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About The monitor. (Omaha, Neb.) 1915-1928 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 19, 1928)
——M—Hill |» 5 LIFTIN I LIFT T< ~ o 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—S Cent* a Copy Omaha, Nebraska, Friday, October 19, 1928 Vol. XIV—No. 16 Whole Number 688 SURVEY SHOWS VAST IMPROVEMENT NEED IN RACIAL STATUS Field of Technical and Profeisional Training Not Overcrowded But Largely Under manned HEALTH NEEDS SAFEGUARDING Inadequate Educational and Health Facilities As Well As Poor Economic Chances Cited. By Daniel W. Chase (For the Associated Negro Press) When the department of the inter ior submitted the report of its bureau of education last spring, it was glean ed from the survey made that “con ditions among American Indians were rather desperate.” The recent re port of the same department with ref erence to the Negro has already caus ed much comment, and is likely to produce sharp reaction when congress meets. One writer has already re marked, writing from Washington, D. C.: “Politicians here are especially in terested because of efforts of both parties in the presidential campaign to win the favor of Negro voters who may determine the election in close northern cities and in doubtful bor der states.” From an educational point of view, the survey points out that there are only 48,000 teachers for 5,000,000 Negro children, and this is comment ed on in the summary, thus: “Na tional social and economic life de mands more Negro professional and technical leaders.” A writer in a lo cal paper called attention to the fact that in an address delivered before a group of workers, a white speaker had said that there are too many pro fessionally trained Negroes. And yet this survey, made by prominent educators and government experts, cites a lack of physicians and den tists, stating that the disparity of trained race leaders is, of course, more marked in the professions. It is stated that there are only 3,500 Ne gro physicians and surgeons in the United States, or approximately one medical man to every 3,343 Negroes, while, it is shown that there is one white physician to 653 persons. The condition, as pointed out by the sur vey, is worse with reference to den tists, there being only one dentist to every 10,540 Negro inhabitants. Safeguarding Health Dire Need The survey is of the opinion that “to safeguard the health of the col ored people and of their neighbors, to instruct them in hygiene, sanitation, and in the measures necessary to ward off disease and care for those that fall ill, are as essential as in tellectual and economic develop ment.” More and Better Education Negro teachers are reported in the survey as being deficient in proper training, many not having received more than elementary school prepara tion, while equally as large a number has only received one or two years’ work in an accredited high school. According to the survey, Negroes need training in the fields of agri culture, mechanical arts and crafts, the survey stating that “while 1,000, 000 Negroes own or operate farms, there are 1,178,000 of the race en gaged in ordinary farm labor.” Fifty-six thousand Negroes are skilled craftsmen, as compared with 1,371,000 who are pursuing unskilled occupations, or who are employed as day laborers. If the survey is to be taken as a basis of fact, there are in the United States only fifty Negro architects, 184 engineers, 146 designers, drafts men and inventors, and 207 chemists. The preaching profession suffers, as there are only ten graduates a year from the theological schools. The report is interesting through out, and although it calls attention to the accomplishments of the race in general, which accomplishments have been exceptional, the report states that “THE IMMEDIATE NEED OF THE RACE IS MORE EDUCATION, BETTER EDUCATION.” You can designate your gift to any agency you please; but GIVE. Food sale, Saturday, by St. Philip’s Girls’ Friendly Society at Herman’s Grocery, 2418 North 24th street. / * CASH PRIZES FOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS Hundred Dollar* for Best Papers on “America’s Tenth Man.” Co operation of Teachers Asked. The commission on interracial co operation is offering to high school students three cash prizes aggregat ing $100 for the best papers on “America's. Tenth Man,” submitted on or before March 1st, 1929. All high school or junior high school pu pils are eligible to enter papers in this competition. The purpose of these prizes is to encourage as widely as possible the study of the Negro’s part in American history. The commission believes that such a study will be helpful to the children of both races, promoting more intelligent appreciation and sympathy on the one side, and devel oping a wholesome pride of race on the other. The commission earnestly asks the co-operation of high school principals and teachers, and also invites corre spondence from pupils who may be interested. Full particulars, together with a 16-page pamphlet entitled, “America’s Tenth Man” and packed with suggestive source material, will be sent without charge to anyone writing R. B. Eleazer, educational di rector, 409 Palmer building, Atlanta, Ga. SAYS HOOVER WILL MAKE GREATEST PRESIDENT SINCE ABE LINCOLN Chicago, 111.