The Michigan chronicle. [volume], January 27, 1940, CITY EDITION, Image 10

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THE MICHIGAN CHRONICLE PUBLISHING COMPANY
LOUIS EMANUEL MARTIN. Editor
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THE MICHTGaN I.HKONICT.E PLATFORM
L Cojoreo rep. Mental! ve. wlvST***""*
1 A o frg|or«S r^tim«!t n tnSbe «ta'* ™i.itia *
THE LYNCH SENTIMENT
We believe very dogmatically, if you will, that as
long as one Negro is lynched in America there are
Bound reasons for a Federal anti-lynching bill, and
there are-not, nor can there be any, reasons against it.
There is only sentiment and not reason which the
Southerners bring forth to defeat this proposed leg
islation. The Southerner has long been regarded a
sentimental fool in most matters and the arguments
brought to bear against the anti-lynching bill are
typical. While others think, the white Southerner
simply feels.- The bill would hurt the pride of the
white South; it would be an insult, that is all.
We are reminded of the captain of a Southern
football team playing in the North. After the toss
of a coin to decide the goals of each team, the South
ern captain rebelled because, as he said, “Suh, Ah
refuse to defend the North goal.” The arguments
of most of the Southern statesmen against the anti
lynch bill are just as ridiculous.
Statistics reveal that over the years the number
of lynchings at any given time bear a significant re
lation to the relative prosperity or depression of the
period. Rape as an actual cause of lynching jjas
played a minor role despite the publicity given it.
None of the lynchings recorded last year could be
attributed to rape. Nevertheless, we hear the South
ern statesman in Washington talking about preserv
ing Southern womanhood and how the Negroes
threaten their young daughters. This tripe has be
come so repugnant that last year a group of Southern |
white women met in Atlanta and publicly declared
that they had no cause for any special protection.
Secretary of Labor Perkins almost precipitated
another Civil War several years ago when she re
marked to some shoe manufacturers that the South
was a good market for shoes. It seemed to the South
erners that Madame Perkins was inferring that they
went around barefooted. The Secretary of Labor was
forced to explain her remarks and apologize. It is
this same mentality that opposes the anti-lynching
bill and the abolition of poll taxes.
There are those who say that the anti-lynching
bill will not stop lynchings even if it were enacted.
Our laws against murder and homicide do not stop
a few murders, but most of us agree that it is a good
thing to have a law against it. Without Federal leg
islation against lynching, the only thing that deters
Southerners from lynching is their conscience, and
any student of human nature will tell you that is
not enough.
A NEW DEAL
Fnllowing thS general Housing Conference called
by Senator Charles C. Diggs a fortnight ago, Ray
mond Foley, state director of the Federal Housing
Administration, has undertaken to make a special
study of the housing question as it affects us and to
work out a program for the immediate development
of new facilities tor the Negro group. A second con
ference with Mr. Foley was held last week at his
office and he offered proposals which have been ac
cepted by the committee and which should lead to
action shortly.
One of the key issues running like a thread
through the whole housing controversy has been the
right of Negroes to live and buy where they will,
notwithstanding numerous racial restrictions. The
issue came to the surface in the question of Federal
Housing aid in so-called mixed districts. Mr. Foley
in a letter to the Editor of the Chronicle seeks to
clarify the position oft he FHA on this point by the
following paragraph:
“It is not true* that property in so-called mixed neigh
borhoods is ineligible for mortgage insurance because of
the mere fact that the neighborhood is what is com
monly described as ‘mixed’. Indeed, we have insured
mortgages for colored borrowers in some instances in
such areas. The determination has to be made on other
factors affecting the property itself, and it is unfortu
nately true that these adverse factors are frequently
found in mixed neighborhoods. Thus, it becomes a mat
ter of determining all the surrounding factors in each
individual case.”
We appreciate the letter of explanation, although
we admit that, whatever, those other factors may
happen to it is, as he admits, unfortunate that they
are so frequently found in the marginal areas.
[ as soon as its position became clear
1 The chapters dealing with the strug
j gle between Confederate and Fed-
I oral troops to hold the railroad are
j the most interesting ones of the
book.
