The Monitor A National Weekly Newspaper Devoted to the Interests of Colored Americans. Published Every Thursday at Omaha, Nebraska, by The Monitor Pub lishing Company. Entered as Second-Class Mall Matter July 2, 1915, at the Postoflice 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. 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 Douglas 3224. | f - * ■ |, oinifr'' THE ROOSEVELT CREED 1 BELIEVE in honesty, sincerity and the square deal; in making up one’s mind what to do—and doing it. I believe in fearing God and taking one’s own part. I believe in hitting the line hard when you are right. I believe in speaking softly and carrying a big stick. I believe in hard work and honest sport. 1 believe in a sane mind in a sane body. I believe we have room for but one soul loyalty, and that is loyalty to the American people. '---„-) THE JOHNSON YEKDICT. IRA Johnson is not guilty of crim inal assault upon Bessie Kroupa. We know a jury says he is, hut that does not make him so. How a jury could bring in such a verdict .after hearing the evidence would be unex plainable, were it not for the present popular state of mind in this com munity. In normal times we believe that any fair-minded and intelligent jury would have had the moral cour age to have returned a verdict in ac cordance with the evidence, even though the defendant were black. But these are abnormal times. The jury was influenced, unconsciously per haps. by the hysteria and acute race prejudice which has been engendered, evoked and inflamed by unscrupulous yellow journalism. The jury, influ enced by this sentiment, rendered its verdict not against Ira Johnson, merely, but against his race. This is the unbiased truth. The Monitor did not believe that Johnson was the guilty man. after our first interview with him, and verifica tion of his statement by credible wit nesses, his foreman, George Fahren brook, being one of them. This con viction was strengthened at the pre liminary hearing by the testimony of Miss Kroupa, herself, and of George Kreil, who testified that he was “pretty sure’’ that Johnson was the Negro wearing a “brown coat” whom he had seen in the vicinity of the as sault about 11 o’clock. Testimony for the state and the defense at the trial just ended has but more firmly fixed our belief in Johnson’s innocence. Therefore, knowing the full import of what we say and assuming responsi bility for the statement The Monitor fearlessly asserts that Ira Johnson is not guilty of assaulting Miss Kroupa, the verdict of the jury to the contrary notwithstanding. This conclusion rests not upon sentiment, but upon careful weighing of the evidence. As Mr. Howell, attorney for the defense said in his able argument to the jury: “The evidence shows that this defendant is guilty of no crime, except it be the crime of being born black. You have had the evidence placed before you. It is for you to say whether or not he shall be made a sacrifice. The ques tion for you, gentlemen, is this, have you the courage and the manhood to render a verdict according to the evi dence ?” When asked to take the case Mr. Howell stated that his feelings were so strong against crimes of the char acter alleged that if he believed the accused guilty he would not defend him at any price. It was, therefore, not until he had verified Johnson's story and was cc . vinced of his inno cence that he consented to take the case. He believed and still believes thoroughly in Johnson’s innocence. What was the evidence in the case? Miss Kroupa said Johnson was the man who assaulted her and that at the time of the assault he wore a blue suit of clothes and a round black hat. Kreil said, and we eliminate the con tradictory statements of both wit nesses, that Johnson was the man whom he saw in the neighborhood of the assault about 11 o’clock, and that he was dressed in a blue or brown coat and wore a round black hat. Nine-year-old Charles Wentz, whose testimony showed careful coaching, testified that Johnson was the man he saw in the vicinity on several occa sions, and on this morning in par ticular, "walking behind Kreil” and "brushing shoulders with him,” and that he had on a blue suit and a round black hat. All three witnesses testi fied that Miss Kroupa’s assailant was a man dressed in a blue suit and wearing a round black hat. Miss Kroupa testified that the man had on a blue coat. The scene of the assault was about a mile and a half from the Burlington ice house at Gibson where Johnson was employed, at about IS:40 in the afternoon of July 7. George Fahrenbrook, white, foreman of the ice house, testified that he was talk ing with Johnson at the ice house shortly after 12 o’clock noon of that day, when Johnson brought another colored man by the name of Bell to him for work, and that at that time Johnson wore a khaki shirt, blue over alls and an advertising cap, and that he saw him again at the ice house a little before 2 o’clock and he was dressed in the same way. Bell, whom Pahrenbrook employed on Johnson's solicitation, verified this, as did two other witnesses. These witnesses tes tified that Johnson was around the ice house all the afternoon or from about 12 o'clock until 6 o’clock at night when he went to his customary