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PAGS FOUR
THE SAVANNAH
Established 1875
By J. H. DEVEAUX
n °B^ K "irrs
Published Every Thursday
1009 WEST BROAD STREET
Telephone, Dial 5388
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Six Months__________________ $1.50
Remittance must be made by Express, Post
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_
Entered at the Pest Office at Savannah, Ua.
M Second Class Matter.
THE NEGRO AND VOTING
The agitation about the abolition of the
poll tax has not yet shocked us out of our
complacency. It seems not to have stim¬
ulated our local leaders sufficiently to stir
them into action of any sort that we know
about. Barber shop philosophers and oth¬
er jam session politicos continue to argue
as to what should be done, but it all turns
out to be like Mark I’.vain s observation on
weather prophets: Everybody talks about
the weather but nobody does anything
it. Soon after the last national election,
there were so many things to be done;
registration campaigns were to be prose-
cuted, registrants were to be educated
in the duties, rights and privileges that
attach to suffrage, precinct and district or-
ganizations were to be perfected but not one
of these things has been done. Meanwhile the
opponents of anti-poll tax legislation taunt
us with what amounts to a slur, “Negroes
will not vote any way.” The question often
asked is, what is the use of going to trouble
ol getting qualified to vote when you can
not vote? Well, the first answer is, it is
#ist good sense lobe prepared. The sec-
ond is this excerpt from the address of Mrs.
Frances Dwyer, a member of Georgia
league of Women Voters:
“You are concerned in politics whether
you like it or not. Your fire protection,
the water your family drinks, the health
of your family, its education, the highways
you travel and the streets you walk on. If
you are a business woman or an educator,
your taxes are controlled by politics.’
Though she was speaking to women her
words are applicable to any voter. _The
occasion that brought her here is an illu.s-
fration of the kind of tiling colored people
must get busy doing.
___
THE JUNE GRAND JURY
the [ It March is gratifying term grand to know that the work of
tinned by jury will be con-
the June term grand jury. The
resolutions of the joint Committee make
this plain. However, we feel that the lan-
guage of the resolution is not explicitly
elusive enough. If may include in spirit
the Toledo,” most popular of the gambling games,
but it is our feeling that this
game should be specifically named, .so as to
put its operators on notice that this
munity intends to drive them out of busi-
ness
' The imposing of $2,500.,bonds
on the run-
pers by the police court will greatly help
which ». to 8.™™* ply their .......hospitable piaoo
trade.
THE GEORGIA STATE COLLEGE
* Five or six months ago we had hopes
that a thorough investigation of certain
conciitions at the college would be made. A
•Wwsory” investigation was made and as
------ - - ,
• two things have happened: the
nie.-Klem of the college was “exonerated
o. t-ne charge of dictatorship and two mem-
pei s of the college staff were summarily
dismissed. 1 he dismissal has had two ef-
* n has warned the rest of the
wjoyees j that complaint about doings at the
college will mean dismissal without re-
gpuise, and it has aroused
among the citizens who are interested in
wie education of Negro youth. Some of
JJtipleasant rumors have been given cur-
wik \ In some of the members oi the fae-
mLv who are afraid for reasons of security
W) make official complaint about them,
giobably, they are not to be blamed for
Be ling at raid. May be they escaix: their
fliarc of responsibility for carrying out
the pui poses of education in such an insti-
ft Weic mu alloat He about believe a white if even institution such rumors
as
cm rent about this school, those whose in-
judicious conduct give rise to them, would
asked to leave at once. Ihe students,
would be expected, are afraid also to say
any thing officially, but they have written
: " ; f n anonymous irregularities. letter complain-
° / e r aln In the last
o! J t , heir niRguzinc, i tom publish
un whs
^ cautioning he two attentions girls, sisters, about their
wva rv o\er t of one of the
stna fit 1 his may be merely an incfica-
an W on nis "j i net <! or, c but ‘ ^discretion it is also on significant, the part be- of
C&use it raises the question as to whether
rumor of other indiscretions may not have
Q? basis of fact. It does the institution no
- ------- —
gTKMl , to have , such things said, . and it is trag-
it- tor the education of Negro youth that
influence is powerful enough, or indif-
:f. ielu enough to prevent an investigation
Sito the , conditions which make it possible
for such things to be said.
