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if, The Monitor ®s
| NEBRASKA’S WEEKLY NEWSPAPER DEVOTED TO THE INTERESTS OF COLORED AMERICANS
| THE REV. JOHN ALBERT WILLIAMS, Editor.
$2,00 a Year- | ?nts a Copy. OMAHA, NEBRAKA, FRIDAY, MAY2lTl926 Whole Numbe7562 VoL XI.—No. 44
MLN AND WOMEN SHED JOY TEARS
STRONG MEN SHOW
OEEP EMOTION WHEN
VERDICT RENDERED
Warned Br Trial Judge Against Mak
ing Any Demonstration When
Verdict Was Bead—Emotion
Found Vent in Tears
ji dge murphy charges jury
Carefully Outlines What Constitutes
Homicide, First Degree Murder,
and Warns Against Passion
and Prejudice.
Detroit, Mich., May 20.—By the
Associated Negro Press)—"Not guil
ty !” w as the verdict of the twelve
jurymen in the Sweet Case after a
deliberation of about three hours.
And Henry Sweet, charged with the
murder of Leon Breiner, was a iree
man. Tears were in the eyes of
nearly everyone in the court room,
in rinding the legal champion of the
Sweets, Clarence Darrow, again vic
tor in his fight for the freedom of
a man held in the clutches of the law.
Judge Murphy's warning against
any demonstration of emotion upon
hearing the verdict seemed to leave
but one outlet for the expression of
the joy of those who heard the ver
dict—tears—and they flowed freely
through smiles.
In the morning, at the opening of
court, Judge Murphy denied the mo
tion of the defense to declare a mis
trial due to prejudicial statements by
Prosecutor Toms in his plea.
In the court’s charge to the jury
lie carefully outlined the law on
what constituted homicide, murder in
the first degree, second degree, and
manslaughter, and what constituted a j
justifiable, excusable, or felonious 1
murder.
"If is my duty to warn you that \
prejudice or intolerance or passion
-houid not enter into your delibera
tions upon the facts, else reason
would depart and the calm considera
tion necessary for a just verdict
would lie lacking. Rich or poor, white i
or black, each man brought before j
the bench or jury is entitled to equal
consideration and justice.
Judge Murphy Charges Jury.
In charging the jury, Judge Mur
phv stated: "Gentlemen of the Jury: j
The information in this case j
charges that Dr. Ossian P. Sweet and |
10 co-defendants on the 0th day of .
September did with malice afore
thought shoot to kill Leon Breiner.
Further that it was an agreement j
to commit an unlawful act.
“Gentlemen of the Jury, while j
eleven defendants are considered in j
the bill of particulars, you are only to !
consider the innocence or guilt of |
Henry Sweet. In this you are to j
summon your best judgment in order l
to he fair with the defendant.
“The accused in every criminal case !
is presumed to be innocent. He
comes to the court surrounded by that
presumption. It is the duty of the
prosecuting attorney to prove his
guilt, to the satisfaction of each and
every one of you, beyond all reason
able doubt, before you can return a
verdict of guilty.
"Gentlemen of the jury: Because
of the particular facts surrounding
this case, because of what has been
said here, I consider it my duty to
caution you and warn you against
prejudice. I urge you to summon
the best judgment you have. Strive
to be equally fair with the defense
and the • prosecution. If you have
prejudice or hate, good reason will
depart, and that calm judicial fair
ness necessary in doing justice, will
depart. All men are equal before the
law. Real justice Hoes not draw any
color, race or creed, or class line.
All are entitled to the same rights
before the law. It may be hard, but
it is our duty to strive for it. I again
urge you to summon the best judg
ment and the best conscience tnat
you possess. Keep in mind not to
become angry or excited. Don’t be
too hasty. Try to understand each
other and try to see each other’s
points of view. If you keep this in
mind, you will be able to reach a
verdict.
