* —1
The Monitor
A National Weekly Newspaper Devoted to the Interests of Colored
Americans.
Published Every Saturday at Omaha, Nebraska, by The Monitor Pub
lishing Company.
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 Madree Penn, Associate Editors.
George Wells Parker, Contributing Editor.
Fred C. Williams, Business Manager.
! SUBSCRIPTION RATES, $2.00 A YEAR; $1.00 6 MONTHS; 60c 3 MONTHS
Advertising Rates, 60 cents an Inch per issue.
Address. The Monitor, 304 Crounse Block, Omaha, Neb.
Telephone Webster 4243.
--—
FOR anything worth having, one must pay the price, and I
the price is always work, patience, love, self-sacrifice— r
no paper currency, no promises to pay, but the gold of real t
service.—John Burrows. J
MADAME WALKER
THE death of Madame C. J. Walker
in her palatial home on the Hud
son has removed from her earthly
sphere of influence one of the most
remarkable women of her day and
generation. Her summons by death,
viewed from our limited plane, is a
distinct loss to our race at a time
when forceful characters like her are
sadly needed. But who will dare say
that in the spacious fields of the spir
itual realm and within the nearer pres
ence of the God she loved and served
her intercessions will not prevail for
the race she loved? For Madame
Walker truly loved her race. Her
ambition in the business world was
not merely to acquire wealth for
wealth’s sake, but in order that she
might be able to use it for the ad
vancement of her race. When she
built her magnificent home, Lenwaro
at Irvington-on-the Hudson, it was
not merely for the gratification of
vanity or for vain-glory, but to give
an opportunity to Negro architects,
landscape gardeners and artisans to
demonstrate their ability to measure
up to the best of the opposite race,
and also as an example of achieve
ment which might inspire members
of the race to larger endeavors in the
many fields of opportunity offered in
this country, despite the handicap of
prejudice.
She gave money generously, but
wisely, to encourage worthy objects
that make for the advancement of the
race. She gave scholarships to Tus
■ kegee and other educational institu
tions, and generous benefactions to
charitable and elemosanry establish
ments. One of her latest gifts was
that of $5,000 to the Anti-Lynching
Fund of the National Association for
the Advancement of the Colored Peo
ple of which organization she was
an enthusiastic member.
Born in poverty and ignorance Ma
dame Walker by dint of industry rose
to affluence and culture. From a
washerwoman to a queen of finance;
from a hovel to a mansion on the
Hudson in less than a quarter of a
century was the achievement of this
woman of our race. Her success and
wealth never turned her head nor
dimmed her faith in the God whom
she was never afraid to confess gave
her the power to get her wealth. Her
life and achievements in the business
world demonstrate the possibilities
which lie around us in the United
States and should prove an inspiration
to us all to make the best of our op
portunities however limited they may
appear to be.
LEX NON SCRIPTA
LEX non seripta. means the unwrit
ten law. That is to say an un
written code or custom which rules
in certain localities or among certain
groups. For example, the army has
its unwritten laws. Among them there
seems to be one that no American
Negro should aspire to become a com
missioned officer. It is this unwrit
ten law which has excluded Negro ap
plicants from West Point. It is this
unwritten law which caused the denial
of admission of members of this race
to the officers’ training camps, and
moved heaven and earth, figuratively
speaking, to prevent the establish
ment of a separate officers’ training
camp. This same unwritten law waf
in evidence on the western fron!
where all was done that could be dont
to discredit our officers. One of the
most glaring examples of the opera
tion of this unwritten law in army
circles has been brought to light by
the chief of staff’s recent action, pub
lished in a recent issue, in revokinf
the outrageous finding of an army
board which declared Negroes inher
ently disqualified, because “deficienl
in moral fibre” for “officers and lead
ers of men.” One might be inclinec
to doubt the authenticity of such i
statement, which, in our judgment, i*
a much more serious reflection upoi
the mentality and sanity of the whit<
army officers who made it than upor
that of the Colored applicant, weri
it not given out officially.