~ 3 “
THE ANNOYING _ FEPC __
The discussion provoked by the proposal
to establish a permanent FEPC is perhaps
more acrimonious and discomforting than
that occasioned by any other proposal
secure guarantees of fuller citizenship
minority groups. It is acrimonious
it gives a chance to Southerners to
the ms elvc, as they are, irrational
ofa",^ benefits that Negroe,
j get under Federal or State laws. It is
!comforting ipecially, to minority groups, Negroes
because it shows how
'the apostles of hate are to keep them
the status of second rate citizens. It
them confused as to what course they
jftirsue in order to achieve fuli
On one hand, they are told that their
friends are in the South, on the other
witness the employment of every device
j the catalogue to keep them fenced in.
Note this statement:
“Thoughtful citizens throughout the
South, and especially in Georgia, believe
that the South should provide
opportunity for the Negro in this sec¬
tion. for working and living and that
his rights as a citizen under Federal
and State laws should be recognized to
the end that he will receive the justice
that is due him.”
j This statement stands challenged
ver y moment one insists upon
|"What “his rights is meant by citizen the terms, under
as a our
> and state laws?” Vftiat does “he will
ceive the j us tice that is due him”
\\tho w jU interpret the meaning of
( y.-ords ? Persons who are in favor of
'permanent FEPC, and Negroes do not
the effort to get through the Congress
bill for a permanent FEPC to
."that Southerners who oppose it are
row-minded and against the principles
J f air p i av anc j justice.” They can step
any police court in the South, or
the treatment Negroes received from
r j OU8 USES set-ups, or the treatment
gr0 soldiers received in Southern
camps, or examine the contrasts in
tional provisions for whites and Negroes
the South, and so on, and on, and on.
'certain Congressmen, newspaper
tors and other friends of justice and
play t ease to crusade in behalf of
group8 , Negroes in the South
v i n st jjj be subjected 16“ . . . methods,
(he way, which for generations have
J successful when there has been no
ous interference from the North.”
! body in the country knows what
methods have been. Gunnar Myrdal
this to say, and we think it is pertinent:
“jt js significant today even the
Rian w ho defends discrimination
] y describes his motive as prejudice’
'says that it is ‘irrational’. The
I beliefs rationalizing caste in America
ho longer intellectually respectable.
jean no longer, therefore, be found in
* ^ e . nt " >-V fc° ! lve ks a ’ newspapers smieptitious or life public in
1
and i ,nv ate ramarks . .Everybody who
?£ quiml . ] a hl * her education kno^s
aCe V° n 5 * * ’ ’ Most white people
11 httle educat *° n have a hunck tkat
are wrong ' Nere is a queer feeling
? n n * over tke whole of
, Gaining . racial
lhls makes f P reJudlced whlte ™
aeary , as P* th « tK as his Negro , victim .
if jto e °i feel >le 1 ^ that they be are rational good and and they
l Th f ' v ? nt ^ have the society they live
ai ‘ d th eir . ! !° ha \' ll f u > th,s 80clcty > ex P lain
1 (
their theory is being torn to pieces; its
pression is becoming recognized as a
of ignorance.”
WHAT DO YOU DO?
By Ruth Taylor
Don’t v j you vu dislike viiuunv people j 'vw | who always
things in a positive tone? I know one
son who prefaces most remarks with a
rffe “There isn’t a doubt about it.”
]\-, even when 1 agree with her, I find
argument on the other side.
There’s danger in being too definite.
you say it' “This—or else,” the chances
that will be “or else.” The word
g er vou know, is derived from
the Latin word for domination,
1 don’t mean you must appease those
.w hom you speak. There’s a lot of
'ence between appeasing and
I or even conceding. Only those who
willing to live in complete isolation,
withdraw from the world can avoid
ione of the three.
j To appease is to placate, or to pacify.
