i “=rj The Monitor i=„ i
A National vVeekly Newspaper Devoted to the Interests of Colored Americans
THE REV. JOHN ALBERT WILLIAMS. Editor
$2.00 a Year. 5c a Copy OMAHA, NEBRASKA, OCTOBER 5, 1918 Vol. IV. No 'Whole No. 170)
Ahead of Boch \ Says
Leader Negro Troops
k -
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Colonel William Hayward Tells of 129
Hays in Trenches ant! Interesting
Facts of the War.
/COLONEL WILLIAM HAYWARD,
at the head cf a regiment of Ne
gro troops, picked from the Harlem
district in New York, has been in the
thick of the fighting ;n France, has
heen commended by General Chabord,
his commander, for the work he and
his men performed ana is now in a
rest t 'O'p after hard fightinf for a
sustained period of 129 days.
Writing to William H. Pitzer, his
former law partner at Nebraska City,
he says:
“Well, v.e are a* rest.” A few days
ago a tired, ragged, lousy, battle
scarred regiment trudged out of a
sector after being under fire every
day for 129 days, after being through
the greatest battle in the world’s his
tory anil after' holding what was at
one time (14 months after the United
State-, declared war on Germany), one
fifth of ail the ground the whole
American army was holding when
that army had about ten times as
many commissioned officers in France
as we had enlisted men.
“The French generals, from General
Gouraud down, saj that we did our
work as well as the veteran French
infantry regiments on either side of
us. We captured prisoners, includ
ing a German officer and lost none of
to them. We killed many of them
in their trenches and inside our own
lines. We were never driven from
our front trenches, although assault
ed repeatedly. ‘No Man’s Land’ soon
became the 15th B. Y. land after we
took over each of the sectors we
held, the last one being the most active
and dangerous sector from Switzer
land to the channel, so the French tell
us.
* “On total killed and captured we
are away ahead o<' the boche—may
be 100. And we did what we were
given to do with a minimum of losses.
“General Gouiaud has inscribed to
me •» copy of his now famous ad
dress to his srldiers before the great
battle in which he expresses his great
esteem "Au Colonel Hayard o’ son
brave regiment.”
“So es we tramped away to the
south in the sunshine and dust of:
the late days of August and the ;
sound of the damned guns grew
fa into i and fainter, and we took off
cur stel helmets and put away our
gas masks, temporarily, you can im- :
agine how the spirits of the men grew
high, and how they sang marching
“ongs lustily and what our thoughts
were
“And when one remembers the be- I
ginnings of this little old handpicked,
home-made regiment of Harlem Col- j
ored boys and that we were never
inspected, never trained, never
coached by an oficer outside the regi
ment, that we were never in an Ameri
can brigade or division, that we never
had a training period, even ever so \
short, as ail the other American regi- j
merits had, hut instead were the cheer
ful and efficient chore hoy of the war !
department until coming to France— |
well it’s done and that’s the answer,
and now we’re looking toward bigger
. and better things, after a few weeks
rest and training, in open warfare.
Pray God we may never again have
to go back to permanent trenches in
a stabilized position.
“Many acts of inrlividual bravery
stand out conspicuously, even in this
gallant army of French heroes and
veterans. At least thirty Croix-de
Guerres have heen awarded officers
and men (subject to approval of A. E.
F., H. t).). On the other hand we had,
as I presume every regiment must
have, some men whose conduct in
line and out wrs not at all credible.
But they couldn’t all he heroes cn $30
a month, could they ?
“We have been here several days.
You should see my bullies now. All
clean, de-loused, new uniforms, spick
and span anti happy, and how they
can drill and maneuver; I enclose
copy of letter from General Chabord,
the French general who commanded
the infantry of o»r division so long
leaving as to command a division. He
seems to think well of us, n’est ce
pas?”
Pra’sed by Chabord.
Enclosed in the letter was the fol
lowing commendatory communication
from General Chabord:
“1 thunk you for the fine things
contained in your' letter. Be assured
that on my part I have kept very
pleasant memories of the 369th R. I.
U. S„ of its brave and excellent offi
THE NEW BETHEL BAPTIST CHURCH, SOUTH SIDE—REV. THOMAS A. TAGGART, PASTOR.
A MONUMENT TO FAITH
A N D I N I) U ST R Y
By their deeds must we judge men.
