i ■=-1 The Monitor
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. NOVEMBER 23. 1918 Vol. IV. No. 21 (Whole No. 177)
What Does The Negro
Want or Expect?”
Qucst'on Asked Recently by Promi
nent and Well-Meaning White
Southerner a' Important Meeting
Held in New York.
PROFESSOR IIAWKINS REPLIES
Answer Unequivocal, Straightforward
and Clean Cut Demand for True
I). mocracy at Home.
New YORK, Nov. 20.—The General
War-Time Commission of the Fed
eral Council of Churches of America,
has created a committee on “The Wel
fare of Negro Troops.” At a meeting
of (his committee in New York, Mon
day, November 5, 1018, very interest
ing reports were made by those who
have been delegated to make a survey
of the conditions existing in and
around the camps where our troops
are quartered; and plans were dis
cuss d for extending the survey—even
„ —<0 France.
Several important- questions per
taining to the work of our troops and
their treatment were frankly dis
cussed; and a sub-committee was ap
pointed to report the work of this
committee to the proper authorities of
the war department.
One of the most important fea
tures of the meeting was presented
in the form of a general statement,
sent bo the committee by a represen
tative of one of the important agen
cies in connection with war activi
ties. This representative thought it
'* well to call the attention of the com
mittee to certain matters hearing on
the relationship between the white and
Colored races in certain sections; and
to get some expression as to what is
best to be done in the interest of all
concerned. The author of the state
ment—a white mar., whose name was
/ withheld—set out:
. FIRST: That there was a manifest
/ feeling of unrest among both white
and Colored people in his district
a thickly populated section of one of
the southern states.
SECOND: That there seemed to be
a growing feeling of mistrust toward
the white people, on the part of the
Colored people.
THIRD: That the white people
were keenly interested to know as to
what the Colored people were thinking
about; and somewhat disturbed over
the fart that there was a seeming
disposition on the part of the Colored
people to keep the whites “in 'ihe
dark” as to their thoughts.
FOURTH: That Negro preachers
and speakers were encouraging their
people to expect a new adjustment of
things under the application of the
principles of DEMOCRACY.
It was generally admitted that this
* particular statement was a fair sum
mary of the situation or conditions
existing very generally throughout
the south; and the matter assumed
definite shape in the form of the ques
tion at the head of this article:
WHAT DOES THE NEGRO WANT
OR EXPECT?
THE ANSWER.
I cannot, and do not claim the au
thority to speak for the twelve mil
lions, or more Negroes in America;
but as one of them, I beg to submit
the fallowing in answer to 'the above
question.
For the sake of convenience and
directness let us follow the style of
President Wilson and reduce our rea
soning to what may he termed
FOURTEEN (14) SPECIFIC ARTI
CLES AS A BASIS OF DEMOCRA
~~ CY AT HOME.
I. Universal Suffrage.
The Negro wants the right bo vote
and the privilege of exercising that
right in casting his ballot, because
he knows this to be one of the funda
mental rights of the citizens of ?
republic; and that any set of people
who are denied the privilege of ex
ercising this right will be rendered
powerless in helping to shape civic
affairs in the community, state 01
country of which they" are a pari .
Let the south be fair and apply the
standard of elective franchise to
white and Colored alike and the firs*
step will be taken towards removing
the Negro’s feeling of mis'.rust.
H. Better Educational Facilities ir
the South for Negroes.
The Negro wants this because he
recognizes education as the lever by
which a people are lifted up. He if
capable of receiving it, is anxious foi
it, and needs it bo help make him s
barter citizen. He meets every re
quirement in the way of taxation for
(Continued on Pag:e C)
■ - \
the BLACKSTONE, OMAHA—ONE OF THE HANDSO MEST HOTEL Bl ILDINGS IN THE UNITED STATES
Gives Employment to Several Men and Women of the Race-—Colored Man One of the Stockholders.
Omaha’s Exclusive
Family Hotel
The Dining Room Crew and Other
Employes Giving Satisfaction to
Guests and Management; Gives Em
ployment to 25 Men and Women.
HOW would you like to own one
one hundred and eightieth part of
one of the finest and most exelusive
family hotels in the United States?
