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About The monitor. (Omaha, Neb.) 1915-1928 | View Entire Issue (April 15, 1927)
Iis'THE MONITOR si NEBRASKA’S WEEKLY NEWSPAPER DEVOTED TO THE INTERESTS OF COLORED AMERICANS __ the REV. JOHN ALBERT WILLIAMS, Editor. $2.00 a Year—S Centi a CopyOMAHA, NEBRASKA, FRIDAY, APRIL IS, 1927Vol. XII—No. 42 Whole Number 612 _ I ^————————— NEGROES HAVE HOPE OF GETTING JUSTICE IN SOUTH—SOME DAY! South Carolina Supreme Court Re verses the Murder Conviction of Jim Davis Tried to Save Daughters New York City—The supreme court of South Carolina has reversed the conviction (of murder) of Jim Davis, who shot and killed a white road gang foreman who had come to his house with express intention of removing his two daughters. The reversal was procured through At torney L. G. Southard (white), of Spartanburg, S. C., who risked his life last fall, to defend the Lowman family, three of whose members were I later lynched. Mr. Southard is ar k ranging a new trial for Davis. In his brief before the state supreme court, Mr. Southard pointed out that there was intense excitement in Fairfield county, mobs hunting Jim Davis for several days after the shooting and threatening him with death on sight; that owing to the popularity and in ' fluence of the slain white man it had not been possible to procure any local attorney to defend Davis; that despite these facts the court denied a change of venue for the trial. The state supreme court in re versing the conviction said: “The alleged facts set forth in the peti tion were indicative of an atmosphere strongly prejudicial to the defendant. It appears also that the governor had reasons for thinking that the defend ant would be unsafe in the Winns boro jail and so detained him in the penitentiary practically up to the time of trial. That the defendant could not get paid local counsel at Winnsboro to represent him, strongly indicates the state of feeling in Fair field county against him.” The state supreme court further more pointed out that a “dying declaration” of the slain white man had improperly been admitted as testimony, since the man was not at the time he made it in expectation of death. Mr. Southard is endeav oring to procure a local counsel to assist him, change of venue having been granted as a result of the state supreme court’s decision. “THE FREEDOM JOURNAL” p First NFC°0 NEWSPAPER Ruuwurm and Cornish, Editor and Publisher, Respectively—Former First College Graduate—Died in Liberia New York City—"The Fredom \ Journal,” our first paper, was start ed in New York City, on March 16, 1827, by John B. Kusswurm, who was born in Jamaica, British West Indies, in 1799. He was our first graduate of an American college in 1828. Later on he went to Liberia, West Africa, where he became editor of the Liberia Herald. At the time of his death, Mr. Russwurm was gov ernor of the province of Monrovia, capitol of Liberia. Samuel Cornish, who was associated with him as pub lisher of “The Freedom Journal,” continued the paper after Editor Russwurm’s departure but changed its name to "The Rights of AIL” LOUISIANA SEEKS TO EVADE ANTI SEGREGATION EDICT New Orleans, La. — Real estate men are endeavoring to find a loop hole in the decision of the United States supreme court which declared unconstitutional the segregation law passed by the state legislature and the commission council which would j debar Negroes from living in neigh ' borhoods congenial to health and school facilities. Alfred D. Danziger, attorney for the New Orleans real estate board, has given a plan through the public e press, and they are giving it wide I publicity. Mr. Danziger’s plan is the writing into the acts of sale the stip ulation that the property shall not be transferred to colored persons and as he declares, the act will be binding as a contractual obligation. J COURT SUSTAINS NEGRO LITIGANTS IN SCHOOL FIGHT New Jersey Parents Who Refuse to Send Children to Segregated School Win Case in Court Toms River, N. J.—Right again triumphed here Wednesday when the twenty-three Negro families who re fused to send their children to the “jim crow” school provided for them by the school board in a dilapidated church building, won a complete vic tory over the local school authorities, guilty of violating the compulsory education law and thereby gave sanc tion to their fight against segrega tion. The case grew out of the refusal of the parents to send their children to this separate school, after all Negro pupils had been transferred from the modern school which they had at tended along with white children. The wholesale boycott of the segre gated institution was brought to the attention of the court by the local truant officer, ending in the trial recently. Attorney Eugene R. Hayne, repre senting the Negro citizens, argued that the segregation was illegal, and that the building provided was “a hovel, not a school, where the health of these children is in danger.” Judge Newman set aside all red tape in his questioning of the school board until he had found out all about the establishment of the “jim ! crow” organization and then render ed his ruling. He “took time out” . to inquire of Attorney Howard Ewert the counsel for the school board, why I the attorney had failed to help the | citizens