The southern news. [volume], March 16, 1940, Image 1

About The southern news. [volume] (Asheville, N.C.) 1936-19??

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THE LEADING
NEGRO NEWSPAPER
OF THE TWO
CAROLINAS
VOL. 4—NO. 22
CON. MITCHELL ASKS FOR $75,000
“Morehouse Has Vital Mission Today,”
Says Reverend Samuel Augustus Owen
At 73rd Anniversary Celebration
ATLANTA, Ga„ Feb. 23. —'
(Special) “Morehouse College
has a mission as visil today as
she had 73 years ago," said Rev
erend Samuel Augustus Owen to
day on the occasion of the I
Founder's Day celebration at the
college. The exercises were held
in Sale Hall Chapel on the camp
us before a large audience of stu
dents, alumni, faculty, and friends
of Jiie college. Presiding was
Dean Brailsford R. Brazeal, '27,
who also" was in charge of the
arrangements for the celebration.
"Morehouse first started out to
develop safe and sympathetic
leaders," said the speaker, “and
we need like characters today If
the college Is not to depart from
the principle of faith, and if it :
is to serve in the spirit in which
it was born.” Reverend Mr, Ow
en, a graduate of Morehouse in
the Class of 1911, was honored
with the degree of master of arts
by his alma mater in 1922 for
his outstanding achievements. He
is the pastor of the Metropolitan
Baptist Church in Memphis, Ten
nessee, and a trustee of LeMoyne
College. '
N.ACP PREPARED TO
REFUTE CONNALLY
NEW YORK Any attempt
on the part of Senator Tom Con
nally, of Texas, to emasculate the
Wagner-Van Nuye-Capper Federal
Anti-lynching bill during the final
hearings on the bill, by putting
on witnessc .corn Texas, South
Caiolir>a' and other Sdb’i.iern states
to testify against the bill, will be
met with full facts and figures,
the National Association for the
Advancement of Colored People
announced today.
Senator Frederick Van Nuys,
chairman of the Senate Judiciary
sub-committee conducting hear
ings on the bill, has announced
that the hearings will be resumed
on Tuesday, March 5, closing ei
ther on that date or March 6.
Walter White, executive secre
tary of the N. A. A. C ill'
William Hastie, of the H- var
University Law school, who ,3
chairman of the Associate u i i
tional Legal committee wil be
present at the hearing, to refute
any false statements made by Con
nally's witnesses, the announce
ment said.
Background material concerning
lawless activities of the Ku Klux
Klan and other types of mob vi
olence in South Carolina and Tex
as will be placed in the hands of
committee members and newspa
per correspondents, Mr. White
said. Lack of funds prevented the
Association's sending investigators
into these states to get fuller in
formation, he added.
A tentative survey of Senatorial
reaction to the NAACP's 1940 in
on cloture follows:
For Cloture
Democrats: Alben W. Barkley,
Ky.; Bennett Champ Clark, Mo.;
Theodore F. Green, R. I.; Francis
T. Maloney, Conn.; Sherman Min
ton, Ind.; Matthew M. Neely, w.
Va.; Lewis B. Schwellenbach,
Death Os Tennessee Negro
Farmer Cited As Example
NEW YORK The death of
Jesse Lee Bonds, 20-year-old Ne-1
gro tenant farmer, whose batter- I
ed body was fished up out of a
drainage canal near Arlington,
Tennessee, not far from Memphis,
by a deputy sheriff, May 2, 1939,
was cited as an example of an
unidentified lynching today by the
National Association for the Ad
vancement of Colored People.
