Weekly Feature Launched To Promote Race Harmony
•4r Every Week, we shall present “Our Guest Column," a non-profit service of the^American Press Associates devoted to furthering
group understanding.
Edited by Erna P. Harris, noted journalist, our new weekly column will feature prominent guest contributors who will review current
developments on the minority group front and suggest local and nationwide action. Coming soon as guest columnists are Pearl S. Buck,
A. Philip Randolph, George S. Schuyler, Dr. Ira De Reid. Rev. How ard Kester. Elmo Roper and other leaders in the fight for equality.
OUR
GUEST
Column
(Edited by ERNA P. HARRIS)
A UNION SETS THE PACE
A considerable number of liberal
and labor leaders have developed
anemic personalities when it
comes to the day-to-day practice
of racial equality. Whatever pri
vate convictions they profess to
have they usually manage to ra
tionalize a Jim Crow compromise
on the basis of community atti
tudes, rank-and-file prejudice, and
now-is-not-the time arguments
This pattern of conformity has
become so common that except
ions loom up as candles in the
night. In a border city that reeks
with Jim Crow an experiment was
launched a year ago whose suc
cess and permaence are now de
finitely guaranteed. A progressive
union, haded by men with woral
guts, hired a Negro office secre
tary in complete defiance of com.
munity practices.
Before taking this ground-break
ing step, the head of the union
asked various other liberal and
labor leaders whether a mixed of
fice staff was possible iit a Jim
Crow town. To a man they all as
sured him that neither the rank
and file members of the union nor
the community as a whole would
tolerate such an innovation. But
the girl was hired anyway and to
this day not even one question, let
alone an outright objection, has
been raised by anyone-either in or
out of the union.
The union executive went even
further. When nationalist patriots
were screeching against Japanese
Americans was running high and
professional patriots were scree
ching racist epithets at our yellow
skinned brothers, the union got in'
to office a capable Nisei steno
grapher. Once again the week
kneed progressives issued dire ad
vance warnings that is could not
be done. Once again it was done
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and no incidents materialized.
Within our union, says the man
primarily responsible for these
moral victories against bigotry,
we have a two-fold program in
action. On the one hand we see it
that the rights of minorities are
protected against members with
Southern attitudes. On the other,
we carry on continuous education
to change those undesirable atti
tudes In the shops we have organ
ized at, social functions of the un
ion, and in our office we tolerate
no curtailment of any members'
rights. Our experiment with a
mixed office staff shows that there
is no excuse whatsoever for unions
or progressive orgonizations to
practice Jim Crow because of pos
sible objections from the member
ship or the community.
Readers may be interested to
know that St. Louis is the scene
of this far-seeing labor program
and that the United Retail, Whole
sale and Department Store Em.
ployees of Americo (CIO)—the
union that is fighting Montgomer"
Ward Nationally—took the pion
eering steps we have described. To
Harold J. Gibbons, its St. LoQis
director, goes principal credit.
What Next?
Question In
Labor Outlook
MANAGEMENT AND LABOR
PARLEY FAILED ON A
SOLUTION FOR STRIKES
By James Preston
WASHINGTON—It is all too
clear that the Management-Labor
Conference failed In its major ob
jective—that of finding some way
of ending the nation-wide wave of
strikes.
The parley's accomplishments
were substantial. The “utter fail
ure” label which some have pinned
on the meeting is unfair and in ac
curate.
But the end of the conference
iour.d the troubled labor situation
just Jiriui whm e i( vu-.s befovs the
management and labor conferees
sat down together.
The Outlook
What next?
The Administration is on the
spot in the strike crisis and knows
it well. Th cel ere •me of the nert
moves was the Presidential mes
sage asking Congress for legisla
tion to curtail industrial strife.
Even while the conference was
in session, high administrative of
ficials were working on a labor
legislative program. Very little is
known about it except that serious
study is being given to the estab
lishment of some fact-finding and
voluntary arbitration procedure
This is provided in the bill (S.1H.9
by Senator McMahon of Connecti
cut, pending in the Senate.