get justice from the school ! board officials instead of through the j course taken. In spite of the ruling of the court, the school board has signified the intention of refusing to permit the colored children from attending the ! modern school. Attorney Hayne, i however, has secured a mandamus in the supreme court at Trenton which [ requires the school authorities either | to abolish the segregation or appear in court and show cause for it. TEXAS VICTORY COST N. A. A. C. P. ONLY $2,909.31 Now York City—The victory be fore the United State supreme court; in the Texas white primary case, was j won at the unprecedentedly low cost! of $2,909.31, according to announce-! ment by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. The low cost of this case is due to the gift without any charge whatever of the services of the N. A. A. C. P. | attorneys, Messrs. Moorfield Storey, • Louis Marshall and Arthur B. Sping arn. In connection with the announce ment, James Weldon Johnson, secre tary of the N. A. A. C. P„ said: “To win a historic victory at the low cost of the Texas white primary case, would be impossible for any individ ual. It is only possible through the organization and co-operation of the N. A. A. C. P. and through the gen erous and high-minded public service of the eminent counsel whose aid the N. A. A. C. P. has been enabled to enlist. If these gentlemen had been paid what their services command, the cost of the case would have been very high indeed. “The moneys expended went to Messrs. Knollenberg and Channell, El Paso attorneys retained at the in ception of the case, and for the print ing and other incidentals to carrying a case before the court of last resort in the United States.” MONITOR—TWO CARTER REFUSES IT Washington, D. C.—U. S. Consul James Garneth Carter, of Georgia, in the government’s consular service for twenty years, has declined the appointment of United States mini ster resident and consul general to Liberia, the State Department an nounced, last week Tuesday. He will be transferred to Calais, France, as consul. ThiB is a promotion—the other appointment was not. EDITORIAL In the most bitterly contested mayoralty campaign ever held in the famous “Windy City,” William Hale Thompson was elected by a plurality of over 80,000. Of this plurality the three strong Negro wards gave him seventy-five per cent or about 60,000. In other words, in these wards the vote re ceived by the two other candidates, Dever and Robertson, was negligible. The Negro vote was cast almost solidly for Thomp son here and in other wards where there are many race voters “Big Bill” was registered as the favorite. It has been esti mated that the plurality given to Thompson by Negro voters was more than 70,000 or practically nearly 90 per cent of his total plurality. This striking fact speaks for itself. It proves that the Negro race can unite its forces for weal or for woe, at least politically, which also presages the time when it can, and will, do so economically. It proves that when the race is attacked, even though it be a minority group, it can strike back and that most effectively. There were thousands of Ne groes in Chicago who no doubt di$i not heartily approve of many things charged against Thompson’s former administra tion and who might have voted for his opponent had not The Chicago Tribune, with its notorious anti-Negro sentiment, and others of Dever’s supporters interjected and capitalized the race issue. Whatever else might be said, Thompson, when formerly mayor of Chicago, had recognized the fact that Ne groes are entitled to representation and saw to it that they were given a fair proportion of well-paying positions and not limited to a few porter jobs and janitorships, which is some thing that others in administrative positions in other cities must do, if they expect to receive the votes of our people. Because of this fairness Thompson was called a “nigger lover” and the alarming spectacle of “hundreds of ‘niggers’ in white men’s jobs” was presented as one of the issues demanding Thomp son’s defeat. The result was just what it should have been. Thompsonites and anti-Thompsonites among Negroes united j solidly for Thompson and ELECTED him. The appeal to raee| prejudice received its reward as it always will, sooner or later. Thompson’s triumph in Chicago has its lessons for other cities. Among other things it teaches that members of our race are not ungrateful towards those who are disposed to treat them fairly, and that their united vote, intelligently directed, is a power to be reckoned with. Darrow Honest Agnostic Acts Christian, Says Bishop Washington, D. D.