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YQL. VII.— _Omaha, Nebraska, Saturday, March 18,1933._ Number Four—
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"0I6ESTIN61
Hite NEWS" |
BROADCAST! 1' J
Every Week from this Column }
^^OIFFORDC. WITCHELL
as apology:
• • •
When this month comes to a close I
shall have completed three years ol
contributory service to Negro journ
alism. I am conscious of the fact
that on many occasions I have per
mited matter that was purely person
al to creep into this “Digesting the
News" column and for these occas
ions I offer an apology to the editors
and the readers.
• it
In defease of my actions upon the
occasions I have exceeded the bounds
of good ethical journalism I wish to
offer the following quotation, from
the pen of Florence Fare Coates:
«• 'Though h is beginnings be but
poor and low. thank God, a man
caa grow!** —
• m m
At times certain incidents or hap.
penings in connection with my hum
ble efforts t« rehabilitate myself have
reused me to use this space in pres,
rating facts of my growth and increas
tag reader, prestige to my readers all
over America, because of a lack of
any other suitable medium.
• • • a
Since July 1931, through the help
ful cooperation of the management
of the Chicago Sunday Bee, I have
conducted * weekly strictly personal
column, “This and That”, in which I
recorded purely personal incidents,
,acknowledgements of letters, books,
“exchanges” and so forth.
• • •
And for this privilege I have al
ways maintained the same spirit of
gratefulness to the Bee, that a home
)tti waif would hold towards his ben
efactor who picked him up when he
was homeless, friendless and hungry,
giving him s.ielter and food until the
waif could shift for himself.
• • •
Now. however, that my writings
are being used by early one hundred
publications each week, made up as
follows: about sixty, using “Digest,
ing the News”; around fifty, using
my weekly book comments; nearly
forty, using “Prisons and Prisoners”,
and an additional forty-odd public
ations published by the progressive
Southern Newspaper Syndicate us
ing »n exclusive ‘ Kilby” release each
week, as well as other features, it
becomes necessary that I provide
some medium of national distribu
tion in which to record the purely
personal happenings that formerly
were restricted to the Bee readers
only.
• • •
To supply this demand I am, with
the aPPro^^ °f the Bee, supplying
•'This and That” for “immediate re
lease”. to all the papers using any
of the above features and thus my
readers, in every part of the coun
try, can keep closer in touch with me
personally without the necessity of
any correspondence on my part, and
as the comments in this personal col
umn affect the readers in any partic
ular community tha same publisher
who uses my other features can also
run that particular release of “This
, and That” which for nearly two years
has been used exclusively by the Bee.
Thus, as I am about to begin my
fourth year of journalistic service,
I promise that never again will any
thing of a personal nature be per
mitted to be used in a space that
henceforth will adhere strictly to
“Digesting the News” of, and for,
racial readers.
Douglas County
Voters’ League
Announces
Slate
At a meeting of the Douglas Coun.
ty Voters’ League, Friday evening,
March 10th at 2420 Grant St., with
more than 200 members present and
S. E. Klaver presiding, the members
accented the recommendation of the
Executive Board and indorsed Roy N.
Towl, W. W. Carmichael, John Hop
kins, Harry Trustin, Richard W. Jep
sen and Blaine Young for City Com
| missioners.
The vice-president, commenting on
the purpose of the organization, said:
•‘The founders of the League realize
j that many voters have no means of
ascertaining who among the many
candidates for public office will best
serve them if elected. They there
i fore, believe they can serve a useful
purpose by scrutinizing carefully,
records of'citizens seeking public of
fice and recommending and indorsing
men who have proven themselves
capable, honest and efficient and who
will serve the people ably and faith
fully”.
“Members and officers of the Doug.
lsa County Voters’ League do not ac
cept funds from any candidate who
is indorsed by them. They are act
uated solely by a desire to help the
voters choose, honest, upright and
capable public officials.”
The League is advocating—an ef
ficient, economical government, the
divorcement of the police and fire
departments from politics, increasing
Omaha’s pay roll by cooperating in
every way with the commercial and
civic organizations of the city in the
bringing of industres to Omaha, the
employment of Omaha citizens on city
works and no natural gas contract
without a vote of the people.”
