Funding for the digitization of this title was provided by R.J. Taylor, Jr. Foundation.
About The Columbia sentinel. (Harlem, Ga.) 1882-1924 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 7, 1919)
2 THE COLUMBIA SENTINEL Issued Every Friday at Harlem, Ga. Entered in Post Office at Harlem, Ga., as Second Class Matter. SUBSCRIPTION $2.00 PER YEAR ; when sent in dubs of five $7.50. RATES TO NEWSDEALERS-Thrce cents each, cash to accompany order. Thomson address of The Columbia Sentinel P. 0. Box 393. E. H. MILLER, Publisher and Business M’g’r. THOS. E. WATSON, Editor. ALICE LOUISE LYTLE, Managing Editor. Harlem, Georgia, November 7, 1919. Woe's us; the preachers are considering a strike. * • • * Old General-Complications seems to he on the European job. * * * * Europe ruined, says Ferrerer, a French corre¬ spondent : well—why include us in the remains? * * * * We'd like to wag our fist at Mr. Hoover and ask “What about it. Old Top? What did food conservation get us?” * * * The new* definition of a Republic should be: a country which puts over a lot of new measures that monarchies tiro tired of. * * * * Not content with making jagless beer, the re¬ formers art 1 now going to make nieotineless tobacco. How long, oh Lord, how long? * 4 4 4 A California man became the father of trip¬ lets, and the dispatch states he “fainted at the news.” Our sympathies are with him. *444 It really begins to look as though young John D. Rockefeller was trying to redeem the family name, and it may be that he will reform his old dad yet. * * * * A medical writer declares that water is dan¬ gerous: these writers should! remember that the poor old rum-hounds are trying to get comfort out of sich statistics. * • • * And finally, dear brethren, Congress has ap¬ pointed itself to figure the costs of the investigations of itself. Sounds like one of the conundrums <if file Mad Hatter, doesn't it. # * * Seems Bro. Henry Ford has gotten so used to fhe front pages of the papers, lie simply has have some excitement—even if it takes a near-kid¬ napping of his husky soil, to put him there. * * # * Maybe we. are hard-hearted, but honest to good¬ ness we can't shed a single tear over the titles of hunger in Austria. We have too much of it nearer home, and the indications are for more of it. * * * * Maybe if Mr. Wilson had not so carefully guarded his preliminaries, in tlie League of Na¬ tions, he might have more co-operation now, from the people who are to benefit—or Ire harmed—by the proposed pact. 4 4 4 * When God was through making the coyotes, snakes and skunks, he had enough dirt left over to make the Anonymous Letter Writer—and the re suit combines the cowardice, the poison, and the stench of all three. * * * * It may interest you to know that, while von may have to go without, sugar for your tea and coffee, there were several thousand pounds sent to feed tj io wild bees of New York State. Most makes a wild woman of us to read it. 4 * * In the general ructions now going on, Chile and Peru are making signs of being among those pres¬ ent: each has declared war on t'other, and the Chillean fleet, consisting of one vessel, has taken ks way to a vantage, point, off the coast, of Peru. * * * In making the l’nited States absolutely arid, :so far as "lickcr” is concerned, it- may have been tfw*. notion of Congress to give the people a good run for the wave of prohibition, and then let the people themselves differentiate between “prohibi¬ tion" so called, and “temperance.'’ d * The more you read the reports of the social equality accorded negroes from Algeria and the US. the ('I line.- e and (lie ot her dark skinned ones who made tin the personnel of the European army, the more we feel like embroidering tin* famous re¬ mark of General Sherman, on sofa cushions and the like. * * * * The Roman Catholics are making strenuous efforts to prove that the Continental Army was composed of at least thirty-three per cent of mem¬ bers of their church. Meblx* so, hut they didn"' try to hog sixty per cent of the Army chaplaincies, and they didn't have a private secretary of their faith, sitting on the ear of Washington. THE COLUMBIA SENTINEL, HARLEM, GA. The Poor Down-Trodden Negro . (Continued from Page One.) Woodrow Wilson sechetlv made with the leading Republican negroes, in 1912. He himself made that confession, after it was too late for the Democratic voters to effectively re¬ sent it. That’s the way with all his secrets: he springs