i gisd The Monitor i == i
A NATIONAL WEEKLY NEWSPAPER DEVOTED TO THE INTERESTS OP COLORED AMERICANS.
* __THE EWT. JOHN AL—tT WILLIAM* Mto _
j) <2 00 » Year. 5c a Copy_OMAHA, NEBRASKA, MARCH 25, 1920__Vol. V. No. 38 (Whole No. 247)
Jess Willard Wants to Fight Colored Man
«
Graduates With Honor From Commerce High
- _% ______
JESS WILLAKD W.\ S TO
FIGHT BED MAN
Former if ear j weight Champion Who
Said He Would Never Fight An
other NegTO, Evidently Fearing to
Lose Ills Title, Changes Mind.
CHALLENGES POLICEMAN
WHO POLITELY DECLINES
Warrant Sworn Out for Pugilist's
Arrest for Disturbing the Peace—
Logan, the Challenged, Not Anrions
tc Enter Fistic Arena—Prefers to
Walk Ills Bent.
vSpecial to The Monitor.)
LAWRENCE, Kag., March 23.—Jess
Willard, former heavyweight
champion, hag evidently changed hig
mind. After he won the champion
ship he discretely declined to meet
a black opponent. Jess vowed that
he would never fight a Negro. But
last week Jess was driving a tonring
car and attempted to pass Fred Lo
gan. a policeman, who was driving a
wagon along a narrow road. The
road at this point was too narrow for
Logan to turn out of the way and
gjve Jess room to pass. The ex
champlon became abusive, called Lo
gan names and challenged him to
fight. Strange as It may seem, Lo
gan, although a policeman, having no
ambition to enter the fistic arena,
but quite contented to follow the hum
drum life of an ordinary policeman
and walk his heat, politely declined
Jess’ challenge. Being a peace offi
cer, I>ogan swore out a warrant for
the arrest of Jess Willard for disturb
ing the peaee. After Jess explains It
to the Judge, If Jess Is still hankering
for a fight with a colored man, It
. haR been suggested that perhaps Jack
Johnson or Jack Tholmer or some
other artist bt the fists will cheer
fully accomodate him.
DR. BOHDY RELEASED
FROM PENITENTIARY
Well Known Dentist Wrho Was Con
Tlcted In Connection W'itfi East St
[Louis Hints for Denfendlng Race
Out on HaiL
r —
CAME IM TO HE KE
. NEWED BY COURT
/CHICAGO, March 23.—Dr. Leroy N.
Bunday, who was convicted of
l murder because of the East St. Louis
riots, has been granted bail and re
leased from the Illinois state peni
tentiary. Writ of supersedes was
granted by Judge Orrln N. Carter of
the supreme court who passed on the
case at the request of Judge Duncan
who had Jurisdiction, but who asked
Judge Carter to hear the case owing
to the fact that the majority of the
sureties lived In Cihicago. Judge Car
ter decided that there was serious and
prejudicial error in the record of the
crime for which Dr. Bunday was con
victed, and decided that he be grant
ed bail to the sum of $25,000. The en
tire supreme court of the state of
Illinois will hear the case In April
and pass on it In June.
No case before the public has ever
Interested the people more than that
of Dr. Bundy who was convicted be
i cause of the St. Louis riots, of mur
der in the first degree and sentenced
to the penitentiary at Chester, 111.,
for the rest of his natural life. Dr.
Bundy was convicted March, 1919,
and has been in the penitentiary for
1 about a year.
The great legal victory which re
sults in Dr. Bundy’s release is the
I result of the brilliant, unceasing
battle waged by his counsel, Houston
f iind Calloway of Kansas City. These
two able barristers have emerged
! successfully and have won a great
legal battle for the race. This case
has had practically the entire time of
Mr. W. C. Houston since the trial of
Dr. Bundy began.
Mrs. Bundy and a group of friends
, left for Chester to welcome Dr. Bundy
when he emerged from prison.
Leonard, the son of Dr. and Mrs.
■ L. E. Britt Is ill.
TO KEEP BUM FROM AFRICA.
London, England.—The state de
partment has made public a treaty
signed by England, the United States,
Japan, France, Belgium, Canada. South
Africa and India, by which all "dis
tilled liquors,” "absinthe” and other
distilled liquors containing oils and
chemicals Injurious to the health are
prohibited importation into Africa.
Egypt, Algiers, Tunic’ Morocco, Lybla
and South Africa will continue wet.
Light liquors will be subject to a duty
of $3.75 per gallon.
GEORGIA VILLAGE FIRST
TO ERECT MONUMENT
Patriotic People Unveil Memorial to
Soldiers Who Paid Supreme Sacri
fice so That Democracy Ultimately
Might Prevail Throughout the
Whole Civilized World.
