"mss The Monitor
| NEBRASKA’S WEEKLY NEWSPAPER DEVOTED TO THE INTERESTS OF COLORED AMERICANS
X THE REV. JOHN ALBERT WILLIAMS, Editor _
$2.99 a Year—5§ a Copy OMAHA, NEBRASKA, FRIDAY, JANUARY 1, 1926 Whole Number 546 Vol. XI—No. 26
____——„—»
AWARDS OFFERED -I
TO STIMOLATE
CREATIVE WORK
Harmon Foundation Fixes Fund For
Distinguished Service in
Various Fields of
Activity
SERVICE COVERS LARGE AREA
Seven Awards are Open to Negroes
and One to Either White or
It Colored Contestants
for Honors
Washington, D. C.—To give recog
nition and stimulus to creative work
the Harmon Foundation on behalf of
William E. Harmon has provided
$4,000 annually for awards for dis
tinguished achievement. There are
seven first awards of $400 offered
annually to Negroes who have made
A distinguished achievements in various
fields of endeavor, and one award to
any person, white or colored, for out
standing achievement in race rela
tions. Announcement was made Dec.
23 by George E. Haynes, secretary
of the Commission on Race Relations
of the Federal Council of Churches,
to which has been committed the ex
ecutive direction of the awards.
Seven awards are open to all Ne
groes of American residence of both
sexes; the eighth award to the per
son white or colored ‘‘who has made
the greatest contribution towanl
improving the relations between
white and Negro people in America."
There is also a gold medal for the
first award in each of the seven di
visions and a second award of $100
and a bronze medal; the eighth award
will carry with it $500 in money and a
gold medal.
The classes of awards are to be
as follows: Literature, music, fine
arts, industry including business,
.science including invention, educa
tion, religion, and the award for im
provement of race relations between
the white and Negro peoples in Ameri
ica.
The purpose of the “William E. j
Harmon Awards for Distinguished!
Achievement” is “to give recognition |
to persons who have made some
worth-while achievement who have not
yet received such recognition.” Awards
are to be made January 1st, which is
the (iate Lincoln signed the Emancipa
tion Proclamation, and will apply to
work done or completed during the
twelve months ending June 1st, pre
ceding.
There will Is- five judges for each
award. Three of the five judges
will lie persons recognized as out
i standing in their articular fields. At
' least one will be a Negro. The two
other judges will represent the Har
mon Fundation and the Commission on
Race Relations of the Federal Council
of Churches. The decision of the
judges will be final and neither the
Commission on the Church and Race
Relations nor the Harmon Foundation
will be in any way responsible for
expenses or losses to candidates in
connection with any award.
The first award—in literature — i
includes poetry, short story, essay,
book, newspaper editorials, or a
play qf two or more acts.
Painting, sculpture and allied sub
jects are included under fine arts.
The award in industry includes cre
a t i v e achievements in agricultural,
manufacturing or mechanical pursuits
or trade and commercial enterprises.
In science any of the physical, bio
logical or social sciences, or inven
tions of provdti utility or promise may
be presented.
Education includes achievements in
the field of educational organization,
content, method of practice or educa
tional publicity.
The award in religion is for achieve
ments in religious organizations, re
lig'ous education, social service in con
n e c t i o n with recognized religious
agencies or any outstanding contri
bution to personal religion or theolo
gy
The eighth award concerning race
relations will be given without dis
tinction of co't-r.
No award will be made except for
some achievement of an outstanding
character that is a distinct contri
bution within its given field. As these
awards are to be given for achieve
ments of national significance and in
terest, in case there are no entries in
any class having this outstanding
character, no award will be given.
Applications and recommenda
tions for this year (1926) may be
filed on and after January 1st and
must be filed not later than June 1,
1926, with Dr. George E. Haynes at
the pffices of the Federal Council of
Churches, 106 East Twenty-second
street, New York City.
All written matter or other ma
terial submitted wih an application
must have sufficient postage for de
livery or must be prepaid by express.
No manuscript will be returned or
other material submitted will be re
turned unless full postage or express
charges are enclosed.
Further detailed information will
be available from the same address
or from literature available at many
schools, colleges, churches and sim
ilar places.