The aprnifig chapters telling of
J the growth of the line are of ne
-1 cessity more technical and of less
I general interest
Mr. Summers traces the decision
of the management of the Baltimore
and Ohio railroad to defend the
I Union cause and shows how vital a
i part the railroad had in transport
in gsupplies and troops The alert- i
ness and speed with which the rail- J
BOOK REVIEW
•■The Baltimore and Ohio in the
Civil War" by Frstus P. Summers
. . . G. P. Putnam's Sons . . .
New York city . . . 1939 . . . $3 00
Reviewed by GERTRUDE MARTIN
The strategic position of the Bal
timore and Ohio railroad made its
part in tlv. Civil War one of drama- !
tic importance. Serving as it did j
as the only connecting link between
the capital at Washington and the I
loyal states it was the target for
Confederate attack and i
Editorial Page of THE MICHIGAN CHRONICLE
-AFRICA—
VIEWS and REVIEWS
By RAMON A. MARTINEZ
Pounder of iHt Negro Nationalist Movement, and Originator
of the Creater Liberia Plan now in Congress
(The writer's thoughts do not necessarily represent the views
and opinions of this paper.
I bodies or societies without much
power or Influence nationally, ex
, cept In rare cases. One of these
J rare cases was Social Democratic
Society of Working Men, organized
•ia 1850 in Riohmond, Va . and com
osed mainly of German Immi
grants and American* of German
' descent. They had a socialistic pro
| gram advocating the social owner
; 3hip of all land, an eight hour day.
'.ld age pensions, and other social
j .-o*orr-. that in that day were con
sidered too radical to be safe or
o'-. • f which today are
I '.eing gradually adopted by state
and national governments. There is
o record of Negroes belonging to
he Social Democratic Society of
Working-Men, specially when the
moving spirit consisted of persons
of German extraction.
Nothing else extraordinary oc- i
eurred in the ranks of organized
labor in America from the death
of the Working-Men’s Party in
1837-38, until W 66 with establish
ment of the National Labor Union,
with which we shall begin the dis
cussion in our next instalment.
NEGRO HISTORY CLASSES, un
drr the auspices of the Negro Na
tionalist society, are Dcing con- j
ducted personally by Atty. Ramon !
A. Martinez, every Monday night at
8 o’clock, at the Y.M.C.A. on Eliza
beth near St. Antoine. No admission j
charge. The last period of the eve- '
ning will be dedicated to a round
lable conference on current events. I
including the present European war, 1
and how it may affect the Negro
world. Everybody is invited.
T
New Ml. Zion
Baptist Church
Rev. J. S. Williams, pastor of New
Mt. Zion Baptist church, Chene at
Mack, delivered the message at the
II o'clock service Sunday morning
to a capacity audience. His text
was found in I John 1:5; subject.
’Victories of the Christian Faith,”
During his discourse. Rev. Williams
said that the bible is a book of vic
tories, because it truly tells of fail- j
ures and defeats of God’s people. ■
and It also abounds in good news of j
the triumphs of righteous men and
The pastor will preach for the
adult department of the Sunday
school January 28 at 3 p. m. The
B. the Senior 8.Y.P.U., and
juniors met as usual on the regular
nour. The Junior church and choir
met on Thursday at 6:30 p. m. in
the educational building. Rev. J. S.
Williams, pastor; Mary Frances Wil
liams, church scribe.
< “NEGRO ECONOMICS’*
IV.
The three greatest gifts with
which God has blessed man for the
ei joyment of his material life on
1 earth are land.
l.ibor, and intel- . *
I ligence. lond as
j source
pro- j
i
the knowl- B|
to /$
happiness and
‘ comfort while R Martinet
on earth. All
three are fundamental, and with
out either of the three, the life of
a people is incomplete.
At the present stage of advance
ment of the Negro in America, he
can only count on labor as the basic
means of his material existence;
for, neither does he own the land
he walks upon and gives him life;
nor, has he been schooled suffi
ciently in economics to have de
veloped the adequate ir.telligence
to know what to do with the prod
ucts of his labor. In the field of
economics, the Negro in America is
fundamentally a laborer, and a
.narginal one at that. It is in this
particular field that we want to dis
miss him in this and the next two
r three instalments.
