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The Omaha Guide
Published every Saturday at 2418-20 Giant St.,
Omaha, Xeb.
Phone WEbsrer 1750
Entered as Second Class Matter March 15, 1927
at the Post Office at Omaha, X'eb., under the Act
of Congress of March 3, 1879.
Terms of Subscription $2.00 per year.
Race prejudice must go. The Fatherhood cf
God and the Brotherhood of Man must pre
vail. These are the only principles which will
stand the acid test of good citizenship in time
of peace, war and death.
Omaha, Nebraska, Saturday, MAI 18th, 1935
A Message to Southern
Black Men
From The Chicago Defender.
We have no hesitancy in stating—and this
statement is based upon a belief in the Reiter con
science of American citizenry—that the will of the
American people has been thwarted and defeated
by a minority. It is our opinion that the Costigan
Wagner Anti-Lynching Bill in its intent and pur
pose embodied the principles for which the great
majority of American citizenry stands
The people who defeated the anti-lynching bib
and the forces combined to make possible this e
feat did not represen. nor speak for the•
and cultured white people of the South. Those
forces which succeeded in preventing the passage
of this measure typify and represent that element
of the white South whose chief gratification finds
its highest attainmen. in a form of cruelly that has
its birth in sex and mental perversion.
This small minority, smoke-screening its pur
pose under the guise of protecang - Southern wom
anhood,” was able to muster to its side sufficient
strength under the skillful direction of a much ad
vertised constitutional lawyer to defeat the enact
ment of a piece of legislation which would have
stilled .he palsied hand of the murderer and lyncher.
The belter thinking white women of the Soutn
.rave their moral support .o the passage of the meas
ure They knew, only too well, that the fig t ina t
by certain senators .o the end that lynching should
be maintained in the South as a security of their
virue was bold and brazen hypocrisy of the worst
kind They further knew that when senators on
the floor of the senate declared, “that the local
authorities could solve the lynching problem, that
Lhut statement was a traves.y upon reason and ex
perienee. • ,
The intelligent white people oi the bouth ar
well aware oi the fact that only too ofen the law
officers themselves are a party to the lynchings.
They know ilia. officials for public office in certain
Southern s.a.es are elected to office because of
their attitude and their favorable consideration of
lynchers and lynchings. This is all known to the
intelligent and cultured whue people of the South.
Unfortunately for the bouth the political s.atus
of most of the sta.es is shaped and controlled by the
descendants of the poorest type of the slave hold
ing class.. The politics of the South and shaping
of" the laws of the South is in control of the
descendants of that type of Southern white men
who were, during slavery the holders of such po
sitions in the social and economic life of the bouth
as plantation overseers and paddy-rollers.
This class of Southern white men, by virtue of
their responsibility during the slave era, develope
a brutalizing instinct, in fact a sadistic mind m that
the agonv and misery of others became a joy and
happiness to them. The supporters and defenders
of lynching are the heirs apparent to the throne of
the savagery and mental perversion of their ances
tors- „
But to every black man of the South we are
sending this message: “You are supposed to be
freemen; the Constitution of your country say s that
no freeman shall be taken, or imprisoned, or diseas
ed, or outlawed, or banished, or in any way injured,
unless bv the legal judgement of his peers or by the
law of the laud. This law came down to you in
common with other men from England s highest
legal authorities.
~ In view of the repeated infringements upon your
rights and privileges by mobs with no authority oi
law and without any legal sanction for their action,
it now becomes your imperative duty as men io de
fend yourselves. You have observed the refusal of
the United States senate to enact into law a bdl
which would have sustained you in your citizenship
rights. In view of its refusal you have no other
alternative but to exert every possible effort to re
sist the murderous mob when they attempt your
home or your person.
When the law enforcing agenceis of your coun
ties refuse your aid, in faot connive with the mob
to destroy your life and property, your only refuge
is to stand up and die like men. No man is iolat
ing any law when he defends himself against a
mob. Mobs are both cowardly and criminal at
heart; if you must go, then take somebody with
■ vou. Answer terror with terror; yon can die only
I once; this is the message to the South.
A The Bonus Becoming a Reality
From The Pittsburgh Courier.
