Released by O. 8. War Department.
Bureau of Public Relation!
HIS NEGRO TROOPS DID
VELL—Major General Raymond
S. Lehman, Commanding General
if the 93rd Infantry Division at
lougainville in the South Pacific—
tis troops "won their spurs” in the
Irive against the Japs. (U. 8
Irmy Signal Corps Photo.)
Renraw, Restless
Qa "CERTAIN DAYS’* Of Tha Moath?
Cf functional periodic disturbances
■n«v. you feel nervous, tired, restless,
"dragged out"—at such times—try tu
rnout Lydia E. Plnkham'a Vegetable
Compound to relieve such symptoms. It
helps nature! Plnkham’s Compound Is
ihn a grand stomachic tonic. Follow
label directions. Worth tryingt
lYDIt E. HNKHAM’S SgSS
ANP FINDS MORALE i
SHOT AMONG 553RD
FLIERS TRAINING
IN SO. CAROLINA
RACE PREJUDICE, DISCRIM
INATION RULES AMONG
PILOTS, GROUND CREW AT
DIXIE AIRFIELD.
EDITOR'S NOTEs Because of
persistent reports that the 55SD
pursuit squadron had been “rail
roaded" from Selfridge field,
Mich., to Walterboro airbase, S.
C., for protesting segregation at
the northern training field, the
Associated Negro Press sent a re
porter to Walterboro to obtain
the facts in the case for the read
ers of this newspaper. What this
correspondent, Ernest Johnson,
chief of the ANP Washington
bureau, found is contained in
three articles, the first of which
f olloWSQ.
BY ERNEST JOHNSON
WALTERBORO AIRBASE, S.C.
July 24 (ANP)—Because morale of
men at this airbase was reported low
Because a hero of the 99th Pursuit
squadron, back from overseas, had
been dismissed from the service thru
co*urt-martial, and at least two other
men have been court-martialed—
And because rumors of general un
rest and discrimination had been re
ported, the Associated Negro Press
undertook an on-the-spot investigat
CHAS. £. SANDALL
SAYS:
'WE MAINTAIN HIGH
TAVERN STANDARDS
By EDUCATION"
This Committee’s chief aim is to maintain good condi
tions in places where legal beer is sold. Since the best
informed tavern keepers are generally those who best
conduct their places in the public interest, we supply
helpful booklets, bulletins and other educational matter,
suggesting the best ways to conduct their places. As a
result, Nebraska taverns have improved and, with our. j
help, will continue to improve.
'if& NEBRASKA COMMITTEE
BREWING industry foundation
CHARLES E SAHOAU, Stott Director • 710 FIRST NATIONAL OLDS.. LINCOLN
ion of the situation. I
The outfit involved is what form- (
erly was the 553d Pursuit squadron, •
which had been stationed at Selfridge j
field, Mich., until May 7 when it was j
suddenly transferred to this South
South Carolina post, in the middle of
Dixie and all it means.
The picture is not a happy one.
There is indeed much room for im
provement on the part of the army
air forces if training and the estab
lishment—yes, the establishment—of
high morale are to be achieved among
a group of men who in a relatively
short time will eb flying high over
Germany for the cause of America.
By the same token, these men and
related ground personnel have the re~
sponsibility of constantly exhibiting
their diligence in accordance with
army regulations, knowing as they do
that despite the demonstrated capab
ility of the 99th Pursuit squadron,
there is still a segment of the army
which even now would prefer not to
see Negroes develop in the air branch
of this country’s armed services.
The 553rd. flying P-47 Thunder
bolts, hadn’t cracked up yet, as Maj
or Joseph B. Price, assistant director
of flying operations and training not
ed. In fact, there hadn’t been a fat
ality among the men since a short
time before leaving Selfridge field, a |
favorable record.
The seed of discord took root al
Selfridge. Six officers from the
99th had returned from overseas to
work with the nucleus of the 553rd,
which was activated last November at
Selfridge Field and Oscoda, Mich
They were 1st Lts. Walter Lawson,
Graham Smith, Louis R. Purnell,
Spann Watson, Charles W. Dryden
and Lee Rayford. The outfit was
ultimately to be officered with all
Negro personel.
In due course the men were united
at Selfridge and for a time had a
succession of commanding officers.
The last of them, Lt. Col. Sam P
Triffy, came south with them. Under
I IE-- !
“IT PATS TO LOOK WELL”
MAYO’S BARBER SHOP
Ladies and Children’s Wnrk
A Specialty
2422 LAKE ST.
Something for Nothing
the J3iaa(5&8f way
Americans could never have built the greatest nation in the world bv
adopting the pigeons' policy of living on charity.
