North Carolina Newspapers

fAOEFOUR THE CAROLINIAN WEEK ENDING SATHRDAY.'DECEMBER t, WIT EDITORIALS BROADER FIELD The loss to North Carolina of President Harold F. Trigg will be keenly felt when he leaves to assume his new position as as sociate director of the Southern Region al Council, with offices in Atlanta. Dr. Trigg has won an enviable record in this state as an educator, a church leader and an inter-racial statesman. The work ho has done here has attracted so much at tention and approval that those on charge of the Council chose him for a position which will afford his gifts a wider field of operation. To the extent that his oppor tunities for service have been broadened by his acceptance of the new position, his loss to North Carolina as such will be com pensated. NATIONAL SECURITY: THE LONG VIEW Those w’ho are really and deeply con cerned about the future security of our nation, and who feel that w’e should he prepared for a future w’ar, even though they hope we and the rest of the w’orld may be able to avoid such a catastrophe, should have constantly before them some facts brought out by conscription for World War H. They should be extremely concerned with the fact that in some parts of the country rejections of young men w’ h o should have been at the peak of physical, mental and emotional fitne.ss ran as high as one third of all those called. They should bo moved to do something con crete and effective about the fact that a very large number of the young men oth- eiwise fit w'ore either rejected or retard ed in their training because they w'er^ to, all intents and purposes illiterate. Now' one of the points made by those advocating compulsory peacetime military training on a universal basis is that health and educational benefits w'ould thereby be extended to all our military potential. Well and good. But those w’ho so argue must know also that there are cheaper, more natural and more efficient methods of achieving the same results, with the ^beneficiaries being not simply potential soldiers, but the whole population. President Truman has proposed a na- tictnal health program t h e purpose of which is to make a more adequate health illilSl ikiiuwr aisu iiini. liicic ai u more natural and more efficient methods of achieving the same results, with the ^beneficiaries being not simply potential soldiers, but the whole population. President Ti'uman has proposed a na- ticjnal health program the purpose of w^ich is to make a more adequate health sendee available to all Americans of cver>' agb, creed, color, class, and of both sexe.s. Let us see what Congress will do with it. Let us see how the advocates of universal military training who stres.s the health side of that training react to it. Let us see how the state’s lights boys react to it. There will be before Congress a bill to provide substantial Federal aid to edu cation. The effect of such a bill, if enact ed, would be to make more and better ed ucational opportunities available to American children and youth of all colors and classes, and of both sexes. It will be interesting to see if such a fundamental and far-reaching measure as this will have the backing of the same people who stress the educational advantages of peacetime compulsory military training for young men. It will be interesting to see if those who believe in state’s rights and individ ual freedom will feel that compulsory peacetime draft is a lesser interference with liberty than Federal grants in aid to education which would improve edu cational advantages in those areas and for those people needing such improve ment most. Let us see how many Americans can think of the United Staes as a single na tion except in terms of what they interpret as military necessity; and even in those terms, how many can interpret prepared ness and security broadly and deeply, and with the long view. THE CAROLINIAN ^blished by The Carolinian Publishing Co. Eaitered as second-class matter, April 6, 1940, at the Post Office at Raleigh, N. C., under the Act of March 3. 1879. ' P. R. JERVAY. Publisher C. D. HALLIBURTON. Editorials ^ARL EASTERLING. Circulation Manager Subscription Rates 4 One Year. $2.00; Six Months. Sl.25 Address all communications and make all ehe^s payable to The Carolinian rather than to indlviduaU. The Carolinian expressly repudiates responsibility for return of unsolicited pictures, manuscript, etc., unless stamps are sent. , 118 East Hargett St. Raleigh, N. C. PREMATURE It seems that last week’s editorial on the subject of the commissioning of a Negro Mai'ine officer was somewhat prcniatin'e. For practical purposes the action was al most immediately nullified by placing the new officer on the inactive list, which means that he is in the position of a mem ber of the civilian reserve officer’s corps. ^ it is still true that there is no Negro commissioned oficer on duty with the 1'. S. Marine Corps. Technicaly» there is no ground for pro testing the retirement of Lieutenant Branch. The other members of his offic er’s training class were also placed on inactive status. The war is over. But if there are to be Negro marines in the peacetime Corps, certainly room could have been found for the lone coloied man holding a commission. The color line \a certainly recognized in the Marino Corps. If race is to be taken into consideration in .so many other connections, an excep tion could well have been made in a.ssiga- ing Lieutenant Branch to active duty. DISAPPOINTING Many pei-sons