St. Paul recorder. [volume], April 08, 1949, Image 1

About St. Paul recorder. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1934-2000

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Of RIGHT SPIRIT 2
# I
J A man of right spirit is not a man 2
J of narrow and private views, but is 2
♦ greatly interested and concerned*
! for the good of the community to *
J which he belongs • • • particularly 2
j of the city in which he resides, and J
2 for the true welfare of the society*
J of which he is a member.—Jonathan 2
{ Edwards.
FIFTEENTH YEAR, NO. 35
The Week
Under Capitol
Dome
tiling
!, re
him-
iheet
From no lean an authority than
our good friend, Billy Williams of
the Governor’s office comes a bit
of historical news which readers
of this column might find of in
terest.
There has been only one Negro
member of the Minnesota State
Legislature. He was Representa
tive J. Frank Wheaton. A Repub
lican, and a lawyer by profession,
Mr. Wheaton was born in Hagers
town, Maryland, educated at
Stover College, Harper’s Ferry,
West Virginia; at Howard Uni
versity, Washington, D. C. and at
the University of Minnesota- He
served as a clerk in congress,
clerk of the Minnesota legislature
and deputy clerk of the municipal
court in Minneapolis.
Mr. Wheaton came to Minnesota
in 1890 and at the age of 32 was
elected the first and only Negro
legislator in the history of this
state.
In the general election of No
vember 8, 1898, Mr. Wheaton was
elected to represent the 42nd
legislative district The district
was then composed of the 7th,
11th and 12th wards of Minneapo
lis, Edina and Excelsior villages,
and the towns of Richfield, Bloom
ington and Eden Prairie.
The late Honorable S. A. Stock
well was that same year elected
Senator from that district by a
vote of 2,932. Mr. Wheaton ex
ceeded even that vote, being elec
ted representative by a vote of
2,998 It is stated that there was
believed to be less than a dozen
Negro voters in the district.
Representative Wheaton served
one term in the Legislature. He
was a member of the Judiciary,
Labor, Public Accounts and Ex
penditures, Local Bills and Mili
tary Affairs committees. Billy
Williams describes Representative
Wheaton as one of the most bril
liant orators the state has ever
known.
To him must go much of the
credit for the enactment of our
present Equal Rights statute.
In recent years there have been
two other Negroes who have
entered the race for seats in the
state legislature. They are Harry
L. Scott, Minneapolis attorney,
and James Griffin of St. Paul Mr.
Griffin who last year sought the
nomination from the Rondo dis
trict lost by the very narrow mar
gin of only seven votes.
There are many jobs available
in the state legislature (156 in the
House in the present session; 103
in the Senate) such as committee
clerks, stenographers, sergeants
at-arms, doorkeepers, pagus and
janitors. Negroes have usually
held one or more of these jobs.
Some of those who have held leg
islative jobs are Bune Carmichel,
Jr., Mrs. Ethel Ray Nance, Bert
Shannon, Mrs. Annette Hatton
Robinson, Cy Bockinstol and the
Rev. Simmons of Duluth. In the
current session there is only one
Negro employee, S. Edward Hall
of St. Paul, a sergeant in the Sen
ate gallery.
The writer of this column held
the important position of House
Index Clerk during the 1937 ses
sion. This is one of the elective
Executive Officers positions in the
House of Representatives. The In
dex Clerk has the responsibility of
keeping the official record of
every bill presented from the
Speaker s Desk. He records any
action on the bill, its progress and
final disposition. His official re
cord is available to the members
of the house, the press and the
general public.
The Reapportionment Bill, un
der consideration in the current
session would give Minneapolis
six and St. Paul two additional
seats in the House of Representa
tives. Undoubtedly, these addition
al seats will prove of interest to
Neg& voters.
SEVEN FINED FOR
PLAYING INTERRACIAL
TENNIS IN BALTIMORE
BALTIMORE (ANP) Seven
white persons including one wom
an were given suspended sentences
last week for promoting interra
cial tennis matches in an outing
last summer.
