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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 Year— <> nts a Copy Omaha, Nebraska, Friday, March 23, 1928 Vol. XIII—Number 38 Whole Number 659
Urban Congestion Imperils Life of Race
THE NEGRO FACES
DIRE PROBLEM IH
CROWDED CITIES
Survey Reveals Alarming Conditions
as Result of Drift of Negroes
from Country to Populous
Cities
HIGH RENTS, LOW STANDARDS
AbnormaMy Advanced Death Rate
from Tuberculosis, Pneumonia
and Infants’ Diseases Result
of Housing Conditions
Atlanta, Ga.—From 1900 to 1925
there was a shift of 2,100,000 Ne
groes from the country to the cities,
more than doubling the urban Negro
population, according to an exhaust
ive study of Negro life and conditions
just completed by the Institute of So
cial and Religious Research. Made
under the direction of Dr. T. J. Woof
ter, jr., of the University of North
Carolina, this study covers 16 typical
American cities, north and south, and
is the first scientific investigation of
Negro conditions ever made on any
thing like a national scale. The re
port of the investigation has just been
issued in a book entitled “Negro Prob
lems in Cities,” which treats of the
cityward drift of Negro population
and the resulting problems of fric
tion, congestion, segregation, exploit
ation, schools, recreation and delin
quency.
Congestion in Citiei
Contrary to the general impression,
■* the report reveals that a little more
than half the 2,100,000 Negro mi
grants stopped in southern cities,
though the percentage of gain was
very much heavier north than south.
In consequence of this rapid shift,
overcrowding and congestion in Ne
gro districts were found to be very
general. In New York City, for ex
ample, Negro population showed a
density of 336 per acre, as against
20 in Winston-Salem. In 11 tene
ment houses in Philadelphia 175 fam
ilies were found living in 354 rooms.
High Death Rate
Along with this crowding has gone
an abnormally high death rate, par
ticularly from tuberculosis, pneu
monia and the diseases of infants.
Rents, it was found, were very much
higher north than south, with a week
ly average of $7.18 per dwelling in
the north as against $3.74 in the
south. Lynchburg showed the mini
mum of 60 cents a room per week,
and Gary the maximum of $1.78. In
the case of 747 families living in
Harlem, New York, it was found that
rents took more than 23 per cent of
the total family income.
Recreation Facilities Few
The investigators discovered a gen
eral lack of public recreation facili
ties in Negro neighborhoods and in
consequence, a high rate of juvenile
delinquency. The conditions of com
mercialized recreation, such as pool
rooms and dance halls, were found to
be deplorable.
School Provisions Poor
^ “School funds are not adequate to
meet the needs, either north or
south,” says the report. “Where
there are separate Negro schools they
are usually a secondary considera
tion, with fewer seats in proportion
than the white schools, more pupils
per teacher, more double sessions,
poorer salaries, fewer and smaller
playgrounds, less adequate provisions
for the health and comfort of pupils
and few, if any, ‘extras,’ such as li
braries, gymnasiums, etc.”
Home Ownership Grows
One of the.encouraging signs re
vealed by the survey is the tendency
among Negroes toward home owner
ship. In every city studied except
New Orleans the number of Negro
home owners had increased material
ly, and in northern cities quite rapid
ly. In most eases the slum sections
have remained relatively constant in
population, while the population of
the home owning sections have been
increasing.
Mr. William Parks of Denver,
Colo., was the week-end guest of Mr.
and Mrs. T. P. Mahammitt, 2216 No.
Twenty-fifth street.