who thought they wore in a position to know, predicted that with the change of Britain’s government there would be a radical change in her impinial policy. It was felt that the I.iabor govern ment would be much more sympatheti- toward India’s desire for independence, and that at the very lea.st a new and much better relation between India and the Government would ensue almost immed iately. So far the prophets and their followers have been sorely .disappointed. The I.alior government has adhered almost exactly to the pattern followed l)y the Churchiil gioup, and set many years ago. That the Indian leaders arc surprised a n d cha grined is evident. At present disturbance.s are breaking- out in India, and careful and informed observers are predicting that by early spring there may be uprisings in India •on a scale and with potentialities for dis aster never before reached. India is a complicated and difficult problem, and the lack of internal unity betwen Indian factions means that their responsibility to lake an attitude favor able and conducive to the ultimate free dom of the Indian people. In this it has gone little further than the government it succeeded. India IS a complicated ana ditiicuii problem, and the lack of internal unity betwen Indian factions means that their responsibility to take an attitude favor able and conducive to the ultimate free dom of the Indian people. In this it has gone little further than the government it succeeded. PEACE NOT YET Peace has not yet come to the world. Cliina seems to be developing a full fledged civil w.ir —China, of all places, from whose soil bloody conflict has not been absent more tnan a decade. One would think that in Ciiina at lea.st there would hardly be anything that they would find important enough to fight about among them selves. But the trouble between the Nationalists and the Communists in China is not simply a local af fair. Both Russia and the United States are in volved by implication, and worse than that, on opposite sides. The outcome of events in China may have serious bearings on the relations of the Big Three with each other, and thereby on world peace and the success of the new and groping United Nation’s organization. The situation in Java and the Dutch East Indies U also serious. It roots go deep into thr whole question of imperialism. A prostrate Em pire. Netherlands, which cannot defend its own imperialism, having l>een flattened bv the Nazi brand of ruthless disregard of the rights of thj weak, cals on Britain, that bulwark and de. fender of freedom, to assist her in putting down her own subjects, who. strangely enough, wart some freedom too. The apologists of imperialist rule for non white peoples blame the Japanese for fomentin.-j dissatisfaction among the Indonesians. In this they are of course inaccurate. The argument is of a piece with that of southern bourbons who argue that whenever southern Negroes are not entirely happy over everything .some Northern radical agitator has been at work. One of the outstanding characteristics of th-' Caucasian is ^lat he is prettv sure that nohoie has much sense but himself. Another is his hcHef that freedom and self determination were in vented for himself alone. Religion wonM solve the prbolenis of the world if the religionists could agree upon what religion tells them to do. Between The Lines By DEAN B. HANCOCK FOR ANP /e€e)racl By C. L. HALLlBintTON For ii rocciU issue of the AFRO- • A.MKHICAN iti» "Inquiring Report er” asked the quti lion, ''Would your c^iiiicipnce be troubled U yuu went fibhuig on Sunday after church'.* ' It rcir.inded me of the wtok'-long controversy in the NKW.S and OBSERVER letter col umn last summer over the ques tion of Sunday f.sning. It was really not much of -3 controversy, after nil, as the majority of the letters condemned Sunday fishing out'of hand, and for all ycu could tell ,from the language of those letters, practicing the art of Ihe angler or. Sunday is about a . grand larcency or second degree burg lary, and a .sight worse than mild wife-beating and petty embezzle ment. Three of the persons approach ed by the Inquiring Reporter were clergymen. One was a Roman clu.sively in thanks (or His bless ings.” Ancther Protestant clergyman, and one known to many readers of this newspaper, the Rev. Wan- dell C. Summerville, was less the ological and more philosophical. He said, "It depends on the cir cumstance .” and indicated that fishing on Sunday was not neces sarily always wrong. But, he qual ified, "I don't recommend it as u regular procedure." A large part of America is dem- inated in it| thinking about Sun day. and about morals in general, by the Puritan viewpoint. The Puritans harked back to the Old Testament for their' code of mor als, and even "improved” on i' from the standpoint of severity. On the subject on Sunday observ ance they took the Fourth Com- r../s.