Two white men, Charles Wilson,
Arlington storekeeper, and his as
sociate William Johnson, who are
said to have led a band of white
hoodlums in a chase after Bonds
on April 28. were later arrested
and held in Shelby County jail,
charged with Bonds' murder. The
story behind the murder charge
against Wilson and Johnson, who
were freed January 23, 1940, by
Criminal Judge Wallace, in Mem
phis, upon recommendation of At
torney General Marion S. Boyd,
traces the activities of these men
up to the time that witnesses said
they saw Bonds running for his
life, after shots had been fired
at him. From April 28 to May
Special Correspondents Over North and South Carolina
i W s outl)ern k
•I Expressing appreciation for the
i Baptist Societies and the philan
i thropie boards which have given
I largely toward the maintenance
I of the college, the speaker stated
I that the college still needed the
good will and interest of these
and other friends. “Morehouse has
a definite place in the educational \
sphere,” he stated, "and no other
institution in all the country has
set for its task and centered its
attention on the education of Ne
gro men along liberal, cultural,
literary, and religious lines as has
Morehouse. The college came in
to existence, he observed, because
the founders recognized the need
for trained leaders, first to ex
i empllfy the life of Jesus Christ
iin their lives and then to intel
! ligently impart character and light
Ito others. Amidst the complex
. economic problems of today when
such deadly perils of the age as
[ fascims, atheism, nazism, and
communism are all about us, the
youth needs a voice that shall be
heard above the roar and din of
[ the raging battle of philosophers,
' scientists, politics, and religious
1 (Continued on Back Page)
NEW MA CHINE
AT ASHEVILLE LAUNDRY
The people of Asheville should
be acquainted with the new type
of machine at the Asheville Laun
dry on Rankin Avenue, that en
ables overalls to be thoroughly
done, yet does away with the
sticking together of the legs and
arms and abolishes that “strachy”
feeling. This machine is the only
one of its kind in Asheville and
if you need and want aueh ser
vice just call the Asheville
Jxtundry, telephone 2000.
Wash.; William H. Smathers, N.
J.; Frederick Van Nuys, Ind.;
Robert F. Wagner, N. Y.; David
I. Walsh. Mass.
Republicans: W. Warren Bar
bour, N. J.; Arthur Capper, Kan.;
James J. Davis, Pa.; Robert A.
Taft, Ohio.
Non-Commltal on Cloture
Democrats: Albert B. Chandler,
Ky.; D. Worth Clark, Idaho; J.
M. Mead, N. Y.; Elbert D. Thom
as, Utah; Burton K. Wheeler,
Montana.
Republicans: Arthur H. Van
denburg, Mich.; Henry Cabot
Lodge. Mass..
Among those Senators who have
not yet replied to the N. A. A. C.
P.’s query, but who voted for
cloture or were paired for cloture
in 1938 are the following:
Alva B. Adams, Colo.; [Henry
F. Ashurst, Arizona; Homer T.
Bone, Wash.; Prentiss H. Brown,
Mich.; Dennis Chavez, N. Mex.;
Vic Donahey, Ohio; Guy M. Gil
lette, lowa, Joseph F. Guffey, Pa.;
Carl A. Hatch, N. Mex.; James
H. Hughes. Del.; Edwin C. John
son, Colo.; Josh Lee, Okla.; Jas.
E. Murray, Mont.; Harry 11. _
Schwartz, Wyo.; Elmer Thomas, 1
Oklahoma; Harry S. Truman, Mo. J
Republicans: John A. Townsend.
Jr., Del.; Progressive: Robert M. \
LaFollette, Jr., Wls.
Against Cloture
Democrats: PeretG. Gerry, R.
I. William ,H. King, Utah; Claude (
Pepper, Florida.
2, 1939, no trace w’as found of 1
I Bonds until his body was taken <
I from the canal by a deputy sher- 1
Iff.
Young Bonds lived with his fam- 1
ily in Shelby: County near Arling- 1
ton, Tenn., neashrdluetaoincmfw *
gton, Tennessee. In the Spring of '
1939 he owed a debt of twelve *
dollars to Wilson, who ran a gro- !
eery store In Arlington. On the ‘
morning of April 28, 1939, Will- '
iam Johnson who was associated
with Wilson, came to Bond's 1
home and asked the latter to 1
come down to the store because
Wilson wanted to talk to him.
Miss Anna Bonds, Jesse’s aunt, 1
and a teacher in Arlington, went 1
along, to assure Wilson that she
would stand for the debt, for both 1
of them felt sure that that was ;
what Wilson wanted.
