EQUAL OPPORTUNITY PHONE HA.0800
'if ^ 'if 'ir ”Largest Accredited Negro Newspaper West of Chicago and North of KC• ^ O ^
Entered as 2nd class matter at Post-oft ice, Omaha, Nebr., Under Act of K ,n/fc , , A ,, n . /-» _., ,, II 7~ *
March 8, 1874. Publishing Offices at 2420 Grant Street, Omaha, Nebr. Sclturdcty, jVlciy 5, 1945 ^ 10c Per Copy 'A' Olir 18th YCcir, No. 13
Read "CHATTER-BOX” a youthful column by Doris McGill EV-ffg ggggT*FR nMlla „nF
NAACP Charges 34TH BATTALION OF NEGRO SEABEES TREATED AS PRISONERS, CRIMINALS,
Humiliation Apparent Because of
Pressure Applied Against Dis
criminatory Practices; Removal
of Commander J. P. MacBean
NKW YORK—Relying*
upon reports from its nb
servers on the Pacific*
Coast, the NAACP ufcarg
ed April 27 in a wire to
Secy of the Navy James
V. Forrestal, that the
34th Construction Battal
ion (Seabees), who went
on a hunger strike March
2-3 in protest against dis
criminatory com!it ions,
were herded on to their
ship hound for the Pacif
ic by an “armed guard
with drawn bayonets.”
The 34th alittalion is a veteran
outfit having already served 21
months in the South Pacific Upon
thnlr (return to the United States in
the latter part of 1!»44, they fiood
ed the Navy department, their
friends, Negro organizations and
the Negro press with protests over
the treatment they had been arcord
ed by Commander .1 1' Mat-Bean
of Hall ieshurs, Mississippi and hilt
executive officer, I.t Com O 1»
White
Norman Houston of tlie Los An
geles branch of the NAACP con
ducted an investigation at the Cal
ifornia post where the battalion
was stationed on February 27 and
recommended the remofal of Com
mander MacBean
At a result of the pressure from
all sides the Navy department re
moved MarBean. but apparently in
retaliation for the just complaints
of the men, the battalion in being
reshipped overseas was humiliated
* oi ‘ig handled Mice prisoners or
criminals In the wire to Secre
tary Forrestal the NAACP, through
Hoy Wilkins^ assistant secretary,
said:
“The National \»snrint ion for the
Advancement of t'olored People is
advised from Went toast that 34th i
Construction Itaftalion embarked
under armed guard with drawn bay
onets as though men were criminals
or were reluctant to nerve their
country Thin battalion has 31
months overseas service and has
proved beyond doubt its ability and
loyalty We are alito advised that
laM minute transfers out of battal
ion over and above usual replace
ments have left unit merely a shell
of one which made excellent record
in Sonfh Pacific.
“FeeMng on West ('oast In that
34th lM being humiliated and pun
ished because off vigorous protest of
"hnhhy treatment and discrimin
atory practices of former t'omman
der J. P. Madlean resulted in Mac
Bean's transfer We enfer vigor
ous protest against this action If
Navy investigation determined that
Madlean should have been trans
ferred men of battalion should not
He penalised. If Madlean policies
were not harmful to morale as
charged he should never have been
removed.
“*nb*et|uent treatment off 34th
battalion suggest* strongly unwor
thy punitive action by Nnvj depart
ment which has sent battalion mor
ale to new low. This coupled with
high percentage off inexperienced
replacements presents battalion
with tremendous job to maintain
high "tandard of previous overseas
service."
J3 Years in So. Pacific
Enjoys Month’s Visit
few
Mr Clifford Sessions one of the
wide awake naval blue jackets has
been stationed in Honolulu for 3
years and has enjoyed a month’s
visit with his mother and sister in
Omaha at 2417 North 22nd St
Manhandled on Train;
Gets Cash Settlement
New York—The Southern Rail
way company has made a substan
tial cash settlement in the suit
brought by Miss Edith Johnson of
Brooklyn, who charged that she
had been manhandled on a New
1 ork Atlanta train when she refus
ed to give up her reserved seat and
go into a “jim crow” car. The
suit has been in court about a year
and a half. Oliver D. Williams
handled the case at the request, of
the NA'ACP f v
Miss Johnson, a senior student at
Spelinan College, had alleged in a
complaint filed on her behalf by the
NAACP that although she held a
"through” reservation from New
York to Atlanta, she was ordered
to change to a Jim Crow car when
she reached Lynchburg, Virginia,
and that when she refused to do so
»
she was forcibly ejected from a de
luxe coach of the “Southerner”, on
which she had reservations, and
thrown bodily into a jim crow car,
by a conductor and several police
officers who were summoned upon
her refusal to remove herself vol
untarily .
