Image provided by: University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries, Lincoln, NE
About The monitor. (Omaha, Neb.) 1915-1928 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 7, 1919)
. 'ii_ Th iy Monitor _ • % A NATIONAL WEEKLY NEWSPAPER DEVOTED TO THE INTERESTS OF COLORED AMERICANS. THE REV. JOHN £LBERT WILLIAMS. Editor $2.00 a Year. 5c a Copy OMAHA. NEBRASKA. AUGUST 7, 1919 Vol. V. No. 5 (Whole No. 214) White Man Confesses He Set Fire to Chicago Homes v -- - Charges Crime to Negro Highwayman Then Admits That Story Was Con cocted to Shield Married Compan ions of Man Whom It Is Alleged Was Shot by Relative of Woman Taking a Joy Ride. DEAD MAN’S PARTNER RETRACTS FIRST STORY Woman Sticks to Story That Assailant Was a Negro—Suspicious Circum stances Surrounding Case From W'hich a Discriminating Public May Draw Its Own Conclusions. (Special to The Monitor.) KANSAS CITY, MO., Aug. 6.—As illustrating the disposition to charge crimes to Negroes, of which ’**’ they are entirely innocent, a recent tragedy enacted near Rosedale, July 27, shows. Herbert G. Woodruff, Em mett Thomas, his partner, and two women, made up an automobile party. Woodruff was shot and killed. The story was given out that the party had been held up by a Negro high wayman. It appears, however, that the parties concerned were married people, whose actions were open to question, and that Woodruff was shot by one of the relatives, husband or father, of one of the women. Some one must be shielded and so the all too-frequent fiction of a "Negro” highwayman or desperado was hit upon. Sensational headlines in the daily press proclaimed to the world that another heinous crime had been fixed upon the Negro race; a noble scion of a blameless and superior race had f been murdered by a “burly black brute” and his virtuous companion violated. But here is the revised ver sion of this sordid event as pub lished in the Kansas City Star of Julv 28: Retracting the story he told the Rosedale authorities early yesterday that the murder of Herbert G. Wood ruff was committed by a highwayman, Emmett L. Thomas, business partner of the slain man, said today he be lieved the shooting was done either by the husband or father of one of two married women with whom the two men had gone on a joyride. To keep the lips of scandal closed a story was plotted among the three remaining of a holdup and robbery, thereby leaving the names of the women out of the case, protecting the name of the dead man and that of his partner, who was to notify the po ^ lice and tell the story agreed upon. Told Policeman True Story. Thomas, garage partner of Wood ruff, and the other man in the party, told the story as agreed upon. But in cidentally he confided in a friend, a policeman, Patsy Mutalipassi. And then other persons had seen the four together and whispered the fact to two detectives, Harry Arthur and Harry Bozzell. Thomas repeated early this morn ing the same story he told yesterday, but when confronted by the policeman he broke down and confessed that the story was “framed” to save the names of the various persons connected with the ride. Believes a Relative Slew. "I was with one woman and Wood ruff with the other,” Thomas said. <— i— “After the shooting I took both the women to their homes, then went to Rosedale and related the version of the shooting based on a holdup. I believe the murder was done either by the father or husband of one of the women, who probably had trailed us in another motor car." I.ater on when Woodruff’s compan ion insisted the slayer was a Negro highwayman, who killed Woodruff, robbed him and then attacked her, Thomas said he could not be sure, that the man might have been a Ne gro, but he never was near enough to the murderer to be sure. The woman who was with Thomas is unable to help with the identifica /tion, but insists that Mrs. Brown's story must lie correct. However, since the first story planned by the three was a palpable fake, the police are proceeding on the theory that relatives of the two wom en can help sort out the loose ends of the mystery about which the police are not yet certain the three survivors have told all they know' or suspect. After closing the garage at 2705 East Eighteenth street at 10 o’clock Saturday night, Thomas and Wood ruff met the two women at Fiftieth street and Troost avenue. Mrs. Blanch Brown, a pretty blonde of 19, 1807 Montgall avenue, sat in the front seat with Woodruff. Mrs. Margaret Love, 23 years old, 4722 Troost, a widow, sat in the tonneau with Thomas. Women Are Sisters-in-Law. The women are sisters-in-law, Mrs. Love’s brother, John C. Brown, hav ing married Mrs. Blanche Brown. The latter two are now separated. After driving around in Mission Hills awhile they took the Olathe road and stopped. Thomas and Mrs. Love walked a short distance away from the car. Mrs. Love removed her shoes she says, because some gravel was bothering her feet. Woodruff and Mrs. Brown re mained near the car. The remainder of the story was told to Harry Arthur and Harry Bozzell, detectives, who took the two women to police headquarters. “Negro With a White Kerchief.” “It