This program must take account
of growing demands that labor
cease wildcat strikes in violation
of contract.
It must take into account the
growing feeling in the country
that the time has come to settle
down and turn out goods which
the nation needs.
wmte nouse uisappointed
Some members of Congress I
would like, for example, to move
toward that end by placing the
same responsibilities upon labor
that are placed upon employers by
the Wagner Act.
The outcome of the Manage
ment-Labor Conference was a
great disappointment to the White
House. Mr. Truman’s statements
on the matter clearly indicated as
much. He had hoped it would give
him a formula for avoiding or set
tling labor disputes.
The parley did not get down to
fundamentals on some major is
sues because labor, over and over
again, indicated its feeling that it
had nothing to gain by agreement
on these primary issues. Legisla
tion enacted in recent years has
given labor many advantages. Cer
tainly agreement which would
clearly define management’s right
to manage would take away some
of the authority labor has tried to
assume.
Similarly, labor felt it had noth
ing to gain from any limitation of
its right to strike.
Industry offered concession af
ter concessation—labor offered to
give up very little. Thus no major
compromise was possible because
labor did not wish to compromise;
hence the conference .failed to
reach its full objectives.
CLEMENCY ASKED FOR
OFFICER OF 92nd DIVISION
Washington, D C—A petition for
clemency in behalf of Lt. Noel W.
Greenridge of the 92nd division,
has been filed with the War de
partment by Thurgood Marshall
and Franklin Williams of the NAA
CP legal staff. Greenridge was
convicted of violating the 75th Ar
ticle of war and sentenced by a mil
itary court to 25 years at hard
labor. The NAACP petition asks
that he be restored to duty and
granted an opportunity to honor
ably terminate his service to his
country.
^ ★ ***★*★** ^
Read The Greater Omaha Guide.
_for All the News!.
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START!N6 THE NEW YEAR -
!
t
SEARCH FOR WOOD AND SOMETHING TO EAT
Nuernberg, Germany (Soundphoto) While Nazi leaders face justice
in the nearby Hall of Justice at Nuernberg, this graphic indictment of
their leadership is furnished in the cold outside by some of the people
they led4o defeat and ruin, Snow of the coming hard winter already
covers ground as these formerly “substantial citizens” of Nuernberg
scramble through the dump where Allied Forces throw their rubbish.
These Germans search for any little bit of burnable wood, or any bit
still eatable.no matter how unappetizing.food which might have
been overlooked or discarded. (photo by Hans Reinhardt.)
_ * -
Solution of Unemployment Depends
* on Small Business--Wilkie
The only hope for the absorp
tion of all employables in the
I United States lies in the success
of the small business enterprise.
This statement was made by
Leighton Wilkie, chairman of
The DoALL Company, manufac
turers of machine tools, of Des
Plaines, 111., and Minneapolis,
Minn., following a survey of
postwar employment made by
that company.
This survey
discloses that
in ifor m a 1
times, or be
fore the war,
there were
some two and
three-quarter
million little
businessmen
in this coun
try, employing
three men or
less..
Leighton Wilkie
“During the war big business
Eushed forward at every possi
le outlet and expanded far and
beyond normal ' requirements,”
Wilkie pointed out. . “However,
this much is certain: Graveyard
shifts are a thing of the past.
Surplus employees and fringe
efficiency employees will disap
pear from the big plants. It is
at this point that the smaller
shops will be expected to absorb
those released from the big
plants by the resumption of nor
mal production.
Two Alternatives
“Thus we find that we are
thoroughly unreasonable in our
demand that the responsibility
for absorbing unemployed work
ers lies with big business. It
simply can’t be done. We are
left with two alternatives: Em
ployment by government agen
cies through the utilization of
tax monies or employment by
■mall businesses,
i “Secretary of Labor Schwel
lenbach estimates by next April
there will be 7,000,000 employ
ables out of work. We know
that every small shop, and es
pecially those serving their im
mediate communities, have been
undermanned. If each of these
two and three-quarter million
shops, whether they be retail,
manufacturing, or service enter
prises, can add an average of
two men to its payroll, we shall
have accomplished the re-em
ployment of 5,500,000 men and
women. This will cut a pretty
big hole in the unemployment
pattern.