Well, there is one Colored man in
Omaha who has this distinction. He
owns $5,000 worth of stock in tlhe
Blackstone hotel, which in beauty is
surpassed by no structure in the coun
try and in richness of furnishings and
equipment is said to be equalled by
only one other in this country and that
a ho'el in Boston, Mass. So to find
anything in tf’.e way of select family
hotels to equal the Blackstone, Omaha,
you have to travel as far as Boston.
As a citizen of Omaha this is some
thing you ought to know, and it is a
safe guess 'hat not one in a thousand
of our best informed citizens are ac
quainted with this fact. It is equally
a safe guess that not one in ten thou
sand ever dreamed that among the
stockholders of his palatial building
is a Colored man.
Well, stick a pin in these two facts.
And since the Blackstone is valued at
approximately $1)00,000 the stockhold
er holding $5,000 worth of stock owns
one one hundred and eightieth part of
*he hotel. In other words, if you could
find 17!) more of our people who have
$5,000 to invest they could own a
building like the Blackstone.
In our present economic state there
are scores and scores of other enter
prises in which we could pool our in
terests and invest our money to a
I I
much bet er advantage than would be
tho case were we to invest it in some
one big hotel pi' position of this kind.
: One of the points to stress now is this:
It is significant that among the race
in Omaha are to be found men who, j
when great fiscal agencies like the :
Bankers’ Realty Investment company
offer bonds for sale to build, equip
and finance some big enterprises, are
in a position to take advantage of this
class of investments.
This handsome structure .is of fire
proof construction, the building mate
rials being steel, concrete,'brick and
terra cotta, with concrete floors
throughout and fireproof gypsum
block interior partitions. It is eight
stories high above the basement and
contains 237 guest rooms, which are
I subdivided into 131 suites. All suites
I have private bath, telephone and other
conveniences. Besides the living apart
ments '/here is also a large public
lobby, hotel office, four dining rooms,
two kitchens, a billiard and card room,
party rooms, reception rooms, ball
roams, all being the last word in ele
gance of style and equipment. Per
haps the handsomest general rooms in
the building are the large ball room,
in oi l rose and ivory, and the Oriental
room, which are ••wo of the large i
apartments on the eighth floor. The
value of the building, conservatively
! estimated is placed at $9,000,000. Such
a building is an asset Jo any city.
The Blackstcne gives employment
to some twenty-five or more Colored
men and women. The dining room
crew consists of the following persons:
A. T. Jordan, head waiter; E. A. Lee,
second waiter; S. H. Dorsey, Leonard
Gamble, James Taylor, Warner Saun
ders, W. Edgerton, J. S. Williams,
Allen Kennedy, E. L. Reid and R. C.
1 f
Monroe, waiters; Melissa Terry, Cora
Haywood, Blanche Murrell and Fern
Martin, waitresses. Miss Murrell is
captain of the waitresses and Miss
Martin is secretary of the dining room
staff. The bakery is in charge of
Robert Byrd and Mrs. Brown, experts
in their line. The check room is in
charge of Mrs. Alice M. Smith. The
doorman and housemen are also Col
ored. All these employes subscribed
to the United War Work campaign.
The Blackstone management is well
pleased with its Colored employes.
Mr. A. T. Joidan, the head waiter, has
established an enviable reputation for
his taste and skill in decorating and
solving private parties. He is a na
tive of Memphis, Tenn., where he
seived as one of the head waiters at
the Peabody hotel and also of the
Business Men’s club. Subsequently he
■ ;"V to St. Joseph, Mo., where he
served in the same capacity at the
Rubidoux hotel. From St. Joseph he
came to Omaiha, where he has resided
for the past five years, where he has
won a good reputation. This was no
small factor in his securing the im
portant position which he now holds
a the Blackstone.
GIVEN CHANCE FOR
FRENCH EDUCATION
Philadelphia, Pa., Nov. 21.—Our
troops will have an opportunity to go
to school and study French, French
history and oilier subjects when an
armistice is declared and they are
waiting to be sent home. This is done
through the efforts of the Y. M. C. A.
who are trying to reduce the illiteracy
among our bovs. Public schools in
this city will be u iized for the voca
tiona education of clipped sodiers aft
er the war.
r
*
PORO COLLEGE BUILD 1NG, ST. LOUIS, MO.
