LARGEST ACCREDITED NEGRO NEWSPAPER WEST OF CHICAGO AND NORTH OF KANSAS CITY -MEMBER OF THE ASSOCIATED NEGRO PRESS
Entered as Second-Class Matter at The Post office, Omaha, Nebraska, Saturday, February 15, 1941 OUR 13th YEAR, Number 48,—City Edition, 5fc Copy
Under Act of March 8, 1874—Business Phone: WE. 1517 j, j ’
WP A. Foreman Turns Man Back Without A Chance
s> Lycurgus C. Curry, 2612 Corby Sc.,
was refused the opportunity to work
as a Senior clerk as he had been as
signed by the WPA. office. Curry re
ports that upon reporting for work he
was asked by the foreman of the pro
ject if he had ever worked as a mater
ial clerk on WPA. Curry answered no
that he had not. The foreman then
told Curry to go back to the WPA. of
fice and be reassigned as a laborer—'
Curry, who has had three years at
Morehouse University and One year at
Omaha University Law School, asked
Morrissey to write the request out,
which he did and asked Curry to take
■ I '■ ■■■■■■■■ I
LECTURER IN LAW
SILAS E. GARNER, recently ap
pointed lecturer in law in the Lin
coln University School of Law, St.
Louis, Mo., Mr. Garner is a for
mer president and veteran mem
ber of the Mound City (St. Louis)
Bar Association.
«wr ' v’ T-V* —TTi
NEGRO TO BE
REPRES’NTED
”—SECY. STIMSON
PROPORTIONATE NUMBER
WILL SERVE IN ARMY
Washington, D. C.( Feb- Secre
tary of War Stimson today told a
delegtaion from the American
Youth Congress that “the colored
population will be represented Ly
its proportionate representation in
the United States army.”
Stimson gave an impromptu talk
to pickets who paraded in front
of the war department with plac
ards charging ‘‘Jim Crow” discrim
ination against Negro troops.
He told the youths they ought
first “to be sure of the facts.”
“I am the first secretary of war”
he said, “to have appointed a col
ored officer to be a brigadier gen
eral in the United States army,
that is, Brig. Gen. Benjamin O.
Davis
* I am the second secretary of
war who has appointed a colored
person as civilian aide to the sec
retary of war. And finally I am
now starting the organization of a
pursuit squadron to be composed
of colored personnel, including pil
ots”
The squadron, he explained
would be organized and trained at
Tuskegee, Ala. Training of some
of its personnel already has been
started by the civil aeronautics
authority he added.
******
NEGRO APPOINTED TO
NAVAL ACADEMY
Chicago, 111., Fefo. 10—Appoint
ment of Charles Toussant Gadson,
jr-, 18, a Negro, to the United
States Naval Academy at Annap
olis, Md. was announced today
The youth, a graduate of Tilden
Tech in 1939, and now a sopho
more at the Illinois institute of
Technology, was appointed by Ar
thur W. Mitchell, Negro congress
man from the First Illinois dis
trict
Neprro Machinists Employed At D C. Navy Yards
Washington, Feb., 11 (ANP> —1
Progress in the fight against dis
crimination against Negro skilled
workers in the U- S- Navy yards
was noted this week in the employ
m'ent of more than a score of Ne
gro machinists at the Washington
Navy yard following their gradua
tion from the apprentice school
here.
At the same timet it was learned
that between 15 and 20 more Ne
gro wiorkers have been accepted as
trainees in the apprentice school.
Following graduation, they are ex
pected to receive immediate em
ployment in the Washington Navy
yard as machinists third grad®.
The banning of Negro trainees
from both private and government
owned ship and navy yard appren
tice schools has been protested by
Negro organizations in various
parts of the country. These pro
tests have been made to the Na
tional Defense Advisory commis
sion ,and the problem has been
turned over to Dr. Robert C. Wea
ver, administrative assistant in the
division of labor supply.
