Nebraska Newspapers

    ■ LOCAL & NATL NEWS-lOc per copy “AND WORTH IT” ■
/JUSTICE/EQUALITY
EQUAL OPPORTUNITY PHONE HA.0800
d^rdU OKANT ST
Ac_X_At “Largest Accredited Negro Newspaper West of Chicago and North of KC.” Jf.
Entered as 2nd class matter at Post- oftice. Omaha, Nebr, Under Act of
Saturday, January 19, 1946 Our 18th Year—No. 50 ★ 10c Per Copy ★ March 8, 1874. Publishing Offices at 2420 Grant Street, Omaha, Nebr
• “Give To ThpMarch of Dimes — — —_•Remember The Victory Clothing Relief Campaign
Weekly Feature Launched To Promote Race Harmony
+■ Every Week, we shall present ’Our Guest Column,” a non-profit service of the American Press Associates devoted to furthering
^Edited^y Erna ‘i ^iarrts 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 na ttonwide action.
Jewel uilding Condemnation
The t nited Sttaes District Attorney started condemnation proceedings against the J. C. Jewel Build
ing located at 24th and Grant streets on the southeast comer.
_W SEE Page 8 of this issue for advertisement of this legal notice.
OUR
GUEST
Column
<Edited by ERNA P. HARRIS)
• Minorities and the
American Community
' K'nrrey
£ at ■ Ot.' ,.eois cu*
- - ut co?
3 ■* •* & ...r 'he r.ott
. affirmed ir. a
l ie Am«ricai! Chru
ea for Refugee's pul
• *t# It 13 tins J,
rm«. aij ctual community to
ward which modern man who
finds himself ‘obsolete,’ must be
led in the present universal con
fusion.
The question of who shall lead
becomes, then, all-important. For
there are those who seem to be
lieve quite seriously that we
should give all our attention to
international issues, since domes
tic problems will solve themselves
if we can solve world problems.
Such reasoning is seductive. It is
pleasant to believe that as Amer
icans we have the ultimate in de
sirable social formulae to offer
the rest of the world. Bemused by
the Atlantic Charter and the my
stical four freedoms, we seem to
forget our Missippis and our Bil
bos, our Jew-baiters, and Negro
baiters, our General Motors and
our C E. Wilsons. But. it would
seem that before we offer a way
of life to the rest of the world
We should examine the worth of
our proposed gift
International isolationism, so to
speak, can be as dangerous as
America first-ism. Both are ram
pant today. The protagonists of
international cooperation includ
ing Senator Vandenburg, will ren
der neither the world nor America !
much gbod in this critical hour if'
they t conspicously or consciously |
or not i blind us to our national i
defects and the wave of fascism j
threatening to engulf us.
The National CIO Community
Services Committee has worked
actively in communities through
out America during the war and I
into the peace as the CIO's social i
, welfare and relief arm. The Com- i
mittee has fought discrimination I
against any and all minorities in
certam Community Chests and
social service agencies. The broad
experience gained in community
relations has given the Committee
a clear picture of the frightening
extent to which fear, ignorance
prejudice and reaction permeate
the body of American society.
This consists not only of racial
prejudice and prejudice against
organized labor and fear of pro
gressive social and political act
ion, but also of reaction against
the sheer principles of democracy
The desparate need for the unity j
of all progressive forces through
out the country has been clearly
demonstrated, but confusion and
political fractionalism are becom
ing increasingly an obstacle. At
no time has the garden-variety j
liberal better deserved the epithet!
of confused'.
The United Nations now are
meeting in London, and world
peace and security are at stake.
