ORACLEMARCH • 1938

I- ~_,~-~O

GRAND OFFICERSVICE GRAND BASILEUS, Paris V. Sterrett, 72 Mt. Vernon Street,

Boston, Mass •

& IU S, bert W. Dent, Flint Goodridge Hospital of

• U iversity, New Orleans, La.

KE£PER OF RECORDS AND SEAL, George A. Isabell,

13 Cadillac Square, Detroit, Mich.

&~. KEEPER OF FINANCES, Jesse B. Blayton, 212 Auburn

e., . E., Atlanta, Ga.

-L W. James (Bas.). Williams (K.R.)o ard University, Washington, D. C.

=. ~etbert Cain (Bas.)v • s Taylor (K.R.)

. eol University, Pa.

6)1M1!...IA-A. E. Andrews (Bas.)n Mt. Vernon St., Boston, Mass.

. Johnson (K.R.)

- A-E L McPherson (Bas.)• S. Young (K.R.)

2416 Jefferson Ave., Nashville, Tenn.

I ON-M. T. Gibbs (Bas.)52 St. Nicholas Place, New York, N. Y.Robert A. Macon, (K.R.)1 3 W. 141st St., New York, N. Y.

-Samuel Lathon (Bas.)a. Union University, Richmond, Va.m. Kearney (K.R.)

a. Union University, Richmond, Va.

ETA-W. K. Flowers (Bas.)Robert Jackson (K.R.)

,ley College, Marshall, Texas

-A-Felix W. Wilson (K.R.)60 19 St. Lawrence Ave., Chicago, Ill.

LAMBDA-Dr. E. W. Narcisse (Bas.)1110 E. 18th St., Los Angeles, Calif.

U-James H. Rawlins (Bas.)5601 Baynton St., Phila., Pa.W. P. Harris (K.R.)906 S. 19th St., Phila., Pa.

U-C. Dockens (Bas.)Henry Smith (K.R.)Penna State College, State College, Pa.

XI-R. C. Allen (Bas.)767 St. Anthony Ave., St. Paul, Minn.J. W. Brooks (K.R.)

I-Richard Sowell (Bas.)John Cheatham (K.R.)Morgan College, Baltimore, Md.

P IOMEGA-C. T. Shaw (K.R.)25 Ada Place, Buffalo, N. Y.

O-C. A. Johnson (Bas.)T. V. Harris (K.R.)Johnson C. Smith University, Charlotte,

N. C.UPSILON-Morris O. Williams (Bas.)

Wm. A. Brower (K.R.)Wilberforce University, Wilberforce, O.

PHI-Raymond L Hayes (Bas.)217 Glenn Ave., Ann Arbor, Mich.Wm. H. Ridley (K.R.)1009 Ann St., Ann Arbor, Mich.

!-Charles Clark (Bas.)Richard Carroll (K.R.)210 Glen Ave., Detroit, Mich.

EDITOR·IN·CHIEF OF ORACLE, DIRECTOR OF ACHIEVEMENT

PROJECT, Frederick S. Weaver, 920 U Street, N. W.,

Washington, D. C.

GRAND MARSHAL, Benjamin F. Wilson, 1706 Broadway, Gary, Ind.

CHAPTER DIRECTORY(COMPILED MARCH, 1938)

BETA PSI-Rufus Cooper (Bas.)George Williams (K.R.)Clark University, Atlanta, Ga.

GAMMA PSI-L. L Wideman (Bas.)Paul Toliver (K.R.)Talladega College, Talladega, Ala •

DELTA PSI-V. K. Tibbs (Bas.)G. Browning (K.R.)Shaw University, Raleigh, N. C.

ZETA PSI-Hewitt H. Bourne (Bas.)284 Clifton Place, Brooklyn, N. Y•Donald K. Taylor (K.R.)366·A Grand Ave., Brooklyn, N. Y.

ETA PSI-Wirt S. Grady [Bas.]John A. Baugh (K.R.)Fisk University, Nashville, Tenn.

THETA PSI-Frank W. Clark [Bes.]George S. Roberts (K.R.)W. Va. State College, Institute, W. Va.