James Weldon Johnson, Secretary
of the National Association for tne
Advancement of Colored People, who
attended the trial, said:
“When it was announced that tne
jury had reached a verdict after only
four hours of deliberation, there was
surprise and apprehension. When
the verdict of Not Guilty was ren
dered waiting women sobbed audibly
and tears ran down the cheeks of
men. It is more than probable that
no other cases will be tried. Thus
ends one of the most vital fights ever
waged for the race.”
The first trial of the Sweet case
resulted in a jury disagreement. In
his second trial it was arranged to
have each one of the eleven defend
ants tried separately. Henry Sweet
wes selected by the prosecution to
stand trial first as the case against
him was thought to be strongest. In
view of his aquittal, it is unlikely the
State will try any of the other de
fendants.
The Sweet case hus been the dra
matic high point of the fight agains*
segregation in America. It is one
in a series of cases beginning with
the Louisville case, won before the
U. S. Supreme Court in 1917, outlaw
ing all State and municipal segrega
tion ordinances. Another case in the
reties was taken by the N. A. A. C.
P. before the U. S. Supreme Court
this year when the Washington Seg
regation Case tCorrigan & Curtis vs.
Buckley) was argued by Messrs.
Louis Marshall and Moorfield Storey,
urging that segregation by agree
ment among white property owners
was unconstitutional.
The Sweet case establishes tn«
Negro’s right to defend his life and
family and home from riotous mobs
having segregation as their objeat
ive. The N. A. A. C. P. brought its
entire power to bear on this case,
spending upwards of $21,000 on the
first trial, retaining the ablest crim
inal lawyer in the country, Clarence
Harrow of Chicago, and associating
with him Arthur Garfield Hays, of
New York. In the second trial
rough estimates indicate that the cost
will be at least $16,000 bringing the
total cost of the two trials very
nearly to $40,000. In the second
trial Michigan’s ablest criminal law
yer, Thomas W. Chawke, and a col
ored attorney, Julias W. Perry, were
associated with Mr. Darrow.
In the course of the legal battle,
the N. A. A. C. P. undertook to raise
a Legal Defense Fund to cover this
and other segregation and legal de
fense rases, raising up to March 12,
the sum of $71, 619, contributions
(louring in not only from every part
of the United States but from Eh rope
and the West Indies as well.
Both trials have profohndly of
fected public opinion on segregation
in America. The first trial in its
presentation of the Negro's suffering
from mob violence throughout the
country swung decent sentiment in
favor of the defendants. The right
of self-defense in his home has been
conclusively established for the
Negro.
BISHOPS ATTACK JUDGE LYNCH
Kansas City, Mo.—(By The Associ
ated Negro Press).—“Judge Lynch
must go!" declared the bishops of the
Colored Methodist Episcopal Church
at their Fifteenth General Confer
ence which has just closed its ses
sions here. They were backed in their
stand by more than 2,000 delegates
who attended the conference as the
representatives of a church constitu
ency of 400,000. Bishop R. S. Wil
liams, the senior episcopal official,
presided. (
The attack on the lynching evil was
wide In the scope of its criticism, in
cluding all forms of barbarity now
practiced in the South. Into their
denunciation the bishops brought tne
word of southern leaders, white and
colored, and of groups, who have felt
compelled during the last few years
to rise up against the great evil.
White Christianity was called upon
to back up with every power available
the fight for justice to the Negro
as a Christian duty. It was reminded
that it should support the Dyer Anti
lynching bill because of the moral is
sue involved.
Henry Black left Thursday night
for a three weeks' visit to Las Angeles
and San Francisco.
EDITORIAL
WHITE SERVITUDE
IN PENNSYLVANIA
Recent Publication Discloses Fact
That Many Thousand White Men
and Women Were Held in
Bondage.
Philadelphia, Pa.—(By the Associ
ated Negro Press).—In a book just
of the press, Dr. Cheesman A. Her
r;ck, President of Girard College
(that college that positively and
boastingly refuses to admit Negroes)
gives much information about a pe
culiar form of slavery that once ex
isted in Pennsylvania. One reads
throughout its pages that in the early
days Pennsylvania depended for its
industrial progress upon the slavery
of white men and women. It is be
lieved that at no time in the history
of Pennsylvania were there more
than 5,000 Negro slaves. Dr. Herrick
points out that the number of white
slaves or those held in servitude by
law numbered many thousands.
