' COMMENTS E DITORIAL PAGE OPINIONS j
THE OMAHA GUIDE
Published Every Saturday at 2418-20 Grant Street,
Omaha, Nebraska
Phones: WEbster 1517 or 1518
Cntered as Second Class Matter March 15, 1927. at the Postoffice at
Omaha, Neb., underAct of Congress of March 3, 1879.
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Race prejudice must go. The Fatheihood of God and the Brother
hood of Man must prevail. These are the only principle* which will
stand the arid test of good.
The Wrong Perspective \
Some people in poor circumstances have the unfortunate
idea that they can he ter tin ir lot by dragging ihe more for
tunate ones down to their level. Hu this idea just doesn't work
out i'1 practice. People have different ideas, talents, abilities,1
and therefore hove different levels in their nativities. This is1
true, because of the fact that people are brought up under dif
ferent environments. Time again it 1ms been proven that two1
persons placed in id on leal t ircunistances would soon find dif
ferent levels and outlets for their several abilities and in a very
short while would find hemsevis in different condi ions. A
good rule of life is never to envy your more fortunnee bro-j
ther or sister, but striue o find your abilities and apply your
self assidiou'ly to the thing you are host fitted for or can do
best. After nil success is not measured by the quantity of your
possessions, but by the excellence of one’s work in which lie or'
she may lie engaged. Envy r,p to a certain point is alright, but
it should never be allowel to stifle your personal anilii ion and
ability.
Longer Hours For Less Pay
Last year 21,000,(X10 American families paid an electric bill
averaging $33.72 or nine cents per day. That is ‘high priced*
industry complain about. That is less thnn families pay for to
hcoo or amusements!, or reading mat,(fir. By rouipiarison withf
hao.co, or amesemonts, or reading matter. By comparison with
the amount these families pay for real necessities—tfood, clo
thing, rent, fuel, etc.—jhe cost of electricity, mail’s most, de
pendable and useful Servant, is microscopic—Hie least import
ant thing for politicians to howl about and 'the lea*# neieles
sary for them to waste tn,x funds on.
The taxes collected by the Federal government on liquor
and tobacco—(entirely aside from the cost of these articles—is
one fijid one-huff times as much as all the homos in the country
spend for eleeitricity. If such facts don’t helie tflie charge that
electricity is ‘over pricer’ nothing can. As the Oklahoma das
and Electric Company points out in an advertisement, the de
mand of our electrical servant is ‘longer liourjs n.t less pay per
hour.’ He runs you)- refrigeraotr for two or three cents a day.
He operates your radio for one-half a cent. And each year, r*
gardless of whethler genern! costs rise or not, lie does his work
cheaper.
Compare the modern home to that of the ‘gay nineties.’
They might have been gay for some—but they weren’t for the
housewife. She sweltered over an old-fashioned stove. Sim
bed her hands to the hopes on Washboards. Her only light was
wasteful, eye damaging lamps and candles. Abundant, low pri
ced electricity has literally freed the homemaker and done more
to revolutionize life in a generation, than was done in hundreds
of proceeding years.
Sign of Sanity
V _
Popularity of the chain store tax'Ts on the wane, according
to a recent survey. Of nearly a hundred new chain store tax
bills considered by the stato legislatures in their T937 session!*
only fivp were enacted into law. Of these, one was held uncon
stitutional. To offset the remaining four, several other statics I
either allowed their chain tax laws to expire without renewal
or repealed them. This trend of the chain tax is significant in
that it indicates an awakening on the part of the people’s rep
resentatives to ibe fact that laws of such a punitive nature are
boomerangs. Instead of penalizing ‘bigness’ as they openly pro
fess to do, tfhey penalize the consumer. Prices are forced to art
ificially higltar levels, and competition between chain and in
dependent merchandisers is thrown seriously out of balance.
Without competition any merchandiser will ultimately hurt his
own business by becoming careless toward his customers. And
aside from pecuniary considerations, the consumer ns well as
the community would miss the increased activity and choice of
merchandise and prices that inevitably follow wholesome com
petition. For these reasons, the present trend in chain store tax
ation is a gratifying sign of returning legislative sanity toward
the consumer.
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Econmic Review
The adjournment of Congress
dd not bring an end to political
thinking and argument. To the con
trary, in the few months remain
ing between now an the second
session, politics will be as much
in the headlines as ever, and be
hind the scenes politicil activity
will be rampant. As Ilus'ness Week
snys, "There’s no getting away
from Washington." Perhaps never
in our (history were the interests ef
industry and individuals so extric
ably related to the poltiical situa
tion.