IOTA PSI-W. A. Cowell (Bas.)333 Clarendon Ave., Columbus, OhioRussell Pace (K.R.)r:; 150112 N. Ohio Ave., Columbus, Ohio

(JAPPAPSI-James P. Ramsey (Bas.)H. Franklin (K.R.)

"award University, Washington, D. C.

LAMBA PSI-A. B. Parker (Bas.)D. O. Francis (K.R.)Livingstone College, Salisbury, N. C.

MU PSI-Wm. A. Alexander (Bas.)Hamlet E. Goore (K.R.)A. & T. College, Greensboro, N. C.

NU PSI-J. W. McDowell (Bas.)J. W. Hawkins (K.R.)Va. State College, Ettricks, Va.

XI PSI-J. T. Whitman (Bas.)A. V. Edwards (K.R.)S. C. State College, Orangeburg, S. C.

OMICRON PSI-Robert Woodruff (Bas.)670 I Deary St., Pittsburgh, Pa.Wendell P. Grigsby (K.R.)3039 Centre Ave., Pittsburgh, Pa.

RHO PSI-C. L Guthrie (Bas.)J. Barnes (K.R.)Tenn. State College, Nashville, Tenn.

SIGMA PSI-W. J. Coefield (Bas.)J. O. Adams (K.R.)Samuel Houston College, Austin, Texas

TAU PSI-Geo. T. Young (Bas.)David B. Cooke, Jr. (K.R.)N. C. College for NegroesDurham, N. C.

UPSILON PSI-Elbert Thomas (Bas.)Florida A.&M. College, Tallahassee, Fla.

CHI PSI-Robt. E. Green [Bes.]741 Leach Place, Memphis, Tenn.Lewis McNeely (K.R.)1139 Mississippi Ave., Memphis, Tenn.

PHI PSI-Eugene Harris (Bas.)T. H. Mayberry (K.R.)Langston University, Langston, Okla.

PSI PSI-B. O. Smith (K.R.)Kentucky State College, Frankfort, Ky.

ALPHA OMEGA-Dr. W. M. Cobb (Bas.)Howard University, Washington, D. C.Atty. E. A. Beaubian (K.R.)2001 11th St., N. W., Washington, D. C.

BETA OMEGA-L H. Curren (K.R.)923 Freeman Ave., Kansas City, Kan.

GAMMAOMEGA-HubertW.Patrick (K.R.)1301 16th St., Lynchburg, Va.

DELTA OMEGA-G. B. Singleton (Bas.)Vt. State College, Ettricks, Va.

EPSILON OMEGA-V. E. Sheffield (Bas.)S. C. State College, Orangeburg, S. C.

ZETA OMEGA-F. D. Roseboro (Bas.)8107 Cedar Ave., Cleveland, OhioE. G. Young (K.R.)1256 E. 83rd St., Cleveland, Ohio

ETA OMEGA-M. R. Austelle (Bas.)53 Chestnut St., S. W.M. J. Beavers (K.R.)788 Greensferry Ave., Atlanta, Ga.

THETA OMEGA-Dr. C. L Thomas (Bas.)719 W. Walnut St., Louisville, Ky.J. E. Hawkins (K.R.)609 W. Walnut St., Louisville, Ky.

IOTA OMEGA-R. B. Collins (K.R.)Tuskegee Institute, Tuskegee, Ala.Dr. Geo. C. Branche (Bas.)Veterans' Administration Facility, Tus-

kegee, Ala.

KAPPA OMEGA-John Snow (Bas.)Dr. H. J. Reynolds (K.R.)915 N. 6th St., Harrisburg, Pa.

LAMBDA OMEGA-Dr. A. B. Green (Bas.)1024 E. Liberty St., Norfolk, Va.T. H. Shields, Jr. (K.R.)933 Oaklawn Ave., Norfolk, Va.

MU OMEGA-Carl Tucker (Bas.)R. D. Baskerville (K.R.l. 526 S. 16th St.Philadelphia, Pa.