Even when Pennsylvania was
striving to abolish slavery, “White
Servitude in Pennsylvania” points out1
that this state outranked all others
in promoting that vicious system of
slavery among whites.
White slaves are said to have been
working in Pennsylvania before Wil
liam Penn came; and it is pointed out
'hat the favorite sport of the Swedes
was to sell Finns in slavery to the
colony on the Deleware.
Continuing, one finds that a ship
passage to America sometimes cost
the equivalent of $140 in American
money, and the person who paid for
that passage in toil, in more than one
case, died before he had worked out
his freedom. The ordinary term of
what Dr. Herrick terms "white slav
ery” was four years. Very often it
appears to have been much longer.
Dr. Herick says that of the 530 new
rrivals in Philadelphia’s first four
years, 193 were classed as servants.
LUKE PARSONS, WHO FOUGHT
WITH JOHN BROWN, IS DEAD
Salina, Kas.—Death he had eon
fronted often as a youth, Friday
claimed Luke F. Parsons, 93, last sur
vivor of the famous John Brown band
of slavery days.
When Parsons came west into
Kansas in 1856, the country was In
the throes of the free state and slave
state agitation. He joined the famous
abolitionist, John Brown and his five
sturdy sons in their fight to make
Kansas a free state and was with him
in all of his battles with the border
raiders, who sought to control Kansas
politics and to extend slavery into
the state.
Although selected by Brown as one
of his ten picked men for the raid
into Virginia at Harper’s Ferry, Par
sons could not be with him and thus
probably escaped the fate that &“fell
that little party. He was in Colorado
at the time.
Parsons was day clerk at the fam
ous Eldridge or Free State hotel at
Law'rence, Kas., when it was burned
by Quantrill’g band, which destroyed
the printing presses and sacked the
town.
In the battle of Osawatomie, Kas.,
August 31, 1856, Brown had but a
handful of men to oppose more than
400 border raiders from Missouri.
Parsons and ten other men were se
lected by Brown to hold a block house.
After the hanging of Brown, Par
sons became the first sheriff of Sal
ina county, Kas. He entered the
Sixth Kansas cavalry at the outbreak
of the Civil War, serving nearly four
years.
The latter part of his life was
spent on a farm near here.
----
BUSINESS LEAGUE
OFFICIAL TOURING TEXAS
Dallas, Tex.—(By The Associated
Negro Press).—To give impetus to
economic progress of the race in
Texas, and to create new interest in
teh National Negro Business League,
Bert Roddy, prominent business man
of Memphis and Vice-President and
Field Director of the National Negro
Business League, is making an ex
tended tour of the State. Mr. Roddy
will visit the principal cities of the
Rtate and will remamin in this section
two weeks.
“HIAWATHA" TO BE
PRESEHTED BY HEGRO
SIHGERS AT SESQUI
Samuel Coleridge Taylor’s Master
piece to Be Important Feature
of Sesqui-Centennial
Exposition.
LEADING ARTISTS TO ASSIST
Present Plans Include Roland Hayes,
Tenor; Florence Cole Talbert,
Soprano, and Paul Robeson,
Baritone.
Philadelphia, Pa., May 20.—Sesqui
Centennial Expoistion officials direct
ing Negro Participation, are develop
ing with great success the details for
the production of a cantata with
“Hiawatha” for its epic hero. This
musical composition was written by
Samuel Coleridge-Taylor. Taylor’s
compositions are marked by variety
and vigorous originality and even
described as possessing- tenderness of
feeling and by poetic imagination.
The Negro Year Book describes
Taylor’s works as having “something
of the plaintive,” wistful quality of
plantation song. His best and most
considerable scores are those written
for the chorus, and it is by “Hia
watha” he is best known and will be
longest remembered. This production
has given him distinction and popu
larity on both sides of the Atlantic.
