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About The monitor. (Omaha, Neb.) 1915-1928 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 16, 1919)
[ l ™g"' i T'he Monitor i—_ 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. OCTOBER 16, 1919 Vol. V. No, 15 (Whole No. 224) r President Wilson Stops Attack on Negro Press \___ I* KEN IDE! NT REFUSES TO SUPPRESS PIPER Fears Thai Suppression May Inilsine Vlreadj Rebellious Spirit. (Special Article Service.’ IVTASHI NOTON. Oct. 15 T>* soft [ ** pedal has been put or "lit against journals of our race ^ I by Senator Byrnes of South t lo lie seditious. The arguments I attack on these |iajiers were to tin o, * feet that they were radical in the fc 1 I treme and dangerous in their tendency !( to renew bloody outbreaks between the white and black races. Representative McDuffie of the First k Alabama district, incensed by the con tents of several publications, inter | viewed the postmaster general in an effort to secure the suppression of , these periodicals. He pointed out a cartoon representing a man driving an automobile through masses of flee ■ ^ — ina whites, the colored man driving and shooting into the frantic crowds. , Men falling were soldiers wearing ser vice stripes. He pointed out editorials in which the editor congratulated our people for their successful opposition to mobs in Washington and Chicago. , He also [minted out a paragraph in which it was said that in certain emer gencies "a bullet as far more efflcae £ ions than a thousand prayers.” Burleson Called. B Postmaster General Burleson was W intervieweS by Mr. Lluffie. He agreed with Mr. McDuffie that the publica f tions were inflammatory. Regarding the interview the Alabama member % said: "The postmaster told me that he had > been considering and was still consid ering the advisability of denying the mails to "The Messenger,” published at 2305 Seventh avenue. New York City. He stated also that the attorney general was also giving thought to W the subject. He then declared that R" the president had suggested that no such action be taken at the present time It is evidently another case of I ’’watchful waiting." The postmaster general was entirely sympathetic, for he feels, of course, Just as all other ■ southern men feel." Department of Justice Tried. From the postmaster general, Mc L Duffle went to Mr. Lamar of the de W partment of justice, who Is also an Alabamaian. Mr. Lamar stated that he was giving this periodical "earnest : consideration. He clearly stated that he was bewildered because ir any ac ^ tion was begun to suppress this paper, the best argument would be on the side of the paper. Papers Have Best Fight. It was brought out in the course of the interview with Mr. Lamar that N although he was opposed to the pub lishing of these papers, they could In any contest of their rights to publi cation state that they were simply at tacking the lynching evil. This, of J course. Is a very embarrassing ques tion in Washington. Mr. Lamar stated I his opinion that these Journals would arouse considerable sympathy In the north W llsmi Refuses to Art. The matter was brought to tne at tention ot President Wilson, who post 1 noned any drastic action. Mr. Mc | Dutfie withheld a statement setting [ forth his opinion as to why the [(resi dent suggested a postponement of ac tion against the radical press. In all I probability, however, the president K was moved through fear of the “un ■ rest" which prevails everywhere in the P- ''"‘united States. It was probably his L opinion that It would be wiser to suf L fer the danger of such publications ^ precipitating other riots throughout I the United States than to force the radical element of the north into the ranks of rebellious policemen, striking labor, pro German agitators, sleepless 1 W. W.’S, extreme socialists and pro fessional anarchists. [ The prevailing opinion in Washing ti ii is that the action of the [(resi lient is due to tne danger of sovietism bolshevism and actual revolution in the United States. The president, II is indicated, is moved through desire to compose the discordant elements rather than crush them with an iron I baud There are many members ol -y congress who believe the president or W ■ the proper track. There are other! who compare his course in the present emergency to his course in dealing Iwitb Mexico, a course apparentl) characterized by a lack of “punch” ant aggressiveness In general. For Monitor office call Doug. 3224 ■ UNION VMM k V A It IIS PENS \ N II SIIKDS Omaha l> One of the l.argest Packing Centers in the Country Hundreds of Kaee Workmen Are employed Here. FOURTH ANNUAL SESSION NATIONAL RACE CONGRESS (Special to The Monitor, by Walter J. Singleton.) rnA S HIN < J T O N, Oct. 10—The fourth W annual session of the National Race Congress of the United States of America opened their sessions in the Metropolitan Baptist Church, Tuesday morning, October 7th, with the Rev. W. H. Jemagin, president of the congress, presiding. Delegates representing nearly every state in the union were present and most of them spent the entire week here sightsee ing between convention hours. Welcomed h ythe Mayor. Commissioner Louis Brownlovv | opened the meeting with an address j nf