I From all preseni indications. Uncle San will soon
HgS saying to the World War veterans. “Come and
it!'’
Hke debate and vote in the Senate indicates that
inson plan will win over that of Senator Har
rison or Representa.ive Patman. The House will in
all likelihood follow is the footsteps of the Senate.
The Vinson plan calls for an expenditure of
$2,263,545,000. At the very least. 200 million dol
lars will come to colored' veterans, including .he
loans they have already received.
Either the Vinson bill or one closely resemb ing
it will pass within The next few weeks. It is doubt
ful if the President will veto it. If he does, Con
gress is more than likely ,o pass it over his head.
With all respect to te various New Deal agencies,
the payment of the bonus will consti.ute th; first j
real “break” Negroes have received.
—
The Slaughter Pen
—
.
From The Chicago Defender.
Mississippi has been rightly named the “slaught
er pen of the Sou h.v Lynchings are so prevalent in
Lawrence County that the corner’s jury is now
calling them suicides. Whenever a white farmer
wants to steal a black man’s land or crop, a mob is
organized and soon the black man is found dead.
This happened in the case of R. J. Tyrone, a pros
perous farmer and respectable citizen. The very
fact that he was these things made him an un
desirable citizen in Lawrence County.
William Evans, white, living near Tyrone’s
farm, had made several dishonorable aitemp s to get
a portion of Tyrone’s valuable land. His efforts
were of no avail so he decided to murder the owner.
This he did with the knowledge, and i. might as
well be added, with the consent, of the law enforc
ing agencies, because Evans is still at large.
That such a thing could happen in what is term
ed a civilized community, and yet no self-respec.
iug white people would intervene, would be beyond
belief were the facts not available to the contrary.
Such conduct is the product of a mind steeped in
all the putridity of a passing civilization. The
•South cannot rise above its own thinking. So long
as murder, concubinage and robbery openly and
willfully committed continue, just so long will The
South typify the headhunters.
Right thinking cannot find any lodging in a foul
mental container. Children born under such en
vironment will, throughout their lives, image the
character of their parents. The communities which
tolerate such crimes are the play writers and those
who commit them are the actors. They are so
closely inter-woven that one shapes the character
of the o.her. I
The Anti-Lynching Bill
—
From The Pittsburgh Courier
The Anti-lynching Bill was defeated in Wash
ington last week, but in the face of that defeat, a
calm review of the history of the struggle for an
anti-lyneh law reveals that progress is being made.
During all the Republican administrations, the
Anti-lynch Bill never made the progress that the
Costigan-Wagner Bill made in the present Con
gress. The ground work was laid permanently by
Messrs. Costigan and Wagner, ably assis.ed by
other white people who, down in their hearts, know
that crime will move from community to community
and attack any and everybody, regardless of race,
creed or color. The practice of lynching began with
Negros as the victims, but it now extends to white
people, and the more the practice is tolerated, the
more white people will be lynched. The white peo
le of this country. North and South, expressed a
desire to see the Costigan-W agner Bill made the
| iaw of the land. A few reactionary Senators from
the South shopped the program of the bill. They
have accepted full responsibility for the defeat of
the bill. They did not seem to realize it, but they
were jockeyed in the position of blocking the legis
lation, desired by the President of the United
States, and they accepted that posiiion fully aware
of their predicament. It was not so much a demand
from their constituents that compelled the Southern
Senators to vote against the Bill; it was their own
personal convictions, due to the age in which they
were born. The grandsons of these same Senators
will frown upon the records of their forefathers.
They will wear the scarlet letter in years to come,
because future generations will point to them as
the sons and daughters of grandfathers who went
on record for lawlessness and for lynching.
What care these Senators now about their grand
children? They live only for today. They think in
terms of today and not tomorrow. They are mak
ing it dreadfully hard for their children and their
children's children, but what care they for the off
spring? Shortsighted men like these are expected
to oppose progressive legislation, but we are mak
ing progress. These same men will face a constitu
ency opposed to lawlessness and lynching. The in
telligent people of the South will stop sending
Senators like Bailey, Bankhead, Byrnes and Smith
to the Senate, because the South prefers to be
classified on a par with any other section of the
country, and the South will yet rise up against its
reactionary Senators and retire them to the com
fields and shade trees—forgotten, forsaken and un
sung.