However, in order to get a better
picture of his position in the field '
f labor, let us review briefly th; I
nistorical background of the labor j
movement in America, with par
ticular emphasis on organized labor
as the most effective instrument of
:he workingman for the betterment
of his condition; and. let us also
I .'iscuss the sociological aspect of
I organized labor in its relation to
the American Neg:o. Only in this
manicr can we get a better id, a
of what the Negro may expect as
his economic future in America,
•rased on the only major asset that
he has to offer to American econ
omy: his labor.
The history of the organized
labor movement in America dates
from the earliest awakening of the
consciousness of tjie workingman in
America as a separate and distinct
class from the capitalist and the
industrialist. This awakening of the
consciousness of the workingman as
a class all to himself and with an
.nterest exclusively his own can
te traced to the early part of the
nineteenth century, with the evolu
tion of the workshop into the factory
system. The shoemaker, for instar.ee,
who had started with a small shop,
•nd 'through his ingenuity and
thrift had developed a trade that
| necessitated the hiring of other
shoemakers in order to meet the
demand of his customers, and had |
forced him off the workbench so
that he could attend to purchase
of materials, handling of the cash
or credit, and to attend to the de
livery and marketing of his product,
nad emerged from the stage of a
workingman and had developed
himself into an industrialist and a
financier, and instead of owning a
shop, he now owned a factory. It
-vas—while ..America was going
through this period of economic
evolution and transition that this
cour.try met the dawn of the nine
teenth century.
With the arousing and the de
velopment of class-consciousness in
the hearts and mifids of the men
who had been left below still labor
ng at the workbench in the factory,
'here also developed the necessity
f organization among themselves
tor the purpose of protecting their |
particular interests as workers as i
against the interests and oppressive
treatment of the industrialist and I
financier class. They chose a po
etical medium, and to this end in l
1829 there was organized in New j
York City the Working-Men’s Party. I
-licknamcd "The Dirty Shirts." of i
which the moving spirit was a me- 1
char.ic by the name of Thomas
; - kinner. With him were also associ
:ted Miss Frances Wright, a noisy
-he-man and rabble-rouser, and
itobert Dale Owen, a communistic
minded visionary of that day An
drew Jackson ("Old Hickory") was
President, and in the turbulence of
the politics of that day. anybody
•who wanted to beloi g to the Work
ing-Men’s Party could do so, sinct
what really counted for strength
was votes, and the vote of a black
man was just as valuable in the
final counting as the vote of a white
worker. Many free Negroes be
longed to the Working-Men’s Party
and voted for it. The slaves, of
course, rad no vote. But the radical
.deas of Miss Wright and of Owen,
and the depression of 1837 killed
•he Working-Mens Party, and it
went “the way of all flesh.”
This unmerciful and uncere
monious death of the Working-
Men's Party brought about a de
pressing feeling, nationally. In the
ranks of labor, ar.d for several years
organized Labor was limited to local
road was repaired after continual
Confederate destruction of bridges,
tracks and other equipment was an
other factor which aided the Fed
eral army.
Politically the railroad was Im
portant in determining the counties
which joined the western part of
Virginia in forming a new state.
Those counties through which the
railroad ran saw the advisability of
joining with the western part of
I the state in leaving Virginia to form
j the state of West Virginia.
A book of this type though limited
in general appeal is an important
part of a collection of books dealing
I with the Civil War period.
WE, THE NEGRO
By WM. L. SHERRILL
President, Afro-American Institute and Federated
Fireside Croups
OCR LIVES
"Nfl-jnaiL_JLQ. nation or race qver
amounted to anything, ever rose to
greatness, who did not take their
lives in their
own hands and ‘
shape their own
career.’ The
ages ol hisfory If "ZM
bear mute testi- i- 79
mony to this . ’r
fact. There are \ ,
am pies of* men
set the channels
of destiny, re
sardless of the Wm . Li Sherrill
conditions which
confronted them. Long as the an
cient Britons remained vassals of
Rome, they did not have the respect
of any people. Long as they re
mained subservient to other peoples
they wer< low down in the scale of
human standards. All the subject
peoples of whom history tells us,
were always at the foot of the hu
man ladder, until they asserted their
rights as men. #
NEGRO DESTINY
IN BLACK HANDS
We, the Negro, will never amount
to anything so long as we are con
tent to wait on somebody else to
work out our problems; or even wait
on them to help. The sooner we
realize that the destiny of the black
man is in black hands, the sooner
we will in reality start upward We
can never as a people reach true
manhood as long as we are forever
content to be only “hewers of wood
and drawers of water." Our con
dition at the present time; events
taking place all about us; demand
that we rise up as men. and do for
ourselves, what we have been ac
customed to looking to others to do
for us.