When they arrived at the store,
Johnson was standing near the 1
front door. Wilson was in the •'
rear of the store. When the two 1
entered, Wilson began cursing and '
took a pistol from behind the i
(Continued on Back Page)
Asheville, N. C., SATURDAY, MARCH 16, 1940
An Open Letter
AN OPEN LETTER TO REV? E. W. DIXON
Asheville, N. C.
March 7, 1940
Eugene Smith, President & Publisher
The Southern News
Booker T. Washington Hotel
409 Southside Avenue
Asheville. N. C.
Dear Sir:
Notice is hereby given as provided in Section
2429 of the Consolidated Statutes of the State of
North Carolina, that certain of the statements
contained in the editorial entitled “Pseudo Leader
ship which appeared on the first page of the Sat
urday, March 2nd, 1940, issue of your paper “The
Southern News” are false, defamatory and libelous
of me.
I am a minister of the gospel actively engaged
in my calling in the City of Asheville, and as such
I was one of the sponsors and promoters of the
presentation or program of “Wings Over Jordan” 1
referred to in your aforementioned editorial, as
you knew when you wrote said editorial
As a consequence I strenuously object to your
false and unwarranted attack on my in. jrity and 1
reputation, and upon the integrity and reputations
of my associates in said sponsorship, and I hereby ,
demand such retraction, redress and apology from
you as may be required and allowed by law.
Very truly yours
(REV.) E. W. DIXON.
Above is an exact copy of a letter written me by
the one Rev? E. W. Dixon. I think it no more than
fair to inform the so called Rev?", hereafter referred
to as Ed, that I refuse to retract or apologize, or take
back anything that has heretofore appeal d in The
Southern News concerning “Wings Over .Jordan.” I
think that the Rev? Dixon should make or tread an
unbeaten path to Dayton, Ohio, to the Chu ch of the
great Hon. Rev. M. L. Breeding, bend his r?i knee, ,
uncover his ecciesasticat head, be* inspirecT by that
great ministerial giant, and learn himself some sense.
There is a time when all Negroes need to call on
their good white friends, but the Rev? should know
that no white man is particularly interested in what
one Negro says about another. Why doesn’t he stay
out of these people’s offices? I believe that there are
over one hundred good lawyers in this town and the
Negro press here knows practically all of them. It
has been wisely said, quote, that “There are braying
men in the world as well as braying asses; for what
is loud and senseless talking other than away of
braying.”
I would like to say personally to the Rev? That I
am the father of three children and 1 do not attempt
to frighten them and it is foolish for you at attempt
to frighten me. If there was any misunderstanding
between you and me, then why couldn’t you have come,
like other persons have come, to my office at the
Booker T. Hotel? No. you wished to frighten me into
submission. Please remember that “Errors succumb
to the ravishes of time though sustained by a thou
sand laws.
(Signed)
ENGENE SMITH
Booker T. Hotel
P. 0. Box 464
Marian Anderson
Mural Fund Is
Nearing Goal
Washington, D. C.—The drive
to raise $2,000 for the Marian
Anderson Mural moved apprec
iably nearer its goal last week
with a contribution of S4OO by
the Negro Benevolent Society of
the New York City Department
of Sanitation.
Presentation of the contribution
was made by Handy Mosleys
President of the Society, to Com
missioner William F. Carey who
forwarded the S4OO check to Ed
ward Bruce, Chairman of the
fund-raising committee and Chief
of the Government's Section of
Fine Arts.
Accepting the contribution. Mr.
Bruce expressed the committee's
appreciation of the Negro Benev
olent Society's generosity. “This
is a most worthy cause to which
these workers have contributed
so generously." he said. "It indi
cates their deep and genuine ap
preciation of the great art of
Miss Anderson and the ever-in
creasing prestige of the Negro
race in the artistic world.”
More than $1,600 has been
raised to cover the cost of the
mural which will bo installed in
the new Interior Department
Building. The mural will com
memorate Miss Anderson's Easter
Sunday concert here last year in
front of the Lincoln Memorial.
The artist will be chosen by a
nation-wide competition open to
all American artists. Details of
the competition will be announc
ed as soon as sufficient funds
are secured to execute the mu
ral.