—(By the Associated Negro Press)—“Herbert Hoover will make the greatest president since Abraham Lincoln,” concludes Aider man Thomas W. Fleming in a com munication received at the western republican headquarters. “My whole support in this cam paign is for Herbert Hoover for pres ident of this, the greatest nation on earth,” Alderman Fleming pledges. "I invite my colored friends to listen to these from the mouth of Hoover: ‘Equality of opportunity is the right of every American, rich or poor, for eign or native born, irrespective of faith or color.’ “The success or failure of this prin ciple is the test of our government. Mr. Hoover stamped segregation from his department in Washington. He would tolerate no discrimination as head of the Mississippi flood relief. I believe my race group ought to and will support with all their energy an American such as Mr. Hoover.” Red is our color they say. Then win and wear a red feather. CHURCH WOMEN SHARE ARTS AND INDUSTRIES EXPOS1TON New York City—(By the Associa ted Negro Press)—A prominent fea ture of the Exposition of Women’s Arts and Industries which was held at the Hotel Astor last week, October 1st to 6th, was the church women’s booth, located on the southern side of the grand salon, including numbers 138 to 142 and making one of the largest booths in the exposition. In this exhibit were included eight church women’s organizations, na tional in character and representing Protestant women in America and throughout the world. It is of great significance to the future of inter racial progress that included in this group was the church women’s com mittee of the commission on race re lations of the Federal Council of Churches. This committee has de veloped a program of utmost interest to members of both white and colored races. It has adopted as its policy the following: “To promote inter racial goodwill and co-operation through united thought and action.’’ DEAN OF WOMEN AT SIMMONS UNIVERSITY DIES SUDDENLY Louisville, Ky.—Mrs. Robert Mitch ell, widow of the late Rev. Robert Mitchell, prominent Baptist of the state, died suddenly Monday evening at the Simmons University where she was dean of women. She had been active in her work during the day and no one had the least thought of her death. Mr. and Mrs Austin Brannon and daughter, Esther, spent Sunday in j Fremont with relatives. EDITORIAL | A matter of vital importance to the future of Omaha, which! our citizens are liable to overlook in their interest in the gen eral election, is the street car franchise. The Omaha and Coun cil Bluffs Street Railway company which operates the street car system of this and our sister city is asking for a 30-year fran chise, the provisions of which seem to be absolutely fair to both the company and the city. The rights of both parties are ad equately safeguarded. Neither the street car company nor the city, as we see it, is trying to take advantage of the other. An adequate street car system is an absolute necessity in any large and growing city and contributes to the growth of a city. We believe that the street car company is honestly trying to render acceptable service. Its expansion and development requires money. Capital comes from stockholders and investors who are looking for safe and well-paying investments. A company that has a franchise can appeal to investors. One that has not cannot do so successfully. A franchise is necessary for the Omaha and Council Bluffs Street Railway company if it is to continue in business. If it should fail to secure a franchise it cannot refinance and retire its bonds when they fall due and as a result a receiver will be appointed with the usual results which follow a receivership. In our judgment the franchise should pass. Be sure to vote for it. There are other measures demanding the attention of the voters in the coming election which strike close home, upon which we should be informed and vote our convictions. Bonds for a sadly needed new county hospital and the free bridge proposal are among these issues. It is unfortunate that there should be so many of these important local questions coming up at this general election which are very liable to be over looked. But none of these local issues is more important, as we j see it, than the street railway franchise. THE COMMUNITY CHEST DRIVE The Community Chest campaign is going nicely. Up to the time of our going to press more than half the quota, approxi mately $225,000 has been subscribed. But if the whole amount is to be secured there must be no abatement of enthusiasm and everybody must do his bit. It’s a community job. It’s your job and ours. And if everybody does his share of the job'this Big Job will be done. There is no excuse now for anybody with any intelligence being ignorant of what the Community Chest is and does for this community irrespective of race, color or creed. DEMOCRACY A HYBRID By Geo. H. W. Bullock The greatest weakness of a demo cratic form of government lies in its very strength. Government for the people, and by the people is very much more difficult of accomplish ment, although far more desirable, than government by the selected few. Our danger lies not half so much in whether we place this party or that party in power as it does in our in difference to vote at all. Prompted by a fear that indifference might be the order, I am writing this article as a kind of “3pur” lest we forget. It is the lamentable indifference of the electorate that makes any elec tion doubtful. The three all-impor tant initial steps in choosing a wise administration