Let us stop lulling ourselves to
sleep with the vain hope of what
"the good white folks" or any other
folks, are going to do for us. Wc
have done this too long already.
Year -after year election after elec
tion we have sung to each other lul
labies of what the next year will
bring or the next election official
will give, not realizing that we only
get in this world what we have the
strength to take.
OUR OWN STRENGTH
Our whole future depends entire
ly upon us. It is not a question of
what others are disposed to give but
what are we able to exact. By our
own strength we must create for
ourselves avenues of employment
and force open the doors of oppor
tunity. if our sons and daughters
and the generations coming after,
will be able to carve out a destiny
that will be a credit to the Negro
and all the races of men.
‘WINTER DRIVING
HAZARDS’
-ry-
R. G. SCHUSTER
17. S. National Automobile Club
446 E. WARREN
TE. 1-0884 A 5
Now that we have really entered
J into the spirit of winter, with the
thermometer hovering between 10
above and 10 below zero, coming in
contact with now-blanketed, ice
covered streets, and high winds,
thinks me the time is ripe to warn
motorists against “winter driving
It is to be expected at this time
of year that the roads will be icy
and slippery, making the hazards
that much greater, therefore, due
caution should be taken.
We all know, as sure as we are
breathing and living, what winter
will bring, has always brought, and
will always bring, so why not safe
guard ourselves against these so
called evils?
First, let us take into considera
tion the ice-covered roads that
will invariably cause Skidding,
j Skidding, in my opinion, although
usually of a minor nature, is pri
marily the cause of most accidents j
during the winter season. It seems,
no matter how good your brakes j
may be, Ifcere are times when you '
are bound to slip Itnd slide.
Particularly true while in ;
the line of traffic, when the car j
in front of you may stop suddenly. ,
;even though you may apply your 1
j brakes at once, there is the pos
| sibility of skidding, slipping or slid- j
j ng into that car, more often caus- ;
ing slight damage to it.
However, in case of an accident, ■
j this does not excuse you. because
j the law requires you to always have
your car under control—regardless |
! of circumstances leading up to it.
Whether it is so or not, it is so easy \
i to blame these types of accidents ,
on road conditions, if it happens to i
jbe raining, snowing or ice has :
formed, making it slippery.
The best you can do. is to pre
pare yourself for these emergen
cies by keeping your car at a safe
distance behind the one in front, j
giving yourself ample time in which (
to stop, should it be necessary, upon
a moment’s notice, for the other
fellow may stop suddenly for some
reason or other, without any warn
ing. Even so, you will be judged
the one in error should you bump
into it. Keeping these things in
. mind, you will know what to do to
avoid anything of this nature,
i As a parting thought, I would
suggest that you follow these in
structions to the letter, thereby do
ing your bit to prevent such acci
dents from occurring.
Resembling a small typewriter, a
musical instrument Invented by a
score In the form of words printed on
I paper.
Letters To The Editor |
January 20, 1940
MICHIGAN CHRONICLE
\ Detroit, Michigan
Please publish the following let
‘ ter in the next issue of your paper,
i This letter is pertaining to the
| much discussed fifth class city in-
I corporation in the West Eight Mile
I Road community and contains first
j hand information that the writer
hopes will do much towards clari- |
| fying the motive back of this in- j
corporation.
| This can be done by reading this j
! letter with an open mind and ac- )
j cepting the facts in the case. The |
! contents of this letter properly di
! gested should do much toward re- |
moving skepticism from the minds I
:of those who have been harassed I
: daily by certain persons who are !
opposed to incorporating for no
sensible • reason whatsoever. Nev
' ertheless these same persons have j
: set themselves up as an informa- j
i tion bureau to pass out "informa-1
! tion upon a matter about which
they know nothing.
First we wil ltake a look into the
j historical background of R. O.
j township, the proposed area for in
corporating being a part of some.
Fifteen years ago the township
was twice its present size with a
tax value of 25 million dollars; to
day it’s one-half its former size
with a tax value of 12 million dol-
I lars and the largest bonded indebt
ness in its history, the amount be
: ing $370,000.