welcome to the delegates, who rep 1 resented practically every state in the | Union. Mr. Brownlow said that Washing I ton is the logical place for such a I convention and welcomed the dele j '.rates to the city. Urges Fair Play for Colored Race. Bishop I. N. Ross of the A. M. 1'.. | Church who sails for Africa on the J 25th of this month, addressed the opening session of the National Con ! gress, and said abolition of “Jim I Crowism,” proper use of the ballot by Negroes, stopping of proscription from the church and the necessity for cool judgment in race matters we.i the questions to be considered. Referring to the race riots in Washington in July, Bishop Ross said that it was the lawless element of t - city w'hich began and continued tie trouble and that the older head among both races counseled caution. The speaker, however, urged that some action be taken by the lem of the colored race toward minimiz ing such danger in the future, b' cautioned leaders to be sure of t footing before setting themselves up as standards for the race. The President’s Address. “The Negro is no longer regarded ! as an object of charity nor a child race in the American civilization,” de clared the Rev. Dr. W. H. Jernagin, of this city, in calling to order th< fourth annual session, “and he must stand up and take a man’s place, or he will be crushed to a frazzle. White men and black men have drifted into a misunderstanding in this country. Let the better class of both races get together to put down crime.” Our Grievances. Our grievances are a beam in the eye of America which must be re moved before the moat is attacked in the eyes of other nations. If as appears, all movements toward lib city and justice and right must b< made through precious blood, then our record is perfect, for our blood has been mingled with the blood « the makers, the saviours and the builders of this nation, since i* earliest colonial period. Demand any proof you may, we have met it. And yet, despite the record, despite the law, despite the repeated assertion of those who constitute the cust dians of the liberties and powers i this nation, your people and my i' pie are lynched, mobbed ai) ’ arned at the stake with a fiendishmks which is beneath that of the savages who were found here, and courts declare themselves pow'erless to convict the perpetrators when your people and my people are the victims. This session of the National Race Congress of America is fraught with issues of greatest moment, such, in deed, that I do not speak thought (Continued on Page 2.) unions * co. take colored WORKMEN TO ST. HAI L PLANT (Associated Negro Press) St. Paul, Minn., Oct. 16.—The pro posed importation to St. Paul of 1,500 Negro workmen at. the new Armour plant, has resulted in the appointment of a committee by the St. Paul Asso ciation housing workers to consider the problem. The fact that one of the strong un derlying .causes of the recent race riots in Chicago was due to no small extent to the housing situation has prompted the action of taking up the question here in advance. Negro citizens in St. Paul are taking a strong interest in the satisfactory ar rangements of housing the large in crease in the Negro population. I). W. Alberts, member of the housing com mittee of the St. Paul Association, has taken up the work. NEW VOIlK DOCTORS WIN VIC TORY; TO BE A DMCITED TO HARLEM HOSPITAL | \ Crowning Victory for lln> United Civic League. Six years ago the United Civic League started its fight for colored in ternes in Harlem hospital, and each year since then the organization has made colored internes in this hospital a campaign issue. . The League continued to hold con ferences and send committees to meet Bellevue's board, under whose super vision the Harlem hospital property comes, until they were definitely prom ised that colored doctors would be admitted. Dr. Louis T. Wright is the first of the colored doctors to be appointed. Others will follow. The league is now seeking to have colored women enter ed as nurses. Honorable .lames D. Carr, of the corporation counsel’s office, lent much valuable assistance to the League in bringing about this civic achievement for colored Harlem. \ \TION 11. URBAN LEAf''E TO MEET IN DETROIT National Body in Bold Important Con ference Negro Wage Earner Chief Topic of Discussion. One of the most Important confer ences affecting Negroes in this coun try will he held on October 15 through the 19th at Detroit. Mich. Tills con ference is being called by the National Urban League to discuss industrial problems brought about largely be cause of the Negroes’ new position in the industrial world. Prominent white and colored speak ers who are interested in Negro wel fare and who are thoroughly conver sant with Industrial problems will be present. Social workers, ministers teachers, doctors and publishers, and all who are Interested in the wage earning Negro should avail them selves of the unusual opportunity to he present to hear the Important dis cussions. \y,. must deal with pleasure as we do with honey, only touch them with the tip of the finger and not with the whole hand for fear of surfeit.