N. A. A. C. I'. PASSES *30,000 MARK
NEEDED TO MEET GARLAND OFFER
New York, Dec. 23—The National As
sociation for the Advancement of Colored
People, 60 Fifth Avenue, today announced
that in a period of seven weeks, beginning
October 30, it had raised the *50,000 fund
set as an objective, obtaining in contri
butions more than *30,000 required to meet
the Garland Fund's offer of *15,000 and,
together with the *5.000 given outright by
the Garland Fund, completing the *50,000
total. The amount sent to the National
Office to date is *30.470.81.
The N. A. A. C. P. with contributions
still pouring in has advanced its goal fiom
*50,000 to *65,000 und hopes to go to the
Garland Fund with *50,000 instead of *30,
0<X) raised mainly by colored people of
the United States, independent 'of the
Fund’s -contribution.
The decision to carry on the campaign
was reached when it was learned that a
second trial in the Sweet case would he
necessary, thus practically doubling the
original cost of the case.
Ill announcing the attainment of the
goal thus far, James Weldon Johnson,
seereatary of the N. A. A. C. P. said:
‘ We were confident that colored Ameri
cans would rally to their own cause be
ing fought in the courts of the land by
tin National Association. They have ral
lied magnificently. In less than eight
weeks, the colored people of the country
have justified the faith of those, like Clar
ence Harrow und Arthur Garfield Hays
fighting in their behalf. The N. A. A. C.
P. in view of the fact that the second
trial of the Sweet case will just about
double the cost of it, has announced an
advance in its goal from a *50,000 Legal
Defense Fund to *65.000. We are confident
that this objective will be reached with '
flying colon. Our triends must not for
get that in the same week, the first week in
January, which sees the opening of the
second Sweet trial in Detroit, the N. A.
A. C. P. legal forces will be marshalled
in Washington before the United States
Supreme Court to contest the issue of re
sidential segregation by white property own
ers' agreements, and in addition, we shall j
soon argue before the Supreme Court the ;
issue ol d i s f r a n chisement of Negroes j
through the Southern “white primary”!
laws. So no matter how large our fund,
there will be crying need of it and more.
Let us go on with increased energy until
there is money enough not alone to fight
these three major cases involving the Ne
groes citizenship rights, hut also to serve
notice on the country that the Negro is
at all times prepared to defend his rights
in die courts of the land.”
The N. A. A. C. P. announced that
during the month of December many gifts
to the Fund hail been received from fore
ign countries, one of them coming from
H. O. Tanner, foremost painter of his
race, now living in Paris, who sent *25.
Other foreign contributions include the fol
lowing: L. A. Amponsuh, Edinburgh, Scot
land, I pound 12 shillings (about *7t;
II. T. Jason, Corozal, Porto Rico, *5; *E.
Fi. Skeel, I’au, Basses Pyrenees, France,
*25; T. FI. Greer, *5 and S. R. Maples,
*10, both of Honolulu, Hawaian Islands;
M. R. Suydam, Avignon, France, *5; W.
O. Ware & Friend, Regina, Saskatchewan,
Canada. *5; John N. Lightbourn, St. Thom
as, Virgin Islands, *2; Jacob McCallister,
Limay, Bataan, Philippine 'Islands, *5;
Esteban, Cuba, *2.
Beyond the *30,(XX) mark the N. A. A.
C. P. was expecting an additional *2,000
shortly. The second *1,000 promised by
Julius Rosenwald of Chicago is now due
and the following telegram announcing
*1,000 check in the mail was received from
1/js Angeles, California:
"Check and report from the Los Angeles
Branch for *1,000 in today’s mail. Con
gratulation on your splendid work. Carry
on the fight. Los Angeles is with you.”
(Signed! DR. 1L C. HUDSON
Joseph B. LaCour, head of the adver
tising department of the Kansas City
Call, accompanied by Robert A. Greene,
formerly of The Monitor, but now also
of the Call, motored over to Omaha to
spend Christmas with Mr. LaCour’s par
ents, Mr. and Mrs. Joseph LaCour, 2421
Maple street. They left for Kansas City
Sunday morning.
Court Absolves Colored Comptroller
From all Blame as Result of
Testimony Given by Mem
ber of Ring
New Orleans—W alter Cohen,
United States Collector of Cusoms of
the Port of New Orleans has been
absolved of the sensational charge
of conspiracy to violate the Volstead
Act brought against him and 33 others,
whites, last August. United States
District Court Judge N. I. Grubb, pre
siding at the trial, Saturday directed
the jury hearing the case to deliver
a verdict freeing Cohen.
