Newspapers / Africo-American Presbyterian (Wilmington, N.C.) / July 28, 1938, edition 1 / Page 1
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CHARLOTTE, N. C„ THU&SDAY. JULY 28, 1938. VOL. LIX. OSCAR DE PRIEST IN RETREAT By DR. KELLY MILLER Political fame is ephemeral. But yesterday the word of Oscar DePriest reverberated throughout the nation; today there pre few so poor as to do him reverence. We scarcely see his name in the press or hear it pronounced from the public forum. There had been twenty-one Negro members of Congress before the advent of Congressman DePriest. But it is not unfair to his prede cessors to say that he made a greater political impression upon his day and generation than any one of them, and in deed than all of them put to gether. There had been a lapse of more than a quarter of a cen tury between the Swan Song of Congressman George H. White and the arrival of Oscar De Priest on the floor of Congress. During that barren interval the Negro’s political fortune under Taft, Wilson, Harding, Cool idge and Hoover, reached a new low. The race passed through the shadow of politi cal despair. When Oscar De Priest was catapulted into Con gress from the first Illinois District he was the first fruit of segregation in its political aspect. As a member of Con gress he was the Negro’s Con gressman-at-large with a raCe wide constituency of twelve million. No other member of Congress attracted wider no tice than he throughout the three terms of his tenure. He was the Negro’s Congressman par excellence. Oscar DePriest sprang from the people, and re mained with the people. The humblest and the highest alike found favor with him. He was - blun£, stiwfifct&uaKard,.- -v un® schooled and unpolished. He was no orator and spoke like the young Demosthenes, as if his mouth was full of pebbles; but his words attracted atten tion and carried weight by vir tue of their simplicity and blunt directness. If he had any one command ing quality, it was his absolute fearlessness and Courage. He missed the timidity and re straint which too often spring from education and culture. He did not hesitate to rush in where school-taught caution dared not tread. He stood for every right of his race with all the might of his rugged nature. In this attitude he was respect ed even when he ruffled the most passionate dogma of race prejudice. No Negro from Frederick Douglas to Walter White has yet forfeited the re spect of the American people by standing up manfully for the rights of his race. DePriest was universally hon ored and extolled by his race, as their political exponent. He went up and down the land— North, South, East and West proclaiming the doctrine of equality set forth in the Decla ration of Independence and the Constitution of the United States. His race overwhelmed him with-feasts, banquets and testimonials. I, myself, spon sored a nation-wide testimonial in his honcr after he had been defeated for Congress. But so swiftly passes the glory of this world! “Out of sight, out of mind,” expresses the philosophy of the politi cian. DePriest’s local constit uents turned him down for a substitute who up to that time was unknown and untried. Ar thur W. Mitchell took the poli ical tide at flood, which lead on to fortune; Oscar DePriest was the victim of its ebb. The Ne gro vote South of the Mason and Dixon line is potentially Republican; North of that line it is dynamically Democratic. DePriest could not reverse this tendency. May this great tribune of the people enjoy the peace and comfort of hfe retirement to the end of his days.. After all, Oscar DePriest is not the vic tim of racial ingratitude but of political events. N. C. PUBLIC WELFARE INSTITUTE More than three hundred North Carolina social welfare workers concluded their annual meeting in the nineteenth ses sion of the Public Welfare In stitute held at Chapel Hill and the University of North Caro lina last week. National as well as State of ficials were present to instruct the assembly in the latest viewpoints of social work and the new approach to the social welfare problem. Concerning the future of the welfare situation in North Car olina, tMrs. W. T. Bost, State Welfare Commissioner, at the opening session said that “pub lic welfare is vitally interested that each individual attain his full stature and strength” and that it concerned itself with community resources such as clinics, schools, recreation cen ters and with employment and wage rates. “For more than 20 years,” she said, “North Carolina has been building a philosophy of public welfare, and two and a half years ago, through federal funds, th€ State department was enabled to broaden its scope of activities and be bet ter prepared to administer two phases of the social security program in old age assistance and aid^to dependent children.” ; Speaking at the assembly were Kenneth Pray, of the Pennsylvania School of Social Work, Dr. Isabel Gordon Car ter, of the same institution, who was instructor of the as-* sembly throughout the meet trigT rfftd Mtss Davinra Keysr regional representative of the Federal Social Security