The staff and readers of The Monitor are cordially in vited bo visit ar.d view this building during opening week,
November 24 to December 1, 1918. Each evening’s program will feature some of the best orators and artists of
the race.
This $250,000 structure is 142 feet by 137 fee'), three stories, mezzanine floor, basement and roof garden. Fire
proof and steam heated throughout. Ninety-five dormito rics and office rooms; ladies’* parlors; emergency hospital
rooms, latest model ice and refrigerating plant with circ ulating ice water. Local and long distance phones in each
room. Every room an outside room due to two spacious c ourts. Steam laundry, electric passenger and freight ele
vators. Auditorium; pneumatic carriers.
Thirty-one private rooms for shampooing, hairdress ing and massaging, manicuring and chiropody.
FRANCE GIVES CITIZEN
RIGHTS TO ALGERIANS
Paris, Nov. 20.—A bill giving an
important ox ension of political rights
to native Musulmans and Algerians
was adopted by the chamber of dep
uties today. Tribute was paid to the
fighting of Algerian sharpshooters in
the present war, and it was recalled
'hat in the Franco-Prussian war the
Algerians refused to surrender at
Sedan. In that battle, after fighting
their way through the German lines,
they rejoined the French army.
Full citizenship rights are given
natives if they are twenty-five years
old, monogamous or single and have
never been condemned for political
crime.
NEW YORK HOTELS
HIRE COLORED WAITERS
Special to The Monitor.
New York, Nov. 21.—More than 500
Colored waiters, cooks, pantrymen and
caterers were employed by' the Van
derbilt and Plaza hotels of New York
City last week to supplant white
strikers.
MOB LYNCHES MAN
FOR STEALING MULE
Raleigh, N. C., Nov. 21.—A mob
composed of prominent citizens of this
city took Geo. Taylor from the Sheriff
and strung his body to a tree and rid
dled it with bullets. He was accused
of stealing a mule.
TWO KANSAS CITYANS
KILLED IN ACTION
Kansas City, Kas., Nov. 21.—News
received here announces the death of
Lieut. Horpole and Lieut. Meriwether,
Colored, both of this place, killed in
action October 6 in France.
GENERAL SCOTT OF TEXAS
PRAISES NEGRO SOLDIERS
New York, Nov. 21.—Brig. Gen. W.
S. Scott, who reached New York from
France today, gave a lengthy' inter
view to a Sun repo it er upon the
Americans in France. Commenting
upon the Negro soldier, the general
said:
“The spirit of the Negro in doing
his war work is admirable; he is not
only willing but anxious to do his
share, and his never failing good hu
mor lightens his task and those of
others who come in contact with him.
“Probably the best soldiers come
from the smaller towns, cities and the
country; the south and the west and
in parts where there is not the first
generation of the foreign element.
The second generation, born on the
soil, make almost equally good sol
dieis, because they have absorbed the
American spirit, are beginning to live
up to American traditions and pride.
JAPANESE PAPER DOUBTS
POWER OF PEACE LEAGUE
—
Says Removal of Racial Discrimina
tion Is Important to Avoidance of
Wars.
Tokyo, Nov. 21.—The Kokumin
Shimbun, discussing President Wil
son’s proposed league of nations,
doubts whether such a league will
be able to maintain the peace of the
world against an ambitious and
mighty nation. It says that while
Mr. Wilson proposes the removal of
economic walls and restrictions of
armament as necessary factors, ac
cording to a similar line of reason
ing it must be argued that the re
moval of racial discrimination is im
portant to the future preservation of
he world’s peace.
The paper affirms that in case Ja
pan becomes a party to such <
league, the discriminatory treatment
of the Japanese in America and Aus
tralia should cease. It expresses un
shaken confidence in Mr. Wilson’s
sincerity and expects a change of pol
icy on the part of i:he American gov
ernment.
FIRST CHINESE
ASSISTANT BISHOP
The “Record” reports the election
of the first Chinese Assistant Bishop
of the Chung Hua Sheng Rung Hui
(Church of China), which took place
on December 11, 1917, in Jhe Synod of
the Chekiang diocese. Archdeacon T.
