.iSE FOUR THE CAROLINIAN WEEK ENDING SATURDAY, DECEMBER 29, 1946 EDITORIALS TIMELY EXECUTIVE CLEMENCY Go''ernor Cherry's action in commut ing to life imprisonment the death sen tence of 16-year-old Eimest Brook is no less praiseworthy because not unexpected. The finest thing about the commutation, aside from the fact that the lad’s life was saved, was the Governor’s statement accompanying the act of clemency. “Part of the blame falls upon the citi zenship of our State,’’ said its Chief Exe cutive, “who fail to correct the condi tions of society which neglect to give a proper environment for the underpriv- ileged.” The task of the Governor and all the citizenry is clearly imi li'd in the above statement. It is to cornc'. as fast as we can those condition of poverty, ignor ance, and disease, ard the accompany ing ones of complacency, indifference, public tightfistedness, neglect, and raco and class prejudice, which make possible the development of such types as Ernest Bi'ook and others who threaten our peace and safety. There may be othere on Death Row, white and black, who, except for their age, are just as well characterized by Governor Cherry’s statement as is Ernest Brook. SECRETARY FORRESTAL ACTS Secretary of the Navy Forrestal acted with exemplary promptness in notifying all naval vessels to refran from discrim ination against Negro service men in th.‘ Navy’s business of returning service men home. To some extent his prompt move j-.iakes up for the shameful behavior of the ship commander who left over a hun dred Negro Gl’s on the docks who were supposed to board his vessel for homecom ing, because he could find no place on the boat to provide separate accommoda tions for them. The skipper tried to explain his action by saying that he was simply trying to live up to his conception of the Army’s own policy, and the wishes of Army of ficers. So it goes, round and round. An uA«ir discrimination, rather than being cvrected. becomes the ground for anoth- et. j AN IMPORTANT CONFERENCE |The conference on venereal disease call ed by Dr. Hughes of the State Depart- _-;n policy, and the wishes of Army of ficers. So it goes, round and round. An uffair discrimination, rather than being c^rectcd, becomes the ground for anoth- per things to do about their prevention and cure. Dr. Hughes and his colleagues are to be congratulated on arranging such u large and effective conference. NEGRO VIRGINIANS ACTIVE Negroes in Virginia are showing a laud able interest in government and politics and what is more to the point, some vig orous and intelligent activity in connec tion with it. A prominent Negro citizen of Roanoke was recently elected to the Democratic Committee of that city, at more recently in Charlotte.sville, the horn of the University of V’irginia and Senalo Carter Glass, a Negro has announced hi^ candidacy for a seat on the City Counc.l In the eastern part of the slate a colorcil citizen made such a good showing i’ two wards of Portsmouth when he ra for the state Assembly that some of ■ local politicians became alarmed over t’ prospect of a Negro councilman afio Poilsmouth’s next city election. What is going on in Virginia is highly significant. Too long have Negroes de voted their political thought and activity primarily to national politics, rejoicing inordinately over the appointment of a few of their number to decorative Fed eral jobs. The national scene is not to be neglected, as the Federal go\ernment reaches down more and more into the life of every citizen, wherever he livo.s or whatever his occupation or station in life. But it is still the local government — the city and the county — which af fects most people directly. If the. Negro is to move more rapidly toward fii*st class citizenship, he must interest himself in local government and politics, and he mu.st seek and gain representation there- Between The Lin By DEAN B. HANCOCK FOR ANP WELL EARNED REST Brigadier-General B. O. Davis will be retired at the end of the year. The high est ranking Negro offiew ever in the U. S. Army has w-on the right to a re.st. Re called from retirement in 1941 because of hi.s peculiar fitness to serve his coun try in the war emergency. General Davi.