As this column has pointed out
b fore, the first session of the 76th
Congress was as important for
what it did not do as for what it
did. I-eft over for considerat'on are
a large number of major bills,
some of whidh passed one branch
but were deferred in the other, and
some of which are still in House
and Senate committees. And it is
a fact known to everyone in touch
with the situation that the Admin
istration is laying plans for forc
ing through its “must" program, a
large part of which was beaten
last session.
Prime example of this is the Su
preme Court Bill. The President
has said, almost in so many words,
that he still regards it as essential
to his program. It will be introduc
ed in the next session, probably in
about the same form as before- And
in the meantime, administration
leaders will do everything they can
think of to bring recalcitrant sen
ators into line. In spite of the “no
reprisals” talk, practically every
Washington newshawk still thinks
that the speech of Senator Guffey
in which he demanded the feat of
such Democratic senators as Wheel
cr and Burke, was delivered at the
request of the President and that
“pro-New Deal” Democrats will bo
found opposing “anti-New Deal”
Democrats in future elections.
Biggest battle will take place in
Montana where, it is thought 28
year old Representative Jerry O’
Connell, who is 100 per cent for
the New Deal and the CIO, will
take to the hustings against Sena
tor Wheeler.
The question of relief will loom
larger next session than it did in
the last, where it wa^ obscured by
other matters. In spite of vastly
increasing industrial activity, relief
rolls are almost ns great ns in the
depths of depression. Relief bur
eau officials, such as Harry Hop
kins, think that relief will be a
permanent part of government no
matter how much business booms;
that millions will be unable to find
jobs. Critios say that the relief
rolls are kept large for political
use. No one knows how many un
able to find jobs. No one knows
how many unemployed there are—
Congress has refused all sugges
tions that a census be taken. It
did pass a bill last session whereby
in effect, unemployed are “invited”
to join in a census, but this will'
obviously give no real check on the
situation.
Laws regulating business will bo
another factor. For example, a bill
passed the Senate limiting the len
gth of freight trains, is now pend
ing in n House committee. The.
railroads say the co3t of tfhi-, bill
would drive them into bankruptcy,
unless provision is made for higher
rail rates. Also still pending is a
bill to create .seven Federal hydro
electric authorities of the TVA or
der, which never came to a vote
k'f.t session and was deferred for
future consideration.
Neutrality will bo up again. Un
der the present law, the responsi
bility of deciding whether an actual
state of war exi its between for
eign powers, falls upon the Presi
dent—and inasmuch ps countries
now fight without declaring war
this is a tough assignment. Peace
organizations want a neutrality
bill with teeth in it that will keep
us as remote as possible from for
eign entanglements.
There will be more discussion
about taxes and the national debt,
which is now at an nll-time high
of about $3S,000,000,000. One con
gressional group, whidh has the
support of industry, will advocate
broadening the tax base. Even lar
ger taxes on upper-bracket in
comes are also a possibility. There
is strong backing in both political
and business ranks for a bill to re
peal capital gains and losses ltvy.
So it goes. Next year will be a
big political year.
Laws That Hit The
Farmer Twice
The Department of Agriculture
has issued a report on 1 Price
Spreads Between the Farmer and
the Consumer.”
It shows that the farmers’ share
of the consumers’ dollar has not
exceeded 60 pea* cent since 1920,
but rose to 44 per cent in 1936, as
compared with a low of 33 per
cent in 1932. Four causes for the
year to year change in the spread,
are given: 1. Changes in hourly
wage rata* and changes In other
ost items; 2. Changes in profits of
processors and dealers; 3. Changes
•n the efficeney of the marketing
system; 4. Changes in the amounts
>f processing and in the amounts
of other kinds of service required
to deliver goods to ultimate con
sumer.
Front this, it is apparent that
the farmers’ share of the final sell
ing price of what he produces, is '
very largely dependant on the ec
onomy or lack of it of the distribut
ing and marketing machine. If ft
large number of middlemen are in
volved in moving goods, the far
mer gets less. ,If retailers are
wasteful, with high overheads
which are reflected in the big
mark-ups, he gets le-s. If the cost
of carrying on distributor and re
tailer operations are increased for
any reason, he gets less.
