VOL. XL VIII.
*— <V>i
YOU FREE.”—John viii, 32.
‘AND YE SHALL ENOW THE TRUTH, AND THE TRUTH SHALL
CHARLOTTE, N. C„THURSBAY,
25, 1925
LYNCHING RECORD OF
THE STATES
Washington, March 24—“Mob
* law has thrown down the gaunt
let to the churches and all other
organizations standing for law
and order and justice through
the courts/’ says the Commis
sion on Race Relations of the
Federal Council of Churches in
announcing its fourth annual
Non-Lynching Roll of Honor.
Seventeen lynchings were re
corded in 1925, showing an in
crease of one over the preceding
year, when sixteen were report
ed, the statement points out.
All the victims were Negroes.
“Furthermore, the goal of
achieving a lynchless land in
1926, for which the Churches
were striving, cannot be reached
this year, for already during
January there has been one Ne
gro put to death by a mob,” the
report says. Two unusual
events are recorded. For the
first time in the records of the
evil Texas was free of lynching
and Utah had its first lynching
in forty-one years.
“During the past year five
States which had previously
been on the Honor Roll, namely:
Arkansas, Ohio, Virginia, Ala
bama and Utah, lost their places
becuse of mob murder within
their borders,” continues the
document. “In the case of
Utah, there had not been a
lynching previously since 1884.
Texas was placed upon the Roll
because for the first time since
the beginning of full records of
lynching in 1882 this State was
clear of lynching. Four States,
Illinois, Kentucky, South Caro
lina and Tennessee, which had
been on the Roll in former
years, were restored because
stheir borders were free of lynch
ing in 1925. Thirty-eight
^States were free of lynching in
1925 and ten States disgraced
by it.
“The fourth annual Roll of
Honor of the States free from
lynching in 1925 are as follows:
“States that have never
had a record of a lynching:
Massachusetts, New Hamp
shire, Rhode Island and Ver
mont -- 4
Additional states tnat
have no record of a lynch
ing since 1886: Connecti
cut, Maine and New Jersey 3
“Additional States that
have no record of a lynch
ing during the past twenty
year: Delaware, Michigan
and Wisconsin - 3
“Additional States which
have no record of a lynch
ing during the past ten
years: Idaho, Indiana, Io
wa, Maryland, Nevada, New
Mexico, North Dakota, Ore
gon, Pennsylvania and S.
Dakota_ 10
“Additional States which
have no record of a lynch
ing in the past five years:
Arizona, California, Colo
rado, Kansas, Minnesota,
Montana, Nebraska, New
York, Washington, West
Virginia and Wyoming — 11
“Additional States which
have no record of a lynch
ing in the past two years:
North Carolina and Okla
homa -- 2
“Additional States which
have no record of a lynch
ing during 1925: Illinois,
Kentucky, South Carolina,
Tennessee and Texas
5
Total States free of lynch
ing in 1925 _ 38
“Total States still having
lynching_10
“An encouraging fact is that
a number of States have contin
ued to be free of mob murder
for increasing numbers of years.
Thus a new class of States that
have had no recordof a lynching
during the past 20 years can
be added to the Roll this year,
and three States, Delaware,
Michigan and Wisconsin, are
placed in this new class. Fur
thermore, four states moved in
to the five-year class, namely:
California, Kansas, Minnesota
and West Virginia; and one
State, Oklahoma, moved up in
to the two year class.
“Special mention should be
made of Texas because of a de
termined state-wide effort made
by the newspapers, the inter
racial committees, the churches,
women’s organizations and sev
eral courageous sheriffs to place
the State on the Honor Roll. In
a ringing editorial early last
year one of the leading newspa
pers said that the entrance of
Texas clean-handed upon the
Federal Council's Honor Roll
was 'a consummation earnestly
to be sought.’
“A study of the figures com
piled by Prof. Monroe N. Work,
of the Department of Records
and Research, of Tuskegee Insti
tute, shows three additional sig
nificant developments, two fa
vorable and one unfavorable,
which should be noted in last
year’s evperience. Two of the
Negro victims lynched were in
sane; three had been formerly
released by the courts after ex
amination or trial; ten of the
persons lynched were forcibly
taken from the hands of the
law, two of them from jails and
eight from officers outside of
jails.
“On the other hand there were
thirty-nine cases reported in
which officers of the law pre
vented lynchmgs; seven of them
in Northern and thirty-two in
Southern States, and in thirteen
of the preventions armed force
was used against the would-be
lynqjjjers.
“The second favorable trend
is that in three instances during
the year persons accused of be
ing, connected with mobs were
indicted, forty-one persons in
all being before the courts, and
twenty-one of them receiving
sentences ranging from thirty
days in jail tight, years in
the penitentary.”
