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About The Omaha guide. (Omaha, Neb.) 1927-19?? | View Entire Issue (Sept. 30, 1944)
largest Accredited Negro Newspaf er West of Chicago and North of KC Saturday, Sept. 30,1944 Our 17th Year -No. 34 [ Entered as 2nd class matter at Post-oftice, Omaha, Nebr., Under Act of ^£^eh^8^j£74^__Publishing_Offices at 2420 Grant Street, Omaha. Nebr A Xmas Message for the Boys_ Chicago, 111. (For PPN'S) Vivian Marie Easton the voluptuous 17 year old beauty who was crowned ivltss P.muze Chicago of 1944 was recently selected “Miss Santa Claus" for a base hospital unit in South Pacific Members of the unit insisted upon die Windy City Beauty to send them and olhe*- fighting men on the unny frcnls, her photograph with a Ch'ist n..v message inscribed thereon. Miss Easton has complied with their wish es, and the message was as follows . “War nr peace a brave new world i m the making—a world in which better opportunities will be had for all. The spirit of progress is on the march, and as we look hopeful ly to the future, may God speed that day—when all nations may dwell in safely within their boundaries - end may this victory and pear» af f, i c assurance that all men, in all uusds may live out their lives in freedom from fear and want. Fir ijis we pray—Merry Christmas to ali. DID YOU MAIL THOSE XMAS PACKAGES TO THOSE BOYS AND GIRLS OVERSEAS? YOU HAVE ONLY TO OCTOBER 15TH! Ridley Returns To Saint John AME. Adams Back as Presiding Elder At the Nebraska Annual Conference which closed Sunday, September 24, fat Leavenworth. Kansas, the Rev. E. F. Ridley was reappointed to St. John AME Church 22nd and Willis Avenue, in this city. He begins his fourth year at St. John. The reports and achievements of this church were received with cheers at the conferente, where Rev. Ridley served as chairman of the Finance Committee. Dr. John Adams was appointed to serve his 4th con secutive year as Presiding Elder of the Omaha District. Mrs. E. F. Ridley was elected Nebraska Conference Branch President, of the Woman' . Missionary Society of the AME Church. The next Nebraska Conference will be held in 1945, with St. John Church is host. Sunday morning, October 1, the pastor delivers his first sermon on the conference year. And at night, the Senior Choir, directed by Mrs. Pearl Gibson, will render the All-Request Program which attracts large crowds each month. URBAN LEAGUE PLANS MEN’S FITNESS CLASS The City Recreation department will sponsor a physical fitness class for men at the Urban League center, it was announced Monday. Interested men have been asked to contact Du ward Crooms, WE. 5020 or Charles Washington, AT-5881. 4,000 Volunteer Workers To Start Drive for Funds Along with other communities of the nation, Omaha is marshalling an army of four thousand volunteers who will start early in October on a drive for funds with which to sup port war and home front agencies. It is Omaha's annual United War and Community Fund drive to which these volunteers will lend their as sistance, undertaking the job of rais ing an all time high quota of $994,290 for the three-front job, service on the home-front, the allied front, the war front. Linn P. Campbell, general chair man of the campaign, has a campaign organization well underway, complet ing final preparations before the start of the drive which is scheduled on October 9. It will continue thru October 25, when drive leaders hope to be able to announce that the quota has been reached. Clergymen of the community will lend spiritual emphasis to the camp aign by designating Sunday. October 8, the day preceeding the opening of the campaign as United War and Community Fund Sunday. Rabbi David Goldstein of the Bethel Syna gogue heads a special committee mak ivg plans for its observance and oth er members of the committee are Rev Floyd Fischer, Dr. A. A. Brooks, Rev. W. James Niven, Rabbi Israel Moshowitz Charles R. Docherty is War Fund church chairman. Fifty-two agencies which will share in allocations frofh the United War and Community Fund are: Member Agencies of the National War Fund. USO, L'nited Seaman's Rebel, War Prisoner’s Aid, Belgian War Relief. British War Relief, United China Re lief, American Relief for Czecho slovakia, American Denmark Relief. American Relief for France, Greek War Relief, American Relief for It aly, Polish War Relief. United Lith uanian Relief, Friends of Luxem bourg. American Relief for Norway, Philippine War Relief, Queen Wil helmia Fund, Russian War Relief. United Yugoslav Relief, American Field Service, Refugee Relief Trus tees for Care of European Children Local agencies included in the drive are: Colored Old Folks Home. Fon tenelle Boulevard Home. Immanue Home for the Aged and Invalids. Or. thopedic Association of Omaha. Vis tting Nurse association. Catholic Chai ities. Child Saving Institute. Chile Welfare association, the Creche Da: Nursery. Pinecrest Hall, Federatioi for Jewish Service. Salvation Arm; Booth