There could be no better illus
tration of the fallacies of laws and
special taxes whose inevitable re
sult is to coddle the middleman,
whether necessary or efficient, by
iaw; to eliminate all or part of the
>f tho economies that follow long
ssteblished mass-retailing practices
nnd to artificially increase the
overhead costs of stores whose
policy is to sell a maximum amount
of goods at the lowest price.
Such laws and taxes hit the far
mer twice—he is a consumer as
well as a producer. They make him
'pay more for what he buys, while
he gets less forr what he sells.
-o --
Chicago Beauticians
Form Association to
Raise Standards
Chicago, Se.pt. 16 (ANP)—In
order to rid the profession of cut
throat competition and at (he same
time standardize prices and work
ing conditions to meet state laws,
Chicago’s lead’ng beauticians met
Sunday at the Mine. C. J. Walker
College of Beauty Culture to re
organize the Beauticians’ Trian
gular association composed of
schools, shop owners and opera
tors.
The association has the backing
of the organizations of Master
Barbers and Journeymen Barbers
who have waged a similar cam
naign in their field. Mr*. Marjorie.
Stewart. Joyner is president of the
Beauticians' association, with Mrs.
Dimples Patterson, treasurer, and
Mrs. Viola Walton, secretary. They
represent respectively beauty
schools, shop owners, and operators
It was pointed out at the meet
ing that under exsting conditions
neither shop owners nor operators
are making a decent living and of
ten end the week with le s money
than women employed n the com
monest kind of unskilled work.
This condition, those assembled
were told, exists in no large, city
rexept Chicago.
The organization will begin ar.
immediate drive to rid the profes
sion of unlicensed operators, ‘‘hou'o
shops,” unsanitary working con
ditions and to lift cut prices and
shorten hours to Illinois require
ments. A list of minimum prices
for shop services has been printed
>nd sent to shop owners, with the
announced fee of $1.00 for sham
poo, press and curl; $1.26 and $1.50
'or shampoo, pro S and fancy curl;
1 50 or $1.75 for shampoo, press
and marcel or finger wave, and
$.1.75 or $2.00 for shampoo, press
•ind leroquif^io^e. Shops meeting
anitary requirements and passed
by the health department will dis
rday window stickers to that ef
fect.
The organization was first form
ed in 1925 after Illinois passed its
first beauty laws. The reorganiz
ed group is to be registered in
Springfield as a non-profit concern
and delegated by the State De
partment of Registration and Edu
cation to clean up every condition
that does not pass Illinois require
ments or the highest ethics of the
profession.
Ben Carter Has A
Singiny Novelty In
New Cantor Film
Hollywood, Sept. 16 (By Fay M.
Jackson for ANP)—Motion picture
funs will witness an entirely new
treatment of jazz music on the
screen when they see and hear Ben
Carter’s Plantation Boys, aug
mented by Perkins’s Blackbirds and
the Jones Boys in “sang band’’ of
Fox’s new Eddie Cantor vehicle,
‘‘Ali Baba Goes to Town.’
Introducing a descriptive Harlem
sequence in the picture, this color
ful group of vocal swingsters are
radically different from any film
musical arrangement yet attempted
in motion pictures, a preview of
actual production reveals.. Respon
sible for their musical direction in
this number are Leon Rone and
Ben Carter.
Kids Inspred
It will be remembered that Car
ter’s introduction to Los Angeles
audiences dates back to his pre
sentation of the “Pickaninny
Choir,” which he organized with
the assistance of Mrs. Lauretta
Butler from among her K'Hdie
Minstrels group. So unique was
the idea of forming a chorus of
young Negro boys and training
them for the present of code of
swing music tlhat Carter soon
found himself with one of the most
sensational acts on his hands that
has ever hit the we t coast.
Interviewed this week as to how
he hit upon the idea Carter recalled
his work as Assistan Boys Work
secretary of the YMCA in Aurora,
111., where he was the only Negro
ever to bo employed in that posi
tion in a white “Y”. He taught
special music in the public schools
there, also, but finally came to
Hollywood to tiy his luck at en
tertainment, and, finally, in the
movies an attraction for any out
of-stater.
Unique
“I got a job in the Hangover
Club in Hollywood,” Carter said.
‘‘From there I went to the Bilt
more Bowl, the Deauville Beach
club, working as a single until I
saw Mrs. Butler’s kiddies minstrels.
