Nebraska Newspapers

    . "-.I '
P . A NATIONAL WEEKLY NEWSPAPER DEVOTED TO THE INTERESTS OF COLORED AMERICANS ^ 1
THE REV. JOHN AI BERT W ILLIAMS. Editor
92.00 a Year Se I Cepy OMAHA. NEBRASKA, FEBRUARY 24, 1921 Vd. VI No. 35 (.Whole No. 295)
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SOUTHERN JOURNALS
CONUEMN KU KLUX
-— <£
The Charleston News and Courier. . % *st Powerful and Influ
ential Daily jn South Carolina, ()j Revival of Dangerous
Organization in That State and Fr. v Declares There is No
Room for Such an Order
- \
SIMILAR POSITION TAKER BY ' HER DAILY
The Columbus Enguirer-Sun, One of (Georgia’s Foremost News
papers, Outspoken in its Opposition and (Juotes Editorial
Opinion of Like Tenor Exclusively from Southern Organs
and Unbiased by Northern Sentiment
A NENT the alleged activity in canvassing for members for a
local lodge of the Ku Klux Klan, it mav Ik* enlio,t’f'*r,<','T to
know how' many of the most influential and leading dailies of the
y south regard the revival of this sinister, secret society, which
bodes nothing of good and everything of evil to the law-abiding
citizenry of this country. As showing the attitude and best senti
ment of the southern press The Monitor quotes in full the two
following editorials, one from The Charleston* (S. C.) News and
Courier, the most influential daily in that state; and the. other
from Urn Columbus fCa.) Enquirer-Sun, which holds like jour
nalistic rank in Georgia:
V NO I'OOM Kill SI ( II \N ORDER
The revival of the Ku Klux Klan,
which hu* now invaded South Caro
lina, .. one of the most foolish and
dangerous movements in years. If it
had not made su' h headway it might
have l.'cn passed over as simply a
silly performance but it Is making
headway anil it must be taken seri
ous!’, We have no idea how many
members the organization now has.
..’vj It- chief official wo* quoted the other
day as claiming "(1,000 members north
^ of Mason and Dixon’s line. Until the
past few days no publicity has been
given to anv effort to form branches
of the order in this state but at Spar
tanburg a few nights ngo one of the
organizer:- of the Klan addressed a
meeting which "filled the courthouse
to overflowing." Apparently this
meeting had not been advertised in
any way and the organizer himself
y v e urpri ied, so he claimed, w hen he
- lean ed that the crowd was assembling
because of reports which bad gotten
out that it had been called. The or
ganization of Klaus i." not done at
mites meetings, but is carried out as
quietly rs possible, only picked men
who have accented invitations to be
, come members of the organization be
ing advised as to the time and place
, wl ei i the organizeton in to be made.
*
iarnestly opposing the formation of a
branch of the Ku Klux Klnn in that
city and at the recent meeting in the
courtboure Dr Frank Evans, superin
tendent of schools in Spartanburg,
nskoi the organizer what possible ex
cuse there could be for secrecy in any
order that claimed to be law-abiding
and to stand for law and order. How
> ever, the sympathie of the Spuitan
hurg audience on this occasion were
clearly with the order. Storms of ap
plau-e, according to the Spartanburg
Herald, attended the organizer’s ex
planation of the principles and pur
poses for which the Ku Klux Klan is
lieine revived.
It is easy money to understand the
-entiment which is felt for the old Ku
Klux Klan in many parts of the south
That sentiment was fixed and cement
ed by the persecution to which many
of the best white men in the south
c ere subjected in the early seventies.
