The Informer (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 45, No. 17, Ed. 1 Saturday, March 4, 1939 Page: 1 of 12
This newspaper is part of the collection entitled: The Houston Informer and was provided to The Portal to Texas History by the Rice University Woodson Research Center.
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Colored Carneg ie Lit.-.
Frederick and Robin St.
Houston, Texas.
(AS NEGROES LIFT VOICE IN FIRST CO
Z1CDLORED BRANA,
Heueron Pusuc Lapew
upreme Court
(eft
tlaws
im Crow Juries
“THE NEW POPE AND THE MINORITY
GROUPS .
Read this stirring feature in next week’s
INFORMER. Regardless of religious be-
liefs, every man's life is in some way affect-
ed by the Pope of Rome. What can the mi-
nority groups expect of the new Pontiff?
Read the answer in YOUR PAPER next
AL
7 r 1
LOUIS, GALENTO SIGNED
MIAMI, Fla.—Mike Jacobs definitely an-
nounced Wednesday that Joe Louis had been
signed to defend his heavyweight title some,
time in June against “Two Ton** Tony Galen-
to. Mike predicted a million dollar gate and
said the fight would not be held in New York
VOLUME 45 NO. 17
NO LIGHT FOR THE
HOUSTON, TEXAS, SATURDAY, MARCH 4, 1939
6c Houston * 7c Elsewhere
Leader Jump
I Lead On Fina
Night To Beat Be
By CARTER WESLEY
HOUSTON.--John A. Fowlkes, in-
trepid Labor leader from the Amal-
gamated Union League, running with
masterful cunning, first toddled
along like the tortoise with pre-
tended awkwardness, and then on
the last night, rising on golden legs,
flashed past his opponents with the
, blinding speed of a whippet to be-
come Bronze Mayor of a bigger and
batter Houston. John Fowlkes, presi-
dent of ILA No. 1409, a man who
' earns his living by the sweat of
his, brow, led the working group to
the commanding post of the Negro
front in Houston Wednesday night
with a total of 620,050 votes, and
a total amount turned in of $756.66.
The total money turned in Wednes-
the day night was $1874.86, making a
total for the drive of $2903.41. Thus,
theChamber of Commerce went
i over its goal of $2500.00 by the
.KES IS HOUSTON'S NEW BRONZE MAYOR
Maverick’s Speech
Streamlines Confab;
Houston Host In ’40
By J. DON DAVIS
Annual Cooking MINORITIES
School To Be Held
sum of $403.41.
The phenomenal speed with which
John A. Fowlkes ran in the stretch
did not make the race a one-sided
‘ race by any means. Dr. Perry W.
Beal, leader in last week's report,
turned in $426.00 Wednesday night
to make his total for the campaign,
$670.00. He had a total of 537,050
March 15,16,17
\ The Mammoth Food and Fashion
\ show given annually by the In-
I former Publishing company will be
I held March 15, 16 and 17. Plans for
— | the show are row being perfected
and many valuable prizes will be
awarded during the three nights
that the show will be operated.
Hundreds of people who attended
last year’s show are anxiously await-
ing the opening of this year’s show,
as it promises to be the best ever
staged in Houston.
Much interest is manifested in
the annual show staged by the In-
former and the housewives who at-
tend are elated over the instructions
given by the skilled culinary and
household artist who supervises the
show. «
During last year’s show, hundreds
of prizes were awarded to people
holding lucky numbers and this year
more prizes will be awarded than
were awarded last year. The grand
prize will be awarded on the night
of March 17, and according to ad-
vance information, will be of more
value than the gas range awarded
HAIL PACELLI
AS NEW PONTIFF
Minority groups hailed the
election of Eugenio Cardinal
Pacelli, Secretary of State
under the late Pius XI, as
Pope of the Roman Catholic
church as a direct answer to
the Dictators who issued a demand
that the church not elect a politi-
cal Pope.
The College of Cardinals broke
an age old precedent in naming
Pacelli as Pius XI’s successor, for
seldom if ever in history has a de-
ceased Pontiff’s secretary been ele-
vated to the Papal chair. Rebuffs
to the election were expected in
Germany and perhaps Italy.
The new Vicar of Christ is con-
sidered one of the keenest students
and diplomats in the Catholic clergy
and is expected to pursue the same
active role for world peace as Plus
XI did. He has been described as
the "man behind the gun” during
the reign of the late Pontiff.