The officers of the organization
are: S. E. Klaver, attorney, Presi
dent; C. C. Galloway, Vice-President;
Alfonso i. Bell, Secretary.
FLOG LAWYER IN ARKANSAS
NEGRO’S CASE
Memphis, Tenn., March—(ANP)—
Even white southern lawyers who de
fend Negroes in the courts run the
risk of censure and attack from prej
udiced ordinary mine-run of common
whites, it was demonstrated here this
week when C. B. Tipton, local white
lawyer, reported that he had been
beaten at Marion, Ark., because he
defended a colored man accused of
robbery.
The defendant obtained a continu
ance of the case against his client.
After he had stepped out of the
courtroom. Tipton was set upon and
knocked to the ground by friends and
relatives of Robinson when he admit
) ted that he was Davis’ lawyer. The
man who knocked him down was Sam
Robinson, the plaintiff’s brother.
‘RADIO SPIRITUALISTS” FAILS
TO HALT AWARD
Memphis, March—Entirely disre
garding the opinion of a “radio spir
itualist” who received $1 for saying
that Lena Jackson, who has been
missing since 1922 is alive. Special
Judge Joe Hanvoer ruled that Lena
is dead and awarded her sister, Fred
die Williford, the full $385 provided
in a Metropolitan Life Insurance Co.,
policy.
“ Workers and the Race
== Problems”—
(S. S. CALDWELL)
You publish today over 250 period
icals and every Negro colony of size
publishes their weekly paper. The
Crisis and Opportunity are monthly
magazines of recognized literary
merit.
We Americans love to have for
eigners criticize our customs and
manners and as an outsider looking
in, I am going to point out some fault
in your business structure, and race
outlook, that in some measure has re
tarded your progress of economic pen
etration in the industrial and busin
ess fields. The crash of organized
businesses all around, all over the
United States, makes me feel that I
am living in a glass house and a few
stones from my audience could eas
ily bring a glass shower that would
pretty thoroughly envelope me.
Colored people as a whole seem to
lack confidence in race enterprises,
due to past experience when you have
been exploited by some over optim
istic colored sellers.
You do*not seem to realize that
every colored man or woman that
succeeds in business, opens the doors
of opportunity to your sons and your
daughters, so that they can capitalize
their educational advantages that
their parents have sacrificed so much
to give to them.
The colored merchant mainly,
through lack of capital and lack of
proper training in„ merchandising,
fails to deserve your patronage. They
often carry poor and shoddy stocks,
keep dirty stores and fail to give
their customers prompt and courteous
service. The colored merchant is also
prone to overcharge his customer.
The colored people must demand
through their patronage, that the col
ored merchant earn their support by
selling competitive goods in a clean
and attractive surrounding at com
petitive prices.
The Jewish merchant is one of the
world’s greatest merchandisers. They
have chosen the negro quarters all
over the country as a place where a
small stock of attractive merchandise
can be turned to the greatest profit.
I do not see why the Negro with race
support, cannot compete with the in
dividual initiative of the jewish mer
chant.
The general causes for the failure of
colored merchants are not at all dif
ferent from those of the white mer
chant. Lack of capital to purchase
goods on the cheap cash market.
Lack of Adequate Newspaper Adver
tising. The colored merchant very
much like the white country merch
ant, fails to dress his windows and
to allure customers into his shop by
attractive bargain displays.
The store generally is an old store
and there is no attempt made to mod
ernize his salesroom in keeping with
the latest designs so that the stock
tempts the customer in a dozen dif
ferent angles.
The colored merchant often allows
himself to be oversold by plausible
and persistent salesman. The young
er generation before starting in busi
ness, should carefully survey the field
algainst over-crowding and study the
possibilities of new lines that could
be operated at a profit.
To sum it up once again, sufficient
capital, adequate advertising, attrac
tive windows, clean stores, and a well
arranged stock.
