Police Brutality Brings About Sweeping Investigation (Special to the Guide from N.i AACP news service)—The follow ing is a compdte story of the ac tion by the aroused Negro citizens of Kansas City who are battling to bring about a clean up of the po lice department there. In spite of Missouri Governor Forrest Donn ell’s apparent interest in their charges, the police board attempt ed to excuse each instance of bru tality in its report to he Govern or, and the fight continues. This story is written by Miss Lucille Bluford, managing editor of the Kansas City, (Mo.) Call. Charlotte Crump, Publicity and Promotion. KANSAS CTY, Mo.—The camp aign against police brutality being waged here by Negro citizens, led C1HNS0N DRUG CO. 1 NEW LOCATION 2306 North 24th1 e. 0998 Free Delive pn TRY HARRIS’ GROCERY WE SPECIALIZE IN MEATS VEGETABLES, HARDING’S ICE CREAM —OPEN SUNDAYS— 6 A. M. TO 10:30 P- M. 5302 SO. 30th ST. MA-0741 Free Delivery from 8 a. m. to 1a.m. JA. 9411 McGILL’S — BAR & BLUE ROOM E. McGill, Prop. 2423-25 NORTH 24th St. WINE, LIQUORS, and CIGARS Blue Room Open 8 p. m. to 1 a. nt> Open for Private Parties from 2 to 7 p. m. —No Charges— . WE SPECIALIZE IN MIXED DRINKS. WE CARRY A FULL LINE OF BONDED LIQUORS by the Kansas City NAACP branch, has brought about a sweep ing investigation by polce ing investgation of police methods and administration with Governor Forrest C. Donnell conducting the probe. In the midst of the invest igation, Chief of Polire Lear B. Reed, former FBI. agent from Georgia, resigned rather than be questioned on the conduct of his officers. The governor, who is directly re sponsible for the actions of the state controlled police department, ordered the investigation as the di rect result of a conference August 22 with a delegation of 23 Negro Kansas Chians who motored to the state capiitol at Jefferson City to give him a report of brutality, oppression and mistreatment suf fered by Negro citizens at the hands of police officers ever since the present police administration took control tWo years ago. The delegation, headed by Attor ney Carl R. Johnson, branch pres ident, also acquainted the gover nor with the fact that the number of Negro police officers in Kansas City has been drastically reduced during the Reed administration A{ter studying the complaints made by Negro citizens, Governor Donnell, Republican, who has been in office only a few months, ord ered the Kansas City board of po lice commissioners to make a ull explanation of the charges of brutality and reduction of Negro personnel. POLICE BOARD “WHITE WASHES” OFFICERS In response, the four man board prepared a 44 page report which it sent to the governor August 30 in an attempt to “white wash” the charges made by the NAACP. and to exonerate all police officers who have been guilty of beating, kicking, insulting and even killing Negroes, as in the case of Harris on J. Ware, who was shot to death July 26 by two police officers dur ing a raid on an alleged gambl ing place, Ware was defenseless and unarmed and stood numerous I "n ■■■■IF ■—i “IT PAYS TO LOOK WELL” MAYO’S BARBER SHOP Ladies and Children’s Work A Specialty 2422 LAKE ST. f -“=11= . We Offer for Your Approval 'A Complete Curtain Service and Another thing,— Have Your Dry Cleaning Done Now! —Cash and Carry Discounts— EDHOLM&SHERMAN 2401 North 24th Street WE. 6055 DARING! SENSATIONAL! DIFFERENT! 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BUHIH931flt8BflIIIII1lt!111UiiBlttl]]il8ffi!8M!9n8i^BSiHtl!UnnRWBBnB kicks and blows before he attempt ed to defend himself by trying to hit one of the officers with a pool ball. The report of the commissioners not only found no fault with the action of the police but accused Negro citizens of ‘‘brutal action tow*ard police officers.” The re port stated that there are “a large number of instances in which Ne groes without justifiable cause at tacked police officers,” and that) “there is a tendency among the larger percentages of Negroes to resist arrest and to attempt to do bodily harm to the officer making the arrests.” The police commissioners also! told the governor that ‘‘members of the Negro community of Kan sas City have been led to exagger ate and overemphasize some iso lated instances of misjudgement or even misconduct on the part of a few police officers of Kansas City” JUSTIFIES QUESTIONING LIGHT WOMEN WITH DARK ESCORTS One of the most damaging state ments ever made here by public officials against law-abiding cit izens was made in the police com missioners’ report “white wash ing” the action of police during the three Greek letter convention held in Kansas City last Christ mas. Negro citizens complained when officers insulted Negro Wo men who were light enough in com plexion to be mistaken for white women. They were stopped and questioned when seen in the comp any of their darker skinned hus bands. The police board justified