The Ku Klux Kian trials held in this
state were a travesty on justice and
the whole course of the Washington
government in thS« matter was a
* tragic mistake. Rut the thing which
is not easv to understand is why any
body should have wished to revive the
Ku Klux Klan now. Only the pros,
ignorance of our past which is so gen
eral could have allowed this move
ment to make propie The Ku Klux
Klarj was organized originally to meet
the desperate condition of affairs,
ft, activities extended over a period
of only four of five years, between
1808 and 1872. It would never have
* In . organized < *ccpt that conditions
in the south were utterly abnormal,
, it’ri the government in thy hands of
unscrupulous invaders from other sec
tion* who wore filling the heads of
the Negroes, newly liberated, with all
-:ort of foolish idea- and stirring
then: up to dangerous practices. The
lender of the government at Wash
ington »vare hitter again: t the white
, people of the south and anxiou to see
them humiliated and punished. Yet
even under these conditions the intel
ligent leadership of the south quickly
vecogniped that such an organization
is the Ku Klux Klan could not be
allowed to continue in existence. Tt
was this fact which led to the sup
pression of the Ku Klux Klan origin
ally and it is past comprehension why
any man who really has the interests
M the south at heart and who has any
knowledge at all of the true history
if tho-ohl Ku Klux Klan can ioin now
in furthering the present Ku Klux
Klan movement.
What brought, the Ku Klux Klan
into disrepute originally was that it
soon got beyond control of its respon
sible leader: and was used as a cloak
for the execution of acts of outrage
by individuals and groups of indi
viduals for which no pot,side excuse
could he offered. That is what is
like!' to happen in the ease of avj
extra-legit! organization which see ns
to arrogate to itself powers which can
rifely he entrusted only to the law
and which operates under the cover of
secrecy Instead of in the broad light
of day. The Florida Times Union, of
Jacksonville, said recently that how
| over laudable the principles of the
| present Ku Klux Klan might he. never
| 1 liidess the fact was that such an or
; anizution cannot Jail to do great
j •>iin bemuse it* existence furnishes
a hield for miscreants.” "No one
; •’■10 den> that lawlessness has in
<• %j since the organization of the
I Ku Klux Klnn," -ays the Jacksonville
op.per which declares that no matter
what the intentions of the organiza
. tion may he nevertheless ns a prae
; fical matter what il does is to provide
“an object of suspicion” the existence
of which i’n a community encourage-'
evil characters to net- which they
would hesitate otherwise to undertake.
There is no question that this move
ment for the revival of the Ku Klux
Klan has done and is doing grave in
jury to the south. The unfortunate
thing is that it is one of those move
ments which it is difficult to combat.
The Spartanburg Journal suggests
that if branches of the Ku Klux Klan
are to be formed in South Carolina,
:-orne action should he taken which
would “require the setting forth in
clear terms the purposes of the or
ganization, the terms of membership,
the ceremonies of initiation, the
; 1 f. '.ili i: li> 'ii i, ' ■ v -11* r and re
quire the filing with the clerk of
court in every county in which a Klan
-hall he formed the names of the
metrbi'i- of the Klan.” If something
of this port is feasible probably the
adoption of the Journal’s suggestion
oijld bring the career of the Klan to
a speedy close. Indeed, if il he pos
sible to provide in Home way that the
nRpie of all persons accepting mem
bership in an order of this kind shall
t o available to the public, that of it
self would in all ikeiihood be all that
was necessary. Is that not practi
cable?— New and Courier, Charles
ton, R. C.
THK SIMIM.K TRUTH OF IT
Already, it iccms, the Knquirer
"n’ I.hi Inn Hr' mi-rnti*ii mod
ern Ku Klux Klan—a sinister recret
order which if permitted to flourish
•od gain asrendanev in the south, Is
going to do more to provoke unn t
and disorder than any movement of
late rears —has drawn the fire of
those individuals and newspapers that
are either in sympathy with the order
or ignorant of its real alms, as well
sg the danver that lurks in its masked
and hooded activities.
So much, then, for the silh' impu
tation that we are what, we are not,
or that we have any motive or pur
pose to serve In attacking this -mister
and mischievous order, other than the
high purpose of serving the best in
terests of the public aa a whole; and
to that end, condemning with all the
force of which we are capable, every
iTio\ nient- particularly a secret and
masked organization—that seeks to
i play on the passions and prejudices of
the people, and disturb their peaceful
I relations, whether white or black, Jew
or Gentile, Catholic or Protestant.
SLOGAN: “The Monitor In Every Home And I’ll Help Put It There”
/
Arid, if there be those who i-annot
comprehend this high and patriotic
motive, then they only excite our pity;
while if there be those who will not
undeistand it, then they merely pro
voke our contempt.
