Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page.

78 PUBLIC CONTINUOUS YEARS SERVICE OF auatutalv iriltunf OF THE THE SAVANNAH LAST ISSUE TRIBUNE VOLUME LXXVIII ADams 4-3432 savannah, Georgia SATURDAY, SEPT. 24, I960 PRJCE 10c NUMBER 51 THE END OF THE SAVANNAH TRIBUNE AND OUR EDITORIAL DAYS By Willa Ayers Johnson It was in the late Spring of this year that we realized that a great change had to be made in the Savannah Tribune. Several unsuccessful attempts were made to sell this newspaper. Finally, the deci¬ sion was made that the September 24th issue was to be the last issue of the Savannah Tribune, the oldest Negro pa¬ per in America in continuous existence, and it was to be our last official act as editor to discontinue the paper. It was a difficult but necessary decision. While thinking over the problems of the Tribune, we pulled from the over¬ crowded drawers of our desk an old issue of the paper. Turning the pages, there on the editorial page in the masthead was our name. The year was 1943, and scanning through the rest of the paper, the memories began to crowd our mind. As we continued to read, the many prob¬ lems which have puzzled and baffled one who had no knowledge of newspaper work, prior to joining the staff of the paper in 1943, paraded across our desk and reminded us once again of the inev¬ itability of our decision. What are the problems which have beseiged the Tribune? They have been ■many, but the most formidable are the following: We have been faced with the rising cost of production;'a lack of train¬ ed personnel; a small number of advanced paid subscribers (300), newsstands sales averaging 250, counter sales averaging 50, and street sales averaging 1,500 in community of 60,000 Negroes; and in¬ adequate advertising revenue. As we examine the record, The Sa¬ vannah Tribune has been A (IREAT TA¬ PER FOR A GREAT PEOPLE. The Tribune has championed “Freedom of the Press,” and has presented all ques¬ tions affecting the Negro people of Sa¬ vannah. It has consistently ctried out against the inequalities and injustices suffered by the Negro people. It has deplored mediocrity in Negro education. It has presented news about the obscure and the famous Negro in the Savannah Community. It has espoused life in dig¬ nity for the Negro people. It has faced the challenge of the "New Age” and the “New Negro” and has championed the cause of the sit-ins, the kneel-ins and the wade-ins as being morally right. It has promoted the principles of Christianity and envisioned an age of faith. Since 1875 it has been the voice of the Negro people in war and peace. Looking back through the years, many memories and friends are recalled, many of which are valued greatly today. We are sincerely grateful to our loyal staff members: Mrs. Mary E. Brocking- ton, receptionist; Miss Edrina L. Slater, typist and proof-reader; Charles A. Sim- anorj, foreman of the composing room; Wesley Young, pressman; Stafford D. Bisard, linotype operator; and Ezra John¬ son, my husband, who has given moral support since 1951. We are also grateful to the many de¬ voted friends of the Tribune who have expressed kind words of concern regard¬ ing the fate of the paper. Last, but not least, we are grateful to our benefactor, the late Sol C. Johnson, who gave us the opportunity of serving our fellowman through The Savannah Tribune and to Col. John II. DeVeaux who started the paper in 1875. Since the days of John B. Russwurm, the first (1827) Negro publisher, there has been a dire need lor the Negro Tress. The Savannah Tribune has tried to ful¬ fill this need. Our predecessor, the dis¬ tinguished owner, editor and publisher of The Savannah Tribune, the laic S'>1 C. Johnson, and the writer have striv¬ en to publish the paper in keeping with the creed of the Negro Press: “ I shall be a MIRROR AND A RECORD—a MIRROR f our exist¬ ence as it is and a RECORD of our strivings to better that lot. I can¬ not deny or overlook my people' ; vices and shortcomings. Neither will 1 permit their virtues and good attributes to be hidden or denied. “I shall have integrity and I will not be bought. I shall be beholden to no man or class, because 1 ain the voice of all my people ...” MRS. M0NTEGUT, MANAGER OF LOUISIANA WEEKLY, DIES SUDDENLY AT HER DESK NEW ORLEANS, (ANP) - Death came suddenly last week to Mrs. Mildred Montegut, for 32 years business manager for the Louisiana Weekly, leading weekly publication in New Orleans and in Louisiana. Mr . Mont* rut, victim of a heart ricken at her desk, gut was prominent 1 church, civic and . and the wife of ,K ' n ’ 1,1 was, Dr. Ferdinand Montegut, Sr. She " a ' the mother of Dr. Ferdi¬ nand Montegut, Jr. and Mrs. Ann¬ ette Dumas of Los Angeles. She was the former Mi, s Mildred Veal, SSC Announces Faculty Additions Dr. W. K. Payne, president of Savannah State College, announces that there have been three addi¬ tions to