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.'I . ' 3 t wJSS1 ALWAYS PROGRESSIVE DISTINCTIVE IN SERVICE Founded by w. e. King The Republican Party Is The Ship, All Else Is The Sea." Fred Douglas. rial AnxtM $8.00. VOL. .VXVIU. NO. 28." 7 ' : THE DALLAS EXI'KESS, DALLAS, TEXAS, SATURDAY, APIUL 16, 1921. ' PRICM TEX CENTS. ALABAMA REPRESENTATIVE-SAYS PROPOSED EQUAL CONSTITUTIONAL Attacks Senator Penrose For Promising Support to Bill in the Pennsylvania Legislature Against Discrimination. Washington. April 14. Representa tive John R. Tyson of Alabama, a for mer Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of that State. Joined today In protests against Senator Penrose- dec laration for Negro equality and ltd en forcement In Pennsylvania hy a crim inal code. Southern newspapers have been filled with editorials attacking Mr. Penrose's position. Mr. Tenrnse asserted that Negroes should be accorded "In hotels, cafes, restaurants, educational Institutions and amusements ho same rights and privileges as whites." and these rtirhts should be seured and enforced ty leg islation providing: penalties for their denial. Following his declaration the lower house of the Pennsylvania Leg islature passed an equal rights will. "Proprietors of hotels, cafes, restau rants und amusement places," said Mr. Tyson, "have property rights which are protected by not onlv the Constitution of the several States, but by the' Constitution of the United States. To deny to them the right to exclude surli persons as may bo offen sive to their patrons to the end of impairing their business Is a denial to them of property rights secured to them by the several Constitutions mentioned. "The Negro has no right to be ac corded the privilege of becoming an unwelcome guest In hotels, cafes, res- taurants and places or amusement es tablished and maintained for the whites exclusively. To refuse him such rights Is not a denial to him of 'equal rights.' as asserted by Konator Penrose, but Is In full accord with Constitutional guarantees, and has been so held, In substance, by the Su preme Court of the United States. "The Supreme Court of the Sena tor's own State In 1 8fi7, In an opinion delivered by one of Its greatest Judges sustained as reasonable and Consti tutional a rule adopted by a rnllway company requiring Whites to sit In one end of the car and Negroes In the other.- upon two grounds the right which the company lind In Its property' and ihc public interest. , j "To permit the education at the same schools would necessarily bring, about social Intermixture, resulting in I amalgamation, which Is contrary to! the law of rncea and destructive of j social Institutions, as well as being; repugnant to the law of nature. "Mr. Penrose's proposition defeats i the order of Divine Providence and Is an attempt by legislation to compel the Intermixture of races wldeiy sep arated, which will sosult In the de struction of the high standard of mo ral, religious and educational condi tions as they now exist. Social equal ity cannot be enforced and maintained by legislative enactments." 4 Jim' Fire Hero Given $100 by Hidden Donor. New Tork, N. T., April 14. An an onymous donor, who believes In a more practical reward for heroism than the plaudits of the crowd, was found in New York yesterday, thereby making It a perfect Saturday for Jim Cross, Negro porter employed by the Winter Garden Drug Company, at Fif tieth Street and Broadway. Jim Is twenty years old, and his life had been more or less uneventful until last Thursday, when an emer gency arose, and he faced It squarely.' He and William Matt , ws. a clerk, were working on the fifth floor In a store-room when Matthews' clothes caught fire from a blaze which started In some mysterious manner. The porter rushed to his aid, and when the clerk tried to throw himself from he window) seized and held Mm. Beat ing out the flames Jim guided Mat thews along a coping far above the street to another window and then carried him downstairs. So great was the excitement at the time of the sensational rescue that the porter's la."t name was not learn ed even by the police, and In the news paper accounts of the fire he was re ferred tu simply as "Jim," a hero. On Friday Jim was back nt. work. OWNER OF GEORGIA "MURDER FARM" IS GIVEN LIFE SENTENCE Convlngton, Ga., April 14. John S. Williams, accused of the muner of eleven of his Negro farm hands to halt a federal investigation of peon age, was found guilty of murdr by a Jury In Newt 'in County superior court here and sentenced to life im prisonment. Motion for a new trial was Imme diately filed, and hearing on the mo tion set for April 30 at Decatur, Ga before Judge John B. Hutcheson, who presided at tne trial. The verdict of murder with recom merdatlon