irfi m*b nil HZXWAim i Mi 83T0ft
■rujiuaj tpeit as arcwsTJOfl nno
•! •.; • i ^ ■•' s; ’VjH ^i( J &fm
T^aflKaTnW .0 i:ilOTqO^S?/fifriW! ji^PIrenW^
• ,4a0*A miilir^taaoftwCI amoHi-ul b^Jidhlze jijrft 'ol iioaiisqmoD
"AND YD SHAfcL KNOW THBTRUTH, AND THETR*JTH SI
.. _ hTj.^Xv *•
«rb' v*vtt iKGBMr^r^gojiasftao'J ni R$iiiviJ'‘is: M
^iTSSir5fir»^llnbnoosg
fSpSSt .VsiatwrJbi* j it .*•*
g^as^sasssssesas.
>^U _v ■•'••' >;.aq«ioriT nmHUW .iM b«sjt>f»£
»ur!ff Wlf His&m to wtimtqMl! ~fmd lim'i yinuoO mimma\D Urlt t»
$» *p'iA ■ ^(*i».u;NO. 30.
iUi ’M.lHi;.' tJ U'jg" TTOTTETT^.TTo"
<V> fcilj
THE NEGKO JWS NATHNAi:
RBCOfERt ACT
II 1
ii si n
iiur! b/TJS
smiM!
fiflfc h'Xthnud 'J«0 j
<jl (is hi!a «Y/Hi H t ’
33**/ HEARING ON THE^.^jflte^lpOBE
By Gew*e ^tflBll>t<yiliaHig*haiy
Executive
libov.A ;[■;)
W&Stfw:
1® aa* YilUfi
:hS'i ' ,.'V- 1 > : l
”l?Or> ifooiJrl Hil/; biO;
al Recovery Administration
on the Iron and Steel cod$ . in
the auditorium of the Bfejwwfc
ment of Commerce Building,
Washington, D. C., last Monday,
Negroes present to care for the
interests of the thousands Qt
Negro workers in this industry
were conspicuous by their scarc
ity. Shortly after my arrival one
Negro worker from one of the
steel districts came in with ^ome
of his white colleagues. Mr, John
P. Davis and Dr. Robert Weav
er, who have been in attendance
at many of the hearings and
have been zealously active in.
presenting evidence at the Tex
tile and Lumber codes in the in
terest of Negro, workers, were
on hand early and throughout
the hearing. Rev. Robert. Wv:
Brooks attended the morning
session. Although the weather
was sweltering 613^ to 600 whites
were in attendant In 1928 this
industry employed Afetmt 420,000
workers, about pne-fpurt^, ,of
Whbnj were Npgroes.
At the hearing under way,
Mr. Robert , P. Lament, Secreta
ry of the Iron and. Steel. Instk
lute, with 130 firm members of
the industry, indudiag business
es that produce pig iron, iron
and steel ingots, roued or ui „.
fair competition. A dramatic
time came when Colonel Hugh
S. Johnson, Recovery Adminis
trator, said that there had been
considerable objection to Article
IV, section 1, subsection 2 of
the Steel code relating to em
ployees or prospective esmpleyT
ees joining a company union or
refraining from joining any or
ganization of their, own choos
ing. He said in his opinion it
was “inappropriate in that sec?
tion of the code, which contains
the mandatory provisions of the
Recovery Law.” After consulta'
tion with some of his colleagues;
Mr. Lamont said that they had
decided to withdraw the object
tionable section. “It should be
Steel Leaders Withdra
ployee Representation
distinctly understood, however,"
he continued, “That the omisr
sion of the section does not im-.
ply any change in the attitude
of the industry on the two
points referred tothat their
employee representation v plans
are desired toy their employees
and that they would: “naturally
do everything in their power to
preserve the satisfactory rela
tionships now existing with
their employees.” Mr. William
Green, Resident of the AmerLf
can Federation of Labor* strong
ly objected to this statement o#
Mr. Lamont and said it meant
that the “indusrty was advising;
the administration that it is
their purpose t° go back and ap
ply that section of the code-,,**,
that is highly ohj ectionable to
labor as well as to industry.’/;
He proposed that the workers be
permitted to vote secretly k>«
whatever they wished in union:
representation..; oi noiiifobs nl
Mr. Lamont also : announced
that representatives fronts the
ern plants would - be present
during the afternoon)and make
some statement^ with! refferaice
to the low rate for oommon labor
of 27 cents in thfci Birmingham
district, 25 cents lin t^ihe bther
parts of the South, or the South-1
ern district; Thesg represents)-'
fives later’ appearedand said
they had agreed on a minimum
rate for common labor of 80 cts;
per hour for both distffeta.-Thte
lined mo no ko'joiu (.«
cents in the other nineteen dig*
w^TZ'ih ■ Z
Secretary^PerkinsSpeaks for
V:. ■;(> Negro Ww*eus.fi <
Shortly after Mr. Lament
! completed the presentation- of
gie Steel industry cod^ Miss
Frances Perkins, the ’Secretary
i of the United States Department
oi; r^bor, waa «i?wnflepr.
