..EDITORIALS..
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“ THE OMAHA GUIDE
Published Every Saturday at 2418-20 Grant Street,
Omaha. Nebraska
Phones: WEbster 1517 or 1618
Entered as Second Class Mnttcr March 15. 1927. at the Poatoffice at
Omaha. Neb., undcrAct 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 principle* which will
otsi.d the acid test of good.
All News Capy of Churches and all Organizations must be in our
affice not later than 5i00 p. m. Monday for current issue. All Adver-,
Using Copy or Paid Articles not later than Wednesday noon, preceed
tng date of issue, to insure publication.
FOR A FEDERAL ANTI-LYNCHING BILL
THE TIMES -DISPATCH favors ihe enactment of the
Federal untilynching bill just introduced in the House of Rep
resentatives and shortly to he introduced in tlio> Senate. It
bccn no hope of ever wiping out lynching, the* greatest crime
attains Southern eivi'ization, except tlirough Federal action.
l!' evt;try State would enact an antilynchiug law similar
to that which Virginia [fussed a decade ago, lynching could bo
almost, if 14>t wholly, oblitora.ti d. The Virginia law makes
lynching an offense agUins! the State us a whole, subjects all
participants in lynchings to charges of murder, arid authorizes
the Governor to have the attorney genicklr.il aid in the prosecu
tion aijl to spend any sum he (the Governoir) deems wise in
convicting the guilty parties. There has not been a single lyn-j
idling in the Old Domiifiou since that law wins placed on the'
kt at ute book's. ...... ............ ...»...I
Hut> it has become plain* that few, if any, of the Southern
J^tatJ « will follow V i rg in i'll,'h legislative ctxanfple. ASthough
the DYEIt an,titynching liill of 1922 and the COSTIGAN-WAG
IsEli antilyiiehing hill of 1935 would almost certainly have
passed, but. for the filibusters of Southern senators, moist Sou
thern Stans seem to have learned nothing from these episodes
Southern senator^ on both occasions expressed profound resent
in out ovi r the possibility that the Federal Government might be
permitted to iijerfdre in the affairs of the States, but tiny do
not seem to maleic such intervention miracle easury.
This newspaper's primary objective is to put a stop to the
seemingly mull ess erie of mob murders wh eh hnive disgraced the
South ai/1 Amend* before (lie world. That impresses us as far
more important than the preservation of sonie.hing generally
referred to as “State sovereignty’ or “State's rights.’ As long
as State's rights ant appreciated by thei States, and the admin
istrative authorities of the States show that they recognize the
duties which accompany the exercise of such rights, this news
paper believes in respecting those rights. But when the phrase
•“the rights of the'States’’ degenerates into a mere shibboleth
behind which the State and local auhoritties earn ignore and
flout the law of the land by permitting lynchers to go unpun
ished year after year, then THE TIMES-DSPATCH believes
that intervention by the Federal Government is not only de
sirable but necessary. —.. ..
The bill just introduced in Congrdss provides for such
intervention. It provides that any resporfeible peace officer
who fails to make adequate efforts to protect a prisoner from
a mob, or to make diligent efforts to apprehend the members
of the mob after a lynching, shall be guilty of a felotay and be
fined up to $5,000 or imprisoned up to five years, or both. When
the attorney general of the United States is advised through
an affidavit from a citizierti that ten officer is guilty ofl either
of these offenses, th eattorney general initiates an investigation
by Federal G-men to ascertain whether1 the nntilynch law has
been violated. If ths conclusion is in the affirmative, act.oil
is instituted in the United States District CouJrt against the
peace officer or officers. There is no provision for prosecution
of members of the mob. ..~.
It also is provided ini tJhe bill that a county shall be rote
ponsiblo for a lynching occurring within its boundaries, and
that a fine of from $2,000 to $10,080 may be levied against the
counly by the United States District Court, and paid to the
heirs of the person lynched. If a county can show that its
p<*u*e officers exercised dud diligence in the protection of the
victim of the mob, it is not subject to this fine.