-* had a difficult task. Many times he was on the spot between the Army on on* side and the Negroes, soldiers and civ ilians, on the other. The Army’s segrega tion policy, openly or tacitly backed up by the Government and the majority race, was a source of constant emhnr>*sssmpnt One of the most pernicious types of racial discrimination is that whic.t bars Nefero physi cians from access to hospitas. In most localiti.is where there tioi a N.gro hospital as such, the colored doctor is not only ixnwa the adv.mtag. oi suiff nr.emotranip, no matter how skilful; wors-‘, he must surren- G^r his own private patient at the door of the Hospital, i. i, bc- cem-s neccssar\ tor nis paiie..i tc enter one. At Dr. Hughes’ Durham con- fer«.nct last monUi this situatio.'i was clearly brought out in coa- n:ction with the new treatments lor venereal disease. One of Ih- physicians made the point in his speech l.oat the new rapid treai- ment techniques are not practi cal unless the patient is hc.spi- ia,ized. T..e .\^fero phys.ciao practicing in a locality wheie he is barred from the hospital oft. n Skid. Thus the campaign againsl vtncreai disease is hamper.d among that section of the popu lation which the experts agivo stand to benefit most by an in- t. iligent and vigorous effort to ^lamp out tne scourge. Discrimination by hospitals k£ainsi Negro physicians w is h>ga..g:ited again last week dur- .ug the Swnau- debate on the liiii-Burton Bill providing for i'ederai aid to the states for hor- pitals and other medical care. T,.ough tne bill carries a no-dLs- eTunmation clause tt was point- ..• c out by Senator Langer and others that no guarantee was contained in it which would in sure tne right of Negro physici ans to take care ot their own p>aiients in hospitals located in ;im-crow states. Senator Langer and Senator Murray both pro posed amendments which would liave protected the rights of Ne- administrtaion should be left to the states. It was the same old situation that develops every time such a matter comes up in Congre^. The southern “liberal" lawmakers are all for getting Federal money; they plea.d .states' rights against reasonable safeguards of tne rights of Ne groes; Congress acquiesces with only a f«.w dissenting voices; tne Cont,.derac; wins still another battle of the Civil 'War as the lawmakers from the other parts of the United States surrender w’ithoul a struggle. To a visitor from another part of the country it might set in strange that a hospital would accept Negro patienU but would bar all Negro physicians from attending them. For the benefit of the stranger it w’ould be ne cessary to go into a long and highly technical discussion of the etiquette of rtce relations. When the whole thing was ov r NATIONAL LEADERSHIP LAGGING It is doubtful if this country ever had.a more uncertain, vacillating leadership than today. We aer beginning to miss Roose velt. President Truman is making heroic efforts to carry on; but Roosevelts are hard to find! When in her sorrow, Mrs. Roose velt sau that .she mourned not so much for her husband as for the world, she was going to the very heart of a very vital matter and that was the matter of national leadership. Truman has grappled very courageously with matters of state and has made some splendid maneuvers politically and some fine gestures diplomatically, but Rooseeelts are hard to find! The GO? political hounds are hoi on the trail of Truman and he had better beware. Harry Flood Byrd, about whom we .leard so little when great Roosevelt lived, is inching back into the spotlight of the nation's notice. Lindbergh, who has driven into exile after he had lost caste because of his pro-Nazi dispositions is attempting a come back. Not only, is Lindbergh heading back, but a movement is gaining ground to have his commissions form ally restored. Such is the subtle attempt to discredit Roosevelt by undoing what he did at a time when nobody dared to life an opposing head. Roosevelts are hard to find! Now that our great chief has passed on. lesser breeds are sneaking out and scenting for the spotlight. The old proverb, “when the cat is away the rats come out play," is today assuming a very real meaning. The great danger hinges about the possibilities that the rump leaden long on rabble-rousing and short on constructive statesmanship, will gain the political ascendancy in this country and the world. I have long seen in the Gallup poll a very real danger to national leadershipp. Somebody has said that a politician is one who can sit upon a fence and hold his ear to the ground. The politician depends upon sensing the desires of the people and