Newspapers / The Carolinian (Raleigh, N.C.) / June 2, 1945, edition 1 / Page 4
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PAGE FODB THE CAROLINIAN WEEK ENDING SATURDAY. JUNE 2. UltS EDITORIALS PRESIDENTIAL APPOINTMENTS President Truman continues to move slowly but steadily toward setting up an administrative organization of his )vvn, to replace the one inherited by him. In loing this he is entirely within his riglits, arul is following well established precedent and sound executive procedure. The real question is whether or not ho is choosing good and capable men to Ije his helpers and advise»*s. So far it would seem that the answer is in the affirmative. He is doubtless amenable to advice and suggestion from party leadei'S and other advisers; for he is both a good party man. and a man who can listen to advice. Hut it is also true that he is not being dictated to, either by party leadei'S or by pei-sonal friends. His re-appointment of Lilienthal. to head the TVA was doubtless a great disappointment to Senator McKellar, both a personal friend, and a powerful ligui'e on the Democratic side of the Senate. His recent cabinet replacements, though they introduced into the import ant offices of secretary of agriculture, postmaster-general, and attorney-general persons not too well known to the public at large, appear to be sound. There are of course some qualms among Negroes and others over the naming of a ’fexan to the attomey-general’s post- for fear that the relatively good record made by At torney-General Biddle for prosecuting civil rights cases affecting Negroe.s will not be sustained. But as a matter of fact there is nothing in the new cabinet mem ber’s previous record in the Department of Justice which warrants undue pessim ism, As in the case of the F’resident him self, judgment must be suspended until the new attorney-general has had time to prove himself. Mr. Schwellenbach, a federal judge, and former senator fixmi Washington, has a fine liberal record. When he was in the Senate he was among the vigorous ism. As in the case of the JVesident him self, judgment must be suspended until the new attorney-general has had time to prove himself. Mr. Schwellenbach, a federal judge, and former senator fi'om Was’.iinglon, has a fine liberal record. When he w’as in the Senate he was among the vigorous New Deal leaders. Coming from the We.st Coast area where thousands of Negroes and hundreds of thousands of »ther workers have been called in to man the war shipbuilding and aircraft industries, he is familiar with many of the conditions out of which serious po.st-war indu.strial problems will arise. As secretary of labor, he will haev the initial backing of all major union groups, and he wil be mind ful of minority problem.s. As time goes on. other changes will be made in the administration’s top per sonnel. There is good reason to belie\o that such changes as the President will make will not nj the wliole be for the worse. COMPROMISES AND RESERVATIONS As the San Francisco Conference ap proaches the end of th e all-important business of writing the charter for the world organization to ensure peace, it becomes obvious that many things will be left out of that document which would make it far more effective could they be included. The charter which will finally emerge will be a patchwork compromises. The platform will be full of planks too short to cover the issues properly. There will be cracks between the plancks. some of them, to use the homely expression, big enough to throw a cat through. Within limits all this is to be expected. Neither this war, nor the threat of future wais, has purged nations and men of THE CABOUMlAlf 111 BmI Hargett St, Raleigh. N. C. Telephone 1474 Pttbl hh*** by The Carolinian Publishing Ca fatared m aeeood-lass matter. April 6, IMO, at the Poet Oftlee at Raleigh. N. CL under the Act of Uareh t, IITI. P. R. JEKVAY, Publisher C D. HALLIBURTON. Edltwials Snhaeriptiasi Rates One Tear. $2JM; Six Months. SIJS Addram aU and "i**!** all cbtacks payahia to IW CaroUnlaa rather than to individ- uaia. Iha Carolinian expnaaly repudlntca respon- slhQliy for lehn of maoUcltad^ktiirea. manu- selfishness, mi.strust. bigotry, or cunning. If the world has got far enough along the way toward international accord to elim inate even the gro.sser forms of interna tional injustice and aggression, we may hope for a chai-ter which will repres(Mit the foundation for what we want. It is helpful to think in this connection of the drafting o the I’. .S. (’onstitutioii. 