BOY SCOUT EXECUTIVE
TO VISIT OMAHA FRIDAY
Impreitive Investiture Service for
Troop No. 7 Will Be Held at
Central Y.W.C.A. in Connec
tion with His Visit
Mr. Stanley A. Harris of St. Louis,
Mo., national director of interracial
activities of the Boy Scouts of Amer
ica will be an Omaha visitor next
week. He visits the city for the pur
pose of quickening interest in the Boy
Scout movement, particularly among
colored people. He will hold confer
ences while here and at 8 o’clock
sharp Friday night, March 30, at the
Young Women’s Christian association
auditorium, Seventeenth and Howard
streets, there will be a public meet
ing at which Mr. Harris will be the
speaker and the impressive investi
ture service for Troop No. 7 will be
conducted by Boy Scout Troop No. 9
from All Saints’ church and scout
officials, to which the public is in
vited.
Admission will be by ticket which
can be secured free from Dr. Craig
Morris, and officials of sponsoring
troops, T. P. Mahammitt, the Rev.
Messrs. C. H. Trusty, John H. Grant,
J. W. Garner, and J. P. Jackson; Mrs.
M. L. Rhone, Dr. D. W. Gooden and
Paul Holliday.
FOUR COLORED GRADUATES
FROM TECHNICAL HIGH
Among the 94 graduates of the
winter quarter class of Technical
High school who received their dip
lomas Tuesday morning were four
colored students, three girls and one
boy. They were Misses Anna Jean
Dorsey, Hattie Naomi Maxwell and
Constance Belle Singleton and Her
bert Lewis. The class was an un
usual one inasmuch as the boys out
numbered the girls two to one, there
being 67 boys to 27 girls, the ratio
being ordinarily the other way.
Jean Dorsey, who is talented in
art, acording to the testimony of Miss
McCague, head of the art depart
ment, designed the cover for “The
Quadrant,” the graduate publication.
She plans to enter an art school.
Constance Singleton is skilled with
the needle and hopes to enter an
eastern school where she will take de
signing and dressmaking. The Mon
itor was unable to learn the plans
of Hattie Maxwell or Herbert Lewis,
but desires to congratulate all and to
wish them success.
WOMAN’S AUXILIARY OF
SPANISH WAR VETERANS
The Woman’s Auxiliary, Captain
Allen Allensworth camp No. 25,
Spanish American War Veterans, met
Wednesday evening and held a very
interesting meeting. Past Command
er George Douglas of Capt. Allens
worth camp read several important
articles he received from national
headquarters. All members who have
not paid their dues for 1928 are de
linquent February 1st. Don’t be one
of those to receive a notice by mail.
Your dues in the Woman’s Auxiliary
must be paid in order to remain in
good standing. Next meeting will be
held Wednesday, March 28 at 8 p. m.
at St. Benedict’s community home.
Refreshments will be served. All
members and also all women whose
husbands served in the Spanish Amer
ican war are invited to attend.
UNITY CLASS Y. W. C. A.
On Good Friday, April 6th, the
Unity class will hold a continuous
meeting from 10 a. m. to 6 p. m. at
the home of Attorney A. P. Scruggs,
2310 North Twenty-second street.
We hope that every Unity reader
in Omaha will attend this meeting
some time during the day. Come if
you cannot stay but a short while.
As we are sure you will be greatly
helped. We hope that everyone that
can will attend the meeting at the
“Y” Sunday, March 26th, from 6 to
7:30 p. m. Subject of the lesson,
Power of Thought. We will be dis
missed in plenty of time for those
who care to go to church. Full line
of Unity books and Easter cards on
sale. We will also take orders for
any books that you eare to order by
the year.
EDITORIAL
AN EDITORIAL WHICH NAILS THE LIE THAT THE
MONITOR FOUGHT SINGLETON IN LAST CAMPAIGN
Forasmuch as some are falsely charging that The Monitor
opposed the election of Dr. John A. Singleton two years ago and
“urged Negro voters to vote for his white opponent,” we are 1
republishing in full our editorial of Friday, July 30, 1926, in
order that our readers may know' for themselves and not from
hearsay just what we did say at that time and just what posi
tion we took. It will be seen that we carefully analyzed the
conditions as they were, presented our readers with cold facts
and not guesses, warned against over-confidence or under- !
estimating the strength of Singleton’s opponent, frankly ad
mitted that our candidate had his minor faults, which were!
outweighed by his qualifications, and urged our people to “lay!
aside petty personal likes and dislikes” and get unitedly be-:
hind him, because we had a fighting chance and only a fighting
chance to win. Fortunately our people took our advice thenj
and we won.
