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About The monitor. (Omaha, Neb.) 1915-1928 | View Entire Issue (June 26, 1925)
L,FT,NC :: r I ^ 1-J 17 1\X C\ XT 1 r I ' "D GROWING :: .. :: :: l,ftt°° j_ Jrl Hy IV1 Ui> 1 1 U J\ » » thank Top k NEBRASKA’S WEEKLY NEWSPAPER DEVOTED TO THE INTERESTS OF COLORED AMERICANS " THE REV. JOHN ALBERT WILLIAMS, Editor «.#« a Year—5c a Copy OMAHA, NEBRASKA, FRIDAY, JUNE 26, 1925 Whole Number 521 Vol. X—No. 52 COLORED MAN WINS SCHOLORSHIP PRIZE ORION LABOR WINS DESIRED MEASBRE BY RACE SUPPORT Opposition of Colored Members in ■hais Legislature Withdrawn on Pledge of a Fair Treatment mix WOULD HAVE FAILED Governor Small Confers with Wright Who Demands Modification of Union’s Attitude Towards \ Our Group i By the A. N. P.) Springfield, 111., June 26.—Support from two of the colored members of the state assembly enabled Union labor leaders to put over their anti injunction bill when the measure pu.-sed the house with one vote to spare. As a result, labor chieftains have promised concessions to Negro workmon including- the use . of their influence to lower the bars against colored men which exist in a number of the labor bodies. The bill which prohibits judges from granting injunctions restraining strik er.- from engaging in “peaceful per suasion and peaceful picketing” in labor disputes involving terms or con dition.' of employment has been fought for by the labor circles for year; Observers predict that it will strengthen immeasurably labor unions in the state, while its opponents claim that it spells the death knell for the “open shop” which has been gaining ground steadily of late years. Three times the bill was up. Twice the foar colored members voted sol idly against it on the grounds that union labor was unfair to the colored worker. Governor . Small who was committed to the bill called in Com mitteeman Edward H. Wright, state leader, who told him colored people were opposed to the law and explained their reasons. The governor express ed surprise that any labor union did not admit colored men freely and con ferred with the labor leaders who then introduced a modified measure. Mr. Wright called a conference in the of fices of the state commerce commis sion of which he is a member, and which was attended by Col. Frank L. Smith, representing the governor, Assemblymen William King, S. B. Turner, Warren B. Douglas and Chas. Griffin, John Walker and Victor Ole ander, president and secretary of the State Federation of Labor, Represen tative Soderstrom and others. The labor leaders agreed to fight for the removal of all barriers to colored men. Subsequently twenty-five col-: ored men leaders in those unions which admit men of color called on Mr. Wright to ask him to use his in fluence for the bill on the grounds that such support would encourage union labor which felt that colored men were opposed to it at every turn. The result of the conference was an understanding that the legislators having seen that the matter had j drawn the attention of the entire state, from the governor down, and having shown labor that it no longer could practice injustices without ex pecting retribution on the part of the colored men in power had decided to split their votes on the issue. When the bill came up Warren B. Douglas, in a glowing speech, assailed union labor for its past attitude ami then voted for the passage. Sheadrick B. "Sandbag” Turner opposed it vigor ously and voted against it. Represen tatives King and Griffin divided their vole and the measure passed. It is predicted that the eyes of the colored people of the state will be turned to ward every act of lahor unions in the future in order to see how the effect of thin magnaminity on the part of the colored members of the legis lature is reflected in the attitude of the labor organizations. attending convention Saia Trice of Henderson, Tenn., is * attending the national D. A. V. con vention meeting this week in Omaha. % Mr. Price was a member of the 807th Pioneer regiment and saw service overseas. D. A. V. PARADE la the impressive D. A. V. parade Monday morning, the Roosevelt Post of the American Legion and the La dies’ Auxiliary in automobiles made a most favorable showing. Desdunes band led the division in which the Roosevelt Post was placed. Several colored musicians were also members of the public school drum corps and Father