I VOICE
Volume 1. Number 54 _Lincoln 3, Nebraska_ October 16. 1947
JOIN THE HONOR ROLL - - SUBSCRIBE!
CAPT. MULZAC SICK
New York.—Capt. Hugh Mul
zac, veteran commander of the
S. S. Booker T. Washington, was
reported on sick leave this wfeek
following the announcement that
his chief mate, James H. Brown,
had replaced the popular wartime
commander.
Capt. Brown, a native of Geor
gia, is said to be the first Ameri
can-bom Negro to command a
vessel in the merchant marine.
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•: OUR HONOR ROLL :•
The following is a list of those
who are New Subscribers or have
Renewed their subscription to
THE VOICE.
Mrs. Ruth Talbert
Los Angeles. Calif.
Mrs. F. Bryson
renewal
Mrs. Sam Kimbrough
renewal
I Mrs. Elsa Cooper
renewal
<->01->o< >r><->a<-■jar^—yac~rrr>0'-JLZ>(
The 4-H Club , with Miss Doro
thy Green as president, sponsored
a party at the Urban League Fri
day night in the interest of new
members.
-o
Boy Scout Meeting to be Held
A boy scout meeting will be
held at the Urban League, at 7:30
P. M. Requests the presence of
parents and boys of the age 12
above.
The Boy Scout Troop No. 60
is being re-activated under the
leadership of Joseph W. Adams.
--
CATHOLICS DROP
BITTER RACE FIGHT
By George Stafford
St. Louis.—Following a heated
fifty minute meeting Sunday
evening, members of the Catho
about a month ago to fight admis
lic Parents Association, formed
sion of colored students to white
parochial schools in the diocese,
voted to disband the organization
and petition Archbishop Ritter to
reconsider his ruling on Negro ad
misson to white schools.
The disbanding vote was taken
* during the meeting at which John
P. Barcptt, chairman of the dis
sident group, read a letter from
Amleto Ciognani, Apostolic del
egate to the United States, sent
from Washington.
Archbishop Gognani’s letter to
the group stated that the papal
delegate was confident everyone
would comply with the eccle
siastical authority of Archbishop
Joseph E. Ritter, who ruled that
Negro and white students could
attend the same Catholic schools.
The inference was that outside in
terference with the ruling was
unlikely inasmuch as Archbish
ops are the supreme law in their
dioceses except in doctrinal mat
ters.
PEPSI COLA PLANS
NEGRO FIELD STAFF
New York—Continuing Pepsi
Cola’s established policy of en
couraging opportunities for Ne
groes in all of its business activi
ties and related endeavors. Wal
ter S. Mack, jr., president of Pep
si-Cola Company this week an
nounced the appointment of Ed
ward F. Boyd as assistant sales
manager.
Mr. Boyd will make his head
quarters in Long Island City,
N. Y., the executive offices of
Pepsi-Cola Company. Under his
direction a Negro field staff will
be integrated into the organiza
tion.
In announcing Mr. Boyd’s ap
pointment, Mr. Mack declared:
“Pepsi-Cola has a firm and estab
lished policy of encouraging op
portunities for Negroes in all of
its business activities and related
endeavors. Besides the direct em
ployment of Negroes as well as
white people in its own organ
ization, the company has always
insisted that its community pro
jects be for the benefit of all,
color.
without regard to race, creed or
These projects have included
Job Awards for young people
finishing schools: Service Centers
for men and women in the armed
forces; open air concerts; square
dances in the parks; a nation
wide art competition, and many
other generous community activi
ties.”
-o
Mr. and Mrs. Wm. Bryon Davis
were called to New Bloomfield,
Mo., due to the sudden illness of
Mr. Davis’ mother, Mrs. Hettie
Davis. She was a recent visitor
here.
Mrs. Frances Robinson has re
turned to work after a week’s
illness.
Mr. Chas. Bradley is very well
after being struck while riding on
his bicycle.
Mrs. Sarah Walker, group work
supervisor, spoke on the impor
tance of the organization in the
community. Mrs. Rubie Shake
speare was also a speaker.
Returning from a week’s vaca
tion spent with his parents in
Parsons, Kans., was M. L. Shake
speare, who motored there, fol
lowing his conference in Kansas
City, Kans.
Mrs. Dorothy Lewis and son,
Paul, spent the week end in Chi
cago visiting Mrs. Clifford Harris,
daughter of Mrs. Harris. now is
daughter of Mrs. Lewis. She re
ports an enjoyable visit.
In response to a call from the
family, Rev. and Mrs. T. O. Mc
Williams, jr., went to the bed
side of Mr. Alonzo Adams in Ne
braska City to administer spiritu
al aid, Sunday afternoon. They
were in company with his son
and daughterinlaw, Mr. and Mrs.
Joseph W. Adams.
MORROW RALLY
SPEAKER
Rev. C. P. Morrow, correspond
ing secretary of the Baptist State
Convention and pastor of the St.
Francis Baptist Temple, St. Jo
seph, Mo., will be guest speaker
at the Victory Rally at Christ
Temple, Nov. 9.
Plans are already under way
for an all-day service to be known
as a “Victory Rally” at Christ
Temple, Church of Christ (Holi
ness) on Sunday, November 9.
