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..EDITORIALS..
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THE OMAHA GUIDE
Published Every Saturday at ,2418-20 Grant Street,
Omaha. Nebraska
Phones: WEbster 1517 or 1518
Entered as Second^ClasTMattor March 16. 1927, at the Postoffice at
Omaha, Neb., underAct of Congress of March 3, 1879.
• _ __ ______i ■ ■ ' ■■
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
stand the acid test of good.
All News Capy of Churches nnd all Organisations must be in our
jffice not later than 5:00 p. m. Monday for current issue. All Adver
tising Conv or Paid Articles not later than Wednesday noon, prececd
ing nate or issue, to insure puuncauon.
WAR CLOUDS
The average citizen has beard relatively little of foreipn
affairs lately. Events at home—the election, the convening of
Congress .he strike*, the unprecedented floods in the Middle
West aud South—have taken all. his (attention.
Vet the foreign situation has grown stead'! ly more men
acing. -.
In Spain, for example, a civil war i/4 going on. Everyone
knows that. What everyone doesn’t know |s that fli gewral
European war. on a snih.ll scale,' « likewise going on in Spain.
All the major nations have paid lip service to the cause of neu
trality iu Spiaiui'h affairs—bill the fact remains, according to
every fact fndnig newspaperman who has returned from tOre
Spanish bnttteiflronts, that several Europ/fui nations have
trooph actfve’y engaged in Spanish battles, 'are supplying one
Bide or the other with aiYplanes, rifles, cannon, ammuni tion and j
food. For iustlance, when tflid rebellion began, a 'rebel leader
Fra neo had almost no tan Us—now h-o has great numbers of the j
most up to datfe typd. And the loyalists had no foir force
wor hy of the name-now they have a considerable number
of fairly modflrn, well armed idiips.
Prinep|al participating nations are Russia, Germany and
Italy side with the rebels, who are Fascisticc in tendency and
purpotse. Russia and France side with the loyalists who include
Communists, Socialists, Syndicalists and Republicans.
To whal extent are thdse foreign nations taking an ac
tive interest in Spain- Vivid answer its supplied by Major A1
Williams, famous racing plot, who 'recently made a European
tour for the purpose of evaluing Europe Is lair armadas. Ac
cording to Mayor Williams, “One pijot, who had served in the
rebel army, told mo it was getting tough for a natiVe to find
someth ng to do in that civil whr. Russia, Germany, Italy and
France had nil but tkein it over fob a warming up (Session of
their new war machines.’’
This “international civil war” has killed thousands of
Spaniards. If, has laid Spain waste. And it is, perhaps, pre
paring the way toward the most sanguinary general conflict in j
weapons nre infinitely grdater both in number and potential j
world history. Today all Europe is an armed camp—and its
destructives than before the World War. It is very possible
that if one of the powers becomes satisfied that the “tests
made in Spain show 'it to Ire superior to a neighboring unfriend
ly power, the blow off will come with breath taking suddenness
So far as America is concerned, the Shate Department
obviously realizes the dangers in Europe—is seeking to formu
late an equitable and workable neutrality policy, here is a
great deal of debate going on among those with different
views. It. seems certain that the President will be given wide
discretionary powers in dealing with foreign crises. It also
seems certain that the old doctrine, dramatized by Wilson, of
“freedom of the seas” wil lbe dropped, in th0 hope of keeping
us out of conflict.
The milo strike overshadows all other buisness news.
At tliis writing, little or nothing has been accomplished in the
way of settlement. John L. Lewis, labor generalissimo, is ns
adamant as ever, and so its Alfred E. Sloan, General Motors
head. G. M. ear production has fallen to extreme lows, with
strikers in possession of many plants. Labor chief will not
call a halt to “sit down’’ tactics; Mr. Sloan will not, arbitrate
until strikers leave tlio plnntp- So a staleiujate exists and long
legal battles are pending.
The Administration has done nothing towtard forcing a,
Settlement; the belief is growing that! it must act soon or the
whole course of the recovery movement will be imperiled.