'compromise is to adjust or settle by
concessions, or by a partial surrender
purixises or principles. To
to allow as a right, to assent or
j n the propriety or truth of, to admit.
Never appease—when appeasement
giving up a principle—but do
when it is a question of speaking fairly
calmly. A soft answer turneth
wrath, and a pleasant way of
| j a verts HntHgonism.
Compromise only on material
And then do not compromise with
er person’s rights or freedoms.
willing to give up advantages but
ate from strength not weakness, and
at other people’s expense.
Concede - Yes - when concessions are in
der. Always be willing to concede
rights of other people to be the same
your own. But do not concede your
ideas nor your own rights.
Admiral Hart is quoted as the author
a prayer which sums it all up. “Dear
us strength to accept with serenity
things that cannot be changed. Give
courage to change the things that can
•, bo ,^ d be changed. And give us wisdom
one !rom the othci.
^ T ll s 18 on a per80na basl _ s ’
true, , but it . only , learn first . to
is as we
THE SAVANNAH TRIBUNE
THE JAP'S IN THE FIGHT ~
..... YOU r
'STAY ON JOB-PLAY THE EAIR-OUY BONDS’’
ply rules of conduct to ourselves can they
form the basis of rules of conduct for a
group or a nation.
If we, as individuals, learn to act toward
our fellow men in the proper spirit, then
can we as peoples enter into the full exercise
of freedom which is the right of all men.
Files New Vote Registration
Case In Alabama
BTRMINGU. .V, Ala.— On
BIRMINGHAM, Lla—
Jr re J9 in .b • United
District covet for the Northern
district of Alabama, Binning,
haim, a new case was fileli
test the policy of the local reg
istration board in applying
istration laws in an,
well known Alabama reg-
mapnej’. The ca ( sewas filed
by the NAACP in behalf of
torah Vinson against
members of the local registra¬
tion board, both on an individ¬
ual basis and also on behalf of
other qualifuR Negro
Miss Vinso.i. the plaintiff, al¬
leges that she is over 21
of age, is the owner of real
erty and ataxpayer of the state
of Alalabma, is a registered
nurse), is able to read and
write thb United SU.tes Const!
tution and is otherwise quali
fied to be registered.
The complaint alleges over a
long period of years the
board of registration has re
fjllfir Sponsors' Day af Sf. Emma Milifary Academy
i
ROCK CASTLE, VIRGINIA: Sponsors’ Day at the St. Emma Military Academy this year
was a memorable event. The ceremony opened with the presentation of the Sponsors, all of
whom were young ladies from the St. Francis de Sales Academy at Hack Castle. A parade
and review of the entire Cadet Corps followed, with rifle exercises and the manual of arms.
Music was furnished by (he Cadet Band. St. Emma Cadets come from every part of the United
States. All follow a regular four-year high school academic course, and, in addition, each Cadet
selects a subject in the Vocational or Agricultural Schools, where he obtains practical instruction
that will lit him for a job upon graduation.
-j sr gg ;—|—-as; i
j
!
j j
i
Photographed on thp lawn of the St. Edward's Chapel are the Cadet Officers of the St.
Emma Militarv Academy and their Sponsors from nearby St Francis de Sales Academe From
left to right are Ca.pt Wilbur Clarke, of the Band (New Yorl' with Miss Jove* Holland < Ala¬
bama); Cap! George Hogan, of Company A (Virginia) with Miss Olympia Bartholomew (New
York): 1st Cap* Donald Witz- (Louisiana) with Miss Eleanor Woods (New York); and Capt.