«. «hB ns/.alA rural and small town communi ties. Where it rules being "good" is often unconsciously or vaguely associated with wearing a long- face. and avoiding any plea uret except those which can be enjoy ed in secret. Among the seven deadly sins of the Puritan code are drinking of alcoholic liquor in any form or quantity, fishing on Sunday, and saying “damn.” Among the highest positive virtues are attending'church and looking glum in public. The narrowness of such a re ligion unwittingly relegates to a minor position. Some of the fun damental teachings of Jesus, such a' the Golden Rule, and his "new commandment" which he gave hb followers: “That ycu love one an other.” That one does not fish on Sunday b more virtuous in such rirHrc Ihsn thnt nn(> does share A NEGRO IMMORTAL BcKikcr T. Washington takes his place in the Hall of Fame. The Hall of Fame is thus honored. America is a great country in spite of the many things that can be written against its reccord. When a slave can make the long long journey from slave cabin to the Hall of Fame, his courttry is the largest explanation. Even innate genius cannot avail where circumstances are not propitious. Even color-struck America is a great country and this fact cannot and must not be denied, for such denial is refuted by the achievements of the Negro race since emancipation. The significant thing about Washington’s entrance into the Hall of Fame is not the mere fact that he was chosen for such honor; but that he was such an overwhelming choice. Moreover it is doubtful if there is an intelligent person throughout the world who will dispite the wisdom of the choice. It was said Abraham Lincoln that he was the most gentle mem ory in history: there is something of the same halo that rests upon the moral brow of Washington. There is about Washington a spirit ual charm that begets af .‘ctionate veneration. The Negro race should feel encouraged that color lines break down before the Hall of Fame. As long as written records endure among men, the saga of a son of slavery will be told to the generations of man kind. It is not soothing to think on what the race would be without Tuskegee. the brain child of Booker T. Washington. He left as a heritage to mankind not only a lofty philosophy but a tangible expression of such philosophy. He was no mere dreamer and academician. He was a practical dreamer who made his dreams romc true and in this he proved a benefactor of mankind. In the last analysis there must be something to a man besides talk. He' must have a rcesidium of tangibleness that outlives his short day of life and this is not saying that no man can be great unless he leaves a Tuskegee as a legacy to succeeding generations. But when to philosophies we add tangible achievements there is al ways added lustre to majestic lives and living. Perhaps the opposition that WaMhington encountered mellows our memory of the great man. He was at times bitterly assailed and at times by those who were not worthy to unloose the latchcts of his shoes. But Washington taught the more excellent way of not wasting time replying io hecklers. His very bigness was his surest defense. Then too Wahington not only had a philosophy but he has a strategy the lack of which at the present is seriously handi capping the Negro in his struggle for survival in this country. Washington knew in his time what many of us are just finding out. namely, that claims to citizenship that are unbacked by solid achievement are worthless. He taught that the prime consideration in seeking our rights is to be worthy of them, a fict that it is easy to overlook under the stress of untoward circumstances. Then, loo, Washington chose not to make a frontal attack In the fight for rights. He made the attack through industrial educa tion a flank attack, if you please. He felt that in the contest of cilieznship as in the rest of the gridiron even as a lighter football team seldom resorts to power play.s through a big tough line; but rather turns to forward passes and deceptions. Of course it was in this sphere that the two schools of thought among Negroes were founded. Tliere is a school that does not believe in strategy but in power. These spurn the flank attack and brand it as cowardly. This school of thought for better or wone is in the ascendancy among Negroes. This position naturally preseitU a direct challenge to the opposition who are glad to respond in kind. The stubborn opposition offered by certain elements in this country to policy of Negroes to make frontal attacks. If our attacks ar.e going to be frontal, then we may expect the oposition to be frontal also. Washington thought that a flank attack would be better and so declared himself and paid the price of his conviction. We of the present generation who advocate th^ frontal attack must also be prepared to pay the price theretrf. Hail booker T. Washington — Negro immortall The Responsibility Of Youth BY RUTH TAYLOR experience. It will need adaptabil ity. which means an ability to ee- The young people of today are operate with its fellows. A i_ Au-i. j 1_ fnr «... . ... 1 letters condemned Sunday fishing out-of hand, and for all ycu could tell ^from the language of those letters, practicing the art of''4he angler on Sunday Is about grand larcency or second degree burg lary, and a sight worse than mild wife-beHting and petty embezzle ment. Three of the persons approach ed by the Inquiring Reporter were clergymen. One was a Roman Catholic priest, who unequovccal- ly expressed the view common In his church that having attended a mass the church member is free to indulge in any kind of recrea tion which Is not In Itself wrong or harmful. A Protrstanl clergy man took the straight Puritan po- Fition: "Sund.ay i’ the Lord's Day and we should give it to God eb- ifiGQ, “1 aon't recommena it as a regular procedure.” A large part of. America Is dem- inatedLln it; thinking about Sun day. and about morals in general, by the Puritan viewpoint. The Puritans harked back to the Old Testament for their code of mor ale, and even “improved” on 1* from the