the College family for the current school year. To the Department of Fine Arts comes Samuel Gill, a native of Sa¬ vannah. Mr. Gill graduated from Savannah State College with the B. S. in Music, and has done giad- uate work at Atlanta University and Columbia University. He has been band director at Sophronia Tompkins and Beach High Schools. James Thompson, Jr., a native of Wilmington, North Carolina and also an instructor in the De¬ partment of Fine Arts, received the B. A. degree in Music at North Carolina College in Durham, N. C. Mr. Thompson received the M.A. degree in Music Education at th University of Michigan, Ann Ar¬ bor, Michigan. He has had ex¬ perience in the elementary and high schools of North Carolina and Virginia, Philander Smith College in Little Rock, Arkansas, and St. Paul’s College in l.aw- renceville, Virginia. He is a mera- (Continued on Page Six. (Continued on Page Six) NAACP HOLDS 21 MEETING; ELECTION EVALUATED Continuing its war on segrega¬ tion, the Savannah Branch of the NAACP licid its 27th Sunday at ter noon mass meeting at St. j Paul's CiVLE Church on Sept. 18. W. W. Law, president of the Savannah Branch of the NAACP, opened the meeting with the sing¬ ing of the Negro spiritual, “Guide My Feet,” followed by Rev. George Walker, pastor of Asbary Metho¬ dist Church, giving the invoca¬ tion. The pastor of the host ehuich, Rev. W. L. Hightower, served as moderator of tiie meet¬ ing. I he Rev. P. A. Patterson, chair¬ man of the Legal Redress Com¬ mittee, related his experiences of tiaveling across the country dur¬ ing his summer vacation. ‘We are not fighting alone in our battle against segregation. God has raised allies to assist us in this great battle,’’ Rev. Patterson stat¬ Chicago Cops Gambling Operated As Mr. Freeman Appointed Manager of Lena Horne’s Cosmetics m FRANK FREEMAN Lena Horne’s Cosmetics, cated at 458-B West Broad recently appointed Bavannah own Frank Frank Freeman Freeman as as manager, Mr. Freeman will in charge of all sales with the assistance of five or more sales agents, who wili in the near future make visit to your -home. The new sales manager will center his attention on the tomer Home Party where Lena Horne Party Girl, will demonstrate the many pro¬ ducts for your beauty i (CoutUiued uu Page ESghW Bus “Sit-In” Leader To Speak at NAACP Meet SILAS NORMAN, JR. One of the South’s most mil¬ itant youth leaders will be the featured speaker for the Sun¬ day afternoon NAACP mass meeting, according to W. W. Law, the branch president. Silas Norman, Jr., outstand- j ing student leader at Paine College ;n Augusta, will address the public meeting Sunday ter noon, September 25, at o'clock sharp at Tremonl lew pie Baptist Church, Park Ave. and West Broad street, Rev. J. M. Benton, pastor. Mr. Norman was one of the ed. “When. I was in New York ity, 1 purchased several southern papers, and I discovered that Ne¬ groes are fighting segregation all over this country. I Ins is God’s fight, and he is going to bring about a change. Savannah is re ceiving more publicity regarding the Negroes fight in Savannah.” Wherever Rev. Patterson traveled, people ivcie talking about the Sa- vannah story Driving into a fill- mg station, an attendant told him that " Lou are from Savannah, well we are proud of you people in Savannah.” Rev. Patterson said with regard to the wade-ins, that the story of this fight by our youngsters has gone around the world. A picture appeared in a Sydney, Australia newspaper. When the 3tory is written about the fight for free¬ dom, great names from Savannah vcootunied on Page Eight- Raid That Office CHICAGO, (ANP) — conducting a huge gambling ness operating behind the table facade of a loan on Chicago's south side were evi¬ dently watching the wrong figuies last week. police believe the men must have been so entranced by the fat fig¬ ure: on their ledger:-, they failed to observe the figures of several bum a:.J workmen in the neigh¬ borhood. The bums and workmen were really disgui-ed police working under the command of Police Lt. William Graham who kepi the place under surveillance for more than a week before stag¬ ing a raid. Crashing through the doors of the Panama Loan company, the police rdhhed James Irving, 48 and hi- brother, George, 53, whom they de-cribed as kingpins in a I major policy operation, and a $10, 090 h week sweepstakes game with j approximately 5,000 -customers. Graham -aid the Baltimore and Ohio wheel was operated under name of the Panama Finance r,,n >pary and had been under sur- ve j|i aii ,.,. {,„■ a week, Five phones in the building were used to conduct business with at least 5,000 customers a week, Gra- ham said. Lottery slip:;, some | money, and a floor safe were seiz- “4. Graham sai<1 (hp M op ,. raW a wwkly ?10>000 aww>p , te kes j based on race track receipts. Also arrested in the raid were Sajidv Walbom, 24, and Fred Gail- (Continued on