A SQUARE DEAL FROM HEARST
The policy of the Honrst newspapers in their treatment
of Negroes in the newts, has not been of a character to endear |
thdm to the colored, people.
But overnight the Hearst newspapers have changed their
policy, tlLfmbs to the efforts of the NAACP. and thoi increasing |
intelligence of Mr. Hearst.
“Negro citizens deeply resent racial labels in crime stor
ies,’’ wrote Walter White, NAACP secretary to Hearst, “espec
ialy since no racial designation is made of other; criminals or
Suspects.’’ —- — -
“You are perfectly right,’’ Hearst wired back, “and I
jam so instructing editors.’’
Thus progresses a campaign launched several months a
go asking that racial labels in crime stories be eliminal'cd.
Over fifty daily newspapers are now following the more
enlightened practice. ———— ■■■——- — -
Colored readers of 1950 will not be able to appreciate
what their borbears had to contend with whenever they opened
is daily newspaper.-Courier.
KELLY MILLER
SAYS
—
IN THE HIGHER EDUCA
I
TION OF THE NEGRO
One balmy day in April 1884
1 walk rig through the Smith
sonian grounds and looked up
an dsuw the sign “Civil Serv
ice Oomm^nsiion.’' At that(
time 1 had reached the end of
my resources and there seem
ed to he no recourse but for me
to quit school iif the end of
that year. 1 witit in and up
on inquiry received a circular
of information stating when the
next examination would be
held—thc%i wilhin a few days.
I entered the examination and
in the following .July received
appointment to the Pension
Office. This )i)"t enabled me
jto complete my college educa
tion an (bo pursue still further
Ilopkiits University hi Balti
more.
I was thus led to observe
what an important part the
Civil Servico of the govern
ment played in the life of How
ard Univers ty. Malny stud
ents were thus enabled to re
main in school and to complete
their education. In those days
before! discrimination crept in
the CiVil Service Commission
was an open gateway through
which hundreds of colored
men and women who had com
pleted School in their several
communities, many of whom
were employed as school teach
ers and in other capacities on
such salaried as prevail tad a t
the time, accepted the call to
higher remuneration of the de
partments at Washington. To
be a government clerk in those
days was a social badge of no
little distinction. Many of the
most ambitious government
clerks entered upon the study
0 fmedicine an dlaw in How
ard University—those schools
being held iu the evening.
These departments in this wise
reach n. larger enrollment of
well qualified studentry than
they have a tthe present time.
Many of the best lawyers and
doctors of the race completed
their professional courses un
der such auspices. While a
badge of high di^i iuc(tion i'1
local Washington society, to he
a government clerk was not re
garded ns a particularly honor
ic career for one with a colleg
1 into or profesional degree. It
' was felt that a college bred
man ought to go out in the
world and serve his race on a
higher level of spiritual, intel
lectual, moral and social lead
eii>;ip. The burning ambition
of every genuine college stu
dent was to complete bis course
an (lgo out in the world which,
h0 felt, was waiting for his il
lumined service. Personally 1
never for a moment felt that
I should remain in the govern
ment serviee a day longer than
was necessary. I regarded it j
as but a stepping stone to
higher things.
IIow (liHerein touay, wuen
the job objected is the cluef
emd in view of the average col
legian. There are twenty
thousand colored men and wo
men iti institutions of higher
learning with 2,000 graduates
annually, and many more tim
es that number in the high
schools throughout the coun
try. There a.ve few prepared
places for them. I wonder
what the statistics of last
year’s graduates of our high
schools and colleges would
show. How many arc dofrig
nothing, with little prospect of
early improvement of their lot t
If the government had not
come to the rescue of these job
le,ss educated folk, our streets
would literally be crowded
with educated paupers.
I If the Civil Service were
,fnii<iy operated wtould
furnish a, eoi^sJderabKe outlet
for our educated putput. Tho
work is reasonably dignified,
and the reward commensurate
with the compensation along
i'i i y line in which our folks
are cunployed. ow, since the
Civil Service offers to fn
careers to the competent and
worthy, the attraction is all
fh0 more persuasive.
