GUIDE OMAHA ___
The eye of a Master will TZ 77
, , ,, .. “No Man was ever
do more work than his . ,
hanH - - Glorious who was not
__ ___"_ ' i ' ' ' - ju3* *• y
^ <v.;■ " March of Events Cityy ana hat l Life
___ Omaha Nebraska Saturday March 3, 1934 Fageb
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EDITORIAL
THjywyMMmmBiHBtja-B ■' ■'WiW———
NEGRO CRIME AND EDUCATION
By Kenneth E. Barnhart
(From The Opportunity)
is mere a crime wave'—President Hoover s re
f . . i committee on Social Trends, which has just pub
is,. b its findings in two volumer under this title, states
tlu t they can find no evidence of a crime wave sweeping
ov ; the country. They found that the number of arrests
an; of court cases per 100,000 population has increased
ivy d- rately from 1900 to 1931, with about the same rate
of crime for both major and minor offenses between 1900
am 1920. It then began to rise considerably until 1926; it
fell somewhat in 1927; then rose to a new high peak in
1929, and has been falling since 1929. Since 1920 a large
part of the increase n crime was d,ue to traffic class
which have increased at about the same rate as auto re
gistrations, and to increases in violations of the liquor
law since it went into effect. However, the arrests and
prosecutions for major crimes, such as homicde, robbery
burglary, and aggravated assault have not increased as
drunkenness and other violations of the liquor laws, drug
laws, traffic and motor vehicle laws. The increase in crim
inal laws between 1900 and 1930 was at the average an
nual rate of from one to two per cent. The number of crim
inal laws will undoubtedly increase, but with a tendency
toward a decreased rate, partly because of a growing pub
lic sentiment against regulations, and also because of the
substituton of flexible administrative regclations for
rigid criminal laws.
Do Negroes Commit More Crimes than Whites:—
It is often pointed out that Negroes commit more crime
than white people in proportion to the number of Negro
es in the total population. A Negro writer, Ira De A. Reid,
has recently shown that the per cent of Negroes in Sing
Sing has grown from 6 per cent in 1875, to 14 per cent in
1920, and 24 per cent in 1931. Negroes are often commit
ted to penal institutions for a larger percentage of cer
tain crimes than whites, such as homicide, assault, carry
ing concealed weapons, and layceny, but commit a smaller
percentage of such crimes as drunkenness, violating li
quor laws and drug laws, and robbery. However, accord
ing to Dr. Glenn Andrews, State Prison Inspector of Ala
bama, the number of persons sent to jails in this state be
tween 1915 and 1927 showed a net increase of 12,368 wrhite
persons, or 196 per cent, and for the same period a net de
crease of 391 Negroes, or 2 per cent. In 1928-29 we still
find an increase for whites and a decrease for Negroes.
Why So Many Negroes Are Sent to Jail—The fact
that more Negroes are often committed to jail than white
persons does not mean that more Negroes commit crime
than white persons. It must be remembered that usually
Negroes are less able to employ expert lawyers than the
white race. It is also true that the Negro is given the lar- j
cgest percentage of his imprisonment for crimes which
call for a fine which he is often unable to pay. This is es
pecially true during the depression. Furthermore, it will
hardly be questioned that the Negro is more likely to be
convicted in many courts than the white race. Often, too,
the police are more suspicious of the Negro than the
white man, and hence arrest him more frequently. In
some cases innocent Negroes are actually “framed.”
In his study of “500 Criminal Careers, Dr. CiuecK
Says “Even if they (Negroes) are more criminal, which
is open to doubt, the causes lie in the social structure for
which the white American is primarily responsible.” Wc
are coming to realize more and more that it is not race,
primarily, which explains criminal behavior, but rather
economic,’ political, social, educational and other environ
mental factors. We do not know positively yet to what ex
tent mental factors play a part in the commission of crime
but we do know that mental tests given to all prisoners in
Sing Sing in 1930 showed that only 25 per cent of them
were of normal mentality. Unfortunately, such tests are
not given in all penal institutions.