for mercy, which under Geo-: gla laws automatically carries a life sentence, was read exactly 18 hours after the case went to the Jury, and was calmly received by Williams, a! mdment later as his wife and chil dren began to sob almost lnaudibly, he seemed to be struggling to restrain bis own emotions. Mrs. Willla' .s sob bed on her husband's shouluer, his. arm about her. Just after court ad journed the man's two daughters be-1 came hysteric and were led from the room by friends. Williams appeared more affected by his family suffer ing than he had been by the verdict; Mea llrswaed. Williams was specifically on trial charged with the murder of oi.e of the Negroes found drowned In Newton county. Clyde Manning, Negro farm boss tor Wllllar and Jointly indict ed with him, testified that on Wil liams' order he and another Negro, aftervarda killed, had done the kill ing. That confession of Manning's was so startling that the men who heard It first found it Impossible to believe. He said for thirteen years he had . iived on Williams' farm, where, he as- RIGHTS BILL IS UN NORTHERN FARMERS MAY HAVE TO USE NEGRO HELP. Lack of Labor on Farms May Help to Give Employment to Many Willing to Settle Them. on Hempstead. N. Y April 4. The 1m portation of Negro labor from the South to work Long Island farms Is one of the things that may happen If the form labor problem cannot be solved In some other way. That some of the farmers In the neighborhood of Itlverhead and South ampton have already sought to get Negro labor brought from the South Is the statement of Samuel S. Board of the United Employment Service of Nassau-Suffolk Counties with head quarters at Mmeola. The thouht or colonization of Ne "mes. especially married couples, has en connnco to toe Hlverslde section ..born a the potato and cauliflower farms So far as has been known there has been no a( tempt to brine an- of tb lihor Into N'msan County Mr. Board savs that th i- and around Ptverhend offers wonder ful opportunities to those who would co "baH to the farm." He declares .ni in. goioep opportunities there are partly responsible for the shor tage of labor now hecaiitan thn. r..M laborers, married men wfio went out to work for others at one time, have made enough to buy small farms for themselves and are now employers In n nnittll WHY. He -nvs that the community absorb ed a large number of Polish people at one time and thnt the Poles hart eas ily dominated the labor situation thereabouts until the war cut off the -rilvals ant the munitions and other factories took the men back Into the cities. Pome of the latter hHve re turned. The Immigration has not hrought enourh new arrivals and there Is still a labor shortage thnt ro'lt he mot "nmplinw. Facing this situation snvs Mr. Board, the farmer lie" Deon driven to straits to get heln. To th" married farm Inhor the op portunities offered are exceptional. The farmers paid $125 a month during the wnr period for a fnrvi hnnd and gave him Ills house, vegetables and mill- free. Now they pay from $r0 to' S7R a month and Ive the usual nrivilegos of house rent free, all gar den produce and milk. The married couple who Willi tnke a bouse are the opes most In demand for thev, having the house, can board some of the single men who cannot find a place of shelter unless there nrp some follow farmhands to tnke them Into their homes. In this way the wife of the farm hand earns a good penny also. Nor Is the farm work limited to the men. for in the harvest season women have earned as high as $1(1 a day. Mr. Board, through pis emplovmept bureau. Is trying to iret the right kind of labor from the cities and from all sources so that the necessity for the Negro heln will he avoided. He says that the farmer cannot beblamed for taking what lahor he can get, but he hopes that the Negro lahor. r In num bers, wjho Is needed In the South, and whom, he says, does not fit Into the scheme of things here, will not be brought here. Last year some of the Negro help were brought Into the section about Rovcrhead, but It Is thought thnt help can be secured that will take (he op portunities that are offered on the farms, especially since the demand for such help In the factories Is fall ing off. and had dismissed the Incident from his mind. Yesterday morning, however, there came to The Tribune through the malls a check from a donor who in sisted that her name be withheld. It was made payable to "Jim'' and call ed on the Unned States Mortgage and Trust Company to hand over to him $100. When the hero was told of his good fortune he had little to say, ex cepting that he lived with his sister at 22 West Forty-seventh Street, and he "guessed he could use It." serted, a number of Negroes "brought out" from the city prisons of Macon and Atlanta, had