A. E. Simms, sponsor of the
program spent Friday in St. Jo
seph, Mo., to secure the speaker
for the occasion. The Rev. T. O.
McWilliams, jr., is pastor of the
church and will assist Mr. Simms
with arrangements.
It promises to be one of the
outstanding events on their cal
endar.
Washington. — Freedom trains
mean different things to different
Americans, but to Negro histori
ans and students of Negro history
it is a parallel to the real free
dom trains known in slavery days
as the Underground Railroad.
That railroad carried many slaves
to freedom and one colored wom
an, Harriet Tubman, was one of
the chief dispatchers.
Some of the historical docu
ments on Freedom Train today
were lacking then. Lacking were
the thirteenth, fourteenth and fif
teenth amendments to the U.‘ S.
Constituion. Some of the fea
tures of the Bill of Rights were
non-existent, though some which
were enacted during the recon
struction era no longer obtain.
Since constitutional guaran
tees of the rights of Negroes were
lacking during slavery, freedom
thain had to run underground.
Stalwart abolitionists like Fred
erick Douglass, Sojourner Truth,
Charles Sumner, William Lloyd
Garrison and others guided the
destinies of the underground rail
road.
Sympathizing whites in the
South cooperated with free Ne
groes to get the slaves on board.
Understanding white and Negro
abolitionists in free territory were
on hand to take the human cargo
at its destination.
The underground railroad was
a real freedom train. The pres
ent Freedom Train sponsored by
Foundation can’t afford to ignore
Atty. Gen. Tom Clark and direct
ed by the American Heritage
the significance of the under
ground railroad in helping to
make 4,000,000 Americans free
men and women.
Published statements about
Freedom Train have said little
about the period in American his
tory dealing with the struggles
for Negro freedom. There -are
documents on all phases of the
American revolution and there
certainly must be some on the
Civil war period.
Freedom Train documents show
Sir William Berkley, early gov
ernor of Virginia, a traitor who
hoped that'public schools would
never exist in Virginia. Jefferson
Davis, president of the Southern
Confederacy, who was probably
as anxious that the slave system
remain, and others of his period
could only be included in the his
torical documents at the risk of
insulting the South.
There are on record some
choice letters and speeches of
Abraham Lincoln that certainly
should be among the documents
on Freedom Train. Some of his
letters on various phases of the
conduct of the Civil war with
gems of thought on the Negro
issue should be on Freedom Train
and surely his Gettysburg address
ought to be included and, no
doubt it is.
The two main periods in Amer
ican history in the struggle for
freedom are the Revolutionary
and Civil war periods. The first
was concerned with the liberty
of the colonists and the latter
with the emancipation of Negro
slaves. One is as much a phase
of America’s struggle to estab
lish a republic of free men as the
other and both should have equal
display and exhibit on Freedom
Train. »
By Carter Jewell
*-o
Mr. Luther Allen has returned
to work after receiving injuries
as a result of a car accident.
A newcomer arriving Monday
in our city was Mr. Gert Davis
of Casper, Texas, a brother to
Mr. Fuller. He plans to make Lin
coln his home.
SUCCESS STORY
Second in a series of unusual
occupations to be featured in Op
portunity, an official organ of the
National Urban League was M.r
Colley’s own story of his complete
tur service in his Lincoln studio
and factory located on South
Eleventh Street.
I GIVE COMPLETE
FUR SERVICE
By Horace E. Colley
In writing my success story, I
hesitate to use the word “suc
cess.” Rather, I should like to
say that this is a dream come
true—with a great deal of hard
work and many discouragements.
I used to think a colored man’s
field was confined to just one ra
cial group. But for a long time
it has been my idea that if one
is in business, he should strive
to get his business from every
body. I would like to say this
right here: I think one of the rea
sons some businesses among Ne
groes have failed is because they
have not tried to compete with
all other businesses. I have
found through experience that
the majority of other racial
groups will let you go as far as
you can go—even if they are
your competitors.
At the age of 15, I began my
apprenticeship with Miller &
Paine, one of the larger depart
ment stores in Lincoln, Nebras
ka. I was attending high school
at the time. I had read in the
local newspaper that this store
wanted a boy to work after
school with a chance to learn
a trade. The job happened to be
in the fur department. I was
hired at the “large salary” of
$4.00 per week, and worked at
Miller and Paine’s for a number
of years—until I finished high
school.
In those days salaries were
very low in the Nebraska area.
This was true even among skilled
workers, so I decided in order to
make more money, I had better
go East. I had heard of New
ton Annis Furs in Detroit and
took it upon myself to write Mr. L
Annis, for a job, telling him in
short, I was a Negro. Then if 4
he should consider giving me
work, when I arrived, he would
not be floored. We correspond
ed for a year. Finally, he said
I could come there to work. Nat
urally I was elated. On second
thought, I would be leaving home
and I had never lived in a large
city and knew no one in Detroit.
I was almost afraid to make the
move. In the meantime, the firm
I was working for in Lincoln gave
me a slight raise in salary, so I
decided not to venture to move
East. I wrote Mr. Annis explain
ing the circumstances. By return
mail, he sent me a letter and en
closed a check for $100 for my
railroad fare and maintenance
until I could get started in De
(Cont. on page 2)
