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About The monitor. (Omaha, Neb.) 1915-1928 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 21, 1924)
| THE MONTTOR I A WEEKLY NEWSPAPER DEVOTED PRIMARILY* TO THE INTERESTS OF COLORED AMERICANS___ PUBLISHED EVERY FTIIDAY AT OMAHA. NEBRASKA, BY' THE MONITOR PUBLISHING COMPANY _ Entered as Second-Class Mail Matter July 2, 1915, at the Postoffice at _Omaha, Nebraska, under the Act of March 3, 1579._ _ fT5-E"REV. JOHN ALbFrT WILLIAMS---- —Edjt°r W. W. MOSELY, Lincoln. Neb--Associate Editor LUCINDA W. WILLIAMS-- — Business Manager SUBSCRIPTION RATES. *2 00 A YEAR; $1.25 6 MONTHS; 75c 3 MONTHS Advertising Rates Furnished Upon Application Address, The Monitor, Postoffice Box 1204, Omaha, Neb. Telephone WEbster 4243 ;; ARTICLE XIV, CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES «► y 1! Citizenship Rights Not to Be Abridged 1. All persons bom or naturalized in the United States, •}• II and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the X ;; United States and of the State wherein they reside. No < • state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the £ 1! privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor ;; shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or prop- X 1 > erty without due process of law, nor deny to any person j* ! I within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws. ^ OUR BIG JOB 'J’HE Negro in the United States of America and in almost every community in America has a mighty big job on his hands. If he were not worthy of this big job or capable of doing it he would never have been given it. His job is this: To work out his civic, economic and political salvation in the face of an increas ingly hostile sentiment and environ ment. Be the cause whatever it may the fact remains that the job before us is not growing less arduous; but it is our job and we’ve got to tackle it with a will and with a smile. Nor is our casg unique. Most of us think so, but it is not. Progress upward and onward has always been marked by struggle and the overcoming of obstacles. Prejudice has striven to thwart the advance of every forward looking group in humanity’s march towards a larger freedom. Repression of self-expression, self determination upon the part of the minor or under group, race or nation has been considered the prerogative of the more privileged. And still this repression has proven futile. And so it has been and will continue to be in our case. If we are true, recognize our responsibility and do our work well nothing can prevent our coming into our own. The morning light is breaking. It calls to work. Our job is before us. Let us tackle it not with a whine, but with a will and smile and w'e will grow strong in do ing it. THANKSGIVING DAY gEFORE our next issue Thanks giving Day will have come. II is, therefore, not unfitting that we anticipate a little to call attention to the purpose of this national holiday which has such a warm place in the hearts of the American people. The day is observed for officially calling the people of the nation to the duty of returning public thanks to Al mighty God for the blessings vouch cafed this nation and people. And surely there is none, no matter what sorrow’s and reverses may have come to him, who cannot find some reason for sincere thanksgiving. The first part of the day should be given to public worship in one’s accustomed place of worship, for to overlook this is to neglect its most important duty, and then the other portion of the day should be devoted to such recreation and feasting as may be fitting. And surely our day will be happily spent if we share our good things with others, who may be absent from home or have no home of their own. Make someone happy and you will spend the best and happiest Thanksgiving Day you have ever had. MISSOURI AGAIN ELECTS jyjissouRi is one of the states which has elected a member of our race to the state legislature. Walthall Moore, who was defeated two years ago, has been returned this THE NEGRO’S CONTRIBUTION NOT NEGLIGIBLE f t i w 4 I A moment’s thought will easily convince open-minded 2 3« persons that the contribution of the Negro to American 2 < • nationality as slave, freedman and citizen was far from < • negligible. ^Jo element of American life has so subtly and ij! ;; yet clearly Woven itself into warp and woof of our thinking Z 3 3 an<l acting as the American Negro. He came with the first | J; explorers and helped in exploration. His labor was from J ; the first the foundation of the American prosperity and 3 3 the cause of the rapid growth of the