The Omaha guide. (Omaha, Neb.) 1927-19??, November 28, 1936, CITY EDITION, Page SIX, Image 6
wrmbhmr aiaamranweiBiL__nu| 1 EDITORIALS.® I THE OMAHA GUIDE Published Every Saturday at 2418-20 Grant Street, Omaha, Nebraska Phones: WKbster 1517 or 1518 Entered as Second Class Matter March 15, 1927, at the Postoffice at Omana. Neb., underAct of Congress of March 3, 1879. TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION $2.00 PER YEAR Race prejudice must go. The Fatherhood of God and the Brother hood of Man must prevail. These are the only principles which will aland the acid test of good. All News Capy of Churches and all Organizations must be in our sffice not later tnan 5:00 p. m. Monday for current issue. All Adver tising Copy or Paid Articles not later than Wednesday noon, proceed ing date of issue, to insure publication. CIVIL SERVICE DISCRIMINATION (From The Pittsburgh, Pa., Courier) The action of the National Association for the Advance ment of Colored People in calling Postmaster General Farley s attention to evidences of growing discrimination against Ne groes in civil service appointments to the postal service is to be commended. In many parts of the country there bus been a noticeable tendency to pick white eligible^ from the three applicants re ceiving tbe highest marks in tin* examination whether they I are heading tin* list or not. This policy seems to be a growing ; one, mpeeially in the South. The Federal service has been one of the largest sources of j income to Negroes for many decades uni should In* an increas ing source in tin* future. We must make sure that discrimina tion there is prevented by all means. One reason, and perhaps the principal one, why discrimina tion grows in tbe government service is because vve ourselves fail to protest. Tbe great majority of Negroes are as complacent as though complete equality of opportunity reigned supreme in tbe T'nited Staten. As long as we spend more for amusements than we do for safeguarding our rights, we must expect increasing efforts to bar us from tbe fruits of citizenship. FIRE PREVENTION GOOD BUSINESS If you have ever suffered from destruction of property by fin*, you will know that nothing can fully repay you. A fire insurance policy will rebuild a bouse. But it won't bring back keepsakes and hundreds of irreplaceable articles that most of us gather through the years—articled with little intrinsic value. Nothing can. There are many thingd that dol lars cannot buy. Also, an insurance policy may replace a burned factory. But it can't pay for lost work, destroyed opportunities, depleted purchasing povvler. When workmen's incomes slop, the whole (community feeds the ill effects. It may be necessary for them -to subsist on charity or relief—at the expense of everyone. Store keepers suffer, property-owners lode rent, savings are taken from banks. And so it goes. When property is consumed, it no longer pays taxies—and 1 the taxes paid by all other property must be increased to make ' up the deficiency. '' Cases are on record where fire has destroyed a town’s prin cipal industry—and the result was that community progress im- ! mediately came to an end and stultifecation set in. Every wise homeowner and business owner carries insurance, but if he is really wise, he will realize that his policy, no matter how complete, can never completely pay for the results of a fire. He will realHje that prevention is better than cure—and that systematic fire prevention, carried on by every individual as well ns by the authorities, is good business that keeps money in all our pockets. — AN INDUSTRY REACHES MATURITY The casualty insurance industry has reached maturity, as James A. Bella, General Manager of the National Bureau of Cas ulty and Surety Underwriters, recently pointed out—and its his tory since the gay nineties mnrks one of the most dramatic and interesting pages in the story of American industry. In 1896, the total of casualty premiums in the entire coun try amounted to only $17,288,000. In 1935 it came to the vast sum of $990,000,000. Thus, in two generations the business has grown by about 6,000 per cent. One of the main contributory causes of the development of the casualty industry was the invention of the automobile. In 1895 there were four cars registered in the nation. Today over 25,000,000 are registered. The first automobile liability insur" ance policy was written in 1898, when 800 ears were registered in the country. In 1929, the peak year, premiums paid for this kind of insurance reached over $347,000,000. Thus a minor form of liability insurance grew until it exceeded all other forms. A great change has taken place in employer's liability in surance—this kind of insurance has been superseded, in all ex cept two states, by workmen's compensation insurance. The first compensation laws were adopted in 1911, and by 1920, 41 other states had followed suit. In 1929, compensation premiums total* ed $295,000,000. There was a natural drop during the following years, but by 1935 the total was back to $255,000,000. Burglary' and robbery insurance have aLso grown rapidly— due largely to high speed automobiles and good roads, which have added to the mobility of criminal