She made what t was perhaps the
jmpst searching analysis of the
coder andr was loudly applauded
for five minutes when- she fi®.
iphed. She said that “the basis
laid for the recovery . of the
Steel industry will go far to
ward' determining the kind :4ft
industrial recovery^, weget for
th e nation as s a whole.” “Steely”
she said, “is the^ basic fabric of
cur civilization. Industrial poli
cies and the labor polices em
bodied in the node, for that in
dustry will spread and weave
themselves into r most of the
important industries of the na
tion. TifAnd ifwe.are to avoid a
repetition of the' errors that
have:all but-wrecked our indus
trial* atructnray it is necessary
th*!,, fpuiida^ioni which we
lare now about to lay in the Steel
indusjtty shah fcset »in ? solid
ground of hew policies of indus
trial/ and labor management
tlnitarebaacd on the human and
economic needs of the nation as
of employees inline Steel; infe
fry had dropped from 420,000 in
1929 toiahopt half; that number
in Marcfe<U§33/;n and that . the
total earnings for the whole year
1932 were $190,000,000# a drop
of 75 per cent from 1929,; - ■
She appealed' to the leaders of
thp> steel; industry to take the
lead in attacking the irregular*
ity< and insecurity hof employ
ment in the industry. She recit
ed haw they had’ * concentrated
on accidents-in steel and iron
plants and certain sections had
rdduoed them approximately 89
per cent; She called upon them
to use the same; sort of skill and
spirit in-reducing the irregular
ity and insecurity of employ
mfent. .fiwm vTh. 0-tnBibusi w
I She plead for * better adjust
uienfcof the maximum time for
each ’Worker* in ‘ the industry;
urging that ’th® Steel code' rule’
out the seven day week and the
twelve^hour day. The-eode pro
posed ant average of 40 hours
per? week -within ;>< any , six
months period, but o Miss .titer
kina said that thin proposal “not
only permits these evils to stand
in the (face? of fliousands -of- < un
employed who are begging) for
work hut it wilt intensify irreg
ularity of effipkjymeatrhy stim*
plating ? undulyI long hours xiur
ingr !«ome months'* to ? be alter-/
nated with? very little ^Itorkodtav
ing other months; so that the
average may be kept down to 40
hours.” jfoo7/ aol
;! Jn(discussing r?the liminimum
rate of pajr M*» Pericine spoke
Very? strong "words.in thebh&iof
Negro workers. She said t “The
low rrafcesob$-25.t; centw and -27
cents petri'houhn 'for r the: twe
Southern; districts hre; presutna-'
bly based? rOn the predominance
of Negmlaberiinrfthese distrietsi
B^kf^fcgroes-lare also* consum
ere Their? punehasinr power f fis
needed* toxprovkTe^ different*
markets for the products of dgf
rfithfr live differently
ap,dQ?va lower standard;? A sound,'
s#m
hot be based on ». capitalfeation
off.theseT^ower r Jiving? e^sts*; ,]*
wav mustfbp^fpun^ of/gradunlly
Jpngf)standw4e? 0#
(^Hojpedr IsbjMrere/ - and in
Hb‘*ftiulqx*» hiIVI .hor^mb
creased wages that wilt not un
fairly compete with the s wages
of the whitelaborer are essen
trnl to achieving! thjgiand.” •- >VI
John P. Darts Argued Case of \
* ^4 NegWijMtorttefea; in* ,
During the afternoon session
Mr. John P. jjtavis, of the netdy
formed N e g p o i Industrial
League, presented a brief in be
half of Negro steel' workers
wniefc attacjcea mairnyme dif
ferential between the wage 0#
25 cents and 2? cents per hour
for common labor in the South
ern districts compared to •’ 35
cents and 40 cents for the other
districts; He centered his attack
on the claim that the cost of liv
ing i in those Southern ‘ districts
fc'iower-than the costof living
iflother districts. He gave a sta
tistical comparison between the
cost of food/ Clhthin^ shelter;
heat'ancF light in; Jefferson CotihP
ty, Alabama, Birmingham disi
Met;'and the Pittsburgh district
ih the North. HC gave &
show riiseat, bhEMd; ' fdol^
light and other necessities dost
NOgrO workersf in
and other steel centers as much
as the same heCCSskfes1 cost
white workers in Pittsburgh and
the North. Mr. William* Cfreen,
Mr. Davis and had plead * for
higher i-ates wltH 00 feints per
hour as a miniinum for common
lhtfor. Mr. Davis in his presen
tation urged that organized la
bor stand for no discrimination
on account of race, creed ^r col
or arid that some provision be
included in the code prohibiting
such discrimination. ' - no 1
Various representatives of the
workers presented facta and ar
guments for. ||wrter hours and
tWgfff iWn
from Pittsburgh district arid one
from the BuThingbam distriet,
who spoke for their fellows at
the risk of losing their jobs.