But, in either event, we find some
satisfaction in the fact, that other
leading southern newspapers—happily
removed from, or indifferent to, pro
vincial prejudices and personal and
, political animosities—have been quite
i as outspoken as the Enquirer-Sun in
! their condemnation of this sinister and
dangerous modem Ku Klux Klan
; movement; such, for instance, as—
The Birmingham (Ala.) News,
which says: “However laudable its
aims, the verdict is unanimous that
there is no place in present day Amer
ica for the ‘invisible empire’ of the
reconstruction period. * * * The move
ment as outlined by its promoters re
ceives neither welcome nor encourage
ment in editorial column .” And—
The Lynchburg (Va.) News, which
adds: “It is the inference that the
government stands in need of a na
tional secret order or society in order
to enable it to function efficiently,
that is attacked by most writers: * * *
It's name is freighted with sinister
i men nine, and therefore, for the sake
! of race tranquility, it should not be
! revived,” And also—
The Knoxville (Teirn.) Sentinel,
I which regards as “foolishness” this
; i a Ik of “reviving the ghostly and
j grisly white-sheeted phantoms of the
: past.” And, again—
The Savannah (Ga.) Press, which
i t'ltiB, that “to try to organize a mys
i (i rious hod of night-rider.; and
| hooded sleuths now, in the name of an
.. ■ k" ‘‘hat fh in i.-i ei! once
■ when there was a genuine need for it,
! i to lake advantage of the people.’’!
And still another Georgia paper
The Coidele Dispatch, vhirh i« em
phatically of the opinion that the
j “-acred memories”' of the Ku Kux
Klan of the .-ixties is “being defiled”
in the use of its name by the present
organization, which it correctly says,
“is only a secret order with a far dif
ferent aspiration from that which pre
vailed during the reconstruction
period.” And this, *oo, from the al
ways rtno and sound Dalton (Ga.)
Citizen, which ays: “We can re no
'ood that a Ku Klux Klan can do in
thi country, even if it is fraternal in:
it« operation. The old Ku Klux Klan
served a good purpose in its day, but
that day for such an organization Vs
no longer here. It suggests night rid
ing and night riding suggests lawless
ness. And the Lord knows we have
enough of the latter without doing
anything to stimulate it.”
And, then, to step again across state
lines, into Florida—we have already
noted from representative newspa
per of Alabama, Tennessee and Vir
ginia—we find the Jacksonville Times- j
T'ninn saying: "No one can deny tha*
lawlessness has increased since the or-1
ganization of the order. The white
men of the south are in control of af
fairs, and no one opposes; it is abso
lutely senseless to reayvaken the pas
sions that have been buried and for- j
gotten; * * * nothing worse was evei j
done for the south than was done when ,
this order yy ith the old name and the;
old signs was rcestabi-bed without:
the existence of any condition.- to jus-,
try it.”
It will be noted that the Enquirer-j
Sun has been careful not to qunie
from “ceitain northern newspapers, j
that know little and suspect a lot
abou the south and its people”—as the1
Americus Times Recorder is pleased
to designate uch national journals as
the New York Times, New York Her
ald, Neyv York Tribune, others, whose
views and whose scry ice.- are national,
not sectional—but only newspaper oC
the south, that do know something J
about the south, and knoyying, dare,
1-aise their voices, at all times, in de
fense of its highest traditions and in- ’
terests. — Columbus (Ga.) Enquirer- j
Sun.
LUCIAN B. WATKINS, POET,
ANSWERS FINAL SUMMONS
BALTIMORE, Md., Feb. 24.—Ser
geant Lucian ii. Watkins, the well
known poet, died at the hospital at
Fort McHenr y, Maryland, on Tuesday,
February 1. The funeral services were
held at Christ Institution, 704 Ensor
street, Baltimore, Md., on Friday af
ternoon, February 4. The interment
was in the National cemetery, at Lou
don park. Jtev. John B. Watkins of j
04!) Stirling street, Baltimore, was a
brother of the deceased. A father and
other relatives survive him.
BOSTON, Mass., Feb. 24.—Presi-1
dent Andy Lawson of the Continental
Baseball association announces that j
the Boston franchise of the league has
been awarded to George F. Day and
Lincoln G. Pope. They would have a
Negro team to represent this city, he
said.