The colored banker has not been
uniformly successful. The banker gen
erally starts with too little capital, a
private bank, and loans on real estate
large sums. The private banks is un
der lack state control. Real Estate
loans in times of depression soon be
comes frozen and the banker cannot
meet the demands of his depositors,
and there is trouble. You will note
that out of 51 colored banks in the
1929 year book, there was only 1 Na
tional Bank that is located in Chicago.
National banks are operated under
Federal control, are examined at reg
ular intervals and cannot loan on
farms or real estate, but must loan
on liquid securities, such as listed
stocks, bonds and loans to merch
ants for the purchase of merchandise.
The loans to be made on 60 to 120 day
and to be of such caliber that they can
be rediscounted for cash at the Fed
eral Reserve banks. A National bank
is not permitted to start until they
have sufficient capital to safeguard
their depositors. You will note during
our depression that the majority of
the failures were private banking
houses.
A Negro bank cannot hope to suc
ceed before there are enough substan
tial merchants and business men in
the comunity to afford a suitable
field for liquid loans. Let us now
turn to the professional field as a fu
ture vocation.
The colored doctor has made great
strides in the face of handicaps, that
would discourage the most hardy
white physician.
The only records I could find show
183 colored hospitals. On last in
spection of 120, the ranking was as
follows: 16-A grade and only 7 large
enough and sufficiently high in stan
dard for intership; 43 graded B; 30
craded C and 27 graded E. A colored
hospital can never function efficient
ly until the colored population gets
solidly behind the institution with
their financial backng and selects a
board of trustees that will only main
tain the highest grade of professional
efficiency. A patient must be assured
as good or better care than can be
obtained at the best white hospital!
The lack of a colored hospital mak
es it extremely difficult for a colored
doctor to give the care that can only
be obtained in a modem equipped
hospital. In Omaha, for instance you
have no hospitals and colored physic
ians are not eligible for membership
on the white hospital staffs.
This means that a colored physic
ian cannot operate in a white hospit
al. This condition will exist until
the force of race opinion induces some
city hospital to place reputable col
ored physicians on their staff, so they
can use the facilities of the hospital
for operating on their surgical cases.1
(Continued next week)
— — ..
Dr. Lennox On the Job
^ •••• 1 _... ■ ■ jj
this booklet
Is issued to help you understand the
Federal Home Loan Bank System
The Act became a law July 22, 1932
Twelve Banks are now in operation
Federal Home Loan
Bank System:—
We ask the cooperation of Congress,
other public officials and the public
in developing an honest understand
ing of the Home Loan Bank System.
The public mind is confused and the
issue has not been clearly set forth.
The Home Loan Bank System was
designed as a permanent system of
sound mortgage-discount banks, pro
viding funds to community home-fin
ancing institutions. It was not intend
ed as a home-owner’s dole at the ex
pense of the taxpayer. A careful read
ing of the Act, of the hearings and
debates in Congrses and of the public
statements which preceded its enact
ment reveals that it was intended to
be a permament addition to the cred
it structure of the United States, a
companion in our financial structure
of the Federal Reserve Banks and
our Federal Land banks. The build
ing and loan associations of the Uni
ted States supported its passage and
with others, were consulted in its
drafting. .They have joined the Sys
tem where state laws permitted, with
the understanding that it was a busi
ness proposition designed to service
American communities through exist
ing institutions.
Representing a substantial business
interest in the country, one that is as
close to the humble, thrifty citizens
and home-owners as any group in the
nation, we are unalterably opposed to
Government doles. If it was the in
tention or expectation of Congress
that the Home Loan Bank System.—
(Continued next week)
THE MONTGOMERY GROCERY
WINS WINDOW DISPLAY EX
HIBIT
Competing with nine Negro Busin
ess establishments in a Window Dis
play Exhibit, the Montgomery Groc
ery Company received honorable men
tion for the most attractive window.
The decision was reached through the
Special Committee with Mr. A. R.
Goodlett, Chairman and Mr.' J. D.
Crawford and Eugene Murray. The
Management of the Montgomery Gro
cery Store was presented at the large
Mass Meeting on Monday evening at
the Dreamland Hall.