them, after he has consummated his secret deal. (His profound secrecy and duplicity in the matter of the League, is but a sample.) Speaking to a delegation of Negro leaders, on the 14th day of March, 1918. President ’Wilson said: “I have always known that the negro has been unjustly and unfairly dealt with; your people have exhibited a degree of loyalty and patriotism that should com¬ mand the admiration of the whole nation. In the present conflict your race has rallied to the nation’s call, and if there has been any evidence of slaekerism manifested by the negroes, the same has not reached Washington. “Great principles of righteousness are won by hard fighting, and they are at¬ tained by slow degrees. With thousands of your sons in the camps and in France,— out of this conflict yon must expect noth¬ ing less than the enjoyment of full citi¬ zenship rights— the same as are enjoyed by every other citizen." This "Democratic" President forced social equality upon the white hoys in the Army, in the Navy, in the Camps: he forced it upon the French people. He filled the heads of negro bucks with the ideas which caused the riots in Washington and Chicago. His enforcement of social equality has endan¬ gered the honor of every white girl and woman in America. His forcible feeding of social equality to the whites has created among them a deeper feeling of rage, than was felt when the Radical Republicans tried to force it on us. after the War between the States. And why? Because the President, who is doing this, pre¬ tended to be a southern man, and a Democrat. His conduct carries to our people a sense of betrayal, of calculating deception, of perfiduous se¬ crecy, of immeasurable moral turpitude. Suppose our people had known, in October 1912, that Wilson had made that secret treaty with the Republican negroes, how many of you would have voted for him? Suppose you had believed, in October 1916. that he had already made up his mind to side with his English cousins in the War, how many of you would have voted for him ? Suppose you had known of his social equality, promises, how many Democratic Congressmen could have been re-elected, last year? He. made that promise to influence .Xegro 11 - publu-ans. and it had the desired effect. “Nothing less than the enjoyment of full citi¬ zenship rights—the same as are enjoyed by every other citizen.” Spoken by a Democratic President, to the lead¬ ers of Republican Negroes, those words are dynamic, destructive, harbingers of pandemonium. Would < 'undidat' Wilson have dared to utter those words, at the Baltimore Convention of 1912? Would he have dared to do it, in the campaign of 1916? You know he wouldn't. But, it was in him. all the. time, and lie lets it out, when it is too late for you to do anything about it. One of the Republican negroes to whom that pledge was given, reminds the [’resident of it, and tolls the Country that he "fears"—if the pledge is not kept — the whites will have to kill more blacks, than the combined number of soldiers that were killed in the great world -war. This threat is made by Dr. J. G. Robinson, a presiding elder of the African Methodist Epis¬ copal Church. This colored doctor of Divinity, writes from Chattanooga. Tennessee; and his letter appears in The, Literary Digest for August 9, 1919. Why do 1 use the word “threat?" Because the covert, meaning, necessarily, is, that the negroes will fight for social equality, and lose their lives lighting for it. To this pass President Wilson has brought this country. The Presidential pledge of social equality em bold( ns a Tennessee negro to threaten civil war. Can you construe it any other way? This Southern negro, a leader of his race, and a Republican in politics, virtually says to the Dem¬ ocratic President of the United States: )'oh enforced social equality: It was you who gave the young men of our race the taste of it, in this country and in France: ll was you who promised us that reward, for service in the Army: It was you who made a negro a member of your War Cabinet: It. was you who set a negro Judge over the City of Washington: It was you who implanted in our minds the conviction, that every one of ns should be given the social equality that you gave to the negro stu¬ dents at Princeton, to the negro consuls whom you appointed, to the Robert Terrells, the Lincoln Johnsons, and the Emmett Scotts. It is to you, that we look for a redemption of the pledge which you gave us, in