Page Eight) NAACP HAILS MOVE TO ASSURE RIGHT TO VOTE IN TENN. NEW YORK — Justice Depart¬ ment action to assure the right of Negroes to vote in Haywood Coun¬ ty, Tenn., “should aid greatly in wiping out the scandalous dis¬ franchisement of Negro citizens in certain areas of the South,” NAACP leader Roy Wilkins de- | clared this week. In a statement issued here Mr. Wilkins said: “The NAACP is gratified to learn of action by Attorney General William P. Rogers to assure the right of Negroes to vote in Haywood Coun¬ ty, Tenn. The attorney general's action is evidence of the federal government’s commitment to this fundamental citizenship right.” In filing a civil complaint with the Federal District Court at Mem¬ phis, Tenn., Sept. 13, the Justice Department accused 27 merchants and two banks of coercion and conspiracy to bar Negroes from voting in Tennessee and is seeking injunctive relief against further coercive and discriminatory acts. The move was the first of its kind under the 1057 Civil Rights jAct. As far back as 1938 the NAACP s0U K ht lo encourage registration * nd b > Negroes in Haywood ' County, They had not been allow¬ ed the ballot since the Reconstruc¬ tion era. The founder and first president of the NAACP branch in Browns¬ ville, Tenn. (Haywood County), Ollie Bond and six other Negro leaders were run out of town by a mob of whites in 1938 for urging Negroes to register and vote. Another, Elbert Williams, was lynched. It was not until May, 19(50 that under federal intervention Negroes were permitted to register in Hay¬ wood County, Tenn., for the first time snice the 1870's. However, they have done so at the risk of intimidation and phy- iContinued on Page Six) Food, Clothing and Cash Pour into j La. to Aid Children ! BAPTIST CONVENTION DIRECTORS ISSUE By T. J. JEMISON Secretary, Board of Directors National Baptist Convention LLS.A., Inc. PHILADELPHIA, (ANP) — The Board of Directors in a special executive meeting Fiiday, Sept. 9 voted unanimously to sustain the official vote (by voice) of approxi¬ mately 3500 for Dr. J. H Jackson as president of the National Bap¬ tist Convention, and about 500 for the candidate Dr. Gardner C. Tay¬ lor. They also condemned as unoffi¬ cial, erroneous and un-constitu- tional the voting of a special meet ing held by the so-called “Taylor Team” during the lunch hour ori Thursday, Sept. 8 while moat of the delegates were out of the build ing. The Board of Directors re¬ vealed that according to the cre¬ dentials committee that there are about 5200 registered delegate and any candidate receiving 18W1 votes could not in any wise he declared the choice of the conven¬ tion. On Saturday the new board of directors which had been elected I by the convention the day before organized and elected the follow¬ ing officers: President J. H. Jack- son as chairman, Dr. T. J. Jamison as secretary. With the vote of the convention by such a wide margin, and with the new board electing Dr. J. H. Jackson as it- Chairman, it will not he necessary for any civil court to deteirnine who is the president of the Na¬ tional Raptist Convention, U.S .A , Inc. 7 he delegates have decided it and the board of directors have re-affirmed it. Until next Sep¬ tember the board of directors will he in complete charge of the pro¬ perty holdings, with the power to complete any unfinished business of the convention and to fill any vacancies which may occur in the .Continued on Page Four; Mr. Young Is New Principal of Trade School Robert A. Young Appointment of Robert A. Young, principal in the Chatham County system and the Harris Area Trade School, was announced recently by D. Leon McCormac, superintendent of the Board of Education. Mr. Young holds a B.S. degree from Savannah State College and M.S, degree from Cornell Univer¬ sity, He entered the Chatham County school system in 1940 as an Agri¬ cultural teacher at Haven Home School and remained in that posi¬ tion until 1959, when he went to the Alfred E. Beach High School, assuming duties in the same ca¬ pacity. His early administrative offices include principal of the Pin Point Adult Night School, principal arid teacher of the Ailirigton Vocation¬ al High School, Arlington, Geor¬ gia, and supervisor of the O.S.Y.A. National Defense Program. Other affiliations and awards include founding of the Muiitgom- e.y dedicated Community^ in llouae^ which 1 Continued on Page F'ouri Drive Launched to Enroll 1,000,000 Negro Voters NEW YORK — A nationwide non-partisan campaign to register an additional 1,000,900 Negro voters between now and Election Day, Nov. 8, was launched here this week with the hacking of a score of Negro leaders under the chairmanship of A. Philip Ran¬ dolph, vice piesident of the AFL- CIO. Announcement of the campaign was made at a news conference here on Sept. 14 hy Roy Wilkins, NAACP executive secretary and the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, who, together