Informer Managing Editor
AUSTIN.—Despite inclement weather in the early part
of the sessions an appreciable number of colored Texans as-
sembled here Friday through Sunday in the initial conclave -
of the Texas Negro People’s Congress, passed a set of far-
reaching resolutions, set up working machinery of the or-
ganization and named Houston as
the seat for the next convocation.
The meeting suffered a severe
setback when several notables
BRONZE MAYOR
John A. Fowlkes, intrepid labor
leader lagged like a tortoise in the
last year.
Every night during the show prices
will be awarded and the people are
requested to attend every night to
be in line for both the grand prize
early stages of the Bronze Mayor be in line for both the grand prize
race, but on the last night flashed and the prizes awarded at each
past his opponents and led the session of the show.
working group to the Negro front in ——--l ,
Houston.SASTRES SA
JESSE JAMES GIVEN
1 DAY IN JAIL FOR
POSSESSION OF GUN
Rte master." Mr. Fowlkes. Looking
backward, Dr. Beal and his workers
might be inclined to feel some
chagrin to know that just $77.67
more would have won the election.
But the citizens and the members of
the chamber of commerc feel noth-
r.nwt for Dr Beal and Dr. and 99,300 votes. Too much com-
R. H. wa who was thrid with a mendation cannot be given to Mr.
total of $648.25, and total votes of
452,480. Dr. Ward had run a strong
race all the way through, see-sawing
tn the first place with Mr. Jemi- .
son and Dr. Beal. The strength of Dr. and by dauntless spirit succeeded
Ward and Dr. Beal is a compliment
to their standing in the community.
It is the first time they had offered
themselves for public office of this
leaders ran such an excellent race
and a race so much above par.
Horace G. Pope, fraternal insur-
ance leader, and plugging, purpose-
rul executive, was fifth with $188.00,
Pope, who probably had less sup-
port from the directors in the cham-
ber of commerce than any of the
other candidates. But by plugging
raising $188.00 almsot single-handed.
kind, and the response was gratify-
ing.
Ex-Bronze Mayor J. H. Jemison,
another young man and fine busi-
ness leader, was fourth with $522.00
and a total of 392,750 votes. Gauged
by last year’s experience. 3522.00
would have been enough to win a
Bronze Mayor office, and raising
$522.CO in a month is a good job
in anybody's language. It was not
that Ex-Bronze Mayor Jemison ran
a poor race, but it was that the
To any who are' still not certain
as to the factors and forces which
lifted John A. Fowlkes to the top
of the pack, it only needs to be
said that John A. Fowlkes was the
representative of Labor generally,
and particularly of 2500 Negro Long-
shoremen down on the waterfront
This feat of the longshoremen is but
a small indication of the potent
power that lies in the masses and
the laboring group of the city
which has been ignored in the past.
It is certain that Bronze Mayor
Fowlkes, the representative of the
(See LABOR LEADER, Page 3.)
HERE SUNDAY
The Hollywood make-up men of
Hollywood, California, will give a
special demonstration at the meeting
of the City Beauticians’ organiza-
tion at the Franklin eBauty school
at 3 p.m., Sunday.
There will also be a special dis-
cussion of pending legislation that
affects the beauty profession. J. H.
Jemison will make a report on the
visit to Austin, Texas.
All beauticians are urged to be
present.
HQUSTON. — Seventy-eight days
in jail, awaiting trial, for the pos
---hither anseshma mh
his partner, Horace Rogers. Just
because he had a sawed-off shotgun
does not mean that he was the
original Jesse James. When they
appeared before Judge Kennerly in
federal court, they were excited be-
cause they faced a penalty for pos-
sesion of such a weapon of 5 years
in the penitentiary and a $2000 fine
which is the maximum penalty for
the charge.
When arraigneed, Rogers entered
a plea of guilty and explained to the
judge that the barrel of the gun
broke and he sawed it off, not know-
ing that it was a violation of the
federal laws. Judge Kennerly sen-
(See JESSE JAMES, Page 7)
First Lady To Speak
Here; Lashes D.A.R.
Why Don’t Our Graduates Get Work?