the po lice officers action by telling the Governor “There were four instances complained of in which policemen had stopped and questioned dele gates who were either riding or walking with women who had ev ery appearance of! being w(hite women- On these occasions the officers, upon becoming suspicious and having no way to determine whether or not the women were white women, stopped both the man and woman and questioned them, but we were unable to est ablish that any force was used by officers, that anyone was struck or abused or even that anyone was very seriously discommoded. One of the men stopped under these circumstances was the delegate who was head of the convention and the woman whom he was with was a colored woman to whom he had been married for many years, but she had every appearance of being a white woman. The board considered the incidents compris ing this part of their complaint as unfortunate but in no case do they think that the facts justified any criticism of the officer involved for misconduct. “The whole trouble in connect ion with this convention seems to have been caused by agitation by those who have a motive in creat ing a situation of unrest.” NAACP ASKS OUSTER OF BOARD The report of the police comm issioners was -vigorously attacked by the NAACP. in a letter sent to the governor on Thursday, Sep tember 4, urging him to oust the entire board of commissioners and replace it with “officials who can end will command the respect of all the citizens.” The NAACP. letter expressed the view that the police board “has failed completely in its efforts to justify its acts or those of its de partment. If we are to under stand that it admits or concedes no wrong and is willing to stand on its past record of excessive and aggravated abuses of colored peo ple, it means that Negroes under its administration will continue to suffer persecution, brutality and -abuse.” On the issue of police question BUY YOUR— POULTRY AT THE NEBRASKA PRODUCE 2204-6 NORTH 24th ST. Get the Best in Quality at the NEBRASKA PRODUCE Lowest Price PHONE WE. 4]37 COAL Lowest Coal Prices AND LOOK NO EXTRA CHARGES ON HALF TON 2408 Lake St. AT. 7225 i.» • light colored women, the NA ACK said: ‘‘The board report ac cepts guilt but implies that the of ficers had or have authority to stop and investigate persons if they appear to be white and Negro We condemn this unwarranted authority which is not sanctioned by law, even if the person is white. To concede a single inch of this abuse is to say that respect able white women and Negro men cannot be seen in each other’s company without a police stigma. White public stenographers, soc ial and interracial workers cannot show each other simple decent courtesies. It is not only an in sult to decent Negroes, but should be an insult to white people as well.” Answering the police board’s charge that Negroes have practic ad brutality toward police officers, the NAACP- letter /to the gover nor included this statement, “If Negroes have suddenly become enemies of the police, and no hon est, unbiased citizen beieves it, it would be fair to assume that it is because they have been made the ©pen field of vicious persecution and brutal treatment for which there has been no relief or redress. The governor has the power to oust the present members of the board, three of whom were appoint ed by his predecessor, Lloyd C. Stark, Democrat, and only one of whom, Harry Gambrel, is his own appointee of only a few weeks’ membership on the board. REED AND RELATIVES RULED POLICE DEPT. Chief Reed’s resignation was Welcomed by Negro citizens who have suffered continuous abuse during his administration. Al though Reed said in resigning that he had planned to give up his po-* sition for some time and that the current investigation had nothing to do with his action, there is no doubt in anybody’s mind but that Reed resigned because he “could not take” investigation. He has ruled th police depart ment with an iron hand, even holding the police commissioners in submission. Reed came here from St. Louis where as head of the FBI. office he was indicted for (manslaughter in connection with the slaying of a woman at her home into whiah R«ed and other agents sought to enter without a search warrant. Reed filled key positions in the department with his relatives and friends from the south. To be per sonnel director, Reed chose his brother in law, Darrell H. Chiles, who publicly made the statement that Negroes are not qualified to serve as policemen. Chiles came here from Tampa, Fla., where he had a reputation for mistreating Negroes. Under his administrat ion, the number of Negro officers was reduced from 30 to 10. In the office of superintendent of records, Reed placed Thomas F. Kearney who damaged Negroes by stating in a public speech that 6,000 Negroes in Kansas City were Communists, an obviously false statement but damaging