There has been invited to carry out
this program not only a well trained
chorus of Negro singers, but also
such outstanding artists as Roland
Hayes, tenor, Florence Cole Talbert,
sprano, and Paul Robeson, baritone.
Other singers possessing musical abil
ity and training will be included in
the cast.
The production will be staged m
the great Municipal Stadium with
seating capacity of 100,000 persons.
The stadium lends itself in a very sat
isfactory way for the full enjoyment
of this presentation. Special ar
rangements have been made for am
plifying the voices with the latest de
vices, so that those present in the
audience may enjoy the work of the
artists.
SCIPIO JONES TO
CARRY COMMENCEMENT
MESSAGE TO TUSKEGEE
Tuskegee Inst., Ala.—(By The As
sociated Negro Press).—Scipio A.
Jones, prominent attorney of Little
Rock, Ark., will be the commence
ment day speaker at the forty-fifth
anniversary exercises of Tuskegee In
stitute, to be held here May 27. Mr.
Jones has for a number of years been
a leader in the civic and political life
of the southern Negro. It was large
'y through his efforts that the re
lease of the Elaine rioters was se
cured.
NEW YORK LIBRARY FILES
N. A. A. C. P. ANNUAL REPORT
The National Association for the
Advancement of Colored People, 69
Fifth Avenue, New York City, has
received a letter from the New York
Public Library announcing that the
1925 Annual Report of the Associa
tion has been placed in the Library’s
files for the use of readers and stu
dents.
The Library lacks copies of Num
bers 1 and 2 of the N. A. A. C. P.
Reports, these numbers being out of
print. The N. A. A. C. P. requests
that any members or friends of the
Association having copies of the first
two Annual Reports which they can
spare, send them to the N. A. A. C. P.
in order that the New York Public
Library's file may be made complete.
A meeting is called far Saturday night,
May 22, at the K. P. Hall, 1423 North
Twenty-fourth street, corner Charles, to
take definite action towards seruring repre
sentation in the schools, gas plant, water
works and other public utilities commen
surate with our numbers and taxation. All
persons interested in removing discrimin
ation and securing these results are invited
to attend. Please remember the time and
place, next Saturday night. May 22, at
K. P. Hall. Twenty-fourth and Charles
streets.
THE verdict in the Sweet cast at Detroit, Michigan, must
prove gratifying not only to our own people who were primarily
deeply concerned in its outcome, but to all real broad minded Amer
icans who believe that the Constitution of the United States means
precisely what it says. Vital issues and fundamental principles
were at stake in this trial and these issues and principles affect
not only the black man, but the white man as well. Justice is not
racial but national and universal. A triumph of justice for the
weak man, means the guarantee of justice for the strong.
The issues and principles involved in the Sweet murder trial
deal with the right of a man to protect his home and his life from
the attack of a mob. This was the real and vital issue at stttke.
In this case it had to do with a resectable, self-respecting, law
abiding colored American citizen. Tomorrow it might be the
case of a white American citizen So as C'arence Darrow said,
“That mob was out to make an assault upon the occupants of the
Sweet home and to disregard the constitution of the country and
the laws of the state. Like blind Samson in the temple, they
came to tear down a structure that protects us all.”
If a mob can attack the home of a black American today and
get away with it, they may attack the home of a white American
tomorrow.
For protecting his home surrounded by a mob in which a man
by the name of Breimer, a member of the mob, was shot and
killed, Dr. Ossian P. Sweet and wife, his brother, Henry, and eight
other persons, were charged with murder and conspiracy to com
mit murder. The first trial resulted in a failure to arrive at a
verdict after more than forty hours’ deliberation. A second trial
was set and a separate trial for each defendant demanded. Henry
Sweet who admitted to firing was tried first because the state
believed it had a strong case against him. The jury after three
and a half hours deliberation brought in a verdict of “Not Guilty.”