was about twenty minutes after we had sat down," Mrs. Brown said, “until ‘Woody’ lighted a cigarette. He got up to go to the car and as he was within a few feet of it the Negro stepped out from behind the car and shot him without saying a word. The Negro had a white handkerchief over the lower part of his face. ‘Woody’ just groaned and fell. “Then he came to me—I had jumped to my feet—and he shoved the re volver against my breast. “ ‘Come on and do as I say or you’ll get the same,” he told me in a rough voice. • Made Woman Search Woodruff. "Then he took me over to where ‘Woody’ had fallen and made me search ‘W'oodyV pockets. I took his money (Continued on Page 2.) A FORWARD MOVEMENT AMONG STATE MASONS ’’out Worshipful Grand Lodge of the State of Nebraska Is Organized at Lincoln—Nate Hunter of Omaha Is Elected First Grand Master. An event of great importance to the Masonic fraturnity in this state was the formul organization and setting up of the most worshipful grand lodge A. F. & A. M. of the state of Nebras ka at Lincoln Saturday, August 2. Grandmaster Cross of Iowa was the presiding officer. Nebraska has for many years had lodges which were under the jurisdiction of Missouri and of Iowa. It has been the opinion of local Masons for several months that Nebraska ought to have a grand lodge of its own. This has now been real ized. Delegates to the number of sixty, twenty being from Omaha, three from Grand Island, three from Hastings and several from other points were in attendance. The business of the organization was effected with dispatch. The fol lowing grand officers were elected: Grand master, Nate Hunter, Omaha; deputy grand master, Perry Warner, Omaha; senior grand warden, D. P. Booth, Hastings; junior grand warden, .1. Noah Thomas, Omaha; grand treas urer, Richard Young, Lincoln; grand secretary, Trago MacWilliams, Lin coln; grand tyler. Dr. C. W. Flippen, Grand Island; grand lecturer, Walter L. Seals, Omaha; grand pursuviant, J. G. Gates, Lincoln; grand sword bearer, F. L. Harnett, Omaha; grand marshal, J. H. Woods, Lincoln; grand standard bearer, C. H. Hicks, Omaha; grand senior deacon, Charles W. Dick eson, Omaha; grand junior deacon, John H. Crawford, Omaha; grand aud itor, I. B. Smith, Lincoln. The members of Lebanon lodge, Lin coln, provided a splendid banquet for the craft at their well-appointed hall. The Most Worshipful Grand Lodge of Nebraska starts out under most favorable and promising auspices with six subordinate lodges and a splendid corps of efficient and enthusiastic grand officers. FILLS TEETH WITH GEMS Pueblo, Colo.—James I.uttrell, a Ne gro wire drawer, who died here re cently from the effects of an acci dent a short time ago, had his front teeth filled with diamonds, the value of which amounts to several hundred dollars. REFLECTIONS ON THE CHICAGO RIOTS BY AN EYE WITNESS Lieutenant Will N. Johnson, Former Star Player on the Nebraska University Foot Ball Team, Well-Known Omaha Attorney and Overseas Fighter, Writes Some Impressions for The Monitor—Revival of the Spirit and Methods of War, CHICAGO, Aug. 6.—On Sunday aft ernoon race war broke out. It started from a spark generated from racial friction. During the night there were intermittent flames here and there on the south side; by Mon Today, Aug. 1. it is indescribable. It is a halocust. Murder, incendiarism, stab halocust. Murder, incendiarism, stab bing, pistol, rifle, machine gun fire all added to the dismay and terror and death struggle. Negro sharp shooters on the housetops picked off the white pedestrians and autoists. Hooting white mobs ran down Negroes in the loop district to beat, stab and shoot them to death. It was a war of reprisals. It was an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. High Lights. A Colored man and a boy on the Wentworth avenue car on Monday evening were shot to death by men riding on the same car. A white man on 27th and Dear born was held by one Negro while another stabbed him to death. A Colored woman and baby return ing from down town were beaten to death by a gang of whites. War. It was nothing less than war, with all its horrid practices, with all of its accepted tactics and operations. Negroes had been fired upon by whites from high powered cars driven through at high speed. Under cover of darkness they stretched a heavy wire across the street. The next car of whites that came by oveiturned anil was shot up. Like war it was impersonal. It was not the satisfying of. a personal grievance. It was not a revenge vis ited upon a known person. War had been declared by other persons at oth er places it was only for every white to kill eevry black and every black to kill every white until peace was declared. From the spirit in which each side sallied forth to do battle came greater satisfaction. To the Negro—at least—tho drowning of a Negro youth was a more salutary cause for war than the sinking of the Lusitania. When the causes of war are come so close to home the battle is waged with greater zest. Every night since Sunday has been a wild night. Negroes set up a ma chine gun on Wentworth and 47th killing and wounding many