‘ 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, Omaha, Nebraska, Saturday, February 22, 1941 OUR 13th YEAR—No. 19, City Editi»:n, 5c Copy
Under Act of March 8, 1874—Business Phone: WE. 1517_* ’ _.J * __ *
Attv-Gen. Jackson Orders Bar Library Open To Negroes
“This Actual Mingling Together In
Work Is Real Democracy, Not Lip
Service To Democracy ’’...Lockwood
Address of Paul E. Lockwood, Executive Assistant
District Attorney on The Staff of Thomas E. Dewey,
At the Third Annual Line. ln and Douglas Commun
ity Program of the New York City Branch of Nat'l
Alliance of Postal Employees at the Abyssinian Bap
tist Chucrh, 132 West 138th Street, New York City,
on Sunday, February 9,1941.
It is a real privilege fo®* me to come here and
meet with so manv »n and women of the postal ser
vice. I mean mat very sincerely. My father spent
forty-five years of his life in the New York Post of
fice. So the fine spirit of the postal service is in my
blood.
My earliest recollections of the New York Post
Office date back nearly thirty-five years. My fath
er's office was Room 5 in the old General Post office
on Park Row. Among his associates and fellow work
ers in that room were three men. One was Billy
Greene, a Negro. Another was an American Indian.
The third was Henry Lippman, a Jew. At that time
I was too young to realize that each of them repres
ented one of the great minorities in American life.
In the tradition of the postal service, they worked to
gether in harmony andlfriendship and understand
ing.
After my father’s passing, I lost track of these
men. Some years later, my name was published in a
long list of those who had passed the ibar examina
tion in this state. I received one letter of congratu
lation. It was frtm Billy Greene, the colored Postal
employee who had worked beside my father for so
long. I treasure that letter.
So when your president, Mr. Evans ,invited me
to speak here on this Lincoln-Douglas Day, I thought
of the lesson in practical democracy that I learned in
the old post office building. It was—that under our
American system, men of every race and color and
creed can and do wiork together for their well-being
and happiness.
In fact, the rich traditions ot the Postal bervice
have given it an outstanding position among govern
mental agencies. The fact that members of all races
work together without friction in the Postal Service
disproves one thing conclusively. It destroys the
claim of certain elements in America that Negroes
cantnot be -given fair .opportunity in our industrial
life because persons of other r^ces do not wish to
work beside the colored man. The lesson of the post
al service must be taught everyone.
This actual mingling together in work is real
democracy, not lip service to democracy.
freedom means more than political freedom.
Today we realize more than ever that it means eco
nomic freedom as well. And the problem of economic
freedom for the colored American citizen is one of
the gravest problems of our times.
Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglas whom
we honor today, fought mightily for the full freedom
of all American citizens. If we would be faithful to
the ideals of these men symbolizes we must insure to
all our citizens, colored as well as white, full econom
ic freedom and opportunity.
I do not need to outine the problem. Each of you
knows it better than I do. What is most important is
the attitude of all our people in reaching its solution.
Industrial employment is moving upward. Un
happily this is due to a great international tragedy.
Industries are expanding with a rush. Factories are
being put up almost over night. Shipyards are re-op
ening. Mechanics and technicians are being trained
on every side. All this while a great nation seeks to
re-arm and protect itself against totalitarian aggrcs
sion.
This drive to achieve maximum preparedness
(Continued on page 2
! ELECTED
Rev. Wendell C. Somerville, who
was elected full time executive
j secretary of the Lott Carey Bap
tist Foreign Mission convention at
the recent convention in Washing
ton, D. C-, A graduate of Shaw
and Oberlin he will have his head
I
quarters in the capitol city.
(ANP Photo)—
COFFEY SAYS PROPOSED
BLACK SQUADRON AT
TUSKEGEE
NOTHING
MORE THAN
A GLORIFIED
CIVIL TRAIN
ING COURSE
CHICAGO—The plan to set up
a jim -crow air squadron which
would exclude Negroes from train
ng offered at Kelly Field, popular
ly known as the “Wset Point of
Air” is even more ridiculous than
the policy which calls for separate
units in the army and navy, yet
permits Negroes to attend either
West Point or Annapolis.