new world in social and ♦£ ; ; economic importance. Modern democracy rests not simply ; ; on the striving white men in Europe and America but also 2 ; ; on the persistent struggle of the black men in America for jr ; two centuries. The military defense of, this land has de- | ; pended upon Negro soldiers from the time of the Colonial j ; wars down to the struggle of the World War. Not only does j 3 the Negro appear, reappear and persist in American litera- | 3 ture. but a Negro American literature has arisen of deep significance, and Negro folk lore and music are among ,the 3 choicest heritages of this land. Finally the Negro has played 3 a peculiar spiritual role in America as a sort of living, ; - breathing test of our ideals and an example of the faith, « • hope and tolerance of our religion—Du Bois, **The Gift of 3 3 Black Ftfk.M \ nmitimmuintiiimnitiinnnnummm'\\ s I year. He made good in the house when he was there before and will maintain his honorable record again. The elections this year have shown many significant results. WHEN DO WE GET ITT WHEN are we going to get that much-needed municipal playJ ground on North Twenty-first street? The Men’s Sendee League and other agencies were busy and successful in securing favorable action by the city commissioners but up to the present there are no signs of fulfilment of the promise. What’s the trouble? When is our wideawake park commissioner going to begin to move things? The play ground has long been needed. Speed up, Joe. AND THAT REMINDS US (^PEAKING of the municipal play ground reminds us that there are a good many other improvements needed in the North end of the city which all classes of citizens should go after in dead earnest. More street lights and better paved streets can be se | cured if we go after them right. JUDGE GEORGE’S VICTORY _ The victory of Judge George, sig nificant as it is, is yet not so signifi cant as the way it has been received. It is true that Mr. George’s election I is due partially to the republican landslide. But it is also true that Mr. George was supported loyally by a large constituency of Caucasians who were fair enough to feel -that ir return for the support of colored vot crs they should give their support tc them. Still up and above even this good augury is the friendly, even kindly way in which the city over whose judicial affairs he must help preside has accepted him. Lawyers have been unstinted in their praise. Jurists have voiced welcome. And the newspapers have been as they should have been— fair. After all, it is upon the attitude of the newspapers that much of your public sentiment depends. And Judge George and people of rtilor are to be congratulated upon having had so sig nal an event as the election of a Judge received with such an attitude of friendliness. The Tribune particularly comes in for a full measure of appreciation. The News, the American and the Examiner deserve thanks. It is some thing new In journalism as regards the relationship of the races. May Judge George's election be the begin ning of a city-wide feeling of better will and understanding. — Chicago Whip. Mrs. Josephine Smith, mother of Mrs. John A. Smith, 2511 North Twenty-second street, after a pleas ant visit here left for Chicago Mon day morning, whence she will subse quently return to her home in Atlan ta, Ga. Thanksgiving Reveries and Queries asscsi ... Thanksgiving is tlie first of Ameri- j ca’s own holidays. As the earliest to I 1 be set apart its observance runs through the whole history of the na tion. Like most other distinctive fea tures of our American order of life it 1 sprang up out of the local soil. It was at first and for many years colonial. It became national only as its ob servance spread from town to t^wn, j from colony to colony, from state to state. While It has a historical Interest ail : its own, Thanksgiving Is Identified with no single event, no special occa sion, no definite date In onr history. It recalls no single act, as does "In dependence day.” It commemorates the name and service of no man, as do the birthdays of Washington and Lin coln. It Is not shared with other peo ples as are Christmas and New Years. Day Identified With All. The American Thanksgiving day Is identified with the soli we till, for whose harvest we give thanks. It is, therefore, identified with the toll and the toilers whose tillage and produc tive labor, inventive skill, constructive and distributive enterprise feed, clothe, shelter and develop our own people and many of their kith and kin in the old fatherlands across the seas. "Thanksgiving” Is another and greater Labor