y
THE MONITOR
j A Weekly Newspaper devoted to the civic, social and religious interests
of the Colored People of Nebraska and the Nation, with the desire to con
tribute something to the general good and upbuilding of the community and
of the race.
PUBLISHED EVERY SATURDAY.
Entered as Second-Class Mail Matter July 2, 1915’, at the Postofflce at
Omaha. Neb., under the Act of March 3. 1879.
THE REV. JOHN ALBERT WILLIAMS, Editor and Publisher.
Lucille Skaggs Edwards and William Garnett Haynes. Associate Editors.
George Wells Parker, Contributing Editor. Bert Patrick. Business
Manager. Fred C. Williams. Traveling Representative.
SUBSCRIPTION RATES, $2.00 A YEAR: $1.00 6 MONTHS: 60c 3 MONTHS
Advertising Rates, 60 cents an Inch per issue.
Address, The Monitor, 1119 North Twenty-first Street, Omaha, Neb.
Telephone Webster 4243.
THEODORE ROOSEVELT
-
HEODORE ROOSEVELT, the
_ stormy petrel of politics, is dead.
It comes as a distinct shock to the j
American people, because, although
death is as natural as life, we had
somehow learned to feel that Roose
velt’s ruggedness, strenuousness and
vitality, would ward off death for
many years. That he was a sick
man, all knew, because the Teddy of
the last few years did not exhibit
the healthy, fighting, forceful Teddy
of other years. But death has claimed
him and the Americans bow with sor
row over his memory’.
We are not prepared to give a
final estimate of Theodore Roosevelt,
undoubtedly one of the greatest
Americans who has ever lived. He
was a man of strong opinions and
decisive action and, like all such
men, he made strong friends and
strong enemies. But even his ene
mies respected him, while his friends
loved him.
Perhaps the republicans have never
forgiven him for splitting the party,
nor the Bull Moose for having de
serted them after they were willing
to follow him unto death. In these
two famous political moves, Roose
velt, who had become almost a god,
was found to have feet of clay. There
are still those who claim he acted for
self and those who claim he acted
for the good of the American people,
but time alone must discover the real
motives before judgment is finally
passed.
As to the race, Roosevelt has been
acknowledged as a great friend and
benefactor. His trenchant statements
regarding the race problem made the
Negroes of America adore him, yet it
remains true that Roosevelt, during
his seven years as president, never
brought any real legislation to help
the black man in the south. His en
tertaining Booker Washington electri
fied the country and the Negro; his
wholesale discharge of members
of the famous Twenty-fifth brought
questionings and discouragement. His
verbal acknowledgement of the salva
tion of his Rough Riders at San Juan
through the bravery’ of Negro soldiers,
received widespread commendation;
his written words that he and his
men forced the Negro soldiers up
San Juan hill at the points of six
shooters, was condemned as a gros,
injustice by those who knew the truth.
And so throughout his public life,
Roosevelt has been a man of strange
dictions and contradictions, and his
memory must be left to posterity for
final judgment.
And now he is dead. With a hun
dred millions of Americans we mourn
his death. We are willing to forget
his faults, whatever they might have
been, and glory’ in the fact that they
did not dwarf his soul. He was a
scholar and a statesman, and he was
the apostle of the strenuous life, a
live, red-blooded creed that remade
America. He will not be soon for
gotten. He has made contributions
to literature and science that will re
main a part of America’s treasures
as long as there is an America. He
has filled a great place in the na
tional life and is deserving of a
great niche in the hall of fame. May
he rest in peace.
POLITICAL SOWING
AND REAPING
NOW that the new governor has
been installed and nearly all state
appointments made, there are a num
ber of disgruntled Negro politicians
who are venting their verbal wrath
upon political victors, who seem to
have forgotten them. That no Negro
has been appointed to a creditable |
state office is not surprising, nor is J
it anything new. The Monitor could j
have forecasted just such a result two
months ago, but The Monitor is not
ready to lay all the blame upon the
republican victors. The blame belongs
somewhere else and that is with the
Negro voters themselves.