Accuse White Officer
Instruction for the acquital of Co
hen followed a startling development
in the case when two of eight white
defendants being tried, Alonza Pat
terson, and Arthur Battistella plead
guilty and baring the operations of
the rum ring from the stand impli
cated Henry De Deaux acting survey
or of customs, as the ring leader of
the band.
Directed Smugglers
Patterson and Battistella swore
that De Deaux had invested $25,000
in the smuggling , syndicate. Patter
son, who had been previously convict
ed of bribing prohibition officers test
ified that De Deaux directed the pat
rolling of the revenue cutters so that
liquor belonging to the ring could be
brought inside the 12-mile zone and
landed in New Orleans without dan
ger of confiscation.
Cleared Cohen
As a result of the testimony Cohen,
who had been charged with complicity
in directing the patrol boats to other
sections when a “syndicate” shipment
was due to arrive, was absolved of
blame and the court directed a ver
dict of acquittal.
De Deaux immediately was placed
under arrest by departemnt of jus
tice agents and furnished $10,000 bond
on a liquor conspiracy charge.
Four Plead Guilty
After the sensational confessions
of Patterson and Battistella, Fred
Jeanfreau, Robert Spar and Albert
Morris changed their pleas to guilty
and threw themselves on the mercy
of (he court.
.Joseph Conrad, former New Or
leans police sergeant; Fred Haab,
Joseph Thompson, and Salvadore
Guissamo entered pleas of not guil
ty.
Cohen's Second Victory
The acquittal of Cohen was the
second significant victory of the dis
tinguished colored citizen. The first
triumph came when attempts to prove
that he was an alien, and that it was
unconstitutional for him to remain in
the office were overthrown. Both
President Harding and Coolidge up
held his right to the office.
Oliver Willis Killed By Boiler Explosion
Omaha friends were shocked to receive
the sad news of the death of Oliver E.
Willis, 2712 Maple street, Monday night
at Lord Lister hospital as the result of
injuries sustained Monday morning when
a boiler exploded at the McArdle Millin
ery shop, 1613 Farnam street, where he
was employed as a janitor and fireman.
Few knew of the accident until they read !
their evening papers which told of the
injured man being in the hospital.
Mr. W illis had left home at the usual j
lime Monday morning for his work. While
he was firing the boiler it exploded, said
to be due to frozen pipes. He was hurl
ed into a corner by the force of the ex
plosion and badly scalded from head to
foot. Windows were shattered and flumes
spread in the back part of the store.
Employees of the Central market across j
the alley rushed to Willis’ rescue, who J
was taken to the Lord Lister hospital.!
Though suffering intense pain, the hos
pital attendants commented on his pa
tience, good nature and cheerfulness
through it all. His wife and sister, Mrs.
Jasper F . Brown were the constant at
tendants at his bedside, to whom he ex
presped confidence that he believed he
would pull through. Mrs. Willis and Mrs.
Brown left the hospital about half-past
7 leaving Mr. William Lewris, a warm
personal friend with him, themselves ex
pecting to return later in the evening.
They had hardly more than reached home
when they were advised of his death.
Oliver Willis who was1 38 years of age,
was born in Atchison, Kans., and had
been a resident of Omaha for the past
15 years. Thirteen years ago he was mar
ried to Clara Smith. He was ambitious
and industrious and was buying a home
at 2712 Maple street where the family
has resided for the past ten years. He was
devoted to his family which consists of
five lovely children, four girls and a boy,
Edrose being 11 and the youngest, 6
months. For fourteen years he bad been
employed by C. M. Wilhelm, holding his
position with the McArdle people also,
lie was a member of the Dan Desdunes
band. Oliver was of a sunny, friendly
disposition and was well liked by all
who knew him.
He is survived by his widow and five
children, five sisters, Mrs. Kenner. Mrs. |
—
lllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll
jj. E. Brown, of Omaha; Mrs. Jeanette i
Carter and Mra Austin Serrant of Chica-1
go; and Mrs. Kathryn Brown of Atchison,
Kans.; one brother, Ralph, of Atchison,
other relatives.