Judge Herman M. Moser con
victed them of conspiring to dis
turb the peace. The question of
segregation in the city’s munici
pal parka was avoided in this
trial.
Laymen's Day at Hi. Peter A-
M. E. Church, Sunday. May Ist.
advt.
By Clifford Rucker
IT CAN HAPRiNI
RETURNED FUGITIVE CAUGHT IN ST.
PAUL FREED BY TENNESSEE JURY;
SHOT WHITE IN SELF DEFENSE
GAINESBORO, TENN. Jeue
Myers, 34, a fugitive who was ap
prehended in St. Paul last No
vember 22, 1948, was recently ac
quitted for the fatal shooting of a
white man, Ralph Burgess, in
Jackson County, Term. April 7,
1948.
At his trial in Gainesboro a cir
cuit court jury took ten minutes
to acquit the W. W. II veteran
of a murder charge. Terminating
a two-day sitting, the Jackson
county Jury held that Jesse Myers
acted in self-defense when he shot
Ralph Burgess, white fanner.
During the trial, Myers admit
ted firing the fatal shot but de
clared he had been threatened by
Radio Man
Fred de Clouet, 3740 Fourth
Ave. So., Minneapolis, has just
completed a year’s course in radio
communications and television at
the National Radio School, 60 So.
Fourth St. He was first in scholas
tic standing in the class.
Clouet is now qualified to work
as a radio operating engineer and
a television technician. He also
holds a radio operator engineer's
license as a result of passing a
Federal Communication Commis
sion examination.
Mr. Clouet has been employed
for the past 16 months at Boutell's
Furniture" store in the radio re
pair department.
Group Health
Observes 10 Years
Of Real Service
Group Health Mutual and Group
Health Association will hold their
tenth annual meeting Saturday,
April 9, at the Nicollet hotel, Min
neapolis.
The largest consumer-sponsored
health benefit organization in the
United States, Group Health is
also a leader in the Twin Cities
business community in the
establishment of fair employment
practices. It has made its own
home office a model in this re
spect.
Speaker at the annual meeting
will include Dr W. Palmer Dear
ing, deputy surgeon general of the
United States, Governor Luther
W. Youngdahl, Judge Mark Nolan
of Duluth. Dr. H. M. Hardwicke,
medical director of the Coopera
tive Health Federation of Ameri
ca, and others.
Group Health began business
March 7, 1939, and has grown in
the 10 years since into an organi
zation of 100,000 members and 350
local health groups. Benefits are
paid at the rate of more than
$1,000,000 a year.
The organization is set up on a
cooperative, democratically con
trolled basis, and more than 1,000
members and delegates from local
health groups are expected to take
part in the meeting this year.
Plans were announced this week
by Geo. W. Jacobson, general
manager, to qualify group Health
to do business in several neighbor
ing states. Although the member
ship now covers most parts of the
United States, it is concentrated
mostly in Minnesota, and the or
ganization is licensed to solicit
members only in Minnesota. Plans
to cover other states are part of a
program of expansion, Mr. Jacob
son said. The organization has also
taken over the management of
Arrowhead Health Center, Duluth,
a medical cooperative rendering
direct service to its members, and
is actively assisting other medi
cal groups in the state and the
region.
Everyone’s going to the Easter
Ball, Veteran’s Hall, April If.—
advt.
Burgess. Neighbors testified to
his upright character.
Most of the first day’s session
was devoted to the selection of
the jury, which received the case
at 3 p. m. on the second day.
Myers, who had resided in St
Paul from September 25 through
November 22 under an assumed
name, waived extradition when he
was apprehended by St. Paul po
lice.
Paul Smith, as Myers called
himself, wandered here from Wis
consin, acquired a room at 718
St. Anthony Ave., and proceeded
to look for a job.
He lived a quiet life here, doing
odd jobs for people in the neigh
borhood.
Scottish Rito
Observe Maundy
Thursday, April 14
Rose Croix Chapters of the An
cient and Accepted Scottish Rite
of Freemasonry for the Northern
Jurisdiction, U.S.A., Prince Hall
Affiliation, will have their public
observance of Maundy Thursday
at 8 p. m. April 14, at Pilgrim
Baptist church, W. Central at
Grotto.