whites. Causes. There are two classes of people who do not understand the race war. First, the old school whites who look with friendly eyes upon the Negro as an inferior race, and who tolerate and even assist him in any plan which does not bring his life too close to theirs. Second, the old fashioned Ne gro, who accepts his condition as fixed with no inclination to change it and who has no proper perspective of his rights as a citizen or his worth as a man. To both these the race war is incomprehensible. They hold it at tributable to (1) Bolshevism; (2) Ger man propaganda; (3) the exodus of the untrained Negro. Any of the three alleged causes are wild conjecture, be cause labor, and union labor, at that was battling against each other. No motive for German propaganda or any . • donee thereof has been adduced. The northern Negro was drawn into the maelstrom with other Colored peo I Is. There is a class, however, who do understand both the fundamental causes and the psychology of the race war. This class is composed of the “wide awake white man’ ’and "the young Negro.” The wide awake white man, who although he has some pre judices is sufficiently rational to rea son that the Negro, who has suffered and fought and died in every war dur ing the long history of the United States and especially in the late war for the democratization of the world, will not eternally consent to suffer as he has, but will do as the “young Negro” is doing, namely, demand ab solute equality. The young Negro has been gassed, bombed and shot up in the late war. He does not need to be a college graduate to know that if he is good enough to die for democ racy he is good enough to enjoy it, provided he lived through the fight. It is plain that this war sprung from the manifest inequality in the protec tion and administration of justice. Force became law. It was not a riot but a revolution. Many advocate as a solution of the race problem, edu cation, trades, wealth. When he is ac corded absolute equality he will have all these and every prize a valiant people is entitled to. Results. Forty-eight whites and 21 Negroes were killed. All these were mostly innocent. It is too bad. Too bad that the innocent of Belgium and of France were killed. But it was war. Six hundred whites and blacks were injured. Too bad. The white man will have greater respect for the Negro because he knows that he will fight and is not afraid to die. Men who will submit to being mobbed and mistreated after all the sacrifices they have made for freedom are of small use to society. LYNCHED FOR FOOLISH TALK Cochran, Ga., Aug. 6.—An unidenti fied Negro riding on a southern rail way train which arrived here today told other Negro passengers that he was from Chicago and purposed to help the Negroes of Georgia “do what the Negroes of Chicago did.” On their complaint he was taken from the train and put in the city jail. Later his body was found swing ing from a small tree outside. It is a wise policy to remain true and loyal to old friends. Seventeen Rioters Are Indicted — Chicago Jury Acts on Murders and Conspiracies—Judge Advises That Guilty Should Hang—States That Jury Should Act Impartially, but It Is Rather Significant That Only Ne groes Have Been Thus Far Indicted. COUNTRY WILL DEMAND PUNISHMENT OF ALL (Special to The Monitor.) CHICAGO, Aug. 6.—Cook county’s prosecuting machinery is actively ■ at work to punish all who are guilty I of murder, rioting and conspiracy. The first day seventeen Negroes were indicted. There is no reason why whites and blacks should not be joint ly examined. Evidently there is a sinister motive back of putting Ne groes on trial first. The country will demand impartial treatment of all. Judge Favors Hanging. “The rioting in Chicago is anarchy and should be treated as such,” Judge Crowe instructed the jury. “In your deliberations there should be no pre judice, passion, politics or discrimina tion. Every man who violates the law, regardless of his color, should be promptly indicted. And I promise on behalf of the judiciary of Cook county that they will be promptly pUred on trial. “Where murder has been committed over - member of the mob should be tried for murder. The salutory lesson given in the hanging of Spies and Parsons anti the other anarchists dem onstrates that hoodlumism and mob rule are best curbed by hanging. It would be a calamity, however, if the jury of the judiciary discriminated be cause of color. It is up to you men to indict regardless of color where the' law has been violated.” The Men Indicted. Those against whom indictments j will be returned this morning and the j charges against them are: Elmer. Sanford, Oscar Mondine, j James Mays, and McKinley Baldwin,! two indictments, one charging con- j spiracy to riot and one assault to kill, j Henry and Clara Dumas, Sidney: Scott, Charles and Willie Richards,j William Turner, and James Pitts, four indictments, one for conspiracy to riot and three for assault to kill. Walter and Amos Like and Lee Alexander, four indictments, conspir-. acy to riot, carrying concealed weap ons (under Sadler law, which makes this a felony), and two charges of as sault to kill. John Washington, Spurgeon An- j thony, and William Powell were in-j dieted for murder. NEGROES GIVE *600 TO BUNDY DEFENSE Kansas City, Mo.