» ________
WILL THE UNITED STATES
REMAIN INDIFFERENT?
MILLEDGEVILLE, Ga„ March 23.
—Credit for erecting the first
memorial monument in this section,
and perhaps in all the land, to sol
diers who lost their lives in service
during the world war. is believed to
belong to the colored people of Bald
win county.
On January 1, in the small village
known as Harrisburg, populated en
tirely by colored people, and located
just three miles south of Mllledge
ville, there was a monument unveiled
to the memory of the colored soldiers
who died in the late war.
There were three soldiers from this
particular village who were either
killed or died while in service, and
their neighbors and friends quickly
organized and erected this monument
In their honor and placed it in the
heart of their little village.
Village Responded In Drives.
The colored citizens of this village
had already won distinction for pa
triotic devotion and service to their
country by liberally responding to the
calls made in the Liberty loan and
Red Cross and war work drives.
The shaft was locally designed and
is entirely paid for, in fact, oversub
scribed to, altogether by the colored
people.
It has on It the following Inscrip
tions:
In Memory of the Colored Soldiers
of the World War,
Augustus Austin, Killed In Battle in
France, September 29. 1918.
Willie Warren, Died in Hospital in
North Carolina, 1918.
Alex Treat, Died at Camp Gordon,
1918.
PULLS OFF A SERIOUS
STUNT BECOMING COMMON
Accuses Colored Man of Grave Crime,
Hut Compelled to Admit He Delib
erately Framed Alleged Holdup—
Omaha Has Been Cursed by Similar
Frameups and Lies, Only the Guilty
Ones Did Not Confess.
Harrisburg, Pa., March 23.—William
M. Byers, 22 years old, station master
at Leinoyne for the last three years,
who startled the community recently
by a story of having been bound and
gagged by Negroes, who tortured him
with a razor to Induce him to tell
where the money of the office was
kept, confessed to Pennsylvania rail
road officers that he had Btaged the
holdup in order to appear as a hero
In the eyes of his sweetheart.
It was recalled that Byers had
figured In a similar "holdup” several
years ago at Higsplre. Railroad offi
cers took a Negro who had been In
jail a month to the Pennsylvania sta
tion offices and called Byers. He im
mediately said this man was one of
those who had held him up. He was
then charged with faking the entire
story. He admitted this, saying he
had gagged and tied himself after
scratching his hands and his face. The
railroad will retain him. In his pres
ent place, because he has violated no
rule of the company.
WEST INDIAN FEDERATION OR
ANNEXATION TO CANADA, WHICH?
Strong Sentiment Prevalent Throughout Scattered Island Posses
sions of Great Britain for Union With Canada—Believed Uni
versal Suffrage Plebiscite Would Render Such Decision.
SOME INTERESTING FACTS CONCERNING
ISLAND EMPIRE AT AMERICA’S DOOR
Large and Upstanding Population of Color, Ten to One in Every
Colony and Hundreds to One in Others, Will Undoubtedly,
Have Important Influence on American Kindred—Talking
Little, Thinking Much.
(Special to The Monitor)
KINGSTON, Jamaica, March 20.-—The West Indies are much in
the public eye these days. The reason for it primarily is the
suggestion that has been seriously advanced in certain diplomatic,
or undiplomatic, quarters that Great Britain turn them over to
the United States in payment for the war debt. This has led to
the realization that these islands, numbering hundreds, a fact un
known and unguessed by even the geographically well informed,
with its enormous population of color lies at the very door of the
United States and may have a tremendous influence upon their
kindred in the States, as sympathy between these two sections be
comes more keen because of commercial intercourse and knowl
edge, evidence of which already appears. It is not, however, gen
erally known that there is political unrest growing here that may
lead to far-reaching results. The larger numerical group is think
ing hard, but saying little. Here is the way a recent writer re^
gards, with much accuracy and little of error, the situation among
the island population:
Federation of all the British \Y est
Indies into one dominion has often
been discussed, and it is again to the
fore as a substitution for annexation
to Canada. To an outsider it seems
eminently sensible. It seems absurd
that a group of forty scattered islands
and territories, with an aggregate
population of about that of Ontario,
and an aggregate area far less than
that, should require eight distinct
sets of official machinery to look aft
er their needs.
Instead of being hailed with fervor
it is denounced as Impracticable, and
not in the interests of the develop
ment of the individual islands.
What concern is it of lime-Juice
growlng Dominica, it Is asked, that
sugar-growing St. Kitts should flour
ish? And so on? Antigua, St. Kitts,
Nevis, Anguilla, Montserrat and Do
minica at present form one colony,
known as the Leeward Islands.
