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Established 1875
By J. H. DEVEAUX
BOL C. JOHNSON........Editor and Publisher
M RS wii.i.A M. AYERS. Aist. to Pub. & Manager
/. H. BUTLER____________________Asso. Editor
Published Every Thursday
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Telephone, Dial 5338
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BRAVO AMERICAN LEGION
We commend the William Jordan
Post, American Legion, on its decision
to promote baseball among Negro boys.
It indicates that the Legion appreciates
the importance of encouraging them to
become skilled in a sport that has be¬
come a vocational and professional outlet
for those who have the desire and physi¬
cal ability to develop proficiency in it.
It has been a long time concern with
us lest an opportunity isf lost to our boys
to prepare to enter a field of employ¬
ment that has been opened up in major
league baseball. We hope the Legion s
plans i n c 1 u d e initiating a baseball
league in the state so that Negro boys
can get practice, training, and experi¬
ence in what are required to make them
acceptable competitors in our national
pastime. openings for Negro
There will be
boys who can meet the competition. It
will require not only expertness in the
things which are commonly accepted
essentials—throwing, batting, catching,
running—but the boys will have to mas¬
ter the rules and ethics of good sports¬
manship. The majority of Negro boys
now playing in the big leagues are proving
that desirable behavior off the diamond
is as important as it is on it. Jackie
Robinson, the exemplar, has proved this.
We advise, we urge our young men to
consider entering the field of the major
sports as a means of gainful employ¬
ment, as a means of achieving careers.
We salute the William Jordan Post for
possessing the foresight to promote such
a worthwhile venture.
THE UN FAIR DEAL
The paid advertisement appearing in
one of our daily j newspapers, under
the heading, “The Fn-Fair Deal,"
shows, in our opinion, how unfair people
can be when they put profits in money
above human benefits or human welfare.
One thing ought to be realized about
the opposition to building 800 housing
units in Savannah: Negroes stand to
gain niiDst from additional housing, or
they stand to continue to suffer all the
disadvantages which arise from living
in old vermin infested “gun-shot” hous¬
es, on streets of sand beds, with unpaved
side walks, that become quagmires or
rivers when it rains. Such a situation
landlords or their agents have permitted
to exist for years without any thought
of correcting it. The argument that
such conditions breed disease, delinquen¬
cy and crime appears to make no impres¬
sion whatever upon those who stubborn¬
ly resist building new units, or who are
themselves unable to give better hous¬
ing.
Other cities Jh Georgia have : been
granted funds with which to improve
housing and they seem to feel that they
should use money they have put into
the government’s hands for their own
benefit, since enough of it is going to
foreign lands to people, the hapless cas¬
ualties of other selfish men, who have
contributed nothing whatever to our
government. In spite of the argument
put forth in the advertisement, we do
not see w hy Savannah with such a large
amount of inadequate housing should
FROM SHARE CROPPER TO OWNER IN
3 IS FARMER
“I’ve come a long way,” says
30-year-old Charley Duncan of
Lake City, Fla., who in three
years has climbed up from a
lifetime of sharecropping to
ownership o a 14c acre farm.
The story of his 'ingle-minded
drive toward ownership of a
piece of land is containd i:i a
report received this woek by
the U. S. Department of Agri
culture from the Florida Slat'
Extension Service
Mr Duncan is the third of 11
children of sharecropper par¬
ents. Twelve years ago, he mar-
rid and moved out from his par¬
ents to make room for his
younger brothers and sisters
who needed his space and his
share of the food.
For seven yars, he share-
cropped from farm to farm in
north Florida. “It didn t seem
that I was ever going to get a
toe hold", says the young farm¬
er.
Then five years ago, he moved
to his present farm near
City to sharecrop ... ......„ t . with the _____
owner of the land. Up to
time. Mr Duncan had
growing cotton as his main
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
balk at endorsing the Housing Author¬
ity’s request to make use of the money
that has already been allocated to it.
The advertisement hauls in the old
bugaboo, the sure shot for stampeding
white citizens, and asks: “Do you know
—that segregation of tenants is not per¬
mitted?.. . this means tenants of all
races can live in the same project,” and
then follows, “Do you want this horrible
housing in Savannah ? Of course Not.”