But here is the language of th<
official finding of this brilliant boar<
of officers, with reference to the ap
plication of an overseas officer, for
examination as to his fitness for ad
mission into the regular army.
“The board recommends that he not
examined.
Reason: Unqualified by reason of
the qualities inherent in the Negro
race; an opinion of the board, based
on the testimony of five white offi
cers serving with the 368th infantry.
NEGROES ARE DEFICIENT IN
MORAL FIBRE. RENDERING
THEM UNFIT AS OFFICERS AND
[LEADERS OF MEN.” (Caps are
editors.)
The Monitor respectfully suggests
to the war department that the board
submitting this remarkable finding be
recommended as charter members of
a new and much-needed organization
to be known as the “I. 0. I.’s,” Im
perial Order of Imbeciles. Of their
qualifications for such an order, there
ought not be the slightest doubt.
But, in all seriousness, is not such
a report as this, coming from army
officers who are supposed to be men
of at least ordinary intelligence, most
astounding? Does it not throw a
flood of light upon the treatment ac
corded officers and men of color by
many United States army officers?
Does it not explain why men like
Lieut. Campbell and others cited and
decorated for conspicuous acts of
bravery and recommended for promo
1 tion failed to be promoted ? Does it
not show the degrading bondage of
i the lex non scripta which so largely
dominates American life and Ameri
! can thought in its dealings with the
1 Colored American ?
But note the rift in the cloud
I through which the sunlight of prom
ise of better things, begins to stream.
The chief of staff has personally di
rected the commanding general at
Camp Meade to revoke the finding;
I he has also directed that in the mat*
I ter of Colored officers being com
missioned in the army, there is to be
no exclusion on account of color.”
This decision has been brought
[ about by the fact that Emmett J.
Scott took up the matter directly
with the war department. This is a
victory and shows that reason has
not entirely fled.
But let us not be deceived. Despite
this decision efforts will be made to
sidestep the issue and to exclude our j
men, for the unwritten law is still
strong; but we must not yield in our
fight for equality of opportunity in
army and in the navy and in every
department of American life and ac
tivity for which our talents fit us.
MRS. WALLACE WELFARE
WORKER
Mrs. ruth Wallace, who for
over a year has been a most ef
! ficient investigator and social worker
I among Colored people of Omaha has
been notified by the board of public
j welfare that upon the demand of the
I Colored people for a younger woman,
! her services will terminate at the end
i of June. The Monitor desires to state
that there is no general demand upon
the part of the Colored people of
Omaha for the removal of Mrs. Wal
lace. A few sore-heads and knockers,
who may be counted on the fingers of
one hand, constitute “the Colored peo
; pie” who want a younger woman,
i Mrs. Wallace made the position which
she now holds. For nearly two years
she did voluntary work of this charac
ter going everywhere, without money
and without price, to relieve poverty
and suffering among our people, con
tributing of her own meagre means to
relieve cases of necessity. The board
of public welfare about a year ago
realized that there was need of just
such work as Mrs. Wallace was do
ing and decided to employ her, which
they did on a mighty small salary.
Rut just as soon as it was known that
the board intended to employ a wel
fare worker, people who had done
nothing to help create the position,
urged that this position should be
given to some older resident of the
city and not to a comparatively new
comer. However, Mrs. Wallace was
appointed, as she deserved to be,
: and has done most satisfactory work,
according to the testimony of the
' members of the board of public wel
fare, with perhaps one exception, an
aged woman of recent appointment,
and as her reports will show. As a
matter of fact, Mrs. Wallace has
been doing the work of three or four
women. What is needed is not the
retirement of Mrs. Wallace, but her
retention and the employment of two
or three more w’ell qualified welfare
workers. Omaha has a Colored pop
ulation of nearly 12,000. This pop
| ulation is increasing. The South Side
alone could fully occupy the time of
two efficient workers, to say nothing
of the North Side. Keep' Mrs. W’al
lace on the job as long as her health
and strength will permit and appoint
one or more other younger women
| to like positions. We need and ought
I to have more than one welfare workei
j among the Colored people. Keep Mrs.