Proposes San Francisco
Parley Kill Colonial
Systems at Conference
San Francisco, Calif.—As soon as
the opening formalities of the
World Security Conference here
were over on April 25, a proposal
was made on the morning of April
26 that the colonial system be a
bolished, that equality of races be
recognized, and that a bill of rights
for all the people of the world be
adopted
The proposal was made by Dr
W E B DuBois and Walter White
NAACP consultants to the American
delegation hey asked the Amer
ican delegation to request that the
proposal be written into the Dum
barton Oaks agreement
Instead of the present colonial
system, the NAACP consultants urg
ed an international agency to which
the colonial powers would be re
quired to report.
101 Officers Released; Bomber
Group Moved from Freeman’s
'■ lnnatl, Ohio,—Twenty- four,
hours after 101 Negro fly mgr offlc
«rs were ordered released from con
finement at Godman Field, Kentuc
ky. the 177th Bombardment group,
a Negro medium bomber outfit, had '
been ordered away from Freeman
Field at Seymour, Indiana, it was
announced thl* week by Theodore
M Berry of the Cincinnati NAACP
Th destination of the bombardment
group is unknown The order took
effect at noon April !6
Release of the 101 officers who
were being held because they re
fused to sign a statement segregat
in gthem in a jim crow officers'
club came after protests had flood
ed the war department, including
a wire from Congresswoman Helen
Gahagan ouglas of California Rep
Douglas wired Secretary Stimson
urging immediate release of the
men
The mas release leaves only three
men still under arrest Lieuten
ants Shirlv B Clinton, Roger C
erry, and Marsden A Thomason
The NAACP, through it* Washing
ton Bureau, it* Cincinnati and In
dianapolis branches and its national
headquarter* in New York, is press
ing for the release of the three men
and indicated *hat if they are
brought to trial legal counsel will
be supplied by the Association
Judge William H Hastie will be
chief counsel for the men and Theo
dore Berry of the Cincinnati NA
ACP will be associate counsel
'Birmingham Teachers
Win Equal Salaries
Birmingham. Ala.—Salaries of
Birmingham Negro School teachers
will be equalized with those of the
whites beginning September, 1.45
A decree signed here April 27 by
the judge of the Federal district
court reads that he ‘•defendants,
the School Board of Jefferson Coun
ty. Alabama, and J ~ Bryan, Su
perintendent of Schools of Jeffer
son County, Albania, and ihe agents
of the said defendants and each of
them do not and are hereby pro
petually enjoined and restrained
from discrimination in the payment
of salaries against the plaintiff and
any other Negro teachers and prin
cipals in the public school system
of Jefferson County, Alabama, on
account of race or color
•'The operative effect of this de
cree is postponed until the school
term beginning, September, 1945.”
The case was brought by Wil
liam J Bolden and was filed ..larch
27, 1942 Attorneys for Bolden
were Arthur D Shores of this city
and Thurgood Marshall, XAACP
Special counsel of New YorV
TRAIN PORTTERS HOLD
RERION VI, CONFERENCE
The Train Porters in the South
eastern paiK cf the country will as
semble in Atlanta, Monday, May
21st and 22nd in the Atlanta YM.CA.
Auburn and Butler Streets, for a
★—*-*- * —★—★ | to ★ *★★★★★*★ to J to ★ *★★★★★*★ to
30thSpingarn Medal Award to Paul Robeson
Discuss Plans for Mid-City Hospital
Pres. Medical Assoc., Calls Meeting
of Civic Leaders to Discuss Plans,
i or a Class-A Hospital; Color ea
People Should Underwrite Protect
; ~■.j
Peonage
Wide'
Spread in
Florida
New York City—(WDL)
“Involuntary servitude is com
monplace in Florida," reported
Morris Milgram, Workers Defense
League national secretary, after a
month's work there on cases of
peonage and involuntary servitude,
which the League has brought to
the attention of the Department of
Justice for prosecution.
In central Florida, Milgram re
ported, Negro citrus workers em
ployed regularly five days a week
have been arrested for “vagrancy”
because they refuse to work Sat
urdays. These cases never come to
trial the WDL leader declared for
the workers pay the $25.00 bond in
order to be released. It is commonly
understood that the bond is the
fine, and that no appearance for
trial is desired by public officials
involved.
The result of the arrests is to
force citrus workers to labor a
gainst their will, fearing arrest.