The only comment on this question is
that we deplore this shameful injection
of an issue which high minded, right
thinking, “good men and women” will
not think of as ever becoming a prob¬
lem in Savannah. The fact is, noth¬
ing can be more horrible than the con¬
ditions in housing that any agent or
landlord can see in fifteen minutes’ walk
from the City Hall. No person with a
good conscience, even a landlord, can
look at parts of Yamacraw, and Frog-
town;, and the Old Fort section, with¬
out being ashamed to oppose the build¬
ing additional better housing.
THE LAST CALL
All who do not re-register or register
by May 6, will be unable to v<•.» in the
coming primary elections. They will
have forfeited their chance to partici¬
pate in government; they will have de¬
faulted on thedr citizenship; they will
have surrendered their right to com¬
plain if government is bad.
State officers will be up for election.
In this county the state Senator, and
three members of the state House of
Representatives will have to be chosen.
If the citizens in this community de¬
sire to have a new form of city govern¬
ment, if they want home rule, if they
wish to get rid of the county unit sys¬
tem of determining elections, they will
have the opportunity to vote for men
v ho will carry out their wishes.
fLater on, voters will have to choose
their municipal officers. They will
have a chance to remove such as they
believe have represented vested inter¬
ests rather than the people, and elect in
their places men to whom the best in¬
terest of all the people is their chief con¬
cern, men to whom public health, pub¬
lic order are matters of vital importance,
men to whom boledo, pin ball machines
and other gambling rackets are not in¬
dispensable to a city in which to bring
up decent and law abiding children into
worthy citizenship.
Those who fail to register by May G
w ill be mere spectators, shirkers, or
slackers, or perhaps just mugwumps.
There are just six days left. We urge
our citizens to register before the dead¬
line falls.
There v ere many colorful items on the
Jabberwock program, but to us the most
significant items were those giving em¬
phasis to physical education. We were
gratified that $uch numbers were in-
included in the program. Before long
we hope to see better posture, better car¬
riage in our young people. We hope to
see less shufffling and slouching. Em¬
phasis on physical education .will answer,
in large measure, the needs in this re¬
gard.
lance. County Agent McKinley
Teffers has helped them improve
the breed of their hogs and in¬
crease their corn yeild. District
Extension Agent J. A. Greshef
.says they have one of the most
highly diversified farms in the
state.
i
Last year, they produced 1.000
bushels ol com on 35 acres to
feed out 30 hogs that brought
$900 and they still sold $600
worth of corn. Also, they gras ed
si 500 from tobacco, $400 trom
watermelons, $200 from cane sy¬
rup. $150 from a couple of
-nd $800 from peanuts, not
eluding the value of the three
acres that were hogged oft
their swine,
To help make their work light-
er, they bought a tractor last
fall and paid cash for it. Their
next move is to build a new
home. Upon the advice of their
farm and home agents, they be¬
gan sawing up timber off their
land and stacking it dry two
years ago. “Wc hope to build
next spring,” says Mrs. Duncan
|
The mdivduai who expects the
world to conform to his or her
jqea is doomed to
meat.
crop. But his new landlord be¬
lieved in diversification—hogs,
cattle, peanuts, tobacco, sugar¬
cane. watermelons, and corn.
The first year, young Duncan
and hi; wife cleared $400 This
was the most money they had
ever had at one time. But they
continued firm in their purpose
to own a piece of land. And de¬
spite all the things that looked
good in the show windows in
town, they decided to salt away
their money toward a farm ol
their own. and continue “mak¬
ing out" the way they had doq*’
during all the years they had
either just broken even, or come
cut in debt. This wa n’t difficult
now because they were growing
most of their food.
| Three years ago. the owner
to mire fom farming
i because of ill health and moved
1 into town. He offered the Dun-
I cans an opportunity to buy. The
I young couple jumped at the
| chance, dug deep into their sav-
ings and paid almost half down.