been kept In peon age by "Mister Johnny," as ho called his employer and master. And then he described how he had killed four of those Negroes and helpt 1 to drown hix more, acting In each 1-istance, he asserted, under "Mister Johnny's or ders and in fear of death if he dis obeyed. "I knocked four Negroes In the head with an ax in one week," he de clared to the grand Jury, "and buried them In a pasture back of Mister Johnny's house. Why did I do It? Be cause the boss wanted to get rid of them Negroes, and I knew that if I didn't make 'em disappear he'd kill me. "Charlie Chiso'oi, another one of Mister Johnny's trusty Negroes, put in a little work. He killed one sus picious Negro by braining him with ap ax. Then Mr. Williams got un easy about Chlsolm and made me get him. Me and Mr. Williams took him to the river one night and pitched him off the bridge after we weighted him down. Charlie begged hard, but Mr. Williams said: "Let's throw him over and have it done with." "I don't know how many Negroes there are in the river, but I helped Mr. Williams to drown sx. Including Charlie Chlsolm. We took the other five to the river at night, after getting thm out of their houses, and chained 'eni down with rocks and throw 'em In. Yes, sir, they & cried and begg ed. Home of 'em ask d to be knock ed In the head before being thrown In. But Mr. Williams wouldn't do it, and wouldn't let me do it. Wo Just threw ( Continued on pr.ttt 8.) CALLS ATTENTION AND ENCOURAGES BETTERMENT OF RACIAL CONDITIONS BY AN ENLIGHTENED STUDY OF THEM. SAYS PROPOSED LYNCHING COMMISSION, COMPOSED OF MEMBERS OF BOTH RACES MAYBE OF GREAT VALUE. Washington, D. C, April 14. Pres ident Harding in his first address to Congress set what It Is hoped will be come a president when he made spec ial mention of the needs of the "many millions of people of African descent" numbered among the American popu lation together with the pressing needs of the American people. His message. Inclusive of all press ing American problems, contained his approval of the establishment of peace, by a resolution, wiith the Central Pow ers of Europe; absolute disapproval of the -existing I.cngdV of Nations; an appeal for the revision of tax laws; lower rail rates and less nitlonnl ex penditures. . His suggestions as taken from the text of his message are as follows: lighten tax burdens by cutting ex penditures. Revision of Internal revenue laws and repeal of excess profits tax. Instant enactment of emergency ta riff laws. Iiidi:ce cost of living by reducing cost of government. l.i (luction jf rullway rates and cp-e'-j-tirti costs. Understanding of management end labor that the public pays and must be served. Do not discard agencies for nut'onal defense until there Is no need for de fense. Tnke no part In existing league of nrtions. In rejecting the league covenant, do not surrender hope of association to promote peace. Must fulfill promise to people for early establishment of peace. Less government In business and more business In government. I'roper care for disabled soldiers of the world war. Establishment of a merchant ma rine. Establishment of commission of whites nnd Negroes with view of eliminating lynching. Enactment of national budget sys tem. Creation of department of welfare. Special mention of the needs of Ne groes for a better and more complete protection by the government was mude In connection with his sug gestion that a National Department of Welfare be created which should su pervise and exercise National control of all agencies dedicated to the Im provement in citizenship of all Inhab President Harding Receives Secretary of the N. A. A. C. P. Washington. April 14. James Wel don Johnson, Secretary of the Nation al Association for the Advancement of Colored Poople, placed before Pres ident Harding a memorandum outlin ing the reforin programme desired by the Negroes. He asked the President to Incorporate In his message to Con gress a recommendation that It take action to stop lynching, which was denounced In the Republican platform. The association urged an investiga tion of the disfranchisement of Ne groes in the Sou'h. It requested that the Department of Justice begin a thorough inquit Into peonage condi tions, which, according to Johnson are widespread in the cotton productlng Stu'es and especially in the Mississip pi delta region. The president is asked to appoint Negroes as Assistant Secretaries of Labor and Agriculture, nointlnir nut that this would give official repre sentation in the 2 phases of national life In which the Colored race Is most interested. Johnson said he gained the impression that the President would give the matter prompt and sympa- meuc attention. Alter tnese requests the memorandum said: "The Association earnestly urges