World cooperation must be achi
eved. clearly, even cooperation be
tween shabby government which
deny democracy to their own cit
izens. But essentially, over the
years, world peace, world securi
ty and world freedom begin at
home, on the banks of the Missi
ssippi and Yazoo Rivers and in
our myriad Detroits and Garys
PROTEST ON DISCHARGE OF
FIELD OFFICERS
Washington, D. C_Negro of
ficers of field grade who have ex
pressed a desire to remain in the
army are being summarily dis
missed at Fort McClellan. Ala.,
it was clj^rged by the NAACP in
a wire to Secretary of War Rob
ert P Patterson- The association’s
protest said subordinate com
manders were being discrimina
I
Union Services
Union Services will be held at
St. John AME Church, 22nd and
Willis Avenue. Sunday, January
20th. Devotional Services at 7:30
pm. Sermon at 8:00 pm. The
speaker will be Rev F. C. Will
iams. pastor of Zion Baptist
Church. Music by Zion’s Senior
Choir.
South Omaha
YMCA Given
Official Status
' tha Branch of the
\ inters . —vn Association
: by action
Erector's
vester
* T
iwoxier o. o. oiwrt'^«opten.
The first providing for Ai „cles of
Government under which the
branch will operate These Arti
cles had been adopted by the una
nimous decision of South Omaha
Committee upon presentation by
a special committee headed by
Albert Young. The Articles of
Government generally agree with
the rules governing branches ad- ■
opted by the YMCA Board of Di
rectors about a year ago. The se
cond resolution submitted a list
of 16 names fQr the South Omaha
Branch Committee of Manage
ment, five to be appointed later
The names submitted and appro
ved by the Board and officially
appointed by the President are:
William Kunold, Ben Prosch,
David Blacker, Rev George S. |
Bancroft, Chris Gugas, William j
BerquisJ, Albert Stelling, Henry
Miessner, Guy Chipman. Rev. Jo
seph A Aughney, Fred ..idoe,
Herbert Wells, Ralph Marrs. John
Nixon, Joseph Swoboda, and
Chauncey Premer.
J F Berner reported on ^e act.
ivities of the new near Northside
Branch explaining that temporary
YMCA headquarters have been
established in an omce of the
Jewell Building at 2221 North 24
Street. Parts of this building have
been rented by Youth Centers,
Inc., and the following five agen
cies share in its use: YWCA, Ur
ban League. City Recreation,
Youth Centers, Inc., and YMCA.
The YMCA is not responsible
for the operation of this building, !
explained Mr. Berner, but are do- j
nating part of Secretary Brad- '
ford’s time to assist the Commun- j
ity Welfare Council in its man
agement j
The Branch Committee will
meet Wednesday noon for election
of chairman and addition of com- \
mittee members.
General Secretary, W H. Mead,;
in his report announced that Glenn |
Gillespie, now General Secretary
at McCook, Nebraska, has accep ,
ted the Omaha YMCA’s offer to]
become Executive of the North:
Omaha Committee effective on
March 1st- This will compelte the j
for the YMCA's program of ad
vance in qommunity | ,-cirk, phis :
year. AJ Getchey, Industrial Se -!
cretary, has been given the addi-!
tional responsibility of Business
Secretary in the Central Build j
mg.,_ 1
tory in disregarding the requests
of the men, made under appropri
ate War department regulations '
The protest took significance here
among observers of postwar pol- :
icy of the War department has no j
plans for use of Negro officers of
field grade, and that the long
rumored integration policy may;
not materialize.
NEW OFFICE SECRETARY
AT OMAHA URBAN LEAGUE
Miss Ovalyn Grice, daughter of
Mr and Mrs. Paul Grice of 1516 i
North 28 Street, was selected by
the Personnell Committee of the
Urban League Board to replace
Mrs. Elma F Lloyd as Office and
Placement Secretary.
Miss Grice is a graduate of
Technical High School and until
her recent appointment, was em
ployed by the State Health De
partment as a junior stenograph
er. She has been closely a^^aied
with League youth groups and
served as president of the Omaha
Negro Youth Council for two yrs.
Hurry! Hurry!
You will have to hurry if you want one of those
beautiful lots in Bedford Park addition. They are
going like hot-cakes in March. Don’t wait another
day. call the owner, JA-7718 and arrange for your j
first small down payment. Get started. Become a
home owner. .20 years from today you won’t be
sorry. Did you know when you get your lot paid
for, you are right on the road to build your own
home according to your own design, without putting
up another dime.
