THE OMAHA GUIDE
Published Every Saturday at 2418-20 Grant St.
Omaha, Nebraska
Phone W Ebster 1517
Entered as Second Class Matter March 15, 10-<,
at the Post Olfice at Omaha, Nebr., under
Act of Congress of March 3, 1879.
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xations must be in our office not later than
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tising Copy or Paid Articles not later than
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Insure publication. _
‘V^ Race prejudice amt go. The Fatherhood of
' Cod and the Brotborhood of Man must prevail.
These are the only principle* whil will stand
the acid test of g**d.
EDITORIALS
WE HAVE JUST BEGUVN TO FIGHT
Passage of laws is useless if en
forcement and whole-hearted public
cooperation is not assured. America’s
advances against syphilis must be con
clusive, carried,' through to ultimate
victory if our people are to be free of
this menace to life, health and happi
ness.
During the past three years many
gains have been made toward control
of the disease. New legislation, amend
ments, improvements in medical and ed
icational facilities—all have been vic
tories.
But these victories were based on
Winning a long series of antecedent bat
tles in this war against syphilis. The
famous answer, “We have just begun
fca fight,” must apply with unabated
force if permanent results are to be
Relieved.
Americans are prone to fight for
r new law and then say, “We’ve fixed
tf\at,” and leave overburdened officials
Without public support, personnel or
appropriations to do the job the law in
tended.
This must not happen in the anti
syphilis campaign. Youth and their
alders must see the job through. The
fight on fi|rty-eig(ht fronts is on in
earnest. Forty-four state legislatures
meet this year. Many impractical laws
meed revision, some new ones are de
sirable—and after these have been pass
ed, the public must give one hundred
per cent continous support to all those
who are concerned with carrying on the
authorized activities.
Ask the Surgeon General has said,
“the conquests of syphilis is a task for
the whole people.” He might have add
ed that the fight must command the
whole attention of the whole people.
—Social Hygeniene.
_
CAN THIS TRAVESTY CONTINUE
Childen have always been the most
pathetic victims of syphilis. Back into
the middle ages we can follow the sor
rowful procession of (children, blind,
deaf, deformed and insane because of
this infection. Due to it untold hund
reds of thousands of children have died
m infancy or before birth.
Until recent times physicians and
parents helplessly watched this tragedy
impotent to prevent the relentless des
truction of sight, hearing, sanity and
life. Generations of doctors saw disas
ter single out families without know
ing how to save the children.
Now congenital syphilis is almost
completely preventable. Not only is it
preventable, but it is generally curable.
The means are in our hands to end the
sad succession of syphilitic children—
and those means are practical, simple
and inexpensive.
Yet each year in modern America
60,000 children are born with congeni
tal syphilis and many of these child
ren suffer the very same fate that
would have been theirs three centuries
ago.
Can such a travesty of medical
progress continue? Not when the na
tion permits its physicians to apply
available methods for the prevention
and cure of congenital syphilis.
Whoever accepts responsibility for
the health of a child, barn or unborn,
should know that medical science has
provided strong defenses against the
spread of spyhilis to children.
Whoever is moved by pity for the
child victims of this infection should
spread the simple hopeful truth that
congenital syphilis can be prevented.
Whoever wishes to give practical
helpful effect to these feelings of re
, sponsibility and pity will aid organized
efforts to reduce the prevalence and
lessen the ravages of syphilis in the
adult as well as the child problem.
Every expectant mother, as a first
and important precaution should insist
early in pregnancy, upon an examina
tion and test for syphilis.
-UVJU
— ARE NEGRO BOXERS
EXPLOITED?
That six of the twelve boxers on the
card at Madison Square Garden last
Thursday night were Negroes, would
seem to indicate that at least the Ne
gro boxers gets a better break in New
York city than elsewhere. On the other
hand, many of these receive a smaller
guarantee than boxers of other races,
and usually have to split up their earn
ings with numerous managers, promo
ters, trainers, etc. so that while they
draw large crowds to the boxing em
poriums, their earnings are much smal
ler than they should be. Recently Joe
Louis, the heavyweight champion, made
the statement that actually only 30
cents of every dollar he earns reach
him. And many other boxers of the
race get an even smaller percentage ,
than he.
Such a condition, wre believe is due
largely to the fact that boxing has be
come something of a “racket” in the
Empire State. In order to work, a color
ed boxer must pay largo commissions
to various insiders even though the
rules of the State Athletic Commission
forbid this, and he is afraid to protest
lest he be placed on the black list of
those who control boxing in this state.
Ihe remedy, it seems to us, lies in
the need for Negro representation on
the boxing board which regulates the
sport. There is ample justification for
the appointment of a Negro either as
a commissioner o rdeputy commissioner
on the State Athletic Commission. Sev
eral states, ntably Pennsylvania and
Illinois, have set a precedent by giving
to Negroes representation on similar
boards. At the present time, four of
eight world’s titles are held by Negroes
and Joe Louis and Henry Armstrong
are the best drawing cards in the game
today.
These boxers, and those who come
after them, need protection against the
exploitation of those who would take
advantage of their desire for fame and
glory and would leave them with empty
honors o ftheir titles, while they garner
in the money.
Negroes need representation on
the New York State Boxing Commis
sion and are entitled to it both on the
basis of the number of colored boxers
now fighting in this state and on their
ability to draw the crowds through
their fistic prowess. —New York Age.
--uv/u- ■
ABSTRACTIONS AND REALITIES
Omar Rhayyam had the right idea
for Eleventh Century Persia. His phil
osophy was enjoyment pleasure, quaff
ing deep the cup of life without thought
of the future. “Tomorrow?” he asked.
“Why tomorrow I may be myself with
Yesterday’s Sev’n Thousand Years.”
