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NEBRASKA’S WEEKLY NEWSPAPER DEVOTED TO THE INTERESTS OF COLORED AMERICANS
_ _____ THE REV. JOHN ALBERT WILLIAMS, Editor.
$2.00 a Year—5 Cents a Copy Omaha, Nebraska, Friday, September 14, 1928 Vol. XIV—No. ll Whole Number 684
BALANCE OF POWER
HELD BT NEGROES IN
v THE BORDER STATES
Politicians Are Busy Trying to Hold
Trend of Negro Voters to Demo
crats in Doubtful States—
They Promise More
(From the New York Telegram)
Washington, D. C.—Negro voters
can turn the national election in
doubtful border states. Hence the
politicians are scurrying about try
ing to devise ways and means to
make the colored vote safe for Hoov
er or Smith, as the case may be.
Republicans have reason to fear a
revolt at the polls in some Northern
cities, where Negroes in the past have
voted with almost automatic regular
ity for the G. O. P. candidates. These
changed conditions are said to be due
to younger radicals of the race, who
are preaching to their followers that
the republican party has long ex
ploited them by taking their votes
without doing anything in return to |
justify the boasts of “Lincoln’s
party.”
Quick to take advantage of this
discontent, democrats are going out
for the first time with an almost
nation-wide organization to catch
these racial ballots.
Three Fronts in Fight
According to the campaign strate
gists on both sides, there are three
fronts in this battle: Industrial cen
ters of the North, such as New York,
Chicago and Indianapolis; border;
states, including Missouri and its St.
Louis colored belt, and, of less im
portance because of so-called dis
enfrachising laws, certain Southern
states, such as North Carolina, where
election returns may conceivably be
close.
The republican and democratic
problem in the industrial areas of the
North is both political and economic.
To meet racial discontent this year,
they find they must pledge not only
adequate political representation, but
also protection for the welfare of the
Negro workers who are becoming
“class conscious.”
Unfortunately for the politicians,
however, they find that the very
propaganda required to capture the
Negro vote is the kind that will lose
white votes in the doubtful border
and Southern states.
In the North, republicans are try
ing to sell thcv ticket on the basis
of being the tiaditional party of the
Negro, committed to championing his
equality of rights. But with Hoover
trying to crash the border States and
lead the G. O. P. into the solid South
for the first time, republicans find
their worst obstacle the democratic
warning to beware of the “Negro’s
party.”
This situation is becoming rio less
embarrassing to the democrats. In
the North they want the valuable
Negro voters to forget that the party
in congress is dominated by Southern
whites. In the South they want the
whites to forget the democratic ap
peal being made to colored voters
above the Mason-Dixon line.
Working for Smith in Harlem
Smith’s aides are working Harlem,
the New York City belt. Organiza
tions include Colored Democracy, led
by F, Q. Morton, a Negro municipal
employe, and the Smith-for-President
Colored League, under the National
Democratic Committee, said to be ac
tive in many states.
In Chicago, republicans hope to
hold the colored vote by allowing a
Negro to succeed the late Martin B.
Madden in congress. Direct potiti
cal representation by a Negro con
gressman is generally recognized by
politicians to be the most effective
manner of “keeping the colored vote
in line,” provided this end can not
be achieved “less expensively.”
Not to be outdone in this, the dem
ocrats have broken precedent by
backing a Negro for the congressional
seat from the Twelfth Missouri dis
trict in St. Louis. This young man
is Joseph L. McLemore, formerly an
employe at the national capitol. He
is running against Representative L.
G. Dyer, author of the anti-lynching
bill and popularly known as “the
Negro’s best friend in Washington.”
Shanghai—According to unofficial
estimates made public here, the Chi
nese wars fought in the provinces of
Chihili and Shantung during the last
several years have resulted in the
deaths of 4,000,000 men, 1,000,000
of whom are said to have been youths.