March of last yea i. Redeem this pledge, or their will be civil war/’’ ' How many of you have known of the Presi¬ dent's address to those, negro leaders? When he spoke those words, he sowed dragon teeth; and the crop of armed men, is sure to follow. Poor down-trodden negroes! They have been robbed of the privilege of stewing one another in pots, and enjoying the epi¬ curean delights of cannibalism. They are not permitted to fatten their girls on sweet-milk, and sell them for two heifers apiece. They are not allowed to make Mumbo Jumbo, out of sticks and rags. They are prohibited from burying live folks, to keep the dead from feeling lonesome. They have no Doctors who “smell out" wizards, and have them butchered. They are forbidden to sacrifice their babas, in the effort to appease the angry Demon. They have to undergo the humiliation of sit¬ ting down to dinner with a Cleveland, and in luncheon with a Roosevelt. They suffer the mortification of having to pass municipal sentences upon white folks, in the great¬ est capital on earth. They are tortured into acceptance of Consular positions and Departmental chieftainships. Poor Emmett Scott has to associate with Newt Baker, at the War Office. The miserable Black Man is compelled to own land, attend school, accept Christianity, edit news¬ papers. publish books, and operate banks. Poor fellow! He cries because he has a sep¬ arate church, a separate school, a separate hotel; and he only dries his tears, when lie boards a Pull¬ man sleeper, and mingles his snores with the reson¬ ant snores of the fat drummer. And yet. there is lots of room in Africa—why doesn't the weeping colored gentleman go to it? This Case May Interest You: A Soldier's Mother Got Too Much. To prevent a drop in the price of Automobiles, the Government destroyed a million dollars' wortn of them, in France: and allowed another million dollars' worth of them to remain unsheltered in this country, until they were ruined. Every little helps; and this action of the Gov¬ ernment was quite a little help to the makers of bicycles, motor cycles, and motor cars. To prevent a drop in the cost of living, the Government virtually gave away in France, the sugar, the meats, the canned vegetables, the flour, the clothing and the blankets which were badly mw-IRI bv our own people. In the construction of airplanes, the Patriots robbed the Government of such prodigious sums, that the report, made by Hughes, was rionoN- holed. In the outlays, at Nitro. West Virginia, the Government wasted sixty million dollars. At Hog Island, the waste was still more co¬ lossal. The Government adopted the policy of paying its agents a com mission of ten per cent upon the amount they could spend. Naturally, the amounts they could spend broke all the records, and fattened all the ten-per-centers. (One of them bought for himself a block, in Atlanta: and strange to relate, he had sense enough not to promise some agent ten per cent commission on the purchase-price.) England screamed for help: Germany had her down, and was about to throttle her: we sent the troops, she sent the ships, and she charged us $80, 000,000 for the transportation of the army that saved her. Also we paid France $15,000,000 for the up keep of our soldiers, in the houses where they were billet¬ ed; and for the damage our railroads and en¬ campments and trenches had done *o the country. One soldier boy told me that- his company paid thirty dollars, for the privilege of using a vacant lot , one time, for a game of baseball. Another told tne of the enormous charge made against our Government, for the use of a factory building which German cannon had battered al¬ most. to destruction. American soldiers repaired it, occupied it, while fighting for Belgium; and then had to pay an extravagant rental . to the Belgian owner who had been fed by American charities. So much by way of a prelude: A Georgia woman bad a son who was taken to France, to make the world safe for democracy. While the hov was abroad, the Government paid his mother cm -mall sums, or allotments; through the Army Allotment System. The bureau of War Insurance, also paid her small allotments. It is now alleged by the Government, that the American officer, over the lad in France, deducted only $105. from the soldier's pay, when he should have deducted a larger amount. Consequently the mother received $285., widen was $180. too much. She now gets a letter from Washington City, demanding