' This is what has happened in the
last 15 years out of the former half j
of the township. There has been
established three cities and two vil
lages. Cities of Pleasant Ridge,
Hunting Woods, Berkley, and a
portion of the City of Ferndale,
villages of Oak Park and Clawson,
the latter two not released from
township responsibility according
to law. The 370.000 bonded indebt
edness now spread on the entire
tax roll of the township as general
obligations at the rate of $4.17 per
thousand assessed valuation, was is
sued as such in the outset, but was
issued as special assessed district
Bonds instead were issued against
the faith and credit of the town
hip for the purpose of making gen
eral improvements in the above
mentioned cities which is no long
er a portion of the township but
remembpr that in the name of the
township of R. O. these bonds were
! sold and during the depression
1 when the township defaulted on
both interest and principal pay
ments of these bonds due to failure
of property owners in these spe
cial assessed districts to meet their
obligation, the bond holders
brought suit against the township
and the court ruled that these bonds
could no longer be considered spe
cial assessed district bonds but gen
eral obligations bonds instead. This
is how you get $4.17 per thousand
debt service on your tax bUI, but
remember you have not received
one penny's worth of benefit for
some, the real beneficiaries to this
nice sum of money the township
pays annually marked debt service,
is no longer a part of the township
and none of it has been for 8 years.
However, the statute provides
that sections seceding from the
township and establishing cities in
their own right assume their share
of the bonded indebtness that exist
i at the time they get out. But set
no specified time for this to be
done, therefore, cities have taken
. advantage of this leniency in the
i law and have paid as they saw fit
—some have paid nothing for in-
I stance. The city of Berkley, which
, has been out of the township eight
! years hasn't paid a penny, the
| amount being $37,000. upon that
j portion of the township annexted
|to the city of Ferndale There is
: an unpaid balance of $26,000 due in
12 years old.
The bad feature about this whole
story is this: Such money as has
been paid to township by the two
remaining municipalities as a part
of their share of the indebtedness,
which should have been placed
I into a sinking fund to apply on
i the bonded indebtedness but instead
was dumped into the general fund
and later used to make general
improvements in every section of
the township except in West Eight
Mile community.
For instance, the $19,000 fire
alarm system in Hazel Fark. the
$72,000 addition to the $750,000 Fed
eral grant to complete the Red Run
Drain in Hazel Park. Several thous
and dollars worth of water mains
and sewer track was paid out of
township general funds and in
stalled by WPA workers. This is
only a small portion of the favors
shown that part of the township
known as Hazel Pari . Since it be
came headquarters for township
government eight years ago and all
its officials have been residents of
that community ever since.
Now that this group has drained
every drop of the life's blood out
of R. O. T. they have plans defi
| nitely underway to change their
I community from town«hip to a
1 fourth class city next September.
GOD’S MEN
Look where you will, in every
sphere of activity, you can see the
sings written in unmistakable lan
guage, you can hear the unremitting
voice of destiny call Negro people
to stand up. “Quit ye like men,” for
there are great and trying tasks
ahead. This Insistent call will not
down; rather it gains force and pow
er with the passing of the moments,
as they carry us on the dawning of
the day when we as a people will
have to meet the world on a com
mon footing and prove to them that
indeed we are God’s men.
Are we going to pay attention to
'.he resolute and determined call of
fate; or are we going to allow the
precious moments to slip away while
we wait on others to do for us what
we can do for ourselves? Unless we
ourselves unite, plan and fight to
gain the things men live by. we will
be left, derelicts upon the sea of
LEADERSHIP COMPLEX
Our dreams, our hopes .our plans,
and all our aspirations will depend ,
however, upon the leadership we '
are able to develop. We can go but
a short distance with professional
leadership. The leadership complex
seems to be sweeping the race with
more detrimental than beneficial j
effects. Almost every other Negro !
you meet feels that he is a “leader." j
Too many of us seek the role of j
leadership for the glamour and j
emoluments we think it must of ne- '
cessity bring. This type of leader- i
ship is a handicap to the progress j
of a struggling people.