Tbere: was » ypijng minis-*
ter from Bethlehem, Pa., repre
senting an organization of the
unemployed, with 500 members,
who made a sane, strong plea
for the unemployed of that
steel center. One wondered why
representatives of the fraternal
and: social organizations that
concern themselves with the
welfare of* the Negro worker
were not more in evidence.
Some Employers Threaten to
Replace Negroes
Facts brought out at the hear
ing and secured by; consultation
with officials of1 * the* Recovery
Administration who h&ve’toeen
standing up for fair ^play fOr
'.he Negro in the fdnttmgwthe
Textile, Oil and Lumber* codes
tHat have already*: beeh' 1 before
the administration1 disclose" an
attitude on the 8'part: of: many
white ^ employers that ' will
call for very* serious concern
for > Negroes j all over * the
land- especially ih tne South.
Many u of these employes
where: a large portion of their
labor is Negro, are contending
that their rarieshould h«Vea:
lower differential, on the ground
of lower living costs for Nfegfoes*
and1'that Negroes arer leSs effM
cient. When represefitatwes of
the Government* andtofl 1 organv
ized 'labor have : insisted that the
minimum? rates': of > payd he the
same* for Negnoesr* asnfcwother
Workers, these employers hav-er
in** several r instances said that
they will dfeehargevNegroes and
employr whites, Jfvthey4 have - got
to pay the same! wagfrH*© Ne^
grgeaqfrro*) ?.aw caochaT, «stM fw?
rsegro worKers LaekWguniza
1 i ifil'wofioi 3\- ? fW -md --no., fa a
. One other thought! came to
mind as one saw'the arrange
ment and Haffeherf to the facts
of iia'Stfe codg 'fifjtffok Tne
Sghtiaaalagaaaly/jjt sjaSLiaSui^.
Negfo worker is comp,
Ipless of lack of labor
iiS&tidS^ThOrtf m' * n<Jt itif.
organisation. There lr<
ficient numbers in the
e organiza
^(Continued on page 4)
mi ifAiiKindO
-fiV ' 4i
-o'J i tWftijt
festive
Howarc
retirement, after whieh I wm bj|
Me to fallow the beaiji:, jttf
literary ^fork and public discus:
sion, L; y- _ ' i,a
seventieth birthday > vj*»
like any (Other summer vacation
day and was spent in the usual
way . I apose at six o’clock,
strpjled through., < jjpjx garden,
gat%ed|eg^ble8 for dinner
cut. a b<^pat for the breast;
taWe^ J&W the morning, .paper,,
and then ahswered thesummena
rafliffll/ Pfjwfclfcff Why
breakfast I went to the Univer
sity Post Office for my morning!
StobhI, > chatted some time with
and instructors
^hered for the same purpose.
I:$&en came Home, rpad: the
newspapers
Bn^magazines, then wrdte ^
wards the
paddled
and inspected my trees, ; fhrnh
bery, grasses and flowers to see
what further care they needed.
There is no delight known to the
sons of men comparable to the
stroll in the garden early in the
morning or in the cool of the
evening. The only worth while
vocation or avocation is cultivat
ing the soil and cultivating the
soul. I am called from the gar
den again by the tea bell. Now
for an auto spin about the sub
urbs, winding up at the movies,
which brings me to the end of a
perfect day. . .