James R Lynn, 32°, Most Wise
and Perfect Master, heads this
chapter.
With the leadership, Illustrious
Peer, Raymond W. Cannon. 33°,
John R. Lawrence, 33°, and Past
Commander-in-chief, B. F. Hen
derson. 32° and many other North
Star Consistory No. 14, now make
a membership of nearly 100.
The wife of each member and
invited guests will partake of the
feast after the public observance
and memorial services are over.
FORMER TENNESSEE COUPLE
OPENS EATING PLACE
Mr. Eddie Wynn and his wife,
Anna, formerly of Tennessee,
have opened a restaurant and
barbecue establishment at 733
Olson highway. The place is new
ly decorated and has all new fix
tures for producing the best pos
sible service.
The couple have operated a
similar business in Tennessee.
They have been residents of Min
neapolis for more than two years.
DEC. 28-30 DATES FOR
OMEGA FRAT CONCLAVE
WASHINGTON, D. C. The
36th Grand Conclave of the Ome
ga Psi Phi fraternity will be held
December 28 to 30 in Chicago, it
was announced from the Frater
nity's administrative office by
Dr. Harry T. Penn, grand basi
leus, following a meeting of the
Supreme Council at 913 U Street,
N. W.
At the same time, Dr. Penn an
nounced appointment of Ludlow
W. Werner, former publisher of
the New York Age, and now head
of the public relations firm of
Ludlow Werner Associates, 81
East 125th St.. New York City,
as the fraternity’s director of
public relations.
CIDVERS’ BROTHER
DIES IN MISSOURI
Word was received here Mon
day by Curtis C. Olivers, adver
tising manager of the Minneapolis
Spokesman, of the death of a
younger brother, Edgar Olivers,
in Kansas Oty, Mo.
The remains will be shipped to
Texas for funeral and burial.
MRS. MALLARD, LYNCH VICTIM S WIFE, OVERCOME
Last Sunday afternoon, overcome by emotion, Mrs. Amy Mallard, i Trinity Baptist church; George Phillips, president of the Central La
widow of Robert Mallard, the mob-murdered Georgian, could not begin bor Union; Albert Allen, president of the Minneapolis NAACP; Rev.
her recital of the horrible lynch murder. She is shown sobbing after A. F. Martin, Samuel L. Scheiner, executive secretary Minnesota Jew
rising to speak. She finally could not bring herself to speak and sat ish Council; Judge Edward F. Waite of the Mayor’s Council on Human
down. After 20 minutes she was able to speak to the audience of 400 Relations; Mayor Eric Hoyer, Mrs. Lawrence Steefel, also of the
persons who attended the mass meeting of the Minneapolis NAACP Mayor's Council; Cecil Newman, newspaper publisher; John O. Sim
branch at Phyllis Wheatley Sunday afternoon. Standing by trying to mons, chairman of the Minnesota State Council for FEPC; Clifford
compose Mrs. Mallard is Leroy Carter, field secretary of the NAACP. Rucker, informational representative of the Governor's Interracial
Others in the photo left to right are Rev. Kyle Haselden. pastor Commission and Rev. Louis W. Johnson, rector St Thomas church.
BT. PAUL, MINNESOTA, FRIDAY, APRIL 8, 1949
Recover $16,775 Against Trucking Company
MltcheD Heard, right, aad Ilia lawyer, Sidney A. Jonea Jr., both of Chi
cago, hold a $18,775 check awarded Mr. Heard by the Akron Distrib
uting company of Alcroa, Ohio, Inst week for accident damages. Mr.
Heard filed salt against the company following an accident on March
28, 1848, when one of the company's trucks raa through a funeral
prooesslon. Among the victims killed was Mr. Heard's wife, Marguer
ite. His arm was broken. The case was settled out of court.
Amy Mallard Sobs
Out Story of Mate’s
Death by Mob
By Mamie Butler
Twisting her handkerchief, silently weeping, suppressing
her anger and grief, she told her story.