Memorial hospital. School Da; Care centers. Augustana Luthera: Women’s Home. Boy Scouts, Christ Child Society, Girl Scouts, Camp Fire Girls, Salvation Army City Fund, Salfation Army Corps, Social Settle ment, Urban League community cen ter, Woodson center, YMCA., YWC A, Omaha Youth Center, Family Wei fare association. Family Welfare Tra t’eler's Aid department. Community Welfare Council. ES WESTBROOK PEGLER SINGS PRAISE OF TWO NEGRO REPORTERS ON DEWEY’S TRAIN RECOMMENDS SAME PERSONAL CONTACT FOR ALL (Taken from Peglers Daily Column) We have two Negro reporters a mong us. Julius Adams of the Am sterdam News, a New York weekly published up in Harlem, and Ralph Matthews, of the Afro-American, of Washington, DC., which is really a chain of Negro papers operating in five cities. Matthews was out with Willkie part of the way but I am told that this is the first time two Negro reporters have gone all the way with a candidate. These are two very nice fellows, and, although I haven't seen their copy, they talk in the manner of real professionals and. of course, you aren't conversing two minutes before you are on topic A, meaning race re lations, and there you stay. But the nature of these talks is the first en couragement that I have found in a long time to hope that we might get by without that gory brawl between white men and Negroes which the Communists are constantly trying to promote for just after the war. These men realize that they have a power to take some of the heat off the issue and probably save lives and still accomplish the result of opening up jobs for Negro workers, and it all seems reasonable and feasible when you just sit down and meet as men and colleagues in a business and begin to understand each other, in stead of beating one another over the head with meat-axe editorials as I total strangers on opposite sides of town. This sounds so much like something 1 I from my old friend. Mrs. R, that ' I some editors are likely to think the ! Western Union got the copy balled ' up. hut just the same this acquaint r ance and understanding is new exper i ience to me and I recommend it. ELECTION ONLY FIVE WEEKS OFF FATE OF WORLD, U. S„ EVERY MAN, WOMAN, CHILD IN IT, MAY BE DECIDED. BY EARL BROWN (On the Staff of' Life Magazine ' —for Continental Features) The United States is the only im portant country in the world today in which an election of any kind is about to take place. This is, indeed, something all of us should be proud of, for it proves beyond doubt that human beings of all races, religions, and classes can choose their leaders at the polls, even during the most try | ing times. The right of citizens to go to the polls and vote for men and women of all parties to represent them—to rep resent the entire nation.. as their President or dogcatcher is a right that no citizen can afford to take lightly. For the right of free men and women to vote is the corner stone of U S Democracy. Without it, there would be no democracy, ev en the defective kind that we have in thsi country. What has transpired in Germany, Italy, and Japan, how , ever, proves that even the worst kind of Democracy is far better than the best kind of any other form of Gov ernment. Therefore, our defective Democracy is infinitely better than any ether form of government else where. The strongth of American Demo cracy lies solely in the intelligence, courage and honesty of the American people. All of the American people. If the best off or worst off American | is indifferent to the future of his i country and fails to register and vote, he commits an act almost com parable to stomping the American flag ir. the dirt. For he not only fails to exercise his own sovereign right, but he actually weakens the sovereignity of all other Americans. The one place where every citizen is equal every one irom President to j pauper is in the polling booth; | and every time any citizen fails to go 1 to the polling booth and cast his vote as he sees fit to do, he is prostitut ing the equality and sovereignity of citizenship. He is making it infin itely more difficult to improve our defective Democracy so that he, his wife and children can live more se curely and comfortably. The election is only about five weeks off. It will last one day. But on this day, election day the fate of the world, the U. S., and every man, woman and child in it may be i decided. That’s how super-import- j ant this election will be. It may de termine if we shall have to fight an other war in our life time or ouf children’s It' may determine 'if col ored people the world over will, at longj last, obtain the freedom and op portunities they have been denied so cruelly for centuries. It may deter mine if we in America are to keep all of the social-economic gains that have come to us in the past decade or be compelled to relinquish them. It may determine if 15 million colored American citizens will be granted their full constitutional rights and enjoy all of the benefits of citizen