WOMAN’S WORK IN THE
CHURCH.
Washington, March 22— A
study of the place of women and
women’s work in the life and
work of the Church as a whole
is now being made. It promises
to attract widespread interest.
It is undertaken by a joint
committee representing the
Federal Council of Churches, the
Council of Women for Home
Missions and the Federation of
Women’s Boards of Foreign Mis
sions under the direction of Miss
Clarissa H. Spencer, whose ser
vices have been loaned by the
National Board of the Y. W. C.
A. The Research Department of
the Federal Council is co-oper
ating.
The inquiry will include the
present lorm of organization of
women’s work in the various
communions, the relations of
the women’s societies to the
general organizations of the
Church, the reasons for and
against the tendency to develop
inclusive boards and agencies
made up of men and women
serving together, the extent to
which women are eligible to
serve upon national and local of
ficial church boards, and the
status of women with regard to
the ministry and other forms of
religious work.
The officers of the joint com
mittee are: Chairman, Mrs.
John Ferguson, President' of the
Council of Women for Home
Missions; Vice-Chairman, Mrs.
E. H. Silverthom, President of
the Federation of Woman’s
Boards of Foreign Missions; and
Secretary, the Rev. Samuel Mc
Crea Cavert, Federal Council of
Churches.
THE YADKIN PRESBYTE
RIAL.
The Woman’s Presbyterial
Society, of Yadkin Presbytery
will hold their meeting April
14th at St. James church,
Greensboro. AU societies are
expected to be represented.
Please send in your contingent
fund, which is ten cents per
member.
MRS. E. B. MEARES, Pres.
MRS. J. H. Clement, Sec.
ELDER BENJAMIN F. CLARK
By Rev. L. J. McRae
Elder Benjamin F. Clark, El
der of the Clark Presbyterian
church, of Hamlet, died at one
thirty o’clock, February 26th,
1926, at his home six miles out
from Hamlet.
He was born in Richmond
County, near Laurinburg, and
lived in that county until the
formation of Scotland County
from Richmond and other ad
ing counties.
It was early in his life that he
caught the vision to become a
great land owner. For many
years he lived at home on his
own place, a large tract of land
that he owned in Scotland coun
ty which would be a credit to
any man.
') He labored hard and under
many disadvantages, yet he was
determined to be successful in
his vision. Although a man of
a limited amount of education,
he was able to accomplish many
things.
On this beautiful tract of land
was a beautiful country home
that helped to make home life a
source of pleasure.
He believed in planting and
raising everything that was ne
cessary for country life.
Assisting him in his success
was a splendid wife, who believes
in home economy, and a splendid
set of children—boys and girls.
These children were taught how
to work, and especially to use
the best method in managing af
fairs.
Not only was Elder Clark an
industrial leader in the commun
ity, but he was a great church
man—a man who, in his early
life, gave himself to God to ad
vance His cause here upon
earth.
For forty-four years or more
He was identified "with the
Presbyterian church. He was a
member of the Chapel Hill
church for several years, and al
so had the good privilege of
serving that church as an elder.
After having held his member
ship at the Chapel Hill church
for several years, he saw fit to
move his membership to the
Silver Hnl Presbyterian church.
At this church he caught anoth
er vision. While he and his fam
ily were members of the Silver
Hill church, he saw the great
need of a Presbyterian church
at Hamlet.' In the situation at
Hamlet he found a few Presby
terians. Telling them of his
purpose and plans in a meeting
together, they all agreed that a
Presbyterin church was much
needed. To be safe in this pro
ject he thought it wise to have
some legal advisers. He then
consulted the Rev. W. J. Ran
kin, D. D., of Southern Pines,
and the Rev. W. A. Scott, of
Hope Mills. These men gave
him the encouragement that he
wanted and during the meeting
of the Yadkin Presbytery twen
ty-five names were presented
for consideration and organiza
tion. The Presbytery heartily
endorsed Elder Clark’s desire,
and very soon afterward the or
ganization was made of the
church, bearing the name of
Clark Presbyterian church, the
name of Elder Clark.
After the organization a
building was needed in which to
worship. He began to organize
the little flock into clubs to raise
money with which to build. It
was not long before the erection
of the building began and his
dream was realized. The mate
rial came from his own place
and was sawed at his own saw
mill.
During this time the Rev. L.
J. McRae was pastor and is now
pastor of the Clark church.
Elder Clark left to mourn
their loss, yet heaven’s gain, a
good wife, six boys and five
girls, twenty grandchildren and
a host of friends.
He was funeralized at the
Clark Presbyterian church,
Hamlet, by Rev. L. J. McRae, as
sisted by Rev. J. B. Francis, and
Rev. L. W. Wertz, of Hamlet.