1 Wallace.
DOCTOR DUBOIS
Dr. DuBois, the eminent scholar, au
thor, Sociologist and educator has
visted Omaha. He was greeted by
an immense audience which should
be an inspiration to any speaker. He
was given most earnest attention.
His lecture, however, produced very
little enthusiasm. For some reason
he was not en rapport with his audi
ence. Perhaps they were expecting
too much; but they were manifestly
disappointed. It may be that his lec
ture has been so censored by the au
thorities that the startling disclosures
which the public was anticipating
were eliminated. This, doubtless, ac
counts for the fact that the lecture
left an impression of incompleteness.
This defect was apparent, for no top
ic, save one, that of Africa’s connec
tion with the war through the con
gress of Berlin, discussed by the dis
tinguished lecturer, was finished.
Then, too, he presented no new facts,
unknown to his audience, and because
of this there was manifest disappoint
ment. But that Dr. DuBois is a
scholar of the first rank, must be
cheerfully conceded by all who were I
privileged to hear him. He has a
richly furnished and well trained mind.
His diction is elegant; his English
faultless. As a speaker he is most
pleasing. He has a quiet easy but
forceful method of presenting facts.
We are pleased that Omaha has had
the opportunity of hearing Dr. Du
Bois.
ROSE LEAVES
Limitations
God made the lark for flights of song
Ascending clear to doudlands’edges;
The sparrow’s note to float along
Among the orchards and the hedges;
For poets, too, God sets the mark,
Their sphere of song makes wide or
narrow:
Some seek the sky as does the lark.
Some cling to earth as clings the
sparrow.
—Charles S. O’Neill.
The Rose Garden
Two little girls were one day play
ing together in a strange garden, and
soon one ran in to her mother full of
d i sappoi n tmen t:
“The garden’s a sad place, mother."
“Why, my child?”
“I’ve been all around, and every rose
has cruel, long thorns upon it!”
Then the second child came in
breathless.
“Oh, mother, the garden’s a beauti
ful place!”
“How so. my child,”
“Why, I’ve been all around, and
every thorn bush has lovely roses
growing on it.”
And the mother wondered at the dif
ference in the two children.
ADVICE ABOUT SAVING
The practice of laying aside regul
arly a certain amount of money from
earnings before the balance is even
touched, is advocated by the savings
division of the U. S. treasury depart
ment as the most intelligent and
surest way of acquiring a personal
fund with which to purchase real free
dom.
Freedom in relation to thrift, it is
pointed out, is the liberation of the in
dividual from the restraints imposed
by the lack of financial resources. The
freedom to go and do what one
pleases, as long as he is not interfer
ing with the rights of his neighbor,
only becomes actually possible when
one has enough moneyi n reserve to
, carry out plans.
Freedom from debt, for instance,
freedom to own a home, freedom to
obtain special education, freedom to
travel and improve one’s position, free
dom from worryabout old age, etc.,
are achievable through the power of
thrift.
Real thrift; according to the treas
ury department, is established by
saving first, systematically, before
any outlay is made, and investing
safely in some such profitable secur
ity as war savings stamps. Besides
paying four per cent interest, com
pounded quarterly, war savings
stamps have a special appeal to the
intelligent investor because they are
absolutely safe and because they are
so easily acquired. Thrift stamps
only cost a quarter each. When the
thrift folder is filled with sixteen
stamps, for a few cents additional it
may be exchanged at any bank, post
office, or the many stores, offices,
etc., where thrift stamps are sold,
for an interest-bearing war savings
stamp
NOT THE FIRST GOLD
By Flarl Wilkinson, A. E. F.
%V TOULD you steal that neat little
W chevron of gold
Which is worn on the sleeve of the
Yank so bold,
Who went “over the top” in the Ar
gonne Woods
And regardless of shrapnel delivered
the goods?
Now that it’s over and the victory won,
Who did the fighting and who had
the pluck?
Who was right on the job against the
Hun,
And did not whimper about his
luck?
Who ate at tables and kicked on the
mess,
While we ate in mud-holes a mighty
sight less?