Flannagan Boys band. HIGH MASONS HOLD THIRD ANNUAL SESSION IN GATE CITY OF WEST Representatives of Craft from Three States Transact Business and Enjoy Hospitality of Omaha The third annual convocation of Hawkeye Grand Chapters, Royal Arch Masons, and the third annual con 1 clave of Hawkeye Grand Commandery Knights Templar, convened in Omaha Wednesday, Thursday and Friday of 1 last week, as the guests of Eureka ' Chapter, No. 4, R. A. M. and Ivanhoe ! Commandery, No. 9, K. T. Three states, Iowa, Minnesota and Nebraska were represented. The session, which were all well attended, were held in Masonic hall, Twenty-fourth and Parker streets. Wednesday was occupied with the ‘transaction of routine business and a public reception at night, at which an excellent program of speeches, music and other features was rendered. Nathaniel Hunter was master of cere monies. Among the speakers were H. J. Pinkett, Chas. W. Dickerson, Joe Brown of Des Moines, J. H. Sherwood of St. Paul, Minn., J. W. Taylor, John L. Thompson of Des Moines, la., Ed. Fletcher and M. L. Wilson. Musical numbers were contributed by Mrs. Delores Blackwell, Zion B. Sharp Quartette and the Harmony Four of St. John’s A. M. E. Church. Thursday was occupied with busi ness, including the election of officers of the Grand Chapter; a sight-seeing tour in the afternoon and a special and most impressive memorial service by the Hawkeye Grand Commandery at 8 o’clock. Friday business was completed, the officers of the Grand Commandery were elected and installed and a grand reception was given at night at the Dreamland hall by Zaha Temple No. 52, A. E. A. O. N. M. S. The reports showed the organiza tion in a most prosperous condition, numerically and financially. The vis itors were delighted with the hospital ity shown, the sentiment being unani mous that nothing was left undone to add to the comfort, convenience and pleasure of the guests. The Daugh ters of Isis came in for well-merited praise for the bounteous lunch served daily at the hall. The Grand Chapter elections result ed as follows: William Bell, M. E., Grand High Priest, Waterloo, la.; Ed. Fletcher, R. E. Grand King, Omaha; J. W. South, R. E. Grand Scribe, Keo kuk, la.; C. F. Topson, Rt. E. Grand treasurer, Des Moines, la.; L. H. Low ery, Rt. E. Grand secretary, Cedar Rapids, la.; S. Joe Brown, Rt. E. Grand lecturer, Des Moines, la. The Grand Commandery elected the following officers: C. C. Johnson, Grand Generalissimo, Des Moines, la.; Nat. Hunter, Grand Captain General, Omaha; Win. A. Hilyard, Grand Pre late, St. Paul, Minn.; Geo. I* Pickett, S. Grand Warden, Keokuk, la.; J. H. Hopkins, J. Grand Warden, Waterloo, la.; F. D. Bland, Grand treasurer, Keokuk, la.; J. W. Taylor, Grand sec retary, St. Paul, Minn.; S. Joe Brown, Grand instructor, Des Moines, la. Attorney S. Joe Brown, P. G. com mander, in his report as representa tive of Hawkeye G. Commandery to the International Conference of K. T. for United States and Canada, showed a substantial increase numerically and financially throughout the entire jur isdiction. ASKS NAMES OF REJECTED CIVIL SERVICE MEN Names and other information re garding men who have passed civil service examinations and have failed to be appointed, are asked by James H. Nelson, president of district No. 10 of the National Alliance of Postal Employees. He has Kansas, Colo rado, Iowa, Nebraska, North and South Dakota in his jurisdiction. “This information will be used to try to get the government to adopt the fingerprint method in appointing men,” Mr. Nelson said. “There will be a conference in Washington, July 8th to 11th to protest the present system which discriminates so com pletely against colored applicants. When a colored man is among those on the eligible list of three, he is in variably turned down and a white man appointed. Three such refusals automatically drop him from the eligible list.” Names, addresses, dates of exam inations, grades, education and war record, if any, are asked of applicants who have failed of appointment. Mail your information to John James, local secretary, Omaha, Nebr., Branch of the National Alliance of Postal Employees, in order that we may submit to district president, Mr. James H. Nelson. CONG. HAMILTON FISH REPLIES TO BOLLARD New York, June 26.