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About The monitor. (Omaha, Neb.) 1915-1928 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 22, 1919)
f ■=-' i thd Monitor i = i *V^ A NATIONAL WEEKLY NEWSPAPER DEVOTED TO THE INTERESTS OF COLORED AMERICANS. o' THE REV. JOHN ALBERT WILLIAMS, Editor $2.00 a Year. 5c a Copy OMAHA, NEBRASKA, FEBRUARY 22, 1919 Vol. IV. No. 34 (Whole' 189) The Rockefeller N Labor Creed A Program of Ten Principles for the New Partnership—Putting Fair Play to Work. By John It. Rockefeller, Jr. Organization has its <ianger. Organized capital sometimes con ducts itself in an unworthy manner, contrary to law and in disregard of the interest both of labor and the public. Such organizations cannot be too strongly condemned or too vig orously dealt with. Although they are the exception, such publicity is gener ally given to their unsocial acts that all organizations of capital, however rightly managed or broadly benefi cent, are thereby brought under sus picion. Likewise it sometimes happens that organizations of labor are conducted without just regard for the rights of the employer or the public and meth ods and practices adopted which, be ' *" cause unworthy or unlawful, are de serving of public censure. Such or ganizations of labor bring discredit and suspicion upon other organiza tions which are legitimate and useful, just as is the case with improper or ganizations of capital, and they should be similarly dealt with. We should not, however, allow the occasional failure in the working of the principle of the organization of labor to prejudice us against the prin ciple itself, for the principle is fund amentally sound. In the further de velopment of the organization of labor and of large business, the public in terest as well as the interest of labor and capital alike will be best advanced by whatever stimulates every man to do the best work of which he is cap able. While labor unions have secured for /labor in general many advantages in hours, wages and standards of work ing conditions, a large proportion of the workers of the country are out side of these organizations and are to that extent not in a position to bargain collectively. Therefore an adequate plan of representation for labor must be more comprehensive and all inclusive than the labor union as now organized. On the employers’ side representa tion has been developed through the establishment of trade organizations, the purpose of which is to discuss matters of common interest and to act in so far as is legally permissable and to the common advantage, along lines that are generally similar. It will be a nice problem to determine just how labor organizations and em ployers’ associations can work togeth er, but certain it is that some method should be worked out which will profit X^ to the fullest extent, by the experi ence, the strength and the leadership of these groups. Wouldn’t It Help Industry? Might not the parties to ^industry, subscribe to an industrial creed some what as follows: 1. I believe that labor and capital are partners, not enemies; that their interests are common interests, not opposed, and that neither can attain the fullest measure of prosperity at the expense of the other, but only in association with the other. 2. I believe that the community is an essential part to industry, and that it should have adequate representa tion with the other parties. 3. I believe that the purpose of in dustry is quite as much to advance social well-being as material well-be ing and that in the pursuit of that purpose the interests of the commun ity should be carefully considered, the well-being of the employes as respects living and working conditions should be fully guarded, management should bo adequately recognized and capital should be justly compensated and that failure in any of these particulars means loss to all four. 4. I believe that every man is en titled to an opportunity to earn a living, to fair wages, to reasonable hours of work and proper working conditions, to a decent home, to the opportunity to play, to learn, to wor ship and to love, as well as to toil, and that the responsibility rests as /heavily upon industry as upon gov ernment or society, to see that these conditions and opportunities prevail. 6. I believe that industry, efficiency and initiative, wherever found, should be encouraged and adequately reward ed and that indolence, indifference and restriction of production should be discountenanced. 6. I believe that the provision of adequate means for uncovering gricv (Contlnued on Page I) JIM CROW SYSTEM CAUSE OF MURDER Sergeant Edgar Caldwell, Who Shot Street Car Conductor Who Ejected Him, Given Death Sentence by Jury. Anniston, Ala.—Senrt. Edgar Cald well, Negro soldier who shot and killed Conductor Cecil Linton and seriously wounded Motorman Kelsie Morrison on an Oxford Lake car, December 15, was found guilty of murder in the first degree by the jury, which fixed his punishment at death. The shooting of the two street car men occrrued on Constantine street, opposite the plant of the Ornamental Foundry Company, and within a block or two of the home of the dead con ductor. Caldwell is said to have in sisted on riding well up toward the front of the car in the section set aside for the use of white passengers. The conductor forced mm to the rear and in the fight which ensued Cald well was ejected from the car by Lin ten. The motoiman took a hand in the fight ami when landed on the ground he is said to have drawn h is pistol and opened fire. The defendant was brought before Judge Merrill Monday fci sentence. He was represented during the trial hv ex-State Senator Charles D. Kline and Judge Basil M. Allen of Birming ham. CHICAGO LAD WINS HONORS aT CRANE Chicago, 111., Feb. 18.