—Negroes here, contributed more than $600 toward] the defense of LeRoy M. Bundy, a Ne- j gro dentist of East St. Louis, 111, now under life sentence for activity in the East St. Louis race riots in June, | 11)17, at a meeting in a tent near Twelfth street and Michigan avenue,! yesterday. Bundy’s case will be appealed to the supreme court and it is the purpose of the “Bundy defense campaign” of which the Rev. J. W. Hurse of Kan sas City, is president, to raise a fund of $15,000. Dr. Edward J. Perry, a physician, presided at yesterday’s meeting and the speakers were Rev. Hurse and William C. Hueston, the latter having acted as counsel for Bundy at his trial in Waterloo, 111. Besides reviewing the case, the speaker admonished his hearers to hold a neutral attitude in the race rioting now going on in various cities and not to commit any act whereby it might be caused to crop out here. A Warning for New York. The outbreak of race rioting in Chicago is a reminder, where none should be needed, that such disturb ances are not matters of geography or special local conditions. Washing ton's recent experience showed that such conflicts are not necessarily poli tics, but an explanation of the cause of riots in Washington would leave the Chicago trouble unexplained. This should serve as a warning to other communities and especially to New York.—Brooklyn, N. Y., Eagle. Homes of Negroes and Foreigners Were Set on Fire by Frank Jacob, a Fainter, Who When Arrested Had Two Flasks of Ben2ine Which Had Been Used in Starting Fires. (Special to The Monitor.) Chicago, Aug. 6.—Much of the mys tery concerning the fires which have added to the trouble and intensity of feeling here has been cleared up by the confession to the police of Frank Jacob, a white painter. He confessed to the police that he had set fire to several homes, thus adding a dozen new blazes to those which Saturday destroyed nearly one hundred houses of foreigners employed at the stock yards and which were thought to have been set by either Negroes or labor agitators. It will be recalled that the houses burned in the foreign district and nearby sections were said to have been saturated with gasoline or benzine and then ignited. When Jacobs was ar rested he had two flasks of benzine in his pockets and admitted that he had used benzine in starting the fires. Not Aggressors, But Defenders Race Not Responsible for Deplorable Conditions and Rioting at National Capital—Were Defending Them selves Against Bloodthirsty Attacks of Mobs, Composed Largely of Sol diers, Sailors and Marines. WASHINGTONIANS ISSUE STATEMENT Doctor Emmett J. Scott and Judge Terrell Advise Country of Efforts to Restore Normal Conditions—Urge Co-operation Between Representa tive Citizens of Both Races in All Communities to Prevent Similar Disturbances. (Special to The Monitor.) WTASHINGTON, D. C., Aug. 6.— W Although by prompt action upon the part of the local authorities and the vigorous defense of their pei'sons and property by the Colored people of this district, who wrere attacked by hoodlums, conditions have become nor mal here, it will be of interest to know that the best elements of the community deplore the outbreak and are not slow in placing the blame for it where it properly belongs. Negroes were not aggressors. They did not precipitate the trouble. They defended themselves when they were attacked. There were, of course, as would nat urally be expected, regrettable cases of reprisal, but be it said to their credit the race was not responsible for the riot. Two of the leaders of the Colored race in the District, Dr. Emmett J. Scott, secretary-treasurer of Howard university, formerly special assistant to the secretary of war, and Judge Robert H. Terrell of the municipal court, have issued a statement which is being sent to the Colored newspap ers of the country and to those who have made inquiries. Leaders’ Statement. The statement follows: ‘‘Letters and telegrams from Col ored people throughout the country' have come to us and to others of our race here in Washington from all parts of the country, revealing wide spread unrest and agitation among the thoughtful leaders of the Negro peo ple, who sense a growing feeling of suspicion as between the races at a time when there should be amity, concord and mutual respect and con fidence. “For the benefit of those who are apprehensive we beg to say that it has been our privilege and the privi lege of the thoughtful leaders among the Colored people of Washington to co-operate during these trying days in every possible way to bring about a restoration of friendly relations be tween the races here in Washington. It has been our privlege, and the privilege of many others of our race, to seive the interests of the Negro people of this community and the best interest of the community itself by counseling during these anxious days with the important officials of the District of Columbia who are charged with the responsibility of (Continued on Page 3.)