NU OMEGA-T. J. Crawford (Bas.)2231 Orleans St., Detroit, Mich.T. R. Fortson (K.R.)228 E. Cranfield Ave., Detroit, Mich.

PI OMEGA-C. R. Alexander (Bas.)1300 Madison Ave., Baltimore, Md.James H. Carter (K.R.)Morgan College, Baltimore, Md.

SIGMA OMEGA-Dr. L. Bingham (Bas.)1721 Virginia St., Gary. IndianaAtty. Percy Ash (K.R.)1654 Waseca Place, Chicago, III.

EDITOR

IFREDERICK S. WEA V E R920 U STREET. N. W.WASH NGTON. D C

ACLE• CONTENTS FOR 19 :58

PageFraternity Poets

Damon Akerman-s-By M. Baaunorus Tolson.................... 2The Oracle Speaks (Editorials)

The Oracle Policy Char,ges.................................... 3Omega's Purpose............................................. 4Time Marches On 4Achievement Week 5

We Introduce the Supreme Council-r-By Otto McClarrin 6Conclave Highlights-By Robert Austin Macon 9The Oracle T:akes the Rap-By Roy Wilkins 10An Attack on the Clergy-By Lloyd T. Barnes 12In Memor ia.m-e By Colonel Henry O. Atwood 151937 Conclave Photograph 16Community Cooperation-By E. B. Weather less 18What of the Anti-Lynch Bill ?-By Barrington D. Parker 19The Social Function of the Negro Fnaternity

By John Aubrey .Davis 21Fraternities vs. Oblivion-By M. Beaunorus Tolson 21The National Labor Relations Act and Negro Labor

By Welford Wilson 25Have the Graduate Divisions of Greek-Letter Fraternities .a

Future? Yes!-By Jesse O. Thomas 28In the Realm of Sports

An Energetic Sportswriter Strikes Jim-Crowism in OurNational Pastime-By Cleveland Jackson 30

An Explanation 32

r: BEAUNORUS TOLSON. f'\ANAGIt-<GEDITo~

James A. Nesbritt, Esq Business Manager A:l.':l~·::lD L}·vn:;; Circulation ManagerEdgar Patterson ... Assistant Business Manager Bernard Coleman Asst. Circulation Manager

W. Harry Barnes, Jr Adver tising Manager

EDITORIAL AND LITERARY STAFF

Otto McClarrinLangston HughesThomas B. OrumLloyd T. BarnesCharles Oscar 'WallaceTheodore Boston

S. Randolph EdmondsH. L. Van DykeWilliam ForsytheWclford WilsonJohn Aubrey DavisLouis E. Redmond

George Vi. Goodmanr'!}b~rt A. MaconFnderic Arlen.r. O. BowlesDudley ClarkCharles W. Maxwell

ADVISORY BOARD

Dwight Vincent KyleRev. Edgar A. LoveRichard O. Berry

DEWEY, R. JONES, Chairman;". Herman DreerRoy W'lkinsJames H. Rawlings

Sterling BrownJohn P. MurchisonWebster L. Porter

Officially published quarterly by the Omegu Fsi Phi Prats.rr.i.y, Inc., at 920 U Street,Northwest, Washington, D.C., during the .months of March, June, September andDecember, and entered as second-class matter at the Post Office at Washington, D.C.,under the Act of March 3, 1879.

SINGLE COPIES THIRTY CENTS ONE DOLLAR YEARLY

xrrv POETS

• DAl"\ON AKERl"\AN",Yhat comes after death, no wise man can tell",Yeknows that on earth some folks catches hell.

I USED to hear him upstairs -That guy Damon Akerman -

Whimpering and whimpering and whimpering,All night long. - .It almost drove me nuts.

Since I was working eleven hours a day,I didn't have to hear him then- thank God!His whimpering sounded just like a dog's I heard

onceOut in the Kansas City freight yardsWhen a switch-engine cut off his hind legs.

Sometimes I couldn't stand it at all.So I'd get out of bedAnd go down to Tony the Greek's hole-in-the-

wallAnd get a cup of hot black coffee.

I tell you it almost drove me nuts;And I ain't no sissy either,Having served fifteen months on the Western

front.