with Mr. Randolph, initialed the movement. The labor leader was unable to attend the conference because of union bus'i- ness elsewhere. A call to Negro Americans issu¬ ed by the group noted that “in parts of our Country fort e and violence bar out path to the polls. Elsewhere, nothing but apathy pi events us from registering and voting. We will rievei he truly fioc until we shake this apathy and de-troy these bars.” Notice Dea. John Mines wishes It to be known that he did not au¬ thorize his name to be used on a handbill which was passed out during the recent Political Campaign. This handbill was produced ana pasred out under the name Political Guidance Committee endorsing certain candidate:: for public office. Wake Up Savannah! The Tribune Closes! Bv Wilton C. Scott Wall Street Journal Fellow Columbia InivwrsHy's Summer Session It is time for Savannah to awake and move forward in public opinion. The story about the Savannah Tribune's closing is shocking and makes a prac¬ ticing Journalist sad and tear¬ ful. There are several factors contributing to the end of the Savannah Tribune, the Nation's oldest Negro Weekly. One must remember that a Newspaper is a business and can not operate continuously in the red The Tribune serves other Negro population within one hundred miles of Savan¬ nah. It is obvious that it must be the voice of more than one hundred thousand people. In the Savannah area there are approximately sixty thousand Negroes. The complacency Is very pronounced with 125 paid city subscriptions to the Tri¬ bune, and 175 out of town. How could the’ citizens expect the Tribune to continue? Having made careful studies this summer of necessities fur Journalism, this writer feels that he owes it to the nlty to call upon the citizens to rise up from their sleep and grow in every aspect of life. In addition to the three hundred subscriptions, two hundred and fifty arc sold on Newsstands, 50 counter sales and fifteen hun¬ dred street sales totaling only 2,100 papers purchased for more than one thousand educators, several thousand college, sec • ondary, and elementary stu- of ministers, I several thousand parents work¬ ing at various skilled and seml- ■MISS GDDPLOE ENROLLS AT 'ASSAR —Miss Betty Jo Goodioe, daughter of Mr, and Mrs. J. W. Goodioe of Durham, is shown with her father as they leave this week for Vassal - in Poughkeepsie, N. Y. Betty Jo, valedictorian of the Hillside High School, Durham, N. C., class of 1960, is the first Hill¬ side graduate to be accepted at Vassar. She was also accepted at Mount Holyoke and received ccholarehipa to Lpcltuan College skilled occupations, several hun¬ dreds employed in buslnea* or operating same. Savannah ha* nearly 10,000 Negro voters piu# an additional 10,000 who are el¬ igible to vote. It Is tne desire of this writer to be impartial and ask the cit- taens. What are we going to do about the oldest Weekly in America being closed?" Tears ran down the wrlter'a face as he examined the Tri¬ bune's records and found 4 schools subscribing, 9 minia- ttra, 25 teachers and principals, and a handful of profeswonal and business men. It is a cer¬ tainty that Savannah's pisd* will awake the citizens, PTAa, Social clubs, Churches, educa¬ tional inatltutions, Fraternities, Sororities, Secret Orders, pro¬ fessional and Business mea, high school and college stu¬ dents. It Is true that a amall rep¬ resentation from all groups is among the 1500 buying from, the carrier#. However, Tho Tribune sold just enough pa¬ pers to pay for the compoal- tion which does not include newsprint and other labor. In an exclusive interview with Mis. Willa Ayers Johnson, the publisher, general manager and editor, it was Jparned that she also helps to operate the Du¬ plex printing press and as¬ sists with the make-up of th# Newspaper. She also soraptlee a weekly society column. Mr*. Johnson is a near genius. Her husband, Bzra Johnson, who is a real estate broker, givaa mor¬ al support. What a job the John¬ sons and their small ataff of (Continued on Page Eight. NEW ORLEANS, (ANP) — Food, clothing and cash war* pour¬ ing into Louisiana last week from U.S. and abroad to aid th* 6,00(> unwed mothers and 23,000 father- le children purged from the re¬ lief rolls by recent *egi#g*t«o«ist legislation. Meanwhile there was world wide disapproval of the action taken admittedly a* a reprisal for grow¬ ing Negro militantcy. However, Mary E. Parker, elate commissioner of welfare said that • Continued on Page Eight) tv M. I and Hampton Institute. Sh* wa* the recipient of the Mathematics and English award* and wo* th* seventh place Leadership Award in the National Thota McAn contaat. Betty Jo reigned as “Miss Hill¬ side” for 1959-1960. At Vassar, she plans to major in Mathe¬ matics. Mr. Goodioe is vice president .and secretary of North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company.