Board at Washington. Prof. Pray told the State workers that the problem of so cial work is approached today from a-.viewpoint that public aid is considered as an act of enlightened self-interest and not as an act of charity. “In this way,” he said, “the community is enabled to con serve the strength of all its members, and in public welfare service today we see the essen tial genius of democracy, ac knowledging that need for aid is not a personal failure, but rather a social weakness that must be remedied through mu tual aid.” Speaking of the child welfare situation, the State department head said it was very gratify ing to note the banning of children in interstate industry by the federal government by means of! the wages and hours act. iiJ'.V “This, we believe, will even tually load to raising the age of compulsory school attendance to 16,” she commented. Mitchell, Hyde and Chowan counties have recently closed their county homes, and within the next three months Greene, Carteret, Cherokee, Yancey, Swain and Macon will follow suit, their county commission ers having already endorsed the action. “Many of these boards are welcoming the opportunity to reduce the population of their county institutions or abolish them altogether and make suit able plans for the inmates on the outside,” Mrs. Bost report ed. Regional hospitals crossing county lines and planned under State direction, afford the best solution to the problem.” On the question of general relief, Mrs. Bost - raised the question as to whether or not the State should be asked at the next legislature to assist the counties on a 50-50 basis in taking care of these cases. “The federal government now makes no contribution whatev er for general relief, and indi cations are that it is not plan ning to go back into the busi ness of direct relief. “It would be well to get the thinking of State leaders, coun ty officials, welfare boards and various social agencies and work out a plan that would not work too great a hardship on the State,” she concluded. RELIGIOUS EXHIBIT AT THE GOLDEN GATE EXPOSITION San Francisco, July—Reli gious leaders of all creeds and denominations from all over the West will meet on Treasure Island Tuesday, August 23, to take part in groundbreaking ceremonies for the Temple of Religion and Tower of Peace at the 1939 Golden Gate Interna tional Exposition. This was announced by Will iam Unmack, managing direc tor of the religious organiza tion, which plans to present the greatest combined religious and peace program in history. Gov ernor Frank F. Merriam, hon orary president, will turn the first spade of earth on the build ing site, and President Leland W. Cutler and other Exposition and city officials, including Mayor Angelo J. Rossi, will take part. Known as Temple of Reli gion and Tower of Peace, In corporated, the organization has opened offices at 240 Mont gomery Street, and announces appointment of the following officers; Dr. Rudolph I. Coffee, President; Fred D. Parr, First Vice President; Joe N. Barn dollar, Second Vice President; Mrs. A. F. Hockenbeamer, Third Vice President; Hon. Curtis D. Wilbur, Fourth Vice President; Dr. Aurelia H. Rein hara^, Fifth Vice President; E. V. Krick, Treasurer; Dr. Herbert P. Shaw, Secretary; Dr. Edgar A. Lowther, Assist ant Secretary; Mrs. M. C. Sloss, Director; Hugo D. Newhouse, Director; and Arthur A. New "Lottse, Director. - A blanket invitation has been issued to all religious groups in the eleven western States to send delegates to the August 23 ceremonies, which will take place on Treasure Is land at 2:30 in the afternoon. .On the evening of the same day a huge mass meeting of re ligious groups 5 will be held at the civic auditorium in San Francisco at which Governor Merriam and distinguished members of the clergy will speak. Architectural plans for the Temple of Religion and Tower of Peace are now being pre pared and details of construc tion will be made public within the next few weeks, according to Unmack. “We believe that we are un dertaking a project which has never before been attempted on so great a scale,” Unmack declared#- “With the joining of all sects and creeds in a univer sal pageant of peaceful wor ship and worshipful peace in a country where religion is free and peace reigns, we will at tempt to bring home to the millions of visitors at the Ex position a full realization of our blessings.” Unmack revealed that reli gious exhibits from the earliest time of recorded history, in cluding the first known Bibles, will be brought from every corner of the earth to the Tem ple. World religious leaders will be invited here to lecture, as well as international figures, in the cause of $ universal peace. “Details of exhibits and daily programs are now being worked out and will be mad# public as they are approved,” Unmack said. “The Temple of Religion and Tower of Peace will be free to the public and our religious and peace pa geants, held daily, will be made dramatic, colorful, and singu larly appealing.” Humanity desperately needs today a moral and spiritual re birth—a, revitalization of reli gion. There is no sure way to this supreme goal save through adherence to the teaching of the Bible.