Damon Akerman was a big strapping guy, too,He musta weighed two hundred pounds if he

weighed an ounce.He was right young, too,But his face had wrinkles in itAnd his hair was almost white.He told me your hair turns white in twenty-four

hours in a chain-gangFrom suffering the way he did.

You see, down in Georgia,Damon Akerman fractured a white man's jawWhen the Cracker pushed his mother off the

sidewalk,And so they sent him to the chain-gang.

The judge said he was a big nigger.The judge said if you let these niggers go onFracturing the jaws of white folksThey'd be starting a revolution, like in Roosia.

The judge musta told the warden something,For the warden was always after Damon Aker-

man.One day they accused him of getting uppityAnd placed him between two postsAnd stretched him in the blazing sun

I THE ORACLE

2

Until his arms almost come out of their sockets.The warden said you have to teach a nigger a

lessonWhen he gets uppity with white folks.

After a hell of a time Damon reached Harlem.But rheumatism had settled in his arm-sockets.So I used to hear him upstairsWhimpering and whimpering and whimperingJust like that dog that got his legs cut offOut there in the Kansas City freight yards.I tell you, buddy, it almost drove me nuts.Sometimes Aunt Hagar went up to his roomAnd rubbed him good with liniments,And then his whimpering didn't sound so damn

loud.

The way Damon Akerman used to call on theLord Jesus Christ,

I don't see how Jesus could keep fromAnswering the poor boy's prayers.Aunt Hagar told meMan's ways ain't God's waysAnd you have to wait on the Lord till He's ready,Because God is a busy GodAnd He's got millions of things on His mindIn the universe.

One day I was unlocking the door -I'd just come home from work -And Damon Akerman was coming out of his

roomWith a rope-bound suitcase.I asked him: "Leaving, buddy?"He nodded his headAnd said he was going back to Georgia -Going back to the chain-gang.

"I'm going to help God do justice," he said."I'm going to break the dirty bastard

Who broke me between them posts in thechain-gang."

I felt cold chills running up and down my spine;And I ain't no sissy either,Having served fifteen months on the Western

Front.I ain't seen nothing in a guy's eyesLike what I seen in the eyes of Damon Akerman.

Give me a cigarette, Black Boy.Thinking about that guy almost drives me nuts!

-M. BEA UNORUS TOLSON.

• •

E C E POLICY CHANGES~RY year the ORACLEpolicy should

be out ined in the first issue in unequivocal- lli",L and white" eems to have developed into_ TI:E-'· g of a tradition; yet the import thereof. ~ - t.3 ped completely the consciousness of this~-azine·s reader. Last year's editor declared:

"~L shall be the policy of the ORACLEto lend=- _ r ssion to the varied talents and opinions of

~ega - in all walks of life." .=e defended the organization by saying:..:::-:ill st be understood, however, that the f'ra-

:ariIy doe not necessarily concur in the opin-=: ns voiced."

== these lines are read only once, their mean-~-= is single; there is no other interpretation..- d the policy of the ORACLEcan be expressedG..5&:n in those same words. Needless to say, it

d be inexpedient for us to submit every ar-...:·'e before publication to the chapters at large= r ratification. Perhaps some brothers would::..a.~<: us present the magazine for the ensuingyear -0 the Conclave, so that it might be editedb::- - e delegates at large! Let it be known, then,-' - the ORACLEis a publication for expression0= tile opinions of the members of this f'rater----= . ; that it is compiled by educated men, in--ended to be read by educated men; and that its_urpose i to stimulate thought on matters of

ireez concern to all educated Negroes. Mat--EO _ of fraternity policy, fraternity business and=ra:ernity politics will be adequately dealt with

-he monthly bulletin. The ORACLEwill be airerary magazine, informative and thought pro-oking ; and the opinions therein expressed will0- of necessity represent the views of this [ra-

-_ lily. It is only the author who must answer':or the article.

