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ESCAPE OH REVENGE
Much is being said participation about Paul in _Robe¬ the
son’s speeches and
Communist inspired peace conference
recently held at Paris. We regret that
Mr. Robeson has come nearer than any
other Negro to besmirching a record Ne¬
groes have made for loyalty to their
native country. We have boasted that
no Negro has ever been guilty of treason
against if. While we do not charge
Paul Robeson with treason, we believe
he can be charged w ith being a Com¬
munist whose announced intention to
side with Russia in the event of conflict,
places the folllowers of Communism in
the position to be called traitors.
Paul Robeson has been resented in
other democratic countries by those who
once received him with unstinted ac¬
claim. They hissed, booed, and stamp¬
ed their feet to show their resentment
Why has Mr. Robeson joined up with
Communism? He has said that he is
championing the cause of underptivilog
ed workers and minority groups. I he
evidence appears to be that he believes
he is; that he does not feel he has been
taken in by the Communists to further
their ultimate aims to overthrow our
government. He did not have to join
them to get prominence and applause,
lie had been acclaimed as an outstand¬
ing athlete at his college, he has been
a great actor and is a great singer. His
audiences and critics have been rightly
generous. According to Mr. Robeson,
himself, his income has been far better
than average. Why has he joined
them?
He relates with some bitterness how
he was denied admission into Princeton
University, and had to go elsewhere to
secure his education. Other experi¬
ences, personal and general, have not
served to moderate his feelings against
the mistreatment which Negroes have
received everywhere in our country.
Can it be that Mr. Robeson’s advocacy
of Communism is a matter of seeking
revenge? If it is, he will nev^r receive
the satisfaction he seeks, because he has
no effective following among American
Negroes. of
Turning to Communism as a way
escape is not a sign of the courage we
used to think Mr. Robeson possessed,
nor does it point a Way toward the so¬
lution of the racial problems which con¬
front our country. Mr. Robeson’s sac¬
rifice of the admiration his people felt
for Jim is little short of tragic. It is
like committing suicide which is always
tragic, but never courageous in the
mind of many people. Fortunately
there are lot of men and women in our
country who stay normal; who face the
music and succeed little by little, here
and there, in convincing America that
Negroes are entitled to full American
citizenship; who feel that they would
betray a solemn trust if they cease to
contend for right and justice for them¬
selves and hosts of others who can not
Bj>euk for themselves.
Our chief concern is that American
people will understand that Mr. Robe¬
son ttpeaks only for himself. Walter
White and Roy Wilkins have attempted
to make that plain.
MUCH ADO
We are interested in, if not impatient
with, the constant yapping—shall we
say—about the kind of education Ne¬
groes should receive. Especially attack¬
ed is the rural school, both high and
elementary. upon them is placed the
blame for failure to direct Negro youth
to remain in the country, and perhaps,
follow agricultural pursuits. We think
whatever fault there is. attaches to
more than the schools. It is true that
it. is difficult for a school, set up in a
tumble down building, or in a church or
LABOR VIEWS
By George F. McCray for ANT
INTERNATIONAL POLITICS
AND NEGRO RIGHTS
It is a vital necessity that Ne¬
groes understand fully what lies
behind the struggle between'T^e
so-called western democracies, led
by the U. S. and Great Britain
on one hand and the so-called
Communist powers led by Soviet
Russia on the other.
Frankly, I don’t know what is
the real reason for all the fuss
and fury by which the dangerous¬
ly cold war between these powers
is carried on from year to year.
It seems unreasonable that the
Entered as Second Class Matter at the Post
Office at Savannah, Ga., under the Act of
March 3. 1879
National Advertising Representative:
Associated Publishers
562 Fifth Ave.
New York 19, New York
hall v here it is impossible to have prop¬
er equipment, driiiking water and de¬
cent toilet facilities, to do much in the
way of influencing children, to do any¬
thing. Such a school is itself a most
powerful argument aganst their remain¬
ing in the country. There are many
reasons why such schools exist, and the
head of Negro Division of Education
in Georgia is not one of them, in our
thinking. Intermittently, from a cer¬
tain quarter criticism of an indefinite
sort has been leveled at the head of the
Division of Negro Elucation, with lit¬
tle avail, we hope, and we shall not be
surprised if the tempo of it is stepped
up in the coming weeks. Since the ar¬
gument that Negro Education should be
split off from the University System
has received consideration, enough to
result in the appointing of a Negro con¬
sultant to the Board of Regents, the
charge, that a white supervisor of Ne¬
gro Education can not do a good job be¬
cause “he doesn’t eat and sleep in Ne¬
gro homes,” might bring “desired” re¬
sults, too.
