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About The Omaha guide. (Omaha, Neb.) 1927-19?? | View Entire Issue (April 28, 1934)
MORE SENA TORS BEHIND LYNCH BILL Continuous Pressure Needed To Get Hill To Vote As As Passage Seems Assur ed Once It Is Up; White House Said To Favor Washington. April 23— Continous pressure on each senator is the cry need for the passage of the Costigan Wagner ant- lynching bill. Voters should write their senators asking them to becme active in getting the bill up for a vote as well as voting for it once it edmes up. A new tab ulation of senators here yesterday showed that without a doubt the bill can be passed if it is brought up The edge has been taken off the bitter fight which southern senators would have waged upon it by the growng sentiment in the South, and especially the resolution of the power ful Woman’s Missionary Council of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, which passed a resolution March 12 unanimously endorsing the ill. Senator Bonnet C- Clark of Miss ouri has written the St Louis branch of the N. A- A. C- P : “I am heartly in favor of the proposed anti-lynch ing bill." Senator L. J- Dickinson has writ ten the Des Moines N. A- A- C- P. branch: “If the Costigan-Wagner bill comes to a vote I expect to vote for it” Both of these Senators were re cently reported as opposed to the bill Oswald Garrison Villard has writ ten thirteen senators askng them to vote for the bill and has received de finite pledges thus far from half of them that they will vote for the bill. Senator Nye of North Dakota writes “I shall give the bill my most earnest support.” Senator Shipstead of Minnesota writes: “I expect to support it.” Senator Cutting of Arizona writes: “I intend to vote for the Costigan Wagner anti-lynching bill.” Senator David Walsh of Massachu setts writes: “I am in strong sympathy with the Costigan-Wagner bill. I have always supported anti-lynching bills.” It is understood here that the' White House favors the passage of the bill. Telegrams and letters to President Roosevelt asking him to insist to the leaders of Congress that the bill be passed before Congress adjourns will be exxeeedingly helpful at this stage of the fight DARROW BOOK IN CHEAPER EDITION New York, April 22—Charles Scribner’s Sons has just released a popular edition of Clarence Darrow’s j “The Story of My Life” to sell at $1- j The book contains a chapter on the famous Sweet trial in Detroit and the eneral problem of the Negro in the North. LONG BATTLE WON FOR MEN WHO DEFENDED HOME New York. April 20—A fight for the lives of three Negro workers of La gardo, Tenn- that began in September 1932, has ended victoriously after twice taking the cases to the Tennes see supreme court, according to an announcement fTom the office of the National Association for the Advance ment of Colored People today. The three workers, Jake and Char lie Alexander and George Benton Oldham, were convicted of first de gree murder at Lebanon, Tenn- on January 4, 1933, for the murder of Constable Ben L- Northern and De puty M- E- Brown who attempted to arrest them on the evening of September 4, 1932, with a blank war rant and the assistance of a white mob, following an altercation between a white and a Negro family. The two Alexanders were sentenced to life imprisonment and Oldham was given twenty-five years- A fourth defendent was acquitted The cases were appealed to the state supreme court on July 19,1933, reversed the sentences and recommend «d a nerw trial holding that the men were not guilty of murder in the first degree, but had merely defended their homes from a mob At the second tral in Lebanon, Teim-, August 30 to September 4, 1933 George Oldham was acquitted, Jake Alexander was convicted of “in voluntary manslaughter” and give® three years, while Charlie Alexander,, his son, was convicted of “second de gree murder” and sentenced to twelve years Again the cases were carried back to the state supreme court- On April 5, 1934 it affirmed the verdict Jake Alexander, but cut the sentence to one year, while reducing that of Charle Alexxander from one to five years- The men are even now eligible for parole and efforts are being made to have them freed at once Almost Lynched A history of the case reveals the extent of the victory scered by the Association’s lawyer, Jesse Cantrell, a whte Watertown, Ttnn. attorney When the accused Negroes were taken from Lagardo to Lebanon, Tenn-, a bloodthirsty mob swarmed around the jail demanding that the black work ers be turned over to them- The de fen dents were hdden under the jail floor and could hear footsteps of the mob above them- When the delega from the mob had left, assured that the prisoners were not in the jail, the Negroes were spirited away in cars to Nashville for safekeeping The