" More Crime Committed by Ignorant—Most crime
is committed by illiterate or poorly educated persons. The
records of all penal institutions show that few prisoners
have received more than a fifth grade education, and
many have received none at all. The opportunities for
making a comfortable living are small for the illiterate
perrons and the one who has only a fifth grade educa
tion Hence the temptation to commit crime is greater for
such persons. Then, too, the ignorant person is more in
clined to take the law into his own hands than the educat
ed person who usually relies on the courts. Much of the
Negro crime in Alabama, and in the South, can be traced
to the 51 per cent (1920) who are illiterate in Alabama,
and to that large portion of the race which has less than
a fifth grade education. The fact that Negro crime in
New York State is proportionately less than in Alabama
may no doubt be explained in part, if not in a large mea
sure, to the fact that only 2.9 per cent (1920) of the Ne
groes in New York State are illiterate, compared with
the 31 per cent (1920) in Alabama. Only one State in the
Union has a larger percentage of illiterate Negroes than
Alabama, namely, Louisiana, which ranks first with 38.5
per cent (1920) of the Negro population illiterate.
A careful study of all lynchings in 1930 by the
Southern Commission on the Study of Lynching revealed
the fact that lynching invariably takes place in the most
illiterate counties of each state, where facilities for school
ing are poorest, and where the greatest poverty in the ru
ral parts of the state prevail. Usually the persons lynched
are very ignorant, and also those who do the lynching.
lne author s study oi homicides m Birmingham
reveals the same situation. All but a very few of the mur
ders were found to be by the illiterate, or the poorly edu
cated. The fact that the Negro homicide rate is nearly
eight times that of the white race may not be due to race,
primarily, but to lack of education. It is not only the illi
terate or poorly educated Negro who commits murder,
but also the illiterate or poorly educated white person, in
most instances. Until we reduce materially the number of
illiterate whites in Birmingham, some 1,200' persons ac
cording to the 1930 Census, and the 12,000 illiterate *Ne
groes, we may expect the rate of homicide in Birmingham
to continue high, even though it may not be each year the
highest of any city in the world as was the case in 1931.
When one discovers that the rate of homicide in Birming
ham was 83 per 100,000 population in 1910, when 10.4 per
cent of the total population was illiterate, and that it has
dropped to 48.9 per 100,000 population in 1930, when the
percentage of the illiterate population had been reduced
to 6.2 per cent, there is some ground for belief that the
homicide rate may continue to fall as the amount of illi
teracy continues to drop. At least there is considerable
evidence to show that there is a positive correlation be
tween the amount of education and th amount of crime.
It is likely that other crimes besides homicide will dim
inish as education becomes more generally diffused
throughout the population.
The Educational Handicap of the Negro—The Ne
gro still suffers from several kinds of educational inequal
ities. The expenditure per child of school age in the South
varies considerably between the two races. In 16 south
ern states and the District of Columbia, the yearly ex
penditure per child of school age for the white race is $45,
63; in the Negro race it is $14.95. In Alabama, the expendi
ture is $37.50 per white child, and $7.16 per Negro child.
In one county in Alabama the expenditure is $57.00 per
white child, and $1.51 per Negro child. In Jefferson Coun
ty, Alabama, the amount spent is $41.95 per white child,
and $15.57 per Negro child. In Birmingham, Alabama, it
is $66.74 per white child, and $25.25 per Negro child. As
long as the white child has about three times as much
money spent on his education as the colored child, we
must expect Negro education to suffer considerably.
Negro children also suffer from a shorter school
term than white children. In 17 states and the District
of Columbia the average length of school term for whites
is 164 days, or about 8 months; for the Negro it is 144
days, or about 7 months. In Alabama, the white child goes
to school 159 days, or nearly 8 months; the Negro child
can go only 129 days, or about &/2 months.
Negro teachers have more pupils than white teach
ers. In 17 states and the District of Columbia the number
of pupils per white teacher is 31; but it is 44 pupils per
Negro teacher. In Alabama it is worse than the general
average for the South; it is 33 pupils per white teacher,
and 48 pupils per Negro teacher.
The average annual salary oi white teachers m 17
states and the District of Columbia during the peak year
of prosperity, 1929, was $1,020; for Negro teacherr only
half as much, or $524. Alabama salaries for school teach
ers has always ranked below the average for all the south
ern states; in 1929 it was $832 per white teacher, and $354
per Negro tacher, or less than half that of the white
teacher.
WHERE FREIGHT RATES ARE HIGH
How do you, Mr. Taxpayer, like to contribute the
neat sum of $7,900 for every ton of cattle, corn, hogs and
mules moved a transportation system which is owned by
the government and, consequently, must be supported by
you and your fellows ?
Seven-thousand nine hundred dollars per ton is
precisely what it cost the Treasury to move freight on the
Missouri River branch of the Inland Waterways Corpora
tion in 1929. The fact is brought out by George Creel in an
article in Collier’s. It’s easy enough to figure. Taking four
per cent as being a fair rate of interest on the govern
ment’s investment in the river, and adding the $2,000,000
bill run up annually for maintenance, the taxpayers paid
more than $6,000,000 to keep the waterway going in 1929.