Naacp Protests
Denial Os Ballot
I New York. The spectacle of 1 1
i New Jersey s state legislature act- '
ing favorably on the recontmen- ■
dation of a state committee in
vestigating relief, which would:"
deny the vote to all persons who i
have been on that state’s relief
I rolls for three years, was vigor- '
I ously condemned in a joint tele-1
gram sent to Governor Harry
Moore by the NAACP and its fif
teen branches in New Jersey
I The telegram, which was sent
February 26, and signed by Wul
[l ter White, urged the Governor!
Ito throw his weight against the j
recommendation.
The telegram said in part: ,
“Since when has poverty be- .
come a crime or justification for { j
denial of constitutional rights? I
' Adoption by New Jersey of such i
a proposal would work especial I ,
hardship on New Jersey's 300,-
000 Negroes, many of whom are
, unemployed and on relief through ‘
no fault of their own but solely:.
because of discrimination by
’ public and private employers and '
by some labor unions. We strong-;,
ly urge full weight of your office['
and personality against so vicious !
and undemocratic a proposal.”
HOSPITAL ASSOCIATION
MEETS
The Western Carolina (Hospital
Association asks all Negroes to be
> present Monday evening, March
' 18, at 8 o'clock for the purpose
of mapping out plans to begin its
i campaign.
Pres.- —Mrs. J. F Birchette, Sr.
Sec.—Miss Mary Brewer.
I United States Census Os 1940 To Have A
Special Importance For Colored People; Will
Measure Economic Condition, Social Needs
The Census of 1940 is going to
have a special importance for the
Negro citizens of the United
States. As have all previous Cen
suses, it will show how many
Negroes live in this country, and
how large a part of the total
population they form. But beyond
that, it will measure their eco
nomic condition and their social
needs more completely than ever
before.
The first Census of our coun
try', taken in 1790, brought to
light one fact about the Negro
population that is just as start
ling now as it was then. It
showed that among the 3,929,214
persons who lived in the United
States, 757,208 were of African
ancestry. In other words, that
Negroes constituted 19.3 per cent
of the country’s total population
in those years just after the
Revolution; that to every 1000
white persons in the States, there
were 239 Negroes! This earliest
governmental population count
was then, and still is. of tremen- :
dous importance, being one of the
first tangible indications that j
Chicago Men Praised
For “Justice Fight”
New York—Officials of the Na-I
tlonal Association for the Ad
van cement of Colored People
paid tribute today to Robert S
A’jbott publisher of the Chicago
Defender and Dr. A. Wilberforce
Williams, famous Chicago sur
geon, both of whom died this
week.
Terming them “two great fight
ers for justice.” Wa’ter White,
elation, praised Dr.
life member of the organization,
tor having given freely o f his
time, energy- and money to the
work of the NAACP both in Chi
cago and on a national scale. He
lauded Mr. Abbott in he follow
ing telegram which was sent to
his widow, Mrs. Edna Abbott, of
Chicago:
' Tile National Association for
the Advancement of Colored Peo
ple shares your great loss and
extends to you Its warmest sym
pathy in the death of Mr. Ab
bott. He contributed more than
most men towards a newer day:
for the American Negro.”
Naacp Will Appeal
Norfolk Teacher Case
Norfolk, Va.—Judge Luther B. !
Muy signed a final judgment here |
Thursday, Feb. 29. dismissing the I
case to equalize the salaries of I
Negro and white public school
teachers.
NAACP attorneys, acting for
Melvin O. Alston, the local school '
board, immediately filed notice of I
an appeal to the U. S. Circuit i
Court of Appeals for the fourth
circuit at Richmond. A petition
will be filed later to advance the
hearing on the case so that it may
be disposed of during the April i
term of the Appellate court. The
case will be heard in Richmond
before U. S. Circuit Court Judges
John J. Parker. Morris A. Soper,
and Armlstead M. Doble. .
Col. Roosevelt Asks Youth
To Aid Johnson Memorial
NEW YORK American youth ,
regardless of race, creed or color
was asked today to contribute
“pennies, dimes and nickels", to
help raise $20,000 for a memorial ]
to James Weldon Johnson, fam- |
ed poet and former executive sec- j
rotary of the National Association
for the Advancement of Colored
People.