The ORACLEwill be published by the editorand a group of men known as the staff. It willnor be a one-man job; it will not be the result

a ingle person's repressed desires for power,iominance and self-assertion; and it will not beubli hed under the assumption that there is

only one Omega man possessed of the ability,. dustry and knowledge necessary for its proper_ublication. The business manager will no long-er be kept in ignorance of the business details

= thi magazine; the assistant business mana-ger mil no longer wonder why he or his directsuperior has no work to do; the assistant cir-niarion manager will this year see the mailing

...::--: the assistant director of the achievement

• • • •

week project will do more than just "okay" thelist of contest winners after it has been madepublic; the staff will not be told that leavingthe publishing to them would be leaving it un-done; and the advisory board will,· for the firsttime, advise the editor (and the editor will wel-come their suggestions).

The staff will not be a list of political patrons,who are content to grin at their names in bold-face type, who have been appointed only as afavor for the vote they cast, who are merelydead-wood, adding to the magazine less than thevalue of the ink that printed their names. Thebrothers listed 'among the staff will have beenplaced there because of their ability to write,their desire 'to make the ORACLEa better maga-zine and their love of serving their fraternity .They will be chosen according to merit, notspoils.

The ORACLE,then, will be the product of thecollective effort of a few conscientious, hard-working men, all bent toward a single aim-theproduction of the finest fraternity magazine.This cooperative work will then be integratedand finished by the editor, after conference withthe staff. The day of the omnipotent editorsurrounded by a group of nodding political"stooges" has passed.

During the year 1938 Omega men will be sur-prised to receive their ORACLES during themonths set by tradition-March, May, Septem-ber and December. The convenience of the edi-tor will not be a consideration; instead, the edi-tor will assume as part of his duty printing theissues at the proper time. The date of mailingwill be so fixed that the ORACLEwill be receivedduring the month printed on the cover. That is,the March issue will be received in March, notMay; the May issue will be printed and mailedin May, not printed in July and mailed in Sep-tember.

Every member in financial standing with thefraternity will receive his copy of the ORACLEon time.

It is the hope of this administration thatOmega men will find in the ORACLEa magazinethey will be proud to display to their friends,proud to leave on their office tables, and proudto see on the shelves of their college libraries.It is our desire that the brothers will be stirredto thought by the opinions our contributors ex-press, and that they will remember that thoseopinions are solely the author's and do not rep-

THE ORACLE I

facilities, such as chapter houses and the like;and thirdly, he was expected to make sometangible contribution individually and throughhis organization to the social, cultural, ethical,economic, political and spiritual advance of theracial group in particular and the whole nation-al group in general.

We need make no apology to anyone for thetype of organization which is ours-an organi-zation of intelligent men with high ideals.Nevertheless, if we were only that, the raisond' etre for our continued existence as a nationalbody of undergraduate and graduate chaptersmight be seriously questioned. We must, there-fore, have a national program which will givethis large body of intelligent men with highideals the opportunity of contributing to the sumtotal of human progress and happiness throughthe disseminating of our own ideals throughoutthe whole social order.-E. A. L.

- ::..::<;n-;:- a urri de of the Omega P i Phi Fra-

o EGAS PURPOSE~O BETTER words can be found to express

-' e purpo e of Omega Psi Phi than those0:: the preamble to the original constitution,w ich read, "Believing that men of like attain-

em: and of the same ideals of fellowship, schol-hip and highest manhood should bind them-

: ves together in order to approach these ideals,e have banded ourselves together under the

name 'Omega Psi Phi.' " The motto of the fra-ternity, "Friendship is essential to life," in-volves a truth which becomes more apparent to

- as he years add themselves. The men who::ounded Omega were friends. They knew the~ ue of friends. They knew that only men of:L.:e ideals could be really friends. They wereaware that close association was necessary forne de elopment of friendship. They had in

mind the development of friendships in the localchapters which would carryon down throughthe years. They aimed at the establishment ofsuch ideals in the fraternity, that if adhered-0. would make all men connected therewith feeldrawn toward one another.