NEBRASKA STATE FAIR
AND DAN DESDUNES
Once more Nebraska’s great fair
has come and gone with credit to all
concerned. Fbr years this fair has
put Nebraska in a class with the lead
ing states of America. Besides bring
ing to the state some of the greatest
attractions of the day, its exhibits,
its live stock and products are beyond
comparison. This year, along with
the fair, came the largest attendance
in its history. The workings of the
old time pickpocket and thug have
been so minimized that such workings
were things of the past, and each and
every pure blooded Nebraskan was
proud of the part he or she played
in bringing it about.
Yes, Desdunes and his band were
there as usual, and their numbers
brought about the usual amount of
interest of which all colored citizens
should be proud. It would be a dif
ficult matter to recall all the beau
tiful pieces of music he has played a£
the many fairs he has played, but it
is with the greatest of pleasure that
we gaze upon a monument of the
highest moral standing, Desdunes and
his musicians have built during the
ten years they have played for the
Nebraska state fair.
Under the capable management of
William Lewis, Desdunes’ band is a
credit to the colored race in every
respect.
It is to be hoped that each and
every member of this organization
who has contributed so largely to its
success will continue to do so for
another ten years, for I am positive
that the high moral and distinctive
character of the musicians that Des
dunes brings to this great fair has
as much to do with his immense pop
ularity in this community as his se
lections, his jazz, singing and danc
ing. A LINCOLNITE.
MRS. WALTER CRAIG HOSTESS
AT LARGE LUNCHEON
LaBt Saturday afternoon at 2
o’clock, Mrs. Walter Craig was host
ess for a large number of her friends
at her pretty home, 2320 North
Twenty-seventh street, when she gave
a luncheon honoring Mme. J. Ernest
ine Wyatt of Waterloo, Iowa. Mrs.
Craig opened the fall social season
most befittingly when she chose this
event to have many visitors and
friends meet the accomplished dra
matic artist, Madame Wyatt. The
affable hostess was assisted by Mes
dames Belle Taylor and Roberta
Bailey. A delicious luncheon was
daintily served to the 27 guests pres
ent. An impromptu program was
rendered amidst much merriment.
The out of-town guests present were
Miss Margie L. Danley of Pasadena,
Cal., the executive secretary of the
North Side branch of the “Y”, who
has arrived to cast her fine person
ality in Omaha; Mesdames W. O.
King of Tacoma, Wash., M. W. Mad
ison of Wichita, Kansas, Richard Hu
ston of Lincoln, Neb., Misses G. M.
Seraphin of New Orleans, La., and
Esther Jones of Cincinnati, Ohio.
About 20 Omahans shared the hos
pitality of Mrs. Craig.
ENTERTAIN FOR GUESTS
AT PLEASANT PICNIC
Mr. and Mrs. H. C. Gordon of
Huntington, West Va., accompanied
by their three daughters, who have
been visiting their sister and brother
in-law, Mr. and Mrs. Melvin Freeman
of 2917 North Twenty-Bixth street,
were delightfully entertained by their
hostess at a picnic in Elmwood park
Sunday afternoon. About 86 guests
were present. Mrs. Freeman was as
sisted by Mrs. Josephine Goodlett,
Mrs. Vay Davis, Miss Theresa Liver
pool and Mr. Virgil Shobes. A de
lightful time was had by all.
INDIA DELEGATE AT GENEVA
RAPS SEX FILMS IN INDIA
Geneva.—At a session of the So
cial and Humanitarian Committee of
the League of Nations, an Indian
delegate appeared to discuss the mo
tion picture industry in his country.
The cinema is undoubtedly good for
the child, he said, but added that it
was a double-edged weapon.
“In India children are being shown
films in which all the passions of
pre-nuptial love are displayed. This
is bringing about serious conse
quences and serious steps should be
taken. The production of films
whose sole object is to make money
is something the League of Nations
should put a stop to," he said.
Mrs. Dan Deadlines
URGES NATURAL GAS FOR
ECONOMY
If natural gas comes to Omaha,
Mrs. Dan Desdunes, wife of the pop
ular Omaha band director, will be
one of the first to welcome it into
her home at 2516 Burdette street.