—Secretary of State Hull. A fool and his money never make a^good argument. 7 NEGRO WOMEN ATTEND SCHOOL Junior Woman’s Club of Marion Sponsors Two Weeks’ Course By Mrs. Jane MeKimmon, In The Charlotte Observer :> f_ e Junior Woman’s club of ion, McDowell county, spon d a two-week cooking and ning school for the Negro Women of Addie’s Chapel. “One afternoon,” said Miss Annie Tticker, Home Agent, “I gave a demonstration on ‘How to Set a Table and Serve a Meal.’ The larger part of the group was in service and the women were mubh interested. They were attentive and seemed to quick ly Jpet the rules and technique of table setting and service. “Meetings were held at nigjit, with a different speak er each time. Preacher Burge, whip was in charge of this paft of the program, came to Jmy office and asked if I wojuld talk to his people on ‘Btulding Better Homes.’ He sap he thought they had been ‘prjfached to death about their heavenly home and now they jneqjded some help on what kind of earthly home to have. “It was the first time I had ever been ‘Preacher’ in a pul piC’ continued Miss Tucker, “but the audience was so at tentive and eager that it was a |*eal pleasure, a Audience Responds “I was admonished to wake th#m up and these were the things to which that colored audience responded: . f*The effect of your surround ings on home life. "‘‘Clean up, rake up, and re pair. “List of practical improve ments to be made. ain your children well— secure by working hard to yftti “Make your family life safe and its keep. “Save something for a rainy day. “Buy wisely. All women attending the | training school were interested in improving their homes and Pastor Burge wishes to enter his community in the ‘Better Homes Contest’ next year. “I really believe they will do something, too,” said Miss Tuck er, “as I have driven through the village twice lately and have seen improvements already un der way.” When a county with its com munities sets to work to make a better and more beautiful place in which to live, it means that all the forces available must be brought into action and Orange county, in its plans and accomplishments, furnish es a fine example of what cor operation can do. The mayor of Chapel Hill, John Foushee; Editor Louis Graves; Community Club Pres ident Mrs. D. D. Carroll; P.-T. A. President, Mrs. Guy Johnson; Chapel Hill Health and Welfare President H. D. Crockford, and Secretary George Lawrence; and Prof. Snipes, principal of the Negro school, all came to gether to plan and work with couhty and village people in ac complishing results. Chapel Hill is perhaps the most beautiful'village in North Carolina, at least I have seen no other so lovely, but it ap pears that there were still some sore spots to be looked after. Village officials helped with a general clean-up; and in the Negro section particularly, with the strong support of the school principal, all of the yards were cleared and load after load of trash removed. Ih Hillsboro, Mayor Ben Johnson and ministers of the churches, with Editor Thomp son of the News, announced plans for cleaning up the cem eteries which are conspicuous places and their beautification means improvement of the town. In the farming communities over the county presidents of the Home Demonstration clubs were chairmen of the Better Homes Campaigns and many telling things were done. In Mt. Carmel, as in Hills boro, it was the cemetery that first received attention. Clean ing, hauling, and planting were started early in the spring and the community is so much in terested that it plans to con*, tinue work through the year. At Cedar Grove Corners an old unsightly building was torn down and rubbish hauled away. Schley concentrated on clean ing the Grange Hall and grounds. As a Negro church was a near neighbor, the con gregation was appealed to and the members set in with a will to make its church yard a part of the general improvement. The neighborhood is so proud of its new front that it is con templating constructing a com munity playground. Murphy is one of the young est home demonstration clubs! in the county but it has plan ned school ground improve ments that will stretch over the year and which include changing a county road that runs through the place where children play. “Home owners individually played an important part in the general improvement,” says Miss Grace Holcombe, Home Agent, “and I could not begin to tell you how many trees and shrubs were planted. “I am especially proud of the back yards, one in partic ular where the family is strug gling to maintain the farm but where the back yard has for years given the whole place a discouraged look. There was ¥^$0VU|lof. old pans, old tires, a 'eMla’s broken wagon, two dog houses and not a blade of grass anywhere. Now the rubbish is gone, but the yard is still bare of grass, and we do not know when there will be any. Nevertheless, the family has a new appreciation of beauty and order, and oar faith is strong that that yard will have a good covering of green by next