mob angered, continued to swarm about thie jail, tearing off screens and breaking in doors- Two Negro wo men prisoners were taken out and would have been lynched bu$ for the pleas of two young white students ihe natonal guard finally dispersed the mob of 8.000. The sheriff’s wife was injured and at one time a race roit threatened N. A- A. C- P- Support Secret Because of threats against the life of Attorney Cantrell by a relative of one of the deceased white men and the bitter feeling the cases arouse in Lebanon, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People kept secret the fact that it backing the defense of the Negro workers This policy was justified by events During the trials the courtroom was crowded by a desperate mob of whites eager for the conviction or lynching of the defendants The cost ofo the two trials and the hearings before the state supreme court was $310 to which fund the N. A. A- C- P- contributed $150, the In terracial Commission of Atlanta $55, the rest being raised by interested Nashville white and colored citizens headed by Prof- Albert E- Barnett of Scaritt, Nashville, who lent every assistance to the case from the time of the threatened lynching 18 months ago BATTERING ON BARRIERS OF PREJUDICE Stirring chapters From the 25-yOar History of the Na tional Association for the Advancement of Colored People Fighting for the Negro Farijners In the last article we dealt specific ally with Association’s war on lynch ing during the quarter century of its j existence. In this article we shall sketch briefly the long fight waged by the Association for justice and fair play for Negro farmers, with emphasis on the famous Elaine, Ar kansas case of 1919-1923 Fights “Agricultural Contracts” Before the Association was a year old it took up with Governor Martin F- Ansel of South Carolina the ques tion of a pardon for Pink Franklin. Negro plantation hand who had vio lated a so-called “agricultural con- j tract” and two months later had shot the White constable sent to arrest j him, when the latter broke into his cabin at three o’clock in the morning without announcing that he was an j officer. Due to the Association’s ef forts Franklin won a commutation of sentence. It also waged a hard fight the same year for the life of, Steve Greene. Arkansas sharecropper, who shot his boss in self defense when the latter sought to make him renew his lease at an advance of almost 100 per cent in rent Durng the “Work or Fight” drive in 1918 an effort was made by the j white authorities at PineBluff, Ark.,' to force colored woman to work in j the cotton fields at wages below the standard rate- The Little Rock branch of the Association immediately organized^ ai)| opposition campaign, mobolizing the Negroes of the vicin ity and stopped this vicious form of exploitation before it got well started. The National office investigated and exposed the whole “Work or Fight” system as it was worked in the South and its expose was one of the fac tors in stopping the scheme. Perhaps the most notable fight waged by the Association in behalf of the embattled Southern Negro farmers was the now famous Elaine Sharecropper Case, which gained world-wide attention and) ended in one of the Associations most out standing victories. Negro Tenants Organize Sixty-eight exploiting Negro ten ants of Phillips County. Arkansas, unable to get any settlement from the plantaton owners on whose places they slaved, organized the Progressive Farmers and Labor Household Union of America, incorporated under the laws of Arkansas- The union's lit erature stated its purpose as that of “advancing the intellectual, material, moral, spiritual and financial inter ests of the Negro race." The firm of Bratton and Bratton, white lawyers of Little Rock, Ark ansas was employed by the union either to secure a voluntary settle ment frqm the plantation owners or to bring suits in the courts, as the firm had done in many other simi lar cases. The meeting with the legal representative was to be held at Ratio, Arkansas, early inOCtober 1949. Meantime, Negro farmers were meeting in a little church near Hoop Spur, a small settlement ten miles MUTT AND JEFF—Jeff Learns That Trick Seals Can Do Tricks Outside A Tent _ By EUD FISHER THOSE ARE yoUHG gS SEALS. JEFF! tr aimed seals are sj? WORTH LOTS OF r L DOUGH! _r-' «. ** <.