T heg to suggest that our col
1 gc presidents an dthe princi
pals of our high schools write
to the Congresmen with whom
they may have influence call
ing upon them to support the
man Mitchell looking towards
the abolition of race discrimin
; a non in the t-ivu .service ot
the government. I believe that
i nthis way, as much as in any
other, they would promote the
cause of higher leducation (o
which they are committed.
—KELLY MILLER.
'.V.V.V.V.V.V.V.V.VAV.VV
Post
Script
■—by C. E. Chapman—
(from PlahndeaLer)
WVWWW.V.W/JWW
Omaha, Nebraska—We ft,re
just in from Denver where* we
witnessed some of the coldest
wen their that city has ever ex
perienced. It got so cold out
there FViday morning that
one's brqath actually turiuil
to icel before it got out of one’s
nostrils. No joking. We mean
every word of that, It made
us think of the fib told by the
schoolboys down in Miles Mem
orial coH'g'e a| Birmingham,
Alabama sonio twenty or more
years ago when we were a stu
dent in that institution. When
all chores wiere done, we fel
lows saj, around and told fibs.
The writer of this article won
firist place by telling the fal
lows their conversation froze
up and we had to take it home
and thaw it out before we
could lidar what they were say
I.
ing.
Although it was and is ter
ribly cold in Denver, we find
Omaha nothing to boast about
for it got only 18 below zero
here Friday when it was w>
cold in Denver.
One of Hie most touching,
stinting and appealing stories
I wove ever beard was told here
in District court before Dist
net Judge J. W. Yeager, The j
defendant was an Italian,
known os Tony Jackson, al
though that is not the name he
originally bore). His patheJlc
story sounds the very deeps of
one's heart and causes ever the
most calloused individuals to
stop and reach for their hand
kerchiefs to wipe away the
tears which could not he res
trained. We dare say the
story told by Tony Jackson can
be truthfully repeated ni parts
by thoubtinds other husbands.
Here i sthe story as he told
it to Judge Yeager in District
Court Tuesday: Beyond all else
ha loved his wife and family.
His chief concern was to keep
them together in comfort and
happiness. Overwhelmed by
conditions imposed by the de
pression, and for which he was
not at all responsible, slia be
came disgusted with his inabil
ity to earn a salary sufficient
to keep his wife and family
the desired comfort and happi
ness.
Although he was doing all
he could and was fighting with
his back to a stone wall, his
wife threatened to leave him
and break up his home. Tony
Jackson (and he is hut one of
coxxxn'fyes othex*s) that meant
STRAIGHT ,
FROM THE
CAPITAL^.
^ BY * * "Y I
EDWARD LAWSON tfZ&Ltll?
I —
Washington, D. C.—Negroes all
over the country are more anxious
than ever, these days, to get into
he field of avlntSon,
The reason: Many find that their
rich employer, for whom they have
worked as chauffers and mechanics,
are more and more inclined to leave
the car at home these days when
going on long trips; to fly instead
o fdrivlng Before, long these em
ployers may take to buying planes
of their own, fire the chauffer and
hire pilots.
Unless the men who are now
driving the cars can get training
In flying planes, they’ll be left out
in the cold as tjiis trend gains head
way.
F<t a number of years Negro skill
ed workers have had a hard time
trying to force their way into ac
credited schools of aviation. Some
times they have succeeded in getting
the training they needed, but most
frequently <hey found this d°or of
opportunity slammed in their faces.
The Departtm'erft of Commerce
today lists only 75 licensed colored
aviators. Fifty of these (including
the fast-talking ex Ethiopian Air
Force Commander, Hubert Julian)
are-qualified only as student pilots
If the remainder, only a fe.w have
any considerable amount of “air
time” on their records, and fewer
still have found ft feasible, to adopt
aviation as a full time vocation.
Obviously, there should be room
for thousands more.
Sensing this, Negroes have from
time to time tried itk> set up air
schools of their own A few of these
have succeeded for a short time;
none have lasted over any consider
able period of years. Perhaps the
moslti successful one now operating
Is the Craftsman of Black Wings,
run by Lieutenant William Powell
in Los Angeles, with financial aid
from the Works Progress Admin
istration.