There are other reasons why 'rural
people leave rural communities. Not
only is it a natural population trend
for rural people to migrate to urban cen¬
ters, but the law of decent housing, of
ability to purchase family-size farms, of
beneficial social contacts, of accessible
church association, and, in the case of
Negroes particularly, of opportunity to
participate as an a verage American
in the privileges of American citizenship,
also influences migration. Not the least
of the reasons (why population moves
from rural areas, is the scarcity of em¬
ployment opportunities.
It must he remembered that whatev¬
er happens to the education of rural peo¬
ple should he in the direction of expan¬
sion and not of dilution or adulteration,
nor should it b * solely agricultural. The
greatest needs in medical care are in
the rural districts, so rural schools could
very properly give some guidance lead¬
ing to the professions: nursing, dentis¬
try, medicine, etc.
On Tuesday we read the program for
the observance of Confederate Memorial
Day, and noted there were three military
units in our white high schools: The
Savannah High School, the Commercial
High School, and Benedictine College.
These units must add something of
value to the curricular activities of these
schools, besides giving preliminary mil¬
itary training to youth so that they
shall he ready for service in the army
in the event of need.
Why Negro high school youth are
thought incapable of profiting by what
the ROTC has to offer in anyway what¬
ever, we have never been able to figure
out. During the late war, hoys who had
been members of the ROTC, were at _a
distinct advantage over those who had
had no such opportunity. Negro boys
from schools where they were permitted
to join ROTC advanced more rapidly in
the army than did those who were not.
This meant, of course, that every white
high school boy, old enough to enter
the army, had a similar alvantage. For
all ot the reasons why ROTC is consid¬
ered a desirable activity in high schools
tor youth, we believe Negroes ought to
investigate the possibilities for getting
ROT ( units set up in our schools and
colleges.
“The South is an integral part of the
United States of America and shares
the nation’s moral obligation to the
world to develop and maintain a way of
lile in which color and race are not fac¬
tors in the guaranty of opportunity for
every personality to make its fullest con¬
tribution to national and world progress.”
—Dr. Harold L. Trigg
white people in this country, be¬
ing as hypocritical about demo¬
cracy as they are, pouring billions
of hard earned cash into Europe
just for the sole purpose of pre¬
venting the westward spread of
the Russian bread of phony demo¬
cracy.
As for the Russians, it is hard
to understand just what they are
trying to achieve in Europe. The
preservation and extension of de¬
mocracy seems to he the least of
their interests.
This much is certain—we peo¬
ples of the western world know
the Russians are afraid of us, dis¬
trust us, are actually suspicious
of us. And each year we become
more fearful of them.
Though we don't know what lies
at the basis of this mutual sus¬
picion and fear, Negro people all
over the world are beginning to
feel the evil effects of it. For
example, the usefulness of the
World Federation of Trade Unions
as a device for advancing the
welfare of Negro workers in
Africa and the West Indies has
been completely destroyed. The
fight over the Marshall plan has
caused the British and CIO unions
to withdraw from the federation
and to denounce it as a tool of
Moscow.
Paul Robeson provides another
example, peaking at a Communist
Continued on page three
CTH! SAVANNAH TRIBUNE
C Wkat cds >
By George Mall hew Adams
I love all forms of art—those in which
are beauty, form, substance, and natur¬
al order. When these elements are evi¬
dent, there are emotions on our part
created, and we feel what is nobly ex¬
pressed, whether an object in nature or
something that the mind and hand of
man have created.
For some of this so-called “modern
art,” or especially what is termed “ab¬
stractionist’ art, I must confess no in¬
terest. It is without order or intelli¬
gence. I have looked upon many a can¬
vas of this jumbled, unordered painting
and can conceive it as the product only
of a disorganized mini. Said the dis¬
tinguished poet Dana Burnet: “Show T me
any painter or artist who is obscure,
and I’ll show you an inferior or poorly
developed brain.”