Negro enrollees at the \\ asli
ington Navy yard credited part of
their success in finishing th* ap
prentict course and receiving civil
service appointments to the direc
tor of the apprentice scho
'‘Once the bans were broken
down and we were permited to en
ter,” one of them explained, ‘‘the
director protected us from any un
fair charges of incompetency
which were made by piejudiced su
pervisors”
The success in the Washington
Navy yard is expected to inspire
other local groups 'to continue to
fight against bans in other private
and government owned ship and
navy yards. The pay scale of th©
machinist is from $7.48 to $8.11
per day in the Washington Navy
yard
McReymlds Leaves
Supreme Court Bench
Washington, D. C—Associate
Justice, James C. McReynolds who
was one of the few remaining mem
bers of the so-called conservative
group on the High bench of the
Supreme Court, retired Feb. 1. He
is 79 and has served since 1914.
The above picture was made in
1939.
SEE AND HEAR MR. W. M
KUNOLD
ir his travels through Mexico
and South America with moving
pictures in Technicolor with two
comedies included. This is some
thing very unusual and if you fai'
to attend you will miss a treat.
p
PLANS DENTAL MEET
Dr. M. D Wiseman of Wash
ington D- C., chairman prog
ram committee of the Nationul
Dental association, who presid
es at a meeting in Richmond,
Va-, Feb. 22, where plans will
be laid for the annual conven
tion of the dentists which will
be held in the Virginia city
August 11-15.
ANP)
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This picture will be shown at Ueth
cl A ME. church Thursday, Feor
"arv 20. 1941 at 8 p. nt- under the
auspices of Captain No. I, Mr. H
I*. ; ml ley. Don't miss this g^nsu
aortal picture
WISCONSIN
SOLDIERS
WORRY
LOUSIANIANS
Alexandria, La., Feb- 11 (ANP)
Considerable difficulty is being ex
perienced by authorities in regul
ating the conduct of soldiers in
the 32nd division of the national
guard which is encamped at Camp
Beauregard here.
Members of the 32nd are from
Wisconsin and have for the most
part had limited contact with col
ored people or, for that matter,
with urban conditions anywhere.
For the most part they are free of
prejudice.
This fact was s® pronounced,
that when they first arrived in
camp, leading local white citizens
called upon a prominent Negro cit
izen to ask him to use his influence
with the colored girls of the town
so as to prevent their parading a
bout the streets of the city on the
arms of the white soldiers. The
white group contended that in the
first place it was bound to lead to
racial trouble and in the second
place it showed lack of pride in the
young colored men of the town
when the Negro girls would des
ert them so easily- No comment
was made about the white girls
who flocked about the vicinity of
the camp.
I Taking advantage of the inclin
ations of the northern youth, var
ious immoral establishments are
said to have sprung up. The re
sults has been a shower of tele
grams and letters from parents
and citizens in Wisconsin, direct
ed to their senators and congress
men and to military officials here
at Camp Beauregard, protesting
that houses of prostitution which
have been permitted to spring up
must be closed.
The military authorities have
posted notices governing the con
duct of the guardsmen but insists
that they have no jurisdiction over
the civil community. City author
ities at Alexandria have been fore
BROTHERHOOD WINS PAY
INCREASE FOR CNW PORTERS
-(,
FORMER BANK OFFICIAL IS
FIRST NEGRO GRAND JURY
FOREMAN
New York (C New York County
got its first Negro foreman of a
Grand Jury when Robert P. Brad
d'cks, former Harlem bank offic
ial ana now connect!u with the Ser
vice Department of New York’s
new oaily newspaper PM” was
sworn in Tuesday, Feb. 5th. Dis
tr.et Attorney Thomas E. Dewey
worked to have Braddieks appoint
ed.
uiiinuinimi»iunninii!!iiiiiuui8uimu!imniiii!:i!i:;^[iu(iiAiiii.,mitne.iiiii:iiiiiiiit
ed Into the position ofa declaring
their town “entirely moral.’’ In
the meantime the war department
is seeking to develop additional
recreational facilities within camp
so as to keep the soldiers more
contented in their own environs.
GEN. DAVIS TO
TAKE OVER
THIS WEEK
Washington. Feb. 11 (ANP) —
Branding false all statements to
the contrary, Brig. Gen. Benjamin
C. Davis, spending a couple of
days in Washington, declared he
v.*as on his way at present to Ft.