“With this thought in mind,
The DoALL Company has ad
justed its entire merchandising
outlook.
Develops Plan
. “It has developed an Occupa
tionaLIndependence Plan which
seeks to encourage the creation
of additional small enterprises
in the metal, wood, and plastics
working field as well as their
expansion.”
. Highlights of this Occupa
tional - Independence Plan ac
cording to Wilkie, are, first, to
provide direct and specific as
sistance to veterans enabling
them to pursue peace-time occu
pations which offer a high de
gree of security; and second, to
help produce a class of men, who
will be given an unrestricted
opportunity to develop and be
come successful by their own
efforts.
The program seeks to show
the servicemen how to organize
and operate service and repair
shops which are a basic need in
all communities.
. Training Offe.*ed
This training is offered at The
DoALL Technical Institute, set
up by the company to train men
and women in the use of the
basic equipment of eight types
of community service and repair
shops.
The program provides the
specific layouts for the various
shops, lists the machines, tools,
and equipment required to begin
operation, gives information
concerning costs and in general
covers the entire prospects of
the industry,
A model of one of the shops
in the program, as planned by
The DoALL Company, has been
set up for inspection by veterans
and others interested in owning
and operating their own busi
nesses at the Des Plaines
DoALL plant
• FOR GREATER COVERAGE—Advertise in
1 THE GREATER OMAHA GUIDE
m
A MLS1 READ
Guy H Raner Writes Bilbo,
Eastland; Bilbo Repl ies
551 Norwich Drive.
Uos'Angeles, 36, Calif.
Sen. Theodore G, Bolbo
Sen. James O. Eastland
Rep. John E. Rankin
Dear Sirs:
I was born in Vicksburg, Miss.,
and attended the University of
Mississippi for three years. During
the war 1 spent nearly four years
of active duty in the US Navy and
was only recently released. Dur
ing all of this time I was so fre.
quently em harassed by the actions
and words of you three gentlemen
Unit I finally kept my mouth shut
or evaded the question when any
one asked me where I was born or
where I went to college, i grew so
that 1 was ashamed to aumit ever
lving in the same state which el
ected three such persons as you to
the United States Congres.
It may be that I remained all of
my life within the borders of Miss
issippi, or Germany, I would have
reached my present age believing
as you do about human,ty, but I
have been lucky enough to have
had the opportunity of living in 8
other states, in the Sou'h, i n.
East and West, and while in the
Navy to live for varying periods
in Brazil and Hawaii, an ', also to
have atcendeu two other universi
ties since at ending the University
of Missippi. And during Lins pmc
I did not coniine my reading and
studies to tectnical matter such as
engineering or law or chemistry,
but studied much about humanity,
in the fields of sociology, religion,
philosophy, literature, anthropolo
gy, and history.
tience l, ana ail my friends have
studied such humanities, have de
veloped ideas and attitudes so dif
ferent from those you and Hitler
preach that it would take a life
time to measure the difference.
Having recently finished my part
in a World War which was large
ly caused by the deliberate spread
by the Nazis of blind, primitive,
ignorant ideas of racial superiority
I now return to find you and your
kind in the United States appar
ently blissfully unaware of what
has been going on during the past
years, and deliberately continuing
to spread the same racial ideas
which caused the total destruction
of the German natiorf.