—-—S’ T THIS IS THE LAST^\ MAVfc-_ \f v0u'\ MATCH! IE IT 60ES 6ET ice out 1 'spose III p'ck r cam <\. HAV/6 to CARRV wAlk BACK! yj -{ you BACK TO J THE BCAT1 . " / ! away. W. D. Adkins, special agent of the Missouri Pacific Railway, drove up to the church in an automobile, accompanied by a deputy sherriff. They fired into the church. The Negroes returned fire and Adkins was killed. Hell Breaks Loose Then hell broke loose in Phillips County. A “Committee of Seven” consisting of the county judge, the mayor of Elaine, the sheriff and four others, allegedly planters took down charge of affairs.organizing the mob which secured the county shooting shooting down Negroes indiscrimin ately. Word was sent out that Ne groes were uprising and “massacare ing the whites.” The Govenor hur ried to the county with a militia. Federal troops from Camp Pike were dispatched to stop the “massacre of the white people.”It is significant that this “massacre of whites” re sulted in the death of five white and fifty Negroes. Among the Negroes klled were the four Johnson brothers, one a dentist and property owner in Helena, another a prominent Okla homa physician visiting Helena, who were turning from a squirrel hunt when they met the bloodthirsty Vnob. Eight hundred Negroes were round ed up like cattle by the state and fed eral troops and 200 of them petnned in a stockade. Within a month after wards 79 of these Negroes were put on trial at Heena. The trials lasted five days. Twelve were condemned to death and 67 were sentenced from twenty-one years to life. Many of them were tortured to force confes sions. In the case of five of those tried, the jury brought i» a verdict of guilty after but six minutes de liberation. The trial counsel provid ed the court did not consult the accus ed Negroes, put no witnesses oon the stand and did not address the jury in behalf of their supposed clients. The whole affair was a gross miscarriage of justice. N A A C P To The Rescue The Association’s legal department immediately got busy. Colonel Geo. i W. Murphy (white) and Sciopio A. Jones of Little Rock, Ark., were re tained as defense counsel. On Mari. 29. 1920, the supreme court of Ar kansas reversed the verdict of death of the Phillips county circuit court in the cases of the six of the tvelve condemned men, the other six were found guilty. Again the caSes were taken to the Arkansas supreme court and again the county court was re versed on December 6, 1920,on the ground that Negroes had been exclud ed from juries in Phillips county in contravention of the Fourteenth Amendment and Civl Rights Act of 1875 The execution of the second six men was held up pending the outcome of the third trial of the first six At this time Colonel Mur phy died and the burden of handling the cases fell upon the capable shoulders of his colored associate, Scipio A. Jones. On March 23, 1921 the Association defeated the efforts of the Arkansas authorities to extradite Robert L Hill. head of the Progressive Farm ers and Household Union of Ameri ca, who had been arrested in Tope ka, Kans-, whence he had fled fol lowing the Phillips county race war The state of Arkansas persisted in its efforts to get Hill, but at every turn the Assiciation’s legal defense blocked the way- Finally, after sev eral unsuccessful maneuvers by Ar kansas in the federal courts, At torney Jones was able to wire the National office: “Both cases in the federal court against Hill have been dismissed by order of the Attorney general” On April 20, U921, Governor McRae of Arkansas set June 10 as the exe cution date for the second six of the convicted sharecroppers- When he refused appeals to stay execution un til the conclusion of the trials of the first six men, the Association’s law yers won a restraining order which was set aside when Arkansas auth orities applied for and obtained a writ of prohibition dissolving it, from the state supreme court- The N. A. A. C. P. attorneys then moved for a writ of habeas corpus in the federal court. Win Change of Venue When the first six condemned men again went to trial in May, the As sociations attorneys applied for and got, after a studied delay of six weeks, a change of venue to Lee county on June 21- Trials were set for October in Marianna Every legal device was used by the Arkansas authorities to wreck vengeance upon these unfortunate victims of exploitation and mob frenzy- At every turn they found themselves thwarted by the Associa tion’s attorneys. Reversal followed trial, legal points were urged to the highest court of the land, disappoint ment followed apparent victory, hopes rose only to be dashed again. On January 9- 1923, Moorfield Storey, the Association’s president argued the case of the six condemned men before the United States Su preme court alleging that such or ganizations as local rotary clubs, American legion posts, and the courts had sought to railroad the Negro farmers to death, that the rioting had been begun by whites, that the farm workers had been fasely ac cused of organizing to “massacre I whites” and on this pretext hund reds of unoffending Negro workers had been hunted down like beasts by armed whites N. A. A- C- P. Wins Workers’ Release. As a result of the Association’s brilliant plea, the United States su preme court on February 