and consequently maintaining good and sound govern ment are registration, voting and in telligence. Without these duly ex ercised and properly done, no govern ment can ever prove beneficial and satisfactory. To bring about these, it is always necessary to spend vast sums of money during a campaign for education. It is an eternally hard problem to get the voter to register. It is another, equally as hard, to per suade him to take the time to cast his vote after he is registered. And it is still more difficult to educate him up to making a wise and intelli gent use of his vote. Go into any political headquarters, and there you will see a maze of literature prepared at a tremendous cost solely for the purpose of educating the prospective voter in preparation for an enlight ened judgment at the polls. The ballot is an effective instru ment for either benefit or injury. Like the razor, its blade is both good and dangerous. It is therefore most unfortunate both for the people and government that the electorate man ifests so little interest in, and so much indifference about the things which make a democracy possible. The things which compose its very life and sustain its existence; the arteries upon whose regular pulsations its whole life depends. So we find our selves joined in the chorus of all poli tical leaders in lamenting what seems to be a disinterested citizenship. We must spend so much time drilling in the idea that voting is a DUTY and not a mere privilege. That elections must be decided on the merits of the issues involved and not upon the per sonality of its champions. The present presidential campaign is one of the most remarkable in his tory. Remarkable, because of its many issues and cross-issues which require reason, skill and highly tech nical knowledge of their relation to our social, civic and economic wel fare. Mere emotion and seiitiment I will only serve to perpetuate circular motion. For example, consider the agitation and excitement about amending the 18th amendment. The very belief that this would be possi ble if Governor Smith were elected president has inspired quite a bit of interest and activity, either to help bring this about or to forestall the possibility of its achievement. As I have pointed out before, any such no tion is founded upon ignorance and a lack of information on the process by which the constitution is altered or amended. Amendment enthusiasts, at least the lay part of them, are evidently not aware of the great dan ger underlying the habit of modify ing or amending the federal consti tution. Take heed, colored brother, that you do not “cut off your nose to spite your face.” If one part of the constitution is amended, other parts will most surely follow. And it will be done via the old well-known process of a “legislative rider.” That means if the 18th amendment repeal is by any stretch of imagina tion brought about, or if any serious threat is made in that direction, the South, which was largely instrumental in placing the amendment in the con stitution, would at once put in it a “rider” asking for the repeal or mod ification of the 13th, 14th and 15th amendments. This, I need not tell you, would be a bargain which would most likely be accepted, with its con sequent disaster to the liberty and suffrage of the Negro. I commend to your reason this question: If such a bill were brought to President Smith for signature, would he sign it? I think he would. In it he would have the thing he has always championed and on which he is now running—the repeal of the 18th amendment and the return to state rights. He might like to elimi nate the "rider,” but legislators make “riders” like Siamese twins—very difficult to separate without killing all parts of it. A case in point is the latest immi gration bill which carried the provi sion to entirely exclude the oriental —Chinese and Japanese. President Coolidge was at the time negotiating some friendly treaty with Japan and stated at the time he signed the bill, that if the part relating to Japanese exclusion stood alone, he would not hesitate to veto it. BUT—and that’s always where the rub is—it contained so much that he did like that he felt constrained to sign it. And so he did. This would happen in any administra tion. Let me warn you again, not which candidate to vote for as president, but to watch your step, that you do not contribute to your own destruc tion. Centralization of government (Continued on Page 4) CULTURAL CENTER HAS EXHIBIT OF WORK Demon*tration of Classes in Cooking, Sewing and Handcraft Given by Pupils in Prominent Down town Store. During this first week of the Com munity Chest drive an exhibit of the classwork of the Cultural Center is being given in one of the windows of Orchard & Wilhelm’s, Sixteenth and Howard streets. Sewing, cooking and handcraft as taught at the Center, are being demonstrated by girls and boys who not only show their proficiency but also present a very nice appear ance. School authorities are permit ting the pupils who are engaged in the exhibit to have this counted as schooiwork. Wednesday night H. J. Pinkett be gan a course of instruction at the Center on Negro history. These classes will be held every Wednesday night for two months and are open to all pupils and students above the eighth grade. High school students of South High who attend these classes, will be given credit in Eng lish or history, according to arrange ments made with Principal Marrs of South High. Give to the Community Chest. MORE FACTORIES FOR NEGRO WORKERS URGED Los Angeles, Cal.