Mrs. Desdunes is convinced that
natural gas will save her nearly a
hundred dollars in gas bills for heat
ing and cooking in her home.
During the past year Mrs. Des
dune’s gas bill for heating from Oc
tober to May, inclusive, was $178.74.
C. D. Robinson, engineer of the Met
ropolitan Utilities district, has care
fully estimated that Mrs. Desdunes
will spend only $93.42 for the same
period next year if natural gas is
brought to Omaha. This means a
saving of $85.32 during the winter
months.
Mrs. Desdunes paid $2.64 for arti
ficial gas from June 29 to July 31,
or an average summer month. Mr.
Robinson has estimated a saving of
70 cents a month by natural gas when
used for cooking in the amount that
Mrs. Desdunes uses it. This means
an annual saving of $8.40.
Thus, Mrs. Desdunes expects to
save a total of $93.72 yearly by using
natural gas for cooking and heating.
That is why she favors natural gas
for Omaha.
POLICE LYNCHED NEGRO
REPORT IN “VARIETY”
Ne wYork, Sept. 13—A hitherto
unpublished report saying that the
lynching of a Negro in Houston, Tex.,
just before the democratic conven
tion convened there, was engineered
by local police, is relayed by the Na
tional Association for the Advar ce
ment of Colored People, from “Vari
ety” for Wednesday, August 1. The
report of the Houston lynching in
“Variety” reads as follows:
LYNCHING AT HOUSTON
“An unprinted story of the lynch
ing of a colored man in Houston by
policemen of that city, just prior to
the democratic convention, seems to
have been known by all the news
paper men in attendance, notwith
standing. It was on account of the
correspondents that the rope beeing
was smothered over by the author
ities. It would not sound nice, they
decided, for the world to know that
Houston policemen violated the very
lynch law that the south has been
trying to square for years.
“A night or so before the conven
tion opened a cop and a Negro fired
shots at one another. Both were hit
and taken to a hospital where the of
ficer died. Later the same night five
of the dead cop’s uniformed compan
ions went to the hospital where the
still unconscious Negro had been tak
en, removed and hung him from a
bridge near the outskirts of the city.
His body was cut down the next
morning.
“That the cops had done it spread
over the inside of the city. Houston’s
mayor, it is said, in the dilemma,
thought to bespeak the advice of four
other Texas mayors on how to hush
up or keep quiet about the cops as
the lynchers. Only one reply con
tained a suggestion thought worth
while. That is said to have come
from the mayor of Dallas. It Sug
gested any other five men be pinched
and held until after the convention
ended.
“Accordingly, from the story, the
police of Houston picked up five local
vagrantB on the lynching charge, told
them to behave or they would get the
limit afterward, otherwise later let
loose, and even made one of them
write a confession.
“As far as any of the newspaper
men know, that was the end of the
Houston beeing.”
N. A. A. C. P. RETAINS TEXAS
LAWYERS TO FIGHT PRIMARY
VOTE ON JIM CROW
New York, N. Y.—The National
Association for the Advancement of
Colored People has retained Fred C.
Knollenberg of El Paso, Texas, the
attorney who laid the groundwork
for the celebrated White Primary
case victory before the United States
supreme court, to fight the newest
form of disfranchisement of Negroes
in Texas.
When the supreme court declared
unconstitutional the Texas law bar
ring colored voters from the state
democratic primaries, the white peo
ple sought to accomplish the same
end by a law placing in the hands of
the state committees the power to
detrmine who shall have the privi
lege of voting in the primaries. Thus,
instead of a law barring voters from
the primaries the democratic state
committee enacted a rule that no Ne
gro should vote.
This new dodge is being challenged
by the N. A. A. C. P. precisely as
was the White Primary law. Dr. L.
A. Nixon offered himself as a fully
qualified democratic voter and was
refused a ballot. The N. A. A. C. P.
has now retained Mr. Knollenberg to
carry this case up to and through the
United States supreme court, pledg
ing itself to pay a fee of $2,500 and
necessary expenses up to the sum of
$1,600.