1 he funeral was held Thursday after
noon from the Episcopal Church of St.
Philip the Deacon, the Rev. John Albert
Williums. officiating. Interment {Was in
Forest Lawn cemetery.
—
JUDGE ALBERT E. GEORGE
TO SPEAK HERE NEXT WEEK
The citizens of Omaha are to have the
privilege of hearing Judge Albert E.
George of Chicago, who two years ago
was elected to the municipal bench of !
the great Illinois metroplis by a large j
majority. Judge George will deliver an i
address at St. John s A. M. E. church |
nexf Friday night at 8 o’clock under the
auspices of the Negro Business and Pro
fessional Men’s Club. An active commit
tee has the arrangements in charge and
every effort is being made to give Judge
George, who has the reputation of being
an excellent speaker, a large and repie
sentative audience.
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I The Monitor f
| Wishes l]ou [
5SZ » ——
| cl j
1 Uenj Happq
1 New l]ear [
1 ' 1
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IlllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllM
SEGREGATION “FROM THE
CHRISTIAN STANDPOINT”
(For the Associated Negro Press)
By William Pickens
“Can white people be Christian,—
like Christ?”—Many sane colored
people have asked us that question.
Often we have replied: “Yes,—and
we have known some that were meek
in justice, like Jesus, and mighty in
mercy, like Christ.”—For even one
case is a complete answer to such a
question: ONE is a demonstration of
fact and a prophecy of possibiity.
But our faith has steadily grown
less firm in the long-boated, high
salaried religion that fills most of
the great white church. We, too, often
find such pastors dominated by the
spirit of the refined mob which is
their particular flock: if they have a
rich congregation, they are subservi
ent to wealth; if they have a Klan
congregation, they toady to intoler
ance. In Indianapolis, Indiana, for ex
ample, we found some of the white
pastors joining (not leading) their
beloved “flock” in, the low business
of racial segregation movements. The
segregationists of that city publish a
weekly paper, “The Spectator,” which
they boast of giving free to six thou
sand homes. In a December issue oc
curs a leading article of news and
comment on the “White People’s Pro
tective League, which had met on the
preceding Saturday night “at the
usual place, the M. E. Church.” And
this meeting had been addressed Dy
two other pastors (of North Avenue
Christian and Capitol Avenue Method
ist Churches), who made “rousing ad
dresses in favor of keeping this part
of Indianapolis white. They did not
explain how, after feeding their flocks
in a white world, they proposed to
arrange for their eternal comfort in
a white heaven.—And the article went
on:
“While each approaching the matter
from a strictly Christian standpoint,
each maintained that it was the duty
of every white person in the district
to resist the confiscation of his home
and property rights by Negro inva
sion.”
Do you get that language of the
hypocrite “(Christian standpoint)”
coupled right up with that lingo of
the mob (“resist,” “confiscation”, “in
vasion” ? Isn’t that fine for the fol
lowers of “the meek and lowly Jesus?”
And listen further how they spoke to
the mob spirit: “Quick, decisive ac
tion.is necessary;” white people
will “lose millions in property val
ues,” unless they “take the matter in
hand without delay;” “the sooner the
city is districted for white and black
the better it will be for all. Legisla
tion is not necessary for such dis
tricting,” etc.—That is, the 1917 de
cision of the Supreme Court makes
“legislation” non-effective, and so the j
mob power of the Lord’s “white” [
lambs is to be invoked.
These and such white pastors have
fallen further from Christ than Satan
fell from Heaven when he landed in
Hell. Are white Christian leaders
going to make league with the devil
of race prejudice and all the demon
brood that it entails? Colored people
everywhere are noticing the fact that
the best and most willing defender
they could find in the white race
against mob persecution and official
injustice in Detroit, is a non-Christ
ian, Clarence Darrow, a man who
snaps his finger at creeds of words
and accepts only creeds of deeds.
The “Garland F'und,” which also is
not controlled by orthodox white
Christians, gave the first and most
substantial aid from the white world
to the defense of these cases. And no
body doubts that if Robert G. Inger
soll were alive today he would at
least be Darrow’s colleague in defense
of these persecuted colored citizens.