To leftd a people means lo en
counter danger first—and leave it
last; to be the first to die when
death is demanded: to suffer the re-
rebuffs which the people
might suffer; to stand between the !
people and danger! Leadership does j
not mean safety, security, ease. It
means daring, taking risks, ever and
eternally standing face to face with
danger. To lead means to go hun
gry if bread is scarce, to be poorly
clad whei. raiments are scant, to be
destitute In time of great stress.
THE CROSS LEADERSHIP’S
REWARD
To crave leadership is to crave
the bitter cup and the cross When
God was threatening to destroy
Israel and raise unto himself an
other people. Moses offered to die
in the people’s stead So earnest was
he that God spared the people. That
is leadership. When the locomo
tive crashes the engineer must go.
down with his hand on the throttle
When the ship is sinking the captain
must be the last to leave the watery
deck. Let our prayers rise up to
the Great Creator of the universe
for wisdom to see our duties and
responsibilities as Negro people; and
a leadership that will inspire and
lead us to their ultimate discharge.
SATURDAY, JANUARY 27, 1940
HIS EYE IS ON THE SPARROW
The village of Clawson is voting
on a similar issue January 20th.
This will reduce the township val
uation from 12 million dollars to
two and a half million dollars. Can
any of those opposed to incorpora
tion due to a fear of tax increase
for operating costs tell me what
will happen to your tax which is
$4.17 per thousand on a 12 million
! dollar township to meet a $370,000
bonded indebtness when this same
j township is reduced to 1-5 of its
i present valuation? It means that
j the tax must be increased five
| times its present size or ap
proximately $20.50 per thousand as
sessed valuation to meet this obli-
I gation there must be an increase
i from the $3 09 operating cost at
i the present time as all of this alone
should be sufficient to warrant in
| corporation.
] To those who are opposed to in-
I corporation because they doubt the
' abiity of people of their own group
being able to operate a city, did
you ever stop to think of the areas
proposed to incorporate this year
other than the West Eight Mile
Community.
If successful, the majority of the
people left in the township will be
Negroes, then will this group which
i is so skeptical of the Negro's com
petency and ability to carry on the
affairs of the township go out in
! search among such whites as are
left in search for some person de
scribed as white men to carry on
the affairs of the broken dilapi
• dated tax laden bankrupt township
that’s left. Judging from the reac
tion on the part of some, I would
say you will foolishly do just the
thing I have mentioned.
Bear in mind that the action on
the part of the incorporation com
mittee is a self-defense move and
not indivdual. The move is in the
defense of the community as a
whole. So sure is this committee
that we are right in our efforts that
the writer will issue the following
challenge to the opposing faction.
I will at. anytime in any public
place and before a public assembly
debate the question of incorpora
tion this area into a fifth class city
with any man or woman, white or
colored, a resident of the commu
nity or some one outside, and will
pay one-half of the expense in
curred to make possible such a de
bate providing the opposing group
pay the other half.
Signed:
EL WOOD DICKENS
2107 Gardenlane
Chairman of the Incorpo
ration committee
LETTER TO TIIE EDITOR
Editor of the Michigan Chronicle,
268 Eliot Street,
Detroit, Michigan
Dear Sir:
Please publish the following let
ter as an answer to the letter pub
lished last week bearing the names
of Mr. and Mrs. Ernest Morris, Mr.
and Mrs. Harry Croxton. Mr. and
Mrs. Johnson. Mr. and Mrs. Carl
Hall, Mr. and Mrs. Carl Dean. Mr.
and Mrs. John Warren, Mrs. Bow
den and others whom I desire to
read the following article.
As a tax-payer of this community
who once opposed this issue, but
took enough time to study it and
find out the advantages and disad
vantages, I wish to state my opin
ion and reasons why I know we
should incorporate.
If incorporation into a city Isn’t
a step forward, why Is it that there
are over 114.000 incorporated cities
throughout the United States? There
must be some advantage of becom
ing a city, if not why didn't Fern
dale. Royal Oak, Pleasant Ridge
and Huninghton Woods remain in
the township? Why is Clawson which
is a part of the township at present,
planning on becoming a city? If
you will read the papers you will
see that at present Clawson is bring
ing this issue before the people in
order to save $6,000 a year.- Please
answer the above questions.