Amy Mallard stood bravely before the crowded audience
at Phyllis Wheatley House, April 3, often wiping away tears
that would come, and told of the horror, the fear, and later the
chase and her fight for survival.
“It happened on a Saturday night , . she began it like
story that unfolded was more
wierd, more fantastic, because it
was real.
**. . . We were coming home
from a little school party,” abe
continued, “as we drove our ffer
out. we noticed the white !%an
following us. Nothing unusual. But
following us. Nothing unusual.
But, then, he continued, and we
got to the part of the road where
we had to go slowly, I looked
around us, and we were surroun
ded with cars, and men with
As Mrs. Mallard related her
story, she revealed that Robert
was a progressive Negro ... he
was a traveling salesman . . .
from one idea he developed an
other ... he at first sold calen
dars, then clothes, then caskets
and embalming fluids . . . because
his trade became so extensive, he
needed a car ... he purchased a
new car in 1948 ... in her small
home in Georgia, all men, white
and black, wore overalls . . . clean
ones on Sunday and just plain
overalls every other day. . . .
Robert was different ... he
wore white shirts ... his suits
were clean and pressed . . .he
owned his farm ... it had been
Mrs. Mallard’s home for three
generations ... he paid his taxes
. . . he voted in the "white” pri
maries . . .
"They told us,” Mrs. Mallard
said, "that if we voted, we may as
well bring our caskets along with
us. But we voted.”
In other words, Robert Mallard
was "just plain uppity” in the
minds of the whites in Tombs
County, Ga.
"When I saw the cars surround
ing us, I locked the door on my
side. My two cousins, my daugh
tef, and my two-year-old baby
boy was in the car with us- They
advanced on us, with their robes
on, but the hoods were thrown
back, they meant to get us good.
I heard the explosion. We ducked
down. We stayed down for a long
tiim*. We gave them plenty of
time to get away.
*T got out of the car. Robert
was lying on the ground, blood
coming out of his nose and
mouth."
Often interrupting herself to
lash out at Georgia justice, the
democratic United States, and the
coward and illiterate whites and
Negroes in Georgia, Mrs. Mallard
continued her story.
She told of the fact that no
mortician in town would move
Robert, that when the authorities
finally came, they began to search
her and try to lay the murder on
her.
Because she recognized two of
the killers who shot her husband,
Mrs. Mallard feared for her own
life.
She told of moving of the body
to Savannah, Ga., of her arrest
after the funeral was finished,
and the attempts to lure her to a
place where she could be safely
disposed of.
"They did not tell me when
they took me they were arresting
me for murder. Is that Justice?
But I told them that I was afraid
of them. And I watched them. I
knew I had to get away.”
Speaking faltcringly, as though
she were a European refugee
speaking of Nazi justice and had
never set foot in America, she
stated "I don’t understand this de
mocracy of ours in America. This
law that lets men shoot men and
nothing is done about it . . • this
(Continued on page 2)
Spooks Saturday
WILLIAM SEABRON
Wllllsra (BUI) Hesbroa, Indus
trial secretary of the Minneapolis
I'rban League, wUI speak April 8
to the famed Saturday Lunch
Club. Tlie club meets at the Dyck
man Hotel. Mr. Heabroa's topic
will be “The Job Which Uea
Ahead.” In his talk he will review
the findings of the labor and In
dustry section of the Minneapolis
Self Survey.
WOMAN RCCIIVIS INJURICS
FROM TROUeY COLLISION
Mrs. Bertie Copeland, 88, of
345 Rice St., received neck and
back injuries Saturday, April 2,
when the streetcar she was riding
collided with another streetcar at
Rice and University.
The accident occurred when a
northbound Como-Harriet trolley
failed to operate on an electric
switch and turned from Wabasha
St., westward onto University
Ave., instead of continuing north
on Wabasha onto Rice 8L It
crashed just behind the front cab
Into the side of a Hamlin e-Chero-
kee tram bound for the loop
Mrs. Copeland was taken, among
other passengers, to Ancker hos
pital for treatment She stated
she was riding the Hamllne-Cher
okee car, and was sitting on the
side of the car that was hit by
the other.
