4
’ THE CABOLDVUUV
KALEIQH, N. C„ SATURDAY, FEBRUARY If, IM4
Editorial Viewpoint
WORDS OF WORSHIP
For three yean Jesus walked up and down the
shores of his lake and through the streets of
towns and cities, trying to make them understand.
Then came the end, and almost before his fine
flesh was cold, the distortion began. He who cared
nothing for ceremonies and forms was made the
idol of formalism. Men hid themselves in monas
teries; they lashed themselves with whips; they
tortured their skins with harsh garments and
Ever since the Surgeon General’s report on
the dangers of smoking, hundreds of things
have been said one way or another about
smoking. This report on smoking elevated
what was considered a njinor vice (cigarettes)
to the level of serious concern in the nation’s
houses of religious worship. In fact, a number
of ministers regard smoking as a sin.
Two Baptist ministers in Kansas City, Mo.,
considered possible moral implications pre
sented by continued use of tobacco in the face
of clear warnings of imperiled health. One of
the ministers said. “I would regard it as a sin.
Anything that hurts the body is sin. It is a sin
once you recognize it as a hazard to your
health.”
Rev. Robert G. Middleton of First Baptist
Church in New York City said, “I am not sure
that smoking would be a sin. I think it is fol
ly."
Some church officials and religious groups
did not call smoking a sin, but rather a folly,
Schools And Punishment
Some thirty-odd indignant mothers swooped
down on the Stamford, Conn., school board re
cently to complain about their children being
kept after school for punishment.
The mothers complained that it wasn't that
they objected to their children being punish
ed, when the school bus goes off and leaves
them they have to go to the school and bring
them home.
Years ago. when Dr. Shaw was principal of
Mary Potter School in Oxford. N. C., all buses
had to wait at the school for one hour after
The Beckwith Case Mistrial
Negroeg have noted with great interest the
court trial of Bryon De La Per .with, a cru
sading segregationist who v is charged with
'P'"'— - ** **
.CUliwvi tllUi U JU
ry. This makes us wonder, will justice triumph
this time in Mississippi?
Circuit Court Judge Leon P. Hendrick de
clared the mistrial after polling the jurors in
dividually as to whether they thought there
was any chance of a verdict. The emphatic re
plies ranged from “not a chance” to “not if we
stay there a week.” The all-white fury had de
liberated about 11 hours without reaching a
verdict.
We question why there should be an all
white jury. Three Negroes were on the jury
panel, but all were excused—one because his
“boss" wrote that he was vital to a defense
plant. It might be argued that to include a Ne
gro on the jury would have been placing jury
men who were biased by their racial attitude.
Even if every white juror pledged that he
What About Religious Segregation?
No sane person, regardless of religion, denies
that religion in schools has been part of our
heritage since the founding of the country.
However, at that time our population was
small and not as cosmopolitan as it is today
with 180 million inhabitants of larger or small
er minorities of different religions.
Bible reading in public schools is bound to
have a demoralizing effect on non-Christian
pupils even if they don’t have to participate in
the exercises. They would be somewhat set
apart from Christian pupils because of differ
ences in religion.
This is tantamount to segregation because
of different color. On one hand, we want de
segregation between whites and Negroes while
at the same time we inject into the minds and
Do Absentee-Congressmen Owe U. S.?
Columnist Drew Pearson has away of pick
ing up “leaks” in information and shocking
the public with startling facts. With cartridge
like precision, he mentioned that quite a few
Congressmen owe money to the U. S. Treas
ruy; but he added that it is doubtful whether
the taxpayers will ever be able to collect.
Pearson based his recent article on a law
passed -in 1856 stating that lawmakers shall
not be paid for time absent from their work,
unless on afficial leave, ill, or absent because
of family illness. This law is still in effect be
cause it has never been repealed.
The article said that "Congress quite rightly
expects every law it passes tflPbe enforced and
respected by the American people. If a citisen
fails to answer s Congressional subpoena, he
can be clapped into jaiL Many Congressmen
are ready to make stormy speeches if there is a
whisper of law violation or avoidance by the
executive branch of government."