There is a healthy order to the mind
that has conceived a thing of beauty,
skillfully executed. The old masters
knew what they were about. They
had a love for their color, their concep¬
tions of beauty, and for the permanence
of their work. There is no disorganiza¬
tion in nature. There are irregularity,
order , balance, and a perfect blending
of color. Man onl # imitate and give
can y
expression to his own feelngs and inter¬
pretation. But, if he has done but this,
he has done something worthy of note.
A so-called work of art that you can
neither understand nor be stirred by is
nothing. You can give it as fancy a
name as you wish, like, for example,
“Nude ascending a staircase,” as 1 have
witnessed in one of these designs, but
BETWEEN THE LINES
/rag: By Dean Gordon B. Hancock for ANP
I ML ATLANTIC PACT: STEPPING
DAVID LAWRENCE, internationally-famed
columnist, did not think much of Winston!
( hurchill’s recent speech delivered here in the
Churchill U, S„ and neither does this writer. As an orator,|
is without doubt the world’s greatest
and as a statesman, he is without a peer,
as an international diplomatic bargainer, it is
doubtful if the world has seen his like. But
he is like a fine lawyer with a bad case; he has
a Great Britain a very bad case, indeed, for
it is seriously to tie doubted if there has ap¬
peared in modern times a greater international
sinner than Britain.
Her “divide and rule” policies have about;
wrecked the world, for the greatest troubles in
the world today were all fashioned in Britain
and transported to other nations who are out
to "divide and rule” or rule without dividing.
It is said in fable that everything King Midas
touched turned to gold. It maybe said with
equal truth that everything Britain touches be¬
comes infected with the virus of white su¬
premacy. Being only a small territorial, entity,
some ways had to be devised whereby this small
nation could manage possessions in the uttermost
parts of the earth.
The rule by division was Britain's answer. She
first divided Ireland into and Ulster and Free
State; she divided Palestine into Arab and Jew;
she divided India into Hindoo and Moslem, and
now she has the world divided into East and
West. Although she is gradually being destroy¬
ed by the forces of disintegration that are
gnawing at her vitals, she, through her inimitable
Winston Churchill is carrying on gloriously, by
making our dear Uncle Sam her international
cats paw to pull out her imperial chestnuts from
the fires.
But even great “Old Winnie" Churchill can¬
not fool all the people all the time. If the western
bloc of nations will stick to its knitting of stem¬
ming the tide of Communism very well and
good; but wherein this western bloc becomes an
organization to make the world safe for white
supremacy, it will become a stumbling block
instead of a stepping stone to world peace. It
is to be observed that almost the entire western
bloc of nations is composed of the Nordic peoples
and with the color consciousness that usually
goes along with Nordicism. it is quite conceivable
that in addition to stemming the tide of Russian
Communism, this Western pact may become an
instrument to eternalize the subjugation of mi¬
nority groups and among them the Negroes of
America and the world.
The late H. G. Wells said during one of his
visits to this country that race prejudice is the
worst evil in the life of mankind today. He
knew whereof he spoke and it is just as well
where is the nude and where is the
staircase? A lot of blocks, shadows,
angles, and lines tell nothing.
Experimentation is all right so long
as it has a healthy mental aim toward
honest expression that a lover of beauty
can easily grasp and feel. So far as
I am concerned, all other so-called art
can be dumped into the ash can, where
it can know only oblivion. Only great
art can inspire and live. Rodin, Michel¬
angelo, Rembrandt, Titian, and a host of
their kind knew what they were aiming
at, and so their art has lived.
In nature there is a growth and de¬
velopment from the simple to the com¬
plex, but always in orderly fashion. From
the single-celled animals all life has
come. The entire proc.ess is one of na¬
tural development. I have noted peo¬
ple in art galleries sitting before a great
work of art for hours, as though that
painting or sculpture talked back. Not
long ago I stood before that great marble
of “David” in the National Gallery of
Art, in Washington. I was loath to'leave
it—so greatly did it appeal to my senses
and my love of beauty.
Some thirty years ago I became in¬
terested in the work of Alphonse Legros.
I began in a modest way to collect his
etchings, paintings, and drawings. Each
had something to say. Each expressed
a sincerity of effort. There is beauty
to him everything that he did. They called
“The Belated Old Master”—but he
has always been fresh and new to me,
as all great art must be to the one who
loves it.
STONE OR STUMBLING BLOCK?