Such, briefly stated, are the terms of the act. Some
constitutional authorities, including SENATOR BORAH, re
gard the measure as destructive of state's rights, said hence un
constitutional. Others take the opposite view, and hold that
the bill doils not conflict with the fundamental law.
PROFESSOR KARL N. LLEWELLYN of the Columbia
University haw School has studied the measure carefully, and
fins rendered an opinion that it is clearly constitutional. He
says, in part: - ---
“The Federal Government has 1ho power and the implic
it duty to assure to its citizens orderly, due, legal mud even pro
cedure in criminal cases at the hands of responsible officials.
Whdn States or officials or subdivisions of States are dierelict
in this regard* the Supreme Court, as one spokesman^ of the
Federal Government, will interfere' to correct. Congress can
intervene to prevent the need for correction, and especially to
prevent such dereliction as is irremediable. The general scope
of the measure has a clear basis in the due process and equal
protection clauses.’’ • --—..
On tins, as on many other constitutional questions, there
is room for difference of opinion, of course. PROFESSOR
LLEWELLYN may he wrong, and SENATOR BORAH may he
right. But we hould like to see the hill enacted! and carried
to the United States Supreme Court for a cuEug. ‘-If the Su
preme Court holds the law invalid, lhat will be unfortunaite
But something must he done to end the present intolerable sit
uation, and the measure just Introduced seems the best way out.
—
RAIL DEVELOPMENT
The railroads are among our greatest industries, and
their development forms one of the epochal chapters of! Amer
ican history. —__
Stories of their dramatic struggles against almost insur
mountable odds to span the nation with steel lines of commerce
across mountains and deserts, in the face) of constant attacks
by hostile Indians, thrill every red blooded American. Their
history is the very essefnee of true Amen't>>-: ’ *'”b'ic
should not allow their future development to be halted by the
Widening embrace of polities. Progress such as the railroads
typify, could only have been made by the driving force of reas
onably regulated private initiative. Speeding across the con
tinent in a matter of hours amid the streamlined comforts and
safety of a modern air conditioned train would still be an idle
dream, if the welfare of thd railroad industry had depend
ed upon the uncertain whimw of political management.
For many years the railroads have borne staggering bur
dens of taxation, and regulation. The present Congress should
lay aside proposals for radical Ra3 legislations 'audi cooperate
with the roads by passing equitable regulatory laws that apply
without favor to ail forms of transportation.
UNNECESSARY LOSS
Ignorance and carelessness cause an annual waste approach
ing $300,000,000 should make .every citizen stop and think.
The majority of fires are unnecessary. They could have
been prevented had someone exercised proper forethought and
care. They resulted from human failure*.
We take useless chances with fire_all kinds of chances
and the inevitable always occurs—deadly spark, and our liv- i
es or property join the endless raster of firei’s till.
Fire can be prevented. Is fire prevention*—which means
prevention of roasting thousands of men, women and children i
yearly and waste of property totaling hundreds of millions- .
worth the little time, effort, and thought required to accomplish *
THE VASTNESS OF CALIFORNIA
Little nations, what now? Actually they are astonish
ingly little nations, in area, those world pownjrs that now
threaten, will their strutting, to bring) the whole structure of
civilization crashing down about the ears of man.
Or maybe it’s just that QaJifornita) is such a big state.
Any way, you could put thd whole of ltajly, mighty Italy, with
her dream of world domination within the borders ofCalifornia
a,nil still have enough room, without crowding,, to throw Hun
gary in for good measure. -
Arrogant Japan would fit into this state with 10,000
square miles to spare, and the proud British Islns would take j
up less than two thirds of our room. California) plus half of
Oregon would be as large a.s France, larger than Germany and
Belgium combined, and larger than Spain.
When you realize how small these nations are, and what
masses of people are crowded into them, you understand one
reason, why w*nr plagues them. They need la.nd and resources,
and they'll fight for colonies.
California has but 0,500,000 people, while the much
smaller Italy has 41,000,000. France lias 42,000,000, Germany
65,000,000, Japan 64,450,000, and the British Isles 46,000,000.