The Knoxville Giants, playing at
liroklyn, will be the second Negro
club.
Entitled to Full Privileges of Citizenship
[_frames _ __i
ENTITLED TO PRIVILEGES OE CITIZENSHIP
"The majority of Omaha’s Negro citizens are. self-respecting, law-abiding
and progressive and arc contributing substantially to the upbuilding of the
community," Epitome of Editorial in Omaha Daily Bee.
ROMAN CATHOLIC SEMIN ARY
REJECTS COLORED STl DENT
Alleged That Notre Dame Officials
Drew Color Line on Pupil When
Racial Identic Wan Discovered.
KANKAKEE, III., Feb. 17,—Notre
Dame Academy at Bourbon nais. a
Catholic institution for girls, refused
to i cc ive as. a (Auden; Mir * Yvonne
Irene Payne, 15-year-old daughter of
Mr. and Mrs. George *H. Payne, 4329
PraiHe avenue, Chicago, according to
the girl's statement, who returned to
her home late Sunday nil'llt, February
6. She had been taken to the institu
tion by her mother and received cor
dially by the attendant
Girl Is Reji ted
believing that her daughter would
be given every care and attention,
Mrs. Payne returned to Chicago on
the next train. The Catholic sister,
in charge of the academy called the
girl in for a conference and ques-,
tinned her regarding her nationality,
it is said. Failing to prove that she
was of "pure French extraction,” Miss
Payne was told that she could not re
main. .
Sent Home \lone
Without notifying the girl' par
ents, authorities called a taxicab, took
SI from her tuition fee to pay the
fare, and sent her, minus an escort,
to the railroad station three miles
away. Mis Payne is a graduate of
St. James’ Catholic school. Twenty
ninth and Wabash avenue, Chicago.
Authorities there recommended the
academy at Ilourbonnais in order that
the young girl might continue her
studies. It is claimed that the regis
trar at No We Dame had accepted $10
as pail payment on tuition from the
girl’s parents in December. It is not
known what action will he taken
against the school.
ROOTS OF STATE ARE
STRUCK BY KU KLUX
Rabbi Frederick Cohn of Temple Israel Declares Principles for
Which Dark-Lantern Institution Stands Are Bolshevistic—Ex
coriates it as an Infamous Organization St liking at the Funda
mental Principles for Which American Government Stands
“WOULD SUPPLANT ORDER WITH RULE OF MOD”
"nPHK Ku Klux Klan is an infamous
A organization striking at the
fundamental principles for which the
American government stands,” de
clared Itabbi Frederick Cohn in a
hitter attack upon the Klan at Temple
I r.T-l Fiidtn night.
“The Ku Klux Klan claims to be I
100 per cent American," he said, “with
its own definition of what constitutes
an American. It says it is anti-bol
shdvistic. Yet what could be more bol
shevistic than to attempt to take into
its own hand.- the government to
which it is Self-appointed, to supplant
duly constituted authorities and fn
.titute the justice of the mob? We
fill know what a terrible thing mob
rule is through our own experience.
“It claims to act in the govern
ment’s place, inferring that thp gov
ernment i's unable to act for itself, or
if possibly the government does not
suit it, it will lie a sort of super
government. It argues, that if the
radicals can have a secret organiza
tion to destroy the government, it can
have a secret organization to pro
tect it.
“After conjuring up every other
bugaboo it would scale the world by
claiming that a sinister attempt is la>
ing made by the colored races to con
trol the world with the distardly in
timation that this is being done undei
.Semitic leadership. The finest com
pliment the Ku Klux Klan could pay
the Jew it did when it refused him
membership in its organization.
“It claims to be American. It is
anti-American and strikes at the fun
damentals of our government, that all
men are equal before the law, with
out regard for race, color or creed. Its
desire is to root out all others who
do not in its fanatic mind constitute
true white and true Americans, and it
would arbitrarily define what consti
tutes time whites and true Americans.
“It is rumored that the local agent
of the department of justice is sym
pathetic toward thi movement, as
well as municipal and state author
ities. I cannot believe that anything
so anti-American can receive the sane- j
tion of the authorities. I trust that
if an attempt is made to organize the
Ku Klux Klan, the authorities will rise
up and do everything in their powei
v> prevent it, and if they are not
powerful enough, that the federal au
thorities will intervene as President
Grant did, and nip it in the hud.”
