THE OMAHA GUIDE
Published Every Saturday at 2418-20 Grant St.
Omaha, Nebraska
Phone WEbster 1517
Entered as Second Class Matter March 15, 1927,
•t the Post Office at Omaha, Nebr., under
Act of Congress of March 3, 1879._
TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION $2.00 PER YEAR
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sations must be in our office not later than
5:00 p. m. Monday for curren issue. All Adver
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Wednesday noon, proceeding date of issue, to
insure publication. _________
Race prejudice must go. The Fatherhood of
God and the Brotherhood of Man must prevail.
These are the only principles whil will stand
the add test of good.
James H. Williams & James E. Seay—Linotype
operators and Pressmen. Paul Barnett—Foreman.
EDITORIALS
RRNEWED VIGOR IN THE
—SCOTTSBORO FIGHT
The announcement of a renewed
nationwide campaign to free the five
imprisoned Scottsboro boys, just made
by national Scottsboro Defense Com
mittee, comes as welcome news to fair
minded people all over the land. It
should receive an even wider response
in the form of immediate material and
moral support.
The campaign includes a nationally
circulated petition addressed to the
Gov. Frank Dixon of Alabama urging
the unconditional release of the five
youth; mass distribution of a new pam
phlet entitled “Scottsboro—Record of
a Broken Promise;” and a fund drive
to carry out this urgent campaign.
■ Every one knows that the case
stands now bolder than ever as the
symbol of the fight for the full citizen
ship rights of the Negro Americans.
Meantime, the five youth,—Clarence
Norris, Andy Wright, Charlie Weems,
Ozzie Powell and Haywood Patterson,
enter their 8th year in prison suffering
miserable treatment. The historic Tom
Mooney victory should inspire greater
efforts and courage in the fight to free
these youths, and thus to wipe out this
foul blot upon American democracy.
-0O0
t CENTARIAN WISDOM
In 1922 the late Senator Cornelius
Cole was 100 years old, and Los Ange
les gave him a banquet, at which, his
mind was alert as ever, he spoke.
He said, according to the Saturday
Evening Post, that he had only one mes
sage for those present, and that it was
impressed on through long experience:
namely, that human liberties were won
in this country at heavy sacrifice of
blood and fortune; that liberty is easi
ly lost; that we must fight again of nec
essary to keep it; that we must never
suffer any man to arrogate to himself
the powers of king, emperor or dicta
tor.
At that banquet was raul u. Hoti
man, now head of the Studebaker com
pany. Speaking in New York recently,
Mr. Hoffman recalled Senator Cole’s
statement, and said:
“We listened tolerantly because he
was an old man, but privately most of
us thought he was living in a world of
ideas belonging wholly to the past. . .
What did a nold man’s warning have
to do with us? We had just finished
making the world safe for democracy.
“I have thought of that address
a thousand times. The old senator was
not in his dotage. It was we who were
blind. Do I need to ask you to think of
the countries where in recent years
civil and religious liberty has vanished ?
Do I need to ask you to think of how
seriously at this moment those liberties
are in jeopardy in democratic coun
tries.
“Why are they in jeopardy? Be
cause of pressures operating against
free enterprise.
YOUR STAKE IN RAILROADS?
The railroad problem has long been
in the headlines. But it hasn’t been
there just because the public is inter
ested in the personal troubles of the
railroads. It has been there because of
the fact that every phase of our nation
al economic life is affected directly or
indirectly by railroad prosperity and
depression.
Are you a worker! 1 hen it s very
likely that the continued existence of
an expanding railroad industry is vital
to your job—the lines spend more than
a billion a year for supplies, and hund
reds of different kinds of businesses
get the orders.
Do you own a savings account or a
life insurance policy? Then the condi
tion of the railroads has a great deal
to do with the future safety of these
savings—banks and insurance compan
ies are among the largest holders of
railroad securities.
Are you a farmer? Then you look
to the railroads for quick, safe trans
port of perishables to distant markets.