19, 1923. federal district court to inquire into condemned workers and directed the federal district court to inquie into the cases and ascertain if the ac cused black farmers had had a fair trial- This decision (More vs Demp sey 261 U- S- 86) was epoch making in that it not only declared that a trial dominated by mob sentiment was not due process of law, but re versed the U- S- supreme court it self in its decision in the Leo Frank case Flabbergasted by this decision, the Arkansas authorities rather than re try the men, offered a compromise of a plea of gulty on a lesser charge, which was accepted by Attorney Jones- On November 11, 1923, Gov ernor McRae commuted the sentences of the men, leaving them eligible for parole within a short time On June 25- 1923, the Arkansas supreme court ordered the discharge from custody of the second six de fendants, who, following reversal of their previous sentences had been rte-convicted and re-sentenced to death. As a result of these victories which snatched twelve farm workers from death, the Association was able to secure the release of all the others- The men were turned loose at the prison gate, but N- A- A- C- P-1 attorneys were on hand and rushed th<*m to Little Rock* by automobile, furnshed them transportation to the North where they found work This victory, which cost the As sociation $15,000 brought dramatical ly to the attention of the entire country the vicious exploitation of Negro sharecroppers in the South and exposed the methods of the Southern planter class in using the lynch terror to prevent the farm workers from oganizing- This deci sion won by the billiant Negro and white lawyers of the National As sociation for the Advancement of Colored People n the United States Supreme Court stands as a protec tion for black and white workers who may there after be tried under the condtions which surrounded the Negro peons of Arkansas Prof. Holmes Named Dean of New Graduate School. Washington D- C-—(CNS)—Dean Dwight 0- W- Holmes, of the School of Education at Howard University has been selected as the first dean of the new graduate school, his du ties to begin July 1. when the school of education will he merged with the College of liberal Arts The semi-annual meeting of the Trustee Board took place at the Uni versity Tuesday April 10 when the following trustees were elected for three years, Dr. Jacob Billekopf, of FPhiladelphia, Dr- Walter Gray Crump, New York- Dr. Abram Flex ner, New Cork, Thomas F- Hungate, Columba University. New York, P- B Young. Norfolk, and Victor B- Dey ber. Dr- Charles H- Garvin alumni trustee was elected a regular board member, succeeding Rolfe B- Cob leigbt, Boston, deceased- George E Bell of Montclair, New Jersey, was elected alumni trustee Acting Dean L- B- Downing, of the present college of applied sciences, was elected dean of an educational division, separately organized and ad ministered, to be known as the school of engineering and architecture- This school will include instruction in ar chitecture, civil, electrical and me chanical enginnering- * The school of engineering will con fine its work to an undergraduate program until such time as graduate instruction in engineering may be given at Howard- Graduates will be directed to other institutions for ad vanced work. The deanship of the college «f dentistry was awarded to acting Dean Russell, A Dixon- The board adopt ed a budget covering activities of the year 1934-35 and a retirement systdm for administrative officers and the professional staff Mute Princeton Bootblack Prince of Rooters For Princeton. Princeton, N- J—(CNS)—Fifteen years ago Elias Scudder, a deaf mute walked to the barber shop of Jack I Honore here wearing the following sign on his baek: “I don’t want to go to war- Please give me a job ” He obtained one and has become the mascot of Princeton in all athletic contests. Scudder, whose periodic frenzies over the cause of Tiger football teams has made him, the mascot of Princeton students, has for the last ten years refused a standing offer to regain the use of his tongue by a free and safe operation- He is con-1 vinced that if he had the normal use j of his tongue and ears he would not i be so popular with university stu- j dents I In recent years Scudder has had a pass to all athletic contest here and his face is always present wherever Princeton rooting waxes hottest The Nassau mascot’s attendance at all athletic events which he can get leave of absence for has often carried him away from town- Last fall he witnessed the Yale-Princeton football game at New Haven, and next year he expects to journey to Cambridge for the Princeton-Harvard contest The hat rack at Honore’s shop is made out of a large piece of the Yale goalpost which Scudder assisted Princeton students in uprooting after the 