Leroy Lkms, of Company B (Dist. of Columbia >„ with Jean Fortune (JPaj,
fused to register qualified Nc
gro electors while at the same
time registering white electors
with less qualifications than
tpose of Negro' applicants sole
ly because of race or color. It
alleges also that when the
plaintiff presented herself for
registration on April 10, 1945.
she was denied the right to
register even after being ques
tioned as to her qualifications
and her ability to read and
write; tlSe Constitution while
White persons presenting them
selves before and after the
the plaintiff were not require!
co read and write the Contitu
tion, but were registered forth
with. The complaint prays
for a declaratory judgment, a
$5,000 dmages. Th^irgood
Marshall and Arthur Shores of
Birmingham, represent plain¬
tiff in this case.
•
This is but one of several
such suits the NAACP hSas in¬
stituted _________ to ___________ remove all types -*r~- of — |
dlscrimination against Negro
voters throughout the south.
DONATIONS
RAISED BY CLUB
j
j
I
! j
I
A. L. Lewis, who for more
tHan 60 years has served as su¬
perintendent of the Sunday;
school of tarnous Mount Clive,
AME church, Jacksonville, Fla.i
-ometime ago We pledged to
natch dollar for dollar the
money the ,nen's club raised
,o retire a $1.5,tY)0debt. Last
Sunday the men’s club raised
approximately $40,CIO. Mr. j
Lewis’ gifts have equalled
: i COO . The Mortgage was
aurned Sunday. Mr. Lewis is
chairman of this Afro Anrfri j
can Life insurance company I
bas a largo branch office in j I
Savannah
i When a man or woman
li ves wel1 by doing fair the pco-
pie at the funeral have only
good things to air.
THURSDAY, JUNE 28, 1945
UNCOVERING
iwSi WASHINGTON
White House Correspondent Released
through the Atlanta Daily World
by the NNPA
By Harry'S. McAlpin
Last wvek, we flew to God-
man Field in an Army trans.
plane to witness the cer-
of the change of com-
for the 477th Bombard-
ment Group from Col. Robert
to Col. B. O. Davis, Jr.
arrived hungry as a Russian
slave.laborcr just released from
a Nazi prison camp—and here’s
Ernie Johnson of the
ated Negro Press, John Young
III of the Pittsburgh Courier
and I decided we would have
a little lunch before boarding
the plane in company with Maj
Homer Roberts of the Bureau of
Public Relations at the War
Department. We left the ma-
jor in the Air Transport Com.
mand building getting the de.
tails of our trip straight, aid
we strolled to the federally
maintained building of the Na
tional Airport.
Casually, we strolled into the
Coffee Room and found it
crowded. The three people in
front of us shortly were shown
a table. Before any more seats
were vacated, the coffee room
manager came to us and an¬
nounced how sorry he was that
he could not serve us. He
blamed it on Virginia law.
We inquired and learned from
him who was his superior. When
entered Mr. Boyd’s office—
manager of concessions—the
girl was just putting down the
phone over which she had re¬
information that we
on our way there. Boyd
out with the worn-out
“I’m from the North
and personally, it makes no dif¬
ference to me, but,” He blam¬
ed it on Virginia custom and
said he hoped we could get the
matter straighten out. He re.
( erred us ^e airport man-
ager
Mr. Law, the manager was
gracious, but h e too used the
Virginia law argument. Ke
said his orders had come from
AFRICAN SOLDIER WINS
HIGH HONOR
BURMA—■(ANP)— Sgt. Solo-
ai f ni F ™’. a Tansanyi ka «>1-
d ^ er J f ghtln >' m has re
-
mveci an immediate award of
the D. C. M. for his bravery.
Every European in his group
had been killed, and Sgt. Feru_
:i took command of his pla¬
toon. He organized a party to
evacuate! his mortally wounded
MASONIC-EASTERN STAR NOTES
St. John’s Day was generally
observed lasat 'Bunday. In Sa¬
vannah the three lodges and
Eastern Star chapters joined
in presenting an interesting
program. Past Master Geo.
Hayes was chairman of the
conijmittee. Sr. Warden Ulys¬
ses Stewart as master of cere¬
monies gave warmth uo the pro
gram. The Eastern Star
choir managed by Grand Ma¬
tron Minnie De Vaughn render¬
ed several liively selections.