With .... the ... ______ landlord _ gone, Mr ...
land Mrs. Duncan have lv?n
turning increasingly to thr :
farm and home agents for assis-
THE SAVANNAH TRIBUNE
BETWEEN THE LINES
By DEAN GORDON B. HANCOCK for ANP
ARGUMENTS AND IMPLEMENTS
Negro I race nor 'the nation
has fully recovered from the sudden and
tragic death of James Weldon Johnson in
a railway crossing accident a few years ago.
The life of the race and nation have not
been exactly the same since his untimely
passing. There was left a void that has
not been completely filled however heroic- 1
ally our leadership has tried to carry on.
There are certain losses that a people can-<
not replace and such was the loss sustain¬
ed in the passing of men like James Wel¬
don Johnson.
And now to make a tragedy more trag-t
ic we must add the untimely taking of Dr.
Charles Drew one of the brightest lumina-
ri in the firmament of medical science.
For him to have perished in an automobile*
accident maics even more lamentable the
story of his passing. What is more it is said
he was trying to help his less fortunate as¬
sociates when he decided to drive to Tus-
kegee on that ill-fated occasion. Of course,
that he died for others e v e n as his
Musterhad died. That it all occurred
no higher tribute could be paid him than
during the Easter season lends a touch of
sacred drama to the whole tragic affair.
His researches that resulted in the blood
bank, of such great importance in medical
practice and surgery, made him a benefac¬
tor of mankind.
It ’seems doubly tragic that the sun of
his usefulness set when it was shining in,
its meridian splendor. Only God knows
what happens when a life that saved mil¬
lions of ether lives, like a candle is blown
out while “hill peeped over hill and Alps,
on Alps" of infinite usefulness arose. It is
in the cessation of such a life as Dr. Drew’s
it hat makes us long for eternity and fort?
toe Great somwhere in which the cruel fates
of cur present lives shall be forever banish¬
ed. '
It is men like Dr. Drew that give the race
standkv, p the eyes of the world; for it
matters not how valid our argument, un¬
less it is implemented by characters like
Dr. Drew and others of his eminence and
usefulness, oar pleas lor citizenship become
so many sounding brass and tinkling cym¬
bals. Unless argument finds implement
in the lives of our great spirits our cause
i. hopelessly 'lost. The illustrious life of
a man like Dr. Drew will go a long way to
correct a prevailing mistake that the Ne¬
gro's exceptional abilities run to athletics
with its Joe Louis and its Jackie Robinson
and all the rest. Our argument for full-
fledged citizenship is powerfully imple¬
mented in the life of a Charles Drew.
'Hie recent passing of Carter G. Woodson,
added to the tragedy of Dr. Drew’s untime¬
ly leave-taking, brings another staggering
blow to the Negro race and nation. When
Dr. Woodson folded tent and stole away
he left a race and the world tremendously
OUTDOOIt EXERCISE
Member of the Virginia Health
Council, Roanoke, Va., lor ANP-
Old-timers often tell us that
they trudged miles to school oi
to the stores as children With an
kinds of transportation at our
disposal today, we are impressed j
by such rugged energy. But
since few of us these days “walk
when we can ride,” 1 wonder if
we haven't gone to the outer
extreme.
The thought came to me a
few months ago when Mm. Snel-
don brought 10-year-old Heme
to my office. The child was list¬
less, she said, his appetite haa
fal.en off, and she felt that
he was not sleeping re-tfuily at
night.
When I examined Herbie
thoroughly, I was glad to tell
his mother there was nothing
seriously wrong, although the
child was silgntly underweight
for his age and general build.
I notied, tooo, that he wasn’t
as peppy and alert as might be
expected of a 10-year-old boy.
But as we talked aboult what
Herbie did during the day, the
trouble became obvious, Herbie
rode to school in the bus, sat
six hours in the classroom, ate
i his lunch indoors, then rode
! home from school on the bus
I again. Most days after school
hed *° down . t0 . the .. celler „ and .
| work with his carpenter tools.
After dinner, he did his school
homework, listened to the radio,
then went to bed. He sometimes
played outdoors on Saturdays
and Sundays, but kept to his
indoor existence on the five
school days of the week.