Why U. S. lawmakers have not seen fit to
enforce this law with reference to themselves
we do not know. They have made thousands of
laws, and It ia possible that they forgot about
it. But now that their attention has been called
to the existence of the law which has never
been repealed, then the law ought to be en
forced.
Democratic Rep. Charles Buckley owes the
7ftE NEGRO PRESS— betleree that America can best had the world
away from racial and national antagonism* when it accords to every mar JpWlii
regardless of race, color or creed, hie human and legal rights Hating no man Cllk
l earing no man—the Negro Press strives to help every man on the firm be- QdMUw
Met that all men are brut as hrxg as anyone m held back.
Is Smoking A Sin?
cried out that they were followers of Jesus—of
him who loved the crowd, who gathered children
about him wherever he went, who Celebrated the
calling of a new disciple with a feast In which
all the neighborhood joined! “Hold your beads
high,” he had exclaimed, “you are lords of the
earth . . . only a little lower than the angels . . .
children of God.” Evidently hymn writers missed
his point, for they said: “For such a worm as L”
a serious health hazard, a medical problem,
and so on.
By no stretch of the imagination can we
call smoking cigarettes a sin, especially if we
hold to our present connotation of “tin.” (It
can be almost anything else, but never a sin.)
“Sin,” according to Webster’s Dictionary, "is
a transgression of the law of God by actual
transgression or neglect.”
Certainly, in the case of cigarette smoking
no law of God has been violated. But many
religious folk want to put smoking in the same
categories of other so-called sin»—card play
ing, dancing, and the like. How can people rea
son so illogically? There is no Bible basis for
saying that card playing, dancing, and smok
ing are sins.
Too many people like to attach their own
biased meaning to social and human activities
they don’t like or approve. But when they say
that smoking is a sin, they have let their im
aginations run wild!
school until the errant youngster* completed
their “Detention Hall” sentence.
You can well imagine the result. When the
student culprits finally came out to aboard the
waiting buses, they had to face the wrath of
the bus driver and some 30 or 40 schoolmates.
And nine times out of ten, the offending stu
dents mended their errant behavior.
At the Mary Potter School at the time, it
was astonishing how seldom any students re
peated doing aomething for which they were
“kept in after school.”
would cleanse his mind of any prejudice which
might have influenced him during numerous
racial conflicts in Mississippi, we* doubt if this
L)ui mg the trial back with said the alleged
weapon, a 30.06 Enfield rifle with a telescopic
sight, looked just like the one he said was stol
■en from him last June 11 the day before
Evers was slain. Beckwith testified further that
he was in Jackson the night of the shooting,
and said that he never had been i& the neigh
liorhood of Evers’ home.
We won't know if Beckwith’s testimony was
the truth until the end of his next trial. We
won’t know if Mississippi will see to it that
justice will prevail, or will it maintain its un
savory reputation so far as Negroes are con
cerned. We would like to think that at long
last Mississippi wants to see that justice be
done.
The only thing the nation can do now is to
wait and see what will happen to Byron De La
Beckwith!
hearts of pupils the poison of segregation be
cause of different religions. From a psycholog
ical standpoint, it will have a detrimental ef
fect on all pupils.
Children don't get the benefit of religion by
Bible reading, the contents of which they can
not grasp and cannot have explained by teach
ers who are not schooled in theology. At best,
they get confused while others of different
faiths are exempt from Bible reading.
We want our readers to reason logically In
this matter, because the Court merely said it
was unconstitutional for pupils to be com
pelled or required to read the Bible. The un
derstanding of the case centers around the
practice of requiring pupils to*participate in
Bible reading.
Treasury around 67 percent of his salary for
1963. having missed 67 per cent of House roll
calls. Missouri Sen. Ed Long, who missed 46
percent of Senate roll calls, owes the Treasury
46 per cent of the salary* he collected. George
Smathers, the real estate dabbler, missed 35
percent; our Negro Congressmen, Adam C.