Among them they have a population
of only ISO,000, and an area of 600
square miles, yet a retired crown of
ficial argued very lengthiy in the pa
pers the other day that their Interests
would be better served by splitting
them up into several colonies than by
even continuing the present group
ing!
Too Many Foreigners.
Southern-going steamers try to
compose thelr crews from natives of
all the islands, so as to avoid a gen
eral temporary desertion when . the
ship calls at any one which might be
the home port of the crew. Barba
dians are the best sailors and fre
quently become petty officers. You
will hear the Barbadian boatswain re
spectfully protest to the second mate,
when three or four men have been
picked up from St. Kitts, St. Lucia,
Trinidad and so on: "Don’t you think,
sir, we are getting too many foreign
ers on board?”
The Far-Flung Battle Line.
The British West Indies are about
as great a treasure as a church col
lection plate scattered over a ten-acre
lot.
Trinidad is 1,800 miles east of Hon
duras, and Grand Bahama is 2,200
miles northwest of British Guiana.
Between these four stretch leagues
and leagues of sea and scores and
scores of islands, owned by the
French, Dutch, Americans, black re
publics and Cuba.
There are eight different colonies
in the British West Indies.
These eight. West Indian colonies
are:
The Bahamas—twenty of them.
Barbadoes.
British Honduras.
I Jamaica.
Trinidad.
Windward Islands—three.
Leeward Islands—six in number.
virgin islands—also numnenng six.
The colonies include forty islands
big enough to have names, and prob
ably 400 more or less anonymous
rocks and rocklets.
If we added the Bermudas—and
there is no more reason for not doing
si) than there is for doing it—we
would pick up another Island for
every day In the year. There are 365
in the Bermuda group, but you can
walk from one end of Bermuda to the
other by daylight and across it in
half an hour.
Union With Canada Opposed by Of
fice-Holders.
The people who do the talking in
the West Indies don’t want annexa
tion to Canada. You can hardly ex
pect eight governors or administra
tors, or lord-lieutenants, or whatever
they may be, w throw up their eight
cocked hats at the prospect of losing
their eight Jobs.
Much less can you expect their dep
uties and assistants and secretaries
and commissioners and butlers and
footmen to be thrilled at the prospect.
And these are to some extent the peo
ple who do the talking and for the
West Indies.
The Masses Favor It.
The colored population, which is
ten to one in every colony, and hun
dreds to one In some, doesn’t do much
talking for publication. Judged by its
insistent persuasion of every visitor
to ‘‘take me back to Canada to work
for you” a universal suffrage plebis
cite of the Islands would carry an
nexation with a clean sweep. But
there is no chance of a universal suf
frage plebiscite. Most of the islands
are crown colonies. Only a few have
representative government. And the
white minority, fortunately for the
Islands and Islanders, rule.
The black population of the Brit
ish West Indies look to Canada and
America as a paradise of easy money.
They are working for wages which
are often cruelly low, wages which
have not risen In proportion to the in
crease in the cost of living, wages
which offer them no hope of ad
vancement for themselves or their off
spring.
VIROTH ISLANDS TO LOSE OLD
STATUS TO AMERICANIZATION
Wasington, I). C., March 23.—Meas
ures to Americanize the Virgin
Islands were agreed by the joint con
gressional commission which recently
visited the former Danish possessions.
Legislation to establish the American
citizenship of the islanders is pro
posed. The commission also decided
to establish American banking inter
ests In the islands to supplant the
Danish bank.
FRENCH WEST INDIES
ABE NOT FOB SALE
Paris, March 23.—In reply to a let
ter from United States Senator Ber
enger intimating that France was to
cede the Island of Martinique and
Guadeloupe to the United States, Pre
mier Millerand has declared that
France has never contemplated ced
ing the islands to any country for any
reason whatever.
VIRGINIA BANKERS
FORM ASSOCIATION
Descendants of Slaves Rapidly Be
coming Masters of Finance—Far
Cry From the Auction Block to
Bank Presidents—Such Wonderful
Advance Has Been Made.
_
CONFIDENCE IN RACE
STEADILY GROWING
NORFOLK. Va., March 23.—Monday
March 1, a large number of the |
representatives of the banking busi
ness among colored people in the
state of Virginia met at the bank
building of the Tidewater Bank and
Trust Company in Norfolk, and pro
ceeded to organize the “Negro Bank
ers’ Association of Virginia,’’ with the
following officers:
President, W. M. Rich, cashier
Brown Savings bank, Norfolk; first
vice president, Mr. Bullock, Mutual
Savings bank, Portsmouth; second
vice president, F. K. Campbell. Con
tinental Savings bank, Dendron; Sec
retary, T. David Parham, Crown Sav
ings bank, Newport News; treasurer,
Jesse 8. Jones, Tidewater Bank and
Trust company, Norfolk; executive
committee, Levi C. Brown, W. H. C.