The government will furnish the funds for you to
build your home. _
YES SIR, we say that you will have to HURRY,
if you want one of those beautiful lots in Bedford
Park addition. Call JA-7718 and make arrange
ments for your deal.
Where is Bedford Park addition? It is right in
the heart of the most beautiful spot in the city of
Omaha—30th from Wirt to Spencer. Don’t be
sorry, don’t wait another day. Start now to be
come A HOME OWNER.
LaGUARDIA ELECTED MEMBER OF NAACP. DIR-BOARD
Orchestra Leader Buys “L” Garage
NORTHSIDE COMMUNITY CENTER OPENING
SET FOR 3:30 P. M. SUNDAY AFTERNOON
_
A THRILLING MOMENT
I
GLAMOR-STRUCK: A thrilling moment for Y 3/c Tow Hawkins, of
the Great Lakes Naval Training Station, as he _atograph of
Hilda Sims, star of “Anna Lucasta” now plavs^i&^mcago, Illinois. Th«
occasion is a reception for the cast at the U*0 Club. Waukegan. Illinois.
CIO SAYS PEARL HARBOR INVESTIGATION
Smear on Memory of Roosevelt
Describing the Senate ’investi
gation’ of the Pearl Harbor dis
aster as “an attempted smear on
the memory of a great President"
the CIO today told Senate Major
ity Leader Alben Barkley (D. Kv)
“It is time this mockery of an
investigation was stopped and the
Senate encouraged to go to work
on issues of concern to the people
rather than to the politicians.”
The appeal to drop the Pearl
Harbor probe was contained in a
letter to Barkley from CIO Leg
islative Director Nathan Cowan,
who pointed out that the political
jockeying now going on around
the investigation was delaying
action on needed legislation in the
Senate, such as repeal of the
polltax. passage of the 65-75 cents
minimum wage bill, and other is
sues.
Text of Cowan's letter to Sena
tor Barkley follows:
“For some weeks now. the Sen
ate of the United States has been
prevented from carrying on its
constitutional function of legisla
ting for the government of this
nation
"The factor that has prevented
the Senators from doing their
duty to the people who elect them
is the so-called investigation of
the Pearl Harbor disaster.
‘This investigation should more
properly be described as an at
tempted smear on the memory of
a great President of the United
States, Franklin D. Roosevelt It
should be also described as elect
ion campaign strategy on the part
of the Republican Party aimed at
confusing the voters in time for
November, 1946
“More serious than even these
results from the prolonged exhi
bition of political jockeying in
and around the Pearl Harbor in
vestigation is the delay that it
has meant to needed legislation in
the Senate—a delay that seems
to be continuing into the new
session.
‘Thus, while Senators vie for
the headlines, progress on essen
tial bills is completely stymied.
Among such measures are the re
peal of the polltax, the passage of
the 65-75 cents minimum wage
bill, the creation of a permanent
FEPC. and others.
“Unfortunately, several Sena
tors on the majority side seem de
termined to continue to appease
I -
A committee consisting of Miss
Elizabeth Jordan, Mrs. Ruth Wiles
Gaines T. Bradford and Arthur B.
McCaw, completed plans for the
formal opening of the new North
side Community Center at the
old USO building, 24th and Grant
Sts,, Sunday afternoon at 3:30 pm
Talks will be given by Mr. Fred
Hill, Ass’t Superintendent of
Schools and chairman of the
Group Work Division of the Com
munity Welfare Council; Mr.
Ralph Adams, member of the
newly elected board of the new
Northside YMCA and prominent
attorney; and Mrs. Robbie T. Da
vis of the public schools.
Musical selections will be given
by the Imperialists under the di
rection of Mr. Walter Bell with
solos by Lester Corbin and Mrs.
Colleen” St. Clair. Invocation will
be by Rev. E B. Childress and the*
benediction by Rev. S. S. Spaght.
the Republican ana other enemies
of the late President Roosevelt,
even though it involves still fur
ther stalling on needed social leg
islation.
“It is time this mockery of an
investigation was stopped and the
Senate encouraged to go to work
on issues of concern to the people
rather than the politicians.”