catering to those desires. In other words, they propose to give the people what they want; and in 11 cases out of 10, they will give what the people want but what they do not necessarily need. In an age of propaganda it is not easy to tell what people need, although quite easy to tell what they want. They are poor parents indeed who are governed in their dealings with their children by what the children want, rather than by what they need. If all children had been given what they wanted they all would have been either dead or disgraced. It is even so with the fickle masses of mankind. One of the worst curses that could be visited upon men is that they be given what they want rather than what they need. The Gallup poll is supposed to sample public opinion and thus determine what the people want at a given time. It has little or no reference to what they need. The extent to which our political leaders attempt to eater to the wants and whims of the masses is the extent to which the nation will be led by a lagging leadership. Leadership of the constructive kind depends upon the ability of leaders to look over ♦^he shoulders of their constituency and take long time views of sttuaUons which involve not alone what the people want but what they need. The football player who pays too much attention to the grandstand will hardly make a touchdown. The great debacle in which the world finds itself today hinges about the conflict between what the people are clamoring for and what they need. Suppose the Pilgrim fathers had taken a Gallup poll for that the colonists had "sampled” by means of some variety of poll, the opinion Jn going to war with England. Imagine Abraham Lincoln waiting for the Gallup poll when Fort Sumter wa.t fired on. One of the things that is devitalizing democracy is this self same attempt to go by what the people think. car) confused people think straight in the face of highly financed propaganda? How can the people think clearly wdien the Babel e? tongues rOg|ts with diverse doctrines. Unless we can bring up a more stalwaK leadership for these perilous times, the end of civilisatioD id\near at hand. It would appear that the weakened leadership which is evolving in this age of ‘polls" will sooner or later hurtle us into dictatorship in sheer self defense. The petty politics beii>g played by our congress in such matters as probing tbe Pearl Harbor disaster in an attempt to i AN IMPORTANT CONFERENCE !The conference on venereal disease call ed by Dr. Hu^fhes of the State Depart ment of Health and held November 30 at North Caorlina College for Negroes was an important move to attack one of the vital problems of the Negro and of the iSUte of North Carolina. In attendance ^were physicians, social workers, teach ers, ministers, college officials, .students, and state, county and city health and welfare workers. The presen e of a large number of white persons was evidence of th^ fact that Negro venereal disease is not regarded a-s a problem whose solution is exclusivelj’ a concern of and a job for Negroes. But the job of public education about venereal disease is primarily a job for Ne groes. Too long have we been complacent or ignorant about the extent of the prob lem in our population and its serious ef fects on the entire life and status of the group. It is true that some of this lack of enlightenment is chargeable to the husb-hu.sh attitude about these diseases which until recently characterized society as a w’hole. But now- that the veil has been lifted, the job of education is square ly up to the men and women of our o i race who are in strategic positions to spread the light. The elimination of ven ereal disease is of course greatly a medi cal problem: but medical measures can- •not operate until the people know the na ture and seriousne.ss of the diseases, how they are spread, and what are the pro- oi nis peculiar iiiness lu serve nis cuuii- try in the war emergency, General Davis had a difficult task. Many times he was on the spot between the Army on on” side and the Negroes, soldiers and civ ilians, on the other. The Army’s segrega tion policy, openly or tacitly backed up by the Government and the majority race, was a source of constant embarrassment to General Davis, part of w’hose job was to try to reconcile the black GI to that policy and to keep up his morale under the hardships incident to it. A true soldier. General Davis stud: out this heartbreaking assignment from his superiors. He did a patriotic and hon orable job of it. There was little glor; in his assignments; but his work was of inestimable \alue to the service men of his own race and to his country. ccm.s ntccisar, loi -iia paw®... ic entei one. At Dr. Hughes' Durham con- feivnce last month this situatio.i was cUarly brought out m con> ncction with the new treaunems lor vener-al disease. One ot Lt • physiciaiw made the point in his speech l.nat the new rapid troa'- ni.nt techniques are not pract*- cal unless the patient js ho.sp.