This was the substance of re
marks made this week by Co'mel
ius R. Coffey, president of the Na
tional Airmen’s association after
»
he had been informed of the stand
taken by Walter White, executive
secretary of the National Associa
tion for the Advancement of Col
ored People in support of the nit
men’s position.
Coffey, president of the associat
ion which has consistently fought
for the integration of Negroes in
to the air corps without regard to
race, declared that the proposed
black squadron at Tuskegee as
outlined can be nothing more than
a glorifiedcivi 1 training course.
According to Coffey, Negroes
under the proposed setup will be
required to finance themselves
during certain periods of their
training, whereas white youths are
not only given subsistence by the
government, but are paid $75 mon
thly from enrollment to complet
ion of course.
Secondly, he pointed out( that in
spite of statements by the War
department to the contrary, it is
Impossible to train at Tuskcgee,
even though beter facilities are
provided, flyers who can compare
with the graduates of Kelly Field
in Texas.
Before the army will commis
sion an air cadet, he said a candi
date must go through a period of
rigid training at Kely Field which
is perhaps the best equipped train
ing field in the world. If Negro
es are denied access to its facilit
ies, and they will be under the
present plan, it will be impossible
for them to compete with the
whites.
SABU NEXT IN KIPLIN'S
“JUNGLE BOOK”
Hollywood, Calif., (C' That en
ticing youngster( Sabu, is to be
starred in Alexander Korda’s for
thcoming production of Rudyacd
Kiplings ’“Jungle Book”, (the fav
Date Set For Texas “White
Primary” Case Conference
ARMY TO PLACE FORTY FIVE
NEGRO CHAPLAINS
Washington, Feb. 17 (ANP) —(
Forty-five Negro chaplains will
bo needed in the army when *he
full strength of our fighting forc
es are placed afield, said Col. W'l
liam R. Arnold, chief of chaplains
in an exclusive interview with the
Associated Negro Press Thursday
morning.
Ranking as first lieutenants,
with pay rate at $2,000 per year
for the duration of the emergency
tjiese positions offer an excellent
opportunity for the right kind of
man, Col. Arnold said.
One of the innovations instituted
in the new army is a chaplain and
a chapel for every 2,000 men or
regiment- In one of the huge
army cantonemeuts, there are 55
chapels—where almost every re
ligious denomination in the army
can find spiritual comfort.
Selection of the chaplains will
necessarily be based upon the ap
plicant's physical fitness to stay
with the troops and to actually
serve the men under wartime con
ditions.
“The job, as we see it," said Col.
Arnold, himself a Catholic with 27
years army experience to his cred
it, ‘‘means more than just holding
a service of an hour on Sunday. It
neans daily gatherings and work
ing closely with the men giving
them the advice they need and the
encouragement they demand.
“I am happy,” he continued ihat
we got the w'ar department to sep
arate the morale division work
from the religious work. True, no
person is better fitted to carry on
welfare work than a chaplait^ but
why saddle him with the responsi
bility of entertainments, recreution
and religious activities, when he
can be a greater asset as a work
er with the welfare man than as a
welfare man.
“One of the things a number oi
citizens can do in their communit
ies, which will be of help to the
army, especially those ministers
who are over the age limit of 42
years, is to help clean up the com
munities adjacent to the camps
where so much harm is done the
army- The army itself never harm
ed a man, but many a man has
come into the army who was not
fit to be in it And the commun
ities adjacent to the army camps
are the spots where missionary
work needs to be done.”
When the information first seep
ed out through letters to various
institutions concerning the avail
ability of well trained men to fill
these jobs different denominat
ions immediately got busy to see if
their group would be called upon
to supply the necessary chaplains.
According to a religious survey
made by the census bureau, some
70 percent of the Negroes survey
ed were Baptists, with the remain
ing 30 percent distributed among
31 denominations, excluding Cath
olics, who are said to have some
600,000 included in their midst.