standpoint of severity. On the subject on Sunday observ ance they took the Fourth Com mandment from the Decalogue as their guide, rather than Christ's pronouncement. "The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath." The Puritan tradition, which has persisted among many church leaders and members, is especially strong in the South and certain other parts of the country, and In are attending'church and looking glum in public. The narrowness o" such a re ligion unwittingly r ilegate* to a minor position. Some of the fun damental teachings of Jesus, such a- the Golden Rule, and his “new commandment" which he gave his followers: "That you love one an other.” That one does not fish on Sunday is more virtuous in such circles than that one does share his substance with the needy. That one has never tasted anything str.^nger than grape juice has more merit than that one treats his servanti humanely, or pays his employees a decent wage, or set tles his honest debts, or. speaks well rather than ill of his neigh bor. of his conviction. We of the present generation who advocate thS frontal attack must also be prepared to pay the price thereof. Hail Booker T. Washington ^ Negro immortall ths ! The Responsibility Of Youth BY Rtrra TAYLOR Lest We Lercet. By W. L. GREE.NE .1. Stalin has .some Americans stavinr up late at niirht to keep the Soviet from takinpr advantatre of the United State.s. A nation without his means of dofciiso is a Slicker nation and sooner or later some ganjfster potentate will take it for a ride. Callicr.« Magazine has rcleasi") copy of an article by Walter Dav enport for use of the general news paper circuits of the country. The article, entitled "Big Wiixi From The South,” deals with the antics of one Mr. Rankin, member oi congress from Mississippi. To the initiated the release gives a chal lenge. not so much to be on guard agaiiLst the dangers in Mr. Ran kin's activities as in the permis sion he enjoys frem the other members of congress to keep con gress. the South, and the natirn' undemocratic. Davenport says Mr. Rankin dis regards facts and truth to put over impre.ssions by apcpal to emotion al p.'iU’rns of his constitutents. Please let's remember that the United States government has re cruited an army and a navy bas ed on the jim crow organization so much championed by the gen tleman from Mississippi. It is brought out in the article that only one seventh of the potential vote in Mr. Rankin's district goes to the polls because of poll tax and racial barriers. Yet the con- gresss, with full power under the fifteenth amendment to enforce equal protection of the laws to all American citizens, does not pa.ss the "appropriate Icgislatio.'i" authorized in the constitution '»o enforce the amendment. An act to outlaw jim-crow in the nation's capital, introduced by some other impressionist congressman, ia talk ed to death by Mr. Rankin. We can hardly asign all the blame to Mr. Rankin for the bad example of Jim-crow Washington when the rest of congress “allows” Mr. Ran kin to "talk a bill to death” while they have the votes to pass it. The life and works of Mr. Ran kin and his kind ought to show Americans the true picture of our greatest natoinal cancer, racism. The American people naively per mit race legislation to develop in the majority of the states, thirty-- to be exact, and then wonder how Mr. Rankin gets like he Is. The Constitution forbids denial or abridgment of the privileges or immunities of any citizens by any state for (he reasons given as sanctions by Mr. Rankin. The rest of the congressmen, and the sena tors too. follow the easy expedient of letting Rankin et. al. take the blame for our national failure, when actually all are equally re sponsible. Mr. Rankin Is only a 83miptom of our national disease of discriminatory racism. The only cure for it is complete aboliticn of all legal segregation and dis crimination involving any Amer- can citizens. The young people of today are most definite in their demands tor “the rights cf Youth.” They know what thev want and they are glib in exprssing thler desires. They are terribly sure of whta is right and wrong, and they go most thorough ly and analytically into evers^hlng — except their own obligations to society. Youth has a responsibility in this life. The young people may grouse about' the mistakes and shortcom ings cf their elders — but are they seizing every opportunity to gain the knowledge that would fit them to do more than their elders? Are they better equipped for he task nt making a new world out of devasta tion than were their fathers after the last war. Their opportunities for education have been greater and therefore, their responsibility is greater. The strain on the cming gener ation will be great. Those who take up citizenship in the transition period will require initiative, rc- ^nu^ccfulnT8s. adaptability and idealism. They must have the abili ty to produce something for the good of all. for there will be no room for parasites. Youth has before it NOW the task of preparing for the days ahead, and it must prepare by learn ing how to think things out and think things through. It will need initiative in order to plan consruc- tively. It will need resourcefulness which must be gained by practical experience. It will need adaptabil ity, which means an ability to co operate with its fellows. But most of all it will need Ideal ism — but it must be constructive idealism. Youth could well take for its creed today the