- Uiized. T. e pliys.cmo practicing in a locality wheie he ie barred I'roin the hospital oft n prefers to treat his patient m his oficc. u.«!ing the older ani .slnwir methods of treatment, ar.d the patient also pr ?fer,; the same arrangement, the sptiaker pitois and other medical care. T..ough t.oe bill carries a no-dLs- crimination clause it was poin:- . c out by Senator Langer and plhers that no guarantee was tonta’ru-d in it which would in sure me right oi Negro physici ans to take care ol their own paaenis in hospitals located in jim-crow states. Senator Lunger and Senator Murray both pro posed amendments which would have protected the rights of Ne gro physicians and their patienis in these respects, but they weru icjectod. Senator Hill, of Ala bama, co-author of the bill, ex plained that such questions of ot the United States surrender without a struggle. To a visitor from another part of the country U might seun strange that a hospital would accept Negro patients but would bar all Negro physicians from attending them. For the benefit ol the stranger it would be ne cessary to go into a long and i'ighly technital discussion of the etiquette of i^ce relations. When the whole thing was over hi miglit still be puzzled, and so might the person who was do ing the explaining. “Social equality” probably b^ongs in it somewhere. same attempt to go by what the people think. How can confuaqd people think straight in the face of highly iinancad propsganW How can the people think ciearly when the Babrt tAiaagan with diverse doctrines. Unless we can bring up a mere rtelweii leadership for these perilous times, the end oi 'ivUleetlen at hand. It would appear that the weakened leederrt)^ which is evolving in this age of "polls” will sooner or later hurtle us into dictatorship in ^eer self defense. The petty politics being p’ayid by our congress in such matters as probing the Pearl Harbor disaster in an attempt to smear the name of Roosevelt who cannot now defend himvdf shows the moral bankruptcy ol tiie political leadership of our country! SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON By r»v . M. W. Williams THE CAROLINIAN Published oy The Carolinian Publishing Co. Entered 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, Pu'Dlisher . Sfe C. D. HALLIBURTON. Editorials CARL EASTERLING. Circulation Manager H i Subscription Rates One Year. $2.00; Six Months. S1.2S Address all communications and make all diecks payable to The Carolinian rather than *0 ia^lviduals. The Carolinian expressly repudiates responsibility for return of unsolicited pictures, ataniucript. etc., unless stamps are sent. 118 East Hargett St.. Raleigh. N. C. FISHBEIN ALL WET The American MeiUcal .Afwociation, ro- cognizinjf the inevitability of some kind of reorganization of the present woefully inadequate American system of medical care, has come out through its spokes man, Dr. Morris Fi.shbein. for the pro motion of “voluntary" prepayment med ical cai'e plan.s, instead of the propo.salM made by President Truman and embodied in the bill now before ConKres.s. For the record, it should be retailed that the .A?- scciation was brought before the Fedei- al courts not so long ago on a charge of violating the anti-trust law. The case grew out of measures taken by the As.sociat’oii to break up just such a voluntary pre payment organi:’.ation by boycotting the physicians and ho.spitals involved. Dr. Fishbein knows that however ade quate voluntary pre-payment medcal care plans may be for the well-to-do. there are hundreds of thousands of Amer ican families whose incomes will not per mit them to take advantage of such. Those people will have to be helped to medical care, and the only solution to their prob lem, short of outright and demoralizing charity, is some form of government sub sidized insurance, in the cost of which the beneficiaries may share through reg ular but unburdensome paymeiits, as they now do in the case of unemploym nl and old age insurance. Subject: 'World Fellowship of Christian. AcU l0:23-2.