Who faced the bullets and swallowed
the gas,
While the boys back home were en
joying a pass?
Who went to bed and slept with great
ease,
While we had to combat the cooties
and fleas?
Who spoke with home girls the lan
guage they knew,
While we with the girls tried to
French parley-vous?
Who lugged a pack that was fit for a
mule
From Belfort to Metz, according to
rule?
The boys back at home, better cared
for and slick,
Knew little regarding the wounded
and sick.
Who lay by the roadside, both hungry
and cold?
But still they will envy their chevrons
of gold!
And now, in conclusion, I will venture
to say:
Let it go as it will, every dog has his I
day;
And when war comes again and our
deeels are of old,
We’ll wear the silver if they’ll earn
the gold.
THE GREATEST NEED OF
THE RACE: CO-OPERATION
By Samuel Barrett.
ONE of the main obstacles to the
real uplift of the race in America
is selfish interests and the lack of co
operation. And our condition will
never change until we as a group
learn the lesson of working together
for the common good. Individuals will
succeed and in many instances accum
ulate considerable wealth; even a few
here and there will achieve interna- '■
tional fame, like the late Booker T.
Washington, Paul Lawrence Dunbar
and others; but the rank and file of
the masses, the real bone and sinew
of the Negro race will always be ex
ploited, lynched and I believe finally
subjugated until we leam everywhere
throughout America the necessity of
organization and co-operation.
Pleading for justice and an equal
break in the struggle of life is all
right, but we even defeat the very
thing we most desire when we,
through indifference and selfishness,
refuse to come together as a people,
fighting and working, not alone for
civil and political rights, but to build
up a strong economic and industrial
foundation as well. For it is one of
the saddest commentaries on our sup
posed great achievements since free
dom to know that we are almost en
tirely dependent on the white man for
our daily bread.
No prophet has as yet told us what
the solution of this problem is going
to be, but one thing is certain, if we
are united, whatever it may be, we
shall be in a position to meet it like
men.
CHANGE DATE OF ISSUE
Beginning next week The Monitor
will be dated Thursday instead of Sat
urday and w.i!l be a mid-week rather
than an end-week publication. We
will go to press Wednesday. All copy
therefore must be in by Tuesday
night. Will correspondents and oth
ers govern themselves accordingly.
BRILLIANT YOUNG
ATTORNEY WINS RECOGNITION
(By Associated Negro Press.)
St. Louis, May 28.—John D. Wilker
son, a young man of intelligence in
this community, prepared a treatise
on his opinion of a case before the St.
Louis bar and so cleverly was it pre
pared that it was thought by experi
enced whito lawyers that it had come
from a county judge.
Dont’ knock; boost.
lVVVVVVVVVWVVVVVWAnrrWWrv\'VWAnr-* irT . 1
The Beautiful Thing |
'k About the FORD CAR is its 100% simplicity of operation, 100% per X,
4* cent economy, and 100% service. That’s why we’ve adopted the j*
‘X slogan 100% Ford Service. We strive to maintain the Ford standard i
X all the time, in all ways, in all departments. ^
¥ We sell Ford Motor Cars and Fordsom Farm Tractors. V
l |
| Sample-Hart Motor Co. f
| Tyler 513. 18th and Burt Streets. .j.
200,000
| Can Take Up DUDLEY’S NINETY DAY OFFER |
X For ninety days only will ship to all new agents $10.00 worth of 5.
•{• DUDLEY’S FAMOUS POLISH for $5.00. Save time. Just inclose £
X five dollars and your address in full and a shipment will be made the 5,
same day we get your order to Live Wire Agents. Hit the iron while a
¥ it is hot. Write for an order. ¥
Dudley’s Leather and Chemical Works
5 116 South Main Street. Muskogee, Okla. .j.
H Classified Directory of Omaha’s
Colored professional and
Business firms
•)• ALLEN JONES ANDREW T. REED
X Res. Phone Web. 204. Res. Phone Red 5210.
JONES & REED
Funeral Parlor
*|* Parlors 2314 North 24th Street. Phone Webster 1100.