He was laid to rest in the Ham
let cemetery.
By Albert Dinkins
The necei
character
inferred f:
acter of
of the t<
not that
great arml
ry, and tlT
martial gl
halls of
assemble
warriors a:
for high moral
e teacher may be
the exalted char
sio'n and work
His mission is
soldier, to lead
to battle, to victo
hining heights of
and to the painted
tery fame, where
congress of great
conquerors from
all nations |md of all ages,
though here ic and patriotic that
mission be; nor is ft to build
great cities and systems, of rail
roads, the c inters and highways
of commer lef and civilization;
nor to cons teuct great systems
of intricate machinery to con
vert the ra v material of the
world into myriad manufac
tured artief a for the innumera
ble uses ahi appliances of civ
ilized societ r, though great and
important pat mission be; but
and yet more im
the teacher’s mis
greater sti
portant is
sion.
It is saiq, He is the best
teacher who, is able to reproduce
himself in His pupil.” If this be
true, then ihe teacher himself
should be in all high moral at
tainments, $11 that is desired in
the moral character of his pu
pil ; for, according to the princi
ple set forth in the proposition,
if the teacper be of low moral
grade, he i^rill reproduce the
same character in his pupil, and
vice versa. It is recorded by
the pen of ^inspiration, that no
man liveth* to himself; and of
no one is tips more emphatically
true th an teacher. He
exercises a moral power and in
fluence over his pupil that often
surpass those of the parent in
forming and determining the
character of the pupil. In many
cases the teacher even stands
between the pupil and parents;
his word, example and precept
are more potent with his pupil
than theirs. Since it is an in
nate principle of human nature
to approximate as nearly as pos
sible in one’s own personality the
realization of the ideal, the pu
pil appropriates into his own
life and character the life and
character of his teacher, wheth
er these be good or otherwise.
Too many think that the accu
mulation of physical, scientific
and historical facts concerning
man and the world constitute
education. Per se this is only
the development of memory of
the concrete; but there is a
realm where God comes in con
tact with man, where spirits,
human and divine, communicate
with each other and character
is formed. The true teacher
must himself be a citizen of this
realm before he can conduct his
pupils thither. Here is where
the student finds things more
precious than life itself. Here
is where he learns to prefer
death to dishonesty. The most
woeful curse of our erstwhile
teaching has been the most ut
ter neglect of the development
of this higher life. Its baneful
influence crops out in every
phase of the civic and social
fabric of our present day exist
ence. It takes place in the
gambling, stealing, lying, sharp
witted men and women who are
to be found in constantly in
creasing numbers in every walk
of life. To bring the issue clos
er home, and at the same time
show the awful responsibility
imposed upon the teacher by his
environments, let us mention
just a few facts concerning Ne
gro criminals, that class who are
doing us as a race, incalculable
harm.
There are more than 2,000
Negro criminals serving sen
tences in the prisons of Virginia.
What must the number be in
the whole country? Of these
2,000 and more, 98 per cent can
read and write. More than 900
are under 21 years of age. The
remainder, with few exceptions,
are under 30 years of age.
Practically all have been to
school, but they are as yet un
reached. Is it, then, any won
der the charge is made that* for
the most part, these youthful
criminals must have, during
school life, formed their char
acters under the tutelage of
teachers, who, to put it mildly,
did not emphasize the sins of
lying, gambling, stealing, drink- .
ing, lustfulness and wrong do
ing of all sorts?
No class of workers contribute
more to the stability of the
government and to domestic
tranquility than the true teach
er. The preacher of the gospel,
I dare say, does less in the de
velopment of the character than
the teacher. r* ’
In most cases the iron stylus
of the teacher has inscribed its
marks of character for eternal
weal or woe into the plastic
minds of his pupils long before
the minister of the gospel gets
the opportunity to recommend
the means of grace. The teach
er it is who ought to give the
earliest moral discipline that
prepares the community for
higher and broader views of
duty in all the multifarious de
tails of the intricate relations of
community life. I say the teach
er does this because the vast
majority of the parents of Ne
gro children have not time to
sit for hours daily to instruct
them.
The noblest profession on
earth is that of the teacher. He
is to work* by the most refitted
on fiat delicate. ethr
AytTg¥rfffii^7rM,7y*,-> • -**1X1 i^TiriaBp53F5tvir wp
ereal substance, the immortal
soul. Soul in immediate con
tact with soul, the teacher and
taught stand to each other. The
spirit, the character, of the one
overleaps mere words and com
pels a subtle union with the
other. With alchemic potency
the teacher turns the character
of the pupil into pure gold or
cankerous brass.