the appointment of a national Inter-racial commission to make a thorough and sincere study of race conditions and race relations in the United States with particular reference to fhn ram. es of friction. In addition to the above, the As sociation again calls to thA Attention of the President the cause of the Hai tian people and the necessity for a thorough congressional occupation In that republic under the last adminis tration, not only as a matter of Jus tice to the Haitian people but In the interest of the good name ana tradi tions of the American republic. "Finally, the Association asks that the President, by executive order, abolish all race segregation In the De partments at .Washington and In the United States 'Civil Service thtit most, humiliating and undemocratic prac-i nee iniuaten oy tne uemocrauc an ministration.'' Refusal to Discharge Negro Workers Causes Foieman's Suspension by Georgia May or. Moultrie. Ga,, April 14. When R. L. Hoggard, superintendent of the Water and light plant at Camilla refused tu carry out Mayor J. M. Spence's In struction to discharge the Negro firemen and put white men n their places th Mayor Issued an order tem porarily suspending Mr. Hoggard. The matter I Men went before a special i ya slon of 'amllla flty Council and when one of Camilla City Council and whence passed In 1918, giving the water and light superintendent authority to employ su:h help as he needed at the plant, Mayor Spence admitted he was without authority in the premises and he Issued on order revoking his sus pension of Mr. Hoggard. At the meeting, however, Council pa ert h resolution asking Mr. Hog gard to employ white men "In his dis cretion such action was considered ad visable.1' After the meeting ai J the re-in-staten- nt of Superintendent Hoggard the white men employed by Mayor Spence resigned and the Negro fire men went back to work. Mr. Hoggsrd In explaining why he hadn't carried out the Mayor's Instruction to "fire" the Negroes said that they were ex perienced men and had ben on the Job regularly for some ton ;) twlrlve years. TO WIDESPREAD EVILS OF LYNCHING itants of the United States. It Is con tained In the following excerpt from the text of the message: Department of Welfare. During the recent political canvass thi proposal was made that a depart ment of public welfare should be cre ated. It was indorsed and commend ed so strongly that I venture to call It to your attention and to suggest favorable legislative consideration. Government's obligation affirmative ly to encourage development of the highest and most efficient type of citi zenship is modernly accepted, almost universally. Government rests upon the body of citizenship; It can not main tain Itself on a level that keeps It out of touch and understanding with the community It serves. Enlightened governments everywhere recognize this and are giving their recognition ef fect In policies and programs. Certainly no government Is more de sirous than our own to reflect the human attitude, the purpose of making better citizens physically, intellccual ly, spiritually. To this end I am con vinced thnt such a department In the government would be of real value. It could be made to crystalize much of rather vague generalization about so cial Justice Into solid accomplishment. Events of recent years have profound ly impressed thinking people with the need to recognlzo new social forces and evolutions, to equip our citizens fur dealing rightly with problems of life and social order. In the realms of education, public health, sanitation, conditions of work ers in industry, child welfare, proper amusement and recreation, the elimi nation of social vice, and many oth er subjects, the government has al ready undertaken a considerable range activities. 1 assume the maternity bill, already strongly approved will be enacted promptly, thus adding to our manifestation of human interest. But these undertakings have been scattered through many departments and bureaus without co-ordination and with much overlapping of functions which fritter energies and magnify the cost. Many subjects of the greatest Im portance are bandied by bureaus with in government departments which log ically have no apparent relation to them. Other Subjects which might have the earnest consideration of fed eral authority, have been neglected or President Gregg Announces! Closing Program of School, April II. 1021. Wtlberforee. Ohio, President J. A. Gregg of Wilberforce Unlver.