Since the White Primary decision
by the supreme court many southern
states, prevented from barring Ne
groes by law, have tried the exped
ient of having state party committees
pass rules against their voting. The
Texas case, therefore, like the White
Primary case, will serve as a prece
dent for similar situations through
out the southern states. The N. A.
A. C. P. confidently expects that on
the basis of the White Primary deci
sion, the supreme court will outlaw
the new subterfuge.
Dr. G. B. Lennox haa returned
from an extensive eastern trip which
included attendance at the National
Medical convention, Baltimore, Md.,
and visits to Washington, Philadel
phia, Atlantic City and other points.
You’ll be surprised how far $1.00
will go at St. Philip’s Rummage Sale,
Monday, September 17th, at Twenty
fourth and Hamilton streets.—Adv.
j FIELD ORGANIZER
NATIONAL REPUBLICAN
COMMITTEE HERE
i -
Claims That Hoover Stands Squarely
for the Rights of All Citizens
and Can Be Trusted. Con
fident of His Election.
Homer L. Phillips of St. Louis, Mo.,
a member of the national republican
committee, western division, with
headquarters in Chicago, was an
Omaha visitor this week. Mr. Phil
lips is field organizer for the west
ern territory.
Mr. Phillips frankly admitted that
while he finds a spirit of resentment
against the attitude of the republi
can party quite prevalent among Ne
gro voters, there is a general disposi
tion among them to trust Mr. Hoover
and support him. He is confident of
Hoover’s election and says that from
what he knows of Mr. Hoover person
ally, the race need not have the
slightest doubt of a square deal at
his hands.
Mr. Phillips claims that by personal
investigation upon a recent visit to
New York he finds that during his
eight years as governor, A1 Smith has
not appointed a single Negro to of
fice.
“We have an historical background
in the republican party upon which
we can stand and fight for what we
conceive to be our rights,” said Mr.
Phillips. “We have no such claim
upon the democratic party and there
fore it would be unwise to permit
ourselves to be driven out of the
party. Our hope, as I see it, is in
Herbert Hoover.”
PROMINENT DENVER DOCTOR
IS AN OMAHA VISITOR
Dr. J. P. Q. Westbrook of Denver,
Colo., spent a few hours in Omaha
lest Friday visiting friends, upon his
return from Chicago, where he at
tended the national Elks’ convention.
Dr. Westbrook is.the national secre
tary of the shrine commission of the
national Elks, which has to do with
the erection of a national Elks’ home
in the nation’s capital, Washington,
D. C. He will handle approximately
one hundred thousand dollars in the
next year. Dr. McClain of Denver,
Colo., accompanied Dr. Westbrook,
who was motoring through to their
home in Denver, Colo.
PIONEER CITIZEN
. CALLED BY DEATH
Charles H. Hicks, a resident of this
city for 45 years, died at his home,
2530 Maple street, Wednesday night,
in the 70th year of his age, after an
illness of a few weeks. Mr. Hicks had
not been in the best of health for
the past year, but continued at his
work at the Iten Biscuit company,
where he had been employed for the
past 20 years. He was a member of
St. Philip’s Episcopal church and of
Excelsior Lodge No. 2 A. F. and
A. M.
His funeral will be held from St.
Philip’s church at 3 o’clock Saturday
afternoon, preceded by the Masonic1
ritual at his late residence.
He is survived by his widow, Laura,
to whom he was married for 42
years, and one or two distant rel
atives.
SALEM BAPTIST CHURCH NEWS
Sunday school opened at 9 a. m. by
the Supt. T. H. Garden, and the les
son was reviewed by Dr. Wesley
Jones. At 11 a. m. Rev. Mr. Ander
son preached in the absence of the
pastor, who is attending the national
Baptist association in Louisville, Ky.
At 5:30 B. Y. P. U. was opened by
the president, George Lett. The pro
gram was rendered by group No. 5,
the Busy Bee group. Group No. 4
was awarded the financial banner
and also the championship badge of
the sword drill. At 8 p. m. the acting
pastor, Rev. Mr. Anderson, preached
on “Conversion.” Rev. and Mrs.
