comments EDITORIAL PAGE OPINIONS | ^ m m • >m ♦ * 9 9"9 9 * ~r~~* " " ' ^ ~ ..EDITORIALS.. i I | ------ . - - - - - - > t a j » t t «--H + • • • »«■ »■»■ »">»■♦ • • ■ • '* - - - THE OMAHA GUIDE Published Every Saturday at 2418-20 Grant Street, Omaha, Nebraska Phones: WEbatar 1517 or 1518 v Entered as Second Class Matter March 15. 1927, at the Postoffice at Omaha. Neb., under Act of Congress of March 3, 1879. TERMS OP SUBSCRIPTION $2.00 PER YEAR Rare prejudice must go. The Fatherhood of God and the Brother i hood of Man must prevail. These are the only principles which will Ctsi.d the acid test of good. All News Capy of Churches and all Organization* must be in our •Hire not later than 5:00 p. n*. Monday for current isaue. All Adver tising Copy or Paid Articles not later than Wednesday n*on, proceed ing date of issue, to insure publication. DECADE OF SERVICE In March, If>27, Tli,. Omaha Guide was established as a, news publication, dedicated to the fulfillment of certainj ideals which the founders believed essential to the upbuild* mg of tbe community. Today, after ten years of activity, replete wiih vuried experiences, we pause to review our journalistic endeavors. 1 Miring t'his period, we mote, with a certain amount of gratdfi cation, that many of the obstacles which we viewed in the dis taince hav© been fully or partly overcome. We are appreheu sive of the fact that these accomplishments are small in com parison with the progress that we should, and hope to make in the future. We have followed principles in preference to personalities. We have always been sincere in our efforts to Asais^ in making our hometown a fine, wholesome, and pros* peroua community in which tolive.There has never been any force or power, financial or otherwise, sufficiently enticing to beckon u« away from the ideals embodied in our program for the upbuilding of this community, and we can say with complete confidence that as long as the present management exists, the readers, subscriber*, and boosters of this publica* tion can rest assured that the policy followed by The Guide will always work toward the ideals of racial betterment. Our efforts have beeJi prompted through the loyal cooperation of thousands of subscribers whom we wish to thank for their faith *nd support. This support has enabled n« to establsh the first complete Negro publishing plant in the state of Nebraska, making possible the employment of 15 race men and women Although confronted at times with many discouragements, The Guide has never failed to publish, during the ten years of ita existence. And now, with the signs of better times, beeom* ing more apparent, the staff of The Omaha Guide, Nebraska’s colored newspaper, is determined to give this community a weekly news publication second to non,e anywhere. THE NEGRO GROUP i What the Annalist terms & ‘‘spectacular race between wages and1 prices,” constitutes the most interesting arid import ant recent business occurrence. * Wage increase has followed wage increase in a multitude of leading industries. In fany cases, wages are above the boom timei level, and are at all—time peaks. However, labor heads are still far from satisfied. The are in some instances, demand" ing further wage boosts. In other instances they are demanding shorter working wetks without wage decreases which, eonsti tute wage raises, inasmuch as industry’s labor cost per unit produced would be lifted. Higher wages naturally mean higher prices for all ma! ner of commodities and serviced. This i|s whefre the race refei red! to by the Annalist, comets fci. Will wbges, on a perdejitage basis, outrun prices! Will 1be income of the public at large! g< ahead! along with rises in the price index! Will the consumer a cept higher prices and not cut down his buying! These are vitu questions, which only time can answer. In the meantime, the readr may consider it certain thi prices will continue to go up all along the line. Most comma tat or* a1*0 regard it as certain that shorter hours and bight wages are inevitably coming in most industries. The Negro working groups in their various classifies tions, are subject to be the chief victims of the backwash t less they wage an unrelenting fight for the organization < Negro workers into bonafide u don. free from race prejudic T^iere has been little or no gain made by the spurious lab unions foisted upon the group by soulless and prideless int viduals seeking to make money out of the plight of the Neg masses. KELLY MILLER SAYS THE HARRISON-BLACK EDUCATION BILL The Harrison-Black Education bill is but a revival of the Blair Education bill, which was intended to extend Ftuderal aid to supple ment local educational provision" in the mo"t needy states Thu main purpose of this mea sure was to furnish better edu cational advantages for southern Negroes whose scholastic facilities at that time were lamentably in adequate. iSince then the south has rrfMty* remarkable strides in the improvement of its public schools. Th« Negro schools have partici pated largely in this advance. Com oarison of flhat day, with thi" day indicate* the appalling state of ig norance among the black population of the south. Then, as now, the southern status operated a dual j system of education for the two races- Because of the general po verty of this section the, school system would rank far below that of the north and west had the system been unified. Education provisions for the | white child were far inferior to the j national standard, while that for, the Negro fell a little short of the j scandalous- While the discrepancy j betweeen the two rncial system” j ha” been ”o me what evened up by the more enlightened educational statesnmnfdiip of the