Seventy years is, hut a <fey—
a watch in the night when; it is
passed. It might well be seised
Upon, as a point bf reflection; If
it were not for thehnawledge
that all men must die, sooner or
later. I would feel as nught
live forever. The end of thes road
has no jjjpg.
I was, sent iptu t^-vwriajpag
haps at the most dynamic: pe*
riod of human history^ Abraham
Lincoln and I were living at the
same time,, - More- prognessuin
mastering fipet tfwA prswp$f$pr
ing discoveries have taken place
in ; Jnyw day than had.be§n
achieved from Adam to me< ^
was torn j in the hack part pf a
backwoods county in South Car
olina amidst very crude country
and eytote till well
teens. The electric light,- the tel
ephone, the- electric car, theau-j
tomobile, the {nnotype, the ra
® iMb# Fffip
nave “ -- J'—A
since
myfjjBI - nnni WBIP&nrrn
arid discoveries tav-ei confribut
and the subtrahend would De
greater ttidiFMl* reftffiirider. No
less striking*!^ beeh’fthe 'trans
forihatfoh inJ th# dbmain ■ df hu
man tMMrihg; Tterwhfs
of the Speeiee^ Hvas issii&f ^usd
font year# before f Was bondi^t
did not get underlay till quar
ter century later. Its iftfr
versal acceptance has* revefcitidm
iz£d the whole fabric ofhittftt*
thought and attfph. > T9ie tmsre
has been shifted ftom heaven
to earth. Before the dissemina
tj«fad*j« ,i wematf
-yr u i»ii, ! 'i iu «
tiofi; o^.painsrifti^^r^iottsgsita
*tifuW?«t W»WW ftuWe^thenifc
ba§> become »*cepemortikI formu
la* DeuMtpfM^fefirMi tbeideal
fpWMOf ^pfV^WUB^i ]b»c «!vto
#jt|l?a t^jKrtotwt dfaeadeade
na^^acypk«ykWwito dictator
shi^io aU-paabi ^ thnieptiUizeti
w/Mdd. ,1* io^ustcyoMt/econom
ics, competijfciwi haagiYenWay
to c«mbd^io^ia»i^f«idividdftl
ismfcosooiai content rfioosevelt
MH§ fare? etn&r
a#«tt4n theutoScolwmriieonhitosee
p4>y*#«t, Cardinal o Gibbons and
OantnuenPeoro** iarjflttto&UiWfli
giouft beUe^a. D ba»ev seen this
oid- world <rfjmm» iAa ttt wh*,
standing on it* head* spinning
ctossnv the ,|#intfin* gtuee ‘ of
change. Itlis great to live in such
a*£gt> fts tbiN eVen if only as a
5»ei!*F;W lieas paedHte spectator.
I still expect to see nshered in a
nav?* prefer ef things, the consum
mation !C#?thdTProglWssf ofn the
past seventy? iynwra. , The time/of
its fulfillment feat hand and the
reign- oft technocracy o jis? t near.
Uke Moses, 1 shall hope to get
a glimpse of the> Promised l*a»d,
but shalLnot:-probably enter in
to it* full fruition. The inevita
ble Neber .W8l frustrate: such
hepe.ffici 7l'.ii'K>8 *,iTr
JNow as to the achievement ot
the Negro race, My life is an
adequate yard stick by which its
progress may be measured. The
story of my 'life, iWit is worth
the telling, wonki bgia complete
history, of the face since eman
eipatiomi lieeil/ not boast,< like
father. Aeneas, “Magna place
quaran ier-^'I have played a
waasascM
th*s dynamic moventtents+r-in pol
itics, business or wM&ion. What
ever influence ! may hafee exert"
edhi:has*a • been a-th*ftdireciitig
thinking along sane and: con
structive channels: L haveknown,
with a < greater aidless r degree of
closeness; every < distinguished^
Negro from Frederick Douglass
to J&arcus ©arVeyc i i r<tt have' &s
sluned the roie, notvof a leader
but of ah analyst; not of an ags
itator/but an expositcr. l shall
hope during the wtext ten years
to be of sttU more efficient ser *
vice ii» guiding? the race in the
way >it ish©idd» gBlw<5 ?t»;«nliirf
i-’isll KNOXVILLE LECTERN ’
' ssluo J —^Btffsiq ,««>!*
to ^Hyetf&eiSsribufc gosifii
The,.’} Shiloh -Presbyterian
church conducted two Jclwirch
Vacatidh SclriWsl !&
rbhindiTt‘ 6^ diier ;iMk Tijilndred.