—Ven erable Bede. Monitor subscription contest closes Saturday, November 15. Gel busy II your church Is going to earn that $100. IIR. JOHNSON VND ENTIRE FAMILY WIPED OFT killed by Arkansas Cotton Roliberg, Who Are Fighting Against Hiving I'p Practice of Fleecing Negro Ten ants. Helena, Ark., Oct. 15.—The worst! tragedy of the riot was the slaying of the Johnstone family, old residents of this section. They, were halted by white men on a country road as they were returning from a fishing trip, unmindful of the riot. Orley R, Lilly (white', well known real estate dealer of Helena, stopped the men to ques tion them, and it is claimed, became abusive. He was accompanied by sev eral special deputy sheriffs. It is said that Lilly accused the Johnstons of being ringleaders of the affair, and ordered them to get in his automo bile and prepare to journey to the ennui y jail l)r. Elihue Johnston at tempted to explain his absence from the city during the trouble, and that he and his brothers were innocent of any connection with the lawlessness. The deputies and Lilly attempted to force the men in the auto, and shoot ing began. Lilly was killed, one dep uty seriously wounded, and the four Johnston boys were slain outright. tSkS CONORESS TO ENFORCE AMENRMENTS New A’ork. The twelfth annual ses sion of the National Equal Rights League ended its three-day session at tiie Metropolitan A. M, E. church. It closed with the appointment of a com mittee of five to urge upon congress the passage of the Madden bill, di rected against the “Jim Crow” cars on transportation lines and the strict enforcement of the fourteenth and fif teenth amendments to the constitution This action of the league followed the story told by William Monroe Trotter, peace petitioner from the league, who told how he had reached Paris under trying difficulties despite the positive attitude of the government that none of the league’s delegates should he given passports to Paris. TCHN HACK CLOCKS TO OLD TIME 04 TOBER 24! Much Misunderstanding Due t» Action of Congress in killing Daylight Saving. Washington. Oct. 15.—General un certainty as to when the clocks of the nation may be turned back and day light saving abolished seems to ' ave resulted from the recent ac m of congress In repealing the daylight sav ing act. In answer to numerous in quiries officials have poiuted out that clocks may not he turned back until tiie last Sunday of October, or Oc tober 2fi, at 1 a. m. The Monitor’s Phone Number Is Douglas 3224 THE REIGN 01 TERROR IN ARRAN SA S Truth About Alleged Uprising of Ne groes Against Whites—Negroes Korin Progressive Farmers’ Associa tion to Make Reasonable Terms With White Farmers on Share Crop Proposition. W liite Man Accused of Inciting Riot Is Prominent Attorney Employed by Tenants to lake Cases to Court— > a tonal Association Issues State ment. COTTON PRICE CAUSE OF TROUBLE HELENA. ARK.—In the section -south of Helena and elsewhere in the black belt in Arkansas, Mississippi and Louisiana, the big land owners j and many who are not big land own-! ers,. never settle with the share crop-, pers on the farms. The tenants pick | the cotton, put it in houses in the! fields; the agent sends wagons to j these houses, hauls the cotton to the gin, has it ginned, and tells the poor tenant nothing about what amount of cotton belonging to him was ginned nor anything about the price paid for it. In fact, the tenant has nothing to do with cotton after It is picked. When one of them goes for a settle ment. the agent is always too busy. The owner, when he is on the farm, always is in a hurry and refers the tenant to the agent. So the Negro tenant never know's anything about what his account is or what his pro duce is worth or sold for. The trou ble is no settlement is ever made. He is told that he can get whatever he needs. He is given a few dollars in cash for Christmas and that ends it. If he kicks or grumbles, he is kicked out of the store and if he strikes back he is mobbed. So in desperation, these Negroes concluded to organize so aH to secure some relief from these out rageous proceedings. This organiza tion has no other object than to secure some sort of settlement for their crops. To secure a hearing, the organiza tion secured the services of the legal firm of Bratton & Bratton, of Little Rock, one of the leading and repre sentative legal lights of tile Arkansas bar. Teiliints Received No Settlement in Years. The truth of these statements, any unprejudiced jury can verify on ex amination. Most of those whose names the Negro furnished to their attorney, have made no settlement with their tenants in years. Those Johnson boys, who were killed, were out on a fishing trip with a brother who was visiting them from Oklahoma and had nothing whatever | to do with the society or the farmers. The four guns found in their homes S were fowling pieces which they used I in bird hunting. The guns found at l the State Normal Branch School at i Pine Bluff, were those furnished by j tile government for the military train i ing of colored boys during the war. i No leading colored man in this section ! of the state knew anything about the I Negroes arming. The constitution of the society was published in the pa pers and prominent white men had attended and addressed the organiza tion and no one believed then or now that