3 Women Ordained
■ AMEs Close 28th Annual
Nebraska Conference In
Omaha; Inspired Meeting
The 28th session of the Nebraska Conference of the
African Methodist Episcopal Church closed Sunday, pctober
11, and marked the turning point in the history of African
Methodism. After invoking the sweeping changes made in
the church laws last Spring, the Conference held in St. John
AME church at 22nd and Willis Strs., Omaha, ordained seven
persons as deacons, three of whom were women.
Evangelist Etta D. Johnson,
resident of Kansas City, Kansas
for the past 20 years, was the
first of three women to be or
dained during the 28th session of
the Nebraska Annual Conference
which was held at Omaha, Ne
^ braska October 6-10. Mrs. Esther
Ophelia Randall also of Kansas
City, Kansas and Miss Belva
Spicer of Lincoln, Nebraska were
the other two women to be or
dained local Deacons in the
African Methodist Episcopal
church.
The Rt. Rev. D. Ormonde
Walker, presiding Bishop, stated
that it was the most historic event
since the organization of the
church. One other woman is re
ported to have been ordained in
one of the other districts. The
ordinations were made possible
by a law passed by the General
* Conference in May 1948.
The Reverend Miss Belva
Spicer, who makes her home with
her mother at 1821 No. 29th
Street, Lincoln, Neb., received
her formal education at the Uni
versity of Nebraska with an A.B.
and Masters degrees in the field
of Political Science and English.
Continued on Page 2
Rep. Powell
Straddles Fence
NEW YORK. (ANP). Congress
man Adam Clayton Powell last
week denied a published report
that he has broken relations with
^ Congressman Vito Marcantonio
and decided to support President
Truman.
In a public statement the fiery
Harlem minister and political fig
ure made it clear that he and
Marcantonio “are as friendly to
day as we have ever been” and
that “I have not decided as yet
whether to support Truman, Wal
lace or Dewey.”
Named
To Civil Service
FEPC Board
WASHINGTON. (ANP). Eu
gene Kinekle Jones, general sec
► retary of the National Urban
league, and Jesse H. Mitchell,
president of the Industrial Bank
of Washington, have been ap
pointed as members of the seven
man Fair Employment Board of
the Civil Service Commission.
The establishment of such a
board was authorized by the
President’s executive order is
sued July 26, setting up a Fair
Employment Practices Commis
sion in the federal government.
Members of this board were
appointed by the Civil Service
Commission and wfere announced
« Thursday by Mre. Francis Per
kins. The other five members
were Guy Moffatt, chairman;
Fred C. Croxton, Dr. Ethel Dun
ham, Daniel W. Tracey and Judge
Anna Belle Matthews. I
Department Head
Mrs. M. YV. Johnson
Mrs. Marjorie Witt Johnson is
the new chairman of the Group
Work Department of the Atlanta
University School of Social Work.
She has had thirteen years of
experience in several of America’s
outstanding agencies: including
the Chicago Commons, the New
berry Center of Chicago, the
Y.W.C.A. of Chicago, the Recrea
tion Division of the Housing Au
thority of Chicago, and the Kar
amu House of Cleveland, Ohio.
She has supervised students from
the schools of social work in both
cities.
Mrs. Johnson is a graduate of
Oberlin College and Western Re
serve University School of Ap
plied Social Science," Cleveland,
Ohio; where she received the
Master’s Degree in Social Group
Work. (ANP)
Negro Is Ass’t.
Superintendent
In Detroit P.O.
DETROIT. (ANP). In Detroit,
one of the “unwritten” laws ap
plied in the upgrading of Negroes
in the post office is being defied.
This city postal department has a
Negro serving as assistant super
intendent.
This ranking postal worker is
Andrew S. Waundles who has
come up through the ranks and
served on every shift on all types
of jobs. He was appointed to his
present office, assistant superin
tendent of mails, Aug. 16, 1948.
The promotion of Waundles is
a tribute to the fair policies of
Postmaster Hueston. Within the
past 20 years several Detroit
postal officials had made reputa
tions with their anti-Negro acts.
Some of them refused to let a
colored worker even sell stamps
from a window.
This procedure and other ef
forts to keep the colored workers
down are being made a thing of
the past by the Huston adminis
tration.
He attended Wiley college and
Suit Filed For
G. W. Carver’s
Birthplace
JOPLIN, Mo. (ANP). Appoint
ment of a five-man appraising
commission by Federal Judge Al
bert A. Ridge of Kansas City this
week was the first follow through
of a legal suit brought in federal
court here in June to condemn
land for the site of a memorial to
the late Dr. George Washington
Carver.
Judge Ridge appointed the
commission to assess damages in
connection with the condemna
tion action that wras brought by
the government against Dr. and
Mrs.'Dawson W. Derfelt of Jop
lin. The Derfelts, who operate a
hospital here, recently acquired
the 210-acre farm which includes
the place of Dr. Carver’s birth
place.
