[ j THD JMONIXOR I iim. !
*'».« i.—..—»
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, SEPTEMBER 28. 1918 Vol. IV. ’'•> i3 (Whole No. 169)
Methodist Conference
• Ends Session
Forty-third Annual Session of the
Conference Fnds With Enthusiastic
Service Sunday Night, When Ap
pointments Are Read.
PATRIOTISM IS PREVALENT
Bishop Parks and Other Speakers
, Stress Loyal Support of Government
in All War Measures; Oppose I'n
demoeratic Discrimination.
rpHE Kansas conference has passed
I into history and there were many
good impressions made by Bishop H.
Blanton Parks, D. D., and the minis
ters, and much good will result from
the meeting. Almost every address
and sermon delivered during the ses
sion had the ring of patriotism and
loyalty, and the conference went on
record as giving unqualified support
to President Wilson and the army;
In his address Bishop Parks urged
the people to put their money in Lib
-*■ * orty bonds, in war savings stamps,
Red Cross and any other place where
the government needed it. The con
servation of food was urged by him.
“Our women must put less money in
fine dresses, shoes and the like, and
let the government use that money,
for it Ls needed in winning the war,
and if the government loses, which it
is not going to do, there would be but
little use for fine clothes.
This is not the vhite man’s war, the
black man’s war, or any other one
man’s war, but it is a war for all
America and all Americans are going
to unite and win it. That we are go
ing to win there is no doubt, but it will
require time, money and the effort of
us all.
Bishop Parks sa:d: “I am proud that
1 am an American and living in the
greatest age in the history of the
wot Id. Certainly this is a great age.
J God ha in store great things for us,
' and we ate now getting to the p*ace
where the world will recognize us for
who wo are and for what we are. No
time in the history of our country were
Colored men placed on terms of equal
ity in the army before now. We are
in every department and have over a
thousand commissioned officers and it
does not yet appear what it shall be.
“President Wilson has spoken out
against lynching as no other president j
has ever done. He has given to the |
nation some thonght. He will ever live j
in the hearts of the American people.
We are going to follow him.”
Friday night was termed education
al night for the conference. The an
nual educational sermon was preached
by the Rev. Dr. H. Milton Mickens of
Salina, and following the sermon the
people, headed by the ministers, put
on the table for education $401.20.
The question asked, “Are all the
preachers blameless in life and con
versation''” brought before the con
ference the religious, moral and of i
cial character of each minister for
scrutiny. All were able to pass with
out .a single black mu’k.
After a contest between Kansas
City, Kan., and Parsons, Kan., Kansas
City was selected for the next anrual
session.
All of Saturday morning was . pent
in executive session. It was said that
many knotty problems were worked
out by the ministers. This was the
(dosing business of the session. All
committees reported.
One of the strongest documents ever
presented before the conference was
the report of the committee on the
state of the country. The ieport was
read by Dr. J. R. Ransom, the recog
nized leader of the conference and a
man of magnetic power. The report
made a review of war conditions. It
told about the patriotic .sendee en
dered by the Negroes in France and
commended their efforts. This docu
ment was full of information and
•showed tnat Dr. Ransom had snent
some time in collecting information
Words of praise came for President
Wiison. Secretaries Baker and Me
Adoo.
The eonference, while breathing a
spirit of the highest patriotism, never
theless put itself on record as appos
ing iegregation, jim crow cars and
other undemocratic practices which
•ire inconsistent with America’s ideals.
Saturday closed with a lecture by
Charles Stewart, A. M., D. D., of Chi
cago.
Sunday was a busy day and at the
close Sunday night Bishop Parks as
signed the ministers.
The eonference was attended by
many of the leading women of Kansas
find Nebraska, and at thejr meeting
Friday afternoon some able addresses
were delivered. Mrs. H. B. Parks spoke
on “The Growth of the Home.” She
said that one of the greatest uplifts to
the human family was the home—tli. j
place where hoys and girls were de
velop! d into manhood and Womanhood.
