The Denver star. [volume], September 20, 1913, Image 1

About The Denver star. [volume] (Denver, Colo.) 1913-1963

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■Let All Colored Americans and Friends Protest to Washington Against Post Office Segregation
The papers formerly known as The Statesman and The Independent, have been merged into The Denver Star
TWENTY-SIXTH YEAR. Number 3
A. C. Cash, Chief Organizer
Of The American Woodmen.
Has Wonderful Chance to
put Denver on Woodmen
Map. Strong insurance
Company Backs Him Up.
A. C. Cash, who came to
our city some ten years ago,
has made himself felt as an
organizer. \V hen the 1 rue
Reformers were in their balm
iest days, when Denver could
boast of ten fountains, when
all the leading business, pro
fessional and tradesmen were
connected with that organiza
tion. the fraternal spirit and
enthusiasm was at its highest
point in Denver. Ihe Ameri
can Woodmen, having care
fully scrutinized Mr. Cashs
church record at Zion Baptist
church and after making such
A. C. CASH.
other neccessary investiga
tions as they deemed proper
and sufficient, hired him to do
for them what he did for a
foreign fraternal society. The
Star feels proud of the Amer
ican Woodmen, because its
heaAjuarters are in Denver;
because it is of Negro brain
and business acumen anti has
met the conditions o'f every
Southern State Insurance De
partment and,further because
only recently it bought S3O.
000 worth of Denver bonds._
We are proud of Mr. Cash
because he has. a genius for
organization and has made
good along his line. We,
therefore, take great pleasure
in introducing the new frater
nal organization formally to
our readers and patrons. May
you know them better and in
turn may they know you bet
ter.
Why should men be valued
according to accident of gen
eration? This condition is
certainly a lapse to barbarism
deeper than any imagine.
Men shonld not be condemn
ed racially but individually.
The world shall learn that
it is not the race but the spirit;
not the constitution of blood
or color of skin, but conduct
that differentiates between
men. —Rabbi Hirch.
The toad beneath the har
row knows precisely where
each sharp tooth goes.—Old
1 Proverb.
J 1
The Denver Star
In Memoriam.
Mrs. Ida I). Bailey died at
Washington D. C., Feb. S.
iqoS. Noble and brave heart
led. race-loyal, true to princi-
I pie. unselfesh, devoted race
woman. None have yet come
to fully fill her place in the
struggle of colored Americans
! for freedom in the land of
their birth - needed more now
than ever as color line reaches
' Congress. The farewell mes
sage ot Mrs. Bailey to Colored
Americans:
“I leave this message for
those who love me:"
Live for God.
Give your heart to Him and
your life, if need be, for the
emancipation of the Negro
race in this land of his birth.
Fight race discrination.
Fight the “Jim Crow cars."
Lend a hand to Monroe
Trotter: hold up his hands,
for if you don't agree with all
his methods, you know he is
honest in this question. Hold
updiis hands.
God hates a coward; be
brave men; be brave women.
I shall not rest in heaven,
but look down from above, it
1 can, and continue my in
terest.
God bless my poor race,
and lead them on through the
this wilderness.
C. A. BURTON
Prominent Odd Fellow.
The congenial ex-Dlstrlct Grand
Master of the Odd Fellows conferred
the Patriarchal degree on ex*Grand
Master John F. Davis of Silver Bow
lodge, Helena. Montana. The service
waß very impressive.
DENVER, COLORADO, SATURDAY, SEPT. 20, 1913
Denver Needs A
Vigilance Committee.
A Call To Arms.
There is scarcely a community in the U. S.
where a group of colored reside that ought to
have its vigilance committee; some have them.
Sometimes this committee is organized and has
a name indicating its function. Sometimes it
is organized for other purposes and becomes a
vigilance committee on occasion. In other cases
the committee has no regular organization or
membership; it springs into being on occasion,
but consists of approximate!) the same group of
persons from year to year. The work of these
vigilance committees is to protect the colored
people in their several communities from aggres
sion. The aggression takes • form of hostile
laws, ordinances, curtailment of civil rights, new
racial discrimination, overtax or over severe en
forcement of the law, curtailment of opportuni
ties, etc. Sometimes this aggression is but the
careless act of thoughtless folk and needs but a
i word in season to correct it. More often it is
a part of that persistent campaign
centering largely among Americans of
Southern birth, which is determine to so in
trench the color caste in the U. S. as to make
it impossible for any person of Negro blood to
be more than a menial. Against both sorts of
racial aggression organized effort is necessary.
Many thoughtful colored people have sought to
avoid this: to act independently and to refuse
to meet organization by organization. This in
most cases has been found impossible. The
blows of racial and color prejudice fall alike on
all, rich and poor, educated and ignorant and all
must stand together and fight. The methods of these vigilance com
! mittees are various. The simplest action is the appointment of a com
mittee of one or more to call on some official or person of influence:
jfrom this action extends to letters and ihe press, pamplets, legislative
1 hearings, mass meetings, petitions, etc. In a few cases threats and
violence have been attempted, but these are at present exceptional,
j From this procedure on the part of tens of thousands of largely isolated
j groups much actual good has been done and much experience accum
ulated. The time is now evidently at hand to find and pool this nation
wide experience and to systematize this scattered local effort into
steady, persistent and unwavering pressure. As it is, unorganized lo
cal effort loses much time and energy in re-organizing for every new
object: organized local efforts lack experience and knowledge of simi
lar action elsewhere. Henceforth we must act together and we must
fight continuously.