day. it recalls and calls forth all kinds of effort by all classes of peo ple. It merges the common product of the common toil, for the national pos session of which the President and governors of the whole people caH upon them to tnank their Father Creator and the good providence of the Oreat Provider. In thus remind ing ns that onr harvests are the joint product of Mother Nature, the chil dren of men and Father Ood, Thanks giving is first of all the American peo ple’s expression of grateful apprecia 1 tion for their “country"—its land nnd waters, its fertility and beauty; for our great out-of-doors nature. Its re sponse to human effort, to man’s dis covery and his working with natural law. Thanksgiving is. therefore, na ture’s harvest-name holiday. Celebrate* Entire Year. And yet it celebrates the full round j year. While held after harvest, Thanksgiving does not let us forget the seed and sowing of the springtime, the plowing nnd weeding of the sum mer as vital to the atll-inclusive process of reaping. Moreover, and above all, In this linking soil and skies, eartn and the heavens. It is the Day of Remem brance of the Father of us all, as the great giver not only hut as the greatest i worker, with whom we may work ajid i who works with all for the common i good. “My father worketh hitherto ; and I work.” said the greatest of the ions of Ood nnd the children of men. These reveries awaken queries, also, Iraham Taylor declares, in the Chi cago Daily News. They spring from tha alncerest recognition and most ap preciative asknowledgment that the American people are and always have been, a composite race, and that adopt ed citizens from many lands have done very much to make America what It is, Tne early history of the United States Interweaves line, strong strands of English. Scotch, Celtic, French, Spanish and Jewish life, with not few or feeble negro traits, and tolls, and some relics of Indian and old Mexican civilization. The human conquest ami amazing development of this new con tinent cannot be accounted for without crediting ntueh to the toll and many other enrichments of the Latin, Slnvlc nnd southeastern European immi grants. Contributions to our culture In art nnd philosophy and to our culti vation of the land nnd our commerce of the sea come from the older civili zations of China. India and Japan. Founders of Country's Faith. Foundations of America’s faith were laid by pilgrims and cavaliers, Cntho llcs and Protestants, each In Its own way, yet all to the same great end. They are merely listed here as queries raised by our Thanksgiving reveries, their discussion being re served for timely opportunity. Their mere statement, however, makes bold the undoubting faith #nd hope that these, nnd all other problems of Amer ican life, entt all nnd only he solved nnd settled by the spirit inspiring Katherine Lee Rates’ great patriotic hymn thnt breathes the soul of our American Thanksgiving: O, beautiful for spacious skies, For amber waves of grain. For purple mountain majesties Above the fruited plain. America, America. God send His grace on thee, And crown thy good with brother hood From sea to shining sea. O, beautiful for heroes proved Tn liberating strife. Who more than self their country loved And mercy more than life America, America. May God thy gold refine, ’Till all success be nobleness And every grain divine Holiday of the Home. Tnonksgivlng is a day sacred to the home. More of it Is spent at home OCCASIONS FOR THANKSGIVING THAT we have bread enough and to spare for the hungry of the earth. That our ancient order of obedience and orderly change stands fast. For the hope of better social under standing and just dealings. That our great opportunities of world wide helpfulness remain. That the idea of brotherhood among the nations has taken root. For the true men and women who are giving lives of service. For leaders raised up and the oppor tunity of following them. For the open door of knowledge and the desire for truth awake in men. For joys of simple living and the un noticed saints. For work and rejt, the patience that continues, the ideals that soar. For the love of home in all of us. and its satisfaction when it comes. That the world is bigger than we, and the joy of adventure which it brings. —- dnnoTeoatinnnfi't nnd Adn'***'m* than at church, In family reunions than In public assemblies, In serving the needy, the lonely, and the home less than In formal services of wor ship. Its sanctuary Is the thoughtful, thankful heart more than the house of worship. Who that has lived In any of our oldest colonial states, especially In New