Mrs. J. C. C. Owens of Kansas City,
Kan., who has bejn in the conference
for the past twenty ve rs or more, was
u great help to the youne women of
her race. M rs. Owens has been con
nected with the work of uplift for
many years. She worked with her hus
band in Missouri, Colorado and Kan
sas. She knowr in many homes.
Dr. Owens is one of the few men
who has been able to come back. He
went to Quindaro in 1872 and returned
in 1!)18. He organized the work in
Quindaro and now he comes back and
brings from that place the largest re
port in its histor>. He brought $115.
Bishop Demby Will Be
Consecrated Sunday
Imnipressive Service Will Be Held in
VII Samis' Church Before a Con
gregation Numbering 1,000.
(Special to The Monitor.)
ST. LOUIS, Mo., Sept. 28.—Prepara
tions have been completed for the
impressive consecration service by
which the Venerable Edward Thomas
Demby will he made a bishop in that
long line of prelates of the Anglican
communion which reaches hack to the
t'me of the establishment of the
church in Britain. The service will be
held in All Saints’ church, this city,
Sunday morning, September 20, the
Festival of St. Michael and All Angels, I
Peculiar interest attaches to this serv- j
ice, because it will be the first time
that the Episcopal church will have
consecrated a Colored man as bishop
for work in the United States. Dr.
Demby will be consecrated bishop suf
fragan of Arkansas.
The congregation of All Saints’
church have planned to accommodate
at least 1,000 people. A monster mis
sionary mars meeting is to be held in
the afternoon at 5 o’clock, at which
B’shop Demby and others will sneak
and an offering taken for missionary
work in Arkansas.
The consecration service was first
appointed for August 24, but it was
deemed advisable to postpone it until
this later date.
In its entire history the Episcopal
church has had only two Negro bish
ps—one was consecrated in 1885 for
Liberia, and the other in 1874 for
Haiti. Both are now dead and Bishop
Demby will be the first of a line of
American Negro nishops in charge of
work among American Negroes.
A full report of the consecration
service, with illustrations, will be pub
lished in next week’s Monitor. .
TYPES OF RESIDENCES OWNED UY Ol'R OMAHA CITIZENS
The Residence of Dr. A. G. Edwards, 2111 Erskine St.
THE UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA STANDS FOR TRUE
DEMOCRACY. WHAT KIND OF DEMOCRACY DO
THEY STAND FOR WHO COMPEL THIS INSTITU
TION TO VIOLATE TIGS PRINCIPLE?
The Students’ Army Training Corps, generally abbrevi
ated “S. A. T. C.,” is a military unit of the national army
composed of university students from the ages of 18 to 21,
who registered September 12. The government pays all the
student’s expenses and provides him with a salary of $30 a
month. At the end of three months the students are assign
ed for such other work or training as their efficiency war
rants. Joseph B. LaCour and Sandford Fallings, university
students, enrolled. They were denied admission to the S. A.
T. C. The following letter from the Acting Chancellor will
be read with interest:
Thp University of Nebraska, Lincoln,
Chancellor’s Office, Sept. 25, 1918.
Mr. Joseph LaCour, Lincoln, Neb.:
Dear Sir—Replying to your application for admission to
. the S. A. T. C. and your inquiry as to the reasons why it has
been denied, I wish to say that it is done under instructions
received bv telegram from Captain Zillman, inspector of this
district, sent to me from Minneapolis, Minn. Captain Zill
man’s telegram was in response to an inquiry addressed to
him by Commandant Mclvor of our S. A. T. C. unit, as to the
admission of Colored applicants. The telegram is in these
words, “Not in a white unit.” There is, of course, no distinc
tively Colored unit possible in this institution. Mv informa
tion is that there are seven Colored applicants. I do not
myself personally know of so many.
The policy of this institution has always been to regard its
privileges as public and designed for all citizens of whatever
color or ancestry. So far as I know, there has been no diffi
culty in the application of such a rule, and the Colored stu
dents have been uniformly a credit to the institution in their
characters, bearing and progress. The only authority, how
ever, which the university has in this matter is that which
is derived from the War Department at Washington. Its
direct representative in this district is Captain Zillman, and
so far as we are concerned his decision in the matter is final.