Then I got the notion to organize
Pickaninny Choir because I have
always worked with children and
the unique effects possible with
boys’ voices have long been consid
ered a musical delight. No one has
wing like Negro youths, and when
wo combine the natural rhythm
with correct arrangements and na
tural personalities — you’ve got
something.”
And that is what the studios
think.
Never an Extra
Carter brings a wealth of mu
ical teaching and acting experien
ce to his group of singers. Al
though he '“broke” into the movies
quite unceremoniously, without
rrevious experience, he started out,
luckily enough, doing a bit in
“Hollywood Party” for M. G. M.,
and is proud of the fact that he
never was an extra. A series of
’.horts with his choir followed for
Educational release. This was
marked by his first musical ar
rangements that were used in a
film.
Skyrocketing in fan favor, the
ingers went from picture to pic
ture for most of the major studios
here, took a fling at the vaude
ville circuits along the coast, re
turned to Los Angeles to headline
the Shim-Sham Revue in the Mu
sic Box theatre. It was in this show
that Carter made contacts with
David Gould, Hermes Pan, Winnie
Shaw, and Jimmy Timony, which
lead to the establishment of his
ruesent position as an associate of
the Crudnow artists agency.
Talent Scout
Explaining the service of the
agency to Negro performers, Car
tel' said that he and his co-workers
not only place actors, but act as
talent scouts. “A terrific act,” he
began in typical Hollywood terms,
“that has not had an opportunity
to be brought to the attention of
studios may be cited by us and
placed exactly where it is most
needed. There is not hit and miss
for the producer, nor the perform
er.”
With his knowledge of talent, the
show business, and acquired exper
ience in motion pictures, Carter
is fust becoming semething of a
Negro technical advsor on acts
planned for picture use. He points
to "A Day at the Races” as the
first big musical using his talent
which started the current cycle for
colored orchestral and choral back
ground.
The Great Civilizer
The magnitude of the electric in
dustry’s service to the American
people is vividly demonstrated by
one fact: Power rates have been
revised uniformly and continuously
downward, even in periods when
the general cost of living and do
ing business was rapidly rising, to
the end that today the American
people receive more for their elec
tric dollar than for the dollars
spent for arty other commodity.
In the 39-year period frosm 1902
to 1932, according to the Federal
Power Commission, the value of
th« electric central station indus
try’s plant and equipment increas
ed 25 times, while its income in
creased 23 times. Its generating ca
pacity increased 29 times and its
out put 32 timest And, iu 1902,
household power cost an average of
16 cents per kilowatt hour, it to
day cost less thon 5 cents. Similar
reductions have been made in the
cost of power to large industrial
users.
Cheaper power ha3 found its re
flection in tremendous increases in
volume used by all classes of con
sumers. Where there were but 3
million wired homes in America in
1912, there were more than 21 mil
lion in 1935- Where the average
home used hut 264 kilowatt hours
in 1913, it used 673 in 1935. Where
the per capita use of electricity was
30 kilowatt hours in 1902, it was
734 in 1935. Equally Remarkable
’•^as been the progress made in dis
tributing power to farms. Just a
few years ago, in 1923, only 177,
300 farms had central station pow
>r service. ,In 1933 almost 800,000
’arms were on the lines.
More power and cheaper power
"’as bettered our lving standards,
increased the average worker’s
oroductivity and earnings, made
'ess ardous and more profitable the
'asks of agriculture. The politicians
who constantly damn the industry
and say it has failed in its respon
-bility, are confounded by the re
cord. No industry has ever shown
a more progressive spirit—none
has done more to advance the cour
se of our civilization.
-o
Another political item: The pos
sibility that labor will put a t’cket
in the field in 1940 grows geater.
Major occurence was John L.
Lewis’ September 3rd radio speech
in which he strongly rebuked the
President for his attitude in the
steel strike. Key sentence of the
address: “It ill behooves one who
has .supped at labor’s table, and
who has been sheltered in labor’s
house to curse with equal fervor
and fine impartiality both labor
and its adversaries when they be
come locked in deadly battle.” The
obvious reference is the President’s
“A plague on both your houses”
remark.
Feeling is that Mr. Lewis be
lieves the cause of militant labor
will get nowhere with the estab
lished parties, must create a party
of its own. Labor leaders want to
get the farmers in with them.
Guide Classified Ads .