there was any intention on the part of the members to do the whites any harm. “The Uprising’’ was manufactured by these farm agents to permit them to continue the practice of whole sale robbery of the tenants. The good white people of the state should thoroughly Investigate the complaints of those tenants and see that the same state of affairs does not exist in other sections of the state. The prac tice of robbing Negro tenants ought to be stopped if it requires the state troops to do it. If the state troops were used to stop the robbery of Ne gro tenants, they would not bn needed to stop Negroes from demanding whal is their own. Planters Incite Trouble. As soon as the planters and agents were notified that the claims of their Negro tenants had been placed in such safe hands, they began to circulate false and misleading statements about Negroes arming. They, it appear ed, got this tnan Lilly, whom it is alleged, was fined and fled from Mis sissippi under the charge of peonage and who, at this time, w as some kind of an officer for the railroad corporation, to go out to the church where a meet ing of the organization wars being held for the sole purpose of breaking up the meeting. They fired many shots In the neighborhood of the church, in tending thereby to intimidate the Ne groes, who were assembled there In a peaceful meeting. The men led by Lilly fired several shots in front of the church. Believing themselves to be the object of an unprovoked attack. Lilly and his crowd retired and soon returned and attacked a Negro who returned the fire killing Lilly and wounding his companion. Immediate ly the cry went fo'rth that the Ne groes were armed and rising to slaughter the whites. The names of white farmers who were guilty of robbing their tenants, of course, were to be given to their attorney and these were the men whose names, that it is alleged the Negroes had intended murdering. Nothing was further from their in tentions. Mr. Bratton, the white man implicated, of course, was there in the interests of his clients and had no other business than to see that they, for once, got a settlement. These white landlords have resented for years any interference with their robbery of the colored tenants and the colored tenants have stood this about as long as they can. Arrest White Lawyer. It has been asserted that Attorney O. S. Bratton (white). Little Rock, had advised our people to uprise. Bratton had done legal business for the Progressive Farmers’ association and at one time had addressed the gathering during the Liberty Loan drive for the purpose of aiding the government war fund. Men who were employed by white farmers on the share crop proposition appealed to Bratton to aid them in bringing about a settlement with their land-owners, and he had prepared legal papers to present in court in defense of hts clients. It is the work of enemies to destroy his influence in the commun ity, he declared. Bratton is now in jail awaiting a hearing. \. A A. P, ISSUES STATEMENT The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, 70 Fifth avenue. New York, makes public the following letter from a corre spondent near the scene of the race riots in Arkansas, showing cotton prices, not Negro insurrection, as the cause of the trouble. The correspond ent, whose standing the association vouches for, writes: ‘‘The whole trouble, as I understand it, started because a Mr. Braxton, a white lawyer from Little Rock, Ark. was employed by sixty or seventy col ored families to go to Elaine and rep resent them in a dispute with the white planters relative to the sale price of cotton. The rumor is that the planters had organized to settle with the tenants for their cotton on a twen ty-fice cent basis, when it turn the planters would sell it for much more. Quite naturally the tenants objected to this and employed Mr. Bratton to represent them. A full statement by Mr. Bratton appears in some of the clippings 1 have sent. "This Federated Union of America' is a camouflage. The real issue was the dispute over the price of cotton be tween the tenants and planters. The propaganda published in the press about ‘Negroes being armed to kill all white people and take their farms away from them’ is too ridiculous to be given any thought.” The clipping referred to is from the Memphis, Tenn., Commercial Appeal, of Friday morning, October 3. Ac cording to U. S. Bratton, father of the attorney accused of “inciting” the Ne groes. therein quoted. his clients "claimed that it had been impossible for them to obtain itemized statements of accounts or in fact to obtain state ments at all, and that the manager was preparing to ship their cotton, they being share croppers and having a half interest therein, off without set tling with them or allowing them to sell their half of the crop and pay up their accounts. As we were informed, there were some 6.r> or 70 of these share croppers who desired us to rep resent them. If it’s a crime to repre sent people in an effort to make holi est settlements, then he has ♦‘ommitted a crime. If this is a crime in a coun try where we have been spending our money and the lives of our boys to make the country safe for democracy we do not understand what the word means." Buy a home.