This makes an interesting prob
lem for the chief of chaplains, who
will beseiged with letters from re
ligious ednominations asking for
apportionment according to their
representation in the census.
However, Col. Arnold emphatic
ally declared that if a sufficient
number of Catholics were found in;
a division (several regiments,) a
Catholic chapel would be built for
them and a Catholic priest provid
ed. And that well may happen
In other instances, he said, es
pecially among the Protestants,
orite with the kiddies- Lawrence
Stallings and Zoltan Korda ave
nearly done with the screen play
I
there is a division there, where one
group uses a ritual and another
group does not. The minister of
the ritualistic group can conduct
services for the informal group,
but the minister of the informal
group cannot conduct services for
the ritualistic group, although he
can go part way in giving talks
and preaching sermons, but he
cannot administer communion and
such other beliefs of the creed.
One commanding officer said
the colonel, in a big southern camp
has askt'd that no northern chap
lain be sent for the colored troops
in his outfit. There is a general
misunderstanding created when
this is done and the northern chap
lains do not fit into the scheme
with the men as do the southern
chaplains who according to the be
lief, are well schooled i nthe rac
ial aspects in their sections.
At present in the regular army
there are three colored chaplains
and from the reserves there cam«
four chaplains, leaving a big de
ficit to be supplied.
Quietly, but effciiently Col. Ar
nold is working with the religious
Institutions seeking the type of
men they need for this work in the
army, and although he deplores
the fact that most of the men will
be new in the work, he feels that
great good will be done when the
final selections are made and ’he
men are placed in their respective
camps with their respective units
BLEDSOE, FRIEND OF It VCE,
NEW ASST. SECRETARY OF
AGRICULTURE
Washington, Febr. 17 (ANP) —
Back in 1939 when the ANP was
establishing a foothold in Wash
ington, one of the finest friends
the organization had, and one of
the finest friends the Negro rate
had in agricult ure( was Samuel
Bledsoe, a native of Memphis. It
was Mr. Bledsoe who arranged
bhe first interview with a presi
dential possibility that the ANP.
secured when he managed this with
the now vice president, Henry A.
Wallace.
As a member of the department
of information in agriculture, Mr.
Bledsoe had his finger on the pulse
of a great many things. And
thru his outstanding efficiency In
that organization, and the great
work he did on his job, his many
friends are happy to know that be
ginning April 1, Mr. Bledsoe will
be assistant secretary of agricult
ure. This promotion insures the
continuance of the many benefits
Negroes have had through agricul
ture and further assures them a
“friend in court.”
NORTH CAROLINIAN OBTAINS
AWARD OF $14,000 DAMAGES
Goldsboro, N. C., Feb. 17 (ANP
A $14,000 judgement was awarded
Jesse W. Jackson against his land
lord, Will Parks, for allegedly
twice wrongfully placing hint in
the State Hospital for the Colored
Insane and for prosecuting hint
for larceny without probable cause
Jackson sued for $50,000.
The jury which awarded the
judgement against Parks deliber
ated for two hours after hearing
the case for an entire week- The
plaintiff presented numerous wit
nesses who testified that Jackson
appeared mentally normal before,
during, and after his stay in the
hospital- The defendant offered
witnesses who testified that Jack
son spoke of hearing voices, that
he could turn the Little River in
to blood, that he had peanuts he
claimed he could sell for $50 a
5 Houston, Texas—Acting under
the new federal rules of civil pro
cedure, Judge T. M- Kennerly, of
the United States District Court
here has set February 24 as the
date for holding a preliminary
| conference in the forthcoming
court action against the Texas
I “white Primary,’’ which is being
fought by the National Associat
ion for the Adavancement of Col
ored People.
The NAACP. on January 16, fil
ed a case here on behalf of Sidney
Hasgett, a Negro voter who was
denied the right to vote in the De
mocratic primary last year. The
association seeks $10,000 damages
on the ground that the 16th am
endment to the Constitution has
been violated. Thurgood Marshall
special NAACP. counsel is expect
ed to come here in time for the
opening of the case. Other NAA
CP. lawyers working in the case
include: W. J. Durham, of Sherm
an, Texas; William H. Hastie,
Leon A. Ransom, James N. NuL
rit, and Robert Ming, Jr., ail mem
bers of the association’s national
legal committee. /
piece, and that he ofered high-sal
aried jobs to officials of the state,
hospital.
