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About The monitor. (Omaha, Neb.) 1915-1928 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 16, 1927)
LIFT, LIFT, 1)0 =. s = > I £ 4 r> fc _; % _ the monitor NEBRASKA'S WEEKLY NEWSPAPER DEVOTED TO THE INTERESTS OF COLORED AMERICANS THE REV. JOHN ALBERT WILLIAMS, Editor. GROWING — THANK YOU $2.00 a Yet ’> Cent* a Copy__Omaha, Nebraska, Friday, December 16, 1927 Vol. XIII—Nu.,»ber 24 Whole Number 646 Communists Are Said Courting Negroes UNDERSTANDING OF RACIAL CONDITIONS STUDENTS’ OBJECT Inter-Racial Commission of the Uni versity Y. W. C. A. Are Host esses at Delightful After noon Reception A COMMENDABLE MOVEMENT Lincoln, Neb.— (Special to The Monitor)—The Interracial Commis sion of the University Y. W. C. A. was hostess at a tea given at Ellen Smith hall on Thursday, December 8, when from 300 to 350 university co eds called between the hours of 5 and 6 o’clock. In the receiving line were the Misses Dorothy Nott, chair man of the commission, Mary Kinney, president of the Y. W. C. A., Zanzye H. Hill, Francis Lederer, and Maur ine Drayton. Miss Loretta Granger and Miss Elizabeth Schultz directed the girls into the dining room where Miss Erma Appleby, the secretary of the campus Y. W. C. A., presided over the beautifully appointed tea table, which was very skillfully dec orated with red candles tied with green tulle bows by Miss Louise Teb bets, who had charge of the decora tions. Ices and wafers were served. The Misses Corinne Ferguson, Har riet Horton, Louise Freeman, and Florence Reid, assisted Miss Apple by in the dining room. Miss Zanzye .H. Hill was chairman of the enter tainment committee which consisted of a splendid program as follows: Violin solo, Alberta Martin; vocal solo, Marjorie Byllisbye; vocal duet, Florence Reid and Thelma Ham mond; reading, Maurine Drayton; piano solo, Catherine Schultz; quar tet, Martin, Hill, Reid, Hammond, and Cleopatra Ross at the piano reading, Thelma Hammond; vocal solo, Cleopatra Ross; quartet, Martin, Hill, Reid, Hammond. The Interracial Commission con sists of a number of white and col ored girls on the campus whose pur pose is to create a better under standing between the races. This they strive to do by weekly discus sions, and occasional social activities. The members of the groups are as follows: The Misses Dorothy Nott, chairman, Dorothy Dixon, Harriet Horton, Thelma Hammond, Corinne Ferguson, Louise Freeman, Zanzye H. Hill, Louise Tebbetts, Cleopatra Ross, Francis Lederer, and Teresa Liverpool. TRI-ARTS SOCIETY SHOWING ACTIVITY The club of young girls and boys that was organized November 27, met again last Sunday, December 11, at the Y. W. C. A. Several sugges tions for the name of the club were presented to the house by the execu tive committee, and after a short dis cussion, they chose the Tri-Arts soci ety for the name. The three arts included are Liter ature, Music and Drama. It was necessary to elect an assistant sec retary and two other members to serve on the executive committee. The results of the election were— Celestine Smith, assistant secretary; William Moore and James Lee, to serve on the executive committee. The said committee held a short meeting last Tuesday to decide the sponsors of the club, membership lim it, and other mattery of importance to the club. The results will be pre sented to the club body at their next meeting, Sunday, December 18. Next Sunday, a short literary pro gram will be given by the members of the literary committee. ALICE RHINELANDER TO SUE New York, N. Y.—According to the Daily News, Alice Kip Rhine lander will shortly file suit, asking for a legal separation and alimony in excess of her present $300 a month allowance. Efforts to locate her hus band, made by her attorneys, have proved unavailing and permission of the court to serve papers in the suit on him by publication will be sought. GOSS SAYS WESLEY HAS MIND OF CHILD Chief Justice, Who Sentenced Ne gro, Asks Commutation of Death Sentence Lincoln, Neb.—Characterizing Sol Wesley, Omaha Negro, sentenced to be electrocuted December 30, as a mental incompetent with the mind of an 8-year-old child, and criticising his lawyers for not making this apparent at the time of trial, Chief Justice Goss, of the Nebraska supreme court, appeared before the board of par dons and paroles recently, asking that the sentence be commuted to life imprisonment. The board granted Wesley a spe cial hearing January 12. The date of execution, December 30, will be postponed by executive reprieve. Goss, then a Douglas county dis trict judge, originally sentenced Wes ley to death. “At the time of the trial I did not know of his mental condition,” said Goss. “I don’t want to criticise his lawyers, but they should have made this apparent to the court.” Dr. B. A. Finkle, prison physician and member of the board which re cently found Wesley sane, declared that he was “a high grade imbecile, not even a moron.” Dr. J. H. Mathai asserted Finkle’s rating was “entirely too