I know of no reason for anticipating any more trouble with
Colored members in conjunction with their white fellows in
our S. A. T. C. unit than we have had in the past in our uni
versity classes, but I can easily understand that there are
localities where such association would be impossible, and
apparently the War Department has adopted a uniform rule.
Regretting that 1 can give no more satisfactory reason
than the above for what you deem an injustice, I remain
very truly yours, W. G. HASTINGS,
* Acting Chancellor.
I ■ ^
THE ZION ATHLETIC TRACK TEAM, WHICH WON FIRST PRIZE AT
AUDITORIUM. MARCH 31, 1916.
The Interest Attaching to This I’icure is the Fact Thai These Boys Have
Recently Been Called Into Service, Leroy Kelly Leaving Wednesday.
Campaign Against
Venereal Diseases
Prominent Physicians and Surgeons
Appointed by War Department in
Educational Campaign to Safeguard
Health of Soldiers.
—
Washington, I). C., Sept. 25.—An
nouncement is made that a group of
prominent Colored physicians and sur
geons have been appointed by the wa>
department to carry on a vigorous
campaign of education, with a view of
combatting the spread of venereal dis
eases in the camps and cantonments of
the country, whe'P Colored solrdcrs
are stationed in appreciable numbers.
The physicians thus far selected for
this vitally important work include:
Dr. C. V. Homan of Nashville. Tenn.,
formerly editor of the Journal of the
National Medical association and au
thor of rumcrous literary and medical
productions; Dr. Algernon li. Jackson,
surgeon-in-chief of Mercy hospital, j
Philadelphia; Dr. Roscoe Brown of
Richmond, Va., and Dr. Ralph A.1
Stewart of Washington, D. C.
According to the plans adopted it is
confidently expected that every Color
ed soldier in the army will be reached
by this educational work. The work
of these^ physicians is to be supple
mented by literature which has been
prepared to meet the special needs of
Colored troops. This is now in press,
and a pamphlet covering these sub
jects simply but thoroughly wi'i be
put into the hands of every Colored
oldier in the army who is able to
read. It is hoped to reach those who
(annot read by specially prepared pic
torial placards and -dor''onticon slides.
The last mentioned work will be large
ly in the hands of a group of Colored
sergeants' who are peculiarly adapted
by education and training for this
work.
TWO MORE SOLDIERS
GIVEN WAR CROSS
Washington, D. C., Sept. 27.—Ser
geant Robert Terry, of the First Sepa
rate Company of Baltimore, and Ser
geant Charles Hughes, of the First
Separate Batalion, of Washington, D. •
C., have been presented the Croix de
Guerre for bravery, according to word
received from France. These compan
ies, now the 372d regiment, are brig
aded with the French and are consid
ered to be among the very best trained
regiments in France.
War Correspondent
For France
Two Notable Additions to the Big
Achievements to Credit of Recent
Conference of Colored Editors at
Washington.
NEWS FROM THE BATTLE FRONT
Ralph W. Tyler Named to Report
Military Happenings on Western
Front in France—United States
Agrees to Loan $5,000,000 to Aid
Republic of Liberia.
ASHINGTON, D. C.—Two no
table additions have been made
within the past few days to the list
of big achievements that may he just
ly credited to the influence of the re
cent conference of Colored editors and
leaders in Washington.
One of the direct requests of the
editor's conference in .Tune was that
a reliable Colored news writer be sent
to France to report the doings of the
Colored troops on the western front
in France, for the information of the
anxious millions of Colored Americans
in this country and to the end that the
correct story of the valor and patriot
ic devotion of their brethren might be
told fully and in a sympathetic vein
by one of their own blood and kindred.
In compliance with this request, the
committee on public information has
designated Ralph W. Tyler of Colum
bus, O., .former auditor for the navy
department at Washington, as a reg
ularly commissioned war correspond
ent, to make daily reports of the ac
tivities and engagements in which the
Colored soldiers are prominent. He
will be on the stalff of General Persh
ing, commander-in-chief of the Ameri
can Expeditionary Forces overseas.