TUSKEGEE RACE RELATIONS
Dr. Moton in his book on WHAT THE NEGRO THINKS
expressed th'd feeling that according to the Negro full stct™
under the law, far from; being detrimental, wins the only way
in which the white man could liberate his own soul. In these
two viewpoints we have expressed the Seal of spirituaS as well
ns material progress. These ends which probably entail the
cultural evolution of both races must he attained by increased
education and a conscious effort on the part of those liberal
liiijded members of both races to destroy the fallac.es regard
ing both whites and Negroes which promote antagonisms nanl
Misunderstandings. Tuskegee Institute’s final objective is the
Integration of its graduates into society. Wp can follow' no
tfiiter course than to contribute! to the promotion of interracial
Siarmony, for by so doing it will contribute to the creation otf
^n atmosphere in. which people regardless of race, creed or col
or can use their talents unstii^ti>a!y to the good of all. For
though racial in aspect this institution has sett as its goal serv
ce to all humanity. To do loss than this would he to violate
the sacred trust, of those who, in spirit of beneficence toward
an, under-privileged, people, have made this institut ion possible.
No opportunity should be allowed to pass which will prov.de
a program of cooperation between the races for the common
good. .„ —«—■*■» —— |
England Resumes Diplomatic Relations
with Liberia
Monrovia, Liberia, Fob. 19 (ANP)
—Citizens throughout the Liberian
Republic were elated over the re
cent announcement that Great Bri
tain bad resumed diplomatic rela
tions with this country after being
without representation here for a
long period- The new Consul Gen
era' and Charge <ffAffaire®, the
Hon A. E- Yapp, is a distinguish
ed Britain and has created a favor
able impression here. presenting
hi« credentials to His Excellency,
President Barclay, he said:
“I have the honor to say that 1
have received instructions from His
Majesty’s Principal Secretary of
State for Foreign Affairs to p>*e
sent t° Yapir Excellency his letter
acredlting me to the Government
of Liberia as His Majesty’s Charge
d’Affalres. In presenting these ere
dentin's to Your Excellency I am
to take the Opportunity to express
ho satisfaction felt by His Majes
ty’s Government in the United
Kingdom at the recent solution of
the Kru quesion and to affirm the
hope that the Government of Li
beria will contine to make good
progress in the field of administra
tive reform-”
Diplomatic acknowledgement of
I the new Envoy’s Credentials was
rr.r-de by the Hon. C- L Simplon,
Secretary of State for Liberia He
declared, in part: “In respect t°
the administrative and social re
forms recently undertaken, I de
sire to assure Mis Majesty’s Govern
ment 'Vat these efforts indirate
th« determination of the Govern
ment of the plan evolved by His
Excellency the President,”
KELLY MILLER
SAYS
1 _ .
The Premier Netrro
Politician
In a recent release I casual
ly compared the political stat
us of Perry Howard to that of
Haille Selassie. This compari
son was not original, it was de
rived from the New York Tim
es. The aptness of it seemed
so apparent that I could not
forbear applying. Mr. How
ard takes umbrage at the com
parison stating that it tends to
belittle his constituency and
mini|mize the pedestal on
which he stands. I do not
think it should be necessary for
me to assure my esteemed and
much admired friend that no
such intention lay in my mind.
The reference was only casual.
What I had in mind was to
point out in as few words as
possible the rapid decline of
the southern Negro and the
rise of his northern brother to
local and federal political pow-1
er.
Perry Howard is the only
surviving Negro politician who
holds his own under changed
conditions in the South. Im
mediately after the overthrow
of reconstruction the Republic
an Party turned over to Negro
leadership the machinery of
political organization in the
various southern states. About
1890 a new species appeared
upon the political horizon
known as “lily white” which
did more to crush the political
rights of the Negro than, the
bourbon southern Democrats.
The few white Republicans
scattered among the southern
states were, up to that time,
disposed to share leadership
with their Negro co-partisans.
But asi soon as the lily white
bee began to buzz in their bon
nets they eliminated the Negro
or crushed out his ambition for
leadership.