The increased speed and efficiency of
freight transportation by rail has made
it possible for the orange raiser of Cali
fornia to sell his crop in New York, and
an early vegetable grower in the South
to sell his produce in the Middlewest.
Are you a manufacturer? Then
you may look to some railroad or other
for orders—and you certainly look to
the industry for the efficient service
that will carry your products to a buyer
thousands of miles away at a reasona
ble cost.
Are you a parent with children in
school? The railroad industry is one
of the largest payers of school taxes in
this country—taxes which would have
to be made up by higher levies on all
other property if the lines went bank
rupt or were socialized.
Are you a taxpayer? Again, you
have a vital interest in the railroads,
which are assessed tremendous sums
annually by all units of government,
and pay a good share of the taxes which
keep the government services of all
kinds going.
So it goes, throughout our entire
economic society. All the railroads ask
is a fair break with their competitors.
And gving them that fair break would
mean a better break for worker, man
ufacturer, farmer, investor—all of us.
-0O0
THE LOAF INSTEAD OF ,
_ CRUMB
Every so often some “expert” comes
forth with tihe detaijs of how some
particular person has been bamboozled
into buying the wrong kind of life in
surance, or spent his money for a con
tract in the expectation of getting
something he didn’t receive.
Scattered abuses of life insurance
can undoubtdly be found. But, and
here’s the real point—life insurance
has given the average policyholder
unrivaled service. It’s made it possible
for him to adequately provide for his
old age and protection of his depen
dents at a low monthly or annual cost.
It isn’t perfect-even as human beings
aren’t perfect but, and and large, it’s an
institution in which every American
can take pride. It stands as the loaf of
bread for the average man, instead of
the crumb.
-ouo
— MR MITCHELL’S BILL
Congressman Arthur W. Mitchell
of Illinois has introduced in Congress
a bill to amend the Interstate Com
merce Act so as to make it illegal for
a public carrier to discriminate against
passengers because of race, creed or
color. Such an amendment to the act is
both timely and necessary.
The Jim Crow Car has had a long
and unconstitutional existence. The re
actionary Interstate Commerce Com
mission has shown that it does not in
tend to protect the constitutional rights
of Negro citizens as interstate passen
gers by refusing to act favorably on the
case of illegal discrimination brought
by Mr. Mitchell against the Rock Is
lam.' Railroad. We need, therefore, such
an amendment as proposed by Mr.
Mitchell to end for all time the abom
inal Jim-Crow practices of public car
riers.
Negro organizations, such as the
NAAC-P and the National Negro Con
gress, will do well to give their full
support to our Negro Congressman
from Illinois in his effort to h?ve this
amendment enacted into law. To Mr.
Mitchell we owe our thanks for the
splendid fight he is waging against the
Jim Crow car. —Washington Tribune
aAa
V V/ V
MRS ROOSEVELT’S STAND FOR
DEMOCRACY
The resignation of Mrs. Franklin
D. Roosevelt from the Daughters of the
American Revolution because of its fla
grant discrimination against the great
Negro artist, Marian Anderson, wins
the immediate and wholehearted sup
port of every fair-minded American.
Thus did the First Lady of the Land
give a stinging and powerful protest
against this action of the DAR Tories;
and thus did she once more express the
progressive New Deal policies in de
fense of American democracy.
The reactionary DAR officialdom
recently denied Miss Anderson permis
sion to give a recital in their Washing
ton, D. C., auditorium on April 9 be
cause of her race. And the auditorium
is named (of all things!) Conlstitution
Hall. Shades of the 13th, 14th, and 15th
Amendments!
The DAR action was eagerly initi
ated by certain high school officials in
Washington who refused to accept a
transfer of her concert, thus showing
that American democracy is just as
alien to them as it is to the DAR react
ionaries. The whole un-American inci
dent has brought forth protests from
virtually every section of the American
people, especially from scores of distin
guished artists. They see in the ban an
insult not only to a distinguished Ne
gro artist, but to culture itself.