—The only representative of his race to graduate with scholastic honors ip a class of seventy-two whites who completed four year terms at the CVane Techni cal school here last Wednesday eve ning is Lloyd F. Smith, son of Mrs. C. A. Williams, 6540 St. Lawrence av enue. In the commencement records considerable spare was given in the praise of young Smith for his work in architectural mathematics. Aside from winning honors in the class room, he has won them in athletics, having been a member of the heavyweight soccer team of ’17, ’IS and track team of ’16, '17, and 18. Followers of the cinder path will remember this stel lar performance in The euarter mile event of the Tribune meet held last summer at Grant park, which landed the City Playground Championship for Doolittle Playground, 35th and Cottage Grove avenue. Smith was a member of the S. A. T. C. unit of the Crane Junior College. FORM SOCIETY FOR BETTER HOUSING Chicago, 111.—Better living condi tions and ownership of property by Negroes of Chicago are sought through the organization of the Pyra mid Building and Loan Association, 3529 South State street, according to an announcement recently made pub lic. The officers of the nev. society said they have worked out a comprehen sive scheme of rebuilding the Negro district and improving sanitary and housing conditions. The plan has been approved by members of the Chicago plan commission, they de clared. The association is incorporated un der the state laws, with SfiO.OOO sub scribed. The following officers have been elected: George H. Jackson, president; William If. Terrell, secre tary, and Charles S. Duke, treasurer. ENGLISH HOODLUMS BEAT NATIVES Nigeria, Wist Africa.—The natives here are incensed over the recent whipping of a native merchant’s em ployees by some Englishmen. It ap pears that the merchant purchased a property from the government and moved to it with his employees. They were met, however, by a gang of English hoodlums who heat the mer chant’s employees unmercifully be cause "the merchant had dared to buy property near houses where Eu ropeans live.” A SPECIES OF GERMAN CRUELTY London, England.—A photograph just reached this country showing how the late Chief Magato, of the Herreros, was buried alive by the German Captain Schiel. It shows the chief’s head above the ground and his neck cemented round in order to form a slab. It Is reported that he remained in this position for several days at the mercy of white ants, be fore death put an end to his suffer ings. I«. - . ■, • . ■ , . . - •1; it I j j j | j 11 j III liliiTv. ... f- n _ ■■ : THE CITY OF VERDUN—Nearly All Omaha’s Colored Boys Are Billeted Near This Famous French City. Our Negro Soldiers’ Brilliant War Record Saw the Hottest Fighting in the Argonne and Elsewheie—Entire Battalion Got Croix de Guerre for Heroic Conduct. 'PHE leading newspapers of the country are publishing lauda * tory and fascinatingly interesting articles concerning the valorous deeds of Colored American troops on European battle fields. French and British newspapers also ring with plaudits for the heroism displayed by their Black colonials. These facts are most significant. A writer in the New York Times of Febru ary 9 gives the following account of how America's “Negro” troops fought on the western front: NEGRO soldiers made a record as fighters in this war as they did I in the Spinish-American and civil wars. Fighting for the first time on the soil of the world’s most famous battlefields—Europe—and for the first time brought into direct com parison with the best soldiers of Ger many, Great Britain and Fiance, they showed themselves able to hold their own where the tests of courage, en durance, and aggressiveness were most severe. Colored troops fought vuliantly at Chateau-Tliierry, Soissons, on the \esle, in Champagne, in the Argonnc, end in the final attacks in the Metz region. The entire first battalion of Ihe 367th infantry—“Buffaloes”—was awarded the Croix de Guerre for hero ism in the drive on Metz. Most re markable of all, they received their baptism of battle in this attack; at the start they won honors which veterans ol many conflicts have failed to cap ture. In previous engagements of the war, for distinguished service, three Col-1 01 ed regiments as units were awarded the Croix de Guerre, which bestows 011 each member the right to wear the coveted badge. When the fighting stopped the Negro troops were near est the Rhine. Not until now has the story as a whole of the part played by our Negro tioops in France been available. The total number of Negro combat troops was 42,000. These consisted of the 02d division, commanded by Major General Charles G. Ballou, and four regiments of the provisional 03d divi sion. To describe the Colored man as a fighter in a war which, because of the terrible weapons used, called for more pure nerve than any other