Every facility has been provided by
Mr. George Creel, director of the com
mittee on public information, for the
prompt and accurate gathering of all
facts that may be of interest to the
Colored people.
First Negro to Be Named as a War
Correspondent
Mr. Tyler is the first Colored man
to be named as a regular war corre
spondent by any government in the
world. He is a native of Ohio. For
seventeen years he served in various
departments on the Columbus Evening
Dispatch and the Ohio State Journal,
which gave him experience in the
technique of the newspaper craft and
afforded him opportunity for asso
ciation with many influential news
paper men. This intimate contact
with such forces will be invaluable
to him in his labors as a war corre
spondent. The fact that he has a
wide acquaintance with correspondents
now at the front., will make it pos
sible for him to gets news concerning
Colored troops which, perhaps, no oth
er Colored correspondent could secure.
The claims of a number of men w*ere
fully considered in connection • with
this important assignment, but Mr.
Tyler was finally selected as the most
efficient of those available. Imme- J
diately after wav was declared by the;
United States rn Germany, Mr. Tyler
wrote the president tendering h’s serv
ices in any capacity. He has three
sons, all of whom are at the front in
France.
$5,000,000 Loan to Liberian Kcpubli
The second of this series of editor
ial conference achievements is the au
thorization by the government cf a
loan of $5,000,000 to the Republic of
Libeira, in line with the request of the
conference. This fund is allotted to
aid in the rehabiliation of that coun
try’s public finances, which have been
reduced to a dangerously low ebb by
the cessation of trade, and to develop
production of rice and other foodstuffs
for the allies, as well as to place on
the market many of the greatly need
ed products with which the little over
seas republic abounds. Much of Lib
eria’s commerce was with Germany,
and this has been totally cut off since
the former’s declaration of war
against the Teutons.
The granting of this $5,000,000 cred
it through the United States treasury
had its inception several months ago
when Dr. Ernest Lyon, the Liberian
consul general, made application on
behalf of his government for same,
and was helped forward quite per
ceptibly by a meeting at the White
House later, when a committee laid
before the president the peculiar needs
of Liberia and made plain the faith
fulness of her people to the cause
of the allies, emphasiing the fact that
Liberia is the natural ward of this
powerful government and that its wel
fare must be safeguarded by America
in her hour of peril.
The members of the committee, who
joined in the appeal to the president
were Dr. Robert R. Moton, principal of
the famous Tuskegee institute; Em
mett J. Scott, secretary of Tuskegee
institute, now' serving as special as
sistant to the secretary of war; Dr.
Ernest Lyon, former United States
minister to Liberia and now' Liberian
consul general in this country; Dr.
James H. Dillard, of the Slater and
Jeanes fund boards; Dr. Thomas Jesse
Jones, of the United States bureau
of education; and Hon. William H.
Lewis, former assistant attorney gen
eral of the United States.
German Defeat Due
to Colored Troops
Amsterdam, Sept. 25.—General von
Risberg addressed the main commit
tee of the reichstag on behalf of the
minister of war. He explained, ac
coridng to a telegram from Berlin,
that the failure of the German offen
sive on the western front was due to
the failure of the German army to
surprise the entente allies and the
necessity of assuming the defensive on
the arrival of the English home army
in the theater of war; to the employ
ment of Colored troops and to the in
tervention of American divisions.
Referring to the entente allies’ at
tack on the Marne salient. General von
Risbe’.g said the withdrawal of the
German troops was necessary “for
strategical reasons and was complete
ly successful.”
“Thvs the first offensive of the
enemy," he added, “brought him a tac
tical success, but considered in the
1'ght of his great strategical aims it
can be regarded as not having suc
ceeded.”
Grneral von Risberg described the
British victory between the Ancre and
the Avre rivers as a “great success
due to the massed employment of
tanks and surprise under the protec
tion of their fire.”
The withdrawal to the Hindenburg
line, the general said, was due to a
“lack of well consolidated positions.”
The Rev. S. M. Skelton, of Nashville, Term., who will begin
a ser ies of r evival ser vices at Grove Methodist church, Twenty
second and Seward streets, Sunday, September 29.