night work in the ice house. George Fahrenbrook was sub poened.by the state, but when they learned how he would testify they de clined to call him. The defense called him and his testimony verified that of Johnson, Bell and Smalls and showed conclusively that at 12:15 or there abouts Johnson was at the ice house dressed in overalls and wearing an advertising cap. No hat answering the description of the one worn bv Miss Kroupa’s assailant was found among Johnson's possessions or in the bunk car where he stayed. It is upon this evidence that The* Monitor contends that Ira Johnson is innocent and further maintains that were the times normal, the jury would have acquitted him. We desire to stafe that Judge Redick before whom Johnson was tried was absolutely fair in his ruling and ex plicit in his charge to the jury. At torney Howell made a splendid fight for his client, inspired by absolute be lief in the man’s innocence. The verdict, The Monitor admits, is disappointing and depressing. It awakens questionings in the minds of many as to the willingness of the dominant, race to render justice to all men. irrespective of race, color or creed. It shows the necessity of our group being vigilant and willing to render aid, not to every member of our race accused of crime—for that would be wrong, and an encourage ment to criminals—but to men who, like Ira Johnson, after investigation of their case, we believe to be inno cent of the crime alleged. The Moni tor believes that every effort should be exhausted to establish Johnson’s in nocence and if possible, fix the blame where it belongs. The Johnson verdict should teach us all a lesson in these abnormal days when the times are out of joint. CONCERNING SEGREGATION. SOME weeks ago The Monitor Bounded a note of warning against what we believe to be a well-laid plan to enforce a scheme of segregation in Omaha. We said that we believed that the rumors of crime by Negroes and the apparent desire to make it appear that Omaha haH an abnormal number of undesirables and criminals among its Negro population is part of the scheme to justify the enactment of such ordinances when deemed prac ticable. This movement, we then be lieved, and still believe to be but part and parcel of a nation-wide movement, inspired by the bourbon south, cer tainly animated by its spirit, to en force colonization upon our group everywhere and to place certain re strictions upon us in the enjoyment of the rights of domicile, educational, recreational and municipal privileges. This is southern sentiment and the southern method. It is permeating the north. Some believe that this sentiment is being spread by a well organized and heavily financed agency. As to this, we cannot say; but we do know that this sentiment is being spread. No doubt about it. Whether Omaha will fall for It or not remains to be seen. It will not, of course, if our people are vigilant and not lulled to sleep by the siren voice of some of our group who seem to be playing, consciously or unconscliusly, into the hands of those who' are trying to put this across. Some do not seem to understand the I : difference between voluntary associa tion, or voluntary segregation, if you please, and involuntary or enforced segregation. There is a vast dlffer ence. The first is a matter 'of indi ! vidual choice, the exercise of personal liberty; the second is an unwarranted invasion of personal liberty, the de nial of one's rights to choose fey him self. An important principle is here at stake. Segregation, in the sense of volun ! tary association, is natural. For what does segregation mean? To colled into a flock or herd. It is natural for each to seek its kind or group. Left to themselves, people will naturally form themselves into such associations as may be most congenial or best serve their interests or inclinations This accounts for various groups, out own among them, having their con gregations, lodges, associations, insti tutions and communities or neighbor hoods. There can be no objection to this, where it is voluntary. It is an entirely different matter to set off a certain section or sections of a city and say, for example, only Jews, or Italians or Hermans or Negroes, or Methodists or Roman Catholics shall be permitted to live in those sections and nowhere else. So far as our race in this city is concerned this is the isue that we have got to face. ThL enforced, involuntary segregation. The Monitor intends to fight. We intend to fight, also, any effort to limit our municipal privileges for which w-e are taxed. We would like to have our readers freely express their views on this subject, for or against, it, in our columns. limiting such expressions to two hundred words. “( LEAN IT THE (HOOKS." ITNDER the above caption The St > Louis Argus gives some sound advice to the police authorities of thai city which is applicable to many other cities in this fair land. The Monitor is of the opinion that even the police authorities of Omaha might profit by the suggestions made in the Argus' editorial which we respectfully com mend to their attention. Here it is “Following the wounding of Chief of Police O’Brien, bv a highwayman a few days ago, orders have been Is sued to clean up the crooks of this city. “To a close observer, it furnishes an amusement to see these blue coats and detectives leave their stations looking for Negroes. It seems that they forget that there are white crooks and gun toters until they run into them robbing or shooting up somebody. In which event they de vote a little time to catching the of fenders and then resume their vigil ance looking for Negroes. "Of course when the orders are is sued. they must bring in somebody, and we suppose that Negroes are less trouble to bring in and, as a rule more defenseless, and the police have less trouble in 'making a case.’ “We have no defense for the Negro idler, thier or gun toter, but the seem ing one-sided affair does not help the efficiency of the police department. “The trouble may be in the orders isued. They may not be specific enough. These officers should tie in structed to go into the ’Big Timber’ and get a few of the big criminals and fetch them in. They should also lie told in plain words that, there are some white crooks as well as colored in the city. And not to assume every time a robbery is reported that the crime has been committed by some Negro, thUB wasting so many useless hours looking for, questioning and ar resting every Negro’ they see, while the real criminal makes good his get away. “We believe that many real crim inals have followed the police around, laughing up their sleeves while the police werp running around color blind. “It !b hoped that when the order is issued to 'clean up’ that it. will be applicable to white as well as colored. The big as well as the little.” There will be an old fashioned tacky party at the War Camp Com munity girls' room in Columbia hall Tuesday evening, November 18. Prizes for the most unique costume for man or woman. No admission. Silver of fering. Mrs. J. LaCour, chairman. Nothing is denied to well-directed labor; nothing is to be obtained with out it.—Sir Joshua Reynolds. LEA HI NO EDITORIALS OF THE DAV —FROM RACE JOURNALS One Besetting Sin. If there is any one agency of force that retards our racial progress affl? renders teamwork and group action Impossible, it Is the spirit of envy. As soon as the colored man begins to accomplish anything Immediately there springs up a spirit of envy and malice and ofttlmes this evil and mean spirit is manifested among those closely associated with the individual or individuals’thus envied. It seems to be a racial character istic to hate to see another member of the race succeed or rise higher than the others. The great races of the world have I ; learned that in proportion as they can I create and develop great men and | women in that proportion will they j hold their places in the sun, figura ; lively speaking. Every race has learned to work to gether but the colored race and with all our envy, malice, bickerings and internal dissensions we sit around and whine about our status, when the very program and method that we are | pursuing will forever keep the race I vassals to all the distasteful and dis agreeable practices now heaped upon \ us. No race needs to sit supinely and expect other races to bring to it its rights and privileges upon a golden tray, silver platter or even place them in the garbage can. Eternal vigilance is the price of success and labor con quers all things. nut when we permit envy to become j the predominant spirit and hate and hold a grudge against our brother or sister for no reason save that of his , or her success: whe" we seek every occasion to belittle fheir greatness; when we maliciously lie on them and [ endeavor to slander their good name; | when we misrepresent them to others ; both of our race and the other races; when we rejoice at every little mis fortune or setback that they suffer; when we hale to see them get in pos- ] session of anything of a tangible na ture: when we, crab-like, put forth our every effort to keep them in the basket with us; when we delight in parading all kinds of dope derogatory to their character, when we fail to heed the code of racial ethics, the little green-eyed monster. Envy, is the' cause of it all. There can he no eternal vigilance - where the forces are divided and pull ing apart, and if success will ever crown our race os a whole it will only come to tis when we have submitted and subscribed to the same principles and practices as a race individually and collectively, in the same manner as the other great races of the earth have done. The adage that labor conquers all things is true both theoretically and practically; but without teamwork, co ordination of forces, respect for lead ership, which in themselves preclude the retention of such evil attributes as envy, malice, hatred and all kin dred devilish and hellish spirits, there can be no labor in the true sense of I the word. There is a vast difference between simply putting in time and giving ef fleient service as a laborer, despite the capacity in which the individual might serve. A race that simply hopes to occupy a space on the program and then ren der no number in keeping with the calibre of the program will ere long find itself a back number, and it will have no one to blame for its condi- j tion and position but itself. The colored race