WALTER WHITE ON W. COAST
New York—Walter White, the
NAACP secretary, is on the Pa
cific Coast for conferences and
speaking engagements that will
keep him out of New York for 6
weeks- Mr. White will speak in
Loa Angeles, San Francisco and
the East.
ELLINGTON AGAIN TOPS
ESGUIRE’S AWARDS
The inimitable Duke Ellington
has been chosen for the second
consecutive year as the top ar
ranger and his band as the top
jazz band in Esquire’s 1946 All
American Jazz Selections.
And the jazz stylists Benny
Goodman, Louis Armstrong, Red
Norvo, and Coleman Hawkins
have been picked for the third
' consecutive year as the top spe
cialists in the jazz world-three
i time winners of one of jazz's most
i coveted awards, the 1946 Gold
Esky” Statuette, signifying All
American rating. t
The complete list of the ranking
jadzmen of the year as picked by
Esquire's nationally known Board
I of Experts—all winners of the ’46
j ‘ Eskys” greaL
URBAN LEAGUE ANNUAL
MEETING AT JOSLYN
MEMORIAL
!The Joslyn Memorial lecture hall
has been selected by the Omaha
League Board for their 18th An
i nual Meeting according to an an
! nouncement made by Rev. W. H.
Phelps. President. The meeting is
to be held on Lincoln’s birthday,
Tuesday, February 12.
National Council For Permanent FEPC.
Calls Emergency Meeting
The National Council for a
Permanent FEPC. through its co
chairmen. A. Philip Randolph and
Dr. Allan Knight Chalmers, has
called an emergency meeting of
national leaders at the Mayflower
Hotel in Washington. D. C. for
Wednesday. January 23rd. Fail
ure of the Congress to act on
TEPC legislat.on. rapidly mount
hg racial and religious tensions,
| je return of over a million non
white servicemen, and the minor
ity problems brought about by
planless reconversion have cre
ated a situation so fraught with
danger as to constitute a national
emergency.
Consideration of measures to
meet this emergency will be the
principle business of the dinner
meeting at which Hon. Harold £.
Lewis Schwellenbach will be the
Principal speakers.
The principal officers of the 70
national organizations which are
cooperating with the National
Council, as well as presidents of
such organizations as the Nation
al Association of Manufacturers.;
United States Chamber of Com- i
merce, the American Legion.
American Veterans Committee
and other Veteran's organizations
have been invited to participate.
The famous Band leader, Mr. Nat Tow les and a
Mr. Alfred A. Fiedler, bought the New L Oarage
building at 24th and Lake—so shows the record.
The purchase price was approximately $8,500.00.
So far, we have been unable to contact Mr. Towl
es to find out what he expects to do with the build
ing.
(Watch next week’s paper for a statement on his
plans.)
Race Benefactor Dies
LIBERIA ISSUES FDR STAMP
Washington, D. C.—Liberia is
issuing a Roosevelt Memorial pos
tage as tribute to the apprecia
tion of the late President, the
Liberian Consulate has announ
ced.
A $15,000,000 construction pro
ject initiated by President Roose
velt will give Liberia one of the
most modern seaports in West
Africa, the Consulate announced.
It is being built under US sup
ervision.
—
Every Nebraskan Will
Have Chance to Partici
pate in March of Dimes
Every Nebraskan will have an j
opportunity to participate in Ne-1
braska's biggest March of Dimes
drive, now underway to continue
through January 31, Walter F.
Cozad, Omaha, State Chairman,
announced as the -drive opened
Monday.
With 120 cases of polio reported
in Nebraska last year, Nebrask
ans, like the nation, have had an
opportunity to see the National
Foundation for Infantile Para
lysis in action, Mr. Cozad said.
During 1945 the state received
$6 300 from the National organ
ization to assist against local
chapters carry on the fight
against the desease
"Adequate treatment and care i
of the infantile paralysis patient I
requires months, sometimes even
years, of nursing and medical
service and this is costly”, Mr.