-lty an nounces that the Commencement Pro gram this year Will be In keeping with the n li; ri standard that has al ways characterized the programs of that ramous institution. After one of the best years In the history of Wilberforce all eyes are now turned towards Commencement. A very large class will be graduated from the several departments, thus presenting to the world an earnest group of young people who are going to take their places In the worth while activ ities of tomorrow. . llishop A. J. Carey of the 14th Epis copal 1 Istrict of the A. M. E. Church will deliver the Baccalaureate sermon at lu a. ni.. June 12th; Dr. J. M. Wheeler, pastor of Trinity A. M. E. Church Pittsburgh, Pa., will deliver the address to the Religious Societies at 3 p. m., June 12th; Bishop It. F. Lee, Senior Bishop of the A. M E. Church will address Payne Theolog ical Seminary students at 7 p. m., June 12th: Dr. R. W. Mance, Presi dent of lien University, Columbia, South Carolina, will speak to the Lit erary Societies at 7:30 p. m. on Mon day evening, June 13th; the Alumni Association of which Dr. R. C. Ran som, Editor of the A. M. E. Review, is President. will inaugurate Dr. Gregg as President of Wilberforce at 7 p. m. on Wednesday evening, June 15th; the Commencement address will be delivered at 10 o'clock June 1 fit h by Chan.-ellor K. H. Lindley, of the University of Kansas, the Alma Ma ter of President Gregg. Besides the annual meetings of the University and C. N. & I. Trustee Boards, on Tuesday, the 14th and Thursday the ltith respectively, two great meetings of far reaching Im portance will occir at Wilberforce durin.f the Commencement week. The first is the meeting of the Education al Associotion made up of the Presi dents and Means of the several A. M. E. Schools which will convene at 10 a. m. June 13th, the other meeting will be that of the Medical Associa tion of the State of Ohio, which will convene at Carneigie Library at 2 p. in. Thursday the ltith. The outli. k now is that the Com mencement this year will be attended in large numbers by members of the Trustee Board the Alumni Association, patrons and friends, and Secretary J. nklns Is already being taxed to se cure accommodation for the many who will attend. Ail who are con templating attending the Commence ment exercises will do well to write Secretary Jenkins at one-? In order to secure accommodations. Georgia Governor Prom ises Punishment to Peonage. The National Association for the Ad vancement of Colored People. 70 r'lfth Avenue, New York, today made public a letter received from Gover nor Hugh M. Dorsey of Georgia, rela tive to the disclosures regarding peon age In Jasper County, Georgia, which caused the murder of eleven Colored peons. The Governor definitely prom ised to do all in his power to see that the perpetrators of the system are punished. governor Dorseys letter to the As- I sociatlon reads as follows: "I assure you that all true Geor- glans deplore the awful tragedies re tcently lyrougbt to light, and I am leaving no stone unturned to put the 'wheels of Justice' In motion, and hope ' to bring about the conviction of the guilty . parties. The Governor, as you Know, has no Jul Isdlcticn. All he can do Is to try to bolster up the officials elc-ctvd bv the people.". Inadequately provided for. To bring these various activities together in a single department, where the whole field could be surveyed, and where their Inter-relatlonship could be prop erly appraised. Would make for in creased effectiveness, economy and in telligence of direction. In creating such a department, it should be made plain that there is no purpose to in vade fields which the states have oc cupied. In respect of education, for example, federal government has al ways aided them. National appropri ations In aid of educational purposes the last fiscal year were no less than $05,000,000. There need be no fear of undue centralization or of creating a federal buieauracy to dominate af fairs better to be left In state con trol. We must, of course, avoid over lapping the activities by the several states, and we must ever resist the growing demand on the federal treas ury for the performance of service for wilch the state Is obllated to Its cit izenship. The Ituee Question. Somewhat related to the foregoing human problems Is the race question. Congress ought to wipe the stain of barbaric lynching from the banners of a free and orderly representative de mocracy. We face the fact that many millions of people of African descent are numbered among our population, and that in a number of states they constitute a very large proportion of the total population. It Is unnecessary to recount the In cident to this condition or to empha size the fact that It Is a condition which the state is obligated to its ctt been suggestion, however, that some of Its difficulties might be ameliorated by a humane and enlightened consider ation of It, a study of Its many as pects, and an effort to formulate, if not a policy, at least a national atti tude of mind calculated to bring about