Tib® V®n(g@
-_PL BUSHED WEEKL Y_
“Dedicated to the promotion of the cultural, social and spiritual
life of a great people
Melvin L. Shakespeare
Publisher and Editor
Business Address 2225 S Street Phone 2-4085
U No Answer Call 5-7508
Ruble W Shakespeare. Advertising and Business Manager I
Dorothy Green . Office Secretary1
Mrs foe Green . Circulation Manager
Member of the Associated Negro Press and Nebraska Press Association
Entered as Second Class Matter June 9. 1947 at teb Post Office at Lincoln
Nebraska under the Act of March 3 1879
1 year mbscription.$2 50 Single copy. .... .10c
State 1 gear Subscription $2.50—Single Copy 10c
EDITORIALS
The views expressed in these columns
necessarily a reflection of the policy
are those of the writer and not
->f The Voice.—Pub.
sm.
— —— '
Negro Colleges Show Great
Progress in Half Century
WASHINGTON. (ANP) — Ne
gro colleges during the first half
of the 20th century have shown
greater progress, more in most
instances than the nation’s col
leges as a whole, according to a
statistical circular just released
by the federal office of educa
tion.
These conclusions are based
on a survey taken this past
year of colleges attended main
ly by Negroes. Not all colored
schools answered the survey,
however. Negro students at
predominantly white colleges are
not included in this report.
Student enrollment at these
schools has jumped 28.4 times
74,526 was enrolled in these
schools, compared to only 2,624
during ihe 1899-1900 school year.
For the nation the increase was
only 10.7 times.
Another advance along this
line was virtually the elimina
tion of the less-than-college
grade students from the rolls. In
1900, nearly all students regis
tered in the so-called colleges
were not of college level.
These schools conferred 13,108
bachelor’s degrees in 1950 com
pared to 156 in 1900, and 768
master’s degrees in 1950 com
pared to none in 1900. There is
no record of a Negro school’s
awarding a doctor’s degree at
any time.
More Negroes are faculty
members than in the past. In
1924 schools supported by pub
lic funds mainly, 85 percent of
the teachers are colored, and in
colleges priv a t e 1 y financed,
slightly more than 50 percent
are colored.
Financially, the schools are a
lot better off today although
their growth m this phase has
not been as great as the national
average. In 1900 they had an
income of $1,111,783, and in 1948,
a sum of $38,318,254.
Physical value of these schools’
property 50 years ago was $7,
930,949, and in 1950, $119,857,859.
This survey included schools
for Negroes that call themselves
university, college, normal in
stitute, or normal school. Some
included do not confer a bache
lor’s degree.
General information about
these schools reveal the follow
ing facts:
ROSE MANOR
STUDIO
1421 O SMt
PfcMM 2-2247
pMViktto by AppolataMW
Geary Be»del. P. A. «ff A
Texas and North Carolina are
states with more schools, 12 each,
than any other state. A total of
19 states and the District of Co
lumbia have schools attracting
Negro students mainly. Only
Pennsylvania and Ohio are
northern states that have colored
colleges.
Largest Negro college in the
land is Howard university in the
nation’s capital. Second is Ag
ricultural and Technical college
in Greensboro, N. C., and third.
Alabama State in Mintgomery,
Ala.
Other large schools with en
rollments around 2,000 or more
include Tuskegee institute in
Alabama; Florida A&M in Talla
hassee, Fla.; Southern university \
in Scotlandville, La.; Tennessee
State college in Nashville, and
Texas State university in Hous
ton.
Among these colleges are three
schools for women and two for
men. Women’s colleges are Spel
man in Atlanta, Barber-Scotia
in Concord, N. C., and Bennett
in Greensboro, N. C. Schools for
men are Morehouse in Atlanta
and Lincoln university in Penn
sylvania.
More men (2,733) attended
Howard than any other school.
A total of 2,085 attend A&T, and
1,414, Tuskegee. Most women
(1,768) are enrolled at Alabama
State. Howard has 1,349; ^airie
View, 1,223, and Florida A&M,
1,036.
Howard offered more degrees
at the end of the 1949-50 school
year than any other school. It
awarded 763 undergraduate and
110 graduate degrees. Florida
A&M awarded 393 undergrad
uate degrees.