I pointed out to Mrs. Sheldon
that Herbie, a growing boy.
wasn't getting enough fresh air
and exercise. To develop
muscles and grow properly, a
child needs daily exercise—not
just a few hours on weekends,
j Exercise in the fresh body air. toned more-
over, keeps his up
and gives him a feeling of well-
being, which, in turn, makes
By L. C. Downing
him more alert in the
room.
The combination of
exercise ana fresh air is
ercise and fresh air is
responsibile for the chiud’s vig
orous appetite and the
with which he can fall into
restful sleep. During
vacation , w ' f h its
weather, most children
the entire day playing in
fresh air. But during
montas, some of them tend
skip outdoor life completely.
Parents and teachers
encourage children to have
least two or three hours
cal activity out-of-doors
Daily outdoor play and
—except, ofcourse. on bad
—are as necessary to a child’
proper growth and
as are nourishing food and
fficient rest and sleep.
I explained these things
Mrs. Sheldon and she
attentively. Then she
j that Herbie’s indoor life
probably her fault. Herbie
an only child and she had
! ually encouraged lum to
ln because she would worry
when she knew exactly
he was. She added she now
enriched by his having
two 'generations. Dr. Woodson is easily
the foremast historian of the Negro race
and has done more than any other to cre¬
ate a race-consciousness for the Negro's
past. He more than any other proved by
his researches that the Negro race had a
great past. in
It is true his works were rejected some
quarters as so nfuch propaganda, but reduc¬
ed to .heir last analysis Dr. Woodson’s writ¬
ings and his researches have blazed a trail
of historical interest that will last as long
as wr.tten records survive among men.
Dr. Carter G. Woodstn by his historical ap¬
proach has 'placed upon the Negro’s gon-
gue some powerful arguments for full-
fledged citizenship rights. Knowing as we
do the roofs of the present are to be found
in the Last, the greatest assurance that
there wid be a great tomorrow is that there
was a great yesterday. It would be diffi¬
cult to believe in the Negro's great tomor¬
row unless t.rere had been a great yester¬
day. its
Dr. Wocdson gave to the Negro race
yesterday even though we know that its
tomorrow is in our keeping. The Negro
race owes Dr. Woodson a great debt, of grat-
titude and to the nation and the cause of
history. The loss of such able men troubles
this writer greatly and even while. writing
this release the phone rings and tells me
that Dr. Luther P. Jackson of Virginia State
College lias passed suddenly. He was with¬
out doubt Dr. Woodson’s logical successor,
for he seemingly more than any other was
imbued with Dr. Woodson’s spirit. Dr. Woodi
son gave argument; Dr. Drew gave imple¬
ment.
GEORGIA
By William Henry Huff .For ANP
Cut after all is said and done
I loved her soil and crimson hills,
Her rising and her setting Sun,
Her mocking birds and whipowills,
Within her boundary I was born
Eeneath a fair and cloudless sky
In May when they were planting corn
the hillside high and dry.
A TIMELY WARNING
By William Henry Huff for ANP
Our ugly words upon the street
me oi-aging us to sname.
We dc not think how those wc meet
May not have our low aim.
We yell a mother epithet
As if it were a prayer;
We have a nasty line to let
No matter when or where
We may be found—this hurts the race;
What are we to assume?
Unless this ceases we must face
A swift and certain doom.
alized she had been selfish as
well as thcughtles;.
I met the three Sheldons last
week and I could see at a glance
that Herbie was very much im¬
proved. Mrs. Sheldon said that
realizing how important out¬
door play was to the child’s
health helped her get over her
nervousness concerning Herbie’s
whereabouts after school. Her
husband added that Herbie’s ap¬
petite, sleeping habits, and even
the child's personality were bet¬
ter a week or two after he began
to “go out” after school.
(This article is co-sponsored
by the National Medical Asso¬
ciation and the National Tuber¬
culosis Association in the inter¬
est of better health of the peo-
p’e.)