had better read the signs of the times and get busy before the hour will be too late. If we permit Envy and all her kin- I folks to enter into all our efforts, re ligious and civil, instead of our cause having been advanced by our contri butions in the great world conflict, It will receive will receive a setback; for our actions will prove that we do not merit or deserve any more than we are receiving, nor as much. Envy came from the devil and every ! time you fall a victim thereto you art cementing yourself to the master evil one with adamantine chains, as it were. For the good of the race and the cause of humanity Envy is entirely too prevalent among us and every tare and precaution must be exercised to refuse her abode in our hearts. The problems of reconstruction call for a united race and a new leader ship, but this will be impossible of ac complishment if we pursue our old 1 policy and continue to operate our forces in opposing directions. Send Envy back home, as well as 1 all her kith and kin, and then a brighter day will dawn for our race. Its retention and operation mean failure, defeat, disaster. — Houston (Tex.) Informer. - ..... I Flashes of Most Anything j ... . ..I FLASHES OF MOST ANVTHING. — F course some folks think we Ne groes are calamity howlerB, but we are not. We are not talking the high faluting language of Aristotle or Plato or Kant or any other of those great philosophy fellows, hut a man is a mighty big fool If he can’t see a thing that is as plain as the nose on his face. Any old time a guy can be bought for one thing it’s a cinch he can be bought for another. The fol lowing incident has a slightly familiar sound; it ain’t us either, but somehow we think It shows the proficiency they got practicing on us for fifty-odd years or so. Take a shot at it and let’s see what you think: (N. B.: Editor of The Mediator, please take notice): Htee! Striked Charge Papers Falsify News. Wheeling, W. Va.—The secretary of the national committee of the striking steel workers, In commenting upon the strike situation here, said the steel strike, in so far as it affected Wheel ing and vicinitv, should not be blamed upon the union or local com pany heads. The workers’ demands, he declared, would have been granted had it been u pto the local mill heads. "If every district in the United States,” he said, “were as well organ ized as the Wheeling district there would be no labor troubles in the country. The industrial unions here are so powerful that no employer would think of fighting them if they were on strike." Reports have been circulated in the Wheeling Intelligencer and by the As sociated Press to the effect that the striking steel workers here are meet ing daily and taking votes to return to work. The capitalist press representatives have so falsely reported the existing strike conditions that steel strike lead ers here now refuse to make any state ments at all to them. Several times, after promised to write the reports which the strike leaders had given without alterations, the Associated Press representatives deliberately re versed the statements, unionists charge. "You see,” the secretary explained, "we have given Associated Press rep resentatives figures and facts on the slrike situation and they deliberately falsified them. One night one of them called me up and wanted to know whether the strikers were meeting to return to work. "I told him no; that mass meetings are being hold which show that the strikers are determined to fight it to a finish; yet the out-of-town papers which carry their dispatches con tained the ‘news’ that the strikers ,1 were meeting to take votes to return to work. I.ittle wonder that I am angry. I believe that the Associated Press and its representatives have been bought to misreport strike con ditions.”—The Butcher Workman Ad vocate. GREAT COAT SALE SATURDAY SILVERTONE, BROADCLOTHS, BOLIVIA AND VELOUR DE LAINE In a wide range of colors. Exceptional values at 47.95 das Stores Cut Price Sale I Men's Heavy Union Suits.$1.9* Heavy Sweaters ..... $1.9* X Men’s Flannel Shirts.$1.9* Jersey Wool Sweaters.. . $2.95 |{* y Men’s Wool Hose.........-SVr Heavy Wool Sweaters. •>•$ I i j The W. H. & R. Investment Co. ? £ Successor to the Douglas Washington Investment Co. !j! $ OFFICE. 15TH AND CALIFORNIA STREETS. ’I* Phones: Tyler 897; Webster, 5966; Red, 3203. I - £ OFFICERS BOARD OF DIRECTORS .j. D. G. Russell, President. H. llamler, Chairman. £ Anderson llamler, Treasurer. D. G. Russell. <• N. W'. Ware, Sec. and Gen. Mpr. N. W. Ware. ? ■.■- 11 ■" ■’ 1 The Fashion Cabaret Ip Stairs, and Bar and Billiard Parlor Down Stairs, at 1314 North 24th St. FOR SALE with four-year lease on account of out of town business. Clean, paying business in good location. If you mean business call Webster 2736 or Tyler 822. CHAS. H. WARDEN, Owner. II .... . ■ ■ I—.I ..I I ! I ■ I Flor de MELBA 7He Cigar Supreme At the price flor de MELBA is better, bigger and more pleasing than any mild Havana cigai^_ If your dtoler ctn'f tupply you. wrdt ut I LEWIS CIGAR MFC CO Newark. N. J. Largaat Indatpandant Ctjar Fact or 14 in th» World 1 CORONA OR SELECTOS SIZE IV/ ” Str«.9ht „ _ Ask your d«ai«r OTHER SIZES DIFFERENT PRICES /or your fetor ltd #.*« %