This involves time, but what is a decade in the
progress of a race or a nation? What is a decade !
against rights and privileges, guaranteed for life?
The fight is well worth the sacrifice, and the
American people everywhere are quite satisfied
that, within a few years, the obstructionists of the
South will constitute forgotten men who lived for
themselves and a tradition, and nothing more.
The Negro must keep his head up, keep his
spirit, save his money, and be prepared for that
larger life which is sure to come,, even in the
Untied States of America.
ooon child
/and the school
Br Dr ALLEN G. IRELAND
Cbrrcor Pby.nJ -a H.Jtt EJjUfOW
Nr. /-..r, Ir*r D'^.— °! I""*™”
Summer Camps
The summer camp is one of our
most valuable gifts to childhood.
There are camps to fit almost every
purse, and nearly all give t »>re
than money can Duy.
In selecting a
camp, look first to
the leaders. If there
is understanding of
children, kindness,
and tolerance, you
have a safe founda
tion. To run a sue
cessful camp, one must nave a sm
cere love of children. Look next
to the camp facilities, especially
sanitary features and water sup
ply.
Inquire into the daily menu. Are
the food essentials provided, both
in quality and amount. How
about the milk supply? Children
on vacation will need lots of it.
At home, vegetables can be pur
chased in cans j at camp, they
should be bought fresh from the
farm.
Finally inspect the program, but
be war}* of the overloaded day.
Fatigue may offset r' cry benefit
the camp has to offer. There should
be outdoor sports, woodcraft,
scouting, handcraft in modera
te n, balanced by long restlul
nights of sleep in the open. If you
can afford a camp for the son or
the daughter, by all means untie
the apron strings. If it co« no
more than that, the camp justifies
its existence.
"Do explorers drink milkr’ asked
a little girL Dr. Ireland tells next
week kow she was answered.
It’s The Dime That
Counts
The sign on a little unpainted
wooden building just east of New
Albany. Miss.. “High Brown
Cafe"’ your Pullman porter, who
happens to be high blaek en
lightens you. “We have our so
cial dis inctions among colored
people although I don't think
much of them. The highest class
is the ‘high-valler.’ They sit down
in the front pews in colored
churches in Washington. Then
come the next lightest the ‘high
brown’ and after that the plain
blacks, like me. But, Boss, if I
was to go into that high-brown
cafe with *en cents in my hand,
they’d wait on me quick as if I
was the angel Gabriel.”
They probably would. When a
“white” in the north gets siid
denly and violently rich, he be
comes “high-white,” and has no
difficulty in getting waited on
anywhere from Newport to Palm
Beach.
The Emergency
Conservation Work
Fort Thomas, Ky., May 13.—
Five Negro Educational Advisers
were among the seventy-five CCC
Educational Advisers in attend
ance at a special meeting held
here, under the auspices of the
Fifth corps Area, which com
promises the States of Kentucky,
Indiana, and Ohio. They were:
P. C. Smith. Sinking Springs.
Ohio; James Gray, Mitchell. In
diana ; Karl Howell, Corydon. In
diana; Cecil Morris. Bloomington.
Indiana and James Rowland, of
Portsmouth, Ohio.
The srpeech delivered by James
Rowland, the oldest Negro Educa
tional Adviser of the Fifth Corps
Area in point of service at a
CCC camp was commended by the
Washington officials present.
Rowland took occasion to em
phasize the all around program of
the Emergency Conservation
Work, the real contribution be
ing made in a well conceived tech
nique for the development of a
finer character of citizenship and
manhood, and an equal under
standing of the pressing elemen
tary and cultural phases, which
have been stressed for the colored
enrollees the whole gamut from
teaching the boys to 'read and
write to the artistic excellence,
comparable to the “ Southern
Aries.” the nation’s singers of the
Negro Spirituals.
Robert Feehnerr, Director of
Emergency Conservation Work
this week made public a report
disclosing that during the month
of January a total of 167,003 CCC
men; which includes 12.000 Ne
gro enrollees had voluntarily par
ticipated in the Civilian Conser
vation corps educational pro
gram. This figure, amounting to
53 per cent of the total number of
CCC men enrolled during that
month represented a new all time
peak for attendance in the edu
cational courses at the camps.
