.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
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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.