Locally, our Negro policitians nev
er become active until about two
months before election and on the day
following election they enter a pe
culiar state of hibernation from which
they do not rouse until two months
before the next election. That is, they
remain dormant unless there happens
to be individual cases of activity, j
wherein some small job seems to be
particularly desirous. This is the cus
tomary condition of politics among
our people in this state and even
when they awaken, there awakes with
them a dozen or more different little
cliques and clans which spend the
greater portion of their energy fight
ing one another. This is the story
of all local efforts and if the Negro
voters think they are hoodwinking
the party leaders, they have another
guess coming.
The party leaders are wise to our
racial weaknesses in this regard. They
know very well that the vast majority
of our people will continue to vote the
republican ticket, no matter how much
side-stepping and passing the buck
these party leaders may do, when it
comes to giving our people merited
recognition with any kind of respect
able or remunerative positions. But
someday we will get our eyes open
and so will they. Douglas county, for
example, which has the largest pop
ulation in the state and is therefore
one of the pivotal points, could not
have been and would not have been
carried for the republican party had
it not been for the practically solid
Negro vote which was cast as usual
for the party nominees. The republi
can leaders know this, but evidently
they are not much concerned. They
think they have a mortgage on the
Negro vote, or at least can control it,
by pre-election pap, or because of our
racial unorganization or disorganiza
tion. This will not always be so.
Someday, and that day is nearer than
some think, we will recognize the wis
dom of sane, sensible and effective
organization. Then our power po
litically, commercially and industrial
ly, will be recognized and respected.
Until there is co-operation among
Negro voters and an eager desire to
servo their race rather than their own
selfish and petty interests, things will
continue the same and we shall ever
find ourselves out in the cold when
the rewards are given out.
LOST MEMORIES
OUR eminent orator, Roscoe Conk- i
ling Simmons, has a pet phrase ,
which he often utters and one which
might be better left unuttered. When
speaking of members of the race re
turning to Africa, I ■<•*»*»• •■*<*4. have
lost nothing in Africa save memory.”
True, perhaps; but what a great thing
have we all lost when we lose the
memory of that mother country which
nurtured our ancestors and gave them
a name and a home?
For the black race throughout the
world to become an organized and |
potent force, the primary necessity is
a common racial ideal, a common
purpose and a common cause. Can
we in our upward struggle toward the
light forget our millions of brethren
in Africa and in the far corners of
the earth ? Have they nothing to
teach us; nothing to lend us; noth
ing to encourage us? If the Negro
in America believes that the fate of
Africa is not wrapped up in his
own destiny, he needs a new orienta
i tion. There is some honor to be an
African and there is some pride to
I have flow in one’s veins the blood
I of that continent that mothered the
world and taught it civilization. We
need not expect to return to Africa in
order to love it. For the scattered
millions of our race throughout the
world there is only one place where
we may rightly look to and call home
and that is Africa.
If we have lost our memories of
Africa, let us recall them again and
treasure them. Let us love her for
| what she has done, for what she is
I doing and for what she will yet do
: in the endless future. If all the world
should turn against us and drive us
out, it is Africa that would throw
out her arms and say: ‘‘Come home,
j my children!”
ORGANIZED AGITATION
NO one has ever attempted to deny
the worth of intelligent agitation.
Progress itself is marked by intelli
gent agitation and had it not been
for intelligent agitation, we would
still be around the mentality of mol
lusks. But the fault with racial
agitation in America is that it is
chaotic, unorganized and without a
central objective. There are more
than one hundred different organiza
tions in these United States, pre
tending to fight for the rights of the
I rare, and each one is fighting the
other and putting itself forward as
I He only mouthpiece of the race. It
| is poor business. It accomplishes
nothing worth while. In fact, it only
assists in keeping us from realizing
|
the very things for which we are
fighting.