—Congressman ’ Hamilton Fish of New York, who commanded colored soldiers in France, has written a vigorous letter defend j ing colored soldiers from the imputa tion of cowardice and unfitness cast by General Robert Lee Bullard in his article in the Herald-Tribune. Mr. Fish’s letter, published in the Herald Tribune, June 12th, is as follows: "I have read with amazement the story of the 92nd Negro Division by General Robert Lee Bullard, and as much as I dislike to differ with such an eminent American general, I would be derelict in my duty towards those I Negro soldiers in the old Fifteenth New York who paid the supreme sacrifice, if I did not hasten to deny the glittering generalities and asper i ions heaped against the Negro as a fighting man. “General Robert Lee Bullard’s ar ticle shows a degree of animus against the colored soldier which is unusual from an army officer who should be familiar with deeds of heroism per formed by Negro soldiers in all our wars—the 64th Massachusetts Infan try, colored, under the gallant Col. Shaw in the Civil War, the 9th Caval i v, colored, in Cuba, which rushed to the support of the Rough Riders when i the fighting was hotest, and the 24th and 26th Infantry along the border and in the Phillipines. "I do not know whether General Bullard comes from the far South as I his name indicates, but I do know I that his indictment of the Negro sol : diers to be absolutely unfair and un ; warranted. I do not question the facts presented by General Bullard but differ utterly as to the conclu sions. It seems to me that the re sponsibility for the ‘profound dis couragement’ in the 92nd Division rests largely on General Bullard’s shoulders as the provisional 93rd Div ision (colored) fought splendidly and had exceedingly heavy casualties. “General Bullard says of the 92nd Division, ‘the General who commands them can’t make them fight,’ and again, ‘its Division Commanding Gen eral is. not a military man.’ If this particular General was not up to his job why did not General Bullard re place him ? Why is it that the four colored American Infantry Regiments attached to the French Army fought valiantly and that three of these regi ments had their flags decorated with the Croix de Guerre for gallantry on the field of battle? No one questions the fighting abilities of the Americ an Negro regiments loaned to the French; their heroic achievements speak for themselves. “The total casualties of these four infantry regiments which had a battle strength of approximately 10,000, or 2,600 to a regiment, were 457 killed and 3,468 wounded, or 40 per cent of j Former Commander of 369th Infantry Replies to Slander of General Robert Lee Btillard of Alabama N. A. A. C. P. Press Service.) I _ the effectives. With the exception of the First and Second Divisions, there were not many American divi sions which had a higher percentage of killed and wounded. These four regiments received over 400 individual decorations for extraordinary heroism under fire, officially proving the gal lant conduct of Negro troops in mod ern warfare. “They endured all the hardships without a murmur, slept in the cold | and rain and faced death from high explosives, shrapnel, gas and machine guns with the same fortitude, loyalty i and courage as the other American ; divisions. “The Negro troops far from being ‘discouraged’ were known to the French as ‘les Joyeux’ or the ‘Happy Ones’ as they carried out orders with out grumbling, and made the best of the conditions with which they had to contend. . “The answer is that the 92nd Divi sion (Negro) in General Bullard’s army never had a fair chance from the beginning. The men were lack ing in training and the junior officers I were inexperienced and not accustom ' ed to command. Many of the soldiers were recruits who had never seen a rifle in their lives, drafted from the cotton and corn fields less than two months before being ordred to parti cipate in a general offensive. Some of the soldiers actually went into bat tle without ever having fired a rifle. Unlike other divisions, they had hard ly any experience in quiet sectors but owing to the need for all available troops were rushed into the Septem ber offensive. “General Bullard goes on to say that ‘the Negro it seems cannot stand bombardment’. Such a statement is simply silly and shows that General Bullard does not know what he is talking about. It am quite sure that neither General Mangin nor General Gouraud of the French army