England, can ever forget, or fall to have a glow of heart at every remembrance <>f the real home Thanks giving day ns observed on the soil from which It sprang? At the very mention of It, what visions reappear, of the long preceding preparations for It at the old family homestead; of the letters flying forth and back between the old folks at home and the scat tered young folks In their new homes, or transient abodes; of the railway station platforms and cars thronged by merry home-bound chlldren-of-an older-growth, and children's children ; of greetings at the threshold of the old farm house or village home, mingling the smiles and laughter of the living with tears or silent, sorrowing, undy ing yearning for “the touch of a van ished hand and tne sound of a voice that Is still"; of the bountifully laden, i beautifully decorated family table, with Atnerlon’s fatted turkey as a “welcome home," Instead of the “fatted calf” of ancient days. National Development. In the truest American homes the Thanksgiving family reunion is all that Robert Burns sang of “The Cot ter’s Saturday Night," and still more for being more Joyous, though no less religious for all that. And there are Americans, not a few, who feel deep down In their hearts for their own country what the Scotch singer sang of his: "From scenes like these old Scotia’s grandeur springs." Out of this population more wonder fully composite than constitutes the citizenship of any other nation, a very distinctive national development has evolved. It is recognized by ourselves and other peoples as distinctively our own. As such, nnd as a distinct contri bution to the world’s possessions and to the heritage of mankind, it Is herfe and now being considered, without any comparison with the characteristics of other nations, as better or worse. This lift-spirit of the American peo ple Is a fact, and a fact that raises these two queries at least: Is this American life or spirit distinct and valuable enough to be conserved, de veloped and perpetuated? If so, how can It maintain Its distinct identity and value, enriched by the accessions from abroad which are appreciated and welcomed, without being trans formed, diluted. or deteriorated? These are not only fair questions, but are queries that are forcing themselves upon the more or less strained atten tion of our people. ** Thankfulness and Hope Thanksgiving is not, at its best, what anybody says or does, but rather what he feels. And so it is, that all of us, equal members In a free de mocracy, are privileged to draw our inventories together, to total up the credit side of our ledger of life as one united people, and to Join together in a festival of good cheer and hearty thanks for what the past has yielded; to face the future with a mutual hope fulness in what it holds In Store Farm and Ranch. If. A. A. C. P. ACTIVE IN MISSOURI POLITICS (By the Associated Negro Press.) Kansas City, Mo., Nov. 21.—Active participation in the election in this city Tuesday, November 4, by the local branch of the N. A. A. C. P., through questionaries to candidates and rec ommendations on balloting, was one of the features of voting here. A questionary was sent all candi dates on state and county tickets, ask ing their stand on the Ku Klux Klan and upon local issues affecting col ored citizens. The questions and re plies of candidates classified merely as satisfactory, unsatisfactory or fail ed to reply, together with a recom-1 mended ticket was placed on a half page advertisement purchased by the association in the local weekly. Work ers from the branch passed out the association ballots at all porting places. This method of procedure was used effectively in the city campaign last spring by the branch, it is the the ory of the association here that it can spend its money to no better advan tage than by giving wide publicity to the office seekers who will give a square deal if elected. It asks no fav ors of newspapers, buying political space at political rates, as the can didates do. IM1. W. S. ELLINGTON \VEI)S Memphis, Tenn., Nov. 21.