Why cannot the many different as
sociations, leagues and societies, get
together and map out a plan for or
ganized effort? In that manner there
might be something to hope for and
something really accomplished. Each
might still retain its own individual
ity, for there is room for all; but in
union and sincere united effort there
would be a breaking away from the
multitude of petty selfish interests
that cling to each and therein makes
them ineffectual. We agree that each
one has the concern of the race really
at heart and that each one hopes to
accomplish something worth while in
mitigating the wrongs we suffer, but
their number only spells weakness.
Why not forget self and work for
unity all along the line? The united
voice of twelve millions of people
means something, even in this great
big world of ours.
A COMMENDABLE AND
VALUABLE WORK
THERE has just come to The Mon
itor office, through the courtesy .
of Mr. Robert A. Pelham, a copy of
the volume, Negro Population in the
United States, 171)0-1015. It is the
most comprehensive statistical report
ever published upon the subject and is
particularly interesting to know that
three well known race men, Robert
A. Pelham. Charles E. Hall and Wil
liam Jennifer, directed the large force
of Negro clerks who tabulated the
statistics which go to make up the
large and exhaustive volume. These
gentlemen are to be congratulated
upon what has been accomplished.
The report covers the growth and
geographic distribution, migratory
displacement and segregation, physi
cal charaetertistics, vital statistics,
economic statistics and general tables.
It is also worthy of note that the
word, "Negro” is capitalized through
out and the achievement of this end
j is personally due to Hon. John E.
Bruce "Bruce Grit” of New York, the
well known Negro journalist and one
of the founders of the Hamitic League
of the World.
The Monitor is glad indeed to have
been so fortunate as to secure a copy
of this valuable compilation and
thanks the government, Dr. John
Cummings, Dr. Joseph Hill and the
above named gentlemen of the race,
| whose labors have brought forth such
[ a valuable work.
—
^ Obvious Observations 1
riMIE observatory glasses are all
1 frosted this morning and the ma
chinery all frized up.
About two years ago Germany was
giving Poland a hot time and now
Poland is returning the heat with
compound interest. As Methusaleh
.said, when examining the egg he had
in cold storage for 900 years, “Any
egg is likely to turn in the course
of a few years.”
President Wilson says the tracks
are all greased for permanent peace,
a league of nations and the freedom
of the seas; but why in the deuce
are Lloyd George and Mr. Clemenceau
always rolling boulders onto the ties?
The new governor has stepped in
and filled up the state house with
friends and relatives, but Sam stands
on the outside looking in—as usual.
What did you ask ? “Who is go
ing to be the next nominee for presi
dent on the republican ticket?” Aw,
I ask us something easy.
The returning soldiers are finally
| waking up to the fact that when a
feminine grabs hold of something,
■ she doesn’t mean to let go. That
is why they call her “the eternal
| feminine.”
If a hypnotist could teach the peo
i pie how to mesmerize the coal man,
he’d have a land office business over
night.
Who ever discovered blizzards, any
way?
From the daily newspaper history
i of bootleggers we have come to be
lieve that the only dry state on earth
! is located somewhere in the Sahara
desert.
Thanking you for the harmonious
chorus of snores, we will now hie
cellarwards and mutter a benedic
I tion over the coal pile.
SKITS OF SOLOMON
Thermometers
A THERMOMETER is a long tall
skinny piece of glass tubing that
I is suffering with elephantiasis on the
lower end. The purpose of the ther
I mometer is to indicate the degrees
; of temperature and it is generally
| on the job strictly during the months
of July and January. In July it tries
to see just how far it can climb up
without spilling itself over the top
and losing its personality and in Jan
uary it tries to see just how far down
it can go and retain its respectability.
Last summer it went into partnership
with the sun and kept us sweating,
fanning and cussing; a few days ago
it changed partners and started waltz
ing with the north wind and has got
us running, blowing and clapping. It’s
too cold to cuss. But the tempera
ment of a thermometer has always
been known to have mercurial ten
dencies. It is flighty. It never has
learned to stick around one objective
and learn what permanency means.
