CAYTON'S WEEKLY
PRICE FIVE CENTS
CAYTON'S WEEKLY
Published every Saturday at Seattle, Washington,
U. S. A.
In the Interest of equal rights and equal Justice to
all men and for "all men up." 1
A publication of general information, but in
the main voicing the sentiments of the Colored
Citizens.
It is open to the towns and communities of the
state of Washington to air their public grienvances.
Social and church notices are solicited for pub
lication and will be handled according to' the rules
of journalism.
Subscription $2 per year in advance. Special
rates made to clubs and societies.
HORACE ROSCOE CAYTON. .Editor and Publisher
TELEPHONE: BEACON 1910
CHRISTMAS—DAY OF DAYS
Next Tuesday is Christinas day and, in
the minds of a great majority of the
peoples of this world, their religious be
liefs to the contrary notwithstanding, it is
the greatest day of the year. The Jew and
the Gentile, the Turk and the Hindu, one
and all alike, felicitate on that day. In
short, it is a world holiday, and the only
one that is looked forward to by all na
tionalities and most religionists. Of course
those who do not accept the doctrines of
Jesus Christ have no religious sympathies
for the day, but they have commercialized
it, and, in order to increase their sales,
they, to an extent, enter into the spirit of
the occasion and find themselves as eagerly
looking forward to the day as the most
zealous Christian.
Fifty odd years ago the writer was a
kiddie living in the state of Mississippi,
where Christmas embodied the patriotism of
the community as well as its Christianity,
and while the young bloods let off their
long pent np patriotic ardor with roaring
guns and tooting 1 horns, the older heads
either gathered at the church houses for
worship or spent the most of the day in
prayer and thanksgiving. While it was
wicked to work on Sundays, yet it was, in
the eyes of a great majority of the people
living thereabouts, an unpardonable sin to
- do any labor on Christmas day, and only
fcthe 'worst of sinners" participated in
dances on that night.
Yes. the most of the folks exchanged
Christmas gifts such as they were, but the
gifts were without value and for the most
part consisted in the cunningness of each
to be the first to shout, "Christmas gift!"
to the other fellow. The one that got caught
had nothing, to give, save a hearty laugh
and a Christmas tussle, but that to the most
of them was worth more than a valuable
present bought from a store. On the plan
tation, where we lived, there were about
twenty-five families and it is safe to say
that ten dollars would have covered the
cost of every thing they had extra for
Christmas, aside from the food they had
prepared for the occasion. It was the spirit
of the day that furnished the presents for
oa^h and every one and the gifts of ex
phanGe were drawn from the fountains of
good cheer.
The men, women and children all slept
Christmas eve night with one eye open and
both ears close to the ground, in order to
be on the alert for the "Christmas gift
catchers." who began to steal up to the
doors of their neighbors while the morning
"■^<\rs were yet shining and while the one on
tno outside had to observe certain regula-
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON, SATURDAY, DEC. 22, 1917
tions of civility before becoming the victor,
such as knocking at the door and saying,
good morning, and then follow up with
''Christmas gift," yet it was often very
perplexing to decide, which one had actu
ally won, but a few minutes good time was
the result, it mattered not which was the
victor, and the older heads served good
things to eat to all in deference of the oc
casion, which consisted of cake, home made
wine and frequently a glass of eggnog.
To the southerner, who lives in the North,
Christmas comes and Christmas goes, and
yet no Christmas has come. The quiet
Christmas is all right and is the true spirit
of keeping the day, they fully realize, but
he occasionally longs for a Christmas such
as the South used to have. But even in
the South the spirit of celebrating Christ
man day has undergone a most radical
change and the commercial spirit instead of
the spirit of good cheer seems to prevail.
It was last Christmas when one of the lead
ing magazines of the country, with some
thing like a million subscribers, spoke of
the great change that had come over the
people of the South* as to their method of
celebrating Christmas day. The colored folk
of the South, it declared, instead of shout
ing "Christmas gift" to their neighbors,
were exchanging valuable presents and
visiting each others' homes in high class
touring ears and limousines. Many of the
more thrifty were accused of making their
families presents of three thousand dollar
cars for a Christmas gift.