'I’he assembling delegates to the Cjn.sti- tutional Convention were agreed on o^I^' ine thing—that the thirteei» state.s need ed a closer unity; just as the li-b'gales to the San Francisco Conference came agreeing only that .world war must .>ome- how be ab(dished. Out of the Constitutional Convention emerged a charter which was admittedly imperfect. It also was a patchwork of compromises. There were big gaps liere and there between its planks. Hut many of those gaps have been filled up—s»me of the repairs, like the Hill of KiglUs. having been added almost immediately. If the World Organization charter is fundamentally .sound, and if the nations of the world really have the will and the faith to build and maintain a new kind of world order one may reasonably bopv tliat the way will have been opened for a steady improvement and refinemerjt of the principles on wliich nations deal with one .Nuotlier, and evetj with their own peo ple. There Is of foul's*; the obviously gjav*^ danger that one or more of the powerful nations will impose a compromise or 'i set of reservations which will either mak* the charter impo.s.sibIe of acceptance by the rest of the world, or else render it .so impotent that its acceptance will not matter. Russia’s stand on th; Coum'il’s veto, or the position of Britain and France on the World Organization’s r*dalion to mandates and colonies, or tht; position of the Hnited States and the othei* Arm;ri- can countries on regional .security pacts- any one of these may prove to be so fund amental as t*> make the charter an empty shell. The hope of the world evidently lies not wholly in wliat is being done in San Francisco now. A great deal depends on iu.. .r./.ri;ri,.Knnu riovihiiitv i.r iiu> can countries on regional security pacts- any one of these may prove to be so fund- amenUd as t*> niake the charter an empty shell. The hope of the world evidently lies not wholly in what is being done in San Francisco now. A great deal depends on the modifiability and llie flexibility of the charier whicli will be written there. The fact that several important amendments to the original Dumbai'ton Oaks prop«)sals have already been written into the chart er at the present (’onferetice gives ground for ho[)e that it will grow lowai'd perfec tion in Hie years to come. LAST HIRED AND FIRST FIRED It has often been said that the N(‘gro is the best hired and tlie first fired. But it appeal's that the V. S. Army is going to change thai Negroes were inducted into the army from the very beginning of our preparedness plan long before Pearl Harbor, and the quota system has been meticulously followed as to the order and proportion in which they have been accepted for .service. There has probably never been a more .scrupulous respect paid the Negro's rights as a minority in this country than has been the case of his rights to b* properly and proportion ately represented in the armed services. rnfortunatoly this punctilious regard for proportional representation stopped with induction. Among other things. Ne gro soldiei's are not being released from the army in numerical proportion. They are not being included in large mimliers, for once, among the “fh-st fired.” Since Negroe.s are predominantly in Hie ser vice forces, and sinee the service forces are among those mo.sl and fir's! iie**del foi' transfer to Hie Pacifie Theater, a gotaliy pioportion of Hierri may look forward to continued service. Must of them are doulitless ready and willing to serve tlu'ir nation when and where needed: but the fact remains that they are in an unlucky position. In addi tion to the fact that a disproiiortioiiate iiuinbei- will be delayed in their discharge and return home, they are more likely than the others to arrive when peace time ix*-empIoyment will be at a low ebb. in other words, they may be really, on tliat end, Uie last hired. : By-J.rRA NCIS^ PRttE UAPAN IS NEXT// ieceiBcJ fheuahts By C. D. HALLIBURTON Tlial wi.-e and lilic-ial :.uuU»«Tn« er. Dr. Frank Craliam, piu»uli.at uf the L'liivor.'ity ol North Caro- litia. IS ill the of ]>ioj;rosJ, as usual. In an addre.^.-. a ftw days Jtfo to iK N nil Cauiliiia Sucic’y of JiK.ki-unvilh'. >4... h. uuUiiiod J2-poiiit program foi post-war progrc.ss fill' thi- Siiiilh. and called upon "the southern pcopie. regard less of party, race, cu-ed, or econ- eaie prui;rains and state support- of the prujfratTi ” The majority of the twelve pidnts were conccintd witii eco* nomic niatten of vital import to the welfare and piogress of the South: tariff nduction, elimination of discrirrinatory freiKhl rato^. diversification of indu.stry. state minimum wage laws, diversifica tion of .iftriculture and conserva tion of resources. Other mcusures ..dvocjilcd by Ur. Graham ara: caie jirograms and slate siipport- of the pnigrain.” The majority of the twelve points were concerned with eco nomic niuUeni of vital import to the welfare and piogress of the South: tariff reduction, elimination »if discriminatory frciKht rates, diversifiaition of industry, state minimum wage laws, divursifica- lioii of agriculture and conserva tion of resources. Other measures iidvocatid by Dr. Graham are: establishmml of statewide iiicdi«-al care programs an d.