south, yet tho Negro school” still cry loudest for national aid. No measure of that day received a larger share of public attention and interest than the Blair Educa tion Bill. iSenator Henry W. Blair of New Hampshire, author of the bill which bore his name, belonged to the old line of philanthropists who sought the uplift and reclama tion of the Negro race through education. He advocated his mea sure with all the energy, ardor and enthusiasm of his nature- He was an eloquent and fluent speaker, and was so obossed with the bene volent intent of hi” bill thnt he for ced its consideration upon the Sen ate and the public in and out of season. It was said that the Greeks be came bored with the eloquence of Aristides, the just that he was bnn iulfr'd from his country. The Sen ato became so fed up with the Blair Education Bill that it was rejected out of sheer weariness and the Sen ator’s tiresome reiteration. It was said that the bill was talked to doabh by its oveflva'Ment author After the defeat of his measure, iSenator Blair was not returned to the Senate by the voters of his stabs, but hi» belief in the state» minship and efficiency of hih mea sure was not whit abated. The Southern state* oppoaed the Calvin?s Digest By Floyd J. Calvin Southern Economics We note an article in the current Virginia Quarterly Review, publish ed at the University of Virginia, on "The iSouth's Unbalanced Bud |get," by David Cushman Coyle, in which tfhe.se irrt^vre*«ting observa tions are made: “The south is losing money. The qditor of a leading southern news paper makes a rough guess that the South is paying out a billion dollars a year beyond its yearly iiiccorry’. Whtfre does it get the billion dollars? By selling its pro perty to investors in other parts of the country, by borrowing money Blair Education bill on the ground that it was outside meddling with purely local affairs. Inc doctrine of states’ right still dominated sou thern opinion of that day. But the general attitude is different in this day of the New Deal, whose bene fire.nt program does not balk at state lines. We hear nothing of (States’ rights when legislation is proposed for the relief of farmers, from drought and flood, the con trol of labor or the checking of disease. Altahougjh Che wealthier states of the north and west were perfect ly willing to vote the needed ap propriations out of the national treasury, the south interposed ob stinate and persistent and objection. The north was more willing to give than the south was ready to re ceive. If it i» the national purpose to regulato agriculture, industry and business, and to provide sec urity and look out for the health of the whole population, then why not be equally concerned with stamping out ignorance, the great est plague which afflicts the na tion? This purpose is reflected in the , Harrison- Bla<’k bill, whidh goes far beyond the Blair Education bill in meeting the educational needs of the country as a whole. Thn Blair bill called for only ten million dollars, annual appropria tion- The Harrison-Black bill calls , for three hundred miilion dollars. If the south becomes its chief bene ficiary, it is merely because it stands inmost in need of such bene faction. If the Negro race becomes chief recipient of its blessing, it is simply because it bears the hea viest brunt of ignorance. The great er the disease the louder the de mand for treatment Thte sponsors of this bill, the distinguished Senators from Miss issippi and Alabama, clearly show how far this nation has travelled toward a larger national spirit since the days of Senator B lair. Kelly Miller and going bankrupt, by destroying land and forest to make products for sal*. “The south is losing phyical and human. Forests are cut and not replanted. Coal and iron ore are mined and the steel shipped away for others to use. The land is be ing washed into the »ea- The peo ple are being allowed to suffer poor health and poor education, which «o dee-ply concerns the lead ers of the south, are involved in the problem of economic unbalance which concerns the leaders of the nation. Not only is the south a£ a whole spending more than its in come, most of its local units are running a local deficit. And any geographic unit that is spending more than its income is in a peril ous condition.” We are accustomed to hearing stock reasons for the backward ness of the south, many of which '•enter their viowpoint. Mr. Coyle asserts: “The c.aus§s of this economic drain can be found, for oratorical purposes, in the evil days of Re construction, But in hunting for a remedy, we mjay as well recognize that the evil of economic drain is found in many parts of the north and west. It has various causes, many of them connected with the difference between agriculture and industry. Ahy remedy that will help the soifth will be likely to j help the depressed areas in all parts of the country.