CHARGED WITH ASSAULT
■WicWita,—A totf-rant charging a
felonious assault was issued on Feb.
20 for Theodore Ware accused of the
shooting of Mrs. Essie Gibson, who
is in a serious condition at the hospit
al with bullet wounds in her side and
right arm. Mrs. Clotene Wilson made
the request for the warrant.
ATTY. WILLIAM RITCHIE, JR
SPEAKER AT NORTH SIDE “Y”
“The Present World Crisis” is the
subject of a talk to be given by At
torney William Ritchie, Jr, at the
North Side “Y” on Sunday afternoon
at 4:30 p. m. sharp. There will be
special music and Tea will be served
following the program. Miss Jennie
Robinson is Chairman of the Public
Affairs Committee.
DANCE to Your Favorite Band
at the Annual Musician’s Ball, March
27th at Dreamland Hall.
GIRL RESERVE SPRING CONFER
ENCE HELD IN OMAHA
More than one hundred and forty
girls, representing towns in Nebras
ka and Iowa, attended the Girl Res
erve Spring Conference, held in Om
aha, March 10, 11, and 12. There
were sixteen colored girls in attend
ance, including four from Council
Bluffs, four from Clarinda and eight
from North Side Branch. Mrs. Alice
Wilson was director for music for the
Conference, accompanied by Miss
Vera Chandler. Amelia Thomas was
a group discussion leader and Lor
raine Fletcher presided at the Sun
day morning meeting. Girls from
North Side Branch attending the
Conference were Vonceil Anderson,
Margaret Blair, Helen Wilkes, Mary
Alice Willis, Lorraine Fletcher, Paul
ine Harbin, Thelma Lee and Amelia
Thomas. j
H.J. PINKETT FILES
ATTORNEY H. J. PINKETT FILES
FOR CITY COMMISSIONER
Mr. H. J. Pinkett, attorney, filed
Tuesday, March 14th as a candidate
for City Commissioner.
Mr. Pinkett received his academic
and legal education at Howard Uni
versity, Washington, D. C. and was ,
admitted to practice law in the Su
preme Court of the District of Col
umbia and the Court of Apipeals of
the District of Columbia. In the fall
of 1907 he was admitted to the bar of
the Supreme Court of the State of
Nebraska and has resided and prac
ticed law in Omaha, Nebraska for the
past 25 years.
During the World’s war, Mr. Pink
ett served as an officer of the 92nd
division in the United States and
France. Upon his return from France
he was admitted to practice in the
Supreme Courts of the United States.
Mr. Pinkett has been active in pub
lic life during all of his residence
here. He is one of the organizers of
the local branch of the NAACP. and
been an active worker since its be
ginning. For the last ten years he
has been an assistant scout master of
the Boy Scouts. He was also the
organizer of the Theodore Roosevelt
Post of the American Legion.
Atty. Pinkett sets forth the follow
ing things which he shall urge upon
the attention of the citizens of Om
aha.
1. Economy in government.
2. Adequate Civil Service system for
the selection fo all appointive City
Employees.
3. Policmen and firemen to be select
ed in future through Civil Service ex
amination.
4. A central purchasing agency for
all departments of the city govern
ment.
5. Impartial enforcement of the laws.
S. Opposition to the sale and distrib
ution of Natural Gas in Omaha with
out a vote of the people.
7. Immediate repeal of the Two dol
lar ($2.00) wheel tax ordinance.
8. Relief of unemployment through
every proper means.
9. Cooperation of city officials in the
public interest.
The campaign committee officers
for Mr. Pinkett are: S. W. Mills,
Chr.; Miss Lucy Mae Stamps, Sec’y.
THE MILLS BROTHERS AND
LITTLE THEATRE GROUP
Springfield, 111., March—The Mills
Brothers, in a three-day engagment
here at the Orpheum Theatre, played
to twenty thousand people, an all
time record in an amusement house
in this section.