Are Money-getters
What have you to rent or sell,
your very closest neighbor may
want it, in fact, may need it and
maybe getting ready to go out
scouting trying to find that which
is in your way. THE OMAHA
GUIDE classified adverisement
moves things. Try it! If you have
anything to rent or sell. Let be a
room rug, ice box, just call WE
1517, give, the office girl a two line
classified advertisement and watch
it. We get hundreds of calls daily
for apartments and rooms you are
not using. Remember the phone
number. Just call WEBSTER 1617
Tell the office girl what you have
to sell or rent and she will write
your ad for you or if you prefer,
you write your own copy. We say
again GIVE US A RING. CALL
WEBSTER 1517 and our lightning
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pick your copy up in time for the
current issue. Don’t forget the
phone number, WEBSTER 1517.
-o
Literall, millions of workers will
be used at the 1939 Golden Gate
International Exposition. They will
work a 24-hour shift without pay.
They are mfcnobe^ whjiidh when
placed in the proper medium will
transform waste into useful arti
cles, such as medicine, fabrics, ex
plosives and perfumes.
i AnEcho
;
4
;From My Den
i By S. E. Gilbert
As I sit here in my den, with
pen in hand, meditating as it were,
there comes to mind that age old
word, ‘gossip,” and the effect it
has on mankind.
Gossip is as old as sight, and
speech probably older than gossip.
Judging by the great passion fer
gossip that exists in modern men
and women, they must have gossip
ed in sign language before they
learned to talk with spoken words.
Strangely enough, this miserable
habit of gossip blooms lustily am
ong the Afro-Americans, in this
golden age of civilization. Volitare
puts it well, “slander, the immortal
daughter of self-love and idleness”
both of which are the products of
an age of civilized leisure.
In such an age, and wa are tn
one now—men and women whose
heads are stuffed, not with brains,
but with lace, practice the preach
ing of an Oscar Wilde, “There is
only ohe thing in the world worse
than being talked about, and that
is not being talked about.”
One of the best essays written by
Plutarch, dealt with “Busy Bodies.”
‘The vice of the busy body is a
love of prying into other peoples
troubles, a disease tainted with
both envy and malice. To the busy
body we might say, “Why so sharp
eyed my most maliquant sir, for
others faults, yet overlook yeur
own?”
Apply your curiosity t» the ec
onomic problem of the Negro of
Omaha, inquire into the changing
of normally consistent NegTo jobs
now being held by others- Instead
of gossiping about the downfall of
your neighbors daughter, the no
goodness of your neighbor’s son.
The overcharging of your race
business men to your friends deve
lop the knack of conversing with
your friends ways and means of
helping those whom others would
have you believe are down and may
be wrong. Remember Afro-Amer
icans, that the reasonable deduc
tionof a busy body is that unclean
living breeds unclean thinking and
subsequently unclean gossip about
your neighbor. If one lives a clean
life ho or she invariably will think
clean and thus cannot and will not
find time to speak unclean of an
other. Gosips and rumor formed by
men and women of mean minds,
will choke an honest man—because
We are all too ready to believe
what is whispered, and to doubt
what is denied.
- -• - I ■ V.,'
NOTE:—Each wreek your corres
pondent takes his pen in hand and
writes on local issues as he sees it.
Written comments on these Echos
will be welcomed. Just address
your letters to ‘‘An Echo From
My Den” Omaha Gu:de, 2418 Grant
Street, Omaha, Nebr.
-o
THE LOW DOWN
♦
- . from
HICKORY GROVE
Perpetual motion, she is great
stuff—she would be if she worked.
Just think, all we’d need to do
would be to give the old wheel one
first spin, and af
ter that just keep
on ridin’. Hot dog
Lotsa people1
still believe in
perpetual motion
too, ’cause lots of
’em still buy'
stock in compan-i
ies, and also lotsa
people keep on
buym’ gold bricks- You can’t tell
‘cm anything—they are just bound
and determined to be suckers.
And they are just the same about
all kinds of things like side-shows
and India rubber men, and soap
box spielers, and gettin' something
for nothing. And that is why the
10 is gettin’ more headlines that
the A. F. cf L. New stuff is the
stuff—whether it is baloney or
whatever it is.
But I am not a gloom about it—
I figure wa got to have a variety
of bamboozle goin’ on, and it takes
just about so much bosh, and then
we will get tired of sit-downs, and
Monday morning will come around
and we will go back to work with
a bad taste, and broke—and may
be wiser, who knows ?
Yours, with the low down,
Jo Serra