Rabbi Cohn traced the history of the
organization briefly, saying that it
was organized on January 27, 1808, in
the hills of Tennessee following the
civil war for the avowed purpose of
“maintaining white supremacy in the
soutli and protecting womanhood.”
“Whatever seeming justification
there may have been following the
war, it soon degenerated and became
perverted,” be said. “The better ele
ments left it and the wild, restless
class kept it up. It not only terror
ized the Negroes, hut terrorized the
white, making property and lives in
secure and committing revolting
i i imes. Anyone whom it hail a griev
ance against, or thought it had a
grievance, was driven out of Ins home.
The local legislatures were unable to
cope with it, and in March, 1871, Presi
dent Grant called upon congress to
take action against the organization
and the land and naval forces of the
country were placed at the disposal of
the government to combat it.
“It gradually faded away and was
supposed to have died out. And now,
some fifty years Inter, in these
troubled times, it is being revived, this
‘invisible empire,’ stamped out by’our
government. It still claims to main
tain white supremacy, not only
against the Negro race but all colored
races.
“We want no terrorism in America.
We want law and order. This is the
standpoint of the Jews as well as
every real American citizen. This Ku
Klux Klan should be denounced and
I any attempt of this kind discouraged.”
CONSTRUCTIVE ENTERPRISES
Commendable Activity Among Our People in Omaha Along Busi
ness Lines—Last Few Years Have Witnessed Marked Prog
ress in Adventuring Into the Commercial World—Solid Foun
dations Have Been Io.id Upon Which Great Structures Will
be Erected
SOUTHERN IMMIGRANTS BUSINESS BOOSTERS
_ ^ ~ ' '• * -r
Newcomers Into Community Largely Responsible for Arousing
Commercial Spirit Among Older Residents Who Seemed Blind
to Business Opportunities Lying at Their Door—Local Ven
tures Should be Loyally Supported—Personal Likes or Dis
likes Should Play No Part in Policy of Patronage
THE last few years has witnessed
a remarkable advance along busi
ness lines among our people in sev
eral northern cities. Omaha has
caught this commercial spirit. It has
been intensified by the coming into
this community of a large number of
enterprising member;-; of our race from
the -outh. The Monitor is quite proud
of the fact that it was largely instru
mental in hringing many of these de
sirable citizens here. The story of our
part in this work will be told at some
subsequent time. Just now we are in
terested in pointing out the fact that
the southern immigrants' are largely
responsible for the commendable busi
ness activity and enterprise which is
found among our people in this com
munity. Here and there an old resi
lient had the temerity to venture into
the business world, hut they were few.
The majority of the old residents were
bb'nd to the business opportunities
which were to he found at their floor.
The newcomers came. They opened
a grocery store here, a furniture
-tore there, a tailor shop somewhere
eh*' and a shoe repairing establish
ment over there. This caused the old
residents to sit up and take notice.
A few more of these became bold
enough to launch some little business
venture. But an investigation shows
that a vast majority of the people in
business in Omaha are more recent
comers from the southland. This sig
nificant fact furnishes food for
thought.
It is exceedingly doubtful if readers
of The Monitor have any adequate
idea of the number of our people who
are in business here. It would he quite
a revelation to them to start, let us
say, at about Fourteenth anil Douglas
••nd walk north on Fourteenth to
Dodge, west on Dodge to Sixteenth,
north on Sixteenth to Cuming, west
on Cuming to Twenty-fourth, north on
Twenty-fourth to Lake and west on
Lake to Twentv-eighth. In such a
'ouraev one would pass or lie within
haling distance of about 100 business
establishments—good, bail and indif
ferent—conducted by members of our
race. These enterprises run the gamut
from shoe-shining parlors, represent
in'- the investment of a few dollars
to manufacturing and mercantile es
tsldichments representing investments
of thousands of dollars.