S. Sing, who was elected, is the eldest
son of the late Rev. E. T. Sing, the
first Chinese to be ordained to the
nriesthood in the Anglican Church.
The confirmation of Archdeacon
Sing’s election is expected ’io take
place in the general synod, which
meets in April next.
A Colored Millionaire
In’ce Entertains
Boys Trenches
- %■
The real Colored mi. inaire is M.
Louis de Lancour, a man of forty or
forty-five, who lives on the Boulevard
de St. Antoine, in a magnificent stone
mansion. Monsieur Lancoir is reput
ed to be worth over thirty million dol
lars in our money and is very promi
nent in the civic life of Paris.
I was entertained at his house about
a year ago. I had been wounded in
the trenches and was in Paris on a
leave of absence. Monsieur Lancour
is very patriotic—he loves France as
a man would love a woman—and
wanted to make it pleasant for all the
wounded soldiers in the capital.
I will never forget that entertain
ment. There were over two hundred
of us present, men of all nationalities
and languages. It was a melting pot,
a real brotherhood of man. Some of
us were Negroes, some Slavs, some
Gallic, some Celts and some Anglo
Saxons. We smoked and ate together
and sang in our fashion “The Marsail
laisse” and the dittoes of the trenches.
Monsieur Lancour and his wife,
Madame Lancour, the daughter of a
rich Lyons merchant, moved in and
out among us making it pleasant as
they could for us. Lancour is a ti-ue
democrat and shows it much better
than he does his Negro blood. He is
light complexioned for one of his race,
has a shaggy mane of hair, black ey es
and heavy lips. He is in appearance
what I suppose Dumas was.
During the latter part of the even
ing he found me alone on the veranda,
a little weary of the soldier hilarity.
He sat down beside me, his immacu
late evening dress a contrast to my
sergeant’s khaki.
“You are a Canadian, are you not,” '
he asned.
“Yes,” I replied.
“You are a Negro,.are you not?”
“Yes; and I am proud of it.”
“I am glad to hear that. I, too,
am Negro, though it is very seldom
that I am aware of it. It is true I
have very little Negro blood in me,
hardly enough to count; but in our sis
ter republic I understand I would have
to suffer all the humiliation of one
who is classed inferior.”
“I don’t know about the humiliation
you would suffer,” I replied. “But
I am certain you would raise our peo
ple in the estimation of the world
were you to dwell in America. Your
money would do wonders toward mak
ing Negro life in the United States
endruable.”
“You have been in the States?”
“Many times. I was a railroad por
ter before I joined the army. I have
been in^Chicago and New York and in
several of the southern cities. I know
what it means to be a Negro. These
few months in the trenches are the
only moments of heaven I have ever
had.
“They say the Yankees are hard on
our people, something like the Rus
sians on the Jews. I have read Book
er T. Washington’s ‘Up From Sla
very,’ and DuBois’ ‘Souls of Black
Folks,’ and know a little something of
conditions over there. If I didn’t have
so much on my shoulders in trying ‘Vi
aid my own country in prosecuting the
war I would contribute a fund for the
benefit of our people in the United
States.”
We smoked a while in silence.
“Sergeant,” Lancour said, his eyes
closed as if in a dream. “Do you
know how I made my wealth?”
“No, Monsieur,” I replied.
“Munitions. I am a parvenu rich.
My father who was an army man left
me a hundred thousand francs. I
married the daughter of a Lyons silk
manufacturer, who brought me an
equal amount of as dowry. Two years
before the war I bought a bankrupt
munitions factory and made consider
able supplying the Balkan nations
with war materials. When our own
war broke out money poured into my
coffers and I awoke to find myself a
millionaire.
“I am rich. I have everything man
could wish. My wife loves me. I have
one child who will be a credit to the
Lancour family and France. My only
hope and desire is to see Germany
crushed and the people free from all
foreign menace.”
Madame Lancour came out on the
veranda at that moment.
“My dear,” said Lancour, as he
stroked her slender white hand. “I
was telling the sergeant that I have
everything man could wish. I have
you.”
Madame Lancour laughed softly.
(Continued on Png;e 8)