‘t. 34-43. Key Verse: “Th --ame Lord i.'s rich uni. all that call upon Aim." Bom, 10:12. Cacso'a. hcvcnty miles north- wo-'l of Jerusalem, on the Med!- u-.:-an cost, mui'.c famous by Il-i- d th Great and Jjppa aooul thirty miles from Cacsirea aie t.io prim.pa! places in A. D. 41 which give our world -ullook for fcllow- Bhip oi Christians this week. It has been a long time since G.-d sent an .antjel with a rr.csage for the seek.ng Heart of Corn*’Uus and revealed his will, by a vision, to r r on the housetop. Yet, thr th the centurie-. men of dif fer races have learned to ro- Fp- nd love each other because of t working of the some spirit which brought this Gentle and Jew ,»gether in bonds of Chris tian fellowship. L.HKR.MJTY LEADS TO REGENEKATfON The eral public in speaking of others \'.ho appear to be fair in thfjr dealings with other races re fer to Item as liberal — broad m‘nded t c. Cornelius, the Roman prosecutor, a man high up in author.ty, cenlurian could i>e regarded as .i rberal in his day. He gave to the pnoi, his family was regarded as pi:)us imd he pray ed to the extent that has praye -s and alms come for a memoria! be fore God. Acts 10:4. What thi'^ lib eral wanle,. was pfac*. m his heart. Ho was not content nor saUsfiod by good works. He wanted more knowledge — more light and there wa.s such a sincere longing — de sire on his part that God sent an angel with a missage lor his teek- ing heart. His i/bMience in this particular is to be noted also the numh-r of humar beings who had something to do with Kin. and the preacher of righteousness who preached the gospel by which he was raved. We nr.i^ht add here that liberality is not Christianity. We have a lot of lioerals in all races and nations, but Christian fellowship is lacking even among many of our .so called liberals. Liberals are In the right path if only they will follow through. A CONVERTED PREACHER PP> ACHES THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST Joppa, now called Jaffa will be remembere't as the place where the salnty Dorcas was raised to life (AcU 9:36-43), but Peter and the housetop vision gives it a rtand.ng among the most ancient towns in the world. We all con- erd - that Peter had done some go..d work prior to IhLs time, but tradition and training had stamp- •■d a superior complex on his mind that only a vision ot the revoul will of Cod could Chang cAets 10,11). If the vision were in doubt, the knocking --n the door of his quarters and the travel with the nhie other companions from Jippa to Caesarea and the salvation of Ci^rnellus. his family and others convinced Peter that Christ wa.® rich unto nil that call upon H'm. Peter preached th® Gospel of Chr'bt and His love to that con gregation sc convincinglv that many in that eongregetion. espec ially Cornelius, were convicted, converted and baptized. Prejudice which hi)3 kept the races so far apart. Ls here brok n down by the Spirit of Jesus — thus open ing the way to world felowship of Chriftians, Peace and Good Will exchanged between Congress and the H-vuse of Parlimenl while these words were penned Decem ber 20, 1945, 11:40 A. M. (EST) glve.s increasing hope of the World Fellowship among the Christians of the Universe. Yes. wherever Christ is, there is peace. Let the ChristU .1 preacher take note of Peter's preaching. RESUME As we close this quarter's study. The Christian and His Relation ships, let us review briefly tne varied topics which we have stud- .od; The Christian way of life; the Home a school of Christian Living; Making the Home Chris tian; th Influence of Christlm Homi's; Fellowship In the Church; Worshipping in the Church; the Outreach of the Church; Chrla- •isns working together in the Com munity; the Ch-lstian and His ' economic relations; the Christian's place in the life of his Nation; Ex alting Christ in the life of a Na tion; the Christmas Message to the World and World Fellowship of Christalns. It will be noted that men and women are the channels through which the Holy Spirit must flow if the world is to drink from the fountain of Christ to tie the bond of fellowship. The barriers in the home, in the Church, in the State and in the nation nriust be recognized and in the spirit ol Christ broken down and then move on to Wcrld Fel lowship. The missionary Church with Christ as its head is the final and only way. Ur ggt fgvnil M) W 9M: As T,S W O N. He-AyII B". C L. BHYAirr. JR. | .