While they would work willingly
if they received extra pay for Sat
urday work, many Negro workers
now work Saturdays only under
threat of imprisonment.
regional conference to work out a
program to safeguard their jobs
during the post war period.
The conference will have repre
sentation from practicly every
Southern road in the South and will
be educational in nature.
A. Philip Randolph, Int'l Presid-1
ent of the Brotherhood of Sleeping
Car Porters along with Milton P.
Webster. Charirman of the Int'l Ex
ecutive Board. Thomas T. Patter
son, Eastern Zone Supervisor and
B. F. McLaurin, Int'l. Field Organ
izer will be in attendance.
The conference will close with a
dinner at the Club Poinciana.
Brotherhood Wins
Election on GM&O. RR.
B. F. McLaurin, International
Field Organizer of the Brootherhood
of Sleeping Car Porters conferred
with Mediator Albert Smith at the
Battle House Hotel, Mobile. Ala
bama on the case of the Train
Porters and attendants on the Oulf.
Mobile and Ohio Railroad.
Contesting the election was the
Brotherhood of Trainmen, Brakemen
Porters. Switchmen. Firemen and
Railway Employees. Inc.
The Brotherhood woif the election.
Ensign Cooper To Serve
an Personnel Officer
One of the first Negroes to receive
a naval commission as a line officer
; in the present war. Ensign George
! C. Cooper has been selected by I.t.
Comdr. L. F. Moore, commanding
I officer of the Naval Training School
; Hampton, Ya.. to serve as his per
sonnel officer, The Navy Eepart •
I ment announced this week.
Use The Omaha Guide
As A—
Medium of Advertising
j) Monday evening at 7;30 P ,M. Dr.
Craig Morris, President of the Neg
ro Medical Society called together a
few Civic minded Citizens for the
purpose of discussing ways and
means of laying a foundation tor a
Class A Hospital in the MicJ-Citty
section where real democracy will
ring true to its meaning on the
plot of ground in the Bedford Park
edition which is owned by Mr. Dee
president of the Realty Improve
ment Co., In«.
Atty. Davis at the meeting
brought out the fact that to lay the
proper foundation of obtaining
funds to build a hospital, the land
should be deeded to the principal
body that will have the work of
laying the foundation for this hos
pital.
The Realty Improvement Cc-.. Inc.
being the owner of this plot of
land through their representative at
this meeting Mr Dee stated that the
size of the lot was 100 by 406 ft. and
that the value the firm had on said
lot was $6000.00, in fact he stated
this firm had been offered $6000.00
for the lots for a purpose he
thought was not essential for the
Community and that offer had been
turned down. Mr. Dee stated that he
felt sure that the Realty Improve
ment Co., Inc. would deed the lot to
the Hospital Committee for the sum
of $3000.00 definitely for a hospital
only. It was concluded by the mem
bers of the Committee present that
every effort would be put forth to
purchase the lot for the hospital.
Dr. Craig Morris stated that the
Medical Society was meeting the
following Friday evening and at
which time he would put the mat
ter up to the members of said Soc
iety and that he felt that it would
be acted on favorably.
Dr. Craig Morris said he had al
ready inquired from the Auxiliary
of the Society asking what they
could do to help build the hospital.
It was suggested in the meeting
that the Hospital Committee be en
larged and that the Douglas County
Medical Society Auxiliary be repre
sented on the Committee. The meet
ing was closed with all concerned
feeling certain that the money for
the ground would be raised and that
the hospital would be built.
2-Day Business Clinic
Closes at Lincoln Uni.
Jefferson City, Mo.. April 25, 1$45
The first annual Business Clinic,
sponsored by the Lincoln 1 niversity
(Mo.) Department of Economics and
Business Administration on its
school‘s campus April 24 and 25,
closed a successful session which
presented outstanding personalities
on its program.