Powell, the Harlem globetrotter, missed 35 per
cent. Only a small fractional per cent of their
absences were permissable under the law, and
no effort is being made to collect.
These high per cent of absentees by U. S.
lawmakers is a sad commentary upon the
men, who pledged themselves to represent us.
Such a high rate of absences would not be tol
erated in other professions. A school teacher
who is absent from school 67 per cent of the
time would be fired promptly. Certain indus
tries wouldn't put up with such violations on
the part of its employees.
Although Drew Pearson informed the pub
lic, nothing will be done about it because of
the lethargy of millions of constituents The
voters don’t seem to care if the lawmakers
don’t earn their pay.
The way to cut down on these excessive ab
sences on the part of Senators and Congress
men is to vote them out of office at the next
election, and put in office men and women
who are willing to stay on the job with amas
ing regularity.
Just For Fun
■T MARCUS A BOULWARE
KAVPA DINNER
The Tallahassee Alumni Chap
ter of Kappa Alpha Pal Frater
nity will give Hs annual Wivee
and Sweetheart! Dinner this Fri
day, Feb. 14 (Valentine's Day),
in the Orange Room of the Com
mons of Florida ARK Univer
sity, Tallahassee. This is the
work of a Dinner Committee of
which I am chairman; and might
I add that 1 really worked hard
on this project
We have 23 Brothers who have
paid their fees and the evening
should be e delightful one. My
old friend, Mr. Cmmyard, who
has been out West, wants to at
»lf he can find a “sweet
’, ni see if he can’t get an
“invite".
GOOD OLE COU-ARD6: One
of them big jobs passed through
Perry en route to Tallahassee
last week and collided with an
other vehicle end *>Uled 37,000
pounds of collard greens on the
street Some motorists passing by
helped themselves to e of
collard*. It is thought that the
driver fell asleep causing the
wreck. I wonder what his em
ployers will say?
Imagine, 37,000 pounds es col
ONLY IN AMERICA
BY HARRY GOLDEN
MAKING BIG MONET
A great Wall Street firm has
had to liquidate and another
merge because they lent too
much money to a commodities
speculator. A lot of young men
will face a lifetime of debt be
cause one man was trying to
oomer the market.
Making the big money often
demands a fantastic price.
Tears ago, during a period of
a steadily declining market, I
remember a middle-aged law
yer pacing nervously in the
brokerage house. The stocks
he’d bought on margin kept
dropping and dropping and his
broker finally had to warn the
man he’d have to sell him out
pretty soon unless the fellow
got up enough collateral to
cover his losses.
The speculator turned around
and quietly asked, "Let’s wait
for the next quotation on
Baldwin.”
"Okay,” said the broker*
"then you’ll have to give me
UUll# OltlUU.uU
The next quotation came ov
er and Baldwin had dropped
even more seriously. The law
yer quietly read the ticker and
calmly walked over to the open
window and dived to his death.
Later, we found he had been
"borrowing” from an estate
over which he had professional
control. A man couldn’t help
but make big money in those
days and he was certainly going
to pay the money back quietly.
We also readied that when
he asked for that time to see
the next quotation he was rap
idly deciding his future: if the
Editorial Opinions
Here are excerpts from edi
torials : compiled by Associated
Negro Press appearing in some
of the nation's leading daily
newspapers on subjects of cur
rent interest to our readers:
NEW YORK SCHOOL
BOYCOTT
THE TIMES. New York City
“In terms of statistics, the mis
guided boycott of the city's pub
lic schools was a success for its
proponents, the sincere ones and
the demagogues alike. Even af
ter accounting for the normal
daily abeeoces of about 10 per
cent, over one-third of the pu
pils stayed away.
"It was, therefore, an error
for James B. Donovan, the pres
ident of the Board of Education,
to shrug off the demonstration
as "a fizzle." Granted that many
parents kept their children at
home because they feared pos
sible unpleasantness or even vio
lence, and granted, too. that
many youngsters needed little
persuasion to take an extra holi
day. the fact is that the sponsors
of the boycott demonstrated
their ability to keep large num
bers out of school, at least for *
a one-day protest. They were
undoubtedly aided by the New
York tradition which makes a
picket line something of a sa
cred cordon.