No other rule is left to us andj no
other rule is needed. Words may be
laden with thought and purport, but
work and accomplishment are the
things that count. Two years ago a
young man was ordained to the min
istry and the number of his flock was
fifteen. It might still be fifteen had
this young man been an ordinary
young man, but the pith of this story
is that he was not. He can be classed
with only the extraordinary young
men. Today his flock has grown to
675 and is still growing. His people
;ove him and have faith in him.
Yet this is only the smallest pail
of the story. Five months ago this
| earnest young man sat down by night
\ light and drew plans for a large1
; church in which to house his people.
It was an imposing dream and one
which many older men would have,
;aid was but a vision of untutored;
youth. Dut this young man did not
advertise*his hopes. He carried the
plans to his people and asked them |
if they would help him and with one'
voice they said, “Yes!” And what
is more they meant it. In five month s
time this young man with his earnest
followers have built a magnificent
new church at the cost of $30,000
and paid every cent of it as they
budded. None but Colored workmen
i aired the imposing structure ai d not
one penny of the $30,000 was give n
by a white person. The church, a
picture of which is shown above, lias
i seating capacity of 1,200 people and
:s absolutely cop’pleted. On Sunday,
September 29, the dedication cerv
ices were held. Rev. M. H. WiHcinson,
of Mount Moriah Baptist church,
preached the sermon and, to the sweet
tones of a beautiful pipe organ, a
large choir sang their songs of praise
to their redeemer. And would it be
sacrilege to say that in the heai'.s
of those people there rose as well a
ril'ni hymn of p.aise for their young
pa lov v. ho has led them to a vic
‘.o:y which no other congrcgatlcn in
Omaha can claim? We are proud of
Rfcv. Thomas Taggart, pastor of the
now end beautiful Bethel Baptist
church, t!81h ar.d T streets, South
Omaha, Neb.
Omahans will do well to v'sit this
church and see the actual corroboia
tion of the work that has inspired
these words.
cers ami particularly of their com
manding officer
“I should have been happy and
proud to fight in open warfare, side by
side with Mic1’. warm-hearted collab
orators; I would have gone to battle
with absolute confidence.
“You had vour share in the big bat
tle with the French army, which
stopped abruptly the enemy offensive
and which enabled us to counter-at
tack somewhere else, on a large scale.
“My division has been engaged in
this counter-offensive and has achiev
ed some good work. For my debut I
prepared and carried out an attack
supported by an American artillery
brigade under command of General
Bowley-. The success of this attack
is chiefly one to the co-operation of
your compatriots, who displayed the
finest military qualities. ‘All right!
Colonel, we shall get them.’ They have
led in the wing. Let us not he sleepy,
but let us be also foresighted against
the kicks of the animal at bay.
“My friendly regards to Colonel
Pickering anl to all your officers.
“With a friendly hand shake and
with the expression of my entire devo
tion.”—Omaha Daily Bee.
BLACKS I U F. TO COMMIT
ASSAULT ON WHITE WOMAN
Okmulgee, Ol-la.. Sent. 20.—Con
victed of attacking a young woman on
a country road two miles east of this
city on the night of July 23, Ira E.
Williams (white), aged 38, a traveling
salesman, was sentenced to ninety
nine years in the state pententiary.
The crime was one of the most brutal
ever committed in this section. Wil
I:arris is accused by some of having
blacken’d his 'ace in order that the
crime would be shifted to another
race.
RACK MEN WANT SEAT
AT THE PEACE TABLE
Chicago, Oct. 2.—Negroes of the
United States will make a determined
effort to be represented at the peace
table when the central powers are de
feated. Resolutions setting forth their
claims to representation were adopted
by the Equal Rights league in session
here Iasi week and a committee ap
pointed to present them to President
Wilson.
Kultur In Africa
Ida Vera Simonton " rites of Ger
many's Atrocities in Africa-—New
York Sun Publishes From Author's
Hook, “Hell's Playground.”
IK return of Germany’s African
I'olpnies wou'd not only he the
crowning crime to the long list of
crimes committed by the white man
upon the African, hut it would cause a
native rebellion from Cairo to the
Cape and. endanger the life of every
white man between.
For Germany’s actions in Africa so
outbarbarized the most barbarous
atrocities of the savages that ineradic
able hatred of the German is implant
ed in the African, and now that he is
free of German barbarity and versed
in Kuropean warfare he will never
again voluntarily submit to Prussian
rule.