high.” District Judge Fitzgerald, who fix ed the second death day, wrote a letter recommending the commuta tion. Wesley, during the hearing, sat slumped in his chair, exhibiting no emotion. — FIGHT RACE BAN Athens, Ohio—An Ohio State uni versity regulation which stipulates that “a student who cannot enter his own state institution cannot enter Ohio university,” has been the basis upon which race students have been barred from the institution, according to Gilbert S. Edwards, student there and president of the Phi Chapter, Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity. Seven students from West Virginia were refused admission last September. Aiding Edwards are a number of liberal white students opposed to such open prejudice. Mr. Edwards, whose address is Ohio university, Athens, Ohio, will be glad to hear from lead ers throughout the country interested in helping in the fight. THIRTY-FIVE CALL HIM "DAD” Bridgeport, Conn.—Plenty Keitt, 106, is the father of 35 children, 10 of whom are living; grandfather of 100, great grandfather of 12 and has several great, great grandchil dren. His youngest son, James P. Keitt, 352 Warren street, is 42. NEGRO MAID SAVES CHILDREN — Douglaston, Long Island, N. Y.— Mrs. Lee Ella Britton, a maid work ing in the Bay avenue home of Thom as H. Matters, jr., saved his one year-old daughter, Jean, and his 3 year-old son, last week, when the in terior of the house was badly gutted by a fire. ARKANSAS SCHOOL STARTS $600,000 BUILDING PROGRAM Pine Bluff, Ark.— (Preston New3 Service)—Decision by the Arkansas supreme court last week that the pro posed $275,000 bond issue for the Agricultural, Mechanical and Nor mal School for Negroes here will mean that the $600,000 building pro gram for the institution will begin immediately, according to an an nouncement by the board of trustees of the school. “TIGER” FLOWERS’ HEIRS TO RECEIVE $150,000 Atlanta, Ga.—An estate valued at $150,000 was left by Theodore (Ti ger) Flowers, former middleweight champion. Under the will, $60,000 will be converted into a trust fund for his daughter, Verna Lee. The bulk of the remaining estate will be divided by his wife and parents. EDITORIAL In our editorial of last week on the Sol Wesley case, we stated that we would be pleased to have Judge Fitzgerald, or any othe,r^member of the bar, correct us upon any point in which we were in error. We are, therefore, very glad to receive a letter from Judge Fitzgerald in which he points out that we made one mistake, in stating that the court re-sentenced Wesley, whereas what was done, upon Wesley’s recent appear ance, was “to fix a date for carrying out the provision of the verdict and sentence pronounced some years ago.” Judge Fitzgerald’s letter will no doubt do much to clear up much of the misunderstanding concerning this case. It shows that it was necessary to fix a date for execution before the Board of Pardons and Paroles would consider an applica tion for commutation of sentence. Our, contention that Wesley is a mental defective is, how ever, not overthrown, but on the contrary strengthened by the court’s verification of our statement of the commission or com mittee’s finding him “not insane but of low mentality.” Their report, as we had it, only stated it another way: “Sane but of subnormal mentality.” The fact that upon Wesley’s statement to the hospital au thorities that he was not insane, but “faking,” he was returned to the penitentiary “without formal order,” does not, in our opinion, eliminate the charge of irregularity. We did not know that it was customary to place so much credence in the state ments of people adjudged insane that they were not insane as seems to have been done in this case. We have understood that insane people invariably insist that they are perfectly sane and that everybody else is insane. If Wesley proved him self so shrewd that he could so skillfully feign or fake insanity as to deceive the alienists who pronounced him insane and committed him to the asylum, it would seem that his mentality instead of being subnormal or low is, on the contrary, super normal or high, does it not? But all this aside. Those who have come in contact with Wesley say that he is a mental defective, and this is the real point at issue. Our contention was that being a mental defective or insane person, he ought not to be executed but imprisoned for life. Judge Fitzgerald, in his letter, which we herewith publish, seems to share this view. The Board of Pardons at its session Tuesday, granted Wesley a special hearing on January 12, at which time it is believed his sentence will be commuted, and The Monitor’s prophecy fulfilled. Here is the full text of the letter written us by Judge Fitz gerald, for whom we have the highest regard, and believe him to be one of the fairest minded judges on the bench: JAS. M. FITZGERALD Judge District Court Omaha, Neb. December 10, 1927. Rev. John Albert Williams, Post Office Box 1204, Omaha, Nebraska. My dear Father Williams: I notice in the