spring.” PSYCHOLOGICALLY SPEAKING To carry out life’s program you need more friends. Your circle of friendships is too lim ited and your thinking too shal low and selfish. You must start by broadening your minds and including others, both friends and foes, to share in the good things you ask God for yourselves. In your efforts to hold back from your neigh bor, you have shut out God’s abundance from yourselves, for He sends to us that which we appreciate for others—“With what measure ye meet it shall be measured to you again.” More and more does the aboye happen—and become a habit— when you rely too much upon your conscious selves in your petitions. You seek too much your way in getting things, and your way is the selfish way. You have thus been left poor in substance and your dim lights have not reflected lead ership. You are thus complain ing because your leadership is failing, but the cause is at your own door. You cannot get any following because you have ceased to contact God. You want money and many other things, but you say money is so scarce. That is untrue, for there is no scarcity in God’s abundance. When you carry out the law, abundance will be yours. If you would have your wishes fulfilled- through God’s abundance take to God in pray er your neighbors’ needs and wishes along with yours. Ask ing thus in a broad way opens your capacity to hear God’s answer abundantly, just as giv ing in a broad way opens your capacity to receive. People who pinch and give to God’s cause never have much to give. They are giving narrowly out of a narrow mind and it follows "■ ==s=hb8ebs— that there will be a narrow in let. Do you not know that all the money and every other good thing you have came from God? Do you realize that when you are asked to help a strug gling church and you give a check for $5.00 when you could as well give one for $20.00 with out being hurt, that you are pinching God’s bounty and closing your capacity to re ceive? Many of you have seen God’s cause suffer, have pinched his abundance when asked to give, and are wonder ing why you don’t have any thing. You are the cause. Nar rowness, that’s the trouble! Let your mind, heart and life ex tend to those around you. In clude them in your program and your prayers, and note how God’s abundance will flow to you in spirit and substance. A few weeks ago a woman was going down the street to buy some shoes. She had only five dollars and a few cents. She had been worried because of a note for $500 sh6 had to meet in a few days and had no knowledge of where to get ° it. While the thought of this note was bearing upon her mind she passed a woman sit ting on the corner begging. Finding she had no feet and was left there by a girl who had gone to buy bread, she gave all the money she had and returned home feeling she had acted Christlike and looking to Him. In just four days, and in time for her need, a check for $1,000, an old debt which she had ceased to hope for, c?ame in the morning mail. God surely rules in'the af fairs of men. J. J. SHEPPERSON. Bristol, Tenn. FAITH PRESBYTERIAN ... aip«ft^aiBMapH. _ The Daily Vacation Bible School closed last week, with a wonderful program which was witnessed by a large con gregation. There were exhib its of many kinds, and £wo weeks of successful operation and cooperation. Rev. 0. J. Hawkins, the pastor, had the Rev. R. E. Peters, pastor of St. Joseph A. M. E. church, and Rev. T. R. Owens, pastor of Shiloh A. M. E. Zion church, as sociated, and the following fac ty list: Mrs. Chas. McNeil, Seniors and Intermediates; Mrs. 0. J. Hawkins, Juniors; Miss Annie B. Grice, Primary No. 1; Mrs. Robt. H. Beatty, Primary No. 2; Miss Cleo Clark, Primary No. 3; Misses Alberta Fairley and Armetria Whitaker assistants. Special activities were Handwork, Mrs. Irene White and Rev. T. R. Owens; Music, Mrs. Chas. Mc Neil and Rev. R. E. Peters; Recreational activities, Rev. 0. J. Hawkins. This was a community affair that hadn’t been put over before, but no body has any doubt a!s to the success of its operation. We want to make mention of our pastor being joined in wed lock, though we have been de layed in writing. He recently returned from his honeymoon, in Texas and Alabama. A sur prise shower was given the bride by the Missionary Ladies. We are hoping to get started on the manse. soon. Arrange ments are being made. Pray for our success. J. B. L. SANFORD MEN’S CLUB The Men’s Club of Blandon ia Presbyterian church held their July session July 8th at the home of Mr. and Mrs. H. G. Robinson, 508 Wall Street. The meeting was largely attended by the members. After the usual routine of business was disposed of a committee was elected to arrange for a Stag outing to be given for the club at Cole’s Lake, August the 3rd, after which a delicious two course luncheon was served by the hostess, assisted by her daughter, Mrs. 0. A. Alston. The meeting was enjoyed by all present. THOS. U. TIMBERLAKE.
Africo-American Presbyterian (Wilmington, N.C.)
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July 28, 1938, edition 1
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