This I know from my own personal j
observations in the African colonies.
I have seen youth and old age1
chained neck to neck, ankle to ankle I
and waist to waist with shackles rem
iniscent of the middle ages, goaded
with rifle butt and bayonet point,
flogged with the sjambok—that dread
ed lash of rhinoceros hide—and forced
to labor from sunup to sundown on
the land that had been theirs from
time out of mind!
I've seen youth anil old age drop
dead in their tracks, their bodies
dragged <>n by their helpless compan
ions in agony because the German
overlords would not let them rest long
enough to remove the dead bode from
its shackles and give it burial!
New Mothers March Under Hash.
I’ve seen youth and old age, women
and little children, after a day of the
hardest kind of labor—road making,
jungle clearing and working timber—
crowded for the night into huge bar
racoons without windows or beds,
filthy and vermin ridden beyond de
scription, veritable hotbeds of con
tagion and disease and charnel houses
for more wretches than could be
counted!
I’ve seen mothers, ten minutes after
the experience of maternity, hurry
piteously to catch up with the caravan
of which they were apart to avoid the
sjamboking they knew would be theirs
if they and their loads did not, ar
rive at a given factory on a given
day!
I’ve known girl children from 5
yeais up the victims of German sol
diers; I’ve seen girls still in child
hood set adrift in their hope that they
and their young might perish!
For the cowardly Hun hasn’t the
courage of his crimes. He feared a
race of Euro-Africans, a race that
would in time become powerful enough
fo exact retribution. Any babies who
survived wete blinded,' mutilated and
ooisoned for life with germs.
But the German’s bestiality was
not confined to his treatment of his
half-easte children. To overcome the
Euro-African danger the government,
under the pretence of offering lucra
tive positions as barmadi, typists
and telephonists lured young healthy
German peasant girls to the colonies
and, denied mat imony, they were
forced to live tv' I h German soldiers
and farmers. Mary of these women
and children, .'1,000 of them, if mem
ory serves, were deserted by their men
when..Britain and Iloer invaded south
west Africa n the present war.
Accustomed to the inhumanity of
those formerly in power over them,
they nut no faith in General Botha’s
stern order, given when his troops oc
cupied Windhoek, the capital, for the
scrupulous protection of every Ger
man woman and child.
The Hereros welcomed the Ger
mans, expecting, of course, the same
treatment they had received from the
British and other Europeans with
whom they had traded for years. They
were unusually friendly to mission
aries, too, and professed a sort of
Christianity. If Germany ever had
a chance to “civilize” a nation which
would work to the utmost for her a
territory half again as large as her
home area and potentially rich beyond
computation, she had it in southwest
Africa.
But in her conceit and arrogance
she thinks there is only one way to
rule a subject people—and that is
through the abject slavery born of the
mortal fear.
Bismarck foresaw failure if too
much “iron” were introduced into
(Continued on Page 5)
KING OF ENG! .AND
SENDS SYMPATHY
Wife of Negro Soldier Gets Imperial
Message.
Detroit, Mich., Sept. 30.—“The king
commands me to assure you of the
true sympathy of his majesty and the
queen in your sorrow.—Derby, Secre
tary of State for War.”
Mrs. Blanche Saunders, 345 Orleans
street, received a card bearing the
foregoing inscription properly deco- [
rated with the British coat-of-arms \
Thursday, and her sorrow at the death
of her husband in action at the front j
is tempered by the acknowledgment
of the king of England that he nympa- j
thizes with her.
The husband. B, K. Saunders, is the I
f’rst American Negro from Detroit to
d;e in France, and therein lies another
d suction for the widow. He enlisted
in the Canadian enginee’s April 8 of
this year and was killed August 17.
Besides his widow he leaves a father
and mo*her in Guatemala. For f'vo
years previous to his enlistment he
was employed by the Michigan Cop
per and Brass company.
ONE HUNDRED SECOND
LIEUTENANTS COMMISSIONED
Camp Pike, Ark.—At the closing ex
ercises of the infantry division of the
central officers’ 'raining school at
Camp Pike, Little Bock, Ark., one hun
dred and seven Colored men, repre
:- nting nearly every state in the un
icn, received commissions as second
1'eutenants. Cart. Garrison, the in
■ tractor in charge of the school, sa'd
that the young men had exceeded all
expectations and had met conditions
as they were in a most cheerful and
confident manner and that they had
mounted the military ladder of train
ing round by round, showing a de
gree of proficiency that compared
most favorably with their fellows.