Construction of a memorial
shrine honoring the distinguished
American scientist w’as authorized
by congress. Dr, Carver was
bom in a cabin on the farm
which is near Diamond, Mo.
When the present owners of the
land could no* agree on a pur
chase price, the government
brought legal action.
Fisk university. He was born in
Beaumont, Tex. He was married
in 1923 to the former Wilhemina
Webb of Detroit. He has two
children, Andrew Jr. and Mrs.
Jeanne Guzman and a grandchild
Andrew III.
Rev. J. B. Brooks New Pastor
At Quinn Chapel AME Church
The Rev. J. B. Brooks comes tor
the Lincoln pastorate after seven
successful years at Allen Chapel
AME church in Omaha. He has
an A. B. degree from Western
University, and a Doctor of Di
vinity from the Bishop William
School of Religion in Kansas City,
Kas. His interest in the civic af
fairs of Omaha included chair
manship of the Industrial Rela
tion •ommittee of the Urban
League; member of the board of
directors of the Urban League;
president and organizer of the
Omaha Neighborhood Council, an
organization that has to do with
the interpretation and function of
r•• JamrnmT^m wwmt
organized groups and how they
affect the total civic affairs of the
community. The Rev. Mr. Brooks
was also chairman of the Civic
Committee of Interdenominational
Alliance.
Mrs. Brooks was in charge of
Religious education at Allen
Chapel. Their three children,
Wendell H., 8, Eugenia Mae, 6 and
Walter, 5 are energetic little
youngsters and certain to be an
asset to the church and commun
ity.
The Rev. Mr. Brooks replaces
the Rev. Mr. Handy who was pas
tor of Quinn Chapel for the past
three years.
REGISTER! VOTE!
Pittenger Reviews Republican
2-Yr. Record in State Gov’t
By Charles M. Goolsby.
At an open meeting of the University Y.M.C.A. last
Wednesday night, Mr. James Pittenger, administrative as
sistant to the governor, apprized students of the problems
and progress of the present state administration. He de
clared that the problems of the last two years were those
Mr. James Pittenger
jwai
— From The Lincoln Journal
He had the Dope on the Roads
“There is not a book on earth
so favorable to all the kind and
to all the sublime affections, or
so unfriendly to hatred and
persecution, to tyranny, injustice,
and to every sort of malevolence,
as the Gospel.”—Beattie.
Notice
Last day to register is Fri
day, Oct. 22.
that had built up mostly before
the war, and were deferred by
! the war. Such problems were
j little different from those en
countered by students, workers
or farmers. “Only two things
are necessary to beat them,” he
said, “—a willingness to work
and respect for the value of
money,”
Speaking of the state’s institu
tions, he related that in 1946
there were only 12 registered
nurses and 2 psychiatrists to care
for approximately 10,000 persons
in the state’s hospitals and cor
rectional institutions. These staff
members worked an average of
60 hours weekly for an average
wage of $100 per month. Now
the number of nurses has been
greatly increased and the work
week lowered to 48 hours. “One
of the most important things for
the state’s institutions,” he con
tinued, “was the 1-mill levy for
buildings for the University and
other institutions used in devel
oping our youth—backbone of
the state.”
Concerning roads, he reminded
the group that in Nebraska there
are about 100,000 miles of roads
of various grades. Nebraska is
eighth in the nation in road mile
age, 27th in population and 23rd
in income. The past two years
the state has been on its biggest
road-building project. Last year
9 million was spent on roads and
this year more than 12 million
have gone into construction and
maintenance. At present prices,
it costs about $55,000 a mile to
lay concrete road and $30,000 a
mile to put down 6-inch blacktop.
Most of the roads laid have been
blacktop for reasons of economy.
Increased concrete roads are con
templated when the price of ma
terials has been reduced some
what.
The average Nebraskan pays
$38.78 a year for taxes as com
pared to $52 in Iowa, $51 in Kan
sas, $50 in Wyoming and $91 in
Washington state.
“The fact that we can operate
on that amount shows good man
agement,” Pittenger said.
In answer to the question “How
does the Governor stand on a
good F. E. P. C. bill?” he stated
that he “didn’t know,” but felt
that “he would react very favor
ably.” He then cited Peterson in
augural speech of 1946 in which
he held that the rights of labor
must be preserved.
In opening his remarks, Pit
tenger averred that this was Gov.
Peterson’s record and that he was
“proud of it.” Peterson received
his A.B. from Wayne and M.A. in
political science from the Univer
sity of Nebraska.
Lillian Evanti Concludes
Successful Concert
Tom* of Mexico
WASHINGTON. (ANP). Miss
Lillian Evanti, noted lyric-col
oraturn soprano, returned here
recently from a successful con
cert tour of Mexico, Texas and
North Carolina. Critics acclaimed
her voice and style throughout
all her Mexician engagements,
and one audience gave her a 10
minute ovation for her rendition
of “Estrellita” by the late Manuel
Ponco.