, r - • -
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—5 Cents a Copy Omaha, Nebratka, Friday, April 27, 1928 Vol. XIII—Number 43 Whole Number 664
“Negro Trade Week” April 30 to May 8
LOCAL MINISTERS’
ALLIANCE HOLDS
WEEKLY MEETING
Ballard Dunn, Managing Editor of
the Omaha Bee-News, Addresses
Gathering and Answers
Questions
TELLS NEWSPAPERS POLICY
The Ministers' Alliance held its
regular meeting Monday morning in
the lecture room of Cleaves Temple
C. M. E. Church, Twenty-fifth and
Decatur streets, the Rev. John H.
Grant presiding. Much important
business was dispatched and live sub
jects discussed. Among the topics
presented was the question of secur
ing appointment of teachers in our
public schools. This is to be the sub
ject to which the Alliance is to de
vote its entire session next Monday.
Mr. Ballard Dunn, managing editor
of the Ombaha Bee-News, and Mr.
Allwine of the circulating depart
ment, were present. This was Mr.
Allwine’s second visit, who upon a
former occasion had been asked some
questions conceding the editorial
policy of the Bee-News. This not be
ing in his department, Mr. Dunn ac
cepted an invitation to address the
Alliance. He was well received and
frankly answered certain questions
asked. The questions elicited the an
swer that it is contrary to the ex
pressed policy of the Bee-News to
permit the use of the word "Negress,”
a term complained of, in speaking of
women of our race; or to use the
word “Negro” in the headlines in re
porting crimes or alleged crimes; but
that sometimes these rules are vio
lated by new men on the staff and
slip by th_- editor. Mr. Dunn said!
that it was the policy of the Bee-1
News to permit nothing offensive to \
any class of its readers, but to be j
helpful to all and constructive and if j
any violations of the rules of court- i
esy were called to his attention as1
full amendment as possible would be j
mede. j
Mr. Dunn’s attention was court-;
eously called to the fact that occu-\
pational opportunities for our edu- j
cated young men and women are lim-1
ited and was asked to see if some (
opening on the reportorial staff could j
not be made. He said he would take j
this matter up and see what could be |
done.
_ I
RUTGERS COLLEGE
STUDENTS ARE ELECTED
TO PHI BETTA KAPPA
New Brunswick, N. J.—Two col-1
orcd members of the senior class at
Rutgers college have been honored
with election to the Alpha chapter of
the Phi Beta Kappa fraternity. Paul
Robeson, famed football player, actor
and singer, is the only other colored
student who has been accorded a
similar honor, having been elected I
to the honorary organization in 1919. j
The two new members of this fra-<
ternity are Reuben McDaniel and
Weaver Howard, both of whom have
maintained the highest scholastic
standard and are popular with all
classes of the student body.
SPECIAL SUBSCRIPTION OFFER
TO THE MONITOR
During "Negro Trade Week"
The Monitor will accept 200 New
Subscriber* at the Special Sub
scription Rate of $1.00 a year.
If you are not a subscriber, fill out
the following subscription blank
and mail it with a money order for
$1.00 or bring it with One Dollar
to The Monitor office, 1119 North
Twenty-first street and you will
receive The Monitor for one year.
To take advantage of this you must
be a NEW SUBSCRIBER and be
among the first 200 sent or
brought in.
SPECIAL
"NEGRO TRADE WEEK"
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BOY SCOUTS HAVE
FLAG CEREMONY AND
WILL PLANT TREES
At the opening of the Colored Base
Ball League season at Miller Park
last Sunday afternoon the flag cere
mony was conducted by Troops 7 and
23 of the Boy Scouts, under the di
rection of Deputy Scout Commission
er Craig Morris, Arthur McCaw,
Scoutmaster, and Forrester Scott,
Assistant. Twenty-two boys and a
bugler took part in the impressive
ceremonies. The pledge of allegiance
to the flag was given by those par
ticipating.
Next Saturday afternoon at 5
o’clock Troop 33 of the City Mission,
assisted by Troops 23 and 7, will
plant trees and clean up the grounds
opposite the Mission at Twelfth and
Pacific streets.
N. A. A. C. P. BEGAN
ANTI-LYNCHING FIGHT.