The object of the National Association for the Advancement of
Colored People is to federate local committees among colored people
in every community in the U. S.: to co-ordinate their activities, to ex- 1
change experiences and to concentrate the application of funds where!
the need is the greatest.— May Cnsis. In Denver such an important j
organization is greatly needed. Toda' along our public streets these!
signs are printed and impudently displaced with the greatest impunity,:
“We cater to white people only," at the Colonial theatre; “Colored
trade not wanted," at the Paris theatre, a block apart on Curtis street;
around the corner on 18th street below Champa street, “White Peo
ples’ Restaurant;" in the next block above on Champa, "Nigger head
bullets,' with a picture of a black face painted on a lump of coal. [
All this discrimination within a radius of two blocks along the through-;
fares of our city. What are we doing about it? What are we going.
to do about it? The answer is to form the above committee and do |
as directed as by Dr. Dußois and meet organization with organization.
Then organize a local branch of that Crisis society here. We, in
Colorado are in the greatest fight of our lives; we must fight to retain
our civil rights, citizenship and political rights. Every day new ag
gressions ate made against us and we must either fight togethsr or
fight apart. The Star says organize svstemmatically with good sub
stantial, cool-headed men of honor and integrity at the head. Eschew
the politician, the truckler, the grafter andt the notoriety-sreker. Or
ganize for business and then do it. Ihe Peoples' Sunday Alliance
has a meeting at 2630 Welton street, Sept. 21. Let this meeting be
a nucleus for the Vigilance Committee.
Interesting News
Concerning the Race.
SOLDIERS MISTREATED
IN THE PHILIPPINES
Members of 24th Infantry-, Com
pelled to Labor Daily, Including
Sunday—Work with Picks and
Shovels in Mud and Water-
White Soldiers Exempt from
Hardships.
Special to The New York Age.
It is asserted by soldiers of
the 24th Regiment, U. S. In
fantry, stationed at this point,
that they are the victims of
ranK discrimination and in
justice, in that they are reliev
ed from soldier’s regular duty
and compelled to labor every
day, including Sundays, with
picks and shovels in the Jmud
and water. It is also said that
their tents are pitched in
swamps where the water flows
under the cots, and that the
soldiers have to tie their shoes
to the cot legs to keep them
from washing away.
This regiment has been sta
tioned here for three months
and during that time have had
to worn night and day during
some periods. The white sol
diers are not required to do
this work and some of them
sit around and jeer and ridi
cule the Negro soldiers at
work in the mud. There are
1,200 native prisioners at this
station, and when the rain
starts they are taken in. The i
native prisoners it is said, fre- j
quently ask the Negro soldiers
if they are prisioners, and
want to know why they have
to work in the rain.
Conditions for the Negro
soldier at this station are get
ting worse every day. The
food is plentiful, but is half
cooked, and hardly more than
slops. The soldiers are faith
ful and willing and are trying
to do their duty under these
adverse circumstances, bnt
they feel very keenly the hum
iliating discrimination from
from which they are suffering-
Negro Girl’s Big Tax.
A Negro girl ten years old
will pay the largest income tax
in Oklahoma. Sarah Rector,
who lives just west of Musko
gee, has an income of more
than Sii2,ooo a year.
It is the old story of the
lucky allottee and the oil well
Sarah is the descendant of a
Creed freedman. She had j
nothing to do with the select- i
ion of her allotment and pro . j
bably has never seen it and
does not know where it is.
But it is 160 acres of land and
upon it has been drilled the
biggest producing well in the
mid-continent field. This is
what is known as the Jones
Gusher, near the town of Cu
shing. The well is producing
more than $2,500 a day, and
Sarah gets one-eighth as her
share.
Five Cents a Copv
Army, Navy and Post Office
Service May Not Have
Any More Negroes.
At a caucas of Democratic
congressman, Friday night, to
decide on the patronage pol
icy, it was voted to dismiss all
the Negro employes at the
Capitol, and give their places
to white men. This is to in
elude the barbers and waiters,
who are employed at the Capi
tol building and in the Senate
and House Office building, as
well as the messengers and
laborers. From time immem
orial the Negro barber and
waiter have had undisputed
monopoly of the barbering in
the Senate and House barber
shops, and of the waiting in
the Senate and House cafes.
These are. however, to be dis
missed and white men put in
j their positions.
During the caucus one Sou
thern Democratic congress
man referring to places held
Negroes which, in his opinion
hould be filled by” whites, pro
claimed that the niggers are
all Republicans, ancl I never
in my lifesaw a nigger Demo
crat. This statement is re
garded here as a slam at the
, democracy of Bishop Walters
[and his coterie of alleged Ne
gro Democrats who supported
the election of President Wil
son. In consequence of the
Democratic caucus decision to
make a clean sweep of Ne
groes employed by Congress
there is consternation among
the several hundred of them
employed, many of whom have
gray in the service. 1 hat it
will work a hardship is known,
but the Southern Democrat is
in the saddle here, and he is
rapidly recovering all he
ought to preserve, and all the
Northerners fought in the
Civil War to take from him.
It is but a question of a short
time, it is believed, when this
same Democratic anti-race
policy will extend Negro Civil
Service employes. Already
one young colored woman has
been dismissed from the Bur
eau of Printing and Engraving
for refusing to acceptand abide
by the segregation rules, and
three Negro male clerks in
the 1 reasury Department
were threatened with dismiss
al if they again used other
than the jim-crow toilet
rooms.
Clarence E. Langston
Leaves The Star.
Mr. Clarence L. Langston,
who on March 15th ol this
year became our manager,
tendered his resignation this
week to become effective Sat
urday 20. Mr. Langston has
been an industrious, energetic
and sacrificing young man.
working for the interest of
the company and materially
helping the company dining
his connection, all of which
the company sincerely appre
ciates. In consequence of his
action, we are now notifying
the public and patrons of the
severance.
The Denver Sta .