Outside of materials used in the government’s own con
struction work, but 779 tons were carried. Ergo: A bill
of $7,900 per ton!
This, of course, is an extreme example, but it shows
the way the wind blows. It has been duplicated to a lesser
extent in waterways in all parts of the country. In the case
of the New York Barge Canal, there are 66 canal term
inals, which cost $26,000,000—and at 49 of them no freight
whatsoever has been handled in recent years. It has Been
| cheaper for the state if it had junked its canal, put all the
freight in railroad cars and paid the bill itself!
Now, with proposals for bigger and better canals i
and waterways being considered, is an excellent time to re- i
member these lessons of the past and present. 1
STILLING FEARS C* FN^La7t0N
A very important phase of the President’s decision
to monetize and stabilize silver, is mat 11 nas done mucn to
still the fear that we would have inflation by the printing
! press route. It will bring more money into circulation, if
| i he economists are'right, will provide funds for foreign
: and domestic commerce— arid the money will have some-!
! thing of established and definite value behind it.
Thus, the silver proclamation will serve two ends—
it will restore the confidence of a large part of the public
in the United States monetary policies, and it will help re
surrect one of the greatest and most essential of our indus
tries. Results of the latter are being felt now—in jobs, in
buying power, in hopes for the future. And, if the expect
ed happens and other major nations adopt similar mea
sures, a long step toward general world recovery will have
been taken.
‘•Demagoguery is strictly entertainment. It uses a
minimum of information, with a maximum of appeal to
the emotions.”—James H. Collins. And it should be added
that the public always pays scalper’s prices for the show.
FOR YOUR SAFETY
The Fifth Annual New York Safety Conference, to
be held March 6th and 7th, is an example of activity which
desrves the widest possible notice.
A large number of organizations—such as the Nat
ional Board of Casualty and Surety Underwriters, Amer
ican Standards Association, American Red Cross, Society
of Automotive Engineers and similar bodies—will cooper
ate. Topics concerning every phase of safety work—from
handling material, to fire prevention and falls — will be
discussed by experts. The object of the conference is to
make life safer, healthier and happier for workers, and to
bring American industry a step nearer to the ideal of ab
solute safety.
Similar conferences should be held in other sections
of the country at regular intervals, to back up the work of
the various organizations which carry on nation-wide
safety programs. In the last decade wre have made tremen
dous progress in promoting safety, especially in the field
of industry. Safeguarding of machinery has been immense
ly improved, but more important, the average worker has
been given a new idea of what safe-conduct on his job real
ly means. The result is a growing list of “no accident” in
dustries, and a general decline in both the severity and fre
quency of accidents in other industries.
Much remains to be done—in industry, in the home,
and on public highways, wrhere the death and injuny toll is
disgraceful. Safety activities must be expanded.
“CRACKING DOWN” ON PAYROLLS
Albert Johnson, publisher of Grays Harbor Wash
ingtonian, Hoquiam, Washington, established in 1889,
makes editorial New Year’s observations wmrth reading.
After pointing out that his paper has been pleased
to receive advertisements from various public service cor
porations in the regular course of business, just as it ac
cepted any other advertising, and after remarking that
corporations art1 hard pressed for money for capital in
vestments today, Editor Johnson says:
“We are moved to these few’ remarks by the action
of this state’s (Washington) Department of Public Works,
wrhich has ordered the public service corporations to cut
their advertising appropriations drastically, and has or
dered book accounts of such expenditures opened for ex
amination.
“The first thing we knowT these corporations will be
forbidden to advertise at all, and then it will be too late for
i us to kick.”
Speaking of the telephone advertising in his paper,
Editor Johnson said, we are glad to take the “company’s
money, right over our counter, over which many thou
sands of dollars pass every single month, and are paid out
to men, women and boys who get out this sheet, and do fine
commercial printing as a side line.
“By the way, we are in corporated, and it is not
pleasant for us to see all the other corporations that do
business around here ‘cracked down’ on to the breaking
point. When they are done to death, we will go broke; so
will you. And this little city is likely to fade from the map.
“As long as the state takes their tax money and our
tax money,... we hope to see a Square Deal, which is just
as important as a New Deal...
“The public, through its governmental agencies can
‘crack down’ so hard on those who make the wheels go
round, that the public may get an awful crack itself.
“What we are trying to say is that business begets
business. We, ail of us, live with, by and for each other ...