-^afte support ed rural health centers: Federal aal to stntes for puhllc schools, and increased :ind ('(|iial pay to teachers of equal eompeleiite: slah- aid for countywide Ubrariec, workers' education, unu other pro- ji'cts foi cultural miproveineiit of the inassc.-; all-out support of the war and I'te world peace organiza tion: aevelojimcnt of real univer- .-il> int»Ts. Of i.p‘cta1 interest and signifi- caiiee was his "plank' on the suf- fjagL Not only did the Uislinguisli- ed duc.ilor declare fur Uie ubwii- tion of the pull tax us a prerequi site for voting, but also fur ''equal suffrage rights for ALL CITIZENS IN PRIMARIES AND GENERAL ELECTIONS. A f -ni believer rn educatiun and democracy. Or. Graham added: 'ThL- disfranchi.se- rnent of Negroes on grounds of illiteracy carrii..s with it the mor al respunsibitity of the southern -vtatci to provide • qual opportunity for literacy iind an equal recog- nilion of liteiacy us the basis of I ..nitf.l ...irfi-r.f.P*' tion of the pull lax as a prerequi site for voting, but also fur ''equal suffrage rights fur ALL CITIZENS IN PRIMARIES AND GENERAL ELECTIONS. A firm believer in educatiun and democracy. Dr. Graham added: "The disfranchise ment of Negroes on grounds of illiteracy carries w'ith it the mor al responsibility of the southern slates to provide equal opportunity for literacy and an equal recog nition of lileracy as the basis of equal suffrage.’' Dr. Gr.iham thus eorres out as plainly and uiu qulvocally for a just and unbiased basis for the suffrage as any Negro could. For instance, his pien fji‘ equality at the polls applies not only to the general elections, but also to the primaries. Note also that though he d>es nut propose to abolish lit- eiacy lequlremcnts fur the ballot, h • charges the South with the re- -.ponsibility of providing means by which the whole potential elector ate may become lilenite, and thus meet the requirements. Ills is an insistence on education fur demo cracy. as well as democracy in ed ucatiun. The people n.usl be made capable of exercising the ballot, and the ballot must be made avail able to all capable of exercising it. As the SoutlF comes more and mure under the influence of such true statesmen as Dr. Graham, (and that process is going on.) the South will cease to feel and act as though It were inferior. II will be -ible to give up its defense mechanisms, as it comes to have less about which to be apologetic, tior'i.-mt or hvtjcrsensitive. Those ucatioii. me peopic niuai oc ujumc capable of exercising the ballot, and the ballot must be made avail able to all capable of exercising it. As the Soutlr comes more and more under the influence of such true statesmen us Dr. Graham, (and that process is going on.) the South wilt cease to feci and act as though H were inferior. H wdll be able to give up its defense mechanisms, as it comes to have less about which to be apologetic, del'iunl or hypersensitive. Those who love the South most spend the least time In defending it, and the most time and thought on how to go about making it what it should be. Lest We Lorcet. Bt W. L. GREEIfE A recent incident in the uifuirs of Slitle should remind us ol a sore need among th.- colored citi- /iis of North Carolina, that is. or ganization for collective action- bolstered by the backing of the ;ruly deniocnitic people of the state us a whole. The inident was this: The vice' commander of the Aineiican Legion, representing all the posts whose membership was exclusively colored veterans. bCt in motion a request to the Go-z- ernor that he appoint a colored member on the Veterans’ Co.r- mission authorized by the lilt.') legislature. The cooperation of other colored gVoups and individ- ual.s of innuence was asked and received. Letters and telegrams were sent to Ilia Excellency and their receipt politely acknowledg ed. BUT NO COLORED MEM BER OF THE VETERANS' COM MISSION WAS APPOINTED, His Excellency stated in his letters to some that he wa.s "sorry that 1 was unable to make such an ap pointment from the chief magis- poiritment." In thi.s THE