most satisfactory possible adjustments relations between the races and of eatn race to tne national life. One prop.WnJl Is the' creation of a -iiiiissiou embracing representatives of both races to study and report on the entire subject. The proposal has real merit. I am convinced that In mutual tolerance, understanding char ity, recognition of the Interdependence of the ruces, and the maintenance of tte races and the maintenance of the righteous adjustment. Phil H. Brown is Appointed to Department of Labor. Washington, D. C, April 14. The let ter which follows give notice of one of the first appointments to be made by the new administration; that of Phil H. Brown, well known In Re publican circles, to tbe position of Commissioner of conciliation in the Department of Labor. Tho letter is as follows: Editor, "The Dallas Express," 2600 Swiss Avenue, Dallas, Texas: Dear Sir:. I am sending forward this letter for you to advise you that I have been ap pointed by Secretary Davis as Com missioner of Conciliation in the De partment of Labor. This office will take over the activities of the late Division of Negro Economics tl it was conducted by Dr. George E. Haynes. Secretary Davis takes the lofty posi tion that he will not foster any separ ate organization In his Deupnrtment and to that end has abolished the Di vision of Negro Economics. No one realizes sny more than I that I cannot succeed with this work without the co-operation of the Color ed Press and I am asking for your support and Interest to the end that my activities here will attain a high degree of efficiency and effec tlvesness, always with a benefit to the Colored wage-earner. Let me have a line from you at your convenience having any suggestions thai you might have as to the conduct of the Department and let me assure you that such suggestions will be highly ap preciated. Sincerely yours, PHII H. BROWN, Commissioner of Conciliation. N. A. A. C. P. Inaugu rates Drive With Church Day, April 11. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, 70 Fifth Avenue, New York today an nounced that April 24 had been de signated as the opening d.iy of its drive for a quarter of a million mem bers and that the da would be sig nalized by special church services throughout the country Colored ministers In all parts rf the Unltett States have been asked to preach eermonM on the subject: "Jus tice to the Negro the Test of Chrls t'anlty In America.-' A syll' bus con taining Information upon which the sermons may be based has been dis tributed broadcast to Colored minis ters. Special prayers "will he held in many of the churches. Colored ministers wiho desire copies of the syllabus for the sermon are Invited to communicate with the national office of the N. A. A. C- P., at ' 70 Fifth Avenue, New York. Confederate Secret is Buried With Aged Negro. Washington, April 14. The where abouts of the official seal of the Con federacy, an unsolved mystery for more than half a century, probably will forever 'emaln nnkno vn. James Jones, aged Negro employee in the senate office building, said to be the only person with a knowledg-of where the seal was burled, died wKliout dis easing the secret. Jones was serving as a servant of Jefferson Davis, president of the Con federacy, when Davil was captured. As the story goes, Jones burled the seal before the federal authorities could obtain possession of the con federate leauor's effects, nn I .o his d"an n-er revealed the spot. A A 500 TREASURY CLERKS PROTEST AP- P0INTMENT OF NEGRO AS REGISTER. NASHVILLE PLANS TO EN TAIN MUSICAL MEETING. fisk University is Aiding Ma terially in Plans For Enter taining National Musicians. Nashville, Tenn., April 17. Judging from the amount of activity being shown among local musicians. Nash ville Is preparing to give to the Nation al Associations of Negro Musicians the greatest entertainment In the his tory of that organization. The July meeting of the National Association, will mark the first time In Its history that thts organization bs assembled south of the Mason and plxons Line, and Nashville Is planning C?w vn tn. the victors a genuine ex hibition of Southern hospitality. When questioned shout tne plans for entertaining tho National Assocl aI!2 ,.Mr- H R p- J"hnson. wiho In vited It to Nashville, gave out the fol lowing statement: "First of all, T think It will inter est you to know that before going to New "Sork last summer I had the hitsiness and professional Interests of this city endorse the plnn of Invit ing tho Association to hold Its 1021 session here. When we returned from the New York meeting, the people of Nashville were Jubilant over the fact that our Invitation had been accepted And, today, I am pleased to announce that we have had no trouble whatever In securing