In such states as North Caro
lina, Vtrgin'n, Maryland, Dela
ware, Kentucky and West \ ir
ginia and M ssouri, there was
a sufficient body of whites
with normal Republican lean
ing to assume leadership with
little or no complication or
friction, but in the deep South
it was otherwise.
The story is an interesting |
one. The. head of Cuney of
Texas fell in the lily white bas
ket. Lee of Florida, Cohen of
Louisiana and Lyons and Ben
Davis of Georgia were likewise
decapitated President Hoov
er applied the guillotine to the
neck of Perry Howard of Mis
sissippi, but it bounded back
an left liis tough political neck
intact. The spectacle of the
President of the United States
using the prestige, prerogative
power and patronage of his of
fice to crush a defenseless Ne
gro politican is without paral
lei in our political history. In
truth and in deed, Perry How
ard i sthe last of the Mohicans.
In a letter to me he points
out that in the midst of insup
erable difficulties he maintains
a political organization in ev
ery county in the state, with
the tptal voting constituency
of over 7000 not withstanding
the disfranchising laws and the
persistent opposition of the
lily whites. Perry W. Howard
and Arthur W. Mitchell are the
only Negroes who are on the
ground floor in federal polit
ics One controls the political
organization of a state, and the
other that of a eongress'onal
district. Perry Howard hopes
to sit on the lid in Mississippi
until the Grand Old Party re
stores the right of franchise to
every citizen according to the
inlendment of the 14th and
15th amendments. I fear he
j will not be able to hold his
breath for a sufficient duration
of time. Mr. Howard is a Na
tional Committeeman and is a
trustee of the Republican
Party and stands on the ground
floor of party management. It
is a great advantage to the col
lored race to have represent
atives in that capacity, especial
ly when and if the Q. 0. P. ever
regains the seat it once held
and for which it still hopes and
sighs.
I remember that I wrote to
President Roosevelt, more than
three decades ago, who had
just discredited Hon. Justin W.
Lyons, that the act would serve
to put the Negro effectively
out of national politics. At
that time Mr. Lyons was the
!
only member of the National
Committee. Since then a rep
resentative from Georgia has
been added and eliminated.
Perry Howard alone survives. I
Howard will probably be the
last Negro to represent the race
on the National Committee or
either great party during the
present generation. Long may
he live and prosper to repres
ent his race in such high con
nections as he has done in the
past twelve years, with dignity
courage and tact. Here's to
you Perry, our premier Negro
politician. I trust you will be
saved the ultimate fate of
Haille Selaisse at the hands of
“lily white” Mussolini.
KELLY MILLER
A MOTHER’S REVERIE
(by Mrs. T. M. Skinner)
Come and sit at my feet, dear
little one,
Cradle your head upon my
knee.
Let the light from the setting
sun
Caress you tenderly.
Let each sunbeam weave a web
of gold
Through each yellow curl that
I hold,
Close against my knee,
As I drift back into memory.
To a little white house among
the pines,
Where the sunlight filtered
through,
Where the wind whispered lul
labies,
Where two curly heads with
questioning eyes,
Rested their heads against my
knee,
And teased for the tale about
the gypsy,
That roamed over land and
sea
And won medals of victory.
NYA Youths At Work
Washington (Special)—More, than
3,000 beys and girls from the work
and student aid projects of the Na
tional Youth Administration have
thrown fheir weight into the fight
against flood waters of the. Ohio
river a'ul its tributaries, helping
to evacuate stricken families, col
lecting and distributing food and
clothNig a*nd awstnting generally
wherever they are needed, Richard
R Brown, NYA Deputy Executive
dirctor, has announced
“Our state directors m the ai
fected area have been authorized
to offer help wherever their ser
vices are needed,” Mr. Brown de
clared ‘Approximately 10,000 youth
are available for emergency work
in the counties hardest hit.”