SAYS CHAS. MACFARLEND
New York, N. Y.—Generous tri
bute is paid to the leadership of the
i N. A. A. C. P. in beginning the na
i tional fight against lynching, by Mr.
i Charles S. MacFarland, general sec
retary of the Federal Council of
| Churches of Christ in America, in an
article published in a number of
! newspapers recently,
! Speaking of the reduction in the
lynching figures, Dr. MacFarland
i writes:
“The arousing of public sentiment
against lynching and the consequent
decrease of the practice can be
\ largely traced to a campaign of pub
lic education participated in by so
cial agencies, the white and Negro
; newspapers and our organized church
' forces of the country. The first or
ganization active in combating the
evil was the National Association for
the Advancement of Colored People,
which more than ten years ago be
gan a thorough research into the his
tory of the evil, secured the support
of huidreds of prominent citizens in
appeals against mob murder and be
gun an active campaign for federal
legislation against it. Largely
through the stimulation of that or
ganization, successive bills were in
troduced by Congressman Dyer and
the public discussion of these appeals
was a large factor in forcussing pub
lic attention.”
POSTMASTER GENERAL NEW
ISSUES A STATEMENT
Washington, D. C.'—Postmaster
General Harry S. New has issued a
statement in defense of Robert R.
Church, Tennessee political leader,
declaring that Church worked earn
estly in behalf of the appointment of
G. Tom Taylor as postmaster of i
Memphis, and characterizing the
charges that Taylor was ousted from
the postmastership because Church
deserted him as “conspiculously un
grateful and untrue.”
WILL PRESENT PUPIL
IN PIANOFORTE RECITAL
Miss Will. Hayes
Mrs. Florentine Frances Pinkston
will present Miss Willa Hayes in ]
pianoforte recital Thursday evening,
May 3, at Zion Baptist church at 8:15
p. m. Miss Hayes is a student at
Central High school and the daughter
of Mr. and Mrs. E. Hayes, 625 South
18th street. All are cordially invited.
EDITORIAL
The National Negro Business league, organized nearly 30
years ago by Booker T. Washington, has done much for the
promotion and stimulation of business enterprises among our
people throughout the country. Business ventures in prac
tically all lines, many successful and of commanding magni
tude, have been and are vastly more numerous in the south
than in the north for obvious reasons which we shall not now
attempt to recount. Of late years, however, due largely to
southern migration and other contributing causes, there has
arisen considerable business activity among our group in the
north. All things considered, commendable progress has been
made by us in the business, commercial and professional world.
This has reached larger proportions than any of us realize.
And yet we have hardly more than scratched the surface. We
have hardly done more than made a beginning. We are still
in the earliest pioneer stage of commercial and business de
velopment; but this only discloses the richness and fertility of
the land that lies invitingly before us, bidding us press bravely
on and possess it and leave it as a goodly heritage to our chil
dren.
It this is to be done, and it must be done, two things are
necessary: Experience upon the part of our business and pro
fessional people, and liberal patronage from our people. This
may be summed up in one word—EDUCATION. Our business
people must be educated in their respective lines so as to rea
sonably meet the demands of the trade they seek. They must
render service. And the public among our group must be edu
cated to patronize our people, who are honestly and earnestly
endeavoring to render service. They must realize, for example,
that a race merchant whose capital is limited, cannot compete
in price with the department or chain store, which can buy by
the carload, and the two or three cents more per pound or per
item he must charge will help him so develop his business that
he may give employment to other members of the race and
create capital that can be advantageously used for and by the
race. Do you see the point?
For emphasizing these essentials of successful business the
National Negro Business league has for some years fostered
and encouraged what has been called “Negro Trade Week” in
all localities where there is any considerable number of our
group engaged in business. Meetings are held for the bus
iness people, who are given plain talks and instructions as to
how they should conduct and improve their business and our
people are told by pulpit and press of their duty to give a rea
sonable proportion of their patronage to our business enter
prises. Upon the initiative of the Ministerial Alliance, Omaha
is to have its first “Negro Trade Week.” It begins Monday,
April 30, and will end Tuesday, May 8. The pastors of all the
churches have been requested to call the attention of their con
gregations to this important matter Sunday by urging the peo
ple to make some needed purchases from Negro merchants and
firms next week, to visit such places and become acquainted
with what is being attempted in a business way by our people
here. If this is done, and we believe it will be done, it will
cause a helpful stimulation of our struggling and worthwhile
business ventures in this city.
The Monitor hopes to publish in the next issue, a reasonably
complete business and professional directory, which we believe
will prove an eye-opener and revelation to our citizens and
encourage us all to helpful co-operation. We urge our readers
to do their share in making Omaha’s first “Negro Trade Week”
a decided success. Buy something next week from one of your
own race and keep it up 52 weeks in the year, and it will not be
long before colored Omaha will be on the map commercially,
improving our financial standing and providing places of em
ployment for our young men and women.
