of St. Bartholomew, Saturday,
August 24, the Venerable Edward T.
Demby, bishop-suffragan-elect of the
province of the soifthwest will be con
secrated in All Saints’ church, this
city, which is one of the largest, hand
somest and costliest churches in the
country owned by Colored Episcopal
ians. This unique event will bring
dignitaries of the Episcopal church
from all parts of the country who will
take part in the impressive and in '
posing ceremony. Among the bishop:
who will take part are: The lit. Rev.
Daniel Sylvester Tuttle, I). D., pie
siding bishop; The Rt. Rev. Thomas
F. Gailor, bishop of Tennessee; tin
Rt. Rev. James R. Winchester, bishop
of Arkansas; and the Rt. Rev. Edwin
W. Sapphore, bishop-suffragan of' Ar
kansas.
. The Venerable Edward T. Demby
who has been archdeacon of the Col
ored work in the diocese of Tennes
see for several years, was elected a
few months ago as bishop-suffragan
of Arkansas and the Province of the
Southwest, for the express purpose
of aggressively' pushing the mission
ary work of the Episcopal church
among the Colored people of that ter
ritory. He has the unique distinc
tion of being the first Colored man
to he elected to the office of a bishop
in the Episcopal church, for work in
the United States. The Rt. Rev. Jas.
Theodore Holly and the Rt. Rev. Da
vid S. Ferguson were both consecrated
in New York several years ago, but,
the first was for Haiti and the other
for Liberia. His consecration is there
fore being eagerly awaited.
Another Colored bishop will be con
secrated sometime in the autumn. For
Archdeacon Delaney, vice principal
of St. Augustine’s school, Raleigh, N.
C., was recently elected bishop-suf
ifragan of North Carolina.
Captain Peebles is
Somewhere in France
—
Writes Interesting Letter to His Wife,
in Which He Speaks of the Friend
liness of the People of , hat War
Strieken Country.
MRS. W. W. PEEBLES has just
received an interesting letter
from her husband, Captain W. W.
Peebles of the 349th field artillery,
who has arrived safely overseas. It
will be recalled that late in June Cap
tain Peebles was given a leave of
absence to visit his family in Omaha.
Before he reached Omaha a telegram
was received here ordering him to re
turn at once to his regiment. He was
able to spend only a few hours with
his family as he had to take the first
train east. Before he could read, the
east his regiment had sailed. He Al
lowed as soon as possible anu rejoined
his co nmand.
Here is what Captain Feeble1 writes
from “Somewhere in France,” under
date of July 18:
“At last I am fixed for awhile. Aft
er leaving the “rest” camp we en
trained for this beautiful section of a
very beautiful country. Arrived here
last night and immediately got in
touch with my regiment, where I re
ceived a very cordial welcome from
the colonel down. So again I feel in
good spirits. Some of my things have
not shown up, but I expect them in
due season.
I am billeted with a real nice
French family. Nice big room and
strange to say plenty of light and air.
Nice soft feather bed. So you scp
I can easily rest. Our camp is beau
tifully located on the banks of a river
and ten minutes from the city. These
grateful French people are more than
friendly and one feels strongly that
you are in the midst of your best
friends. Absolutely no sign of fear,
distrust or difference.
You should see, or rather hear ray
efforts to speak French. I am pro
gressing slowly but surely. I can
| ask for what I wish but have diffi
culty in understanding them. But
you know I shall soon catch on.
I am so very tired that I cannot
write you of the very interesting
things I have seen. You don’t see
a man between 18 and 50 who is not
in uniform. So evident is the lack of
young men that a child could see it.
Even young women you see little of
as most have left for the large cen
ters where they are in the munition
factories doing their part along other
lines for their country. Poor France
seems to have been stricken or bled
dry. Our sympathy' goes out to them
automatically.
I am feeling fine and you know
my thoughts are constantly with you
! there.
I know little about the progress of
I the war. You get more news there
| than we do here. Please send me the
| “Crisis” and that issue of the "Cos
i mopolitan” with the finish of “Vir
tuous Wives.”
Please write to me often. I wrote
you while on board ship and gave the
letter to a sailor to mail, as I thought
it might reach you socner. He will
mail it on his return to New York.
Best wishes for you on y'our birth
day. May we not be separated long
! and here is hoping that many other
natal days will find my dear little
j wife, bright, cheerful and happy.
The letter ends with matters strict
ly personal and with affectionate
greetings to his sr.n, Bill, and sister
in-law, Miss Lena Paul.
TO TRAIN COLORED DRAFTED
AT HAMPTON, VA.
Washington, Aug. 15.—Provost
Marshal General Crowder issued a
school call for 309 Colored registrant -
qualified for general military service
and grammar school graduates, 159
to be inducted in Virginia and 150 in
! the District of Columbia. Induction
I was voluntary up to August 7. They
will entrain August 15 for Hampton
I Institute. Hampton, Va.
: TUSKEGEE ORGANIZES
RED CROSS CHVPTER
Tuskegee Institute, Ala., Aug. 15.—
! Perhaps the first and only chapter
I of the Red Cross among the Colored
i people was organized at Tuskegee in
stitute this week. Dr. Moton, prin
cipal of the institute, received word
some time ago that the Gulf Division
of the Red Cross had received author
ity to establish the Chapter at Tuske
gee institute.