But here is the editorial. Read it carefully, tell us frankly!
whether we gave good advice or bad, whether we supported I
our race candidates or opposed them:
“We have a fighting chance to nominate at the August pri
mary and to elect in November a member of our race to the
state legislature; but let us bear in mind that it is only a fight
ing chance and by no means a certainty. We gain nothing by.
deceiving ourselves or others. We are too easily deceived and
make claims of political strength which an examination of hard,:
cold facts does not justify. When we cease to rely upon our
imagination and deal with facts we will get somewhere. While :
we talk others figure. Let us talk les* and figure more.
Facts and figures tell us that we have a fighting chance, and
only a slim fighting chance to send one of our group to the legis
lature. That chance, as we see it, is in the Ninth District—
which includes 12 precincts of the Second Ward, the bound
aries of which ward are Lothrop-Bristol street on the north;
the Missouri river on the east, the north side of Charles street
on the south and the east side of Thirtieth street on the west.
“But please bear in mind that the Ninth Legislative District
does not include all of the Second Ward. By a skillful gerry
mander the Fourth, Fourteenth and Fifteenth precincts, which
embrace the territory between Clark and Charles from Eigh
teenth to Thirtieth, and between Burdette and Charles from
Twenty-fourth to Thirtieth are excluded. You never thought
of that, did you? Now Precincts 14 and 15 are almost solidly
colored, and Precinct 4 very largely so. These heavy colored
precincts have been detached from the Ninth District and at
tached to the Tenth District. This clever trick or maneuver has
largely reduced our vote in the Ninth District. Had these three
precincts been included you can see what an advantage this
would have been to our people. It would have made us the
dominant political factor in the district. Our registered voting
strength in the district is only about 1,000, w'hile in the ward it
is 1,690. The unregistered voters will largely increase this.
Our registered vote in the Tenth District is about the same.
Weigh well these facts. Not guesses, but carefully collected
facts.
“These facts show that in both districts if we could poll even
our full present registered voting strength, centered on one can
didate, and enlist the support of a few hundred white voters,
which can be done for a strong candidate, we could elect a rep
resentative in either one of these districts, perhaps in both; but
that is doubtful. In one certainly. If we could get all our peo
ple to register and vote there would be no question about it. In
other words, in neither one of these districts, have we enough
colored votes to nominate or elect one of our own. This can
only be done by combination; and since we have enough votes
to defeat any republican candidate in either district, such com
bination can be made. These, then, are the plain facts: With
our race vote centered upon one candidate, it is possible to se
cure enough support from white voters to nominate and elect
one of our number in either of these two legislative districts,
but it must be a united and concentrated vote. It cannot be
done by scattering our fire
“Viewing these tacts, we believe our best ngnting cnance to
nominate a candidate at this time is in the Ninth District, where
only one candidate has filed in the person of Dr. John Andrew
Singleton. He is a young man, 31 years of age, born and reared
in Omaha, a member of a respected pioneer family, and of good
education, being a graduate of Central High school and How
ard university. He is married, has three children and is a home
owner and taxpayer. Like the rest of us, he has his faults, of
course. He has a good opinion of himself, which is not the
! worst of failings, and has a good deal of self-conceit—like the
I most of us have when we are young, but which is knocked out
| of us as we grow older. He is a church member and also a
; member of the American Legion and of several fraternities,
j These facts are all in his favor.