Cozad said. At an average cost of
$2,500 for each patient, it is too
costly for the average American
family to carry the load unassi
sted by local chapters of the Na
tional Foundation.
“Your dimes and dollars serve
your own community and the na
tion,” the State Chairman said in
asking Nebraskans to support the
March of Dimes drive. He empha
sized that ail contributions should
be sent to local March of Dimes
chairmen.
Local chapters retain half of ail
1 contributions for care and treat
ment of polio victims in their own
communities. The other half goes
to the National Foundation for
research, training of personnel
and epedemic emergency aid.
PRINCIPAL OF BANCROFT
SCHOOL COMMENDS CHOIR
Dear Mr. McCaw and Mr Bell:
All day Friday, after your dra
matic concert on Thursday even
‘ mg at our Parent-Teacher meet
ing. I kept receiving messages by
phone or note expressing pleasure
at your appearance. Several par
ents who had not been present ex
pressed regret at their absence
Word got around fast of the treat
they had missed. The children
made a special point to let me o
1 their teachers know how much
their parents had enjoyed the mu
sic.
It is and will be the high per
formance of our year. It is a very
fine thing to assemble a group of
young people together for such
artistic development and then to
make it possible for other people
to enjoy the products of their act
ivities.
I hope you have the very best
success in your proposed concert
tour
I
| Sincerely,
I S’smed: Zell R Sahn
Greensboro, N C—The death of
Mrs. Henry Pfeiffer in New York
Tuesday, January 8, robbed Ben
nett College of its most generous
benefactor. She had been confined
to a hospital and at her home for
several months with a broken leg
following a fall. She was 85 years
old.
Her gifts of approximately
$850,000 to Bennett since 1934,
represents a small portion of the
millioms she has given to colleges
and other institutions in the Uni
ted States and foreign countries.
Funeral services were held in
New York, Friday. January 11.
President and Mrs. David Jones
and Miss Willa B. Player, regis
trar, represented the college.
FORMER 92nd OFFICER HAS
SENTENCE REMITTED
New York—The sentence of 25
years at hard labor meted out to
Noel W. Greenridge, former 1st
lieutenant in the 92nd Infantry,
has been completely remitted and
Greenridge has reenlisted and he
will be eligible for an honorable
discharge, the NAACP was ad
vised last week Thurgood Mar
shall and Franklin H. Williams,
NAACP lawyers, filed the petit
ion for clemency on behalf of him
with the Secretary of War. The
lawyers also filed a similiar pe
Ution on Denan oi jonn Arnoiu,
formerly a private, who was con
victed on a charge of rape.
NEW CIVILIAN AIDE—Lieu
tenant Colonel Marcus H. Ray, j
Chicago, Illinois, formerly com
, manding officer of the 600th Field
Artillery Battalion of the 92nd
[ Infantry (“Buffalo”) Division was
1 appointed Civilian Aide to the Sec
! retary of War on January 2, 1946.
I Colonel Ray succeeds Mr. Truman
l K. Gibson, Jr., who held the post
for three years before resigning
on November 19, 1945. Colonel
Ray’s service in the Mediterranean
Theater of Operations won him the
Legion of Merit, Bronze Star
Medal, and the Italian honor.
Cross of Merit of War. (U. S.
Army photo from Bureau of Public
Relations. 1-7-46.)
Phone us vour
SOCIAL NOTES
j JA-3215
^*##############»##»»»»»##»#^#^
3 -
j Association Reports
500,000 Members and
$442,000 Income in ’45
New York—F H. LaGuardia,
former Mayor of New York, was
among the 16 persons elected to
the board of directors of the
NAACP at the annual meeting of
the association January 7.
Other new' members chosen were
Norman O. Houston, president of
r the Golden State Mutual Life In
surance Company, Los Angeles,
Calif., and Ike Smalls, Des Moin
es, la., business man and presi
dent of the Iowa State conference
of NAACP branches.
Members re-elected include:
Dr. Buell G. Gallagher. Berkeley,
Calif.; S Ralph Harlow. North
ampton, Mass-; Mrs. Grace B.