Dr. Harry Emerson Fosdick once preached a sermon on
the subject: “The Means Determine the End.” The theme
of the sermon was that it is not the goal nor the high ideals
that determine what we achieve, but it is the day by day
things that we do which determine what we achieve, but it is
the things that we do which determine where we go and what
we get to be. With the ambition and idal to see their chil-
dren reach the top, mothers and fathers make tremendous
sacrifices to give them “education.” Having set their goal
and their ideal, they work and slave to get money and turn
s their children aloose to do the best they can in high school
or college, in the hope that they will come out with the edu-
cation that they want them to have.
Such parents are seemingly unmindful of the fact that
it is what the child does day by day, what he reads, what he
thinks, what he learns, whom he works and plays with, that
determine what he shall be when he comes out of high school
of college. They are neglecting the most important thing
in the determination of the positions that the child may get
when he does graduate; for the most important thing is
teaching the child each day the value of reliability, the value
of doing jobs well, and seeing to it that he learns the right
things and the fundamental things Of life. Few parents see
to it that their children learn to do their chores on time and
properly; to know the difference between bad and good boys.
If their children get jobs, they always seem too busy to
watch the child and see how he is doing on the job, how re-
liable he is, how properly he is doing it, how well his em-
ployer can depend upon him. They don’t see that he gets
the best out of his money when he earns it, they don’t show
him the value of a dollar, they refuse to acquaint themselves
with opportunities that are out for Negro high school and
college graduates, so as to discuss them with their children
intelligently and to help them to shape their courses toward
some of these occupations.
Early Training Needed
1 > To illustrate the condition that a graduate of our high
I school or college finds himself or herself in, may we quote
from Dr. Fosdick’s speech:
I (See GRADUATES, Ed. Page)
Extraordinary interest is being
shown in the visit of Mrs. Frank-
lin D. Roosevelt, wife of the Presi-
dent, here on March 14, for a lec-
ture at the Music Hall when the
First Lady will speak on "Relation-
ship of the Individual to the Com-
munity.’' . ,
Mrs. Roosevelt is being presented
by Mrs. Edna W. Saunders who is
reserving a section in the new Mu-
sic Hall. Bagby and Rusk, for col-
ored. Tickets are now on sale at the
Y. W. C. A., 50« Louisiana, and also
at the F. H. A. Office, 420 Odd Fel-
lows Bldg. All seats are reserved.
Because of the versatility of her
nature, wide and varied interests.
Mrs. Roosevelt is probably the best
known woman in America. Coal
miners in Western Pennsylvania and
share-croppers in Georgia know her
warm smile and keen interest in
their welfare almost as well as of-
ficial Washington knows her in the
gracious fulfilment of the role of
the nation’s First Lady and leading
hostess. .
Besides presiding at all of the
manifold traditional social functions
at the White House, Mrs. Roosevelt
finds time to be an author, to con-
duct a daily column, to lecture and
be a wife, mother and grandmother.
Mrs. Roosevelt makes between 30
and 40 lecture engagements a sea-
son. For many years she has played
an important part in the education-
al. sociological and political affairs
of the day and the opportunity to
hear her is considered a great privi-
lege. A
She is a charming, gracious speak-
er and draws immense crowds
wherever she lectures.
MES. ELEANOR ROOSEVELT
, CHARMING?
No, some other word is needed to describe Miss Daisy
Lee Holland, graduate of Prairie View and a teacher in the
Van Vleck school system.—(Photo by Teal)
Barring Negroes
WinsDeathStay,
Black Is Author
WASHINGTON. — The Supreme -
Court Monday set aside a death
sentence pronounced upon Hugh
Pierre, Lucy, Louisiana, Negro, hold- -
ing his conviction of murder charges '
was unconstitutional because Ne-
groes were barred from the grand
jury .which indicted him.
The high tribunal, in a deci-
sion written by Justice Hugo L.
Back, reversed a Louisiana Su-
preme Court decision approving
legality of Pierre’s trial and the
subsequent death sentence.
Pierre, now in the parish prison
in New Orleans, contended that he
was not afforded a legal trial be-
cause Negroes were not permitted
to serve on juries in St. John the
Baptist Parish and because feeling
against him was so high at the time
of his trial that the case should
have been transferred to another
court.
Justice Black held, in a unanim-
ous decision, that it is just as illegal
to bar Negroes from grand juries -
as to bar them from trial juries.