accommodations In the best homes of this cltv for the dele gates who Willi attend the Association. In addition to this. Flsk University through Mr. John Work, has agreed to accommodate a number of the rep resentatives, who may desire to stop on the campus of that institution. ' When asked about meeting places, etc.. for the Association, Mr. Johnson said "In keeping with the progressive ideas of our President. Mr. Henry L. (.rant. Washington. D. C. we have nrrnnsra to nolo tne Tlrst clays ses sion In the spacious auditorium of the Mt. Olive Baptist Church. Dr. C. H Clark, pastor. Thl-i cburcJi was se cured becaus It Is the largest, as well as one of the most modern buildings in Nashville, owned by Negroes. At the close of the first dav's session. we have planned an "All Star Concert" which will give the citizens of Nash ville as well as the visitors nn op portunity to see and hear, the greatest number of Negro artists ever brought together at one time. "The second day's session will be held on the campus of Flsk University. This will give the musicians an opportunity to spend a day on the grounds of ah Institution which means so much to the musical development of the Am erican Negro. "The third day's session will be held on the campus of the Tennessee A. I. State Normal, Prof. W. .1. Hale. President. It will be a source of great inspiration to Negro musicians to be entertained , by this Institution, every member of .whose faculty from president to Janitor Is a Negro. Aside from this fact, the Summer Normal, which brings teachers from all sec tions of the country, will be In session at that time, and this will be of ad ditional Interest to the visiting mu sicians." As a climax to these arrangements Mr. Johnson also states that plans have already been completed to give to the visitors a motor trip ovr the city of Nashville on Friday, July 29th, cul minating In' a picnic at Greenwood Tark, the most beautiful play ground in the South owned exclusively by a Negro. "This," said Mr. Johnson, 'Is a ten tative plan for NttHhvllle's entertain ment of the National Association of Negro Musicians." Negro Presides in Jer sey Assembly. Trenton. April 14. For the first time In the history of New Jersey a Negro occupied the chair of Speaker of the House of Assembly. The honor was accorded to Assemblym.in Walter G. Alexsnder of Newiaik, a member of the Essex delegation. by Speab-r George 8. Hobart. The latter was called to attend the National Guard Investigation and appointed the Ne gro in his place. Dr. Alexander, a physician, was too modest to move a vote on a resolu tion expressing the respect of the House on his ability as a legislator. The resolution was offered by the Rev. Warren Patten Coon, a fellow Assemblvman from E:isex County. Up ton Jefferys. Clerk of the House, call ed for the vote on the resolution, which was ur inlmous. Dr. Alexander is the first of his race' to be elected to the New Jersey legis lature. He acknowledged the honor paid him by a few approprlte remarks. EQUAL RIGHTS BILL BY NEGRO LEGIS- Harrisburg. April 14. With Phila delphia and Pittsburgh politicians oc cupying front seats to display their interest in the measure, the Asbury equal rights bill passed In the house finally todar by a vote of 138 to 45. Eloquent appeals for civil equality of the Negro were mingled with glowing tributes to his loyalty, patriotism and deeds of v-.lor In times of stress. Representative John C. Asbury. Ne ro representative from Philadelphia's thlrM th ward, who introduced the bill, said the bill came from "100 per cent Americans knocking at the door of civil equality ' He pictured the loyalty of the Negro race In the world wtar despite Insidious German propaganda, and said the Negro youths marched aboard the transports, "loyal njid pa triotic with the stench of burning flesh In their nostrils from the vic tims of mob rule In the south. ' Scores of Negroe who lined the side aisle and gallery seats listened In tense silence most of the time as Asbury pleaded the cause of his race. Now and then sporadic applause greet ed his remarks, but a reference to Senator Vare roused tho enthusiasm of the spectators afte- the reading of Senator Penrose's rocjnt statement at! CHAMPION OF JUSTICE MESSENGER OF HOPE Send Petition to Members of Congress Urging That Posi tion be not Given to Negro. Say Petition is Not Factional Washington, April 14. Member of Congress have received copies of a pe tition addressed to Mrs. Virginia White Speel. Chairman of the Natlon Woman's Republican Committee of the District of Columbia, and signed hy 608 white women employed In the office of the Register of. the Treasury, opposing appointment of .a Negro as Register. "We have been definitely Informed" the signers of the petition declared, "that