gangs. So it goes, in almost every phase of the casualty and liabil ity field. The industry is performing an invaluable public ser' vice which grows increasngly important in our high speed busi ness and economic life. NAACP. OFFERS CHRISTMAS SEALS One million Christinas seals designed by Richmond Marthe the young colored artist-sculptor, will be offered for sale by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored Peo ple to raise revenue for its general work. 1936 seals are ready for distibution and can be secured either from branches of the association or from the national office at 69 Fifth Avenue. The iscaLs are one cent each and come in books of 200 Any quantity, large or small, may be purchased to help the cause along. The association is urging the pablic to use these seals on letters, paekag«*s, gifts, and greeting cards during the holiday season. The sale will be in charge of Miss Jaunita K. Jackson of the na tional office staff who has set a minimum goal of $5,000, repre senting the sale of at least a half-million seals. TIME FOR ACTION It s time wc took taxation out of politics. A national election is just over. It will he four more years bcfofc we stage the great quadrennial show again. But in the meantime, no matter who sits in the White House, no matter who are members of the House and Senate, tax«-s are going to hit us all. Republicans pay taxes. Democrats pay taxes. So do Social ists and Communists. And no political party has a clear record on tax legislation. Spokesmen for all parties have long prom ised tax reduction—and then, once they took office, proceeded to raise taxes. Members of all parties have done their part to fasten a leech-like bureaucracy upon us—and you can't have bureaucratic government and efficient, economical government at the same time. During the campaign, we heard more promises of tax re duction from all political quarters. Now the time for conversa tion w past, and the time for action has arrived. Promises de mand fullfillment—pledges cry out to be redeemed. Unless we nro to be utterly crushed under a tax burden that is already sap ping more than twenty per cent of the national income, the American people must demand that statesmanship take the place of politics, and that a sincere effort to really reduce the cost of government be made. FOUR VITAL QUESTIONS The future of the railroad industry, said .J. J. Pelley, Pres ident of the Association of American Italroads, hinges on the answers to four basic questions: 1. Will railroad service continue to be essential to this coun try! 2. Are the railroads improving their services and cutting their unit eowtst 3. Have the ralroads, with a normal volume of business, the inherent efficiency to operate on a profitable basis. 4. Will they receive equal treatment under our public trans portation policies ! Answering the first question, it is obvious that the rail roads, in spite of the growth of other carrers. are still the prin cipal medium for quickly and certainly moving all manner of ?oods, under all conditions, to and from all points of the nation. Other carriers supplement railroad service—but none supplants it. Their record gives an affirmative answer to the second ques :ion. Year after year, the railroads have cut cost of operation, rnproved service, and modernized equipment. Fifteen years ago, m the average, the railroad cost of moving one ton of freight >ne thousand miles was $10.78. In 1935, the average cost was (iG.G3—a drop of 39 per cent. The figures likewise say yes to the third question. Many itatistics could be cited—and here is one striking fact: An in tense of 1G.7 per cent in railroad gross revenues during the first eight months of 193G as compared with 1935, was translat ed into an increase of 30 per cent in net revenues, before pay nent of taxes and rents. As for the last question—that i« up to the government, which is simply the voice of the people. The railroads are not treated equitably now—and there is a constant threat that they will be burdened with more u.meco. ^ary laws that will add to the ex pense of opt rut ion without providing for compensating increases in revenue. If government will create a fair and equitable trans port policy, the rails will progress and spend hundreds of mil lions of dollars for supplies and wages—to the benefit of us all. WILL YOUR NAME BE NEXT? The past summer was one of the worst on record in the matter of automobile accidents and deaths. And the most dangerous driving months are still to come— the months of rain and ice, and few daylight hours. Every season sees better, more scientifically designed high way—and yiet accidents grow worse, both in number and sever ity. Every year sees stronger, more easily controlled, and mechan ically safer cars—yet the carnage grows. It is true that a percentage of accidents can be attributed directly to mechanical failure of automobiles, or to road con ditions. This percentage marks but a very small part of the total crashes. The human element is responsible, and alone responsi ble, for the great majority of accidents, minor and major. Worst menace of all is the driver who attempts to push the throttle through the floor-board—who operates his car at exces sive speeds. And excessive speed is a flexible term—there may be a time when fifty is safe, and fifteen too fast. There are drivers who pass on hills andeurves, who hog the center line, who allow their car to wander to the wrong side of the r< ad—and drivers who commit a thousand and one driving errors that may save minute, and may also send themselves and others into eternity. You see many headlines like: “Five Killed When Cars Col lide.