in its im plications, Negroes challenged the statement but the police Commiss ioners refused to retract it public ly although admitting the state ment was untrue and promising to repudiate it. The police commissioners who are “under fire” in the governor’s investigation are Edgar hook, lawyer, president; Milton B. Schw-' eiger and F. P. Logan, Jr. With the resignation of Chief Reed which becomes effective Sep tember 30, however, Negro citiz ens see hope of better relations with the police department as the chief himself, by condoning acts of force and brutality, was the prin cipal source of friction. BLAME AFL UNIONS FOR BLOCKING NEGROES IN DEFENSE WORK (continued from page ]) blasts racial discrimination in the second artcle, first paragraph which states; “To bring about the effective organization of the working men and women of America, re gardless of race, creed, color, or nationality, and unite them for common action into labor unions for their mutual aid and protec tion.” “There are prejudices existing among individuals in the CIO but we do not let them run the or ganization nor prohibit the mem bership of Negroes” said Mr. Brophy. “In fact, my union, the Mine Workers of America,” he contin ued, “has a large Negro mem bership, and Negroes are in the majority in such sections as Ala bama. Kentucky, Tennessee, West Virginia a ndthe wiestern part of Tennessee. “Negroes are in all of our originating unions, including the ers, the internal ional LJadies Garment Workers, the steel indu stry and the meat packing un ions. “When discrimination exists in the CIO uniins it is in the ma« o —'ment of the industry and not in the union, on example being he automobile worker*. “In tre fight for social justice SET IN PLACE First H-frame structure of thei 265 mile electric transmission line between the Nebraska Power and Kansas Gas and Electric company systems was set in place Monday by the Nebraka Power Company fifty feet north of the Kansas-Ne braska line, twelve miles south of 1 Humbolt, Nebraska This marks the start of construe tion northward of 84 miles of the line to connect with the Nebraska Power company plant in Omaha Building of the 181 miles south ward to Midian, Kansas, where it will connect with its system, also has been begun by the Kansas Company. The entire line is ex pected to be completed by Decem ber 15, C. W. Minard, chief engin eer of the Nebraska Power Com pany. said. With this 154,000 volt line inter connecting the generating plants of t ie two companies, their cus tomers in Nebraska and Kansas will have available a total power generating capacity of more than 200,000 kilowatts. This will in sure ample capacity to meet any additional power demands for both national defense and peace time purposes. It also will give extra insurance against interrup tions of service in emergencies throughout the territories served by the two companies. In the 84 mile span from the Kansas line to Omaha, 750 H frame structures of 55 to 75 foot poles Will be required to carry the three wire circuits of copper con ductors and two steel ground wir es. Each mile of the line requires about six tons of copper cable and one and one half tons of steel wire. Three strings of ten suspension insulators are used on each of the 2,400 H-frames between Omaha and Midian. MAESTRO HORACE HENDERSON, fam ous arranging and piano playing mastro, who will soon make his de but with a new band specializing in sweet music, a radical departure from his past efforts. Both Hor ace and his illustrious brother, Fletcner, ave won intematonal ac clam as exponents of hot jazz. (ANP photo) FIVE MILLION POUNDS SAVING FOR DEFENSE Through a matrials substitution program, the Bell Telephone Sys tem, of which the Northwestern Ball Telephone Company (The Tri State Telephone and Telegraph Company) (Dakota Central Tele phone Company) is a part, will ef fect a saving this year of more than five million pounds of metals vital to defense needs, including enough aluminum to build more than 275 fighter planes. The substituting of materials in 1941 will divert for use in defense every industrial citadel of race prejudice must be captured to insure permanent gains. ‘‘Public opiniin bears down on workers and employees or any one else and whenever it may be used, we are making progress. It v?|ill stimulate all bodies.” Throughout the entire fight the Negro has waged against the prejudices of the AFL, the stri dent voice of Prillip Randolph has rung out time and time again protesting against the in justices of the organization which even now is flaunting an ^xjecutive ordfer ainUm and then if you aren't entirely satisfied with your purchase, return it and set feobfe joor money baekl Yea, that's what we said—DOUBLE YOUR MONKY pprm On this offer you seat lose, so send your name and address and one dollar tpdsy sate to Hamilton Pen Company, 844 Roah St., Room 2M, Chicago, 10.