Fenderson, Newark, N. J.; Carl
Murphy, Baltimore, Md.; Judge
William H. Hastie, Washington,
D. C.; Dr. William Allan Neilson.
Falls Village, Conn.; and Miss
Marion Cuthbert, Judge Hubert
T. DeLany, Lewis S- Gannett,
John Hammond. Rev. James H.
Robinson, Arthur B. Springam.
and Dr Channing H. Tobias, all
of New York.
Colored peoples throughout the
world, who constitute two-thirds
of the earth’s population, are de
termined once and for all time
to end white exploitation and im
perialism. declared Walter White
in his report to the meeting.
The NAACP faces a new year
with undimmed determination, he
said. Its membership has reached
an all-time high of both Negro
and write members totalling 500.
000. Its branches, youth councils
and college chapters now total
1129—more than twice the num
ber in 1943. Significant victories
were won in 1945 against housing
segregation, trade union discri
mination and legal injustices. In
1946 the work of the NAACP
Veteran’s Bureau, established on
January 1, 1945, will be greatly
expanded to meet the needs of
veterans, particularly Negro vet
erans, who are facing in many in
stances unbelievable discrimina
in finding jobs and places to live.
We have added to our staff a
lawyer, himself a veteran, whose
duties will be the handling of our
courts martials and blue discharge
certificate cases of Negro veter
ans which are inordinately chs
proportioned because of race pre
judice We shall continue a vig
orous legislation campaign both
in the national Congress and in
State Legislatures for needed
legislation dealing with employ
ment, voting, racial discrimina
tion, segregation in armed ser
vices. the poll tax, lynching, hou
sing and fair employment prac
tice. An expanded and more spe
cific program of activity against
misrepresentation of the Negro
in moving pictures, radio, news
reels, stage, fiction and newspa
pers wul be put into errect.
The NAACF, Mr. White said,
will work also on international
phases of the race question be
cause the American situation is
part and parcel of the problems
of other colored peoples in the
West Indies, South America Afri*
ca the Pacific and Asia.
A fight during 1946 for abso
lute equality of educational fa
cilities and expenditures between
Negro and white students in the
southern states where segrega
tion is required by law, was also
pledged by Thurgood Marshall.
Special Counsel, reporting for the
legal department. The report fore
cast that the coming year will see
a large number of cases filed in
states below the Mason-Dixon
line to compel equality in the lo
cal school systems
In voting cases the report also
pledged -continued vigilance
against efforts of election offici
als in the southern states to en
force the ‘white primary', out
lawed in the famous 1944 Texas
White Primary case decision,
brought to the US Supreme Court
by the NAACP. Discriminatory
registration practices and the poll
tax were attacked in the report.
Cases involving these principles
are already filed and others are
now ready for filing in a number
or souuiern sutues.
Charters were granted during
the past year to 170 new branches
of the association, located in 31
states and the Territory of Ha
waii. The greatest expansion was
in Texas, where 42 new chapters
were chatered, according to the
report of Ella J. Baker, director
of branches. The NAACP has
branches in all states except New
Hampshire, Maine, Vermont, Mon.
tana. North Dakota, she said
Membership in the Youth de
1 partment increased by one-third
during 1945, said Mrs. Ruby Hur
ley, secretary for youth work- The
present youth membership is 22,
180 with 5,485 of these being in
college chapters. Incomplete ta
bulations place the total member
ship for 1945 near the 500,000
mark, with many final reports
from many areas not yet re
ceived.
tiross income for the year was
$442,000. of which approximately
$403,000 came in one form or an
other from the rank and file
membership. This total includes
$65,000 sent in by men and women
white and colored, in the armed
services
The Crisis magazine, official
monthly of the NAACP. reDorted
an average circulation during ’45
i of 59,000 copies monthly. Its
! gross income was $79,992, accor
ding to Roy Wilkins, editor.
Bedford Park’s Beautiful Lots Are on the Market F or Sale Now! From $450 to $600
CallRealty Improvement Company 342 Electric Bldg. JA-7718 or JA-1620 “Small Down Payment Will Do the Job”.