■” Mr. Coyle is oonvinced that the south neefls federal aid, and says: “Education is probably the most practical avenue of Feeral subsidy to be further developed in the im mdiate future. For one thing, the custom of subsidizing education is of long standind and high respect ability. The voters are not so eas ily ho■>»>< 9 m m m ■ »'»' • As I ait here in my “DEN" with pen in hand, meditating as it were, there trickles through the. chan nels of mcy mind tlhat old age state ment made by John Otis, the emin ent lawyer of the pre-re volutionary da,ys, before the supreme court of Massachusetts, quote; ‘Taxation without representation i* tyranny." In Omaha we find a condition of tyranny going unnoticed by 16,000 black Americans. No County Doctor no city doctor, no city teachers. Yet thousands of us are paying taxcf?, yes, heavy taxes and for our good and unspotted American dollar, we are receiving aside from NO COUNTY DOCTOR! NO CITY DOCTOR! and NO city tea chers, inadequate school buildings, due to the failure on the part of the school government to equal ize the appropriation alloted to the 60 schools in the city of Omaha, leaving the four schools located in that section largely populated by N’ogroos, without funds to meet the necessary improvements needed to rectify the overcrowded condition that now exisfts. For example we find assembly being held in the hall which is also used for en trance and exit for the. children. At Long school, we find an j equally Aleplona^e condition, so, crowded that is neqeesary to hold clasaos in the basement. HOW LONG, OH HOW LONG, will we we black America, 16,000 strong stand by and allow this calamitous condition to last. Will we start the same war cry made famous prior to the revoutionary war and ulti mately bringing independence to the colonies: “Taxation without representation’’ coupled with an unequaled distribution of fundis and continue our battle until our child ren are not subjected to over crowd i ed rooms, fire hazard buildings, that may result in a repetition of the New Londfon, Texas disaster in OMaha, or will we remain in a state of lethargy and let tht rest of the world go by? -” GLARING DEFECTS EXPOSED IN HARRISON - BLACK EDUCATION BILL W;c,hington., March 21—In a smashing drive to have the Harri son-Black bill for federal aid to education amended in the interest of the Negro, the National Co-or dinating Committee for equitable distribution of federal started a pamphlet agitation this week cal culation to reach 20,000 organized agencies hroughout the United States. SohscrifceK^ Frieilds '^laha Guide Attend^t?llyInVlted lo 6 ftTe? •KBS? F"»n 3 to «*. “*Y Our Coneern By Charles F, Davis Vital concern of the community is in legislation affecting our po blio schools and also in the type of education afforded our chilren as well as the conditions under which they are forced to study. ’ Legislative Bill No. 314, introdu ced by Senator Walter Johnson ■sad the searchlight of public scru tiny turned on it during a hearing held before the Revenue Commit tee of the fState Senate last Thurs day. The bill pirovides for a two mill increase to the school maxi mum levy in the city of Omaha. Under the prepent law, the maxi mum levy is now 13 nulls- This increase to 15 mills is calculated bo bring ap ^Iditional $445,000 into the school fund annually. The hearing disclosed a few un deniable facts; to wit: That annual school revenue has decreased $1, 134,00 since 1926, due to a decrease in assessed valuation of property in Omaha, resulting in forced econ omy. This forced economy has caused a gradual and appalling re duction in expenditures per pupil according to the following table: OMAHA PUBLIC SCHOOLS Coat Per Pupil Based On Average JDaily Attendance Over A Period of Years Yr. Elem. H- School Total 1925- 26 $93.35 $168.93 $106 97 1926- 27 84.85 146.91 99 13 1927- 28 85.34 140.69 98 69 1928- 29 85.15 145.68 10060 1929- 30 83.54 142.47 9902 1930- 31 83.79 144.60 9946 1931- 32 80.01 131.75 94-68 1932- 33 69.36 118.28 8299 1933- 34 59.23 101.98 7049 1934- 36 60.91 99.46 71 43 That notwithstanding the de crease in annual revenue of over $1,000,000 there has been added to the school enrollment over 3,200 rrsor« students than were enrolled in 1925-26. The reduction in revenue and increase in enrollment has caused a bqfily overcrowding of school, improper maintenance of school, property has impaired the morale of teaching staff and re duced needed service to pupils; further that equipment of pupils with elementary .necessities, vi*. pen; pencil; paper and books have been reduced to the point wherein the lack of the# necessities are seriously reflecting in the educa tion of these children. Reviewing these facts is for the purpose of enlightening the com munity on the tme situation of the public schools, the opportunity of oud children to obtain an abundant education, sanitation of the build ing where they are in attendance and the physical safety of the children Progress of a people is in Mi abundance of education easily ob tained. In Lake, Long, Kellom and Howard Kennedy schools, an abundance of education is not easily obtained, due to conditions. Thero is a serious shortage of text books. One class at Kellom, for an ex ample, has 65 pupils and 20 geo graphy book". One class at Long school has 1 history book far each 3 students and classes a*» now enlarged to 65 students per room. Long School is by far in a eondl tion to cause alarm. It is recogn ized by fire authorities to be a fir* trap, without fire exits. Yet class es are held in the basement of this school on cement floors. The exits from this basement is a narrow staiPca^s. Children in this base ment would not have a/ chanoa were a serious fira to occur. In fact all the children in Long school aje in extreme peril. It is the intention to report the condition of each of these schools individually in future articles. However, enough information is contained, to awaken the commun ity to the urgent need of the pu blic school afnd the necessity for immediate action by the legislature on Legislative Bill No. 314, provid ing additional school revenue. Community and individual actio* should be taken- Letter or cards addressed to your state senator requesting support of L. B. 814. Further the Board of Education should be taken. Letters or cards conditions at Long school. Economy will not compensate for a disaster similar .to that of Neiw London, Texas. The board must take any available funds and insure the livee and safety of our children.