V
y Expert Licensed Embalmers and Funeral Directors. Auto and Horse
!£ Drawn Vehicles. Lady Attendant. Open Day and Night.
£ NOTE 3. We back up our service with every bit of our experi
X ence anil every ounce of our determination to make it of utmost artis
y tic value and do so at the lowest possible cost.
i E. A. Williamson !
it «
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DRUGGIST
it
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« K
g Competent and Reliable £
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2306 North 24th St.
a a
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Webster 4443.
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:: ' a a a a a » a.a a a a s a a a a a us aa.a a K
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Telephone Webster 248
2? §|
Open Day and Night a
§ N
Silas Johnson
I Western Funeral Home•
2518 Lake St.
The Place for Quality and Service •*
PRICES REASONABLE.
I 1
£ Licensed Embalmer In Attendance il
;t
Lady Attendant If Desired,
g MUSIC FURNISHED FREE.
|_s
it WSSJSSS^W X
IR. H. Robbins I
| & Co. |
| GROCERIES AND MEATS ;;
« it
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An Up-to-Date Store. *
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1 I
S 1411 North 24th Street. ><
2t K
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a Prompt Delivery. W. 241. jj
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JjOOOtXWWta.* a-8XKJ®0®CWa8KWX a
1 _ X
Maceo T.
I WILLIAMS 1
it jr
it
Concert Violinist I
;t
Teacher
STUDIO, 2416 HINNEY ST. «
Webster 3028.
ussasKam xtgpggaiHWMHWBm x
it.
Eureka Furniture Store a
Complete Line of New and Sec- $j
ond Hand Furniture
PRICES REASONABLE
Call lTs When You Have Any !!
Furniture to Sell
1417 N. 24th St. Web. 4206 |
; a XX jj
THE
WASHINGTON - DOUGLAS «
I INVESTMENT CO.
BONDS, INVESTMENTS, J
RENTALS AND FARM §
LANDS
Phone Webster 4206.
1417 North 24th St.
I J. H. HOLMES §
TAILOR
H All work Guaranteed. La- |
a dies’ and Gents’ Suits Re- «
| modeled. Cleaned, Pressed |j
;• and Repaired. New Hoff
a man Press. 1 \
«
l 2022 N. 24th St. Web. 3320 5
iiaaaaaaa KTa a aaa a a a a a a a a'a a a >f
j A. F. PEOPLES I
» Painting
Paperhanging and
Decorating if
| Estimates Furnished Free.
a All Work Guaranteed.
« 4827 Krskine Street.
Phone Walnut 2111. §
»txo&iXMfvimx,'-! rnsasmm a sbdos» k
» South & Thompson’s Cafe ;!
a 2418 North 24th St. Webster 4566 a
| SPECIAL SUNDAY DINNER K
*<; Stewed colcken with dumplings..40c S
j, Roast Prime Beef au Jus _40c
j Roast Pork, Apple Sauce _40c I;
v Roast Domestic Goose, dressing 50c t]
f Early June Peas
Mashed Potatoes ftt
j«, Salad
Coffee Dessert
ft We Serve Mexican Chile ii
»
lUxiOi:!<8!'>s;a >< st« jy: a » a a a a if# )Oe,a >■ «
»' Little King Hotel £
2615 N Street
a Steam Heated. Open All Night. i|
« Room hy Day or Week. Meals
at All Hours.
« MRS. ELIZABETH HILL, Prop,
Phone South 3195.
Hi p!
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;; umimmx »»<>: » a,>oca..w ».«.« u:m a «
« S. W. MILLS FURNITURE CO. !!
•; |
We sell new and second hand “
|f furniture, 1421 North 24th St. «
a Webster 148. 24th and Charles. If
pt a.
i DR. P. W. SAWYERi
DENTIST
n p
£ Tel. Doug. 7150; Web. 3636 ><
220 South 13th St.
MjfiKDffijDdBSBllftt uJfiKla ji
j JOHN HALL|
PROGRESSIVE TAILOR
if 1614 N. 24th St. Web. 875.