SPENDING MONEY WITH OUR OWN PEOPLE
The Negro population of Omaha is placed at upwards of
15,000. We believe this to be a safe figure. Granted that this
number is substantially correct, place the amount spent for
food for these 15,000 people at the small sum of 20 cents a
day for each person. Do you know how much that would
amount to? THREE THOUSAND DOLLARS A DAY! That
means $21,000 a week, or $1,092,000.00 a year. ONE MIL
LION AND NINETY-TWO THOUSAND DOLLARS is a lot of
money. And yet, granting that our people in this city, spend
only 20 cents a day each for food this is the enormous sum it
reaches in one year. But knowing how the average colored
man loves his stomach, must have his “poke chops” and chicken,
no matter what the price is, and “digs his grave with his teeth,”
as one of our physicians aptly puts it, we believe the average
spent per day for food will be almost double this amount. But
accepting the lower average, you see what an immense sum it
is. Now suppose only one-tenth of this amount were spent
among the nine Negro grocery stores in Omaha, do you know
what that would amount to? Nearly $110,000.00, or to be
exact, $109,400.00 a year placed in the hands of people of our
own race, enabling them to enlarge their stores and stock and
to give employment to several of our people. Only ten per
cent of your trade! But why not twenty or twenty-five per cent
of your trade? That would mean from $220,000.00 to $280,
000.00 per annum. Can you see how much this would mean
for us as a people?
And what is true of the grocery business is true of other
lines of business, dry goods, shoes, socks, dresses, milinery,
drugs, candies, toiletries, sundries, in a corresponding degree,
Can you not see how much depends upon your spending
some of your money among your own people, how it will en
able us to develop other enterprises, improve our occupational
opportunities, make for the ownership of homes and property
and raise our status in the community? Our commercial fu
ture is largely in our own hands if we will only use our nickels
and dimes and dollars wisely. Spending some of our money
with our own people is the only way to get a sound business
footing. Let us seize our opportunities and improve them.
URBAN LEAGUE REPORTS UN
EMPLOYMENT LESS; TWO CHI
CAGO FIRMS GIVE OPPORTUN
ITIES TO NEGROES
The National Urban League,
through its department of industrial
relations, of which T. Arnold Hill is
director, reports as follows on indus
trial changes during the month of
March. Though unemployment is still
abnormal the month of March wit
nessed the beginning of a gradual
change for the better in the genera)
unemployment situation which had
been said to be the worst since 1921.
The building trades began to improve;
steel and iron factories increased
their working days; the automobile
j industry added men to their pay rolls
| and textile operations moved forward.
I As a consequence, the employment
situation among Negroes which in
the main follows the general trend
for the country, is showing signs of
improvement. Negroes are not re
turning to the jobs that have been
taken over by whites but shift from
colored to white labor began to slow
up during the latter part of March,
although Pine Bluff added one hotel
to the rather long list that have
changed to white service help. As
yet the instances denoting betterment
are so fragmentary that specific cita
tions would be unreliable. The best
that can be reported is a very defin
ite trend toward improvement which
industrial commentators and the de
partment of labor in Washington
have pointed to as an indication of
better times when outdoor work com
mences.
Conditions in Winston-Salem ap
parently grew worse and from there
it was reported: “there are more Ne
groes unemployed in the city of Win
ston-Salem during the month ol
March than has been in ten years.”
Cleveland and Detroit show consider
able gain among Negroes. The Ne
gro Welfare association reported an
increase of 54 per cent in the total
number of placements as compared
with the month of February. The
favorable condition in Detroit is due
to the upgrade in automobile prod
ucts. Harrisburg and Springfield,
111., which have consistently reported
unemployment unchanged, showed a
marked improvement in March.
The most outstanding achievement
came from Chicago where the South
Center Department store has provid
ed employment for 35 or 40 colored
men and women out of a total force
of 100. Negroes are occupying po
sitions as saleswomen, clerks in the
office, receiving clerks, switch boarc}
operator, assistant to the manager
and assistant window trimmer. The
store is located in a district accessible
to both white and Negro patrons.
Chicago also reports two oil stations
in charge of colored men. This is the
first time that the company owning
them has made use of colored help in
this capacity in Chicago. A large na
tionally known drug store corpora
tion has almost a complete Negro
force including pharmacist, clerks
and cashier. This revives a practice
which the same company abandoned
some years ago.