The report, prepared in the of
fice of Dt. John W. Studebaker.
Commissioner of Education, and
transmitted to the Director
through the War Department
summarized the educational acti
ivties in the camps for the year
that the educational porisrram has
been in operation. The office of
Education acts in an advisory ca
pacity to the War Department in
the administration of the CCC edu
cational work.
Based on information forward
----I '
'
d to Washington by the nine
Army eorps area educational ad
visers. the report showed an in
crease from month ;o month in at
tendance in the camp schools. A
total of 2*2.642 courses were be
ing conducted for the men in the
camps during the month of Janu
ary, as compared to 15,796 in
October. 19.156 in November and
21.219 in December. The number
of men enrolled in classes was
increased from 118,034 or 39 per
cent in October to the present
figure of 167,003. At the present
time, a total of 13,660 persons are
cooperating in providing instruc
tion for the young men in Ihe
CCC camps. The instructional
staff of the CCC includes 1,468
camp educational advisers assign
ed to full time duty in the camps.
The balance is made up of camp
military and technical personnel,
public teachers who are contribut
ing their services vo untarily and
o her public spirited citizens.
A survey of courses taught in
the camps in January disclosed
that 43 pre cent of the subjeets
are voca ional. Of of the bal
ance ,18 per cent were of elemen
tary level, 32 per cent of high
sehool leve5, 5 per cent of college
level and 2 per cent general.
A breakdown of statistical da a
•overing the various other phases
of the educational prosrram dis
posed tha in January 29.506 men
were enrol'ed in courses in nearby
night schools; 20,700 were enroll-1
in correspondence courses,!
70,832 were carrying no hobbies
and 95,602 were doing reading
under supervision. Further edu- j
cational activities included the
showing of 4.988 educational finis
and the circulation of 334,102
books. A total of 209.881 guid
ance interviews were given.
One of the highpoints of the ed
ucational report was the state
ment hat 2.388 illiterates are be
ing taught to read and write and
to solve simp’e arithmetic nrob
lems.
“Three different means are em
ployed to carry out these aims:
1. —New ski'ls and trades are
aught enrollees in classes and on
the job as members of the camp
work crews. With the hope of
earning a livelihood, enrollees are
learning to be butchers, cooks,
cobblers, carpenters, masons, tree
surgeons, e'c. The new skills de
veloped by these trades strengthen
the morale of enrollees by giving
them the confidence and the pride
of achievement.
2. —Elementary, high school,
and college subjects are taught in
classes. More than 2388 illiter
ates are learning to read and to
write, and to solve simple arith
metic problems. Such subjects as
English, economies, history, civics,
health and hygiene, agriculture,
and language .taught as part of
the high school and college work
in the camp school, give enrollees
a better understanding and ap
preciation of life. Thus they be
come better citizens, capable of
intelligent par icipation in the be
lief of their home communites,
and awakened to the responsibi
lities of Americans toward their
country.
3. —To provide enrollees with
something worthy to do during
their leisure time, both in camp
and at home, hobbies and handi
crafts are stimulated. A number
of these are photography, wood
carving. pottery, leather work,
metal craft, and weaving. When
enrollees learn the satisfaction of
“making things’’ in their spare
time, there is less likelihood of
idle hands and loafing af:er the
camp period is over.
The Tinted States Office of
Education selects and appoints j
Camp Educational Advisers, and j
recommends to the Secretary of.
War the outlines of instruction, j
teaching procedures, and types of
' caching materials for use in the j
Camps. Administering the educa
tional program in the field ,under!
Army officers, are nine Corps |
Area Advisers. In Camp is an
Educational Adviser responsible
to the Camp Commander for di
recting the classes in Camp and
on the job. He also contacts near
by communities, which often op
en up their schoolhouses for en
rollees, lend books, and supply
teachers to the Camps.
An important phase of the Ad
viser's work is the counseling and
guidance of enrollees on such |
matters as health, vocations, edu
cation. and adjustment. At pres
ent, 1468 Camp Educational Ad
visers are on duty, while a total of
13,660 persons are giving full
time or part time instruction to
enrollees.