The protest of Mrs. Roosevelt is in
keeping with her recent action in call
ing for immediate eneactment of a fed
eral anti-lynching bill, and in the pro
gressive role she played in the historic
Southern Conference for Human Wel
fair, which met in Birmingham, Ala.
The women of America, in particular,
as well as the whole country, can again
applaud her stand as a true example of
the American democratic tradition.
--tJUU..
MARIAN ANDERSON
The Daughters of the American
Revolution, according to the daily
press, have refused to permit Marian
Anderson to sing before them at iheir
national convention in Washington, D.
C., presumeably because she is a Negro.
In order that history, and that the
record may be kept clear, the Daugh
ters are admonished to brush up on
their Revolutionary history for then
they will find that the first man to
meet death in the struggle for inde
pendence and freedom, was Crispus
Attacks, a Negro. He was killed when
the King’s redcoats fired into an as
sembllage of patriots on Boston Com
mon, protesting King George’s tyrany.
In refusing £o hear Marian Ander
son, the Daughters are showing a bi
gotted, narrow side which does not co
incide with their alleged patriotism.
Marian Anderson is possessed of a glo
rious voice; she is cultured & a charm
ing woman. She has appeared in many
important concerts and to heal her sing
should be a musical treat to any musie
lover. Culture has no class, creed or
coloi. In dishonoring Marian Anderson
the Daughters dishonor themselves.
—B., J«ck Le«
-0O0
BUYER’S GUIDE
by Clarence H. Peacock
The National Association Manu
facturers blame the policies of business
government and labor for retarding
recovery since 1932 and leading to the
sharp depression of 1937-38 in theia re
port on the Study of Depressions. This
was the first large-scale group study on
depression problems. The committee
consisted of fifty-two business leader*
and economists and their study extend
ed over eighteen month.
Some of the business policies con
tributing to the depression were listed
as follows. “Mistaken inventory poli
cies on the part of some industrie s, in
duced by the labor situation and fear
of inflations; also lack of appreciation
that while an increasing inventory may
be necessary where sales are high it
should be in lower ratio to sale*
volume.”
“Unwise consumer-credit j olicies
of many companies, resulting in an in
creased volume of unsound installment
selling.”
“Failure in many instances to devel
op satisfactory labor relationships bas
ed on mutual respect and cooperation ;
failure in many instances, where com
pany policies were sound, to convince
workers that this was the case.”
“Failure of business to sell itself
to the public, with explanation of it*
practices, obligations and contribution*
to national improvement.” 3
The following are a few of the gov- <
eminent policies and activities describ
ed as specific factors which operated!
as continuing, cumulative and combin
ed depressive elements.
Continued reliance upon the theory
that purchasing power can be created
or maintained by artificially fixing:
prices or by the artifical support of
wages rates, both without reference t<*
the output of goods and services.”
“An unsound relief program, which
removed administration from those
most familiar with the particular pro
blems involved; continued made workr
efforts in a way with undermined
morale of recipients and destroyed the
respect of the taxpayers. Although a
public works program in time of de
pression is in theory a sound economic
concept, and might be substantial bene
fit, the program carried out has been
ineffective and frequently wasteful irt
practice.” , • <
“Labor unrest resulting from the*
government’s labor policy, including:
the “false” assumption that employer
employe relations must lead to inevita
ble conflict, and largely one-sided and
biased administration of the National
Labor Relation Act.
Factors in the field of labor contri
buting to the depression were listed a&
follows: “Increasing number and sev
erity of strikes; insistence on wage
rates not related to productivity of
sidling prices to consumers, and break
ing of agreements.”
General factors contributing to the
depression were listed as; “Interna
tional difficulties; increase of artificial
restrictions on foreign trade effects of
foreign demand for war material upon
domestic prices; inadequate amount of
capital investment in the maintenance
and extension of production equip
ment, and price rigidities resultingp
from such factors as increase taxes,
labor restrictions and wage rates not
related to productivity.”
For greater economic security read
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tisements. y