— twB w These Things Come Not Back BY RUTH TAYLOR There is an old proverb taken from the Persian — "Four things come not 'oack — the spoken word, the sped arrow, the past life and the neglected opportunity." 'The spoken word." It is not the fine things we have said that come back to us. What haunts us is the careless word, the critical speecn, the unconscious cruelty. The times we misunderstnod or misinterpret ed oui neighbor's action, the hasty generalization, the rumor repeated as though it were fact, the unkin gossip, are what we remember, if we are sincere in our endeavors to do right, these things plague us. These are the words that hurt us a.s deeply as those against whom wc talked. “The sped arrow," This is the barb of unklndness that went straight to the heart of our neigh bor. thi wise-crack that stung, the indifference to our brother's needs, the cold withdrawal from the com mon life. The sharp trick, the self- interest we displayed, the spurning of the outstretched hand are among the things that torment us. “The past life." Not only do we recall those things we did Individu- allly but our national mistakes, for which we, as citizens, are respon sible. We neglected the developing of brotherly relations between Americans of good faith. We as- surre' an isolationist attit'-de to ward the problems of the world. We allowed the sores of other na tions to fester and flare up until the ntpcnin threatencxl us with its virus cf hatred. •'The neglected opportunity. Here again we suffer from both our in- divi4iial and national errors — the friendships we did not make, the help lo thi. downtrodden we did not resocn-ibqitv we *hlrked. We created o it of the wilderness a great nation. We founded a demo cracy — but how have we lived up to it? i RESOLUTIONS Once again the season of resolutions makes ite entrance m the attain, ot men; aoine conaidor the dralting of absolute necessity. Too often these piwlama tons before there is an awareness that they actually j tionablc whether cnougn thought is given to ‘J' willingness lo tollow, as unerringly as the flesh wUl P'™'*- rheeourse we resolve to pursue. Is lions a kind ot traditional rut we have fallen heir to torough tn years? Do we make resolutions because there u, lead us to a vietorioua eulminalion ot worthwhile goals. So .f ym are in the habit ot resolut.oh making it would your ability and willingness to execute, come what wj'' " the tasks you have voluntarily assigned yoursell to pertorm. ^n t lie yoto resolutions become dissoluUons. Character aj^er strengthened by lorees that tear down or hinder the nrogres, of your action. _ . ... It isn’t easy tq carry out desires that are not tied “P our faith. It wc believe a thing possible, we will eamMtly adltore to it until tangible evidence is mamtested m our beha^r. TOs does not mean, however, that such a mantestauon proraotes^- will among men all the lime. We can be definite acticon because we did not evade our making that resolution base it upon some prmciples you tervently hope lo achieve. Don’t follow the Joneses or the Smiths, simply outline a course of action you are determined to take regardless of the risks involved. When the going gets tough hold >« reserve of faith. For every impossibility there Is a possibility, a you arc willing to stand the storm while it rages. The weak willed person never succeeds because he doesn't have what it takes to win. Makes resolutions, they reinvigorate the lanquished soul in the pool of complacency. Growth of mind depends upon the nourishment the mind gets from direct or Indirect processes. Unlike the birds and the bees, man’s way of life has paas»d through several evolutionary stages. One notes that the birds and the bees make their homes now as they did on creation’s mom. Man. on the other hand, emerged from a cave existence (Continued on page seven) We have our opportunity now forth carry messages of brotherly to correct old mistakes — but we lovu. Let our .ife be as near tc must rcmenr.ber the four things that what we want our future to be, as come not back: Let the wor^ we we can make It — and let us not speak be words of fairness said neglect any opportunity to prove friendship. Let the arrows we send the worth of our faith.