On February 28, they were enter
tained at the Urban League building
by the Street End Players. These
players, a Little Theatre Group, are
rehearsing two plays, “The Man who
Died at Twelve O’clock” by Paul
Green, and “Simon, the Cyrenian” by
Ridgely Torrence. They will be given
it Christ Church auditorium on April
11. Mrs. D. E. Webster is president.
Mrs. Eulalia Proctor, director and
William M. Ashby, manager.
HAVE QUADRUPLETS
Tuscumbia, Ala., March—The stork
failed to take any cognizance of the
depression’ when it brought quad
ruplets to Mr. and Mrs. Sherman
Foung here recently. The new arrivals
were named Roy, Troy and Eva and
tfeva. Their weights at birth were
Roy, four and a half pounds; Troy,
rwo pounds and the sisters four
sounds each. The mother is 22 years
ild and the father 24. They now have
sight children.
PLEASANT GREEN
DEACON BREAKS UP
CHURCH SERVICES
WITH RAZOR
At the Sunday night services of the
Pleasant Green Baptist Church on
North 24th St., of which Rev. T. W.
Stevenson is pastor, Deacon James
Smith, 3109 Pinkney St., is alleged to
have slashed Frank Hughes, 2209 N.
25th St., on the neck during an ar
gument over the retention of Rev.
Stevenson as pastor. As a result,
the participants were heralded into
police court Wednesday morning.
i Deacon Smith’s attorney, H. J.
Pinkett, said the matter would be
threshed out Friday night at a meet
ing of the congregation which neither
SmiQi of Hughes would attend. So
Judge Perry Wheeler gave Smith a
30-day suspended sentence.
METCALFE- FOR-MAYOR CLUB
HOLDS MEETING
A meeting was held by the North
Side Branch of the “Metcalfe . for
Mayor’ club at the home of Mrs. Luc
ille Edwards, at which there were a
bout 200 in attendance. Dr. Michael
J. Ford, as personal representative of
the Mayor, spoke of his association
with Mayor Metcalfe over a period of
40 years, both having arrived in Om
aha about the same time. Dr. Con
nolly, Dick Low, and Rev. Metcalfe
told of the activities in the various
departments of the Mayor. Joe Ros.
enbloom, Atty. John Adams and Mr.
Coleman, Commander of the Roose
velt Post of the American Legion,
paid tribute to the Mayor in acknow
ledging his fairness in dealing with
the activities of the people in their
communities. Dr. J. H. Hutton, who
presided at the meeting, told of his
40 year acquaintance with the Mayor
and cited the inadvisability of mak
ing a change in the Mayor’s office
to a man of untried ability.
MAN WHO LIVED IN A CAVE
ALL WINTER, DIES
Kansas City, Mo.—Henry Jones, 60
year old man who had been living in
a cave all during the winter, was tak
en to General hospital No. 2, Thurs
day, Feb. 23., where he died on the
following Tuesday.
Jones was found by Frank Denany
at Twenty-seventh streets and Wyom
ing avenue suffering with severe ul
cerations of the feet caused from ex
posure to the weather.
No relatives or friends of the old
man could be found. His body was in
charge of West, Appleton and Jones.
No funeral service was held. Burial
was at Leeds.
FINDER OF LINDBERGH BABY
DESTITUTE
New York, N. Y. March—William
J. Allen) who discovered the Lind
bergh babys’ body in the famous kid
napping case, has fallen on evil days
at Hopewell.
For a time Mr. Allen was “exhib
ited” to morbidly curious people at
circuses or carnivals, but this capit
alization of the tragedy aroused such
resentment that means of livelihood
was denied him. He received nothing
for finding the baby, and although
for a few weeks he worked for a
Philadelphia contractor, he has been
without work for months. His family
is destitute.
DR. FYRE TO SPEAK
The New Era Baptist Association
and its Auxiliaries will hold their
third quarterly board meeting March
20, 21, with the Pilgrim Baptist
Church 25th and Hamilton Sts. Rev.
J. H. Dotson, pastor. Dr. R. T,
Frye, President of Western Baptist
College, Kansas City, Mo., will be
the guest speaker each night. We
invite the Public to hear this great
educator and leader.
F. P. Jones, Cor. Secretary.