Oath Citizenship which the Youth of At hens took upon arriving at their majority. ‘To bring no disgrace to this city by a dishonest act; to fight for the ideals and sacred things alone and with many; to desert no faltering comrade; to reverve and obey the city laws; to incite respect and re verence in those above us who are prone to annual or set tnem at naught. To strive unceasingly to quicken the public sense of civic duty. To transmit this dty no lea but more beautiful than it waa transmitted o us.” If the youth of today would do this, there would be no need for fear for the future. Mother strawberry plants give much larger yields than June or September runners, tests of the Ag ricultural Experiment Station show. About 100 million pounds of but ter Is to be returned to the civilian trade through a sala plan that be came effective Novemi^ 1. The Asheville Fat Stock Show was the largen of its kind ever heM in North Carolina. A total of UT animals from the 154 exhibited graded middle good and better. SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON By Renr. M. W. Williams In every crisis somebody comes up with the idea that the fate of civilization is being settled for the next ten thousand wars or so. Life springs its surprisies upon unsu specting victim.s, thus upsetting their idea.s that they have the world by the tail on a downhill pull- Subject: The Christian and his Economic Relslions Deul. 8:17-18; Luke 12;l3-2t: Luke 18:18-24. Key Verse: "AH things come of Thcc. and of thine own have w.s given Thee. " I Chronicles 29:14. Thc actions of Christians in Ih* early Chuirh cotnmrnds itself in spirit, if not in practical every day living. They sold their pro perly and p*)olcd it for the good cf the whole lAct.s 2.41-47). Th® idea of Stewardship of the Chri-- tians is just beginning ot be stud ied and practiced by a small per cent of the Christians. Why the Church has been so slow to teach Stewardship is rather puzzling. Have the Ministers really under stood or have the congregations ignored the teachings? We can not say it Is not important because Moses taught the ' Children of Israel about their economic re sponsibility to Ood long before they entered into thr promised land 'Palestine) 1500 B. C., (Deut. 8:17, 18). Again in Psalm 50, near ly 100 B. C. the P.salmist warns them about the sincerity of their offerings to God, Then after their captivity and restoration. Malachi accuses them ot the sin of rob bing God by bringing.to the Tem ple such thing.s that they were glad to get rid of and were of no cost to them. He tells them that they w€rc to bring 'ithes and of ferings. Christ, himself, while preaching to his disciples was in terrupted by one of his company and asked to make one of his brothers divide the inheritance wtih him (Luke 12:13). Christ re plied Take heed and keep your selves from all convetousness” af ter he had asked him "Who made me a judge or divider over you?” Then he spoke a parable unto them of a certain rich man. In this parable, we see no teaching of the decrying of the thrifty farmer. On the other hand we have various scriptures where Christ teaches the wisdom of working saving and paying honest debts. Emphasis here is upon a man who prepared for the material things of life; giv ing himself credit for what he had done; there is no thanks tCA Grd for sunshine, rain, health to work, brains to think; His was. MY barns — MY grains — My goods and where will I besto'E MY fruits? I will say to MY soul, Take thin ease. eat. drink, and be mer ry. There was no preparation for his soul, no thought of Steward ship, no relationship of God as the Owner of all things, even of his soul. Am 1 using my gifts to aid my fellow man to live a happier life? 18 MONEY ALL One of the greatest tragedies ever recorded, is that historical event recorded in Luke 18:16-24 The rich rule: regarded his riches as the highest goal in life. “The love of money is the root of all evil; which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themaeive through with many sorrows” (1 Tim. 8:10) The expression. "Money Talks” as some would tell, to many of us it says "Farewell.” is onn which should give the man or woman who regards money as ALL a serious concern. Shytock, the aviricious merchant ot Venice lets the love of money say Fare well to his sense of honor. The rich young Ruler who thought that money was all because ex ceedingly sorrowful. No. money is not all in life. Money on the oth er hand, can be us^ when the owner is mindful of his Steward ship to relieve suffering humanly in many ways. This includes landlord, the capltaUft and all who hire. STEWARDSHIP — MEMBERSHIP The term stewardship refers not only to money, but also to our lives. It is also the making of life count in service of the Lord. What shall I render unto the Lord for all His'benefits toward me? (Ps. 116:12). The Church at this time of the year are making out their budget — Foreign and Home Missions. Expansion programs* Evangelism, Education, Salaries* the general upkeep, etc. ‘The first question (This lesson should prompt) As a Church — My Eco nomic Relations. The second ques tion. as a nindividual member in the Church — What will I do and give toward helping the Church meet its obligations? On the proper answering and execu tion of these two major questions bang the Christian's conception of their economic relatlonshifk Fail ure to do so puts us in a class to repeat the tragic consequences ot those whose folly we have jiisi studied.