*‘ You read the nams of the victims, go on to1 other arti cles and fergot all about them. Next time you see such a head line just reflect that your name, or the name of a friend or loved one, may be in the next similar list of corpses. Then it won't be so easy to forget. -* **« ■» »..» ,» »,»,,» ■ >.,» 0, 0 ,0 m t t * '*■ | ALTA VESTA j J A GIRL'S PROBLEMS | t t || By Videtta Ish | Dear Father: I enjoyed your let ter and thank you for 't, but I am coming now with some more gues t'ons. I suppose I'll be a5king you a thousand and one quest'ons be fore this meeting closes. I’m begln n'ng r'ght now. Hre are the "brain teasers,” as we read in the papers. What is an evangelist? People talked about th's man as ‘f he were some strange kind of person, but to me he looks like any other man, except he seems botherd all the time and does not sm'le very often. I wonder 'f all men called evangel ists act that way? You know, Daddy Dear, that I always want to know things. Aunt Cornel'a says I’m just like you 'n that, for you always want to know someth'ng about everyth'ng. So now s'nce I'm into th's muddle about getting relig'on you will have to help me out. I know you will. I'm just so sleepy- Daddy Dear, that I’m going to let the other quest'ons wait until next t'me. Aunt Cornelia sends love. Please wr'te soon. Lovingly yours, Alta Vesta. MAXIE MILLER WRITES | Maxie M'ller: I am 'n love with a man that is a married man and lam only 17. He says he w'll never I've with his wife as man and w'fe aga'n, and if I will run off with h'm and live that way with him, he w'll marry me as soon as he can get his divorce. But I’m just a little afra'd he won’t marry and that he w'll leave me in the soup. I’d like to have a home and some one to take care of me and I am almost tempted to do what he wants me to do. Would you?—W'lla Mae. W'lla Mae: You’d do a terrible th'ng and a very foolish th'ng if you go away with this man. You have heard only one s'de; maybe it 's all his fault; and if he’d dump one woman he would dump another. There's no assurance that he would not decieve you and leave you. There are so many loose ones and you had better make select'on from among them. Don’t do as this man says, WUla Mae, or you w'll surely regret it—and you w'll suffer, too. —Maxie M'ller. ! PROVERBS | t AND ! ! PARABLES j By A. B- Mann (For the Literary Service Bureau) __ THE BLACKSMITH’S PHILOSOPHY Years ago there was much force 'n the adage “Strike wh'le the iron is hot;” but some one paraphrased, “Strike and make the 'ron hot.” However, the import of the say'ng is that one should ut'lize the oppor tunity while it rema'ns. While fallacious is the conten tion of “Once to every man,” and that only once can he s'ze oppor tunity, the fact rema'ns that any given opportunity should be ut'l'z ed. Thus the force of “Strike wh'le the 'ron is hot.” | MRS. SCHULYER SAYS ! By Mrs. Josephine Schulyei j FOR THE CALVIN SERVICE ... - - . - - - - — ^___..__ . A NEW AFRICAN NOVEL V F Calverton, already well known to Aframerican literary c'reles by his constantly intelligent and unprejudiced attitude on race, has just published a novel about Africa. “The Man Ins'de’’ (Charles Scribners, N. Y C .) convinces me that Mr. Calverton has been wast 'ng h's talents on cold polemics This mystery novel of an American scientist experimenting in hypno tism among the Zulus Is packed w'th thrilling ideas and moving descriptions- Mr. Calverton has nev er been to Africa so >t 's all the more credit to him that he can pa'nt scenes he has never actually scene so v'vldly- He has probably read every recent book on Africa and his novel 's rich w'th a concen tration of all the knowledge we now have of Afr'ca. I feet that I can speak with a l'ttie authority for our house is full of books on Afr'ca and African art- When Mr Schuiyer returned from L'ber la in 1931 I helped him go over h's notes made wh'le In the jungle and so far as I can see, Mr. Cal verton has done an amaz'ng real istic piece of work. NOT ONLY A BOOK OF IDEAS The most 'ntrigu'ng ideas are developed in this novel- But unl'ke most intellectual books, 't ls also full of exotic descriptions. Taste the lavor of these: “Each tree was a separate oas's iutting out of the earth l'ke new poof against the sun " “As he watched me Mayo's eyes nto wh'ch h's whole face at the moment receded, became two lumin ous black beads bright as spun ?lass. “Although the sun by that time tad already begun to go down, 'ts sheen still clung to the faces and SERMONETTE By Arthur B- Rhinow His r'ght leg and foot were de formed, but he wh'stled gaily though softly, while most of the other passengers 'n the subv^ay train seemed to brood gloomily, rhere was a time, no doubt, when fie felt h's hand'ca^i keenly, but he had dismissed 't from