Must colored people reach the con
clusion that only the non-Christian,
or at least the unorthodox, of the
white race can do justice to black
people? White Protestant churches
have largely fallen under cuspicion
of being Klux hot-beds. If the Negro’s
suspicion is permitted to grow, ere
long he will have no confidence in any
praying white man; when the white
preacher offers him heaven from the
one hand, he will suspect that he
holds hell in the other. We have some
times made the white audience laugh,
and perhaps think, when we remarked!
that our experience with the alliance
of the church with race prejudice has
produced in us such a state of mind
that when we sit down on on% end of
a seat in a street car or other com
mon carrier, and, a sneering white
bigot gets up off the other end be
cause we sit down, we involuntarily
ask ourselves this question: “Wonder
MISSISSIPPI MOB
LYNCHES YOUTH
FREED BY COURT
Unmasked Mob Takes Lindley Cole
man From Sheriff at Prison
Door and Riddles His Body
With Bullets
WOMEN DENOUNCE MURDER
Special Session of Grand Jury Called
and Several Men Are Arrested;
Charged With Conspiracy
to Murder
Clarksdale, Miss.,—(Bulletin). De
nounced by Coahoma County League
of Women Voters as “high-handed
murder,” the lynching of Lindley Cole
man, Negro, was made the subject of
investigation by a grand jury, Dec. 23.
| Four men, one of them a planter, were
i arrested on charges of conspiracy to
I murder and warrants were sworn out
I for four other persons.
Judge W. A. Alcorn, before whom
the Negro was tried, called a special
session of the grand jury, and when
I it assembled he exacted a pledge from
the jurors that indictments would be
returned against any person found
involved, regardless of his standing in
the community.
Clarksdale, Miss.,—The good spirit
of Christmas time and the peace of
Sabbath morning were forgotten in
the town of Clarksdale, Miss., and
brutality and lawlessness reigned while
a frenzied mob of white men lynched
a colored youth, who a jury had just
a few hours before acquitted of a
charge of killing Grover C. Nicholas,
a plantation store manager, October
15 last.
Little Action Against MfbB
The stir created by the murder was
passed almost as quickly as the crime
was committed. No efforts were made
by authorities to apprehend the mob
ists. The Governor sent a weak mes
sage expressing his regrets, but made
no suggestion that he would act. The
only definite signs of efforts to bring
the criminals to justice were shown
by the County League of Women Vot
ers of Coahoma County.
Stopped At Jail Door
The victim of the mob was Lindsey
Coleman. He was just one of five
colored citizens held in connection
with the slaying of the store man
ager. Meager description of the
lynching of Coleman state that a
band of unmasked white men forci
bly took him from Sheriff S. W.
Glass, within the shadow of the pris
on from which he was being released
after a jury had declared him inno
cent. With little ceremony, the
whites took Coleman to the back of
the jail and riddled his body with
bullets.
Sheriff Silent
An attempt to get some informa
tion that might lead to the arrest of
the members of the mob was treated
as a thing out of the question. Sher
iff Glass turned aside all questions
relating to the affair, by declaring he
didn’t “care to get into print.” He de
clined to comment upon the lynching
of Coleman. He would not say wheth
er any arrests had been made, and
steadfastly declined to saw whether
he recognized any member of the mob.
Governor Comments
“It is with the greatest regret that
I learned of the tragedy at Clarks
dale” Governor Whitfield said when
advised of the lynching of Coleman
after he had been found not guilty of
the murder of Grover C. Nicholas.
“I know nothing of the facts that
led up to it,” he said. The Negro evi
dently hail had a trial in court accord
ing to law, and it is to be very much
reprehended that a few people should
have so far forgotten the highest in
terest of the state as to commit so
horrible a crime.
“I have received no official advice
in regard to the matter and, of course,
had no opportunity to prevent its
commission.”
Miss Alice Thompson of 2913% Lake
street and Sherman Ward were quietly mar,
ried piristmas Eve by Rev. T. W. Kidd,
pastor of Bethel A. M. E. church and left
immediately for Chicago where they will
make their future home.
whose Sunday School he’s superin
tendent of!”
If racial segregation, with its con
sequent misunderstanding, suspicion,
hate, and war, is for white pastors
the “Christian standpoint,” then in
the name of the Devil, we would like
to ask, where in the devil will the
Devil “stand?’’