The reason the above group op
poses this plan is not because they
know about it, but for the reason
they fail to get adequate knowledge
of the subject. Why don’t you as a
group and any other citizen who op
pose this plan come out in the open
and discuss your opposition face to
face with our committee. We don't
hide. We come out in the open and
discuss this matter of incorpora
tion at the committee meeting every
Thursday night at 8 at the Grant
school. Maybe you can show us some
parts we've overlooked. We are
willing to listen. Please accept this
letter as an invitation to you and
your frineds to be present at the
Tuesday night meetings.
In regards to leaders, this com
mittee was appointed by the mem
bers of the West Eight Mile Road
Community Club, Inc. This organi
zation is responsible for the majori
ty of the improvements in this com
munity. Looking into the water
project, recreation program, tax
plan and other things for the bene
| fit of the community you will find
the name of the above organization
behind it
The first police woman, the first
NYA and WPA supervisor, a per
son not from the relief rolls, two
jobs secured in Lansing and over
100 people assisted in getting their
jobs by the above organization. This
organization is non-profit and can
show letters to prove we have as
sisted numerous people in the com
munity. Seven of the people's names
who appear in this article against
incorporation were members of the
above organization.
I believe it is a lack of under
standing with a small amount of
jealousy and deceit in the hearts
of the ones who oppose this plan. I
feel sure if they didn’t understand
the movement they wouldn’t stand
on street corners and gossip about
that they didn’t know, but would be
sensible enough to come and meet
the committee face to face like edu
cated people. Yours truly, Albert
E. Scott, 20739 Westview, Ferndale,
Observing ...
POLITICS and
POLITICIANS
By WM. L. SHERRILL
Associate Editor
NEEDLESS LAWS
BURTON K. WHEELER
EAR-MARKING TAXES
MR. TAFT
Sentiment grows day by day In
favor of the drafting of President
Roosevelt for a third term. 4
* * *
There Is at present too many
reedless laws on our statute books.
Yet pending before the United
States Senate is a bill known as
the “Dempsey bill’’ which if passed
will add another to this long string
of needless laws.
The bill, according to Representa
tive Dempsey of New Mexico, is in
tended to exclude and deport aliens
who "Advocate the making of fun
damental changes in the American
form of government.”
Our government already has the
power to exclude and deport aliens
who advocate the overthrow of gov
ernment by force or the unlawful
destruction of property, or who
oppose all organized government.
This is a necessary power. Is there
any real need of extending it?
Could not the effort be more profit
ably spent trying to pass much
more needed legislation such as the
anti-lynching bill? The fewer of
these unnecessary bills our congress
loses its time with, the more chance
there is for passing needed legis
* * *
Labor appears to be lining up
behind Burton K. Wheeler for the
Democratic nomination for Presi
oent. He has the blessings of the
railroad brotherhoods, the A. F. of
L. and if we are to believe John L.
Lewis, the C. 1.0. is going for him
a hundred per cent. This is not
surprising since Mr. Wheeler has
one of the best labor records in
Washington. How long this alliance
will last, however, we don’t know.
The night is still young.
* * *
Listen to this:
Demand of. the president of the
Michigan Probate Judges’ Associa
: on that 15 per cent of the state’s
liquor profits be earmarked for state
hospital buildings is likely to sug
gest to many that perhaps the ear
marking business has gone tar
enough—or too far.
All of the gasoline taxes are now
earmarked for road building and
maintenance and the weight taxes
.'or use by the county road com
missioners. The law says the hos
pitals are entitled to a similar deal
on liquor money but they haven't
been getting it
Should they fall into line, and
one or two join the procession and
state treasury might not have much
left to divide up between the other
agencies. Perhaps it Is about time
to stsrt the march in the other di
rection and leave the state’s money,
all of it available for whatever
purpose it ia most needed. The
present policy is a little like .a
family pampering one or two chil
dren and starving the others.
* * *
“We can stay out of this war; we
ought to stay out It will do the
cause of democracy more good if
we show that a great nation can go
through a crisis without abandoning*
the principles of democracy.” Th«s
spoke Senator Taft candidate for
the Republican nomination for
President in his recent Milwaukee
speech. He might have added that
it will do the cause of democracy
also, irreparable harm if we do not
see that it works for black and
white alike.
Propelled by a gasoline engine, en
agricultural implement Invented by
a California resident applies a high
tension electric current to toll to In
crease its fertility by Increasing the ni
trogen content.