The moral ideas, in a more or*
less crude form, are the eoin
mon possession of the human
family. The savage, to what
ever race he may belong, has a
code of ethics, and it is upon
this nucleus of moral truth that
we rest our hope for the ulti
mate redemption of all peoples.
It was upon this principle, this
belief in an innate moral na
ture, that the father of ethical
philosophy proceeded in formu
lating his theory of the con
cept. He appealed to the moral
basis in the rational life of man,
to those elements which are the
very attributes of rationality,
and, as a matter of cosmic con
sequence, he was successful as
a teacher of men.
The truly successful techers
are those persons whose ideal is
the attainment of a character
like that of the Supreme Being.
We may say that most of the
great teachers of mankind have
won success just in proportion
as they have reached the moral
consciousness of men, and have
in some way linked it with the
universl belief in the essential
righteousness of some power
superior to man. Long before
the Christian era a wise man
taught that the highest good,
the supreme aim of life, is to
become like God, and three hun
dred years before, the prophet
Micah had asked, “What doth
the Lord require of thee but to
do justly and to love mercy and
to walk humbly with thy God??1
These words of the prophet have
the right ring, for the aim oi
all teaching is the development
of character; such persons only
as have Godly characters are
qualified to lead the young ir
forming habits of effective vir
tue.
The true teacher must also be
imbued with sacred regard f01
noble manhood and womanhood
Without this, there can be bu1
a wrong estimate of charactei
and a fate measure of moral
values in if|ial life. We must be
firm in the cjonviction that racial
affiliation ahd character are in
commensurable quantities and
the nature of the one argues
nothing as to the work of the
ather. Failure to appreciate
this trutn has led many deluded
men to propose, for colored peo
ple, special educational programs
based as a matter of course
upon a misconception of the
fundamental principles of the
philosophy; of education.
Teaching is the unfolding of
truth in fts application to the
common Experiences of life. To
teach trutji, one must know and
love it, and the precepts of
truth lie along the line of obe
dience to law. As the highest
law is the moral law, no teacher
is fully ^equipped who has not
submitted his mind to this law,
and learned to think and move
within its realm. He must have
it written in his heart and dom
inant in his life, otherwise he
is not fit to associate with chil
dren in the formative years of
their lives.
If, then, we rely oh divine
truth, if we make ourselves al
lies, .aptfie Almighty, speaking
His wbrds and doing His deeds,
we shall take place and authori
ty amqng men, we shall attain
moral , eminence, which is the
only superiority worthy of the
ambition of the truly educated
man or woman.
HAKBISON AGRICULTURAL
■ COLLEGE NOTES
By Mrs. A. P. Butler.
Since our last writing we have
had several visitors on the cam
pus.
We were glad to have with us
Rev. W. A. Byrd, of Jersey City.
President. He addressed the
students. The address was re
plete with good things. The edi
tor of the New York Age, Mr.
Fred R. Moore, accompanied
him and cheered us by timely
remarks.
Mrs, Carrie Jones, of New
York City, and her sister, Mrs.
Marie Ballard, of Seabright, N.
J., were visitors of Prof, and
Mrs. A. P. Butler. They have a
sister here also, in the person of
Mrs. Irene Eichelberger.
The faculty and students were
highly entertained recently by
Mr. Maxwell, the magician, of
Greenville, S. C. Mr. Maxwell
was accompanied by his wife
and little son.
A social meeting of the La
dies’ Missionary Society was
held Thursday afternoon, Feb
ruary 25, at the home of Mrs.
R. W. Boulware. Several games
were played, after which re
freshments were served. Several
ladies of the community attend
ed. Small red hatchets were
given as souvenirs.
Mrs. D. H. Hall was hostess
to the regular monthly meeting
of the Missionary Society. At
the close of the meeting the
hostess served ambrosia and
cake.
Several of our students at
tended the Older Boys’ Confer
ence which met at Benedict Col
lege, Columbia, S. C. They
brought back a glowing report
of the Conference
The season has come to “play
ball.” Our boys are happy over
the fact that a coach in the per
son of Mr. Luke Archie has
been given them. Friday,
12, they crossed bats with Allen
University. It was a hard
fought game, and ended 7 to 6
In the favor of Harbison.
Rev. J. M. Miller, of Emerson
Institute, is a Harbison rooter
and graced the occasion with his
presence.
Friday evening a large and
appreciative audience witnessed
the rendition of “Uncle Tom’s
Cabin,” a play given by the Dra
matic Club, under the direction
of Miss J. E. Young. The play
was voted a success by all. Sev
eral of the Fairwold girls, un
der the care of Miss Eva Prio
leau attended the play and pleas
(Continued on page 4) '