Instead, they succeeded because they have always cherished their right to
: • ; to wo*b 5fbs of their own choice ... to earn a fair reward for
their labor, enabling them to build their own destinies.
''Something for nothing" sounds like a foreign phrase to American ears.
It may be good enough for pigeons, but pigeons wanf to live on
Americans want FREE ENTERPRISE!
NEBRASKA POWER COMPANY
Copyright, 1844, Bozeli & Jacob*
f Inter-Racial Outing -
A SUNDAY Outing Program has
been recently inaugurated by
community groups through the
Thames Street USO. Newport. R. I.,
for patients of the U. S. Naval Hos
pital. The program consists of an
ocean drive in private cars and a
visit to the beach where sun um
brellas and free refreshments are
provided. At the end of the day.
the men are invited to private
homes for supper and entertain
ment by the junior hostesses of the
community. Above are a few of a
group entertained at the home of
Mrs. Abe Smith, pictured with her
guests.
one o fthese commanders, Lt. Col.
Charles Gayle, the men observed a
tendency to place Negro officers as
assistants to white supervisory pers
onnel in the table of organization.
Lts. Rayford and Purnell decided
they preferred fighting and so went
overseas with the 332nd Fighter
group. Trainees of the 553rd stuck
tongues in cheeks.
While at Selfridge the issue of the
officers’ club arose and a plan to pro
vide separate facilities for the races
was thwarted after the Negro fliers
had voted unanimously to refuse the
separate club. The under-current of
resentment developed among the col
ored officers and evidenced itself in
sundry ways.
On May 5 the 553rd entrained for
Walterboro airbase. They were not
told then or since then why they had
been moved south. They accepted
opinion among them, however, is that
the move was made for the explicit
purpose of subjecting them truly to
the rigors of segregation as only the
south can practice it, and thereby kill
their spirit.
That spirit today is low, and the
transfer is a contributing factor.
None of the ranking officers with
whom I talked, from Col. Ivor Mas
sey, deputy commanding officer of
the first air force, down know or
was prepared to say why the trans
fer was made. An obvious explana
tion might well have been the conjec
ture made by William H. Hastie, for
merly civilian aide to the secretary of
war, a short time ago, namely that
the main stream of flight straining
is in the south, and that it proper
that Negro trainees should receive
their training where all other to-be
flying officers are schooled. But not
even this reason was advanced by the
commanding officers. “I don’t know
was generally their reply to the ques
tion.
Incidentally, when the transfer was
made, none of the colored boys was
permitted to fly his craft down al
though the whites did. Reason given
was that eating facilities might not
have been available to them at itei
mediate stops enroute. “That was a
slap in the face,” was the comment
of one of the fellows with whom I!
talked, “especially to the boys who
had been overseas.”
The fact remains that the 553rd,
officers and enlisted men, arrived at
Walterboro on Monday, May 7,
found themselves no longer a com
plete organization but rather than the
flyers were now a replacement train
ing unit, and the ground crew a part
of the base personnel and real segre
gation on an army post was staring
them straight in the face.
Public relations officers at Walter
boro explained that the post had pre
viously been a sub-base of a base
near Charleston but more recently had
been given full base status. Further,
it was explained that Walterboro had
since the arrival of the 553rd, became
a location for advanced training for
. — -
pilots who would shortly thereafter
leave as replacements for men of the
99th and 332nd. The only pilots at
the base are colored, except for the
various supervisory personnel (in
structors). Total personnel at Wal
terboro was estimated at approximate
ly 1,600 men of which about one
third are Negroes.
Until July 8, the day before my
arrival, the Walterboro airbase had
been under the comand of Col. Wil
liam M. Prince. He was succeeded
on that day by Col. Guy Kirksey.
Prior to the arrival of the former
553rd a coolred aviation squadron,
(separate) had come in. The num
ber was not large.
Altogether, separate facilities for
almost everything but hospital care
were provided. At first no attempt
was made by public relations officers
to make distinction between the char
acter of the Negro personel, preferr
ing tc refer to all of them as RTU
(replacement training unit), and the
reason offered as justification for
separate facilities was that “the RTU
has a schedule to make.”
it i many ucvciupeu, nowever, tnai
as a means of getting around racial
designations for the use of certain
facilities, two classes of individuals
were recognized and defined: RTU
for the colored; base personnel for
the white. Hence, when the sign was
put up, upon orders of Col. Prince,
over the entrance to a service center
where sodas are dispensed, it said for
“base personnl.” It mans “Negroes
keep out.” They have been refused
service and so have kept out.