ship. Indeed, the election next Novem ber 7, will determine a lot of things things which are vital to each and every one of us. When I say that the election will determine a lot of things, it is obvious that I mean you, the voter, will determine them. Con sequently, if you are at all interest ed in the successful conclusion of this war, the fate of colored people a round the globe, protection of social gains we have won in recent years, and more security for all of us in fu ture years, you will most certainly regsi*:er and vote. It takes only a tew minutes to reg ister and later to vote. But it may take even less time than that for the enemies of world peace, national se curity and racial justice to wreck our Democratic form of government and plunge all of us into despair and slavery. It did happen in Germany. Italy and many other countries. Though some of us are smug about I it, it still can happen here. Especial ly to 15 million colored Americans. There is only on esure way to pre serve what we have, be in a position to fight for more of what we need, and tc insure ourselves against inse curity. register and| vote. No Amer ican citizen, regardless of color or re ligion or national origin, could do anything better to preserve America ! and pave the way for a better Amer ica for everybody than to register and vote. REGISTER NOW AND VOTE ON NOVEMBER 71 THREE XEGROES DECORATED I HR HEROISM IX BOUGAINVILLE, Bougainville, Northern Solomons, f‘?F'.\S) For heroism above and be J nd the call of duty, three Negroes, '.ho distinguished themselves in ihc 1 attic for Bougainville, have been a vvarded the Bronze Star MedaL All of the medals were presented to Carolinians: Technician 5th Grade Mos-s Davis of Macon, North Caro lina; Pvt. Deorrny Ray of St. Fau!, North Carolina: and Pfc. Wade Fog gie of Anderson, South Carolina. The awards to Davis and Ray were made posthumously. Both Davis and Pri vate Rav were killed when they vol untarily exposed themselves to enemy A. B. McCaw Lays Mistreatment of ]S/egio in Armed forces Squarely at Whitehouse.. CORPORAL BILLY LOVE DIES IN LOUSIANA Cpl. Billy Love, age 34, a well known and liked boy to all Omahans, and a former Omaha welterweight pro-bcxer, was accidently killed in v-iaiuorne, i^a., n was learned here Sunday. He was a member of the Mil itary police. He entered the serv ice in March 1941. He came home in July last cat a fur survived by his CpI. Love mother, Mrs. Mexie Love, of 2035 Maple; five brothers and three sisters Mrs. Lois Murrell, Mrs. Phyllis Ab rams and Mrs. Laura Wagner; two brothers, S-Sgt. Norman and Pvt. Phillip and one brother-in-law are overseas, one brother. Dude of St. Paul, Minn., Maxwell of Los Angel es, Calif., and Preston. Myers Funeral Home is in charge. Funeral arrangements have not been completed as we go to press. IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINI fire to aid wounded comrades. Foggie successively carried out an assignment to destroy three enemv pill boxes, whose fire was holding up his unit. Crawling forward under heavy enemy fire, he secured a firing position in a shallow and exposed fax hole and destroyed hsi target with ac curate and effective rocket fire. PLAIN | TALK.. BY DAN GARDNER in 1942 Negroes Spent $294,000,000 for Whiskey. — METROPOLITAN LIFE, NEGRO HOUSING AND THE MONEY NEGROES THROW AWAY * One of the many trying situations and problems facing the Negro is ap parent in New York City in the hous ing situation in which the vastly wealthy Metropolitan Life Insurance Company proposes a huge-post war six million dollar housing community, exclusively for Negroes in Harlem. The new project to be named River ton which will be built for middle class families, will be erected on a 12 acre section of Harlem now occupied by aged industrial structures and a few dingy old law tenaments. River ton will embrace 1250 apartments to house 3400 persons “at an average basic rental of approximately $12.50 a room a month”. Meanwhile, in the own town section of New York—a lily white section— the Metropolitan Life Insurance Com pany, a large portion of whose funds have come from policies on the lives of Negroes throughout the country, is pushing its original plans for a lily white “walled city" named Stuyves ant Town where a black person, min us overalls, uniform, maid’s cap or bucket and mop, w ill be an oddity de serving of a place in the modern mu seum of unheard of things. The proposal to establish what, in effect, is a jim-crow housing project to help meet the oppressive conditions confronting Negroes in the busy met ropolis of New York City as to de cent living quarters, healthful and wholesome surroundings in which to rear their children, can be viewed from two points: (l), a remedy for a present and pressing need and (2). i monument to the incapacity- of the Negro to do things for himself. MIXED REACTION NOTED When Mayor F. H. LaGuardia of New York, in his weekly broadcast, reported the official sanction for the | proposal of the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, it drew a mixed reaction from Negro leaders in Har lem. Some took a deep sigh of re lief—happy at the idea of a vexins problem beine solved at no effort oi ! expense to themselves, and gave th< DOORSTEPS. OMAHA—Blame for the mistreat ment of Negro men and women in the armed services has been placed squarely on the doorstep of the VV hite House in a statement made this week by Arthur B. McCaw, former president of the Omaha NAACP Branch and a delegate to the Republican National Convention1 in Chicago. “Since we all know that the Demo crats are in power, that Roosevelt is Comander-in-Chief of the Army and Navy, that he has extraordinary pow ers, that discrimination in the Army i and Navy is vile, and that a simple >rder from the President could end it all. just like that,” Mr. McCaw said, “it is not enough to argue that the influence of southern offcers prevents the Army froim provding beter treat ment for Negroes. "If the Army can order a man to leap from a parachute behind enemy lines, and if an officer can order men to pour out of landing craft and onto beaches bristling with enemy guns, surely it can order its own personnel to treat all U. S. soldiers equally,” he added. The treatment that has been accord ed men in uniform here and abroad is one of the disgraces of the present conflict, rivalling in its brutality, in some instances, the inhuman conduct of .he barbaric Nazis. Meanwhile, President Roosevelt, propounder of the Four Freedoms, has remained mute in the face of the terrorism that has been visited upon Negro troops. Mr. McCaw said his tour of the Middle West has proved to him be yond question that Negroes will roll up a heavy vote for the Republican Party in November. Particularly in Nebraska, he said, where the Negro vote will be almost solid for the GOP despite the activity of the CIO’s Pol tical Action Committee in and around Omaha. Dr. C. B. Powell, Director of Pub licity, Republican National Commit tee, 45 E. 45th St., New York City, proposal their wet kisses of endorse ment. Others issued statements that were more or less guarded by verbal fenc es and cautious skirting of the issues in declaring that, while jim-crow is to be deplored and while they are un animous in condemnation of the pro ject, it must be admitted that the Metropolitan Insurance Company is easing a danger-studed situation, etc. Let's glance at the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company for a mom ent : Many stories float around, some factual—some idle rumor—to the effect that thsi industrial giant got its beginnings on the nickle pre miums sold to unlettered Negroes throughout the South at the close of the Ctvil War. The record shows that the National Union Life and Lend Insurance Company was formed in 1865 in the South presumably to help lehabilitate the thousands who were maladjusted because of that war. In 1866 the National Union Life and Lend had a split which saw two companies being formed—the Na -tioaal Life Insurance Company and the National Travelers Insurance Company, the latter which accepted only accident premiums. In 1867 the Metropolitan Life Insurance Comp any was formed and has flourished since that time. BUILT ON SLAVE MONEY The barber shop istorians and street comer . soothsayers . have .. it | that the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, capitalizing on the ignor ance and credulity of newly liberated slaves, built a tremendous .back-log on the ard earned pennies and nicklcs of these friendless, exploited people. Whatever the truth in this connect ion. u might be said that the Metro politan Life Insurance Company has grown tremendously avt billion a year, one billion of which is on Ne groeso over the intervening years. It is stud to be attempting to get rid of its Ngro policy holdrs \from ivhich i collects vb million dollars a . ycarry by sell mg the Negro side of their business to established Negro insur ance companies. With this attitude also goes the « A Honey with A Honey of A Band LxcluHu* |W *r Exotic”JEAN PARKS (above), the newest star in the band world, will soon make her debut with/' 'ittalent-studded all-girl orchestra! An exotic eyeful. Miss Park, who hail, from Columbus OJ.o i. gJ with both charm, poise and a tall, tan ’n’ terrific figure. At this early date she has Ibeen Mctohnsd 1945 Chin-Up Girl. Bookings, according to Gale Agency in New York, already Ind.cate -hat Jeans con*} [bination of femme musicians will set a record for girl bands unsurpassed. ; Missouri-Kan. CME Conference Closes;Douglass Back at Cleaves Nationwide Broadcast On Roosevelt Record and the Negro Sunday, October 1st TO FEATURE VICE PRES. WALLACE, CONG. WM. L. DAWSON, CONG. ELECT ADAM CLAYTON POWELL. MARY McLEOD BETHUNE A nation-wide broadcast on the Roosevelt Record and the Negro Peo pie featuring Vice President Henry A. Wallace, Congressman William L. Dawson, Congressman Elect Adam Clayton Powell and