Brown. T. C. Ervin, Dr. J. A. Strong,
M. R. Jackson.
The Tidewater Bank and Trust
company of Norfolk, has a splendidly
appointed building, and is deservedly
getting the support of the people gen
erally.
The Browm Savings bank of Nor
folk, has outgrown Its present quar
ters and has bought a site on the
corner of Church and Queen streets,
where It contemplates erecting a mod
ern and up-to-date bank building,
with all. the latest appliances for such
a business.
FOR NEW EPOCH IN
RACE RELATIONS
Governor of Georgia and Mayor of
Atlanta to Address National Assoc
iation for the Advancement of Col
ored People.
New York, March 23.—The National
Association for the Advancement of
Colored People today announced that
Its eleventh annual conference would
be held in Atlanta, Georgia, from May
10 to June 2, and that Hugh M. Dor
sey, governor of Georgia, and James
L, Key, mayor of Atlanta, would speak
at the meetings. Governor Edwin P.
Morrow of Kentucky has also been
invited to address the conference.
This is the first time that the Na
tional Association for the Advance
ment of Colored People has held its
conference in the south, according to
the announcement at the headquar
ters, 70 Fifth avenue, Atlanta, hav
ing been selected, it waB stated, upon
invitation extended by Governor Dor
sey, Mayor Key, the Atlanta Chamber
of Commerce and the Atlanta
churches.
"It is hoped,” the statement con
tinues, "that this conference may
contribute to more cordial co-opera
tion between white and colored peo
ple In all that makes for a better
America, to a better understanding
among white people of the aspira
tions of Negro citizens and to clear
ing the way for elimination of the
causes of race friction.
“The fact that the governor of
Georgia and mayor of Atlanta have
signified their willingness to take
part in the conference is a good omen
for increasing co-operation between
white men and colored men in solving
race problems."
MAKES SPLENDID RECORD
AT COMMERCIAL HIGH
John Dillard Crawford, First Colored
Boy to Finish Coarse, Graduates
With High Honors—Popular With
Teachers and Students—Held Sev
eral Important Offices.
OMAHA BEE DECLINES
TO PUBLISH PICTURE
rpo John Dillard Crawford, elder
X son of Mr. and Mrs. John H.
Crawford, falls the distinction of be
ing the first colored boy to graduate
from the Commercial High school.
Several girls have graduated, but
Dillard is the first boy. He receives
his diploma and military certificate
as a commissioned officer of cadets
Thursday night at the graduating ex
ercises held in the auditorium of Cen
tral High. No student who has at
tended Commercial High has been
more popular with Instructors and
pupils or more active in school af
fairs than Dillard Crawford, who
graduates with high honors.
He was first lieutenant in the ca
det battalion and commander of the
I . I
band, secretary of the commissioned
officers’ club, secretary and treasurer
of the Webster debating society, and
member of the debating team, mem
ber of the nominating committee of
the "Hl-Y’’ club and business mana
ger of his class.
Last year Mr. Crawford was pre
sented with a beautiful gold medal
by the commissioned officers of the
High School of Commerce for win
ning a "spell down” at the Central
(High school in a competitive drill
and contest between 4he cadets of
both schools. Ranking high in
scholarship he is a young man of
most pleasing personality and gentle
manly demeanor.
He is a communicant and for years
has been an altar boy at the church
of St. Philip the Deacon.
Mr. Crawford's picture did not ap
pear in Sunday’s Bee with the other
members of his class. It was the
only picture omitted. Thikning it an
oversight or an accident, Mrs. Craw
ford called up The Bee and asked
why the picture was left out. The
reply was in substance this: “It was
left out because colored people's pic
tures don’t look well among a group
of white people.”
Young Crawford’s classmates are
quite Indignant over the matter and
have requested those of their parents
who take The Bee to discontinue it.
The World-Herald published Mr.
Crawford’s picture with tfie rest of
his class. „
_
ALABAMA FAVORABLE
TO LEONARD WOOD
Popular Sentiment Strong for General
In Sections of the South.
Birmingham. Ala., March 24.—The
opinion has been expressed here by
those competent to know, that Leon
ard Wood has the swing of popular
sentiment b°th among the masses and
those who will have the voting power
at the national republican convention
in Chicago. Recently the Birmingham
Reporter, a newspaper that baB the
respect of all classes, carried an edi
torial favorable to Leonard Wood. Os
car W. Adams is the editor of the
Birmingham Reporter, and has been
very active in his community in work
ing out the problems of adjustment.
Go to the Court House This Week and Register