THE IMPORTANT TITLE VI
THE POST. Denver
“It is one of the Ironies of
the American race problem that
a substantial amount of discrim
ination and segregation is car
ried on with funds supplied by
the government of the United
States.
"A number of hospitals, built
Letter To The
Editor
February 7. 1964
TO THE EDITOR
As a member of the Board of
Trustee* and graduate of Shaw
University, 1 would like to take
this opportunity to express ap
preciation for your recent con
tribution to the institution It
has been largely due to the sup
port and publicising of Shaw's
economic plight that the peo
ple of this county and State
are rallying to the support of
the institution
With deep appreciation. I re
main
Sincerely.
J. R LARKINS.
Consultant. N. C. State
Board of gPubUc Welfare.
lard greens spilled on the high
way from Perry to Tallahassee,
Fla.! Imagine IS 1-2 tens of eel
lard greens! And*no eornfaread
or pet Ukker!
Well, tough hick for the driv
er wbo will have a lot of ex
plaining to do to the trucking
company.
LEAVES $16,000 BEHIND:
This happened in Miami Beech.
Gertrude Atlas, whose job is
weighing produce in a super
market said recently she found
a paper sack near the ecalee
containing $16,000 in bills. (It is
a good thing that Mr. Cornyard
didnt find them.)
The produce weigher turned
the money over to her boss who
called police. While this was
going on, an elderly woman en
tered the store, looking about
frantically.
Officers questioned the wom
an and learned she had carried
the money with her for two
years, intending to amass $20,000
to finance her remaining years
in a convalescent home. Police
convinced her that the money
was safer in the bank.
I bet the lady got the fright
of her life, and she won’t forget
H either.
stock went up he would live, if
It continued to go down, he
would die.
The curious fact about the
whole matter was that even af
ter his own estate was settled
and restitution made by his
two rich brothers, he still left
some money. I remember see
ing his widow on the arm of a
younger man not too long after
that. She was having, I gath
erd, a good time.
What a compulsion that big
money is! It has poured more
good men down the drain than
women, liquor, and politics
combined. The trouble with
money is that there is no such
thing as too much of it.
The love of money is the
root of all evil and so unfortu
nately is the lack of it. Samuel
Butler wrote that money was
the last enemy that we never
subdue. “While there is flesh
there is money—or the want of
money, but money is always on
the brain—so lone as thfra
Among the very rich tliem
selves, I believe there is even a
revulsion to their money. More
rich people have died and left
their money to Institutions that
have died and left it to another
person. Money is so self-cor
rupting people who have it of
ten want to spare others. That
would seem to be the reasoning
behind their bequeets, anyway.
They probably feel as Jultius
Caesar who remarked, accord
ing to Voltaire, that the Rom
ans used their soldiers to rob
money and with the money
they stole they paid their sol
diers.
and equipped with federal mon
ey under the Hill-Burton Act,
refuse to accept Negro patients,
or segregate- them, and deny
staff privileges to Negro doctors.
“A number of local officials
have excluded needy Negro chil
dren from the federally financed
school lunch program or refused
to distribute to needy Negro
families the surplus commodities
provided by the U. S. Depart
ment of Agriculture.”
AND THE IMPORTANT
TITLE II
“The most controversial part
of the Civil Rights Bill of 1964
is Title 11. the section dealing
with discrimination and segre
gation in places of public accom
modation.
'Title II makes discrimina
tion and segregation unlawful
in establishments that serve the
public, if their operations affect
commerce or if the discrimina
tion and segregation are requir
ed by state law or supported by
state action.
"The title,covers hotels, mo
tels and lodging, houses, except
those that rent less than six
rooms and an owner living on
the premises. It also covers most
restaurants, lunch rooms, lunch
counters, soda fountains, movie
houses, gasoline stations, theat
ers. concert halls, sports arenas
and other places of 'exhibition or
entertainment.' It docs not cover
private clubs.