a disgorgement of (he $180. Was it her mistake? Not at all: the original error was that of the soldier's commanding officer. Secondary to this, came the mistake made at the War Office. The mother Had no way to learn that she -was being over-paid: her son could not know it. In good faith, the mother too k the money^aend, in good faith, she spent it. But the Government writes to her T -th*tceb* must refund the $186. How can she, when she hasn’t got itf Why should she be held responsible for-emas she knew nothing about? It would seem that the Government should re¬ quire the commanding officer to make good the loss which his error caused. It is a principle of law, that money, volunta¬ rily paid , cannot be recovered. Fraud, duress, or some other equivalent, must be charged in order to vary the rule. The Government, in this case, cannot allege fraud, much less intimidation. The good woman simply received what the gov¬ ernment gave her; and she spent it, because she be¬ lieved it was hers. How Much Personal Liberty Is Left? (Continued from Page 1) inoculated with Arithmetic. Let us sift the matter, a little: Has the employer a right to discharge the employee ? Certainly: and if he thereby breaks a contract^ the remedy is a suit for damages. No criminality attaches to the dismissal of an employee. Have a number of employers the right to dis¬ charge their workman ? 1 never heard it disputed. If these employers agree among themselves t*j discharge all their workman, on a certain day, do they violate any law? I answer, “No": but you'd better ask Taft. Last week. I he employers, in Spain, agreed among themselves to discharge all workman, on -i certain day! The King didn't order out the troops! * No threats were made against the employers. It must be that Taft's law is not good in Spaitg Palmer would feel uot-at-humo in Spain. For you can see at once, that it's a poor rule that won’t work both ways: If it is criminal for the workmen to agree to walk out, it is equally Criminal for the employers to agree to a lock-out. (What's that you said. Mr. Taft? From what do you read. Brother Palmer?) A few years ago. the patriotic Cotton mills locked out the work-people, in accordance with a previous agreement among the owners of the mills. T'Were the troops ordered out? Did the Cabinet erupt in threats? Did Taft roar? Did Palmer rage? Did the Daily Toot-toots dailv toot-toot? No. Ma'am ! You have heard about the martyrdoms in Home, in the early days of Christianity. Do you happen to know tlmt those Christian martyrs were Conscientious Objectors? They were! They refused, as a matter of conscience, to lane part in the heathen ceremonies which were im¬ posed by military discipline, and they refused to sene in the wars of conquest. Hence, their condemnation and martyrdom-.’ President Wilson entered upon the Neronian persecution when he carried this country to the res¬ cue of England. In the Alcatraz dungeon, in California: and the Leavenworth Penitentiary. Kansas, men have been tortured and done to death, because they were ('onscientious Objectors. And the American Bastiles are yet full. How much Representative Government do you now enjoy ? How much trial by jury? How much freedom of speech? How far can you go in publishing? Pennsylvania prohibits peaceable assemblage, and the same thing is close at hand, in even* State. Workman may not parade the streets: hut Cardinal Mercier's procession is free to prance. Breadwinners may not hold meetings to voice' their wrongs; but the young Roosevelts arc free to shout. "Smash ’em!" Operators are permitted to meet and agree upon the terms to he dictated to laborers; but laborers are criminals, if they meet and agree upon terms to be dictated to operators. Tf the Dollars belong to the Operator*, do not the Muscles belong to the Laborers? Why not call out troops aguimt Dictatorial Dollars 1 The price of wav was a heavy one. but the price some men paid, because they were conscien¬ tious objectors—not slackers, was heavier. Four¬ teen days in a dark cell, on bread anil water, four¬ teen days in a light cell, then back to the dark one, was meted. Just why this treatment should have been thought to have been useful, will probably take a Genera! Crowder to deduct. But few of those who were really conscientious in their objections, have caved yet. And there are still over two hun¬ dred of them in the various prisons of this country, undergoing this highly civilized treatment.