White Corporal Sends
NAACP Gift of $100
New York—Corporal Irwin Ross,
-erving with a transportation unit
; overseas, has directed Liberty Mag
j nzine to send the N’AACP $100, part
! of the money he received for an
j article to appear May 19, entitled
“They Kept the Army Rolling "
I Since the article is about Army
railroads in Europe and since regu
lations prevent Corp Ross from ac
cepting pay for work done in con
nection with his Army duties, he
contributed his check to various
causes, including the N’AACP This
is the second gift of this nature re
ceived by the N'A ACP. the first be
ing $1,000 early in 1S44 from Sgt
John Sweet who gave away the
money he received for acting in the
British motion picture, “A Canter
] bury Tale ”
PRESIDENT NEGRO MEDICAL SOCIETY, DR. CRAIG MORRIS
Mrs, Cora Thomas
Dies in Lincoln
MEMBER PIONEER LINCOLN (J
FAMILY; ACTIVE IN CIVIC,
SOCIAL, OES. CIRCLES LAID TO
REST IN WYl'KA CEMETERY
Mrs. Cera B. Thomas. 71. 324 C;
Street, a resident of Lincoln since 1
1907 died there at a local hospital. 1
She had been a resident of Lincoln I
since 1907. Mrs. Thomas was born in j
Fort Scott Kansas, she was grad- J
uated from the public schools, at
tended Teacher's State Normal there j
and taught school in Oklahoma
while it was Indian territory in
1897, after her marriage to Lon B
Thomas she moved to Kansas City
and from there to Lincoln. Her hus- !
band preceeded her in death having
died in 1917, leaving a widow with
five children who she raised to
adult-hood alone. Mrs. Thomas
never did remarry.
She was a member of the Stew
ardess Board of Quinn Chapel A M
E. Church, Worthy Matron of Am
aranth Chapter O. E. S. No. 3 and
Grand Ada of Amaranthus Grand
Chapter of Nebraska and Jurisdict
ion. She had been ill two months.
She is survived by a daughter.
Mrs. Agnes L. Holcomb. Lincoln,
four sons Sergant Francis E.. Fres
: no California. Corporal Lonnie B.,
U. S. Army- over sea. Herschel, Lin
coln. Wendell, Omaha, three sisters.
Mrs. Elizabeth Woods, Mrs. Maude
Johnson, Mrs. Vashti Mosby, all of
Lincoln, five grand children, five
nephews and other relatives.
Funeral services were held Thurs
day afternoon from Quinn Chapel
A. M. E. Church, with llev. L. S.
Goolsby, officiating assisted by R.ev.
O J Burckhardt, Rev. T. T. McWil
liams. Rev C C. Reynolds. Presid
iams. Rev. C. C. Reynolds, Presid
ing Elder John Adams. Eastern Star
rites were in charge of the Amar
anthus Grand Chapter of Nebraska
and Jurisdiction, with Grand Wor
thy Matron, Cloma Scott presiding.
Burial was at Wyuka Cemetery,
j Lincoln
Music Observance to be
Dedicated to 1,571
Hamptonians at War
The annual observance of Natio
nal and Inter-American Music Week
at Hampton Institute May 6-12 will
be dedicated to the 1571 former
students and workers at the collegre
who are now in the armed forces.
Miss Irene Sanders head of the
music department announced.
Newi Appeal
Filed in Army
Scottsb’roCase
Washington, DC.—A new petition
asking for the immediate release of
Frank Fisher and Edward R. Loury
Negro soldiers sentenced to life im
prisonment by Courts-martial in
New Caledonia in 1943, was filed
with the War Department this week
by Judge William H. .Hastte,'chair
man of the NAACP national legal
committee and Congressman Vito
Marcantonio (ALP, NY), President
of the International Labor Defense
The soldiers were convicted of rap
ing a native French wdman. The
sentence of Fisher was reduced to
10 years and that of Loury to 8, af
ter Hastie and Marcantonio, serving
as their counsel on appeal, made
oral arguments and submitted
briefs on their behalf in 1944. The
new plea is made under the rules of
the War Department providing for
the review of convictions once a
year.
Citing the fact that the woman
accepted three dollars from the
soldiers immediately after having
had relations with them Hastie
and Marcantonio reiterated the pos
ition they took last year At that
time they expressed grave doubt
“there there is (a) case in Anglo
American jurisprudence in which
a conviction of rape has been per
mitted when payment had been of
fered and accepted on the spot.”
It was also pointed out that the ac
ceptance of money was but one of ,
many affirmative indications of the I
fact that the woman consented
The new petition took sharp is- j
sue with the War Department's o- I
pinion of March 31, 1944, issued ov- i
er the signature of the Under Sec- J
retary of War reducing the sent
ences but upholding the finding of |
guilt. The Departmental opinion j
contended, “Before any case is pre- i
sented to a general courts-martial j
it is subjected to pre-trial invest!- j
gation If investigation indicates
that such action is warrented and 1
the Commanding General approves I
it is brought to trial ”
Counsel for prisoners point out
that in the Fisher-Loury case “the
| recommendation of the investigat
ing officer who thoroughly examln
ed all witnesses was that the facts
[ did not warrant prosecution for
rape.”