both of whom commanded colored French troops ever had any such idea. Gen eral Mangin who had as much experi ence with colored soldiers as any gen eral in the World War, was most out spoken in his praise and maintained that if properly trained and led, they were equal to the best troops in any army in the world for bravery and fighting qualities. “Those white officers who have served with colored troops know that if Negro soldiers are given a fair chance, carefully trained and led by experienced officers, that they make first-class fighting men. If General I Bullard desires to question the effi ! ciency and advisability of using col I ored officers, let him say so, but noi indict the NegTo soldier of cowardice i which is a gross calumny against fear less soldiers who were ready and will ! ing to lay down their lives for theii country, and who if well led will gc 1 as far as any general or any white officer will lead them. “General Bullard further says ‘the I politics of our country had forced the j formation of this Negro division con i trary to experience.’ Contrary to whal experience and to whose experience! I Since when did the United States evei I have divisions containing 27,000 mer before white or black ? No wonder the 92nd Division never had a chance ii ; that w'as the attitude of ranking gen ! erals in our army. Fortunately we 1 have much better regular army au thority than General Bullard on the conduct of American Negro troops in war. Col. James A. Moss, a graduate of West Point who served eighteen ! years with colored troops and com manded the 372th Infantry in France, I says ‘if properly trained and instruct ed the colored man makes as good a 1 soldier as the world has ever seen. The history of the Negro in all of J our wars including our Indian cam paigns show this. He is by nature of a happy disposition, he is respons ive and tractable, he is very amenable to discipline, he has faith and con j fidence in his leader, he possesses physical courage all of which are valu able military assets.’ “General Pershing says ‘I cannot | commend too highly the spirit shown 1 among the colored combat troops who exhibit fine capacity for quick train ing and eagerness for the most dan ! gerous work.’ “According to General Bullard’s own statement the 92nd Diviision was under his command only a few weeks, j yet he undertakes to condemn all Ne gro soldiers of cowardice and ineffi ciency because of the mishandling of the division under his command. The fact is that they were only called on to attack on November 10th and 11th along with the other units of the Second Army and accomplished about as much as any other division in that I attack, one of the colored battalions being decorated for coming to the aid of some white troops which had got ten into a tight place. If the attack of the Second Army failed the blame should be placed elsewhere than in | this division when the First Army succeeded in its attack in September, j 1918, there might have been some | reason to reproach the colored recruits but in the November offensive before Metz the blame rests largely on poor | leadership as there was plenty of | time to reorganize the entire outfit if it were deemed necessary. “In my judgment this unwarranted uiimiimiiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiMiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiMiliiiiiiiiiMiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii: | Lift Every Voice and Sing 1 National Hymn for the Colored People of America E 1 by | = Janies Weldon Johnson, Secretary N. A. A. C. P. I Lift every voice and sing E Till earth and Heaven ring, = Shout with the harmonies of liberty. E Let our rejoicing rise E Higb as the listening skies, = l^et it resound loud as the rolling seas; E Sing a song full of faith that the dark past has taught us; E Sing a song full of hope which the present has brought us; E Facing the rising sun = E Of our new day begun, E Let us march on till victory is won. = Stony the way we trod, = E Bitter the chastening rod E Felt in the days when hope died; = Yet with a steady beat E = Have not our weary feet = E Come to the place for which our fathers sighed? = We have come over a way that with tears has been watered, E E We have come treading our path thru the blood of the E slaughtered, E E Out from the gloomy past E E Till now we stand at last E ~ Where the