The present world wide war has to an
extent loosened that spirit of extravagance
but it is suspected that in the South many
valuable Christmas presents will be ex
changed next Tuesday by persons, whose
parents gave but a slice of cake and a
stick .of candy to the one who caught his
or her Christmas gift.
THAT BUTCHERS' STRIKE
The butchers' strike in Seattle, like the
longshoremen's, has proved a Godsend for
the colored citizens of this city, as great
numbers of them are now employed at the
slaughter houses at good wages. Tt is re
ported that something like twenty-five col
ored women are already at work at the
slaughter houses drawing salaries of not lees
than twelve dollars per week and twice that
many men are employed at salaries ranging
from three to five dollars per day. It's an
ill wind that blows no one good, and that
what organized labor casts away unorganiz
ed black folks are making a good thing of
it. Seattle has been the scene of a good
many different kinds of strikes among union
labor workers during the year now about
closing, and only a few of them have been
settled without the black man profiting
thereby. Organized labor will some day
realize its mistake in drawing the color line
on the Negro of the United States and it will
be glad to invite him into their councils.
The black man. however, even then had
better make haste slowly in entering the
councils of war with organized labor for
on the whole, it's a treacherous bunch when
it comes to dealing squarely with the black
man. and the least the black man has to do
with the organization the better for him at
least as it is now run.
T Tnele Ram on the water wajron, will be
some rio-ht about change alright,
EDITORIAL PARAGRAPHS
Putting idle men to work by law will
have a most salutary effect on some.
Taking a recess seems to be one of the
most strenuous labors the IT. S. Supreme
Court performs.
Puget Sound weather has been running
to tV extremes within the past six months
—the "dryest" faall and the "wetest" win
ter.
Three pounds of sugar to the person
ought to be a sufficiency for a month, but
the human hogs will not be satisfied with
twice that amount.
Mayor Gill has had another close call
and yet he is still right side up with care.
Gill is simply a lucky dog and it is better
to be born lucky than rich.
Tf Russia should decide to cast her lot
with Germany then J. Pierpont Morgan will
have much trouble in collecting his interest
from her to say nothing of the principle.
If the European Allies should make good
their threat to drive the Turk out of Europe
he will soon be up a stump for a place to
go, as he is being rapidly driven out of
Asia.
Though George Vanderveer has been a
constant gun toter, he carried his gun one
day too often.' Gun toters, regardless of
whom they are, ought to get theirs up to
the hilt.
Tf the world-wide war accomplished noth
ing more than the rescuing of Jerusalem
from the Turks it has accomplished great
good, its awful toll of human lives to the
contrary notwithstanding.
"Real estate men of Seattle very opti
mistic," reads a daily news item, but amid
all of their optimism they are selling little
or no real estate, and we have our doubts
of them doing so any ways soon.
Legally or otherwise, the hanging of thir
teen colored soldiers at Houston, Texas, as a
result of the court martial has almost con
vinced ten million colored persons in this
country that, fair play is not for them.
Only Austin E. Griffith and Ole Hansen
have thus for announced themselves as can
didates for mayor of Seattle, and, if no one
else should enter the race, what a devil of
a boat the tax payers of the city would be
in.
There seems to be a sharp rivalry be
tween the Y. M. C. A. and the Knights of
Columbus in their proselyting work in Camp
Lewis. The weakness of the Jesus Christ
religion as operated by men is its jealous
isms.
Any woman with a husband, who would
keep her in trouble as much as Charles
Hiram Gill has kept his wife, ousrht to <ret
a divorce from him. The late impeachment
proceedings is the third public disgrace he
has drug his family through, and a woman
should shun such a man like she would a
howling hyena with hydrophobia.
VOL. 2, No. 28