Grouped around Fourteenth and
Dodge are to he found the Peoples
Drug store, elegantly appointed and
well stocked, representing capital run
ning well up into the thousands; the
Monarch Pool and Billiard Parlors in
which also several thousand dollars
has been invested; the Monarch Cafe
\vl,>h also represents a substantial in
vestment; the Elite Pool Hall and
Barber Shop, the Lincoln lunch room,
a shining parlor, the Es-tee-dee bar
ber shop and Simmons tailor shop, as
well as other small establishments.
Above the Peoples drug store are the
elegantly appointed suite of offices oc
cupied by Dr. Jesse FI. Hutten, who
is part owner in the drug store, which
lias been in operation for several
years; and Drs. Singleton & Singleton,
dentists.
Before starting north the investi
gator ought to stop at Thirteenth and
Farnam streets, over Pope’s drug
store, where he would be pleased with
the elegant suite of offices occupied by
Dr. W. W. Peebles, dentist, Dr. L. E.
Britt, physician and surgeon, and
Amos P. Scruggs, attorney.
The Monitor mentions these profes
sional men in passing, although the
purpose of this article is to call at
tention to some of the business enter
prises particularly. Later The Monitoi
hopes to publish an interesting article
on cur professional men.
Leaving Fourteenth and Dodge, the
next point of interest is the Kaffir
block at Sixteenth and Cuming streets,
which consists of a three-story mod
ern brick building and frame annex;
the home of the Kaffir Chemical Lab
oratories, a corporation with an au
thorized capitalization of $500,000,
manufacturers of Dentlo, an anti
pyrrhoea toothpaste which is winning
a national reputation; Kaffir Kream
and various other preparations. In
this building are the offices of The
Monitor Publishing Company; Jamer
A. Clarke, real estate and insurance
Dr. K. C. Riddle, physician and sur
goon; the Waiters’ Protective and Em
ployment agency, and the cigar stand
' oi Jesse Carroll,
Going west on Cuming street to
Twenty-fourth one runs into several
other business establishments. Of
these and othei-s which virtually line
Twenty-fourth street to Lake we shall
peak in a subsequent article.
The two largest cooperative enter
prises are the Co-Operative Workers
of America, a corporation which has
opened a first-class grocery and meat
market on Twenty-fourth near Sewa.d
and the Kaffir Chemical Laboratories
to which we have already leferred.
T he Monitor desires to point out in
closing this its first article on con
structive enterprises, which will be
continued next week, that all worthy
basilic.-.:- ventures, however large or
small tiii .i may be should have the
loyal support of all our people and
that those who stand for leadership
in the community should so advise
those over whom they have influence.
Like or dislike for individuals who
may be identified with these construc
tive ventures is no excuse for with
! ho'ding our patronage or for doing
our share in helping to make them a
success.
MAY SECURE SEAT
IN FRENCH SENATE
Former I,mi "shoreman Now a Man of
Wealth Opposed by Henry Beren
ice. Noled W riter, Stands Excellent
Chance of Election
I’AKIS. Feb. 24-—One of the most
remarkable romances of the war, in
which the central figure is a Negro
ina see a sequel in the French senate.
■Adeodat Dubrouilhe, black and bom
at Gaudalupe. arrived at Marseilles in
19F! with 50 francs in his pocket and
went to work as a longshoreman.
When the war began he invested his
savings in a small stock of rum, a
few weeks before the price of that
liquor shot up. Selling out his fiist
stock he bought more, moved to Paris
and within three years became the
largest dealer in rum in France.
In 1917 he signed an enormous con
tract with t he French government
whereby lie supplied practically all
the rum served to the soldiers in the
trenches and used in the hospitals.
During the grip epidemic of 1918 he
is said to have made five million dol
lars profit.-. Buying himself a coun
try mansion near Paris he married a
French woman, and was marie mayor
of his community in token o is large
benevolence.
In November, 1920, he was prose
cuted by the government for falsely
declaring his excess war profits undei
the new tax law. The case is still
pending.
Meanwhile, he has announced him
self candidate for the exclusive
French senate for the district of Gaud
alupe, in opposition to Senator Henry
Berenger, the famous writer, who is
chairman of the senate commission
on foreign affairs.
Hi supporters allege his election is
almost certain, since a large propor
tion of the voters in'Guadalupe are
enfranchised blacks. If this happens
he will be the first Negro to take a
seat in any European government.
A Word to Subscribers
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THE MONITOR