The plea was made by Colonel
Theodore Roosevelt, Jr., chairman
of the James Weldon Memorial
Committee. Praising Mr. Johnson
for his contributions to American
culture and the fight for civil
liberties, Col. Roosevelt said:
"James Weldon Johnson was
one of our greatest Americans.
The services he rendered as au- I
thor, statesman and fighter for
justice give us honorable purpose
in rearing a memorial to his mem- I
ory.
"We want all citizens to par
ticipate in helping to build this
monument to him. Our committee ;
thus invites Negro and white |
school children to contribute their I
> (America was to be a country
-which more than one racial
[group might call "my native
. I land.”
| Censuses that followed showed
a gradual, sure rise in the num-
■ her of Negroes in this country.
By 1800 they numbered 1,002.037;
. by 1850, 3,638,808; by 1900, 8,-
1833.994; and by 1930, 11,891.143.
. [ Today, unofficial estimates of the
j number range upward from 12,-
: 000,000. Yet the proportion of
, Negroes in the total population
, lias consistently decreased. By
1800 it had dropped from 19.3
j per cent to 18.9 per cent. By
1900 It had fallen to 11.6 per
cent, and by 1930 ' it stood at only
9.7 per cent. It Is debatable
whether Negroes will constitute as
large a percent of the total pop
ulation in 1940 as they did in
1930.
Facts Provided
The Census of 1940 will answer
I two questions of primary import
ance. therefore: (1) how- many
, Negroes are there now in the
I (Continued on Back Page)
NAACP BENEFITED
IN WILL OF ADLER
NEW YORK M. L. Adler,
manufacturer of bowling alley e
qulpment, who died February. 19,
i remembered the National Associ
ation for the Advancement of Col
ored People in his will, it was
revealed here yesterday.
The t exact yuno’iD*, Vhinh w’l*
Igo to the N. A A. C. P. is not
■known, however, since it is to
■ share with four other organizations
in the income from the residuary
I estate. The amount of the residu-
[ ary estate or the rate of income
(are not known, therefore, the sum
I which the N. A. A. C. P. will
I receive cannot be announced.
The association, however, is to
receive one-twelfth of the net in
come from the residuary estate,
which will be divided and paid
out annually. The official an
nouncement said the residuary es
tate was "more than $10,000.”
Mr. Adler's will revealed him '
to be concerned with the welfare
of all races and religions. He
iw rote:
"My dear wife during her
lifetime— and I reached the be
. lief that a testator renders scant
' honor to his own church or his
I own relatives If he makes them
[ his sole beneficiaries and neglects
I the general public from which
t wealth really came."
I Five-twelfths of the income from
i the estate will go to the Feder
ation for the Support of Jewish
1 Philanthropic Societies; two
j tweifts each to the Charity Or-
I ganlzation Society of New York.
I the United Hospital Fund of New
. York, and the Catholic Charities
of the Archdiocese of New York;
, the remaining twelfth to the N.
| A A C. P.
Mrs. Adler, who died about two
years ago. began contributing to
the N A A. C. P in 1929 and
gave regularly each year until her
death. In 1938 Mr. Adler sent a
contribution in her memory.
: pennies, nickels and dimes to aid
| us in this campaign to raise $20,-
[6OO. "We ask school principals and
I teachers to make this one oi then
I projects, to organize youth com-
I mittees to help us to raise funds.
The money for this purpose should
I be sent to Mr. Gene Buck, treas-
I urer of the James Weldon John
son Memorial Committee, 69 Fifth
Avenue, New York City.”
Among those whose names have
been added to the national spon
soring committee for the drive
are: T. G. Nutter, Charleston,
West Va.; B. W Huebsch, of the
Viking Press, New York; Walter
A Gordon. Berkley, Calif.; Thom
as L. Griffith, Jr., Los Angeles,
[Calif.; Douglas P. Falconer, di
: rector of the greater New York
Fund. New York; Edward 11. Mor-
I ris, member of the N. A A. C.
|P. national legal committee. Chi
[ cago; Miss Lucille V. Miller. New
[York; Dr. Mordecai W. Johnson.
president of Howard University,
I Washington, D. C.; and James M.
jNabrlt, Jr., secretary of Howard.