edition of The Monitor of December 9th you refer to a re-sentencing of Sol Wesley. It is not strange that you gathered from the newspaper reports that Sol Wesley was re sentenced. Whether the re-sentencing would be legal is not before us for discussion at this time. Sol Wesley was not re-sentenced. He had already been sentenced some years ago for electrocution, but the day fixed had passed without any definite postponement, and all that was done by this Court on Wesley’s recent appearance here was to fix a date for carrying out the provision of the verdict and sentence. The Board of Pardons and Paroles declined to act upon any application for a commutation when there was no date fixed for execution, and with the record as it was there is always danger that at some time in the .future Wesley might be released on habeas corpus; and you would not, according to your editorial, wish to have this occur. You speak of Wesley as insane. The committee who exam ined him found he was not insane, but of low mentality. ' There is a distinct legal distinction, insanity is a diseased mind. There is so much misunderstanding in regard to this matter that I take this opportunity to correct your mind and your record. Wesley’s sentence will, in all probability, be commuted as he is not considered dangerous while confined. Very truly yours, (Signed) JAS. M. FITZGERALD. P. S.—Wesley could not have been discharged as cured. He told the keepers he was not insane, but that he had been “faking.” He was then returned to the “pen” without formal order. L. C. A. CLUB ENTERTAINS AT A MUSICAL TEA The L. C. A. club entertained with a very enjoyable musical tea Sunday evening, December 11, between the hours of 5 and 7, at the residence of Dr. and Mrs. McMillan, 2892 Miami street. Solos were rendered by Mr. Johnson, with Miss Burnett as ac companist, Miss Dorcas Jones with Miss Dora Perry Thomas, who also rendered a piano solo, as accompan ist. Readings were given by Miss Florence Jones, and Mrs. W. W. Craig. This club is composed of a group of young matrons, who are promoters of a day nursery. SENTENCE INSANE NEGRO Richmond, Va.— (ANP)—Though pronounced a lunatic by a lunacy commission last August, Shirley Win ningham was found guilty of the mur der of Hilda Barlow, a young white girl of Smithfield and the punish ment fixed at death by a jury in Has tings court, recently. Judge Matthews ruled that the court was not governed by the ruling of the lunacy commission, and it took the jury just one hour and a half to reach the verdict, and some of that was consumed in the trip to and from the jury room. COLORED STUDENT WINS SCHOLARSHIP Lon Island, N. Y.— (ANP)—Ar thur Owen Waller of Elmhurst, Long Island, a young colored junior in the Springfield Y. M. C. A. college, has been awarded a one-year scholarship at the University of Geneva, Switzer land, for excellence in his studies. MOVIE CORPORATION PLANS BIG PICTURE Washington, D. C.—Directors and stockholders of the Colored Film cor poration, meeting here, elected S. H. Dudley,, president; J. Finley Wilson, fist vice president; David Starkman, general manager, and Louis Grover, secretary-treasurer. The company is offering stock to the public. The next big picture has already been outlined, and calls for 1,500 people drawing salaries from $30 to $500 weekly, and plans to star the most beautiful brown-skinned women in the world. COMMUNISTS MAKE BID FOR NEGROES IN NATIONAL DRIVE Chicago, 111.—ANP) — Declaring that Negroes would never secure their full rights of citizenship in America under the present form of government, the Workers’ Commun ist Party, at the tenth annual anni versary of the Russian revolution, urged Negroes to join the Commun ist Party. The meeting was held in the Ash land Boulevard auditorium and was attended by a large number of Ne groes. Much reference was made by the speakers to the manner in which the Negroes were treated in America. Concrete cases of mistreatment were cited and deplored. One of the cases cited was the Gary school situation which resulted in the Negro children being forced into wooden buildings to wait for the erection of a substantial school building. Lynchings in the South and the growing jim-crowism in the North, along with the closed door faced by Negro workmen, were set forth as some of the conditions under which according to the speakers, they would continue to labor as long as the pres ent form existed. According to reports here, the meeting recently was for the launch ing of a national campaign for Ne groes to join the Communist party. Other meetings will be held here and in the principal cities of the states. FORMER OMAHA PASTOR BUYS VALUABLE PROPERTY Kansas City, Mo.