Riley, Kans., where he would take
ommand of the brigade of caval
ry regiments there this week.
Calling Gen Davis’ attention to
an article appearing in the curr
ent issue of News-Week which
states:
“Gen. Davis, due to retire next
•June after 43 years service, is now
on leave and rumors at Fort Riley
have hinted that he may never ac
tually take over the command”
The General said he was travel
ing leisurely, but he was supposed
to report to the new command at
the end of the past week.
Many stories concerning tiener
al Davis have appeared since his
promotion and appointment but
for the most part, he has ignored
all of them, particularly those with
reference to the ill feeling of Ne
gro soldiers toward him.
At the time of his command of
the 369th regiment in New Yor.i,
Gen. Davis was one of the most
popular men ever to official'' in
that capacity and many of the
members of the crack regiment
freely expressed themselves as say
ing they had never soldiered, al
though they had been members °f
the outfit for a number of years,
until the colored colonel took over
the command. There was no ill
feeling among the enlisted men con
cerning Col. Davis and they felt
that the regiment had been better
ed
In this particular regiment, Col.
Davis had the cooperation and ftill
support of an entire staff of Ne
gro officers, whereas in his new
assignment as Gen. Davis he will
have only one colored officer and
that "will be his son. The new
command is to be known as the
Fourth Cavalry brigade> composed
of Negro troops with white offic
ers, excepting of course, his son,
and personal aide, Capt. Benjamin
O. Davis, Jr.
TO CALL 110 PHYSICIANS
WITHIN 60 DAYS
Washington. Feb. 11 (ANF) —
Following through on its recent
announcement that Negro physic
ians would be called for service,
the war department issued an or
der that 110 physicians would be
called within the next 60 days toi
active service at Fort Devens;
J The Brotherhood of Sleeping
Car Porters has just concluded the
negotiation of wage agreement
with the Chicago and Northwest
ern railroad, involving buffet car.
coach and parlor car porters, that
secured for them increases in pay
ranging from $13-60 for In charge
buffet car porters to $20 for in
charge supervising porters per
month.
The agreement committee con
sisted of A. Philip Randolph, In
ternational President, M. P Wcb
ster, 1st International Vice Presi
dent, and Theodore Brown, one of
the members of the porter person
nel of the carrier.
The settlement of the dispu’e be
tween the railroad and the Broth
erhood was affected by Mr. John
F. Murray, one of the mediators of
the National Mediation Board.
niillllllHIIIIIIMlM
Fort Bragg N. C.; and Ft. Living
ston, La.
WILLIAM PICKENS TO SPEAK
BEFORE COLLEGE
CONVOCATIONS
Pittsburgh, Feb. 11 (ANP1 —
Washington and Jefferson col
lege in Western Pennsylvania, h*s
invited William Pickens, NAACP
director of branches, to speak be
fore “convocation’ of all students
and faculties, it was learned here
this week- Exact date of the meet
ing has not been set but it will be
held the latter part of April or the
first week in May.
According to the college chap
lain this will mark the third time
Dean Pickens has appeared there
for the convocation address. In
•June the dean will also speak for
the Institute of International Rela
tions in Wichita, Kans and in the
city of Grinnell, Iowa. Vice
President Henry A Wallace is
sponsor of the Institute of th-; In
ternational Relations.
During his long spring-summer,
cross-country jaunt, Pickens will
address meetings at NAACP
branches in New England, Penns
ylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Illinois,
Missouri and Kansas. Enroute he
will address some of the biggest
U. S. forums, including the Ch;c
ago Educational council and others
in‘Milwaukee, Detroit and Cincin
nati.
April 23 26, Dean Pickens will
go to the University of Missouri
at Columbus, for several seminars
with the Missouri Association for
Social Welfare.