— (By the Asso ciated Negro Press)—At the meeting of the Pyramid Co-operative associa tion held in the office of the Golden State Insurance company, the point was brought out forcibly that Ne groes should build their own factories and put their own people to work, and that the time for Negro co-operation is at hand. The discussion centered around the report of Bert Roddy, vice president-at-large of the National Ne gro Business league. This was to the effect that Negroes were not self supporting, that all communities, no tably Harlem, are deplorably lacking in their own grocery and clothing stores. Give not as to 1 but 31. 37 YEARS IN PRIESTHOOD The Rev. John Albert Williams, rector of the Episcopal Church of St. Philip the Deacon, observed the 37th anniversary of his ordination to the priesthood Thursday, which was St. Luke’s day. He was ordained to the priesthood by the Rt. Rev. George Worthington, bishop of Nebraska, on St. Luke’s day, October 18, 1891, in St. Matthias’ church, Tenth street and Worthington Place. He observed his anniversary quietly by celebrating the holy communion at 7 and 10 a. m. He received many messages of con gratulation and beautiful flowers, all of which were highly appreciated. During his long ministry in Omaha Father Williams has declined several calls to parishes in all sections of the country, among them being St. Luke’s, Washington, D. C.; St. Thom as’, Philadelphia; and St. Augustine's, Boston. He was also nominated for the bishopric of Liberia and of Haiti. Aside from his parish duties Father Williams has always been active in diocesan and civic affairs, serving as secretary of the diocese, histori ographer, editor and associate editor of The Crozier, examining chaplain and member of the Standing com mittee. MISTAKES OF MOSES NOT THE LAW GIVER BUT THE SEHATOR Alleged That Eastern Manager of the Republican National Committee Adroitly Appeals to Race Prejudice. TAMMANY HALL IS ATTACKED Speaks Disparagingly of Negro New York Official Who Dictates to White Stenographer In His Office New York City—Senator George H. Moses of New Hampshire, eastern manager of the republican national committee, has become the storm cen ter within the party for having raised the race issue in a speech he made here before the campaign school of the Women’s National Republican club, in which he spoke disparagingly of a Negro official in New York “dic tating to a white stenographer of the female sex.” The official to whom Senator Moses made reference was Ferdinand Q. Morton, Negro civil service com missioner, and a democratic appointee under Tammany Hall. This sort of talk, intended to intensify racial ani mosities, is in line with statements being put out by the Ku Klux Klan. Directly after Senator Moses’ at tack on Tammany Hall and the Ne |gro, leading politicians of the race immediately protested and likened the New Hampshire senator’s intoler ant attitude to that of a Heflin. They did not hesitate to express fear that the incident would lose the republican party thousands of votes. The Amsterdam News, which is supporting Mr. Hoover, proclaimed on the first page of its current issue in large type that “The Republican East ern Manager Has Ku Klux Ideas,” and in an editorial demands removal of Moses. Says the Amsterdam News, “Thus in these few words all sentiment cre ated for the republican national tick et is wiped away and cannot be re stored until definite action is taken to restore it.” Senator Moses committed what is regarded by Negro republicans as the biggest blunder of the campaign to ward the end of his talk to white wo men when asked if it were true that Mr. Hoover had made certain con tracts with colored leaders in Vir ginia and other southern states. He replied: “I do not know, but if any promises have been made by Mr. Hoover, he will fulfill, not repudiate them. I do know this—that in Wash ington there is no colored Tammany civil service commissioner who dic tates to a white stenographer of the female sex, which, as I understand, is done right here in New York City.” Aside from being eastern manager of the republican national committee, Senator Moses was permanent chair man of the republican national con vention at Kansas City. He plays a prominent part in the shaping of Mr. Hoover’s campaign policies. Give not as to 1 but 31. NOTED RACE SPEAKER COMES TO OMAHA Mrs. Myrtle F. Cooke, Kansas City, Mo., will address a mass meeting of colored voters at Dreamland hall, Twenty-fourth and Grant street, Tuesday evening, October 23rd, at 8 p. m. Mrs. Cooke is recognized as one of the leading women platform orators appearing in this political campaign. Her arguments are force ful, logical, and convincing. The women of the North Side Republican club have arranged a public recep tion in her honor at the North Side Branch of the Y. W. C. A. on Tues day afternoon from 2 to 4 p. m. The public is cordially invited to be pres ent. Everything free. AL SMITH-FOR-PRESIDENT RALLY MONDAY NIGHT A mass meeting and Al Smith-for President rally will be held Monday night at Columbia hall with out-of town speakers and addresses by Rich ard L. Metcalfe, democratic candidate for United States senator; and other prominent local democrats. The pub lic is invited. You can designate your gift to any agency you please; but GIVE.