25-12 Tiger victory of 1925 The deaf mute is famed for his hilarious pantomine, and his name is also connected with innumerable ex Alamito NO PRICE INCREASE • • Our extra rich Grade A Milk now contains Vitamin D, intro duced the natural way by feed ing our cows irradiated yeast. • Vitamin D builds and repairs bones and teeth and prevents rickets and respiratory infec tion. Phone Jackson 2585. Open from 2 P. M. until 3 A. M. Saturday and Sunday, , Close at 4:00 A. M Good Food Plus EFFICIENT SERVICE King Yuen Cafe Chop Suey aad Reteamein our hobby American and Chinese Dishes Phone JA. 8576 2010* North 24th St Omaha, U. S. A. If You Want Auto Parts, We Have Them—also Wanted 1>000 Cars, Old, Wrecked or Burnt. PARTS FOR ALL CARS FOR SALE —Auto Parts for AD Makes and Models Gerber Auto Parts Co. ConsoDdated —2501 Cuming st.— Auto Parts Co. ATIantic 5656 A Pierce JA. 6300 HOME OF KANGAROO COURT ploits of Princeton men- In 1926, following the Earl Carroll bathtub party, Scudder was borne abount Princeton in a bathtub by members of the class of ’21 celebrating its fifth anniversary. Nancy Cunard’s ‘The Negro’ An Anthology Banned As Seditious. New York City—(CNS)—The banning of “The Negro.” an antholo gy recently written by Nancy Cunard of the famous shipping family, as proclaimed is a proclamation publish ed in the Royal Gazette of Port of Spain. Trinidad, April 10, is causing much conlment he. e. Miss Cunard wrote the book after a study of life in Harlem,Jamaica and the East End of Londay. The proc lamation says: “Whereas the Gov ernor and the Executive Council are of the opinion that the Negro antho logy is a seditious publication, “Thei*efore, I, Alfred Claud Hollis, Governor aforesaid, do prohibit the importation into this conoly of said publication.” The Executive Council includes two Negroes both eminent lawyers Copious extracts from the book have already been published in some West Indian newspapers, and is now being quoted throughout the United States. RECORD OF SOUTH IS AGAINST JUDGE GRADY REPLY OF N A A C P New York, April 23—The record of the South is against the assertion of Judge Henry W- Grady of Raleigh, N. C. that “ it is a lie that Negroes cannot get a fair trial in a southern White man’s cvdurt,” said a statemen issued by the National Association for the Advancement of ColooreH •People here today. The jridee is also reported as saying the N. A. A. C. P. “made him sick”. The N. A. A. C. P. cited an editorial in the Murfreesboro (Tenn.) Daily News Journal entitled “All Guilty But Only the Black die,” which declared: “May bethis (electric) ehail is being saved only for those who happen to be bom black. If the slayers of Patrolman Sanders had been black instead of whte, they, too. would have walked the last mile this morning.” The association cited also the Miss issippi state law which makes rob bei-y with firearms a capital offense regardless of whether any person is killed or injured and stated that to date only Negroes had bben prosecut ed under its provisions N. A. A. C. P. SUPPORTS BILL TO AID PULLMAN PORTERS New York, April f3—The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People has assured A. Philip Randolph, president of the Brother hood of Sleeping Car Porters that it iwll do everything within ibs power to aid the passage of Senate Bill 2411, to amend the Emergency Railroad Transportation Act, 1933, to include Pullman porters and maids within its provisions. At present the Pullman Company is not included in the NTtA and yet escapes the provisions of the Emerg encyRailroad Transportation Act of 1933. The proposed Bill S. 2411 would include the Pullman Company iri the latter act. thus classifying Pullman porters and maids with othe railroad workers in the adjustment of wages and working conditions. At present they are completely out of the picture and have no tribunal to which tbe ran carrv their grievances. BE READY WHEN SPRING STEPS INTO YOUR GARDEN! TAKE STOCK OF YOUR NEEDS, THEN VISIT. Our Immense 8th Floor Shrubbery Dept. We have everything for your lawn, your g- - I n and your rock garden! No where in town is there a more com plete collection of fine, hardy plants, shrubs and trees! — — — SPECIALLY PRICES AT -$M9 Many varieties in sturdy trees that add beauty to your surroundings GARDEN HOSE ROSES 50 Ft. of fine, heavy quality Assortment of favorite varities, Goodyear hose ......S3-49 6 for ___$1-00 BRANDEIS BRANDIES —EIGHTH FLOOR NOW CHEAPER THAN YOU CAN DO THEM AT HOME Our Hew Lew Prices OUR NEW LOW PRICES ON DRY CLEANING Edhofm and Sherman 2401 North 24th St We 6055 Watch Laundry Owner’s Assn. Adv. In Daily Papers Thrifty Men Are Buyin Harry Mason’s 100% All Wool Suits & Top Coats At $15.00, sizes 32 to 46 Harry Mason World Herald Bldg. 1512 Farnam St. Tailor & Clothes. [ ■■ -- - ——■ r — ■■■■ " 1 k