FIRST IN NEWS
AND PICTURES
THE MOUTHPIECE
OF THE PEOPLE
PRICE FIVE CENTS COPY
WOULD BE USED
FOR AMtRICAN
NEGRO EXPOSITION
CHICAGO, March 9. (ANP)
A bill asking congress for $75,000
to help defray the cost of the
American Negro exposition to be
held here July 4 thiough Sep
tember 2, was introduced Thurs
day In the house of representa
[ lives at Washington by Arthur W.
Mitchell, Congressman from II-
■ llnols’ first district, it was learn
ed here Saturday.
Favorable action by both
house and senate is expected,
■ thus providing a federal grant
■ equaling the $75,000 already- ap
propriated by the state of Illi-
i nois last year for the forthcoming
exposition depicting the progress
of the Negro during the 75 years
since emancipation. Federal agen
cies are already getting together
exhibits for what promises to be
the most stupendous fair in the
race’s history.
The American Negro exposi
tion, through murals, diaramas
and exhibits, will trace the Ne
gro’s story from his first mass
landing at Jamestown in 1619
through the Revolutionary war
and emancipation, stressing his
achievements and contributions to
the national from Reconstruction
to the present day.
More than 2,000,060 persons
are expected to see the exposi
tion, to be held at the Coliseum
from Independance Day through
Labor Day. It will be similar in
purpose but larger in scope to the
fair held in Chicago 25 years ago
! celebrating 50 years of emanci
pation. At that time there were
, 247.000 admissions to the smaller
li? day show'.
, Government agencies are co
, operating fully, with federal de
partments planning their exhibits
to show their relationship with
Negro life and activities.
Secretary- Henry A. Wallace of
the department of Agriculture
has expressed a deep personal in
terest and is having the FSA,
AAA and U. S. Extension Eervice
prepare large and comprehensive
exhibits. Gov. Paul McNutt of the
Federal Security Administration
has ordered exhibits prepared by
[the NYA, CCC, Social Security'
' Board, and Department of Educa
tion and Public (Health Service.
Under Administrator John Car
mody of the FWA. exhibits are
being prepared for the USHA,
WPA and PWA while Secretary
of Labor Frances Perkins is ar
ranging for a labor exhibit flank
ed by a showing of women's and
children's bureau activities. There
will also be a section devoted to
the Civic Aeronautics authority
and patents prepared by the De
partment of Commerce.
Education and Health exhibits
are being developed through co
operation with Negro colleges,
universities and state departments
of education and the Julius Ros
enwald fund through Dr. M. O.
Bousfield, Negro health director,
the General Education Board is
also expected to cooperate.
The race's business institutions,
both individually and through
isuch organizations as the National
I Negro Business League, National
i Negro Insurance Association and
| National Negro Bankers Associa-
■ (Continued on Back Page)
Naacp Will Hold
Ist Student Confer
At Richmond In Mar.
[ Richmond, Va.— "Resources for
' Democracy in Youth,” will be
’ the theme of the first annual stu
dent conference sponsored by the
1 : National Association for the Ad
[ vancement of Colored People, to
I jbe held here at Virginia Union
: University, March 29-31.
. j According to James H. Robin-
I son, acting youth director of the
I . NAACP, the conference is de
. [ signed to fill the need of active
[ participation in the work of the
i I organization by college students
' who rarely have a chance to par-
■ ! ticipate In the annual conference
deliberations of the association
. [ held in June.
, j "While the conference will be
- [ built around the work of the
; NAACP. in regards to youth." he
■ said, “it is not limited to mem
! bers of the Association. We are
[ inviting representatives of student
I Christian movements, political
' science clubs, student government
bodies, fraternities, sororities, and
, other campus organizations.”
■ [ Discussion groups w'ill be held
. on Democracy in Education. Pol
, [ itics and Government, Security
. and Opportunity, and Relation*
. ships in Minority Struggles.