Rhodes have returned from their va
cation. They motored to Tennessee
to visit their parents and friends and
reported a very successful and pleas
ant trip.
“Mother” Wilson is home again.
She has been out of the city for some
time. She found us in our new
church home. She was all smiles.
She spent her vacation in Little Rock,
Ark., visiting relations and friends.
The men laymen’s league meets
every Monday night. Visitors are
welcome. Collection for the week,
$141.42. Come—you are welcome.
FOUR MEN BEING
HELD AS SLAYERS IN
ALABAMA OUTRAGE
Indicted for the Murder of Negro
Woman Who Was Shot Down
in Her Home by Band of
Hooded Men
Montgomery, Ala. — Four white
men had been indicted here recently
in connection with the lynching of
Mrs. Lillie Cobb at her home in
Blount county Sunday, April 25,
1926, by a band of masked and hood
ed men, said to be klansmen. Pros
ecution to the fullest extent of the
law will be asked in the case, said
Attorney General McCall.
“We have been working on this
case out of Oneonta since the Callo
way flogging trials there last year,”
McCall said. “The evidence present
ed to the Blount county grand jury
represents the material accumulated
by operatives out of this office since
those trials.”
Four Men Indicted
The four men indicted are John
Wade, reputed former exalted cyclops
of the Klan in Oneonta; Byron Hurst,
Enoch Evans, and Joe Harris. All
four are held in the Blount county
jail at Oneonta without bond on
charges of murder. Their trial dates
will be set later.
Edgar Moses, who is also an alleg
ed member of the band which in
vaded the Cobb home, was indicted
some time ago in connection with the
killing.
Lillie Cobb was slain when a band
of masked and robed men invaded her
home, peppering the house with bul
lets from their guns. Emory Cobb,
husband of the slain woman, returned
their fire. Shortly afterwards Cobb
disappeared.
Refused to Return
Though Cobb has steadfastly re
fused to return to the section where
his wife was slain, it is understood
that arrangements have been made
for him to be here at the trial.
The Cobb slaying was one of a
number of flogging expeditions inves
tigated in Blount county.
Seven men were given sentences in
connection with the flogging of Jeff
Calloway, a youth. Five of them
served their sentences in the Blount
county jail.
Two have appealed their sentences.
HONOR THEIR GRAND
LECTURER
The past grand lecturer, Mrs. Ha
zel Terry Lewis, was recently a re
cipient of a beautifully solid gold 0.
E. S. ring presented to her by the
worthy grand matron, Mrs. Maude H.
Johnson, and past grand conductress,
Mrs. Leona Glass. The showing
made by the grand lecturer this past
year filled the hearts of the O. E. S.
with pride and pleasure. Her indi
vidual venture was winding the lab
yrinth and demonstrating all the de
grees during the grand chapter. The
jurisdiction can well be proud of
their past grand lecturer, she con
ducted her part of the work in the
most efficient manner and added to
the dignity of the O. E. S.
CULTURAL CENTER
LOSES ACTIVE WORKER
In the passing of Mrs. Lulu Powell,
on Sunday, September 2nd, the Cul
tural Center recognizes the loss of
one of the community’s most faithful
workers.
As a devout member of the Galilee
Baptist church, Mrs. Powell recog
nized the need of the spiritual, the
mental, and the social development
of the community.
As president of the South Side
Mission union, she led a circle of over
30 women, representing all churches
in the community, in a united effort
to bring practical aid to those in
need.
As a faithful member of the West
Side Parent-Teachers’ association
since its organization and as assis
tant secretary for the past year, she
labored with others for the children
of the community.
Be it resolved, therefore, that the
Cultural Center express to Mr. Ed
ward Powell, the bereaved husband,
its sincerest sympathy with him in
the loss of his beloved wife, and its
tribute to her memory.
I (Sgd.) HELEN W. GAUSS,
Head Worker Social Settlement
and Cultural Center.