ASSAIL CITY
FOR POLICY
RACKETS
Chicago, Feb. 18 (ANP) ‘‘Policy
is milking the community of mil
lions of dollars annually’^ declar
ed Frazier T. Lane, spokesman for
the Law Enforcement committee, ai
group of South Side citizens rep
resenting 160 business, civic and
religious organizations participat
ing in the drive against policy.
City authorities were charged
with failing to curb vice and law
lessness on the South Side, and
Lane said that “members of the
commission have made plans for
carrying the fight, if necessary, to
the United States attorney gener
al.”
The spokesman said too, that
complaints aired at the latest con
ference of the commission charged
the police with laxity and the
judges with too much leniency in
handling gambling cases. He al
so announced that a mass meeting
and luncheon will take place Feb
28 to press the campaign against
policy.
Washington, Feb. 17 (ANP) —
Atty.. Gen. Robert Jackson last
week warned the District Bar as
sociation white, that its library's
closed doors were to be open to
Negro lawyers beginning April 1.
Mr. Jackson acted after the bar
association last December had re
jected a compromise giving Ne
groes the usd of separate rooms ;n
the U. S. District Court building,
where the library is located- The
bar association, immediately upon
receiving Jackson’s orders, called
a meet, ig of its ooard of directors
Mr. Jackson wrote President
Francis W. HUI of the bar associa
tion that the association’s court
house space and facilities must be
made available to all members of
the bar” without discrimination on
account of race, color, religion or
sex.’’
Colored attorneys have long been
working to breakdown the library
handicap. Judges who have rec
ognized the handicap often have
sent for books needed by Negro
trial lawyers
Last year, Huver L. Brown, a col
ored lawyer^ filed a formal com
plaint charging that the ban was
unconstitutional, only to lose the
case- However, it brought atten
tion to the situation and as a result
Jackson issued the order eliminat
ing a closed library for whites only
in the District Court building.
FIRST LADY
WILL TESTIFY
AT SENATE HEARING ON
DISCRIMINATION IN NATL.
DEFENSE
New York—Mrs. Franklin D.
Roosevelt, Philip Murray, presid
ent of the Congress of Industrial
Organizations, A. Philip Randolph,
president of the Brotherhood of
Sleeping Car Porters, and Lester
Granger, assistant executive sec
retary of the National Urban Lea
gue wil be among the prominent
witnesses to testify at a prelimin
ary Senate hearing to investigate
discrimination against Negroes in
National Defense, the National As
sociatfon for the Advanacement of
Colored People announced today.
The hearing, according to the
NAACP^ia scheduled to take place
In Washington, D. C. just prior to
♦ he introduction of a resolution in
the Senate calling for an investi
gation of discrimination against
the Negro in the government’s na
tional defense program. Introduc
tion of the resolution which is be
ing sponsored by several senators
has been held up because of the
illness of Senator Robert Wagner
of New York, Who with Senator
Warren Barbour, of New Jersey,
is taking the lead in organizing
the plans for pushing the resolu
tion.
INK SPOTS TO
BE GUESTS OF
BING CROSBY
New York (C) The Ink Spots,
one of Bing Crosbys pet guests are
going to appear on the crooner’s
broadcast, Feb. 27th. But just
now, Bing is a little worried as to
what to have them sing. Witn
ASCAP-BMI war, still raging, the
foursome can’t do any of their best
known hits, as ‘‘If I Did Not Care”
and “Melancholy Bab|r’\ Guess
they’ll have to swing “Jeanie vi!th
the Light Brown Hair”. One more
time won’t hurt!!
This map shows how Eire is on
the alert for Nazi invasion should
Germany wish to use Ireland as a
jumping: off place for an attack on
England- Since the bombing of
Dublin the tension has been in
creased throughout Ireland.