These definitions ignored the fact
that both the aviation squadron (sep
arate) and the ground crew which ac
companied the 553rd, all Negroes,
had become part of the base person
nel. Col. Prince admitted later in my
talk with him that these deductions
were accurate. When he was asked
about their actual inclusion, he said
simply that “they should have been
taken into the housekeeping,” but re
minded that “South Carolina has al
ways been a state which believes in
the separation of the races.”
He was merely conforming.
(To Be Continued)
FEPC CONSIDERS POLICY
ON NEGRO LAY-OFFS
BY ERNEST E. JOHNSON
Washington, July 24 (ANP)—Ex
ploratory conversations were begun
at the offices of the FEPC last week
looking to the establishment of a pol
icy to be pursued toward restraining
disproportionate lay-offs among Ne
gro war workers due to cutbacks and
the introduction of reconversion pro
gram*.
These informal talks, it is learned
unofficially, have not yet gone out
side of the agency, but ultimately will
be extended to include the viewpoints
of other agencies which might con
ceivably have a finger in the matter,
notably the Wa-r Manpower commis
sion, the war and navy departments,
and perhaps the U. S. Maritime com
mission.
FEPC is keenly aware of the say
ing that thd Negro is generally the
last hired and the first fired. Be
cause this happens to be the demon
strated case in their own experience,
the agency would iike to find some
way of altering this tradition and
thereby aid Negroes in retaining some
of the industrial gains which have
been made in the period of the war.
Admittedly, The Problem Is
A Difficult One .
One of the ideas advanced at the
initial discussions was one which
would call upon employers to observe
certain agreed quotas in the matter of
lay-offs. For example, whereas Nc
groes may have come into the employ
relatively late and so have little sen
iority, some basis might be found for
retaining a number of these workers
irrespective of seniority,
Obviously this is an approach which
would have to have the sanction of
labor unions which In many instances
control or "police ' hirings and firings
of all workers.
The problem was also recognized
that under such a quota arrangement,
other “interest” groups might u«e the
plan as a precedeoted, push their own
claims for “special treatment". Fur
ther, because general quotas for <hc
hiring of Negroes were originally de
plored and frowned upon, it might
well be cause for wonder as to how
FEPC could reconcile its acceptance
MR. AND MRS. CRAIG,—
are Happy to Announce that
MRS. GERALDINE CRAIG IS OPENING A
Grill & Sandwich Shop
IN HER COZY LITTLE HOME
Saturday, June 17, —4 p. m. at 2615 N. 24th St
OPEN FROM 4 P. M TO 4 A. M.
CALL FOR RESERVATIONS—JA. 4336
I
THE OMAHA GUIDE
A WEEKLY NEWSPAPER
Published Every Saturday at 2420 Grant Street
OMAHA, NEBRASKA—PHONE HA. 0800
Entered as Second Class Matter March 15, 1927
at the Post Office at Omaha, Nebraska, under
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ing Copy on Paid Articles not later than Wed
nesday noon, preceeding date of Issue, to Insure
publication.
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THIS YEAR TO MAN THE MER
CHANT SHIPS THAT DELIVER
THE MATERIAL OF WAR TO
THE BATTLE FRONTS.
MEWS ITEM
4
"Help deliver the final blow!
of a quota basis in one instance and
reject it in another.
An unofficial spokesman for the
committee also pointed out that the
War Porduction board might well
play an important part even now.
I he suggestion was made that WPB
might take into account, when it is
about to force employment cutbacks
due to contract cancellation, the “rc
aborption” qualities of the workers
layed off as a factor in determining
the final action.
Specifically, where it is fairly ob
vious that Negroes in a given area
are holding jobs won at great expen
diture of effort are to be the chiei
victims of a cut-back because of the
reluctance and in cases the opposition,
of other employers to absorb them,
such cutbacks ought not be made ex
cept as a final alternative
The observation was also made that
labor turnover may prove an import
ant factor. Whereas turnover among
whites has been relatively high, Ne
groes who have gotten war jobs have
held onto them. The result is rlai
their seniority has become higher due
to replacements which have come in
behind them.
WILBERFORCE PAYS $30,000
ON 20 YEAR OLD MORTGAGE
Wilberforce, Ohio—President Char
les H. Wesley, announced that on
July 15, $30,000 had been paid on the
mortgage of Wilberforce University,
the original amount of which was
$119,000. The result of gifts from
individuals, churches, alumni, and
friends had enabled this sum to be
paid and the mortgage to be reduced
to $89,000. The history-making Cam
paign continues to achieve a similar
result. It is expected that during
1944, the entire mortgage principal
will be paid ann the instithtion releas
ed from one of its greatest liabilities.