—In a state | ment to the Associated Negro Press, Bishop E. W. D. Jones, of the A. M. 1 E. Zion Church, praised Clarence i Darrow for his fairness and courage ! stating that he rings true to the j causes of God and challenges Araer I ica’s treatment of the Negro. This statement was as follows: “Jesus said, He who is not against us is for us. Predicated upon this hypothesis Mr. Darrow is with Jesus, whether he confesses Him or not. God stands for love of man, for justice, for unselfishness, for morals, | for youth, for the oppressed, for in tellect, for humanity, for right, for fellowship and brotherhood. So does Mr. Darrow, and in these excellent virtues they are one. When we find this conception free ing, ennobling and empowering life we know that we have the creating and developing forces of worthiest | characters. Edison, who denies God, but talks of ‘Supreme Energy,’ means God. The man who talks of ‘moral principles,’ ‘aesthetic values’ and ‘na ture,’ means God, for the conception of principle, values and nature are merely conceptions of the unseen. We must identify God with all good. Right-acting individuals are nobler than creeds. Must a man know, believe and con fess God before he receives revela tions and directions from God? The Holy Record says: ‘In Him was life and the life was the light of men . . . which lighteth every man that com eth into the world.’ Darrow is con trolled by that Light. I might wish that Darrow had a different theism, for positive faith in God is mightiest and more productive of good, but I rejoice that he is not a hypocrite. He rings true on the great causes of God and stands unflinching before pre judiced ^Christian America and defies its white citizenry to treat the Negro as Jesus would treat him. Our race has suffered more from misrepresentation of Jesus than from any attempt to deny His existence. In this conception we have never known an atheist, a socialist or an agnostic who was not square and fair and just on the race question. White Christians preach a partial God, and such a God is not the God of the Negro nor the oppressed. The greatest and most monumental sin of all the ages is to so interpret Jesus in exordiums and sermons in the House of God before the open Bible, as to incite and excite a nation to prejudice as if it were just—a sec tion to the righteousness of lynching and segregation and a mob to the be lief that it is doing God’s will in bru tality and slaughter. What about a Christian ministry, I (from which we have received our ; hardest blows) of which Sinclair Lewis says, in Elmer Gantry—the book of the month of March—(and ; remember he is all through satiring , the white ministry); ‘Many of the ! most worthy Methodist and Baptist | clergymen supported the Ku Klux Klan and were supported by it.” Mr. Darrow will not support the principles of the Klan and still he is neither Protestant nor Catholic. He is a Christ actor. Darrow is not the only man who cannot believe in the Christ of a Christianity that denies an honest man a chance; a Christianity that jim crows a fellow because of his color; a Christianity that sneers at him and denies him a seat in conse crated pews, in dedicated colossal ed ifices which are monuments to sep arateness and discrimination, where professed Christian are chanting hymns of love from hearts of hate; a Christianity that discriminates against men in their unequal strug gle to educate and provide for de pendents; a Christianity which braz enly seeks to impress upon fellowmen inferiority and subraissiveness as if God ordained. We will not have such a Christianity. It is rocking the spiritual pillars of thought and right eous action in the universe. Give us only the Jesus of the Good Samaritan parable; the Jesus of the Syro-Phoenician woman; the Jesus at the well of Sychar; the Jesus of Calvary. Give us this or convert the world to Darrowism.” (The trouble is not with the Chris tian religion, but with many expon ents of it, who deny by their conduct what they profess with their lips. The saying of Schliermacher is true, “Christ suffers more today from those who caricature Him (by their inconsistent lives) than from those who crucified Him.—Editor of The Monitor.) Egotism is offended much more easily than humility. When the other man is silent, don’t think he is listening. He is waiting. WILLIAM HALE THOMPSON OWES ELECTION LARGELY TO NEGRO SUPPORTERS Three Negro Words Gave Successful Candidate for Mayor of Chi cago Plurality of 59,217. Out of 83,027 Total Chicago, 111.—Of the 83,027 plur ality given William Hale “Big Bill” Thompson, by Chicago voters Tues day, April 5, 59,217 came from three wards generally regarded as “Ne gro.” In the second ward Thompson polled 24,263 votes against 1,799 for Dever; in the third ward, “Big Bill” got 27,201 against 3,532 for Dever, and in the fourth ward, which has a considerable white pop ulation, Thompson got 19,960 against 6,878 for Dever. The largest plurality re ceived by Thompson in any other one ward was 8,063 in the fortieth ward. To the charge, made by the Dever camp, that he was courting the Negro vote, Thompson, in a pre election speech, replied: “The black hand that was good enough to pull a trigger in defense of this country’s flag is good enough to mark a ballot for me.” Under the former Thomp son regime, he carried out his be lief in an equitable distribution of jobs to such an extent that the city hall was dubbed by many as “Uncle Tom’s Cabin.” In some of the of fices as many as one-third of the stenographers and clerks were color ed. jVt present there are fifty color ed employes in the county treasurer’s office. TELLS OF SOME MAJOR ACIEVEMENTS OF THE ADVANCEMENT ASS’N. Walter F. White, Assistant Secretary Addreuea Large Audience in St. John’a A. M. E. Church Walter F. White, of New York, assistant secretary of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, addressed a largely attended mass meeting in St. John’s