war, three ways present themselves: to show the Negro in individual exploits, then in a regiment, engaged separate ly with white troops, and finally, to show him in a battle in a division en tirely composed of men of his own race. Negro as Individual Fighter. Here is an individual exploit: The 368th infuntrv, Colored, fought in the Argonne. It became necessary to send a runner with a message to the left flank of an American firing line. The way was across an open field swept by heavy enemy machine gun fire. Volunteers were called for. Pri vate Edward Saunders of Company I responded. Before he had gone far a shell cut him down. As he fell he cried to his comrades; “Some one come and get this mes sage. I am wounded.” Lieutenant Robert L. Campbell of the same company sprang to the res cut. He dashed across the shell-swept space, picked up the wounded private, and, with the Germans fairly hailing ballets around him, carried his man back to the American lines. r'or the valbr shown both were cited for the Distinguished Service Cross, and Lieutenant Campbell, in addition, was recommended for a cap taincy. Another single detail, taken from this same company. John Baker, having volunteered, was taking a message through heavy shell fire to another part of his line. A shell struck his hand, tearing away part of it, but the Negro unfaltering, delivered the message He was asked why he did not seek aid for his wounds before completing the journey. “I thought the message might con tain information that would save lives,” was the answer. Under the same Lieutenant Robert L. Campbell, a few Colored soldiers, armed only with their rifles, trench knives, and hand grenades, picked up liom shell holes along the way, were moving over a road in the Chateau Thlerry sector. Suddenly their course was crossed by the firing of a Ger man machine gun. They tried to lo cate it by the direction of the bullets, hut could not. To their right, a little ahead lay a space covered with thick underbrush; just back of it was an open field. Lieutenant Campbell, who knew by the direction of the bullets that his ) arty had not been seen bv the Ger mans, ordered one of his men, with a rope which they happened to have, to < rawl to the thick underbrush, and to tie the rope to several stems of the I rush; and then to withdraw as fas as possible and pull the rope, making the brush shake as though men were crawling through it. The purpose wan to draw direct fire from the machine gun, and, by watching, locate its posi tion. The ruse worked, Lieutenant Camp bell then ordered thiee of his men to steal out and flank the machine gun on one side, while he and two others moved up and flanked it on the other side. The brush was shaken more violent ly by the secret rope. The Germans, their eyes focused on the brush, poured a hail of bullets into it. Lieu tenant Campbell gave the signal. The flanking party dashed up; with their hand grenades they killed four of the bodies and raptured the remaining three—also the machine gun. In the larger bodies of Colored troops, from the regiment to the di vision, the participation of the Negro soldiers naturally divides itself into two parts on account of the way they were sent over. The Negro division, composed of drafted men, did not get into action until right at the last, but individual regiments did. The four regiments that went over first were composed of old .National Guard units recruited up to the required quota. These were the 369th, 370th, 371st, and 372d infantry regiments, after war organized into the provisional 93d division. Until just before the last days of the fighting, however, they were brigaded separately with French troops. Three of these regiments, the 269th, the 371st, and the 3722d, have received the high honor of the Croix de Guerre from the French govern ment for distinguished service. Sixty one ofieers and men of the 370th have Leen similarly decorated. Fighting Beside the French. Here is the fighting record of one of these regiments sandwiched among the French forces—the 372d. It was the first to go over. Practically all its line officers, as well as privates, were Colored. They arrived in Fiance on April 14 and went into training with the trench on April 28 On June 6 the 3"2d was sent to the trenches just west of Verdun, oecunving the famous battle-swept Hill 304 and sections at Four de Paris and Vauqois. On Hill 304 thousands of French and German soldiers had fallen as the battleline swung back and forward, and that this hill was given to the Negroes to hold shows that as soldiers they had al ready won the confidence of the French. The regiment’s first engagement was in the Champagne sector, with Montoir as its objective. Here came the real test; the Colored men were eager to get into the fight. They cheered and sang when the announce ment came that their chance hail ar rived—but the question was: back of their enthusiasm had they the staying qualities drilled into Kureopean troops through centuries of training in the science of warfare ? The answer was that some of the heaviest and most effective fighting of the day was done by the Negro regiment. From June 6 to Sept. 10 the 372d was stationed in the bloody Argonne Forest. On the night of September 25 they were summoned to take part in the Aigonne offensive and were in that t :iTific