“In addition to camp instruc
tion, and instruction in nearby
schools, instruction is given
through correspondence courses
from various schools, colleges, and
universities. During January.
22.642 classes and discussion
group were being conducted for
men in the Civilian Conervaton
Corps, and 167.003 enrollees were
carrying on efforts at self-im
provement.
“Educational facilities in the
Camps, include libraries, educa
tional movies and often projec
tors. and frequently classrooms
equipped with blackboards and
desks.
“Class attendance is not com
pulsory, nor is the curriculum
prescribed, nor the specific meth
ods mandated. Enrollees study
what they wish to study. If their
attention is caught and held, their
study interest is expanded to in
clude supporting materials. The
job of the CCC Camp Educational
Adviser is to counsel with the en
rolee, guide him, arrange for him
suitable study materials, and
point him toward "renter voca
tional effectiveness.’’
ECONOMIC
HIGHLIGHTS
In th" words of Time, President
o” his return from the
Rrhamas. “seemed to White
House observers almos: as tired,
supersensitive as when he went
away. Three mutually aggravat
ing circumstances had helped to
make him so. They were:
1—Congressional delay, caused
by a nunwieldy party ma.iori y.
lax leadership and the customary
rebelliousness of Congressmen at
Presidential mid-term.
2. —Steadi:y bolder hammering
at his legislative program by
critics.
3. —Growing confusion among
plain citizens as to the direction
of the New Deal program, grow
ing doub as to whether the
President himself knew where it
was leading.”
In an attempt to make these
circumstances a lit;le less aggra
vating. President Roosevelt sat
down, in a White House study,
stared at a microphone, and
made his first “fireside ehat’’ in
many months to the American
people.
First part of the talk was con
fined entirely to generalities. The
President said that the public at
large was feeling much more
confident that recovery was on
the way ; something that, in view
of most commentators, is highly
debatable. He then said that
Congress is making distinct pro
gress; something that is likewise
debatable.
Finally he got down to specific
item. These were in the same
nature of a nanswer to a new bul
letin of the National Association
of Manufacturers, which said that
the threat of New Deal reform
measures was all that blocked the
early appearance of recovery.
On the NRA. the President said
that he wished it continued. He
asked that the measures whereby
the Interstate Commerce Commis
sion would be given the authority
to regulate all transport, not just
railroads: a bill to achieve this
has passed the Senate, now pends
in the House. Te threw his weight
behind the Banking Bill, which
would give the Federal govern
ment almost absolute control over
all the nation's banks, as the
utilities bill would give it absolute
control over all power and light
concerns, holding or operating.
And in conclusion, he said, “Nev
er since my inauguration in
March. 1933. have I felt so un
mistakably the atmosphere of re
covery.”
Response to the talk tended to
be less favorable to the President
than it has been in the past. Most
newspapers and business men
seem to favor the Trausportatio
measure, most want a modified
NR Acontinued. But the Bank
ing and Utilities Bills have no
friends in industry or commerce.
Further, it is believed that they
have few real friends in Congress,
ou.side of left-wing groups; many
Congressmen will vote for them
simply because they are Adminis
tration ; baeked, will pay them
public tribute and at the same
time will hold severe private
private doubts as to their wis
dom.
In brief, the gap between the
Administration and industry is
now widening. Direct criticism of
the President, which was almost
entirely lackng a year ago, is ap
pearing now in many quarters.
Business spokesmen who former
ly made polite objections to bills
and named no names, are laying
the blame at the White House
door, are saying that Mr. Roose
velt is running the show and must
accept the responsibility if the
tent collapses.
As for the future of legislation,
there is a good chance that Con
gress will not be so eager to pass
Presidential measures as it was in
the past. The Social Security Bill,
in the reasonable and moderate
form in which it passed the
House, will probably go through;
many business leaders endorse it.
It is probable that a modified
XRA will be continued, with prin
cipal stress laid on hours and
wage provisions, and that the
Transportation Bill will be pas
sed. But most think that the
Banking and Utilities Bills will
either be beaten or will be so re
written as to make them hardly
recognizable to their original
sponsors.
It has often been said, during
the past five sour years, that the
way to solve a depression is to
develop new frontiers. The only
trobule with that solution in the
present depression is the lack of
frontiers to develop.