“Laying aside petty, personal likes and dislikes, which we
j must learn to do, if we ever expect to come into our own poli
1 tically or otherwise, there is no reason why we cannot get unit
I edly behind Singleton, not because he is Singleton, but because
we ought to have a representative in the House and regain the
i political prestige we once had in this state when our numbers
I were one-sixth less than they are now, and he is the available
candidate. Getting unitedly behind him we have a fighting
j chance of nominating him and so demonstrating our ability to
' put over some one program and by so doing win the respect of
! those who, because of our divisions, underrate our ability to
| do and largely regard us as children, pawns or playthings. This
j is going to be no easy job, for Singleton’s rival for the nomina
tion, Walter R. Johnson, who represented the district in the
last session, is an excellent young man, deservedly popular in
the District.
“We hope to see Singleton win, because we believe we have
got to continue fighting until we again have a representative in
the House, and the Ninth District seems to us, at this time, to
offer the best opportunity. If we had only one candidate in
the Tenth District, where, unfortunately, we have two—in the
persons of Mrs. Jabourness Alice Stewart, a most capable wo
man, who, if she can be elected, will be an excellent representa
tive; and F. L. Barnett, the chances for winning would be as
BRINGS WHITE AND
NEGRO WOMEN TOGETHER i
ON WEST COAST ,
Delilah L. Beasley Uses Columns of
Oakland Tribune
New York, N. Y.—How white and
colored clubwomen in California have j
been brought to co-operate, is told :
by Miss Delilah L. Beasley in a let
ter to the National Association for
the Advancement of Colored People.
Miss Beasley states that five years
ago she induced the white papers to
present in a fair way news of a small
riot. And then she called upon the i
editor of the Oakland Tribune, a j
white daily, to ask him to let her
present news of her race. Having
written a history of the Negro in
California Miss Beasley felt she knew
something of her people there.
She was given, and still writes and
edits, a Sunday column entitled “Ac
tivities Among Negroes,” in the Oak
land Tribune, which was read by
white clubwomen and brought an in
vitation from them to colored women
to join in their programs. As a con
sequence 25 colored women were in
vited as delegates to the Institute of
International Relations held in Berk
eley from March 6 to 9.
MRS. CHARLES SOUTH
DIES SUDDENLY
Mrs. Samantha I. South, of 2416
Blondo street, widow of the late
Charles South, who died May 16,
1923, expired suddenly Sunday morn
ing at 1 o’clock at the home of Mrs.
McTassell, 2802 North Twenty-fifth
street, a close personal friend with
whom she was spending the evening,
when she complained of feeling ill.
Mrs. South had been a resident of
Omaha for 38 years, coming to the
city from St. Louis when a girl 12
years old. She is survived by her
mother, Mrs. Kittie A. Johnson, ar.d
one son, Orlo U., a clerk in the office
: of Otto J. Bauman, county treasurer.
! The funeral was held Wednesday af
ternoon at 2 o’clock from Myers’
Funeral home, Father John Albert
Williams, rector of St. Philip’s Epis
copal church, officiating. Interment
was in Forest Lawn.
URBAN LEAGUE OFFICIAL
HERE FOR SEVERAL DAYS
Mr. T. Arnold Hill of New York,
director of the industrial relations
department of the National Urban
league, arrived in the city Monday
morning to spend two weeks here in
the interest of the Omaha branch,
which it is planned to have in opera
tion on or about April 1, although the
secretary will not be able to be on
the ground until at least a month
later. Some; preliminary work will
have to be done before the secretary’s
arrival and a good deal of this will be
done by Mr. Hill during his stay here.
The headquarters of the Omaha
branch of the Urban league will be
temporarily located at the Colored
Free Employment bureau at Twenty
fourth and Patrick avenue.
WALTER WHITE ASKED
TO WRITE ON LYNCHING
FOR FRENCH MAGAZINE
New York, N. Y.—Walter White,
assistant secretary of the National
Association for the Advancement of
Colored People, now on a year’s leave
for creative writing under a Guggen
heim fellowship in France, has been
asked by the publisher of The Journal
de la Semaine, a weekly magazine
published in Paris, to write a series
of five articles completly setting
forth the nature and evils of lynch
ing in America.