And so Omar lived. He must have
known that some day he would die, and
as a sell-respecting corpse would need
the Persian equivalent oi a respectable
burial.
Fortunately for Omar, death did
not ambush him and send him to a
pauper s grave. He lived to a ripe old
age. Furthermore, he had made a vow
with two schoolmates during ills adoles
cent period that if any one of the three
should become rich, he should share
his fortune with the other two. One,
Nizam ul Mulk by name, rose to wealth
and political power, and kept his part
of the schoolboy pledge. Omar turned
astronomy, lived comfortably on the
pension given him by his friend, and
was buried just outside a garden where
fruit laden trees “dropped their flowers
upon his tent.
Without the stroke of fortune,
which elevated Nizam ul Mulk, Omar
might have continued disregarding the
future, and perhaps have found his fin
al resting place in some unmarked plot.
Any one of a thousand accidents might
have cut short his early wayward
career in circumstances which could
produce no friend or relative to provide
decent burial. Had such been the case,
it would have proved (even though at
too late a date for him to do anything
about it) the truth of the Koran precept
that “no man knows where he sail die.”
Among people today there are far
too many Omar Khayyams. Living for
the moment they fail utterly to remem
ber that Death makes no exceptions.
Consequently, when their times come,
no provisions have been made to pay
the undertaker, and their mailing ad
dress from then on, is a simple “Pot
ter’s Field.”
__aHa
AMERICA WILL DESPISE IT
“You have a voice such as we are
privileged to hear only once in a cen
tury.”
This was the opinion which the
great musician, Arturo Toscanini, ex
pressed' of Marian Anderson, world
famous Negro singer.
But it matters little to the Daugh
ters of the American Revolution at
Washington that Marian Anderson is
a great artist. She is also a Negro wo
man. And to be a Negro is to be marked
for persecution by these ladies who
dare to call themselves daughters of
the revolutionary uprising which made
America a nation.
The concert of Miss Anderson was
cancelled because the D.A.R. cancelled
her engagement at their hall in Wash
ington, D. C., this week.
It would be a good idea if these
ladies would’ take a look at a document
which must sound like “rampant radi
calism” to their aristocratic ears, the
Declaration of Independence—all men
are created free and equal.”
-0O0
BUYERS GUIDE
by Clarence H. Peacock
American people spend more than
600 million dollars annually for shoes.
Of this amount Colored people spend
approximately 75 million dollars a year.
Yet government statistics show that in
1935 there were only 14 shoe stores in
the entire country that were owned and
operated by Negroes.
These fourteen shoe stores did a
total business of $38,000 for that year.
They employed eight full-time employ
ees. Their total annual payroll was ap
proximately $4,000. One can readily
see that as a group we are getting pit
ifully small returns from our combined
purchasing power.
This is one of the many examples that
show and prove that Colored people
have the buying but are neglecting to
use it to their advantage. This tremen
dous buying power of our people (esti
mated at three billion dollars a year) is
being squandered and wasted for the
lack of intelligent direction.
At the present time there is no care
fully worked out plan to harness and
use this power for the benefit of the
masses, lx any of the readers think they
have such a plan, would appreciate it
if they will mail it to me in care of this
column.
For greater economic security read
our Colored’ papers and patronize their
advertisements.
-
-—
‘For the first time in our history, M..»
the United States Navy is manned^ al
most entirely by native born Americans,
Grand totals, and they are pretty grand
at that, show only 198 of the Navy’s of
ficers and only 8,975 of the Navy’s en
listed men are listed as born under
foreign flags.
*
The U. S. Navy maintains 56 com
plete bands and orchestras with a per
sonnel of 1,045 men, on board ships of
the Fleet and on shore stations, in vari
ous parts of the world. To keep these
many bands and orchestras well round
ed out with trained musicians the U.
S. Navy maintains a Navy School of
Music at Washington, D. C. The course
of instruction is most thorough and
complete and covers a period of two
years, after which training is supple
mented by additinal instruction.
The cost of the Navy ration today
averages about 48 cents per man, which
means the Navy returns daily to the
farmer and those who handle food
stuffs $48,000.
--—_nfln_
All Naval vessels, when passing
Washington’s Tomb at Mount Vernon
parade the full guard and band, half
mast the colors and toll the ship’s bell.
When opposite the Tomb, taps is sound
ed' on the bugle ,the guard presents
arms, and the officers and men stand at
attention.
--oOo~-—
Each heavy cruiser in the United
States Navy has an eighty station auto
matic switchboard type telephone sys
tem.
-0O0
People who get too high usually
feel low afterwards.
-0O0
Prof, (gazing over the room dur
ing an examination.) Will some kind
gentlemen who isn’t using his textbook
be so kind as to permit me to have it '
for a few minutes?
v vy u-—1 ■ : .*
It Better Be Good—
Luqy: And you say that your hus
band makes good money?
Dora: Sure, he has to, or he could
not stay in business. .
Lucy: That’s interesting. What bus
iness is he in?
Dora: He’s a counterfeiter.
-- 0O0
Jones: Hello Brown! Are you using
your skates tonight?
Brown: I’m afraid I am.
Jones: Splendid! Then you won’t
mind lending me your tux.
*-0O0
Prof: Take this sentence: “Let the
cow be taken out of the lot.” What
mood?
Frosh: The cow.
-—0O0
Victim: Gosh! Your husband is
fresh, isn’t he?
Housewife: Yes, he’s a new one.
-oOo--—
Court Scene
Judge to Prisoner: Say, when were
you born?
No reply.,
Judge: I say, when was your birth
day?
Prisoner: (sullenly) What do you
care? You ain’t going to give anything.
Judge: Yes I am. Thirty days.