—Miss Louretha Ursa Chambers, one of the leading teachers of Tennessee, was united In matrimony to the Rev. W. S. Ellingtoh. pastor of the First Bap tist church, Eeach Nashville, at the residence of Prof, and Mrs. L. E. Brown, 1044 Mississippi avenue. Dr. Ellington is one of the foremost preachers of the race in America. NOTICE TO NON-RESIDENT DEFENDANT To Hurrel Greenway, Non-Residnt Defendant: You are hereby notified that on the 29th day of July, 1924, Marie Green way, as plaintiff, filed a petition in the District Court of Douglas County, Nebraska, against you as defendant, the object and prayer of which are to obtain a divorce from you on the ground of desertion. You are required to answer said pe tition on or before the 22nd day of December, 1924. Marie Greenway, Plaintiff, By W. B. Bryant, 4t -10-14 Her attorney. BOOK CHAT By Mary White Ovington, Chairman, Board of Directors of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. “The Gift of Black Folk.” By Dr. W. E. Burghardt Du Bois. I Published by The Stratford Company. | 234 Boylston St., Boston, 9, Mass, j Price $2.00. By mail $2.15. This volume is published by the Knights of Columbus in its Racial Contribution Series. Its preface is by Dr. Edward F. McSweeny, and contains a short historical sketch of the early settlements in this country and the diverse nations and religions that came here. He deplores the ef fort today to set up caste control in the United States. Then comes Dr. Du Bois’ story of the Negro and his contribution to this conglomerate na tion. Dr. Du Bois in his prescript opens with one of his superb paragraphs: “We who know,” he says, “may not forget but must forever* spread the splendid, sordid truth that out of the most lowly and persecuted of men, Man made America. And that what Man has here begun with all its want and imperfection, with all its mag nificent promise and grotesque fail ure, will some day blossom in the souls of the Lowly.” Then he leaves this height and proceeds to tell us in 300 well massed pages of what the Negro has contributed to the civiliza tion of America. He shows the value of the slaves dull labor, how it made possible the development of the South. And then he shows us what the free man and woman have done in indus try, in the army, in art, literature, music, and last in religion. It is a clearly told, and to many will be a new, story. How many people for instance, know that De Bore, a West Indian Negro, reared in Louisiana, discov ered the process of sugar granula tion, or that the Negro Rillieux in vented a vacuum pan that revolution ized the method of refining sugar? Matzeliger, a New England Negro though born in Butch Guiana, laid the foundation for the success of the United Shoe Machinery Company by inventing a machine for lasting shoes. But most important of all to the Americans of today, old and young, was the Negro caterer, who invented ice cream. Dr. Du Bois does not give us the man’s name, but he assures us that the colored caterers, along with chicken ai la Maryland and Philadel phia terrapin, put this dish upon the table of the New World. The chapter on reconstruction has some of the facts that “The Birth of a Nation” has tried too successfully to root out of our histories. We have set forth some of the reforms ac complished by the reconstruction leg islatures, the establishment of a pub lic school system, the building of penal and charitable institutions and a better system of finance. He quotes from an enemy of the. movement: “Even those who mocked and sneered at the Negro legislatore brought now and then words of praise. It is not all shame, not all burlesque. They have a genuine interest and a genuine earnestness in the business of the as sembly which we are bound to rec ognize and respect. They have an earnest purpose, born of conviction that their conditions are not fully assured, which lends a sort of dig nity to their proceedings. The bar barous animated gargon in which they so often indulge is on occasion seen to be so transparently sincere and weighty in their minds that sym pathy supplants disguest.” They were trying to improve their condi tion but as Dr. Du Bois aptly says: “Unfortunately there was one thing that the white South feared more than Negro dishonesty, ignorance and incompetency, and that was Negro [ honesty, knowledge and efficiency." The book is full of material of use in the many controversies that arise when two people talk the race prob lem. We congratulate the Knights of Columbus on their series, and only hope that we may learn of the other elements in the country in as clear and concise and interesting a volume as this one on the Black Folk. HISTORY FIGURES Ilf GREAT MEAT SHOW AT STOCK EVENT Chicago, 111., Nov. 21.—A compre hensive educational exhibit of meat housed in a special building construct ed in exact duplication of the dwell ing in which the immortal Shakes peare was born, is to he a new and unique feature at the international Live Stock Exposition. This informa-' tion has been made public by the Na tional Live Stock and Meat Board, which is sponsoring the attraction. Finishing touches are now being ap plied to this replica of the house at Stratford-on-Avon, which occupies one of the most prominent sites bn the exposition grounds. The novel idea of reproducing the poet’s home for this occasion is explained by the fact that a portion of the old birthplace was utilized as a meat market. The exhibit building has been christened “The Meat Shop”. PINCH AUCTIONEER TO BID AT SALE New York Bowery Has an Unusual Sale. New York.