"His recommendation,” the peti
tion . continued, “was ignored and
1 the evidence which supported it
PAUL ROBESON
New York—Paul Robeson, inter
nationally famous actor, concert
artist, and athlete, has been award
ed the 30th Spingarn Medal it was
announced April 26 by Pr John
Haynes Holmes, chairman of the
award committee.
Mr Hobeson received the award
for his outstalid ng achievements
in the theatre, on the concert stage
and in the general field of racial
welfare The latest triumph in his
long public eareei is his appearance
in Margaret Webster's production
of "Othello.”
Mr. Robeson has appeared in
numerous legitimate plays includ
ing "Emperor Jones,” “All God's
Chillun”, "Porgy", “Black Boy"
“The Hairy Ape." and “Stevedore."
In the films he has appeared in
"Emperor Jones," "Showboat,”
“Saunders of the River" "King Sol
omons Mines", /‘Jericho” and oth
ers .
He gave his first concert perfor
mance as a singer in 1926, and
made his first concert tour of Am
erica in 1929 His concert' tours
of Europe occurred in 1926-28, 1931
and 193S, with a memorable tour of
Russia in 1936
Mr. Robeson is a graduate of
Rutgers college and olumbia uni
versity. He is a member of Phi
Beta Kappa. He was a four letter
man at Rutgers and was all Amer
ican end on Walter Camp's team in
1918. He is married and has a son
who is now a sophomore at Corn
ell
The SpitiKarn Medal was Institut
ed by the late J E Spingarn for
many years president of the NAAO'
to go to the “man or woman’’ of
African descent and American cit
izenship who shall have made the
highest achievement during the
preceding year or years in any hon
orable field of human endeavor.”
The award to Mr. Robeson is con
sidered the Spingarn Medal for
1944 The award is customarily
presented at the annual conference
of the NAAOP, but on account of
■wartime restrictions the conference
has been cancelled this year In
view of this circumtance *he medal
will be formerly presented at a date
and place to be announced later
was withheld from the Courts-mar
tial This alone is adequate ground
for releasing the petitioners now ”
The opinion also held that the
prisoners had been “vigorously and
ably defended" by lawyers appoint
ed by the Army This proposition
was likewise rebutted by the peti
tion Fisher and Loury "have fil
ed affidavits” the attorneys stated,
“charging that thfey first saw ap
pointed counsel less than t4 hours
before their trials
"Whatever the vigor of counsel
may have been we deny their abil
ity to defend adequately under
these circumstances It is sub
mitted that no reviewing author
ity can reasonably say that the
petitioners had the substantive pro
tection which the right to counsel
and the right to call and examine
witnesses are intended to afford
t
Hastie and Marcantonio concluded
CIO Convinced “Price Ceilings ]\ot
Cause of Meat Shortage” Says Murray
Relaxation of Ceiling
Prices will Not Produce
More Meat
In a letter to all members of Con
gress today, Pres. Philip Murray of
the Congress of Industrial Organiz
ation said that the CIO is “convinced
price ceilings are not the cause of
the meat shortagej and that relazat- :
ion of price ceilings will not produce
more meat.”
Urging that price control be con- ;
tinued and fortified” he said that
• what we need if stimulation of all
possible production, accompanied In
adequate control of the supply from
the slaughter house right through to
the retail counter where families
buy their meat."
“Publicity emerging from the
hearings conducted by the sub-com
mittee seems to point more toward
relaxation of price control than to
strong action on black markets.
One Senator is quoted as condoning
the purchase of meat on black
markets in the absence of meat av
ailable through lawful channels. If
dissent from that view was express
ed in committee, it escaped my
notice in the press,” he said.
"Surely these must be distorted
accounts of what the current in
quiry is leading to. It cannot be
possible, while our country is at war
and our fighting men are engaged
with the enemy, that any committee
of the Congress is willing to lend
itself in any degree whatsoever to
an undermining of public morale
here at home. Surely there can be
no intended purpose to exploit our
difficulties with respect to a dimin
ished meat supply, or to suggest
that relaxation of essential war
time controls should be proposed to
ease these difficulties.”
"There is enough food, over and
above military requirements, ofr all
of us in this country, provided it be
properly shared and strictly ration
ed. To perform oonly a part of our
vitally important obligation to the
hungry people of Europe we shall
have to maintain strict rationing.
We are fully prepared to do what is
necessary to make good the liber
ation of subject peoples frr which
Philip Murray
__‘
our fighting men have given their
lives.”
Text of President Murray's letter
(continued on pagegggp’S)