The idea of this friendship necessarily hadits a-ise with the undergraduate in mind. In theundergraduate chapters was to be laid the foun-dation upon which there was to be erected thesuperstructure-c-the graduate chapters. Friend--hip based upon "the same ideals of fellowship,cholarship and highest manhood" was not ex-

pected to end upon graduation from college. Itwa envisioned as being enduring as life itself.Hence the graduate chapters. The Grand Chap-el', representing both undergraduate and grad-

uate chapters, was conceived as the coheringagent for the continuance of the sublime ideal-i m of the fraternity.

The fraternity was established, therefore,Kith both the undergraduate and the graduatebrother in mind. The chief beneficiary was tobe the undergraduate. He was to share the eso-teric life of a chosen group of high-minded,cholarly, manly and altruistic men. It was ex-

pected of him to prove himself a worthy mem-ber. Three things were expected of the gradu-ate member. First, he was expected to exem-plify the virtues attendant upon the ideals ofhe fraternity; secondly, he was expected to

lend himself to the task of furnishing greateropportunities for the undergraduate in increased

I THE ORACLE

4

TIME MARCHES ONTHERE is nothing more important about this

so-called art of living than being able tomeasure the significance of circumstances andto readjust one's points of view so that we maynot only be able to live more abundantly as in-dividuals, but more progressively for the goodof all. This, I think, was the guiding principlein. the minds of the founders of Omega, and isthe basic notion of all Greek-letter fraternitiesand sororities.

But this, if you please, is only an ideal, which,though easy to state, is exceedingly difficult toachieve. Witness, if you will, the fact that overthree hundred years ago a band of men andwomen are reported to have sought these shoresto assure themselves of Liberty and Freedom.The ideal has remained (on paper), but in real-ity there are thousands who either wittingly orunwittingly would deny the masses the right toeven the simple realities of Liberty and Free-dom through decent wages, fair hours, livablehomes, good health, etc. These obstructionistsclothe their objections in certain righteous glossthat seem to indicate that the very foundationsof liberty are about to be forever destroyed byliberalism and progressiveness. Far the major-ity, however, are merely the victims of a greatfantasy, which they cannot explain satisfactor-ily either to themselves or to others. It is notthat they do not conscientiously believe whatthey say, but rather that they do not see thelack of reason or sense in what they believe.

THE ORACLE SPEAKS

"""or :_e insignifican and utterly is-threat.

a ger not only besets the developmenti ~raczically all nations, but permeates the

~ e:-da~ activitie of the people.err i- a great Greek-letter fraternity with

.:; ';rni:ed pos ibilities. Because it is composed:: - -elITo men who have been favored with an

_ rtunity to harpen their intellectual appre-.~"~on.g, it tands with other similar organiza--- in a vital position to assist the masses with7".2.T,. 0.. it most pressing problems. Omega,--"'0 g . cannot hope to completely avoid a little-~ E..!" ing at the moon," because in any large"T p there will always be those who fail to rec-grrize ue values. So we, too, will have our

'::"~;: s. factions and disagreements; but theasic thing is to keep in mind that we do not

exis for these alone, On the other hand weexist primarily to band together men who' are

damentally interested in intellect and broth-Co ood a the basis for all things good and great-!Len who feel that there is dire need to pool:::e!r knowledge and energy for clearing away a<: eat many obstacles that stand in the way of~-...!:nation becoming a democracy in spirit and

:::- is quite apparent that such an end cannote ttained haphazardly with flag-waving, fiery

:.peeche and a great uproar. In fact, it can. come with constructive planning; planning

-"~ - seek to reach down in the very depths-: numan suffering and assist those who other-=ise must perish.o ega has always had fine leadership, and

:938 brings another group of men to the lead-"'__ ip of the fraternity who possess both abil-~". and initiative. Let us hope that these men.....; bring to Omega the thing we need so sorelya- this time-a coordination and revitalization

= oar program that will make it truly an 01'-

;~zation that assists our masses in no uncer-erms. To this end it is most imperative

~- all Omega men cooperate.-G.W.G.