THOUSAND GUESTS
ATTEND DINNER FOR
OSWALD VILLARD
Glowing Tribute Paid Editor of The
Nation by Jame« Weldon Johnson
for Services Rendered Negro
Race
CHAMPIONS UNPOPULAR CAUSE
New York City-—Upwards of 1,000
persons attended the dinner given
recently in honor of Oswald Garrison
Villard at the Hotel Pennsylvania, in
recognition of his public service.
Roger Baldwin of the American Civil
Liberties union was chairman, and
Rev. John Haynes Holmes, toastmas
ter at the dinner. The speakers were
Zona Gale, the novelist; Mrs. Flor
ence Kelley, secretary of the National
Consumers league and a member of
the board of directors of the National
Association for the Advancement of
Colored People; Heywood Broun,
Freda Kirch way, one of The Nation’s
editors, and James Weldon Johnson.
Mr. Villard himself spoke in acknowl
edgement of the public tribute.
In his address Mr. Johnson spoke
specially of the services Mr. Villard
has rendered to the cause of the
Negro in America, in particular of
the meeting called by him in 1909 as
a result of which the National Asso
ciation for the Advancement of Col
ored People was born. Mr. Johnson
said in part:
in tne summer oi i yus tnere oc
curred in Springfield, 111., the old
home of Abraham Lincoln a race riot
in which Negroes were beaten to
death in the streets and even at the
base of the monument of the great
emancipator. A few brave souls in
New York City met together and talk
ed over the situation. They were Miss
Mary White Ovington, William Eng
lish Walling and Dr. Henry Moskow
itz. They felt that something ought
to be done to save the work of the
Abolitionists, of Abraham Lincoln
j and those who had died for a great
i cause. In their extremity they turn
' ed to Oswald Garrison Villard and
| it was he who drafted and issued the
; Lincoln Birthday Call, on February
! 12, 1909, addressed to the conscience,
! the humanity and the honor of the
j nation. The call was signed by 53
I outstanding liberals and was answer
j ed by a great mass meeting held in
historic Cooper Union, the meeting
I at which the National ^Association for
the Advancement of Colored People
| was born.”
Mr. Johnson referred to Mr. Vil
| lard’s courage, saying: “No just
j cause has been so unpopular that Mr.
| Villard has been afraid to strike a
1 blow in its behalf. I say this as a
! representative of the least popular
I cause in America.”
POLICEMAN IS DEAD
Phil Scott, a member of the police
force, died at his home, 2511 Charles
street, Tuesday afternoon, after a
two weeks’ illness with pneumonia.
THE NEIGHBORHOOD
LITERARY REVIEW
The Neighborhood Literary Review
held its monthly meeting on February
28 at the residence of Mrs. L. T.
Boggus. The club at this time is re
viewing the works of Thomas Hardy
and many interesting discussions and
ideas are brought out.
A tempting luncheon was served by
the hostess and the club adjourned
to hold its next meeting March 27
with Miss Jennie Robinson, 3717
Parker street as hostess.
good, if not better than in the Ninth. But this division, as we
see it, radically weakens our chances to win in the Tenth.
“The Monitor is anxious to have our people see the situation
! exactly as it is and not be deceived or deluded by false hopes.
! We ought to have about 4,000 voters registered and voting in
| the Ninth and Tenth Legislative Districts—2,000 in each dis
trict. We have only 2,000 now registered in both, which means
about 1,000 in each district. It is upon this basis that we have
to figure our chances for nominating and electing a representa
tive to the state legislature. Knowing the facts, let us act wise
ly and intelligently.
“ (Since this was written Mrs. Stewart has died, which alters
i the situation in the Tenth District.)”