“How many people realize that the pendulum of hue
and cry is swinging very hard just now against the cor
porations? ... Those who lead the hue and cry forget that
these corporations pay salaries, provide payrolls, keep up
the steam and art the sole excuse for the existence of more
than one city and town.
“These corporations ... are loaded with general and
special taxes, fees and federal and state regulations, which
are costly and often necessary ...
“To make matters still worse, the state governments
and the United States government are going still more in
to business in opposition to corporations. Our state legisia
ture, at this very minute, is putting the state into the po
wer business without the slightest regard as to who will j
take care of the inevitable smash-up.
“We would not be surprised at all to see the govern
ment in the newspaper business. It is already in the print
ing business and the now’s bulletin business ...
“Believe it or not, we lie aw'ake nights wandering if
the people of the United States realize that they are really
willfully or sleepily standing by and permitting a situation
to arise where the state will have to do it all—run every
thing, from railroads to weekly newspapers. Then, a lot of
is who are either owmers, salaried people, or persons on
he payrolls, will learn something.”
Turn *n
'DIGESTING
File NEWS" |
BROADCASTS 5
Every Week from this Column }
By CLIFFORD C. MITCHELL \
The only reason that the above
title is used is because I surposely
delayed the writing of this column
last night in order to get up early
this morning (February 22nd) and
hear the High Mass and Funeral of
the late King Albert of Belgium. Al
though the program, from New York
City, has been on tl}e a:r for nearly
half an hour already we have not
heard from Brussells as the en
gineers claim atmospheric distur
ances over the Atlantic. At this point
wo hear from Brussells and 1 am
now sitting in a little “studio” on
South Parkway in Chicago, at five
thirty iii the morning listening to a
choir away over in Belgium- What a
world this is? And what a pleasure
it is to be free to enjoy man’s ac
hievements- (I only wish I under
stood Latin so I could understand the
Priest now talking.)
The Baltimore Afrc-American are
putting on a journalistic feat not of
ten observed in the colored field
Their special feature writer, Ralph
Matthews, is making a thirty day
tour around the entire United States
and writing many interesting col
umns of experiences, observations,
and news matter gathered on his
| jaunt
The Scott Newspaper Syndicate,
mentioned in last week's column be
cause of the death of its founder, the
, late W- A. Scott, is stili progressing
under its new managership, C- A.
Scott, brother to the deceased. Their
latest achievements being an admit
tance into the A- B C- (Audit Bu
reau of Circulations) class, making
their Atlanta Daily World one of the
five or six colored publications so
admitted. Then, too, they have start
ed a new weekly paper, the Glob&
! Dispatch, at Shreveport, La- And
; I am glad to see this new publication
I making use of my service
The National Medical Association
scores another victory for the race.
Dr. M. O. Bousfield, the president of
the N- M- A-, and vice-president and
medical director of the Supreme Lib
erty Life Insurance Company, has
just returned from a trip through
the east and southeast as far as the
Carolinas and reports that while in
Durham, North Carolina, definite
arrangements were made with the
officials of Duke University there to
spend considerable money in provid
ing for increased medical services
for the race.
Another local Chicago company
who have weathered the financial
storm with clear sailing and im
proved business is the Protective
Mutual Life Insurance Company,
who have but recently enlarged their
working quarters and sales staff
when they moved into their new
headquarters in the Warwick Build
ing, 543 East 47th Street. I recently
wrote a special featuhe article de
tailing the activities of this company
and the successful experience of
their president, Mr. C- W- Hadnott,
which a few of the outstate publica
tions carried, and I am glad, in this
brief manner, to bring their success
to the attention of readers through
out the entire country.
Apparently classes in journalism,
studying Negro papers, etc., are
now being taught in the public
schools throughout the country. At
least I am in receipt of a letter from
the business manager, and a sample
issue of their paper, the Moore High
Banner, which is edited and publish
'd by the journalism class of the
Moore School, in Waco, Texas.
KID CHOCOLATE LOSES FEATH
ER-WEIGHT TITLE IN NEW
YORK STATE
NEW YORK CITY, February 27—
(CNS)— Kid Chocolate has been
shorn of his world feather-weight
crown by the New York State Ath
letic Commission because of his fail
ure to arrange for a title defense
within 30 days of the commission’s
edict last month.
Chocolate was recognized as title
holder by the New York commission
when he stopped Lev/ Feldman two
years ago, in the final of an elimina
tion tourney- He was not recognized
by the NRA
The commission is planning an eli
mination tourney to determine Cko- ^
colate’s successor. Chocolate defend
ed his title only once—against Seman
Watson of England. He is Havana.