‘The late President Kennedy
summed up the legal argument
for the public accommodations
provisions in these words:
" 'No property owner who
holds his premises for the
purpose of serving at a profit
the American public at large
can claim any inherent right to
exclude a part of the public on
grounds of race or color.
"Just as the law requires
common carriers to serve equal
ly all who wish their service,
so it can require public accom
modations to accommodate e
qualiy all segments of the gen
eral public.”
C. *. WAR ON DOPE
THE PRESS SCIMITAR. Mem
phis
"When President Johnson re
ceived the report of the special
commission on narcotic and drug
•bus*, put to work a year ago
by the late President Kennedy,
he simply made ft public, with
out comment His press secre
tary said the report included so
many exceedingly controversial'
recommendations the President
wouldn't act on it for the ttee
being
"One of these -exceed***
Gordon B. Hancock ’*
BETWEEN THE LINES
THE RUSSIANIZATION OF AMERICA
The super-danger of the civilization of our times
la the Russlanizatlon of America! Rusia has no
spiritual values, for all her values are material.
They do not have any place for righteousness,
although it Is written that “righteousness exal
teth a nation but sin is a reproach to any people."
duc im.ie today about righteousness; and when
our nation makes its boast for world-wide recog
nition, we speak in terms of standards of living.
Our great boast is that we have the highest stan
dard of living of any nation in the world, and the
highest In the history of the world.
We do not boast of being the most moral, the
most righteous, the most Just, the most humane
and the most brotherly. Our great emphasis is
not on virtuous and self-controlled men, but on
sophistication.
When the students of one of our finest colleges
for women vote in favor of pmnartial sex rela
tions, we get some idea of a vicious trend of the
times. This does not mean that there is not still
vlrture among women, neither does it mean that
there is no longer control among men.
The vote of the aforementioned college for
women is but a straw in the wind, showing which
way the wind is blowing. This vote shows the new
outlook on life. This shows not that low moral
standards are on their' way out. but on their way
in, and herein lies the great danger.
And so when our great nation’s great boast is
that we have the highest standard ot living of
any nation in the world, it means that material
ist philosophy and Ideals are in the ascendency.
This Is dangerous, for the fall of all great nations
of history has been preceded by high living stan
dards. The effete and luxury loving nations have
always fallen before the lean half-hungry peoples
struggling for existence. The history of Babylon.
Greece and Rome are too familiar to need re
counting here. Russia Is materialistic. We are
becoming more and more materialistic.
This article was inspired by the pressures be
ing brought to bear on the state legislatures of
our nation for larger and larger appropriations
for our educational systems. Our colleges and
ISSUES: GOOD AND BAD
BY F. L. PRATTIS For ANP
Which way Is the wind blowing? How can you
tell? Is the wind good, or is It bad? Are we as a
group winning or losing friends? Do we care?
Should we care? We know that we have some
white friends who will go all the way for us. We
also know that there are other thousands of
whites who would ship us off to perdition if they
could.
But what about the great majority of whites
who don't love or hate us? Do they react to us
like they do to other Americans? Or are they un
concerned. Indifferent? *
There seems to exist away of answering the a
bove questions, away of measuring white reaction
and the extent of white concern where we are in
volved. Maybe not. but let’s see.
We can all remember the church bombing tn
Birmingham, the time when four little girls were
killed by the explosion. The church was gravely
damaged. One can be reasonably sure that the
church has received gifts of money to rebuild, or
help rebuild, the churrh We can also be reason
ably sure that the families of the four girls were
helped some. We don't know how much
The church bombing and the killing of the
girts were acts of criminal-minded whites. This
being true. It would have seemed that whites all
over the country would have Joined in trying to
make amends for the dastardly deed. We are sure
that some whites have Indeed helped. But how
much?