the appointment of a Colored mnn as Register of the Treasury is being considered. The Register's of fice Is now very large and Is doing responsible work. Its personnel con sists of more than 9H0 clerks, mostly ex-service men and white women, who are depepdent upon their Income for support. For a Negro to have Juris diction over these clerks would be in tolerable. "It Is true that Colored men have served as Registers 'of the Treasury, but out df the twenty-two Registers only four hve been Negroes. At no time w.hen this office was under the suppervlslon of a Negro did the per sonnel consist of more than nineteen clerks and one messenger.'' The petitioners, whose homes as giv en Include thlrty-flve States, in a let ter to members of Congress, enclosing the petition, declared: "This petition does not come from any political factlrn, nor was it in stigated by Southern prejudice. North erners, Southereners, Easterners, West erners. Democrats and Republicans alike have set their signature thereto, "In times of war it was thought in advisable to put Negro officers In charge of white troops. In times of peace it would certainly be Inexped ient to give Negroes jurisdiction over white citizens." People Aroused by Movement to Bar Negro From Register's Office. Washington, April 14. -Negro lead ers are much exercised over the al leged efforts of Republican leaders to eliminate them from politics. They charge that Postmaster General Have, Uepresentatl ve C. B. Slemp of Virgin ia and others would bar them from national conventions py cutting down the representation from the black dis tricts of the South. Ever since the Inauguration trouble has been brewing and the protest of a majority of the workers In the of fice of the Register of the Treasury against the plan to put a Colored man at the head of their division brought the matter to a head. Secretary Mellon and President Harding must straigh ten out the problem forced on them by the BOS young women who threat en to strike If a Negro is named as their superior officer. The editor 'of the Washington Col ored American, published here, is de manding "the rewards of merit, a fair chance, the square deal and full Am erican citizenship." He urges his friends to go to It and get fcilr rights. "We kept In power the political plans of the Republican Party for twenty-flve years," said he. "We bought land, cultivated it and our children entered the professions. In creased from four to fifteen millions of loyal people Infiltrated witn our blood and consecrated to American Ideals and patriotism. "Then came the world upheaval 'and 400.000 Negro soldiers from the re motest cabins of the black belt and the largest Eastern universities tune fully went forth to die. If need be. In defense of right, truth. Justice and he.or.e .Vegro leaders assert that the move ment to bar a Negro from the office of the Register is backed by politi cians. "We are so used to this kind of propoganda," their spokesmen say, "that we do not feel any surprise wthen we hear of it, but there la al ways a chance that some new admin istrator may be unaware of the meth ods so commonly adopted by these people, hence we must be eternally vigilant." In his speech of accptance President Harding said: "I beliove the Negro citizens of America should be granted all their rights, that they have earned their full measure of citizenship bestowed, that their sacrifices in blood on the battlefields of the Republic have en titled them to all freedom of opportun ity, all of sympathy aid aid I1 nt the American spirit of fairness and Jus tice demands." Negroes interested In th'- present fight are prepared to remind the Pres ident of this declaration. vocating passage of the bill had pass ed In silence. ' "We have seen our own beloved Senator Vare bu conhollng members for the support of this bill." said As bury. and the first real applause of of the day occurred. Similar applause greeted references to the names of Senators Lsslie and Crow, Lieutenant Governor Ucldleinan and Governor Sproul. In explaining the purpose or the bill. Representative Asbury said it was based on the principles contained in an article written by James Gay Gordon In the Sunday school section of The North American Before the bill came t p for consider ation on special order Senators Vare snd Leslie. Thomas W. Cunningham and Councilman William McCoach en tered the house and busied themselves among the members. Thev occupied seats well to the front during the con sidetalioa of th measure. 1 Representatives Joenh K Phillips, of Clearfled; James A. Walter, of Philadelphia, and Andrew F. Stevens, Negro member from Philadelphia, spoke for the bill. A motion to lend the mepsur back to committee. for amendment was defeated. 5 n Mi , il I: i. :rr".