;hat we keep ever in mind the tragic possibili-
ies of racism so rampant in the nations repre-
•isented ^ by the Atlantic pact.
The noted columnist’s criticism of Churchill
recent American address hinged about the fact
that Churchill appealed to force and fear and not
faith and brotherhood; he appealed to strength
and not Christian strategy; he appealed to the
atomic bomb and not to the righteousness that
is in Jesus Christ. It takes no prophet to see
the dangers that lurk in Communism and it
takes no sage to see that something must be
done about Communism’s subtle advance. But
it is exceedingly doubtful that force alone can
destroy Communism. It is difficult to see how
atomic bombs will stop ideals however powerful
such bombs may be.
There must be some higher appeal than mere
raw forces unleashed in the atomic bomb. If
brute force is used to give the western nations
time to make brotherhood operative in the world,
then the Atlantic pact could very easily become
a stepping stone to lasting peace; but wherein
this instrument becomes a license for the
further subjugation and domination and ex¬
ploitation as they p eretin to minority
groups, it could easily become a stumbling block
in the way of the spiritual forces are being grad¬
ually marshalled in the interest of human broth¬
erhood. In other words, the Atlantic pact is no
substitute for human brotherhood, without which
there can never be a lasting peace. The arm
of strength will fail us we dare not trust it,
utterly.
I HAVE AN INTEREST IN THIS LAND
By Wili am Henry Huff for ANP
America, America, is good enough for me:
My dauntless kin, though Negro slaves,
gave all to make it free—
My portion here was bought with blood—
Three uncles sleep in Red Bank's mud.
When old Count Dortop and his Hessians
came upon the scene
My brave forebearers stood up like men and
died by Colonel Greene.
Because of their courageous stand
I have an interest in this land.
“SPRING MORNING”
By John Hen-ik Clarke for ANP
I saw a bird flutter from its nest
Singing with sweet delight.
Tie re was a new born freshness,
On every thing in sight.
Most beautiful of all I saw ... V
THURSDAY. APRII. 38 IMS
HOME EDUCATION
APPRECIATION THRU PARTICIPATION
“The Child’s First School is the
Family"—-Froebel
An ominous quiet made me peep
into the living room. There our
two-and-a-half-year-old Anne was
busily rubbing the top of a glass
coffee table with her doll's bed¬
cover. A heavy-framed picture,
two glass candlesticks, and other
articles had been placed on the
floor. Finally she flung aside the
cloth and put back the ornaments.
1 stifled an impulse to dash in
and scold, having just put a shine
on that table—and Anne had been
forbidden to touch it. I would cer¬
tainly have to punish her if she
knew I had been watching her. So
not feeling sure of the best pro¬
cedure, I tiptoed back to my wash¬
ing, unseen. I had read somewhere
that it was not desirable to speak
of every mistake a child makes.
But I worried somewhat as I
squeezed out woollies and hung
up socks—had I been wise or
weak? In any case, Anne’s dis¬
obedience gave me a problem to
solve.
So, the next morning, I asked,
“Anne, would you like to help
Mother clean the glass table” She
came eagerly. I wrung a cloth out
of warm water for he, - . She was
delighted. With another cloth I
worked with her, talking about
rubbing edges and corners—as
well as the middle. After we had
finished the table, I allowed Anne
to replace the ornaments. I noticed
later that this table was respected;
it was never again touched by
Anne unnecessarily or the articles
on it distrubed by her. Being per¬
mitted to help had fostered the
understanding that the table was
not a plaything-—something I had
been trying to establish for some
time, without much success.
Smeary finger marks and tongue
prints over the windowspanes had
been annoying me before the table
episode, and no amount of scold¬
ing had stopped this. Now ke clean
windows together. Anne’s part has
to be done over again, hut I try
to do it without discreding her
to do it without discrediting her
little tongue on a single window
since we began to do this chore
together.
Anne has a pretty work-apron
now ,with pockets—one in which
to hold a soft cloth. She dusts all
the window sills every day.. She
sets the lunch table, too—witn
spoons, forks, napkins, salts and
peppers. Naturally, her efforts do
THE ROAD TO HEALTH
j
By S. F. Frazier, M. I>„ Savannah,
Ga., For ANP
At a medical meeting I attend-
ed recently, the subject of cancer
came up in our discussion. We
talked mostly of cancer research
and, of course most of us had
stories of cancer cases we had
treated.