Their conduct in camp and city was
most praiseworthy. They came from
all walks of Pfe, from college down.
Elmer Morris of Omaha, Neb., was
among ♦hose winning commissions. He
is now stationed at Camp Sherman,
Chillicothe, O.
Signatu \ 'fixed
With kc\ ■ Stamp
Governor of Georgia v ^ .y Replies
to Communications Addressed to
Him by National Association—Ap
parently Too Busy to Sign Letter.
NEW YORK.—The National Asso
ciation for the Advancement of
Colored People makes public the re
ply of Governor Hugh M. Dorsey of
Georgia, to two telegrams concern
ing specific cases of lynching in Geor
gia, in which the Association asked
Governor Dorsey what it could "tell
America concerning Georgia’s co-op
eration with the president in helping
to stamp out. moh violence.”
The first telegram (August 21st),
referred r0 a memomadum submitted
to Governor Dorsey, in person, by the
Assistant Secretary of the Associa
tion, July 10, in which were given the
names of seventeen members of the
j mob which lynched Negroes in Brooks
: and T -owndes counties from May 17
to May 22. at which time the governor
stated in the most positive terms that
he would do all in his power to bring
the guilty parties to justice. The
second telegram (August 26), urged
Governor Dorsey to use every power
j at his command to apprehend the
lynchers of Ike Radney, who was
lynched near Colquit, Georgia, on Au
gust 11.
Governor Dorsey’s reply addressed
| to John R. Shillady, secretary of the
Association, makes no reference to the
; case of Radney, and is given below',
i In a statement, issued last night, Mr.
Shillady says that lynchings have oc
curred in Texas. Louisiana and Geor
gia since the president’s denunciation
of lynching and mob violence was
made, and in each case the Associa
tion addressed inquiries to the gov
ernors of the three states. No ac
knowledgements have been received
from Texas and Louisiana, and de
spite diligent inquiries the Association
has been unable to ascertain that any
steps at all have been taken to appre
hend the lynchers. So far as the
governors of these three states are
concerned, President Wilson’s procla
mation has had no effect, and is ap
parently wholly disregarded.
Governor Dorsey’s letter to Mr. Shil
lady follow’s:
Dear Sir:
Referring to .your telegram of Au
gust 21 and 22 (26th), with refer
ence to the recent lynchings in Brooks
and Lowndes counties:
“So far as I am able to ascertain
no definite results have been obtained
in the effort to apprehend the guilty
parties.
“I shall take pleasure in advising
you in the event any developments
take place.
“Yours very truly,
(Signed.) “HUGH M. DORSEY.”
Note—Governor Dorsey’s signature
wras affixed by rubber stamp.
[But of course no “developments”
will take place because, well because
it’s Georgia and the governor and
those in authority will make no sin
cere effoit “to apprehend the guilty
parties.”-—Editor Monitor.]
COLORED SOLDIERS’
WRECK POLICE STATION
Norfolk, Va., Sept. 28.—An infuri
ated crowd cf 800 Colored soldiers
from Camp Morrison last Friday night
completely wrecked the Second pre
cinct police station here in an attempt
to rescue two soldiers who had been
arrested on a frivolous charge. Nearly
all the windows were broken by flying
bullets, bricks and bottles before the
officers could open on them with pis
tols.
Ten Colored soldiers and civilians
w'ere shot in the exchange of bullets
before the arrival of police reserves
and naval guards, who aided the offi
cers in quelling the rioteis.
Several of the w'ounded at the hos
pital rrp safd *o he in a precarious
condition.
AMERIC \N FEDERATION
OF LABOR HAS FOUR
RACE DELEGATES
Washington, D. C., Sept. 26.—G. W.
Millner, a Negro, who represented
about 1,000 other workers of his own
race at the recent American Federa
tion of Labor convention, believes that
the condition of Negro labor has
profited greatly of late, principally
through the aid of the * merican Fed
eration of Labor. There were three
other Negro delegates to the conven
tion and their presence showed con
clusively that the color line 13 no
longer drawn in labor’s ranks.