So it is naturally of great con
cern to me, not only that you
should be doing this, but that there
should be people in Mississippi who
apparently think the same as you
do to elect you to such a high po
sition. And I wonder if the people
in Mississippi realize what a re
putation your actions have given
the state. I wonder if they realize
that merely mentioning the fact
that one is from Mississippi now
casts a social stigma in man/ cir
cles, as though they wiuld say, “I
am a Nazi' or “I supported To jo,'
and puts that person on the defen
sive to prove that he is a self-re
specting member of society, in
spite of having lived in Mississip
pi. I wonder if the people of Tupe
lo realize that the name of their
town may become as well known
as “quisling” or “Belsen” or “Da
chau,” standing as a synonym for
bigotry, intolerance, and race pre
udice if John Rankin remains much
longer in Congress?
I know that you are all three
to old to begin a process of re-ed
ucation now, so I will not ask you
to read the Public Afairs Pamph
let “Races of Mankind,” written
by two members of the Depart
ment of Anthropology at Colum
bia University, or the pi”"ere and
deeply moving aut<-biogrer)v,v of
Richard Wright, “Black Boy.” But
I will ask you, and the people of
Mississippi, to carefully consider
the value of humanity, the full
meaning of the phrase “Brother
hood of Man” and the statement,
“This is my commandment, That
ye love one another, as I have
loved you.” And further, that you
consider the importance of educa
tion. Next time the Thomas “Fed.
eral Aid to Education” bill comes
up, think of the world of good it
will do the people of Mississippi
to have the people or tne weaun
ier states donating to help Missis
sippi improve it’s educational sy
stem.
And especially I would like to
ask the people of Mississippi if
they can’t take a thoughtful en
ough interest in politics to find
some liberally educated men or
women to represent them nation
ally. If Florida and Arkansas can
find men like Claude Repper and
William Fulbright to send to Con
gress, and Georgia can elect a man
like Ellis Arnall for Governor,
surely Mississippi can do as much.
It is perhaps dificult for a person
who lives in Mississippi to realize
how much the attitude of a Cali
f^rian or New Yorker, or even a
Brazilian, toward a state can be
changed when that state elects
someone like Ellis Arnall to a high
position. In the days of Talmadge,
the mention of Georgia in a con
versation brought expressions of
swallowed castor oil lo the average
tace, but with the advent of Ar
nall a Georgian can hold his head
high in any group, for the gener
al excellence of Arnall overshad
ows even the dark blots of the act
ivities of Georgia men like Cox
in Congress.
•: other state a h i ;t why
can't you?
Sincerely yours
Guy H. Raner
UNITED STATE SENATE
COMMITTEE ON THE DISTRICT
OF COLUMBIA
Guy H. Raner, Jr.
551 Norwich Drive
Los Angeles, 36, California
Dear Raner:
Your letter of November 18 was
received and it was so disgusting,
so distressing and so asinine until
I thought I would answer it and
get it out of my hands at the ear.
liest possible moment. I want to
say to you, sir, that decent white
people of Mississippi would suffer
a far greater degree of embar
rassment when it is announced
that you are a native of Mississ
ippi than you and your associates
of such low mentality suffer when
you have to say you are from that
state.
If you do not want to be embar
rassed by being castigated for be
ing from Mississippi, since Miss
issippi is so well represented in
the American Congress at this
time until the negroes, commun
ists, pinks, reds, and all off-brands
are ‘ raising hell” about it, then I
suggest that you seek better com
pany. Quit associating with Ne
groes, mongrels, half-breeds, com
munists, etc. and you won’t be em
barrassed.
And when you mentioned the
pamphlet entitled ‘Races of Man
kind’ and the negro book ‘Black
Boy’ I nearly fell out of my chair
for you know the two authors of
‘Races of Mankind’ were students
of Dr. Boaz of Columbia Univer
sity who taugfit intermarriage be
tween the black and white races.
And Richard Wright is a Mississ
ippi negro who married a white
woman in New York. Evidently
you must have a ‘sweetie’ who has
the odoriferous odor of the jungle.
Of course, if you like it ‘smell on’.