GOVER NOR TOLD THE TRUTH. We I...... iiov loigci me truth of this stiitcn.ciit from the chief magis trate of our state. Mr C. C. Spaulding comment ed in a kitcr aficr the newspap ers c.nrriod the personnel of the commission that a voteless people is H helpless people. Mr. Spauld ing also told the truth. He pointed out ihc need for a State-wide Vot ers Or«\>iza1i'>n in North Carolina to remctly our hi-lplessiies.s. Mr Spaulding was emmc-nlly right. Let’s remember the need and seek the romrdy. The big question is, "What Is the remedy '" The answer is not sim ple "but there is an answer. Here it is: We need a State-wide organi zation with strong backing which cannot be sildneed or set aside by threats of local reprisals from lo cal politicians under the advice ol reactionary higher ups who work secretly to keep colored people from registering as voters. Be cause of our former commitments In this State, we need another gen eration to produce leadership for a State-wide organization which can stand on its own without Na- 'nONAL BACKING. A STATE WIDE NAACP IS THE ANSWER. It must be organized in county wide branches to be effective po litically. Such an organization will have three essentials. LEAD ERSHIP. MOTIVATION. and most imoprtant of all — STRENGTH. Under our state laws the "registrar can refuse to be satisfied." National law forbids discrimination. Set up a county wide branch in 100 counties and watch the result. THE CAROLINIAN is on solid ground when if argues that a Negro .should have been appointed to the five-man North Carolina Veteran Commission authorized by the 1945 State Assembly. The fact that the law of the State of North Carolina calld for segrega tion should suggest in a democracy that those segregated against should be represented by one of their own. It is equally true as indicated by the CAROLINA TIMES that had the subject of a Negro appointee to the Commission come to the attention of the Governor the Governor would have assigned a Negro to the Commission. This fact does not relieve the Governor uf his responsibility to all of the citizens of the State. It does sug gest that Negro leaders were a.slcep at the switch when they did not make representations to the Governor in this connection since they know how easy it is for those in authority to overlook matters which involve official recognition of the Negro in the general scheme of things. In spite of the fact that there is no Negro on the Commission there are still Negro veterans whose interests need to be protected and whose welfare mu.st be considered. The job remains to be done in some way. While we cannot compensate entirely for the absence of a Negro representative we can choose one of several ways of seeing that the interests of the Negro will not be ignored. In the first place Negro leaders of th State can a.sk the Veterans Commission iself to appoint with the blessings of the Governor a sub or adjunct Commission to make special recommendations concerning Negio veterans' affairs at the regular meetings of the Commission. This sub-commission would receive a preper budget from the Commis sion. work out of that office, make* surveys and inve ligationa which would and the Commission in the proper performance of its duties. The late President Roosevelt did a similar thing in his adminis trative organization when he created his own special group of ad visors and agency heads although some of the functions of the ipt'cial groups had been normally considered a part of cabinet offices already duly authorized. The Reconstruction Finance Corpo- ation, the War Production Board and the War Labor Board had duties in an unusual situation which under normal conditions would have been assigned to the Department of Commerce or to the Department of I..abor. A second way to have the Ne^, ; point of view considered would include the creation of a position as racial advisor to the Com mission. It is recognized that there are many who will regard the racial advisor position us a supernumerary—a sort of glorified Uncle Tom. Many experiences with the Negro racial relations officers in Washington give weight to that contention. But there are some expe-rienees which say that some uf the racial advisors are making a real contribution and are doing a job which actually lH.'nefils the Negro as a whole. The Commission itself with the proper encouragement could appoint a Negro consultant with the function of advising on Negro veterans' interests. Another method would involve Negroes throughout the Stale in every community cou'd be setting up committees—a kind oi watching post—to discove: the needs of the Negro veteran, to in terpret for him the G1 Bill of Rights, and to inform the Veterans Commission of any irr(?gularitics appertaining the.cunto. Raleigh is especially fortunate in having two privately supported institu tions of higher education with men who have the training and th« inclination to understand the GI Bill of Rights and to counsel with the veteran who may not know what might be his rights loti, Thor., nro nf rOlirKo iHp hieh schuols veterans’ interests. Another method would involve Negroes throughout the Stale in every community could be setting up committees—a kind ol watching post—to discover the needs of the Negro veteran, to in terpret for him the GI Bill of Rights, and to infoim the Veterans Commission of any irregularities appertaining thereunto. Raleigh is especially fcr’unale m having two privately supported institu tions of higher education with men who have the training and th? inclination to understand the Cl Bill of Rights and to counsel with the veteran who may not know what might be his rights and privileges under the law. There are of course the high schools and the various social agencies with well trained persons capable of rendering the counselling service and protesting in case of iniquities. The church too might be able to arrange to provide assistance for these veterans. There are Negro churches everywhere. It is certain and just that definite attention should be given to the Negro veteran. Already his return home is being delayed be cause of the fact that the War Department has set up a point system under which NJgro veterans in large numbers mny not qualify for the privilege of returning home soon. Under this system much credit is given for combat service and combat awards. Negroes are for the most part denied the opportunity of serving in combat units Whereas a soldier in a combat unit may have five points for each combat award and five points for actual combat the soldier who is in a non-combat unit cannot hope for such credit because he is not permitted to fight. It is reasonable to suspect that Negroes who are not generally assigned to combat units will be a long time coming home under the point system. Meanwhile the white soldiers with combat opportunities will be demobilized artd will have had every chance to pick over and take the jobs by the time the Negro returns. For this reason, if fo;* no other, some special attention of the Veteran Commission and all other agencies concerned with veterans should be well informed about and well disposed toward the Negro who comes back from the war. It does not follow that because there is no Negro on the Com mission now all wil! be lost. Enterprising Negroes who want to see justice done in the State of North Carolina have yet further recourse in this very important matter. Some good may still be done. DO YOU ARGEE? plain Talk By bw. cudMr SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON by Rev. M. W. Williams Siibiject: Between The Testa ment — Maluchi; Matt. 2; Luke J- 2: 4 5; Gal, t. PiintiHl Text. Mai. 3;l-a, l(i, 17; Luke l:(itt. 72. 77-78; Gal. 4:4, 5. Key Verse: "I am Ihc way, the truth and the life. - Jno. 14.U. Ill the city ol Jenisaleni nearly four liiiiHlii.il >inrs licriie Christ, Malachi wrote or iiiinisti ri-d lo till- .lew.s. lie was Itie last of the Old Testaments projihets. There is a iieciiliar si uiifkaiiee about this piophecy - The openini^ of u New and the closing' of tlic Old. The New is a fiilliii iit of the Old. Lei us note some if the hap|M-n- iiiits betweii llu- two Testaments. Alexaiuier. the great, hail oin- ((iicred the known uorld al that tinict and he had eneouraiidl the lassies The lil.T.itnve of Homer, Origin I’latu, Aristotle was re,id and even the Greek translation of the Old Teslainen*. culled the Keptiiagirt. was made. The Mac- Cabeaii period as known in He- , brew history which ended lht^ wicked rule of Antlochus Epi- ptioiies and gave the Jews rest horn mass murder: the divine lib- rurU-s'ojjened nTid'iti mitny cilifcs and towns SynaROgiies were built, the Word of God was read Between (ho Old and New Testa ment iK'iiod Juduisii: developed into the sects which wu know as the Sadducees, who denied the resurrection and things superna- tiiral. We would cull our mudein- is.l The next sect, the Fharls«-e» — stickler.s fir the law -without love and tompassloii - self right- color. This sect whe-n Christ came told Ihey timiltod the mightier matters of the law — Mercy, faith iMatl 2.1:2:11; the next .s‘ct. Iho Kssciies, wtitj liv«l in poverty — as certic Jews. There was a general acknowledgement that ttie world was groping in darkness and that itiey wen- in search of the light «if which the proplitis had written. During this period. Herod the Gieat. upiK'intcd by Julius Caesar guveini'd Giililce a:id reqiieslled the wise men to return and let him know where they found tho King of the Jews (Matt. 2:8> Dur- III-; the period of Malachia's pro phecy He said; “Behold 1 send my mesenger, and he rhall prepare the way before me and the Lord whom ye st*©k will siiddcnlly come M«r *!