SENATOR LODGE CITES DIS
FRANCHISEMENT AS DEFECT
IN PRESENT SYSTEM
Washington, D- C—In a state
ment read into the Congressional
Record of January 31, by Senator
Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr., Republic
an from Massachusetts, in support
of a joint resolution introduced by
him calling for a constitutional a
mendment to provide for the pop
ular election of the President and
Vice President of the United Stat
es, disfranchisement of the Negro
is cited as one of the defects in the
present electoral college sys'em.
Citing seven other defect^ in the
present system, Senator Lodge
concludes with the following state
ment:
‘‘The eighth defect is the tend
ency of the present system to d’s
franehise the Negro. Under a
system in which no minority votes
are counted, there is scant incen
tive to bring out the Negro vote
Under a system wSiere all minority
votes are counted there is reasor
to call forth a wider public partic
ipation in government, because ev
en though a voter is in the min >r
Announcing
TO OPEN
THE MID CITY
BREAD SHOP
Get your bread, cakes, pies_ rolls
both fresh and day old from <he
Mid-City Bread Shop, which will
open in the Omaha Guide Building
2422 Grant Street in the near fut
ure. Convenience and economy
combine to give the moat and best
service. Watch for opening
..
-wie message to the assignment
clerk at the WPA office. Cuiry
returned to the WPA. office for
further assignment but did not
produce the note from Morrissey.
Curry waitet four days for assign
ment and did not receive one. Fin
ally he turned Morrisseys note and
his assignment slip over to Arthur
B. McCaw the President of the
Omaha branch of the NAACP and
explained his plight.
McCaw called Raymond Brown
of the Omaha Urban League and
S. E. Gilbert of the Omaha Star,
both of whom are members of the
NAACP-, to serve on a committee
to wait on Mr. Tietsort, Personal
Director at the WPA., who explain
ed that his office would not be able
to give any information regarding
the matter until he firs> talked to
Mike Morrissey, foreman. At the
time the committee was leaving
the office, Mr. Curry was handed
a notice to report for work at 24th
and Pratt St., as a clerk. A photo
static reproduction of Morrissey’s
note and Curry’s assignment were
secured by the NAACP. AND
?ARE REPRODUCED BELOW
Editors Note: The irony of this story is that in the
note Morrissey wrote, note his spelling of the word,
“Acceptable”.
KC. AME, GROUP EXPRESSES
CONFIDENCE IN WILLIAMS
--
ity in his own state, he may not be
in a minority nationally.
“BIRTH OF A NATION
CLOSEI) FOLLOWING
NAACP. PROTEST
New York—Following vigorous
protest by the national office and
New York branch of the NAACP.
and other interested groups and
individuals, the showing of “The
Birth of a Nation” at the Ambas
sador Theatre here was terminat
ed tw'o days ago.
The picture was scheduled for a
p revue benefit performance for
‘ Bundles for Britain” on February
3, but upon the urging of the NA
ACP. and other Negro civic groups
“The Birth of a Nation” was not
shown, and "Four Feathers” was
substituted in its stead.
Walter White, secretary of the
National Association for the Ad
vancement of Colored People, was
informed by a telegram from Bun
dles for Britain, Inc., that it had
cancelled its acceptance of this
benefit showing “because of its
sympathy and respect for the col
ored people of America.”
Kansas City,Mo., Feb. 11 <ANP
Support and '‘unlimtied confidence
in and with” Bishop Noah W. Wil
liams of the AME. church, ha*
been expressed by the AME. Min
isterh Alliance of Greater Kansas
City \dhose Missouri branch is
headed by the Rev. F. F. Moten,
and whose Kansas branch is head
ed by the Rev. J. Edward Foster.
Rev. S- S. Frazier serves as secre
tary for the entire group.
Resolutions giving their approv
al of the prelate were adopted by
this group because of a fight a
gainst Bishop Wiliams by a small
group of laymen in California,
who want him removed from off
ice.
Declaring that they are ‘‘unarn
imously convinced as to the good
will, sincere intentions, and sound
wisdom of our present episcopal
head,” the Kansas Citians resolved
that “we express ourselves as be
ing unequivocally with the admin
istration to the extent that we
shall defend his episcopal author- 4
ity when and wherever it i3 nec
j essaiy”.