REMODEL FOR FUTURE GROUPS
AUSTIN.—Youths assigned to the
NYA Resident Project at Inks Dam
on the Colorado River are helping
build a gymnasium, an addition to
the dining hall, and supervisor's
They Like Their Paper
WE DID NOT SOLICIT ANY OF -----------------—
THE FOLLOWING COMMENT
Editor Roscoe Dunjee, fiery edi-
tor of the Black Dispatch of Okla-
home, wrote this week:
"I think you are right on Allred.
When I listened to him talk in
Houston last year( meaning at the
National Business League meeting)
I decided he would do to tie to."
J. Alston Atkins, official editor
of The Informer, who has been
in North Carolina two years.
ever had In Texas."
Alex Pegues, 2818 Elgin, came
by The Informer a couple of
weeks ago and laid everybody out
because his paper, which he takes
by subscription, did not arrive on
time. Be said:
JUSTICE HUGO L. BLACK
SCORES D. A. B. FOR MARIAN
ANDERSON BAN . -
WASHINGTON. - Mrs. Franklin
D. Roosevelt, the nation’s first lady,
came to the front for minority
groups again Monday when it was
revealed that she had withdrawn
her membership from the D.A.R. be-
cause of that organization’s barring
Marian Anderson from Constitution
Hall. Mrs. Roosevelt did not specif-
ically state that she had withdrawn
her name from the D.A.R.. but
referred reporters to the organiza-
tion for an answer to the query. All
facts point to the D.A.R. as being
(See FIRST LADY, Page 3.). The Informer is the fairest we have
writes:
“I congratulate yea on year
stand far Allred.”
Clem Bolden, an old citizen of
Houston, and an influential leader
in the Third Ward Civic club, vol-
unteered the statement recently in
a group of men:
“I have read all of the papers
published in Texas, from, the days
when we had just one sheet to a
paper until today, and of all of them
“My wife will not give me any
peace until this darned paper gets
there, and I am Ured of having
to come up here after It I want
Uris paper every week and ne
missing.”
Then last Friday, the paper being
delayed again, Mrs. Alex Pegues,
wife of Mr. Pegues quoted above,
laid The Informer representative
out over the telephone. When we
sent her e paper she apologized for
having talked so rough, and said:
“I am sorry I talked like that, but
I’d rather miss two meals than to
miss one issue of The Informer, and
when it doesn't come I just get
mad.”
scheduled to appear on program
failed to put in their appearances.
Outstanding among these was Ros-
coe Dunjee, militant Oklahoma edi-
tor; who could not make the trip
because of confinement to bed with
an attack of influenza.
Davis Initial Speaker
Fiery John P. Davis, National
Secretary of the National Negro
Congress, was the principal speaker
in the opening session at Wesley
M. E. church Friday night. Davis
stated that the Congress was not
intended to conflict in any way with
the programs of the NAACP or
Urban League, but to supplement
the fruitful work of these pioneer-
ing organizations.
Women to the Front
The prophetic statement of Paul
Lawrence Dunbar that the future
of this race tomorrow depends upon
its womanhood today bore fruit
when Saturday’s sessions of the
Congress revealed to attendants the
active role played by colored wo-
men in the labor march.
In spite of the city’s liberal po-
litical policy, Sen Antonio Negroes
have had difficulty in securing ade-
quate employment on government
projects. When the Workers’ Alli-
ance was initiated, Negroes of San
Antonio needed a leader and it was
here that Mrs. Boone, small in
statue but dynamic in fight, stepped
into the role of leader and carried
by organized flght.
Miss Layle Layne, New Yark
school teacher who is on leave from
her work, was a forceful person-
ality throughout the parley and
that she is a keen student of labor
was evident by the many labor
measures which she engineered into
adoption by the congress:
her plea to former governor James
V. Allred, who in the words of Mrs.
Boone, gave the key with which to
unlock the door to what seemed in
the outset to be an unsurmountable
barrier. She cited many instances
in which rank prejudices were
meted out to the Negroes and point-
ed out that many were eliminated
A. F. L. Leader Speaks
Harry.W. Ackerman, Executive
secretary of the Texas State Fed-
eration of Labor, in his address to - %
the meet Friday morning steered
clear of the possibilities of his or-
ganization's interest in skilled Ne-
gro labor, but confined his talk to
the possible unionization of un-
skilled Negro labor and painted a
deplorable picture of conditions suf-
fered by race farm hands due to
competition of nomadic Mexican
laborers.