“The only stipulation we have,
made is that youths, because of
their lack of experience, be assign-.
ed as far as possible to the less I
hazardous tasks of rescue and re-j
habitation. For that reason, most;
! of them are being employed in the.;
second line of defense—receiving
and aiding refugees after hey have
been removed from danger; assist
ing health authorities in maintain
ing water supplies, and setting up
emergency kitchens ”
‘‘Our biggest part in the dfsas
I ter, however, will come after the
! waiters hav® re<J"ded, v.Hien otir
| workers will beg n the task of
I cleaning up and hehabilltatlon.”
N YA youths in the area around
! Huntington, West Virginia, have
| taken oyer several WPA nursery
s(f.mq3s «ynd are operating tl/fem
24 hours a day for the benefit of
children of refugee families. Hun
dreds of pa renits have brought
their children to these centers to
be cared for in safety while they
have returned to retrieve what
household goods and personal be
longings they could from homes
buried under a8 much as twelve
feet of water,
Glenn Callahan, NY A State Di
rector in West Virginia, informed
Washington last night that about
700 young men and women were
engaged in flood work in towns
and cities along the Ohio river In
th^J wfaste'rt1 boundary pf that
state.
He said that be had informed
the governor that 3,000 young peo
ple in the stricken area would be
available for emergency assignment
if they were needed, and tha,t a
similar number could also be mov
ed in from adjoining counties if
conditions should warrant lit.
Communications, (he said, were
meet difficult iwith both Hunting,
ton and Parkersburg, since the dis
trict offices in those cities were
under water and had to be aban.
dc-ned
Frantic calls for news of miss
ing friends or relatives, which pour
hourly throughout the day into re
lief headquarters at Cincinnati are
answered, insofar as possible, by
NYA youths who have been organ
ized Into Information squads.
Casualty lists are revised hourly
and persons who have been separ
ately the flood fromtheir famil
ies have been asked to report their
whereabouts to the information un
its. Thus, liasion between scattered
husbands and wives, children and
parents, fhas been established in
literally hundreds of cases. The in
formation squads are composed al
most entirely of boys and girls
from NYA rolls, working under the
supervision of the Red Cross and
the WPA.
A three-way telephone conversa
tion between Louisville and Lex
ington, Ky., and Washington D C
recently established contact for the
first time in six days between
Frank D Peterson, the Kentucky
NYA director, and his chief assis
tant, Robert K. Salyers.
Salyers had just reported over
long distance from] Louisville to
NYA Deputy Executive Director
Richard R Brown that he had not
heard from Peterson, his chief, in
nearly a week and had no idea
where or how he was.
At fhat moment Brown’s secre
tary, who had listened in on part of
his conservatick), received a call
from Peterson tn Lexington saying
that h« had been unable for the last
several days t» establsh his com
munication with his Louisville head
quarters
By the dint of some frantic ges
turing and obscure magic in the
switchboard room, th© Kentuckians
less han a hundred mile? apart in
reality, were fortuitously brought
.'together over a thousand mUa
strand of telephone wire
Of nearly 1,200 NYA Student
Aid and project workers In the
Memphis district assisting in flood
relief, 75 are medical students from
the University of Tennessee.
The services of these future phy
sicians have made available t°
local health authorities and they
are assisting in the innoculation of
the populace against typhoid and
other communicable diseases, and
otherwise helping to maintain heal
th and sanitary conditions
_ W
COLD FACTS
In the dimly lit conservatory Her
bert had asked Elsie to marry him.
She hud consented with fitting mod
esty.
“Bertie, dear,” she murmured.
"am 1 the only girl—”
"Now, look here, dearest,” he
Interrupted, "don’t ask me if y>
are the only girl I ever loved. Yon
know as well as I do that—”
"Oh, that wasn’t the question
at all, Bertie,” she answered, 't
was just going to ask you If 1 was
the only girl that would have you?'1
—London Opinion.
0 ~~~~~~* ~™
Experienced
Captain—Suppose you are on
duty on a dark night. Suddenly
some one slips up from behind ami
: wraps two arms around you so that
you cau’t use your rifle. What
| would you do?
Cadet—I’d say, "Let go, honey.’’ I
i I