It seems that the interior substance of 1
a thermometer delights to run up and
down the tube and observe the dif- '
ferent ways in which we human auto
matons answer its traveling proclivi
ties. Two weeks ago we were think
ing of putting on B. V. D.’s and straw
hats; now' we are praying for some
hawk-eyed genius to invent a sys
tem of insulation by which electrical
heat can be distributed from the
surface of the big and little toes to
the mountainous projections of our
ears. But that’s the thermometer for
you. It is never satisfied and etern
ally studying up some method to keep
us humans knowing that it is on the
job. It may think that it is acting
smart, but by and by w’e will all
get even. We’ll be dead and won’t |
give three whoops whether the ther
mometer stays on the job or not.
AFRICA WATCHING AMERICA
The following editorial notes,
clipped from the Gold Coast Leader
of October 26, will let our readers
know that the Africans are not asleep
as to what is going on in America.
They are wide awake and America
cannot do better than live up to the
high estimation in which it is held:
Our brethren over in America are
not asleep. They are in dead earnest,
and mean to secure their rights amid
the present many-sided world activi
ties. And, w'hat is more, they are
going about it in a practical matter of
fact business w'ay, which is most in
spiring. Having, notwithstanding in
itial difficulties, succeeded in getting
black men into the army and ensured
their being officered by their own
trained men and sent in company with
American white troops to the west
ern front, they naturally and quite
properly turned their attention to
their many disabilities in the home
of democracy. And the way they pro
ceeded about it was simple, yet sin
gular. We shall tell of this in the
course of these notes.
_
But, for the moment, let us briefly
recount the difficulties in merely of
fering service. It is known that when
the United States entered the war and
cast her fortunes whole-heartedly
with the allies, the four black regi
ments of the regular American army
were the first to be filled, and Col
ored volunteers were being refused
all over the country for the simple
reason that the government hail not
place for them. And for a time it
seemed as if the authorities in Wash
ington would succeed in shutting the
black men out of the war and from
active military service except as a
laborer or menial. Even then the
black man was prepared to serve. He
was ready to stoop and conquer. No
provision at first appears to have
been made for the training of Colored
officers, or even for Colored drafted
men. Still our brethren over there
were patient, ever ready to do their
best. But they pressed forward their
claim to serve, and today there in
the American army seven hundred
Colored officers, all men of educa
tion, intelligence and character and
at least a hundred thousand men of
all ranks.
As still illustrating the difficulties
our race in America has to put up
with, it is reported in one of their
leading newspapers that a Colored
lieutenant, a graduate of Yale univer
sity and of the Sheffield Scientific
school, had been detailed from Camp
Upton to the aviation school at Fort
Sill in Oklahoma. He was provided
by government with transport includ
ing accommodation on a Pullman car.
Now mark the sequel. After he had
crossed the Oklahoma border, he was
told to get out of the Pullman car
and go into the “car for niggers.” In
vain he protested that he was an
army officer traveling under military I
orders. He was told he would have to
get out or be arrested for violating
the laws of the state of Oklahoma un
der the “Stars and Stripes.” He, of
course, refused to move. Result: he
was at the next station taken off the
train and put in gaol; then fined five
dollars and costs. The railroads are
said at present to be under govern
ment control, yet nothing was done in
this case. We cite this story to show
the actual conditions under which the
black man is still striving to do his
best in the preservation of civiliza
tion and to “make the world safe for
democracy."
For moving, expressing and hauling
call Douglas 7952. Penn and Sibley.
—Adv.
I 1
$100.00 I
for the Right Guess! |
X What is the meaning of this beautiful insignia and X
;!; why has it been adopted by the Hamitic League of the
| World ? | y
X June 1, 1919, we will pay $100.00 to man, woman or
child, who sends in the correct story. You will find a «£
'.j! hint in the League’s GREAT WORK: X
! The Children !
j of the Sun _ j
The book that is waking up America and establish- X
ing the Negro as the greatest race of all human history. y
Send 25 cents (no stamps) for a copy of this won- X
derful study in historical research and become a mem- %
ber of the greatest educational organization ever found- y
ed for the uplift of the African races throughout the X
world. Then study the insignia and send in your story. T
THE HAMITIC LEAGUE OF THE WORLD |
933 North 27th Street. Omaha, Neb. X
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