h's mind, rertainly when I watched h'm. It may be he had just had a Peasant exper'ence or anticipated i pleasure, for New Year’s Eve was tear. If so, he scarcely merited con gratulations. Fleeting moments of ?xh'larat‘on help us to forget, but they do help us to overcome. Perhaps he had bcome hardened to his affliction. Some unfortunates swallow the b'tter p'll, so to speak; hey grin and bear it. By and by they succeed, but as they grow lard toward misfortune, they har len themselves. They are no longer is sens't've to the finer joys of ife. Different ent'rely 's the man who •'ses above his sorrow by means >f h's faith. He knows that if he is lonest w th himself and his God, lothing can happen to h m that will lot turn 'nto a blessing, n God’s >wn t'me- He 's greater than any thing that can happen to h'm. For iim there is no loss w‘thout a ga'n. ^nd only the Omnisc'ent One knows vhat streams of heart heal'ng issue from such lives and of the fa'thful. Fhey are the strong ones of the race. JUST HUMANS bv gene carr nr • * v m 3 a. i Mt £jfS£>jtnKt i On the Threshold. backs of the natives which glowed w'th a bronze-black lustre. At mo ments as my eyes swept across th's vast sea of bodies it seemed as if I were gaz'ng at an endless array of shining m'rrors ” PAIN AND HYPNOTISM There has been much 'n the press of late about the power hypnotism. Just as many folk had imag'ned it to be a superstit'on of the past, science suddenly br'ngs it out and adm'ts its reality, power and mys tery. We do not yet know how 't works, but we definitely know that it does work (Hypnotism 's now be'ng used in some of our best hospitals to erase the pains of ch'ldb'rth. It has been highly develped in Sov'et Russ'a for this purpose- Though 't 's dan gerous weapon in the hands of the unscrupulous (the reason It fell in to d'spute), it is undoubtedly a sa fer anesthet'c than gas or drugs, whose physical effect on mother and child Is now known to be un desirable- Recently, the phys'cian who first 'ntroduced T jv'l'ght Sleep to Amer'ca declared he deeply re gretted do'ng so. It was Intended, he said, for special cases of very nervous patients, unable to safely bear the children without it- It has been ind'scrlm'nately used for all women regardless of whether they c«uld have an unaided normal de livery. Many femin'sts Insisted on mak 'ng the taking of Twll'ght Sleep part of their dr've for sexual equal ity. I’ve always considered th's a m'stake- Suffering at th's time does healthy women no harm, if anything 't enriches the'r charact ers it is not ror notnmg tnat an an cient soc'eties made the voluntary bear'ng pain a part of the business of growing up. The ordeals at pu berty, practiced by all ancient peo ples, strengthened the character, made folk firmer, more courageous and responsible, enabled them to stand steadfast ‘n tlmes of terrible stress, The lack of character found among industrialized people 's due 'n large part to their constant lack of character found among industri alized people 's due *n large part to their constant c'rcumlocution of pa'n through the continual tak'ng of drags (aspirin, coca cola, coffee, tea, cocoa, tobacco, alcohol, and a few others), and their careful av'o dance of all d'rect contact with na ture- These ‘hot-housed’ folk have thin spir'ts compared to jungle people THE POWER OF MAN Mr. Calverton’s theme the Power of Man in contrast to a book by Joseph Conrad called the Power of Darkness which was also la'd ‘n Afr ica and considered one of the great st tales ever written- Like Conrad, Calverton employs the d'rect me thod of tell'ng his story, through the mouths of twice-removed charact ers. But unl'ke Conrad, Calverton has no prejud'ce, not the least lit tle b't of the snobbery often detect ed in Conrad’s work. Mr. Calverton’s Jol' Coeur, an ex iled Amer'can scientist, goes to the jungle to experiment with theor'es wh'ch so-called civilized society will not permit h'm to develop- He seeks to teach the logic and ration alization of advanced Western sci ence to the jungle folk (the Wh'te nations have refused to accept the revelations of this sc'ence and are fall'ng into decay). He tells the nat'ves: “Man has suffered because he has placed his faith In the gods 'nstead of h'mself. When he learns to place his faith In h'mself he w'll become a God and all the earth w'll bow down before h'm ” t his was what Dostoevesky, the great Russian novelist, bel'eved. H's books probably did more to un dermine religion in Russ'a than the Commun'st party. The New Russia has not so much destroyed God as plucked Him from the sky and par taken of Him 'n the Dostoevesky manner- Perhaps the failure of athe'sm as a movement In Amer'ca was due to the negative form It took. The Russ'ans believe they have become gods, which is far more satisfying to the ego. Mr* Calverton understands the mechan'sms of prejudice. “People always discharge their most brutal and ruthless emotions upon tha‘ ^ which <s not like themselves. They are so d'ssatlsfied and disgusted w'th themselves, that they can con ceal that failure from themselves only by by blaming it upon some one else-” There are also fantast'c and de lightful illustrations by the colored artist, Charles Alston. v.