One frontier is still left, how
ever: Alaska. Only a minute por
tion of its food is produced with
in its boundaries: the rest must be
imported from Continental U. S.
As a result, a scheme which
FERA officials set upon in Janu
ary. is now getting under way.
In Southern Alaska is the Mat
anuska Valley, with 76,000 rich
acres, which now houses but 117
families. FERA p'an is to trans
plant bankrupt farm families to
the valley from United States
farming regions, put them to
work producing necessities. Wint
er temperatures iu the valley are
higher than those in northern
Michigan, Minnesota, etc. so there
is no climate problem. Each fami
ly will be given equipment, live
stock. a house and for.y acres,
worth. $3,000, which they-can re
pay to the Government with 3 per
cent interes over 3 ) years. First
families started for the valley a
fortnight ago.
The plan has vast possibilities;
has enlisted the sympathy of many
observers.
Southern Heat Over
Anti-Lynch ig Bill
From the St. Louis Post-D.spatch.
As is usually the case wiien an
anti-lynching bill is discussed ni
congress, the senate debate on the
Costigan-Wagner bill has been
characterized more by heat than
by light. Members from the south
seem unable to discuss the ques
tion dispassionately, as was point
ed out recently by the Greensboro
N. C. Daily News, in an editorial
reprinted on this page, the Daily
News said:
“Honestly, we, who have never
lived or moved and had been
anywhere else save right down
here in the midst of those who
believe in the high hand as the
savior of womanood. have never
met more than half a dozen south
ern gentlemen to whom we would
delegate the right to lynch.
“None of these, we might add,
was, had been or expected to be
right soon a member of congress. ”
What are the facts about lynch
ing? Briefly, they are: Since 1882,
there have been 5,071 lynchings
in the United States, and these by
no means have been confined to
the southern states. In the past
35 years, the records show, fewer
’ than 1 per cent of these crimes
have been followed by prosecu
tion. In only 12 instances have
, convictions resulted. These fig
ures bear out what everyone
knows—that it is next to impos
sible for local government to deal
with lynching.
In 1922, when the Dyer anti
lynching bill was before congress,
' it was defeated by a filibuster of
| southern senators who contended
; .hat lynching is a matttr for local
1 government alone. Since them
280 lynchings have occured, with
a pi execution record of approxi
mately zero. It is interesting to
observe that while the Dyer bill
was pending lynching decreased;
! ;hat when the agitation for fed
eral action weakened after the de
feat of the bill, lynchings rose in
number. The same pheonema oe
ettred in connection with the
Berger bill of 1928. If the mere
.hreat of federal action has a
salutary effect upon lynching,
passage of a law permitting fed
eral intervention under certain
circumstances might well make
lynching one of the rarest of of
lenses.
The Costigan-Wagner bill has
its constitutional basis in the right
of all persons to equal protection
under our laws. Willful failure
on the part of peace officers to
protect prisoners from mobs -or
to arrest persons who had taken
part in a lynching would be made
a felony. If prosecutions were
not commenced by the state with
in 30 days after commission of the
offense, the bill would empower
the federal government to act.
Inder a further provision,
which is regarded by many as
the most powerful feature of the
bill, a county in which a lynching
occured would be held liable to
the injured person or to his heirs
or legal representatives. The re
coverable damages would be not
less than two thousand dollars or
more than 10 thousand dollars.
It is believed that to place finan
cial responsibility on counties
would have the effect of cooling
off the ardor of would-be lynch
ers who are also taxpayers.
Is this measure constitutional?
Senator Connally of Texas says
no and quotes numerous authori
ties to prove it. Senators Costi
gan and "W agner, who have given
much thought and labor to the
proposed legislation, sav yes.
They also cite numerous authori
ties. Certainly, the constitutional
question will never be settled in
congress. It is one that must
await the decision of the courts.
The question for congress is
whether or not an attempt is to
be made to deal with an evil by
which more than five thousand
persons since 1882 have been de
prived of their legal rights; an
evil which has reached Heights in
the United States duplicated no
where else in the civilized world;
an evil which has resulted in the
death of many innocent persons:
an evil which menaces respect for
our courts and our processes of
jutice.
^ e believe it to be the dutv of
congress to act.