I am sorry for you and for that
reason I am sending you under se
porate cover a copy of my recent
speeches, statements, etc in the
hope that you will know the truth j
if you are willing to learn, and I
have just finished a book, after
printing and when it comes off the
press I want you to read it care-:
fully and you will see that men of
vour t^me are real enemies to
White America and to our great
civilization. You are the type that
w ould bring about the mongreli-1
zation of the races if you had your
wa \ tut I am making it my bus
iness to stop you and your mad
career.
I v, ant to thank you for writing
me because it shows just what
funny types make up this world.
Yours truly,
S—Theo G. Bilbo
U. S. S. (
' JUST KIDDING OURSELVES \
)j 1
/ Suppose everybody got a 30
per cent raise. j
^ Prices on everything might be1
1 in danger of going 30 per cent
higher, and we would all be right
back where we started. The raises
v would not mean a darn thing, d
) What we really need is for
everybody to produce, say 30 per
cent mofe and to keep prices
abouyyle same.
£ T^^L>ur present incomes1
wo^^Hy 30 per cent more than
no>^Pna it would amount to a 30
per cent raise that would really I
mean something to everybody,
LUMBER FOR HOUSES
SHIPPED ABROAD
Enough lumber to build 75,000
to 100,000 much needed homes was
shipped abroad last year under
Government license—because it
brought higher prices to the pro
ducers than those allowed under
OPA regulations.
The shipments went to Spain.
Australia, Africa and Latin Amer
ican republics under permits gran,
ted by the Foreign Economic Ad
ministration.
* * *
The medium income for the Am*
erican family unit last year wa3
$2,700—a rise of $800 from 1941.
CONFER AT CONVENTION
Chicago, HI.—Elected national commander of the Disabled Americ
an Veterans at its 24th national convention, Dow V. Walker of New
port, Oregon, (right) confers with General Omar Bradley, veterans ad
ministrator, who also took part in the convention. Walker, former
all-star Pacific coast football player, was a Major in World War I and
served with the AEF. in France. He has two sons in the Army both
of whom served overseas in World War II.
BRITISH LOAN SIGNED
Washington, DC. (Soundphoto)
The agreement for a U. S. loan to
Great Britain was signed formaly
last week at the State Department
Secretary of State James F. Byrn
es and Secretary of Treasury Fred
Vinson signed the agreement for
the United States. Lord Halifax,
British Ambassador to this count
ry signed for Great Britain. Photo
shows left to right: Lord John
Maynard Keynes, Lord Halifax.
Secretary of State J. F. Byrnes,
and Secretary of the Treasury
Fred Vinson, all seated in front
row, as Secretary Byrnes signs
for the U: S. Dean Acheson stand
ing directly in back of Secretary
Byrnes. Back row, left to right:
Committee members, Sen. Bonner
Ferguson, of Mich., Owen Brew
ster of Me., Scott Lucas of HI.,
Walter F. George of Ga., Alben
Barkley, Chairman of Senate
group, and Representative Jere
Cooper of Tenn., Chairman of the
House group.
ASK LIFTING OF BAN ON
MIXED SOLDIER MARRIAGES
Washington, D. C.—A request
that the War and Navy depart
ments lift the ban on marriages
between colored men in the armed
services and women of the coun
tries where they have served over
seas was made of Cec'y of War
Robert P Patterson and Secretary
of Navy James V. Forrestal last
week by the NAACP.
The letter: This Association has
recently received several commu
nications from American Negro
servicemen and several from fian
cees of Negro servicemen in the
:ountries of France. Italy, and
England and other places report
ing that American Army and Na
vy officers have refused permis
sion to these individuals to marry.
In some instances these service
men are the fathers or prospec
tive fathers of children. These men
have sought to legitimatize these
children by honorable marriage
but have been prevented from do
ing so.
The National Assaciation for the
Advancement of Colored People
hereby requests that the War and
Navy departments issue orders and
take steps to see that such orders
are enforced that where two per
sons wish to join in holy matri
mony that they be not debarred
from doing so because of race or
color.
NEGRO DOLLS ;!
Every home should have a Col-;!