So successfully has this experi
ment operated that prospective stu
dent from all over the country are
now applying for instructions. A
move is on foot here in Washington
to set up similar courses in other
sections If sufficient pressure can
in he right places, Unc't San might
bo inclined to help out even mow
th-~ in l?io past. Negro officials in
the c^pitoI are willing to push such
a proposal. They believe, with the
Back Wing’s commander, that the
ground floor of aviation is now be
ing laid. If wi can get in now, we
'can gr<»w as aviation grows; but
if we fall to get in at the start an
other great industry will rise up as
have others, with Negroes holding
only menial jobs.
*****
Government workers who come
to Washington at what appears to
be abnormally large salary soon
discover: (1) the city’s tremendous
] ly high cost of living, and (2) its
-- _ a mi ■
housing shortage
Social registers say th© cost
of existing in the capitol city is
unqestionably tSie highest In the
country- Gas, electricity, water, and
renltli are all sky-high especitlly for
the newcomer who doesn’t know his
way around the shops.
A two-room apartment in Wash
ington costs just twice what it
would in Mobile Alabama; Wleh't'
Kansas, or sea«tle, Washington, to
name only a few sample cities. The
same holds true for larger units.
Tho only city >$iat approaches the
capitol city’s rental average Is New
York.
Fundtmentally, these high rents
spring from a shortage of space,
accentuated partly by the influx of
a large number of emergency” gov
ernment workers in 'the past few
years, and partly by the action of
•the government in taking over
many houses and apartment build
ings for the use of its new agen
cies, amd in wrecking others t>>
make way for new departments
Tho result is that many newly
made Washingtonians either find
themselves constantly “in the red”
despite the fact that tlheir pay
checks are larger than they are
assustomed to or are taking refuge
outside the city limits, in nearly
Maryland or Virginia. Here, homes
oro available at lower rents, and
other living expenses are corres
pondingly less bothersome.
*****
Dr. Frank Horne, assistant to
Mrs. Mary McLeod Bethune in the
National Youth administration,
thinks that the thing our youth
needs most these days is the en
lightened leadership of thoroughly
trained and experienced vocational
guidance workers
Today the young Negro is cau
ght In the dilemna of whether to
take the chance to seeking prepar
ation in the field of his interest and
aptitude or grasping hold of a pos
sible blind- alley jobs more immed
iately available,” he says.
‘‘Even in this contingency, he
faces a definitely limited vocational
field of choice; he has little informa
tion as to the fields of work or of
the training possibilities; appren
ticeship is practically closed to him
and, to cap the climax , all of these
factors have already operated to
place his family in such precariou
economic sttus that little time or
opportunity for choice or re con
nlotering are left open to him. He
must pitch head-foremost into thei
'battle of life, poorly armed and
highly vulnerable ”
One solution, he believes, lies in
better trained vocational guidance
workers. He puts it up o the Negro
schools throughout the country to
provide them, and suggests that if
they would do this effectively they
must first adjust their courses “to
meet more realistic he needs of
Negro youth, and to institute sane
; and sound program of giudance.”
life was not worth living. He
is not to be condemned for his
pride in his family. He is only
unfortunate in not being able
to obtain work such as would
afford adequate remuneration
to provide the necejssaries of
life.
So when his wife threatened to
leaveliim, i|, was more than he
could stand. “Everything
went black,’’ Tony told the
court. Tony shot and killed
his wife and then tried to kill
himlself, but was unsuccessful.
To be nagged, dogged, hound
ed, persecuted an then left by
the one for whom he had aet
ually slaved proved more than
he could stand. After all, the
capstone of the whole affair,
the most malevolent and un
kindest cut of it all was to wit
ness his wife go away after
having reveled in luxury while
he gladly toiled when he could
get anything to do. Tony him
sdlf had gone in need while his
wife wore the finest of \he
finest and enjoyed evenings a
way from home late into the
night while he was compelled
to remain and rest out of sheer
physical necessity.
That, in brief is what Tony
told the court Tuesday here.