A. M. E. church, Wednesday night, held under the auspices of the local branch of the N. A. A. C. P. Mr. White gave a most illuminat ing recital of the recent victories won by the association in the Texas White Primary case, declared unconstitu tional by the United States supreme court; the New Orleans residential segregation case, the Sweet case, and the Davis case. He also told of his investigation of the lynching of the Lowmans at Aiken, S. C. Mr. White designated all the vic tories won by the N. A. A. C. P. as victories not for Negroes alone but for the constitutional rights of all Americans. He made a strong plea for support of the association and excoriated the apathy and indifference that is very apparent in Omaha in the work of this great organization. He urged his audience to realize that the work of the National Off’’ e can only be effective in the proportion to which it is supported by various branches throughout the country. As a re sult of his appeal several member ships were taken out, some of them by white people who were very much impressed by his address. M. L. Hunter presided and the speaker was introduced by Henry W. Black, chairman of the executive committee. Mr. White left at midnight for Denver where he spoke Thursday night. He is to be one of the speak ers at the testimonial given to Clar ence Darrow in Chicago on Monday night. During his brief stay in the city Mr. White was the guest of Mr. and Mrs. T. P. Mahammitt. PRINCE ALI WILL ANSWER QUESTIONS THRU MONITOR “Prince Ali,’’ who is appearing at the Lake theatre, will answer ques tions asked him at the theatre in The Monitor. Submit your questions to him in writing at the Lake thea tre and look for your answer in the next issue of The Monitor. PROMINENT WHITE YOUTHS SUSPECTED OF HEINOUS CRIME Suspicion Points to 2 Young Scions of “Best” Femilios as Rapists. Not Negro Youths as First Reported Coffeyville, Kansas—A few weeks ago three Negro youths, accused of a brutal assault upon two high school girls, only escaped lynching by the action of the authorities, prompted by the determined stand of the Ne gro citizens to prevent mob-murder of the accused youths. Subsequently the suspects were discharged from custody. Nevertheless, feeling ran high for several days against the Negro resi dents, despite the fact that rumors were afloat that the alleged crime had not been committed by members of that race. A new aspect has now been placed upon the case. Slowly, but surely, the tide is turn ing in favor of Coffeyville Negro cit izens. Day by day, as stray bits of evidence are picked up, whites are coming to the bitter realization that Negroes did not assault the two white high shod girls as was proclaimed to the world on March 18th. It is noticeable that the white peo ple here are having a hard time be lieving that some of their own sons committed a crime which is admitted ly brutal. The arms of the law are reaching out and at present their shadows cover the heads of two young scions of Coffeyville’s best families. One comes of a family that runs a busi ness of no mean size and the other has a father who at one time was identified with an organization prom inent in building character in men. Coffeyville Negroes have always been determined that the guilty parties shall be uncovered, whether black or white. Even during the riot, they made it plain that they were willing to give money and time to catch the criminals. Now that it appears that the guilty persons are not black, the Negro citizens are naturally more eager that the name of the race shall be vindicated. They have raised more than $400 and turned it over to the American Legion to aid in the detection of the attackers. Negroes assert the cry “Negroes assaulted me” must be proved. Developments of a startling character are expected at any time. OKLAHOMA HIGH SCHOOL IS WINNER OF SPECIAL HONOR Tulsa, Okla.—For the first time in the history of colored institutions, a high school managed entirely by members of the race and located be low the Mason and Dixon line has been elected to the North Central Association of High Schools and Col leges. To the laymen that may not seem a particularly important an nouncement, but to the pedagog that spells volumes. This signal honor was conferred upon the Booker T. Washington high school of this city when the association held its annual meeting in Chicago. It not only is a tribute to its superiority of cur ricula and faculty but gives its grad uates opportunity to enter any of the greater universities of the country without examinations. The entire Tulsa school system has steadily forged ahead to new stand ards under the leadership of Super intendent P. P. Claxton, former com missioner of education, U. S. A. All of the teachers of the Booker Wash ington high school of which Prof. E. W. Woods is principal, are required to be graduates of some standard col lege and to have had at least two years teaching experience. A political organization was form ed last Monday night at a meeting held in the rooms of the Cplored Free Employmen bureau, Twenty-fourth and Burdette street. Dr. John A. Singleton was electel president and Orlo South secretary. Addresses were made by the Hon. F. L. Bar nett, Dr. J. H. Hutten, Dr. W. W. Peebles, Sergeant Isaac Bailey and others.