Buffalo, Tulsa and Bine Bluff pre
sent unique situations. In Buffalo
Negro musicians lost their jobs in
dance halls and night clubs when they
were closed by police because of le
gal violations. Most of the closet'
places employed Negro orchestras
and those that remained open em-1
ployed white orchestras. In Tulsa
republican candidates for city offices
promised an equal division of labor
between the races. This, if granted,
would be a unique innovation for
Oklahoma and would provide for
some of the surplus labor which has
come to the city from the farms be
cause the boll-weevil interfered with
the cotton crop. In Pine Bluff, where
men are working two or three days a
week at the mills and colored workers
are losing their jobs at hotels, white
business men are making appeals fo*
colored people to buy goods from
them. Lectures are being given to
colored school children and free trade
tickets, chickens, etc., are being given
away.
Mrs. Sybil Ogelsby, who underwent
an operation this week, is improving
nicely.
ADVANCEMENT
ASSOCIATION GETS
THOUSAND DOLLARS
Julius Rosenwald, Prominent Jewish
Philanthropist, Shows His
Interest in Work of
Organization
GREAT BENEFACTOR OF RACE
New York, N. Y.—Julius Rosen
wald has made a gift of $1,000 to
ward the work of the National As
sociation for the Advancement of
Colored People, it was announced
last week at the national offices, and
on the same day a check for $250
arrived from Moorfield Storey of
Boston, the N. A. A. C. P. national
president,
Mr. Rosenwald, whose schools are
playing a vitally important part in
providing educational opportunity for
colored children throughout the
Southern state, has long been ac
! quainted with the work of the N. A.
A. C. P. At the national conference
of the N. A. A. C. P. in Chicago in
June, 1926, Mr. Rosenwald came to
one of the meetings and was intro
duced, speaking briefly. Besides his
school benefactions, Mr. Rosenwald
has interested himself in the work of
Negro authors, distributing their
books among his friends and mani
festing keen interest in the emerg
ence of new talent.
Mr. Storey, besides serving as na
tional president of the N. A. A. C. P.
since its first organization, has re
peatedly given his legal services to
its cause, winning epoch-making
cases before the United States Su
preme Court, and giving freely both
of his time and money when called
upon. Mr. Storey’s 80th birthday
was made the occasion for a spon
taneous tribute to him for his life
time of devoted championship of the
Negro’s cause, from colored people
in every part of the United States.
MEETING IN INTEREST
OF "NEGRO TRADE WEEK”
An enthusiastic mass meeting in
the interest of Negro Trade Week
was held Tuesday night at Cleaves
Temple C. M. E. church. The Rev.
J. H. Garner presided. Musical num
bers were given by the choir. The
Rev. Z. E. McGee delivered the prin
cipal address, having as his topic
“Friendship in Business,” in which he
stressed friendship, or the making of
friends as a valuable business asset.
Other speakers were Dr. W. W.
Peebles, who took issue with the first
speaker, declaring that business and
friendship do not mix well; Mr. Jacob
Carey, who spoke for the grocers;
Mr. Wm. Montgomery, who spoke for
carpenters and builders; Mr. Johnson,
who spoke for the barbers; Mr. Peat,
for the restaurant keepers; Mrs. Isaac
Bailey, for dry goods; Mrs. Stuart*
for art stores; Dr. H. Wiggins, for
physicians; H. J. Pinkett, for the at
torneys; Father Williams, for the
press; and Mr. C. S. Simmons and M.
Lynch, for the tailors.
EUREKA ART CLUB MEETS
The Eureka Art Club met at the
home of Mrs. Elizabeth Stewart,
South Side, Wednesday afternoon,
April 18. A very interesting meet
ing was held. Twelve members were
present. Two new members were en
rolled. Thirty minutes was devoted
to needlework. Interesting remarks
were made by Mrs. Lena Underwood,
after which a delicious lunch served
by the hostess was enjoyed by all
present. The Club adjourned to meet
with Mrs. Jennie McGovern, 2222
Seward street, Wednesday, May 2nd.
The president desires that all mem
bers be present, as it will be election
of officers.
BOYS WIN IN AIRPLANE
BUILDING COMPETITION
Washington, D. C.—Vernon Rey
nolds and William Fulford, Arm
strong High school students, won
honors in the airplane building con
test recently conducted here for boys.
Reynolds took second place in the
glider contest for endurance, and
Fulford third place.