Judge Yeager was obviously
moved. Some claim they saw
tears well up in his eyes. The
court turned to the Deputy
County Attorney Rudy Tesar
and. asked if he had any reas
on whatever to doubt auy of
the facts set forth by Tony in
his story. The Deputy County
Attorney replied he had none
and then added: Iwish I could
make a plea like that.’’
Obviously moved, Judge
Yeager eiaid that in the nine
yearn he had been prosecutor
iu the county attorney’s office
and iu the three years he had
served on the criminal bench,
he had never been confronted
by a decision more difficult to
render fairly.
“The maximum penalty for
second degree murder under
the law is life. The minimum
is ten yciars. I can’t in fair
ness give-you cither. For that
reason,’’ Judge Yeager said,
“I sentence you to spend twen
ty years in the State Peniten
tiary.’’
Tony told his life's history
in his recital. He related how
at 13 he went to Lake Charles,
Louisiana, as an Italian imi
grant with but scant know
ledge of English. He began
the job as humble errand boy
on a Louisiana plantation.
From this humble beginning
through a period of hard work
ing years, he rose to foreman
of a steel gang on the Union
Pacific out of Omaha at a sal
ary of $100 per week.
In the purest Addisonian
Huglish which once won Tony
the job us ltalian-American in
terpreter with a southern raid
road, he recalled he had chang
ed his name from G'.aeone to
liis present name, Jackson
when he was naturalized at O
rnaha when 21 years of age.
He was married to Miss
Mary Rotolo, on Omaha girl of
Italian descent 21 years ago.
Tony Jackson is now 46. To
this union three children were
born-Nicholas, who died
two years ago, who would now
be 20 years old had he lived;
Sam, 18, and Phillip 15, The
first son was sickly from child
hood and died of a lung infec
tion. Tony had spent large
sums for salary of doctors and
medicine. He likewise prod
uced uneonte|sted evidence of
having spent a huge sum for
doctors and medicine for liis
wife who threatened to leave
him.
When Tony’s fortune declin
ed after quitting the Union
Pacific job to go into the res
taurant business in 1926 to do
business for himself, the pathe
tic and tragic end began. The
Sam Carlo, his new enterprise,
failed after 8 months. Then
followed a succession of vari
ous kinds of jobs such as he
could gieit and finally in 1933
a job of civilian administra
tion.
“But never, with my relief
jobs and the sidelines, did I
earn less than sJRst) a ween,
more and more dissatisfied She
nagged me. She threatened
to leave me ajnd break up the
home. She tried twice in the
past two years to sue me for
divorce. On October 8, I came
home with word a railroad
here might put on a steel gang
joyed. I had to return next
day with the awful news that
this wasnt true—that the gang
—and my job—wouldn’t be
rdady until spring. My wife
was crushed: “I’ll leave you
now, and this time it’s for good
she said.
“Everything went black. I
shot, her and tried to kill my
self,’’ Tony said.
Tony’s sole consolation while
in his cell is a letter from his
son, Sam, in which he takes
comfort as he reads it. Sam
had written his father these
words among other things:
“Don’t feel too badly about
mama. I know that you did
not mean it, and I am sure she
lias forgiven you.’’
Tony lias lots of people who
sympathize with him, and I
am one of them.
Ray L. Williams, AUy.
Tuchman Bldg. 24th and Lak
NOTICE OF ADMINISTRATION
In the County Court of Douglas
County, Nebraska.
In the matter of the estate of
IRENE CAROMAN JOHNSON,
deceased:
All persons interested in said
matter are hereby noified that, on
the 20th day of January, 1937, W.
L. Myers filed a petition in said
County Court, praying that his
final administration account filed
herein be settled and allowed, and
that he be discharged from his
trust as administrator and that a
hearing will be had on said petition
before said court on the 13th day
of February 1937, and that if you
fail to appear before, said Court on
the said 13th day of February 1937
at 9 o’clock a- m., and contest, the
Court may grant he prayer of said
petition, enter a decree of heirship,
and make such other and further
orders, allowances and decrees, as
to this Court may seem proper, to
the end that all matters pertaining
to said estate may be finally settled
and determined.
Bryce Crawfor
County Judge
3t , i