Atlanta university led in the
number of graduate degrees with
180. Following were Texas
State with 124 and Howard with
110. Only 15 schools awarded
master’s degrees.
Gilmour-Danielson
Drug Co.
PRESCRIPTION DRUGGISTS
142 So. 13th St. 2-1246
For Everything in
HARDWARE
Baker Hardware
101 No. 9th 24710
VINE ST.
MARKET
I GROCERIES & MEATS
ments in Nebraska’s history has
been the construction of the rail
road network over the state, and
the men who actually built the
roads deserve much more ex
tended treatment in our history
than they have had.
Nebraska History, the quarterly
magazine of the state historical
society, has helped to rectify this
condition by publishing during
the past year a notable series of
articles by Dr. Thomas M. Davis
of North Dakota State College in
Minot, on the life of George W.
Holdrege, the man who built the
Burlington in Nebraska and for
whom the city of Holdrege is
named.
Those articles are more than
the story of man’s life or of the
building of the railroad—they
constitute a chapter in the saga
of America and the West.
The career of George W. Hol
drege will fire the imagination of
any American. Born into a New
York family of position and
wealth, forced to dscontinue his
career at Harvard because his
I father’s fortune was destroyed, he
found himself at the age of 22
reporting for a job as chief clerk
I in the paymaster’s office of the
j Burlington in Plattsmouth, Ne
braska, at wages of a dollar a
day, “with a raise promised if he
showed improvement."
The young man “showed im
provement.” He was transferred
to Burlington, Iowa, where in a
year he was promoted to the posi
tion of trainmaster. In a short
time, he came back to Nebraska
as assistant to the general super
intendent of the B. 8c M. in this
state.
As assistant superintendent,
Holdrege was responsible for su
pervising new construction. So
| well did he carry this responsi- ’
bility that by the time his first
major project was completed—
building the main line to Denver
—he was general superintendent
of Lines West
Before his career as a railroad
builder was completed, George
W. Holdrege had constructed
3,000 miles of track, and had
opened up more of the West than
any other person.
He was not content merely to
build railroads. He was deeply
concerned that the country
through which his roads ran
should support a flourishing agri
culture, and he assumed distin
guished leadership in developing
the agricultural possibilities of
Nebraska and other states served
by the Burlington.
You cannot read Dr. Davis' ar
ticles without agreeing with him i
that, “the biography of George
Holdrege typifies the growth of
the region in which he lived and
served,” and that he was, indeed,
as the author states, “one of the
West’s most illustrious sons.”
r—WINTERHALTER’S ^
Have ALL
the Materials
You'll NEED
for Your Spring
Cleain-Up, Paint-Up
PROGRAM
14th at P Street
BEAL'S
GROCERY
IM Mk 6 TtsMbka
2MH ■ T«L 2-8913
George H. Wentz
Km.
NUMBING & HEATING
MM « Mcm 1-11*3
Granger Urges Repeal Cutback
NEW YORK—The National
Urban League’s Board of Trus
tees, meeting May 22 in New
York, N. Y., unanimously en
dorsed the statement released
Friday, May 18th, by Lester B.
Granger, president of the National
Conference of Social Work, and
executive director, National Ur
ban League, urging the Congress
to repeal its drastic cutback of
the low-rent public housing pro
gram. The House of Representa
tives on May 4th cut the program
from the 75,000 units requested
by the President, to 5,000.
The League’s Board of Trustees
labelled the cutback “detrimental
to the welfare of the country, and
unnecessary even in the present
national emergency.” It would,
said the Board, reduce housing
available in increasingly crowded
war production centers. The Ur
ban League does not engage in
lobbying, but the Board deter
mined that this situation was so
clearly within the League’s re
sponsibility that this exceptional
action was required. The Board
urged iocal Urban Leagues to use
all proper means at their disposal
to interpret the meaning of the
House action to their member
ship.
Mr. Granger, in his statement
said “it is neithei sensible nor
just to build 5,000 homes for those
liivng in our slums, and 800,000
or more for those who can afford
to pay current rentals and prices
for privately-built housing.’'
*
Bed Wil eS I
to the
Lincoln Urban League
l
Sears Roebuck and Co.
137 i 13 1-7*11
L
Home of Complete
■ Banking Service
. NATIONAL BANK
of
COMMERCE
■ Jj
lMi t 0 Streets
LmmIr, Nebraska
■ _