•.' And-iW «Mark 1‘2-Si We hnve thu auotiltlon and in the third ver4c ■ "The voice of one crying' in the Wilderness. Prepare ye the way of the Lord." - John the Baptist is spoken of us the forerunner of Christ in Isaiah 4U:3-3. The Birtli uf Ctirist then is a fuilment of the pruphk'ies and carries with it a pre-oirinenl significance of God's Kedeeinptive Pflrposes. In (Gal. 4.4-5) In the fullness of time — God was nut ready to give his Son fur Man's redemption until man was ready. Law was ma.n’s schoolmaster, it had to deepen man's conviction of sin and even today man's conviction is nul suf ficiently convicted — There are those yet whu persist m acting, if not behevemg that they can saved without regeneration. The Roman en'pice had sunk to such u state uf despair that the rich and poor alike were shackled hi sin, without Gtxl and hope — Their philosophers and scientists had failed them. In the fullness ol time Christ came. He paid the debt. He not only gave those be tween the two Testaments hope, but he opened the way lor ail men. What will we do with Christ'? He U the way. the truth and the life. Jag, 14 8, ... • There is reason to believe that too much emphasis has been placed on white collar Negroes and not enough on the Negroes whose col lars are open Ir front, and who want the sweat of honest labor to trickle down their che-sts as they perform tusks from which they draw a living wage. While the plight of the so-called white-collar Negro is similar to that of the white person in that classifi cation. too much emphasis has serv ed to becloud a vexing situation In which the Negro masses, those wno work mainly with their hands, are left to shift for themselves. Of course, there is much lip ser vice i>.iid to the Negro masses, canc- tiinuiiiuus protestations of this and that by the top laborers in tlie In terracial vineyard, much newspaper space devoted to reporting long- winded speeches made to exclusive white groups in some lilywhite ho tel from which Negroes are usually barred as a tradition, and an ex pedient. But the actual work that must be done to lessen the pressure on the Negro farther down the ladder has hardly begun. In other words, there seems to be a desire to use the Ne gro masses (with whom the average Negro intellectual or white collar classman is distinctly unfamiliar) as a cause celebre for gaining per sonal points, such as advanclg one's own selfish aims, feathering one’s own nest, etc., etc. Strange as It may seem, most of the real, honest-to-gcodness work among the Negro masses is being YY* kaeo orrtai on by white people who voluntarily go Into ho vels. walk-up apartment buildings, into sharecropper shacks to carry education and aid in good health, spiritual guidance, and lessons in good citlzemshlp. The little real missionary work that Negroes should carry on among their own is mainly restricted to a scattered few among the ministry, to one here and there among those of us who realize the problem and actually attempt to do something about it. and to a few among the so cial service workers who really be lieve in what they are doing. The white colair class is pitifully .small and should be in no position to swing all advantages of changes ill public attitudes and beneflts from government and social pro grams lo themselves. The white collar class is pitifully talnly deserving of consideration, should not be allowed to get a dis proportionate play with the major ity of the Negroes left outside look ing In. The theory here is that the white collar Negro, as well as the intel lectual. is tied firmly to the miser able Negro living in a shack on a farm in the ’ iwcls of Mississippi. He cannot untie the know and live a peaceful, worthwhile life be cause he will always be haunted by the thought that out there are peo ple of his blood and color v(ho are discrmlnaled against because of color while he is living a hermlUcai existacne by renouncing his owtt for the dubious advantages that
The Carolinian (Raleigh, N.C.)
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June 2, 1945, edition 1
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