The Juveniles gave a good ac¬
count of themselves. All of
the numbers on the program
were well received. Liberal
donations were made.
• • •
Pythagoras lodge iiad an in¬
spiring communication Mon¬
day night. It as a pleasing
sight to see the brethren with
heir spotless white aprons
and gloves. One of the most
eifective parts of the evening
was the appeal made by Wor¬
shipful Master Smith for a dis¬
tressed brother. In a few
minutes the brethren respond¬
ed wiih a large amount. The
same evening Past Mast-
ertpolLibrterc ETA ETA ETAN
Donald Thomas, A. W. Cum-
tilings and E. C. Blackshear
represented the brothers at a
charitable meeting at the USO
in interest of he day r.urs “ - y.
prove the interest the
Masons have taken in commu¬
nity welfare. We want all the
lodges and Eastern Star chap¬
ters to take liberal parts.
• • •
Ezra Consistory held its reg¬
ular meeting Sunday after¬
noon.
• * •
Imperial Potentate
Congress. He finally admitted
he meant certain Congressmen, ^
but would not name them. He
went into a long discussion of
five dispute between the Dis_
trict of Columbia and the State
of Virginia as to who has au.
thority over the airport. De-
spite telling us that the dispute
involved only the “made” land
on which the airstrips are built,
slipped and told of an in.
stance happening right in the
main airport building (which
he said is definitely under the
Virginia jurisdiction) where a
man died and the Vrginia cor.
oner refused to respond to a
call.
Ail of which was of no inter-
est to us because the Airport
is on ground owned by the fed-
e ral government. The Airport
.itself is supervised by the Civ-
il Aeronautics Authority, which
j is part of the Department of
Commerce.
During the conversation with
Mr. Laws, I asked to use his
phone. I called Secretary of
Commerce Henry A. Wallace.
Unfortunately, the secretary
had gone to lunch. But I told
the whole story to his secre¬
tary. Then we had to run to
catch our plane.
As I write this we have not
had opportunity to check
back with Secretary Wallace to
learn what steps he may have
taken to bring this flagrant vi¬
olation of federal policy—and
particularly his own democrat¬
ic concepts—to an end. Nor
have we three reporters decid-
?d on our next step.
Our ruffled feelings were a
little bit preened when we ar¬
rived at Godman Field and
(earned that the radio conversa
tion between our pilot (a white
major) and the operations* tow
er at the field had labelled us
“VIPS”. In air parlance that
means “very important persons”'
applied to civilians flying in
Army planes. ^0
com(m ander, at once gained con
trol of the men, steadied them
and led them to th.tr objec¬
tive. The citation says - “He
showed the highest qualities of
leadership and complete disre¬
gard for his own safety.”
10 Smart-elects aren’t rare,
because like so many others,
they don’t even know what it
is to be fair.
j E. Jaskson sent out a proclama
tion calling off the Imperial
Council in August.
We have been making num¬
bers, but now we must make
only Masons.
(--****’****;* *:**:**:*‘i-*;- -l-;* *:**;**:**;*-,* -y •:*
Files of The Savannah
Tribune
FIFTY YEARS AGO
JUNE JS1I5
Tlie anual communication of
the Most Worshipful Union
Grand Lodge met in Savannah
last Monday. It was a harmo¬
nious gathering. Hon. W. E.
Terry was elected grand mas-
tec and Sol. C. Johnson, grand
secretary. On account of the
voluminous business it was not
closed until Thursday.
The State Teachers Associa¬
tion met in Columbus last
wbek. Prof. w. E. Holmes of
Atlanta was elected president.
Cl-aduatirfg exercises of the
West Broad and East Broad
street schools took place yes¬
terday afternoon. (It would
be interesting to publish the
names of the graduates, buto
some of the survivors may o\Mjf
ject because of age).
Policemen Malphus and O’¬
Neal arrested for being drunk
and assaulting citizens.
Rev. A. M. Williams of Wes¬
ley Monumental church
preached a strong sermon
about lawlessness in the city.