RITES HELD FOR
ELSIE GONZALES
Funeral services were held Wed
nesday, April 8, at 2:30 p. m. at
St. Paul's Church of God in Christ
for Elsie Marie Gonzales, 818 17th
Ave. So., age 57, who died sud
denly in her home Saturday, April
5 •
She is survived by her husband,
Frank; a son, Guy Miller of New
York; a brother, Arthur Jones;
two sisters, Eva Reed, Milwaukee,
Wis., and Nellie Colbert of Kan
sas City, Kans.; and mother Is
balle Stone.
Rev. A. F. Martin officiated at
the services. The interment was
at Crystal Lake cemetery.
Woodard Funeral Home had
charge of the arrangements.
MINISTERS FELLOWSHIP
PLAN GOOD FRIDAY
SERVICE APRIL 15TH
The Ministers’ Fellowship will
have a "Watch at the Croaa" ser
vice on Good Friday, April 15,
from 12 to 3 p. m. at Camphor
Methodist church- The Rev. Jo
seph Turner of Carter Chapel
church will give the principal ser
mon, "Repent of the Malefactor."
Other ministers participating
will be the Revs. I. D. Dorsey of
Camphor; Floyd Massey, Jr. of
Pilgrim Baptist church; Rev. D. C.
White of Mt. Olivet Baptist
church.
Something over three and a half
million persons are drawing feder
al aid for the aged, blind, and de-
(Photo by Paul Blumbcrc)
TAKES ONLY ONE
2 It takes only one medium to reaeh!
{the local Negro market THIS IS
2IT I This paper offers the largest
2 circulation with a readership which
2 reacts receptively to advertisers
2 who use space in the acknowledged
2 leader in circulation, news and edi
* torial leadership.
Hoctic Was Hm Word!
Veterans Oppose Move
To Activate Separate
Reserve Military Unit
BYRON RIFFE AND GREEN LEAD
OPPOSITION TO TODD PLAN
By Ban Peery
Hope for the “Pascal Todd Program,” designed to es
tablish a segregated unit, a truck company, in the Reserve
Corps, USA, presumably died in a barrage of protest at a hectic
meeting held Sunday afternoon, April 3, at tbr Elks Rest, Min
neapolis.
Todd, who had called the meeting to organize the group,
bera who claimed that they had
not know the real meaning of the
activity.
Questioned by Lapuroel Greene,
retiring commander of Turin Star
Post, VFW, and Lieutenant Byron
Riffe, active in reserve activities,
the meeting was put in an uproar
when Greens asked Todd whether
or not he thought the meager
emolument of "strutting in a uni
form" meant more than the wel
fare of the youth of his race.
Todd claimed that his sols mo
tive in urging the organisation
was to protect his pension rights.
He then found himself confronted
by a barrage of accusations of be
ing a double talker, and catspaw
for enemiea of racial progress.
Riffe's technical knowledge and
experience in things military per
mitted him to ask pertinent ques
tiona regarding the proposed or
ganisation. He virtually lad Todd
up a blind alley of denial, which
aroused his potential members to
the extent that they followed him
from the building, castigating him
for deceiving them into believing
they were joining a non-segregat
ed outfit.
At one phase of the controversy
Greene shouted “does your love of
the pittance you call a pension
make you so little that you have
forgotten all the hell you caught
aa a Negro soldier in the south T"
“Are you so money hungry that
you would sell such programs as
FEPC and the governor's Nation
al Guard Program down the riv
er 7"
Greene added, ‘‘Mr. Todd. I
would live in the alley with the
chickens before I would betray
the efforts of my people to end
Jlm-cro in the U. S. Army.”
Both Lieutenant Riffc and Com
mander Greene claimed that the
whole scheme was concocted by
TODD BLAMES TROOBLE ON HIS
OFFICERS; ENLISTED MEN ARE
OVERSTRENGTH & O.K. HE SAYS
By Staff Writer
Another reporter for thla paper
railed Reaerve Lt. Pascal Todd
Wednesday and naked for a state
ment on the controversy. Todd
said that the unit will not be dia
banded and that In enlisted men
it Is already overstrength. Hr said
"There Is no occasion to disband
the cadre."