drive, one of the decisive engagements of the war , from Sept. 26 to Oct. 7. In the nine days’ battle the Negroes not only proved their fighting qualities in an ordeal such as men have rarely been called upon to face, but these quali ties, in deadly striking power and stubborn resistance in crises, stood out with such distinction that the regi ment won the coveted Croix de Guerre. During che battel they aided in cap turing 600 prisoners, fifteen big guns, twenty minenwerfers. rounded up an enormous amount of engineering ma terial, large supplies of artillery mu nition, and brought down three Ger man airplanes. For these achieve ments they were at once cited for bravery and efficiency in the general orders issued by their French com mander. The casualty list of the 372d in this and previous fighting carried 500 names of men killed, wounded, and gassed. Philadelphia, Pa., Feb. 19.—The charter has been received for the new $150,000 Masonic Hall to be erected shortly. The officers arc G. Grant Williams, president; John C. Morton, vice president; John P. Scott, secre tary; James R. Williams, assistant; John S. Tricks, treasurer. "*■ British Guiana Aiert and Wide Awake Inhabitants of Colony Watching Events at Peace Conference and the Part Played There by the Republics of Liberia and Haiti. URGE UNION FOR JUSTICE Editorial Leader in Tribune Voices Sentiment of Country Calling for Sinking of Differences and Demand, ing Fuller Rights. (Special to The Monitor by G. McL. Ogle, Staff Correspondent.) T1UXT0N, Demerara, British Gui -LJana, Feb. 8.—It may be interest ing to the Colored people of the Unit ed States to know that we of this sec tion are keeping closely in touch with events taking place there as well as throughout the British Empire. At present our eyes are centered upon the peace conference and we tre mendously interested in ascertaining what the outcome of that conference will be in safe-guarding the rights of Negro peoples throughout the world. As evidence that the people of British Guiana are keenly alert to the improvement of their condition and appreciate the necessity for unit ed action the following editorial leader captioned “The Negro and the Peace Conference,” which was published in the Tribune of Georgetown, the only newspaper controlled by Colored peo ple, in its issue of January 26th, -will prove interesting: In this backward British colony where its civilization was entrusted for the most part to un-Christian and highly immoral slave owners and their offspring and from its evil reputa tion for yellow' fever and subsequently malaria has generally kept the better class of Britishers even up to the pres ent, ignorance stalks and abounds in what ought to be civilized and re lined ranks, and so it has come to a surprise to many, including Europeans that at the conference there are Ne groes accredited delegates from the Negro republics of Haiti and Liberia. When the announcement was made that President Wilson of the United States of America was taking a Col ored American to the conference as adviser on questions affeting the Ne go anti his offspring, and when a cablegram reached the Hon. A. B. Brown at Christmas time urging the Negroes of this colony to make re spectful representations through the the governor to his majesty the king to have a West Indian Guianese Ne gro representative adviser to the Brit ish delegates at the conference for a similar reason, the colossal ignorance and prejudice of many otherwise re spectable inhabitants in high places were laid bare, and it was amusing to hear the wild comment of several of these W'ould-be wiseacres. _ The strength and majesty of the Great British Empire have never rest ed on brute force, animal passions, and doubtful morality of her half edu cated and semi-sivilized sons who venture forth into the colonies to benefit themselves. Like the United States, Great Britain’s adult daughter country, the United Kingdom has al ways produced men of unimpeachable virtue, earnest morality and conscien tious righteousness to keep in check the masses of worldlings, and by their courage and unswerving rectitude to preserve the Christian spirit which has for centuries now permeated Brit ish statesmanship and leavened the British world. The student of history must be impressed with the wonderful progress of the island of Great Brit ain ever since the Reformation move ment, and the great contrast between Great Britain from its epoch of Pu ritanism on to that of religious free dom and Roman Catholic Spain, or Austria, or Portugal. The United States of America have developed along the same lines of religious thought as Great Britain, and, behold the rapid growth and the sturdiness of that great country'. Surely then Righteousness Exalteth a Nation, and henceforth all men shall realize this fact. The godliness of President Wil son, who spent his life in scholarship and teaching in the University prior to his elevation to the White House at Washington has made him best fit ted to lay down the points of settle ment in the Peace Conference of the w'orld, and today it is fully demon strated that worldly success is not the best training and recommendation for selecting rulers of nations and countries. Henceforth In our colony of British Guiana we must realize the value of a sound education, we (Continued on Page 8)