white gleam of our bright star is cast. E E God of our weary years, E E God of our silent tdars, = ~ Thou Who hast brought us thus far on our way, E E Thou Who hast by Thy might = E Led us into the light, E E Keep us forever in the path, we pray; E | Lest our feet stray from the places, our God, where we met ■ Thee, i Lest our hearts, drunk with the wine of the world, we forget I Thee, Shadowed beneath Thy hand May we forever stand True to our God, true to our native land. HiiiimiiiiitimMiiiiiiiiiiimmiiiHiiiiimmiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimimmiiiiMiiiiiiHiimiiiiiiimmiiiiiiiiiiiimiiiiiiiiHiimiiiiiMiiiiiiiiiir EASTERN DELEGATES TO DENVER CONFERENCE PASS THROUGH OMAHA Citizens Meet Visitors at Station— Stop Too Short for Proposed Auto Sight Seeing Ride A delegation of forty persons from 1 New York and other eastern cities, en route to the Sixteenth Annual Con ■ ference of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored Peo ple, now in session in Denver, arrived i in Omaha Tuesday afternoon at 3:50 ! over the Burlington, remaining here thirty-five minutes. They were met by representatives of the local branch of the N. A. A. C. P., and several citizens, who had most generously I volunteered the use of their cars for a brief sight-seeing trip. The time, however, was deemed too short for the trip. The visitors highly appreciated i the hospitality shown. Through the thoughtfulness of R. L. Williams, Commissioner of the Col ored Commercial Club, the visitors were supplied with souvenirs of Oma ha, consisting of folders showing our sky line, facts about Omaha, the Col ored Business Guide and Directory, and buttons and badges bearing the words “Omaha Next”. Attorney John Adams' Harold Adams and Dr. Mc Millan assisted Mr. Williams in the distribution of the souvenirs. Among the Omaha citizens who met the delegates were, Dr. and Mrs. D. W. Gooden, Drs. Britt, Wesley Jones, Hill, Edwards, Foster and McMillan; the Rev. and Mrs. Frederick Divers; Rev. Z. C. McGee; Rev. and Mrs. John Albert Williams, Henry W. Black, Rev. J. A. Harris, Mrs. W. W. Peebles, Mesdames Senora M. Wilkin son, T. P. Mahammitt, H. J. Pinkett, E. R. West and R. S. Williams, Messrs. C. C. Galloway, Count Wilkin son and others. A complete roster of the delegation was not secured, but among them were Mr. and Mrs. James Johnson, Walter F. White and Miss Randolph of New York; Mr. and Mrs. Harry j E. Davis and Mr. and Mrs. Russell i W. Jellifie of Cleveland; Miss Lee of ; Baltimore; the Rev. G. R. Waller of Springfield, Mass.; Mr. Thomas of : Philadelphia; the Rev. Mr. Burton of I Chicago, and Charles Edward Russell of Washington, D. C. The distinguish ed visitors regretted that their stay in Omaha was so short. Mrs. Elizabeth Bates of Pittsburgh, Pa., is visiting her sister, Mrs. Alma Crosley, 2406 North Thirtieth street. - I attack on Negro soldiers and charg ing them with cowardice is either a deliberate conspiracy to malign and discredit American Negro soldiers and the Negro race or it was written with out knowledge and conclusion hastily or eagerly jumped at from prejudice without a careful investigation of all the facts regarding the training, ex perience and conduct in battle of all the colored American soldiers in the American expeditionary forces. “If anyone questions the bravery of the American colored soldier let me relate the story of Sgt. Butler of Co. L, 369th Infantry, who pursued a Ger man raiding party into no man’s land after they had captured a white Am erican officer and four or five Negro soldiers and who alone and unaided except by the small machine gun he carried, freed the white officer and the colored soldiers, and killed a half dozen of the German raiding party, and seriously wounded the German of ficer who later died in our trenches. That is the true account of one trained and experienced colored non commissioned officer acting on his own initiative and what one can do all ! could have done, if given the oppor tunity and properly trained and led. “Let no man question the bravery of the colored soldiers for he either does not know what he is talking about or he is prejudiced. “I do not know General Bullard and have no personal controversy with him but simply out of justice to those seven hundred colored soldiers who paid the supreme sacrifice, the five thousand who were wounded and the four hundred thousand in the armed forces of the United States, I wish to take this opportunity to protest, deny and repudiate the charge of cowardice against the American Negro soldier. “Respectfully yours, (Signed) “HAMILTON FISH, JR. “Formerly an Officer in the 869th Infantry.’’ P. S.—“Since writing this defense of the colored American soldier in the World War, I have learned that Gen eral Robert Lee Bullard was bom in Alabama and was appointed to West Point from that state. Such informa tion may be useful to the reader be fore reaching a conclusion.” i NEGRO AWARDED GUGGENHEIM FELLOWSHIP Professor Isaac Fisher, Editor of Fisk News, Among First Fifteen to Secure Coveted Distinction FALLS IN EXCEPTIONAL GROlfP Who Will Be Permitted to Take Im mediate Advantage of Their Highly Prized Ap pointment (By the A. N. P.) New York, N. Y., June 26.—The list of persons awarded fellowships to study abroad, by the recently estab lished Guggenheim Foundation con tains the name of one colored man, Isaac Fisher, university editor at Fisk University and so many times a win ner of prize contests open to the na tion at large. As has happened so many times in the past, Mr. Fisher falls in the class of the exceptional group of those re ceiving fellowships. ,Th!is point is stressed by the New York Herald Tribune as follows: “Originally the fellowships were planned to begin next spring, for the academic year of 1926-27, when from forty to fifty fellows will be appoint ed. However, fifteen applicants prov ed particularly meritorious and it was found that their cases called for prompt action. The fifteen prelimin ary awards were made for the aca demic year starting next fall.” Almost all of the New York papers took special interest of the fact that one of the fellows is a colored man. The New York World announced it in its headlines, “Negro to Study Danger Trends in Race Relations”. The New York Times referred to it twice re marking once that “One of the Gug genheim fellows will study certain phases of world race relations.” The Boston, Mass., Post remarked: “Among the most interesting tasks set for the first group receiving fel lowships is that of Isaac Fisher, col ored teacher in Fisk university, Nash ville, Tenn., who will study ‘Danger Trends in World Race Relations’ in this country and abroad.” The Nashville Tennessean said: “Isaac Fisher, Negro, editor of the Fisk News and teacher in Journalism at Fisk, has been awarded a John Simon Guggenheim fellowship for his work as editor of the Fisk News and also his work in the field of inter racial matters, it was announced by the Guggenheim Memorial foundation. Professor Fisher has resigned from Fisk, and it is understood that he will leave Nashville in the fall to take up his studies and work in the east and abroad as provided by the fellow ship. Most of his study will be con fined to interracial questions and re search.” OMAHA WAITERS ASSOCIATION The Waiters’ Associaton held its regular weekly meeting Monday night at the club rooms, 2724 Lake street. The topic of discussion was ways and means to put the club upon a self supporting basis. Five new members were added. Membership going up. Mr. A. Harris of Salt I^ike, former ly of Harrisburg, Pa., arrived in our city last week, stopping with his old friend, Mr. S. T. Phillips, 2874 Corby street. He says he may stay awhile. Omaha is a good town to live in. The association has been informed of the serious illness of Mr. William H. Newsome, 2417 Blondo street, a brother knight. We hope for his speedy recovery. Abe has it Reed if size nd corpora tion stand for anything. The Bur lington has nothing on him. Oh you chef! We are glad to see the spirit of manhood in our most eminent head waiter, Mr. Elder Scott. It's money that makes the mare go, not position that will get it Mr. Homer Alexander blew in last week after a two weeks’ sojourn in Los Angeles with the Shriners. Glad to get home. Business good, I thank you! The Association is the recipient of a circular letter from The Waiters’ Hotel Gazette, Chicago, seeking sub scribers for the same. Men desiring to subscribe can leave their name and address with the correspondent at the club room. Big week for the extra knights at the Field Club during the Trans-Mis sissippi Golf Tournament. Head wait er Brooks is working as many men as possible. Who’s allright T Brooks. —C. H. Spriggs, Correspondent