- $epr
ch will
^ersarv.
or¥ MisslOTiS Will b6
Gomlfeetetffih the> ghilotfmuds,
S0?*flibei*&|cfl&Jfffls nOW>Vtti
mnk tlw ptibtrti ttf
dklilttlp bi<y rair ltf^bfc'6nfc'»0f,tl»
ottfettotaftigifewwiPfes ^oarr
Mrs. J. S. Dailey wift^flARstiJSe'
Seiniimr*- ' **(fi ^ frn* • •’■* *f
}| -vail AtHiPT ■•■■■ fi ■>
> SMloh^a^ l^eeh^eteeted by the
Board of; Christian Education
prfi "to bfTO y({i tr<f fc:t
’ of the twenty churches
Tnttie denominationthrough
which it is hoped that the New
Youth Movement will be' initi*t
ed. The >oun^ people tti ;1the
church
NeW Mb
asm
entered1 ftstb this
wMi!!ehithtisi*
inir interest.
KySai m WtthPWttt
toCin tntepIlve camiSa]irntfur
ing the fall and wiiifer?
-- -m __j -naffl *
riw»reHAi“:
By Mary White OTirigtoi*, *
treasurer <*M|ie, ^ A, A. gft f.
--"Gotfs Angry Mari,” by Leon
ard Ehrlich.—Publishers, Simon
Apmh-Mm Kiis t^n
figure
mjA5nerican history,,, dismissed
• Q^ay by the school book histo
rian as a misguided fanatic, but
^M;didmore t» hasten the fOx)
‘'.tion of slavery ip this Country
>t%; person. The
..orthern soldiers swung on
;heir way singing the single
great popular anthem, America
bag produced: John Brown's
Body Lies a Mouldering in the
! Grave, But His Soul Is
Mal$FW: tQ*V” /It, marched, tri
' umphantly .to the < Emancipation
Proclamation.
have -been a number of
biographies of John; Brown, Os?
^nW Qarrison Villard’s the moot
exhfcustiye but-this book,of fic
ti£mv as, Ehrlich describes his
writing, is the greatest picture
araw^ of this Hebrew
at, i this pan ^ho could
d^ Mfe^very epdure and live.
ot: tne race of great prophets,
^Ppated in
school and college of New York.
H^. pnderstands the visiop I
have read many of John Brown’s
biographers and1 none gives so
authentic ja ;.pi<?tUFe m i jeopard
Ehrliob’s, for his book ,|s with
out comment, without contro
versy, John Brown himself. •:I
There are two sets of people
who move about * this stupen
dous central u; figure,' • Brownfs
children and the men of the
Negro race who followed him.
illisi intense personality kept
his sons by his side though in
.Kansas they hdted what he did,
and longed to return to their
eastern homes. The Negroes al
so were held by his personal
power.; Not i Frederick Douglass;
Probably Brown never telt such
keen disappointment as when,
Douglass failed to Join him in
the Harper’s Ferry mid. “I knew
you would come, Douglass, I
knew yon would not fail me”
Brown said when they met in
Virginia. But'Douglass did fail
hitnu He saw the futility of the
harper’s Ferry plan/It was not
what’he had been led to believe
R. would be, the establishing of
a place to which slaves might
fteef.r receive arms and maintain
a-fortress! It was an attack up
on* United States property
and'the forces of the State and
ibebfUnioiir would be united
againat it; Brown could not be ,
reasoned . with and Douglass
turned nway from him. But his
comp&nfan;: Shields Green, black,
esapede slave, whose , child
was stair ;dn thraldom in the
South,\G said' to Douglass, “I
bWeye tgonWid de ole * man.”
1 Of • a idifferent type was young
$ QberUn ^graduate,
‘"slender and straight as a jave
lijp” IJe/too, stayed on with the
old man»! and; met .. death as
Bs©wn-met*t.,-Every one of the
«nanrrwitih Bw»wn in this raid
knew they could never escape
alive. They were as brave as Le
biifedaa and 1 his followers at
TheiinbpvUie. I would put Green
hud Oopelsnd at the head of the
list' bf Negro heroes: Every col- >
ored bey, arid girl^ too; * should
ktftW“Of their courage and no
(Conttnned on pa*? 3)~~
:; i -m