He said all of the trouble In the
unit la coming from some of the
commissioned officers. When this
reporter told him that the chief
criticism Sunday came from Lt
Byron Rlffe and former sergeant
Lapurcelle Green he made no
comment.
HALLIt CHOIR TO SINO
ON SUNDAY SALON
The Halite Q. Brown choir will
sing Dubois' "Seven Last Words
of Christ" Sunday evening April
10 at Halite auditorium, a feature
of the weekly Sunday evening
salon held there.
The program will begin at 8:30,
Instead of 8:1S the usual time of
the salon.
The choir will be accompanied
by Mias Matilda Becker, and un
der the direction of John Whit
aker, director of Music at Hal lie
Q. Brown.
Soloists on the program will be
Z. T Monson, bass-baritone, James
T. Murray, Tenor, Dorothy Mon
son. soprano, Juanita Schuck Har
ris, soprano and Hugh W. Schuck,
Jr., baritone.
ROBOT DKNHAM UNFIT
TO HOLD NATIONAL
LABOR RELATIONS ROST
Charles H. Houston gives a
word picture of the background
and attitude of Robert N. Den
ham, general counsel of the
National Labor Relations
Board. In his column on page
4 In this Issue.
Houstoli says Denham has
more power than a Cxar and
that be Is both anti-Semetic
and anti-Negro. Houston’s
thoughtful and documented
weekly column In this paper la
one of Its moat widely read
features.
•4.00 a Year, 10 Cants Per Copy
Todd in au ambition to be mads
leader in Minnesota of Negro Ra
se rve officers.
A whits msn present, who some
said was n reserve ofSosr, ex
pressed himself aa In accord with
the stand taken by Orssna and
Riffs.
A group attending a meeting of
the Elks Lodge in another part of
the building eras dream Into the
room by the noise of the contro
versy Some of them expressed
themselves as sorry that their
lodge had permitted the use of
their facilities for such a purpose,
and that the Jim Crow Reserve
Corps, if any, would have to find
another place 'or their next meet- ,
tag.
As many as oould be contacted
who had gone to the meeting to
aid In organiaatloa of the propos
ed military unit expressed them
selves as disgusted with the entire
program and wished to be count
ed out.
see
Governor Luther Youngdahl sad
the Governor's Interracial Com
mittee has been working for sev
eral months in an attempt to ob
tain permission of the War de
partment to allow enlistment of
Minnesota Negroes In the state's
National Guard on a nan-segre
gated basis.
The Minnesota state Senate and
House passed resolutions last
week requesting that Congress
and the president abolish armed
force segregation and allow Min
nesota to enlist its cltisena in tha
nations] guard on a non-segregat
ed basis. Veterans and vet organ
isations, backing the non-discrim
inatory movement, said they felt
the activation of a segregated
company or unit in the Reserve
would be used against the at
tempt to ban jlm-cro in Minneso
ta military units.
Officers of unit are Lieutenant
Richard Stokes, administrative of-
ficer and Lts. Coleridge Hendon
and John Hucherson.
Todd denied any of the men In
the unit except the officers bad
expressed dissatisfaction. He also
denied that anyone followed him
from the Elks Rest to remonstrate
with him.
He said he was aware of the
effort to enlist Negroes on a non
segregated basis In the national
guard but that he was anxious for
the veterans who wanted to be
protected In their rank by joining
the reaerve even If the reserve la
still a segregated service.
Nsw Eating Place Opnn
At S2S Lynda Is Avsaws
Beginning April U. IM9. din
ner will be served every day from
13 noon to 10:30 p. m. at S2B Lyn
dale Ave. North, Church of God
In Christ. There will be good home
cooking, and everyone Is welcome.
—advt
R. H. Hensley was appointed te
Jackson college la Inefcean. Man.
recently by the college’s pruHtsA
Dr. Jacob 1. Beddlx. Mr. Benatay,
a graduate of Clark nellagn. agreed
trotter at Ft Vaßey State oaHagto
-