Mrs. Mary Mc Leod Bethune will be held Sunday, October 1 over the Mutual network from 4 to 4:30 pm. eastern standard war time, it was announced last Sat urday- by the Democratic National Committee. The broadcast which will also feature outstanding concert art ists will emanate from the Golden Gate ballroom in Harlem where a mammoth campaign drive among the Negro people is being conducted. Louis Mart is the assistant director of publicity for the Democratic Na tional Committee. fact that the Metropolitan Life .In surance Company has had one notable housing experience in Harlem—that of the celebrated djt Edgecomb Ave nue building—known from coast .to coast as the sivank headquarters of gilt-edged living conditions for our top-notch white collar Negroes. It is a matter of record that the Metro politan Life Insurance Company,, a couple of years ago, quietly got rid of djt Edgecomb Avenue to a Negro Holding Company, thus relieving its tfly-white hands of the task of serv icing living qOarters for black Am ericans. This attitude of lily -whit e ism on the part of the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company is further borne out by the fact that the comp any quietly went ahead and acquired the site, yaid out the plans, and est ablished a budget for the infamous Stuyvcsant ^.Town walled-city . in which no Negroes were to be—and will not be—allowed as tenants. SEEN AS TRYING TO DODGE HEAT Now comes the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company with this record of distaste for the very Negroes, up on whom some contend its early toun dations were laid, in a belated at tempt to keep the heat off them by building the ji-crow Riverton Pro ject exclusively for Negroes in an exclusive Negro community—made exclusive by the whites who conspire to coop Negroes up m a veritable walled-city that must be their perm anent location. Acocrding to a National Resources Committee Report, Negroes spent in 142 $294,000,000 for whiskey. $84,000, 000 for cigarets, cigars and snuff: $175,000,000 for what can be called rug-cutting and balling, but which was listed by the report as “recrea tion and amusements'’. A total of | $55,000,000 was spent by Negroes for unessentials in 1942. If we have the power to buy that much whiskey to drink and that many smokes to blow into nothing, and so much money to have a good time up on. how can we criticize effectively when none of our money is put to permanent good use of all of us as the Metropolitan Life Insurance Com pary is purportedly doing with this Riverton Project? If we can spend $553,000,000 on material pleasure while the ills and hardships of the race multiply, what constructive criticism can we have of any ;im crow project that is offered us? This is no brief for the Metropol itan Life Insurance Company and its attitude toward Negroes. I believe that when organizations of the char acter and standing of the Metropolit an Life Insurance Company single Negroes out for discriminatory prac tices, as ti admittedly has done, there is no possible way in which one can give them a clean bill of health on any of the various belated overtures to help the Negroes. However, what are we going to do? -USE THE OMAHA GUIDE as a medium of Advertising— ^ tz 9 |2 & f? sr a by Rev. T. I. Douglass Bishop J. Arthur Hamlett of the Third Episcopal District of the Col ored Methodist Episcopal Church presided over the Missouri-Kansas Conference at Kansas City, Sept. 20 to 24th inclusive and brought it to a close on one of the most successful Annual Sessions ever held. Cleaves Temple CME. Church of this city, Rev. T. J_. Douglass, pastor is a vital part of this great confer ence. When the appointments were read Sunday night, very few changes were made. The Rev. T. J. Douglass of Cleaves was returned to this city’ for his second year as pastor. The conference was attended by many of the outstanding leaders of the denomination. Among them, wmc Drs. J. B. Boyd, General Sec retary of the S. P. W. and O. Depart ment, B, W, Doyle, Secretary of Ed ucation, F. L. Lewis Secretary of Church Extension and B. J. Smith, Secretary of Religious Education and many others. The reporting ministers reported an increase in membership and more than $9,000 in cash was raised for the carying on of rthe work. Bishop Hamlett is doing a wonder ful work in his field and recently un der bis direction a school was set-up at Lane College, Jackson, Tenn.. for the training of young men for the ministry. The school is to be a standard school of theology, known as Phillip's School of Theology. Bishop Hamlett has led in many other enterprises since his elevation to Ine Bishopric. He is the Confer ence F resident. READ THE OMAHA GUIDE Weekly - To The Unconcerned VOTER, - - - Thousands would vote in the South if they could; —thousands could vote in the North if they would. , MR. READER! What are You going to do on or before October 27? I Well, you just cannot vote if you do not (Register! People are funny that way. _•