This question rears Its ugly heed when one be
gins to think about the vast amount of money
sent to Mrs. Tipplts. the wife of the policeman
who was slain while trying to apprehend the al
leged assassin of President Kennedy The latest
figure released, about the middle of January. In
controversial' proposals is that
the Narcotics Bureau, now under
the Terasury Department, be
•luted to the Justice Depart
ment. and some of its functions
split off in the Health, Welfare
and Education Department,
which includes the Food and
Drug Administration.
'"But it would be a mistake to
let this proposal of the newest
study eommiaaion. headed by a
Wants Action Now
former Judge, E Parrett Pretty
man. get bogged down to a dis
pute over where the Narcotics
Bureau has its offices. The two
main ooints in the report, as we
view hem. are these:
“I. That the government go all
out against dope peddlers—the
criminals who get rich on this
vicious trade These gangsters
profit by hundreds at miiit««w
universities are lined up in our legislatures asking
for larger and larger appropriations.
It has been like this for years on years past, and
It will be lute this for years on years to come. Wc
are all committed to the belief that education b
the answer to the questions raised by our trou
bled times
- . ...... ....O 1U
education the higher our incidence of rape end
robbery and crime and bestility. Just as we boas:
that onr nation has the highest standard of liv
ing of any nation in the world so we must ha.v?
our heads In humiliation and shame and con .ess
that ours Is the most criminal nation in the world.
This is not to disparage education, for we would
not If we could, and could not If we would! Ed t
cation is a great human good and should be ad
vanced with vigor everywhere. But the emphasis
on education Is this self-same material emphasis
which has taken over in Russia. Education by it
aelf will not answer our pressing questions.
We talk much and long about education, but we
speak softly—or not at all—about character or
righteousness. The writer is pleading here for
anyone who has found from research or from
books written by researchers, that there is any
correlation between foiman education and cha
racter or righteousness, to please inform this
writer. Pouring billions and billions into educa
tion, while neglecting character and righteous
ness Is not going to get us anywhere even as it
has not gotten us anywhere.
No study has been brought forth showing that
the man who is educated Is thereby a better man
than one uneducated. Neither can It be proved
that the “non-laude" in academic standing is a
better man than a cum-laude or a maga cum
laude or a summa cum-laude. There is no cor
relation between fine scholarship and righteous
ness or character. ,
Our grea f colleges are going all out'looking for
brilliant scholars although there has never been
established any correlation between academic bril
liance and righteousness.
This world needs character. This world needs
righteousness. This world needs spiritual reviv
ing. Is America becoming Russianized?
formed the public that Mrs. Tippits had received
$600,000 and the money was still coming In. This
seems to indicate that thousands of whites all
over the country were concerned about what
might happen to Mrs. Tippits and her children.
The giving is so good that now the family of
Jack Ruby, the night club operator who killed
Lee Oswald, alleged killer of President Kennedy
has set up a fund and is asking the public to do
nate money to pay Ruby's lawyers. The Chicago
Rubensteins are asking the public for a modest
550.000. One can be rather sure that they will
get it.
Os course, one must admit that the Birming
ham bombing and the Dallas murders are not
exactly the same. Mrs. Tippits was left alone to
rear and care for her children.
No mothers were left alone «without husbands'
In Birmingham. But what if there had been’
Would there have been a massive show of con
cern? The record says no. The widow of
Evers In Jackson. Miss., was left alone-to rea
her children after, her husband was cruelly sho'
in the back. So far as the public knows thousae-\
of do.lsrs hare hot poured in on Mrs Evers No'
even from whi'es who might have felt a touch r'
shame when a white man was arrested forth
murder.
to ** 8 “rt of lesson in this lack’
of concern, where we are concerned, by the gre '
body of white Americans. It is. like so manv are
n os t £fm^? re u? nd more the must -ako
Se!f 'v We must <*« of our own
Y ' ®oney »« in this
great land, but it is not working for us
Which way is the wind blowing? How can you
of dollars a year, and seem to
be highly organized internation
al operators, covert and ruthless.
- That the addicts of the
senseless drug habit be subject
ed primarily to a better program
of rehabilitation. These are the
people the racketeers feed on.
Thy need scientific help. Pun
ishment J small assistance te
them."