It is noteworthy and praiseworthy, and bespeaks volumes
for the innate sense of justice which animates the average Amer
ican citizen, that despite the passion engendered where the two
races are involved, that after hearing the evidence a white jury I
should bring in as promptly as it did a verdict which must have
the approval of all but the wilfully prejudiced and purblind.
Had the verdict been adverse it would have served notice
upon the lawless element to be found in almost every community
that the colored citizens’s home might be attacked with impunity
and without fear of punishment and if he dared to protect him
self and home the penitentiary or the electric chair must be his
punishment. This verdict will have a salutary and far-reaching
effect. It is to be regretted that Dr. Sweet and his relatives were
put to the necessity of defending their home. This necessity
ought not to be placed upon any man, black or white, in any civi
lized or Christian community. It is to be hoped that no occasion
of this kind shall ever again arise anywhere in our land. We hope
the principle that a man’s home is his castle shall be so firmly
implanted in the minds of all that no mob will dare to presume to
violate this principle.
The Sweet trial demonstrates the wisdom and power of such
an organization as the National Association for the Advancement
of Colored People which was able to secure the services of the
l>est legal talent in the country to defend a cause which vitally
concerns all and its priceless services in fighting for justice and
right by violence or force but by legal processes and the creation
of a sound and righteous public opinion.
HARRISON FERRELL
WINS THIRD SCHOLARSHIP
Chicago, 111.—(By The Associated
Negro Press).—Harrison Ferrell, who
for several years has given the most
distinguished concerts among musi
cians in this city, in the exclusive
Blackston Theatre, next the Rlack
ston Hotel, has just been awarded his
third scholarship in German at North
western University. Mr. Ferrell Is a
violinist.
Young Ferrell’s accomplishments
have been made in spite of physical
and other disadvantages. During the
World War he was injured in a foot
ball game, an injury which later de
veloped into infantile paralysis. Since
that time he has had to get about
on crutches. At his concerts, his ac
companist has had to assist him to
the front of the stage. Northwestern
University is twenty miles from his
home! in Chicago, but daily he has
made the trip, has won his master’s
degree and is now pursuing his doc
torate. He graduated two years ago.
HAYES FILLS PITTSBURGH
HALL TO OVERFLOWING
Pittsburgh, Pa.—The largest crowd
that has ever crammed itself into
Carnegia hall this season gave Roland
Hayes, the famous Negro tenor, the
sort of ovation that is given the great
ones who come to the Mosque. He
has at last arrived in Pittsburgh after
having met with acclaim in all the
greatest centers from the Pacific
coast to the court of Spain. This was
the seventy-fifth and last concert In
the States before his summer engage
ments in Paris and other French
cities.
DETT TO GET DOCTOR’S DEGREE.
New York, N. Y.—(By the Associ
ated Negro Press).—Nathaniel I>ett,
head of the music department of
Hampton Institute, and one of the
foremost musicians and composers of
the race, will be honored by Oberlin
College, in June, with the degree of
Doctor of Music, as a recognition of
the achievement and distinction that
has come to him in the field of
music. Dr Dett, who also was given
the Docto.'s degree in Music from
Howard University, has long been
recognized as one of the foremost
composers in America, whose work in
the preservation and development of
Negro Music is widely konwn.
BOYS PUBLISH PAPER.
Shreveport, La.—(By the Associ
ated Negro Press).—One of the most
remarkable examples of what boys
can do by themselves is found here
in “The Negro Youth,” a four-page
15x22, semi-monthly newspaper, pub
lished by boys of the Central High
School, with AlberJ J. White as edi
tor. The paper is not connected with
the school, but is managed in every
particular by boys in their teens. The
editor expresses as the object of the
paper, the stimulation of interest in
journalism among the youth of the
“Race.”
Downingtown, Pa.—(By The As
sociated Negro Press).—Dr. Alain
LeRoy Locke, author of the “New
Negro,” will deliver the commence
ment address at Downingtown Indus
trial and Agricultural school, Thurs
day, May 27.