Under the leadership of Bishop
Gregg and Alumni Ciubss the cam
paign will be conducted in the states
of Iillinois, Indiana, Michigan and
the Northwest and under the leader
ship of Bishop David Sims, the cam
paign will be conducted in the states
of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Dela
ware, New York and New England.
It is expected that Bishop R. R.
Wright, Jr., will direct the campaign
in Kentucky and Tennessee.
NBC PUTS RACIAL SERIES
ON THE AIR —
New York, New York, July 18 —
(PPNS)—Depicting the part played
by the various racial minority groups
in building America the new NBC
series "They call me Joe”, will re
place "American Story”, July 22nd.
(NBC, 7:00 PM, EWT.)
Groups represented in “They Call
Me Joe”, include Scaninavians, Chin
ese, Negroes, Italains, Polish, Germ
ans, Mexicans, Irish, Philippinoes,
Greeks, Jewish, French, Spanish, Jap
me sc, Slavs, British, Dutch and Am
ericans.
GOOD READING
Your Paper—the Guide
i Dynamite
* By George H. Davenport
vmcago, in juiy
16th, in the city of
Chicago, the clos
ing meeting of the
National Associat
ion for the Ad
vancement of Col
ored People, which
name should read
'National Associa
tion for the Ad
vancement of some
Colored People
was held in Wash
ig luii rdrK.
The presentaton of the Spingarn
Medal was one of the highlights. Dr.
Drew, who received the medal, made
one proud to be, a Negro after listen
ing to his acceptance speech. I can
not say the same of Walter White
who reminded one of going to a ball
game heavily advertised for Satchel
Paige to pitch and suddenly Paige
goes out of the game pitching but one
inning. Walter White sold the Ne
gro down the river, instead of talk
ing about his subject mater “What’s
Happening to the Negro Soldier Ov
erseas?” He talked Roosevelt, Elean
or and Wallace, and gave the Repub
licans Hell.
We were somewhat sore when we
read an article in the Chicago Sunday
Tribune of July Oth, when some Chi
cago Negroes of said branch accused
white of planning to sell the NAA
CP. to the New Deal. Now, we are
coninced that Walter White is in fa
vor of breaking all rules of said or
ganzation and doing his Master’s
bidding. What he told the audience
about the Negro soldeirs overseas
could be written on a single page.
He spoke of placards in Italy encour
ageing discrimination against Negro
es—started primarily by an American
born Italian. He also spoke of the
American whites informing the Eng
lish that Negroes had tails and bark
ed like dogs and other minor incid
ents which could have been suppress
ed. He, like Bishop Gregg and the
Gen. Davis, along with Truman Gib
son, Jr., should take a plane some
where—never to return! One thing
I noticed in White was—he either
doesn’t give a damn about the little
Negro as long as he gets his salary
and bonus from the New Deal, or he
thinks the Chicago Negroes are a
bunch of saps.
If that is all he saw after going
•verseas and plans another trip so he
can bring back a story, he has accept
ed money under false pretenses. And
if I had a newspaper and had sent
White to get a story and he presented
such rot to me, to publish, I would
sue him for the return of salary and
expense money. So, my advice to
you little fellows is not to listen to j
such men as Dawson. Gibson, Gener- j
al Davis or any so-called leader who j
is holding a job on any of the poJTt- ,
real payrolls—Democrat or Republic
an.
Walter White is about to touf'IKe
Pacific area, this is his second trip
abroad. A. Philip Randolph, who I
believe would tell all he saw if he
were allowed to go, has had an appli
cation on file for over a year for ov
erseas inspection of Negro troops.
Why has he been turned down? The
answer is obvious.
This writer received 3 “V” mail
letters—two from England and one
fom Italy, which carried more infor
mation about the treatment of Negro
troops than in Walter “White lies”
full report.
0T0t0s0i0*0atv-0g0i£03it3t0ia0&t0ii0am
LAKE SHOE ;
SERVICE 1
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' | /. L. TAYLOR, Proprietor
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hr
EVERYBODY
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Of course everybody
gets SOME Vitamins.
Surveys show that mil
lions of people do not
get ENOUGH.
LA pleasant, convenient
economical way to be
sure that you and your
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is to tatce urj fi-A-UA x brand
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An insufficient supply of B
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digestion, Constipation, Nerv
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why not guard against this one cause
by taking a ONE-A-DAY brand
Vitamin B Complex Tablet everyday?
Important — Get your money’s
worth, always compare potencies
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DNEta| DAY