SOAP SCULPTURE CLASS
AT CARNEGIE LIBRARY
The Soap Culture Class will
hold its last session Tursday
evening, April 27, at 7:00 p. m.
in the Children’s Room of Car-
negie Public library. All persons
intending to enter worki n the
Proctor and Gamble Ivory Soap
Sculpture Competion are re¬
minded that such work must be
recived in New York before mid¬
night April 30 to be eligible for
the competion. Interested per¬
sons may secure from Carnegia
library entry blanks which must
accompany V all work entered in
thj
Nineteen potential artists were
registered in the Soap Culture
Clares, three of this number
being adults. The majority of
the participants are enrolled at
Cuyler Jr. high school. Unde 1
the guidance & of Mrs. Earline
Simmons smith the .. class , worked ,
on a number of subjects, the
most popular being animal
characters.
The Board of Directors of Car-
negie Public Library extends
hearty thanks and deep appre-
elation to Mrs. Smith for her
I cooperation in this project.
HOME EDUCATION
Issued by the National Kindergarten Association, 8 West 40lh
Street, New York City. These articles are appearing weekly in
our columns.
•THE CHILD'S FIRST SCHOOL IS TIIE FAMILY”—Froebel
“VERY REMARKABLE FELLOWS”
Helen Gregg Green
My husband and I were invit-
ed to a frend’s house to dinner.
Since this friend and I were go¬
ing to a luncheon that day, my
husband asked," How can Esther
be away from home half the
day and then have us to dinner
in the evening, when she has a
large house, a family of lour,
and no maid?
I, too, thought this a large or¬
der. During luncheon I repeated
my hu-band's question to my
friend.
“Dickie is putting the roast in¬
to the oven,” t he brown-eyed
mother answered, evidently quite
untroubled
When we arrived at her home
that evening, Dickie, aged thir¬
teen, was is the kitchen ,.taking
charge.” According to schedule,
the roast and potatoes were in
the oven. The young “chef" was
making biscuit :, which, we later
discovered, would cause an epi-
cure to'gasp with delight.
After dinner Dickie and Chuc¬
kle, his eight-yera-old brother,
eared the tabic and washed
| and dried the dishes.
J j that A.l thinking is important parents will to assign agree
it
to children responsibility-de¬
veloping tasks. It. is frequently
difficult to apportion these ac¬
cording to each child’s ability,
but it is worth the e’fsrt.
Not only was Dickie, by help- j
ing hi ; mother as he did, devel¬
oping thoughtfulness, but he
was gaining confidence, poise,
and self-esteem, since skills and
i executive abilitie; do much to
j give young and old alike a sat¬
isfying fee ing of being worth¬
while. The dinner was an op¬
portunity, too, to use the cook¬
ing lessons learned at public
school.
When, later we commented to
this far-.eeing mother on her
clever sons, she said, “ I plan (
my work over weekends, so that
natural the boys intermis can help iorit me in during their j
j
other activities. I’ve discovered
and tty to keep it in mind, that
a young child cannot be expect¬
ed to confcentrate long on one
thing.”
“How do you meet this with
Chuckie? I asked.
“I bring in quick changes and j
don’t repeat the same tasks too !
often.” The mother’s gentel eyes
Fr. Divine Accused of Killing
Wealthy Widow to Get Estate
NEW YORK—(ANP)— A civ-
,1 suit filed in state supreme
court here Thursday, accused
v^ther Divine and members of
his “Heaven” with killing a
wealthy 85-yera-old white wid¬
ow in order to get her estate.
Plaintiffs in the suit are four
first cousins of the late Mrs
Mary Sheldon Lyon.
The cousins are conte ting the
woman’s will. They contend her
Grand Secretary
Visits Local Elks
By Eel. Greene
stffp jri? .
C '° Se ° f thC „ ° a '
State Elks convention. Grand I
Secretary James E. Kelly left j
Brunswick in company with the
Savannah delegates and headed
for Savannah Where he paid
the local Elks a visit on Tues¬
day. He first visited Cummings
Lodge and wished this new
lodge success. He then visited
Weldon Lodge, being the house
guest of Bill Emory Brown. He
complimented Exalted Ruler J.
B Hardwick and his staff on
the very fine work being done
by the lodge, stating that Ex.
Ruler Hardwick had done a
great big job in so short time by
retiring the outstanding in¬
debtedness of the lodge and
putting the lodge back on its
Greene.