“Cancer'would be taking fewer
lives among women if there were
more people like Marie Jones,”
one of the doctors remarked. We
listened attentively as he continued
his story.
”Mrs. Jones moved to our city
from a rural community in the
south,” he said. “Her two small
chiJdi'en had been delivered by
mid wives because, she told me,
there t single doctor t for ,
wasn a
miles around. All seemed well with
longer than usual before the moth-
er got back on her feet.
“Shortly after they moved to
the city, Mrs. Jones appeared
my office one evening. She explain-
ed that she noticed a slight bleed-
ing that seemed to come from her
wonib at irregular times. There
was no pain, she said, but she
was sure something was wrong.”
The doctor said he examined
Mrs. Jones and found that she
had been slightly injured, prob-
ahly during the birth of her sec-
ond child. The wound had not been
not as yet make my work easier,
but I am beginning to see home*
as a place where by daughter can
learn, and where she can grow
in usefulness.
Daddy screwed a hook, low on
the inside of her closet door,
which has given her as much plea¬
sure as a new toy. Each morning
she proudly hangs up her dressing
gown on her “very own hook.”
And, too, a low rail placed in the
bathroom for her towel and wash
cloth has developed a new sense
of importance and of belonging.
Young children have wonderful
imaginations, and when an idea
is conceived they put it into action.
One noon hour I ran water into
the basin and told Anne to wash
her hands by herself. When I call¬
ed her to lunch, there was no
answer. I investigated. There she
was on the bathroom floor, wash¬
ing the tiles with soap and face¬
cloth !
“Look at your facecloth,” I said
quietly. “It is now too badly soiled
to use for washing your face, isn’t
it”
“Too badly soiled!” she agreed,
I mopped the floor, brought a
fresh cloth, and washed Anne’s
hands and face. How much simpler
and how much quicker it would
have been to have washed the
child myself in the first place!
But—this way, Anne was learning.
Interest in the home is develop¬
ing our littie daughter, because
she feels she is part of the life
here. It takes a lot of patience
to let a mere baby help, but it is
an unforgettably happy experience
to have a darling toddler by my
side “helping,” even though some¬
times she is only undoing my
own good work! And some day, if
I am truly patient and apprecia¬
tive in the meantime, Anne really
will help me.
“Children who have had kinder¬
garten advantages are advanced
over those who lack them— in
social experiences, in personal
habits, and in appreciations and
understanding.”—Burton Stephen,
Superintendent of Schools, Hun¬
tington, Ind.
In case there is no kindergarten
in your public school, a letter to
the National Kindergarten As¬
sociation, 8 West Fortieth Street,
New York 18, N. Y., will bring
you free pamphlets telling you
how to proceed in an effort to
secure one.
v ^.^.y
cared for properly and cancer of
the cervix of the uterus (opening
of the womb) had developed.
“But,” the doctor went on, “the
story has a happy ending. By her
prompt visit to my office when
she first suspected something was
wrong, we detected her cancer in
an early stage, a stage when we
had a good chance of checking
it.
“Mrs. Jones was operated on
without delay and the cancerous
growth was removed. That was six
years ago and she is still perfectly
well. i
“Yet ,as you know, we would
ha-Ve been helpless 'if' Mrs. Jones
had put off her visit to me until
she was driven Uf it by the great
pain which comes with the ad¬
vanced stages of cancer,”
A cancer is a maligant (bad) ^
gulated tumor resulting from the unre^^E^
growth of living cells or
Continued on page 3
, •••****•■• . vwvf!*vvvvv!-vv*;
FIFTY YEARS AGO
Files of The Savannah
Tribune
APRIL 22, 1899 I
Rev. J. w. E. Bowen will
preach the baccalaureate ser-
mo nand B shop B w Arnetb
will deliver the commencement
address of the Georgia state
co jj e g e
The 21st birthday of R R
Wrigtit, Jr-, . was observed , , last ,
* Atian -
^tversity will preach at
* irs * Congregational church on
un a ^"
C °*' J ' H Deveaux of the
irs attalion received orders
^ 01 Cadets disbanding and the of the Consoli- Lone
dat.ng of the Uniorv Lincoln
G l,ar ds and the Forest City
Infantry.
The Savannah Hussars was
disbanded and the Georgia Ar-
Ullery given more time to re-
Cruit.
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