According to Mr. Ackerman,
bands of Mexicans roam the South:
west Land by virtue of their low
living scale, work for a much cheap
er wage than that usually earned
by Negroes and in this respect loom
as a serious threat to extinction of
colored laborers on farms. Mr. Ack-
erman also described the mechani-
ration of farming as a serious threat
to the colored farm worker.
As a possible solution to the
looming crisis Mr. Ackerman sug-
gested the establishment of a defi-
nite wage scale in each community.
He did not touch on the merits of
the CIO or AFL, but urged Negroes
to become affiliated with one of the
bodies as Ibng as it was organized
labor. He called the Gaines decision
the most tremendous stride of prog-
ress made by any racial group in
the century. In concluding he of-
fered the services of the AFL state
body in assisting unskilled laboroms
(See MAVERICK, Fage &)
CONFESSED EXTORTIONIST
IS FIRST CASE FOR ALLRED TO
ACT ON AS FEDERAL JUDGE
quarters, remodeling the kitchen
and installing a bakery as a part of
their work experience program.
These facilities will care for future
resident groups.
HOUSTON.—The newly appoint-
ed Federal Judge of the Southern
District of Texas, Former Governor
James V. Allred, will sentence Mrs.
Alma Woods, who was recently in-
dicted by the Federal grand jury
on a charge of attempted extortion.
Mrs. Woods appeared before Fed-
eral Judge T. M. Kennerly Tuesday
and entered a plea of guilty to the
charge that she sent letters demand-
ing $25000 from her employer,
James C. Boone, a Houston attor-
ney, and threatening his son's life
if the money was not paid. She was
arrested shortly after delivering the
last of the two notes to Mr. Boone's
wife. Shortly after her arrest, she
confessed to sending the letters.
Tuesday when she entered a plea
of guilty before Judge Kennerly,
he said “I do not believe that I
want to sentence" anyone who
threatened the life of Jim Boone's
baby, he is almost like one of my
boys. I believe I'll let Judge Allred
sentence her."
Mrs. Woods will appear before
Judge Allred Monday March 13 for
sentence. She was remanded to the
Conroe jail to await her sentnece.
Texas Newsmen To
Meet In Dallas
LALLAS.—The citizenry of Dallas
is enthusiastic about arranging to
entertain the Texas Negro Press As-
sociation that will convene here
Friday, March 3, with the morn-
ing session opening at 9 o’clock at
Moorland Branch YMCA. This meet-
ing will bring newspaper men and
women from a large number of
cities including Fort Worth, Terrell,
Houston, Waco, Prairie View and
Galveston, to thrash out problems of
the Texas press. Special music will
be rendered. The night session will
be held at St. Paul M. E. church.
Amalgamated Unions Again
Score “Company Henchmen”
3412 Delano Street
Houston, Texas
February 28, 1939
To the Public and especially the
Laborers of Houston:
It affords me no small amount of
pleasure to make the following re-
port:
We, the members of the Amal-
gamated Union League, take this
method to partially express our
views on the all-important labor
Automobile Mechanics and helpers:
sure to win another.
These men have been fortunate
enough to organize the S. P. Dock
Workers into a bonafide organiza-
tion and are working out more
details along the line of agreement.
This group of men has selected
a noble group of leaders to lead
them to success.
For some reasons the Henchmen
of the Independent Union (Com-
pany Union) won’t magnify the suc-
cess of organized labor; but they
prefer magnifying the errors that
have been made in organized labor.
We are willing to admit that there
were some errors made in organiz-
issue.
The Amalgamated Union League
has been wonderfully blessed
through our splendid labor organ-
izers of the city, especially among
the ILA group. These organizers
have won four elections for the -----------
compress workers already and are ing the Laundry Workers and the
and we also know where the faults
were. They weren't in the organiz-
ers. But they were in these so-
called labor leaders who were
henchmen for the employers; who
imported strike-breakers from vari-
ous places to replace these good men
on their jobs.
These self-styled labor leaders
made speeches throughout the state
against organized labor to the end
that the organizations lost their
strike.
We are also reminded of the last
ILA strike we had in the Port of
Houston, how certain labor leaders
prophesied that we, the Longshore
men, woud never get back on the
(See AMALGAMATED Page H>
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The Informer (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 45, No. 17, Ed. 1 Saturday, March 4, 1939, newspaper, March 4, 1939; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1655452/m1/1/?q=%22Houston+%28Tex.%29+--+Newspapers.%22: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.