I
j The Grand Secretary was giv-
j en an evening of entertainment
i by Ex. Ruler and his staff. He
was taken downstairs to enjoy
i hospitality of the Bills at
,,, Weldon ,, icd"e , _ From there ,, , he
was taken over to the Veteran;
club where Bills Rivers, Hender-
j son and J- H. Jenkins were the
hosts. This was a real treat be-
fitting the occasion. From there
he was taken to Ruby’s tavern
On Montgomery St. This occas-j
ion highlighted the evening
where the party enjoyed the be- (
THURSDAY, APRIL 27, 1950
shone with interest. "This pro-
cedure—the experts ted us is
best with most children wiien
they are between six ana twuive.
It's wise, a.so, .to give tasks mat
appeal to a youngster’s muiviu-
ual development and interest."
Here the father bloke in.
"How ■Mom’ praises the lads!
She makes them feel like Caico
in "Seventh Heaven”—like very
remarkable fellows,!”
“Of course I do!” “Mom”
agreed. “Appreciation is impor¬
tant. Another rule I adnere to
for my two Ciiieos is never to
interupt play lor work, and I
make instructions gay and in¬
teresting. I often write them on
our kitchen blackboard with
colored chalk, or I leave notes
i.i the boys’ pockets or in the
mirrors in their room .”
"Sometimes parents find it*
hard to remember that their
Jacks and Jil.s are not minia-
tures of themseives, but that
tiiey are individual; in their own
rights who usually like having
thisgs done hr a youthful, dra¬
matic ert of way, ’ Dad philos¬
ophized as lie lighted his pipe.
“Yes, our young ters are proud
of their boyish-looking biuc ap¬
rons with their names in bright
red letters on them. They have
red-and-b!ue p i a 1 d padded
gloves for handling hot skil ets
for outdoor cooking.” Then sire
aid with quiet conviction, “And
tiiey really like sharing respon¬
sibilities with the grownups."
“The schools, the fine boys’
organizations, the home, and the
church are giving our boy ; and
girls more and more responsi¬
bilities,’’ the father put in. "Ev¬
eryone realizes the necessity for
preparing future citizens for
their world to be. Many of the
respon ibilities and duties our
children have 'now, however,
seem like fun to them. I'm sure
Dckie thinks cocking is fun,”
“Lucullus himself would have
been pleased with Dickie’s bis-
cults,” I spoke up,” and Chue-
kic's share deserves our thanks,
tco!”
“Yes, they are remarkable
fellows,” smiled their mother.
Then more .erio'usly, she added,
types of home responsibil¬
are steps in the direction
f learning how to live. And
that’s a parent’s job -teaching
to be adequate.”
death was caused by a surgical
operation when she was about
to cut the share willed to the
cult from her $600,000 estate.
She died Oct, 1,6, 1946, suppos¬
edly less than two weeks after
diw..,c S i ne a. new will.
The cousins have been con
testing the will for two years,
and the late t charge is con¬
tained in new papers entered
by them.
food and drinks. The
Secretary expressed him¬
as being most grateful to
e Exalted Ruler and the Bills
WeIdon Lodge. These in the
and maki it pleasant
for the Grand Secretary were
Ruler J. B. Hardwick, W. S.
Emory Brown, Andrew
Sol C. Johnson, Ray¬
Hollomond, Dr. Hender¬
J. H. Jenkins, Joseph Riv¬
S. H. Booker and E. E.
All were inspired by the
of the Grand Secretary
determined to do a bigger
better job.
Tuesday night was invitation
at Weldon Lodge. The
was inducted by the degree
team led by Esquire Raymond
Hollomond. The ritualistic work
administered by the Ex¬
alted Ruler. J, B. Hardwick. The
made Bills pledged them¬
selves to help make Weldon
Ldge truly ne f the big three
truly one of the big three
Plans are being made for
Mothers Day at Weldon Lodge.
will be a joint affair between
Elite Temple and Weldon Lodge.
The speaker will be one of the
most outstanding Elks in the
community. The music for the
occasion will be furnished by
the chorus from Elite Temple.
We have a strange and sink-
ing feeling: this week was
some-kind-of-week but we for-
got to observe it.