—The two story apartment buildings at 1211-1215 Woodland avenue, were purchased recently by the Rev. W. C. Williams for a consideration of $48,000. There are forty-six, one, two, and three-room kitchenettes in the two buildings. The deal is the largest made by a Negro in Kansas City and the apartments are also the largest owned by Negroes. Rev. W. C. Wil liams was for several years pastor of St. John’s A. M. E. church at Omaha, Nebraska. SALARIES MAY BE HELD UP Cicago, 111—Owing to a general shortage of school funds, half of the teachers’ salaries of Chicago may be held up during the months of January and February to cover a shortage of $6,000,000. MISSISSIPPI TOWN WINS MURDER BELT Clarksdale, Miss.— (A N P)—Dur ing the year just closed 166 murders were committed within the corporate limits of this city with only four ar rests by the authorities. Of the 166 souls sent into eternity without warning, 80 per cent were Negroes. TWO RACE INSTITUTIONS AMONG SIXTEEN STANDARD COLLEGES IN VIRGINIA Richmond, Va. — (Preston News Service)—Among the 16 educational institutions in the state of Virginia given the rating of standard colleges during 1926-27, were Virginia Union university of this city and the Vir ginia Normal and Industrial Institute of Petersburg. WEST DISCOVERS GIRL ARTIST Los Angeles, Cal.—i(ANP)—The work of Miss Constance Phillips, a 17-year-old school girl, has drawn j the attention of art critics here who predict a great future for her. A heroic figure suggesting manhood’s power and a study from life of a quadroon girl have been pronounced masterpieces. LADIES’ BIRTHDAY CLUB HOLD FINE EXHIBIT The Ladies’ Kensington Birthday club held a very fine exhibit of needle work at the home of Mrs. Bert John son, 2618 Binney street, Monday af ternoon, which was very largely at tended. Many beautiful, useful and fancy articles were displayed. Fruit cake and other cakes, pies and home canned fruits were for sale. FORMER OMAHANS MARRIED 25 YEARS KEEP ANNIVERSARY Mr. and Mrs. Alfred Shute Receive Cordial Felicitations from Many Friends on Happy Event RECIPIENTS OF VALUED GIFTS Sheridan, Wyo.— (Special to The Monitor)—Mr. and Mrs. Alfred Shute celebrated their 25th wedding .anniversary Thursday evening, De cember 1st, at their beautiful new home on Neilson Heights. The oc casion was the outstanding social event of the season and will long be remembered by those in attendance. Mr. and Mrs. Shute were married in Omaha in 1902. Mrs. Shute will be remembered by Omahans as Miss Jennie Wiggington. Shorty after their marriage Mr. and Mrs. Shute moved to Sheridan, being among the first colored residents of that sec* tion of the state. They have two children, a son and daughter, Alfred, who is a student at the University of Minnesota, and Mercedes, a student at the Colorado Teacher’s college at Greeley, Colo. Mr. J. A. Nathans, in his pleasing and debonair style, ad dressed the family and guests and afterwards presented Mrs. Sarah Powell, who sang “Oh Promise Me” and “My Task,” and Mrs. Helen Jack son, who sang “At Peace With the World With You” and Always.” Both sopranos, who appeared to be at their best, were accompanied by Mrs. Andrew Chenault, formerly Miss Eva Watson of Omaha. Mrs. Shute, in her pleasing and winsome manner, made a beautiful expression of thanks for the many beautiful silver presents with which the dining taHe was laden. Among the guests were Mr. and Mrs. Jesse Baker, Mr. and Mrs. W. W. Lewis, Mr. and Mrs. Albert Bell, Mr. and Mrs. Walter Jackson, Mr. and Mrs. Chester Pow ell, Miss Geraldine Wilson, Mrs. Spencer Wilson, Mrs. Clara Crosby, Miss Virginia Bell, Mrs. Andy Chen ault, Rev. H. C. Henderson, Mr. J. C. Johnson, Mr. Carey Seymour, and Mr. Charles Williams. Dainty re freshments were served by the host ess and the guests reluctantly depart ed about midnight voicing their senti ments that the assemblage, from a so cial viewpoint, was the most brilliant of the season. Y. W. C. A. NOTES The Christmas vesper service will be held at Central building, Seven teenth and St. Mary’s avenue at 4:00 p. m. Sunday afternoon, December 18. The Fellowship committee quilt is almost complete. Chances are being sold by each member of the commit tee. Mrs. Minnie Dixon is the chair man of this committee. Mrs. Ricks, chairman, and mem bers of the Membership committee are still looking for quilts that you might like to have hand-quilted. These ladies are doing excellent work and are receiving many compliments. The charge is very reasonable. Call Webster 1539 for further informa tion. The board of management held their monthly meeting at the branch, Wednesday afternoon, at 3:00 p. m. All were happy to have Mrs. Vance, who is convalescing from a serious illness, meet with us again. A Yuletide musical tea, sponsored by the board of management, with Mrs. John Albert Williams as chair man, and assisted by Mrs. Hiram Greenfield, will be given December 29, at the North Side Branch of the Y. W. C. A., from the hours of 3 to 7 o’clock. An impromptu program will be rendered, and delicious re freshments will be served. The pub lic is most cordially invited to attend. LYNCHING SHERIFF BEATEN Columbia, Tenn. — Twenty-four hours after Sheriff Luther Wiley, white, permitted the lynching of an 18-year-old youth here, citizens went to the polls and voted him out of of fice.