—A silent auction, where the bidders pinch the auctioneer and where transactions run to as high as $250,000 a day Is one of the most unique markets on the Bowery. It Is here that three-fourths of the unredeemed pledges of pawnbrokers In the large Eastern cities are dis posed of. Nothing Is dealt In but Jew elry, watches, antiques and such valu able articles ns high-class field glasses. Several buildings on the west side of the Bowery, between Hester and Canal streets, house the auction rooms and exchanges. The membership Is exclusive. The personnel seldom varies, except as sons or nephews of the traders succeed to the business as the older men retire or die. Nearly all are wealthy. Sales Are Held Dally. Pawnbrokers bring their unredeemed pledges to the auction rooms where sales are held dally. A pawnbroker hands In for sale, for lnstnnce, a dia mond ring and tells how much he wants for It—confidentially to the auctioneer. The auctioneer passes the ring ffom hand to hand in a circle of speculators about him. He Is seat ed In a chair on an elevation. When the article Is returned, he asks for a hid. The bidders express their ambitions hy pinching the anatomy of the auc tioneer at various points from his ankle to Ills neck. When the bidding opens he Is literally covered with hands. Each hand has Its allotted place. The auctioneer knows, for ex ample, that the hand on his right knee Is that of Morris Hirsch, the hand on the left knee is that of Jacob Kahlno wltz, the band grasping his left elbow Is that of Hyman Cohan, and so on. He feels a certain squeeze repeated In a certain way. That means Morrla Hirsch has offered $200. Pay After Auction. That may be the only squeeze the auctioneer gets on the article on dis play ; or he may get a dozen others. He hands the article to th«r*mnn whose last squeeze Indicated the highest bid. A memorandum Is made and another article offered. No cash Is exchanged and settlements are made at the end of the auction. Sales are made with bewildering speed. When the stock Is disposed of, the buyers troop downstairs to the ground floor exchange rooms and get ready for business. The dealers have little stalls In the main exchange where Jewelry purchas er! visit them. Little time Is wasted In bargaining and business is usually brisk. I New Blues | . j _ | ' | A to Z Blues | | Construction Gang | . | Sung by | % | BUTTERBEANS & SUSIE | X (Omaha Girl known as ♦{• I Susie Edwards) X WE DELIVER y x )t* Mail orders attended to .j. promptly | - | S. LEWIS I j; Phone Web. 2042 I*! X 24th and Parker Streets 4* | ? ■«"»■ « « » »■«"« »HH ■ t Why Not Let Us Do Your SHOE REPAIR WORK Best materia), reasonable prices. ALL WORK GUARANTEED BENJAMIN & THOMAS Phone Web. 5084—1415 No. 24th '% EMERSON’S LAUNDRY \ X The I.aumlry That Suits All •{• X 1301 No. 24th St. Web. 0820 $ I HILL-WILLIAMS DRUG f COMPANY $ FOUNTAIN PF.NS—STATIONERY ? CIGARS and CANDY {f Eastman Kodaks and Supplies j 2402 Cuming Street MW »m»4»»»44»4«4444»»» Advertise in The Monitor! Z H. A. CHILES & CO. 1 X FUNERAL DIRECTORS AND X Y LICENSED EMRALMERS t X Chapel l*hone, Web. 7113 m T ? Rea. Phone, Web. 0349 f y 1839 No. Twenty-fourth St. 4 W“X"X"!">,X"X"iHW“!“XMf,>444444' ♦ *1* | The Hotel Cumings | *♦* 1916 Cuminp Street V ♦♦♦ UNDER NEW MANAGEMENT % ? _ V ♦♦♦ ( + This centrally located hotel is now in chaise of | ♦> D. G. RUSSELL % ❖ If. ❖ ❖ TERMS REASONABLE ♦% ❖ ♦♦♦ i VX*****X*******X**XMX*‘X‘*J‘*J*,t*‘t*‘J**t“t**J**t**J“|* OUR NEW TELEPHONE NO. At. 4—4—4—4 < ILLINOIS URGE LUMP ILLINOIS Furaact LUMP k Very High Grade Coal The Same High Grade JLot and Long Lasting Smaller In Slxe Per Ton QQ Delivered Per Ton <j»rj pJQ Delivered At. 4444 “DEALERS IN 600D COAL" At. 4444 Deliveries to All 1 of Greater Omaha -- .^.. ■ ' • j “The Fire in | j The Flint,, I j | The Great Race Novel of the Day $ $ By I I | WALTER F. WHITE f 1 _ | Ji v Y 4 > • < ► V % A thrilling story depicting race conditions in ths % South. i> < > J J ;; Critical book reviewers pronounce it a master :: piece. :; < :: Should be read by EVERY AMERICAN, Black ? I ;; or White. 2 * : _ - I « ■ ; • t >' $2.50 A COPY I J 4 > - « . ;: For Sale by The Monitor and the Omaha Branch : • V of the N. A. A. C. P. 4 * « » « »