CHIEVEMENT WEEKG_~.L- Omega Psi Phi Fraternity launchesplans for its annual national project,

_ - eQTO Achievement Week. Its basic objectives~ remain the same, but this year our thoughts-= be turned specifically to the achievement of-" e _-egro press-"The Achievement of the Ne-

Journalism."-2':: e Xegro has made-and he has-any defi-

nite progress since his emancipation or before. 'lt has been largely due to the fearless battlethat has been fought and is now being waged inour behalf by the Negro newspapers throughoutthe country. The will and opinions of the racewould mean little to us without some organ thatwould convey that will or opinion to the generalpublic.

With four such publications in 1863, we havein 1938 230 periodicals,· including twenty-threemonthlies, bi-monthlies and quarterlies, 214weekly newspapers and magazines and one dailynewspaper, the Atlanta Daily World. Unlessthese publications were making worthy contri-butions to a pioneering people, they would notbe surviving and prospering today.

It is therefore fitting and proper 'that weshould pause during a week of 1938 and give·due credit to these institutions that have stoodby us when in the thick of the battle, and haveguarded like it watch-dog the rights we havewon.

As usual, one of the outstanding features ofthis project will be the annual essay contest.The contest, in two divisions-for high schooland college students-offers youth an opportun-ity of expression on the subject of the achieve-ment of the Negro in journalism. Severalawards in each division will be made.

The nature of the prizes and the rules anddates of the essay contest will be announced indetail in the next issue of the ORACLE.

That the project may be intelligently pro-jected, and accurate and authoritative news dis-seminated throughout the country, the directorof the achievement project has appointed a proj-ect committee consisting, for the most part, ofmembers of the fraternity actively engaged inthe newspaper and publishing field. Some ofthem are editors of our leading publications;others are reporters and feature writers for ournewspapers ..

The committee will consist of the following:Barrington Parker, contributor to several news-papers and magazines, assistant director; Web-ster L. Porter, editor of the East TennesseeNews, Knoxville, Tenn.; Dr. P. M. H. Savory,editor of the Amsterdam News, New York City;J. Alston Atkins, editor of the Houston Defend-er, Houston, Texas; Dewey R. Jones, formermanaging editor of the Chicago Defender; Rob-ert Hill, correspondent for the Afro-American;James Rawlins, Philadelphia, Pa., and John H.Murphy, III, of the Afro-American.

-THE ORACLE I

WE INTRODUCE THE SUPRE~IE CO~CIL • •

ALBERT »: DENT PARIS V. STERRETT

The ability of the man and his will-ingness to work for Omega was theunit of measurement that gave tous our new Grand Basileus, Thosewho have been to the last severalConclaves will tell you that Al D,.ntnever solicited a vote or had Iieut en-ants to solicit them for him. Hismodesty and his pride would l.::>t per-m.t him to seek office. His electionto the highest office within the fra-ternity was won by his diligence inserving Omega consistently. Out ofthe last twelve Conclaves, Al Dent

has attended nine. His presence wasfelt at all of them. The delegatesknew he was present.

At the Conclave in Atlanta, heheaded a committee appointed to re-think Omega, and to draft a workableand creditable program for Omega tofollow. It was his work on that com-mittee that attracted the attention ofhis Brothers, and at that time, theysought to elect him Grand Basileus.During the Cleveland Conclave, heheaded the important and powerfulRecommendations Committee withcredit, and again attracted the atten-tion of his Brothers.

The race for Grand Bas.leus wasfilled with candidates. Some camev.it n their qualif.cations spread uponthe backs of ink blotters. Dent, withhis usual dignity, came empty hand-ed. He came to give to Omega, notto take from. His deeds, accomplish-

ments, and love for Omega wereknown. He did not need to hand outcirculars with his picture on them.Those who had been attending Con-claves knew him. Yet, hardly had heappeared on the scene before he wasbeing besieged with requests to enterthe race.

"I am not a candidate," he said,"but if Omega feels that I can serveher as Grand Basileus, and wants me,i shall not decline."

It was that type of spirit that im-pressed our founders as well as theentire membership. It was that spiritthat caused Founder Edgar A. Loveto place the name of Al Dent beforethe Conclave for election to our high-est office. It was that spirit thatcaused the delegates to elect him byan overwhelming vote.

With his unusual gift for handlingadministrative affairs, Al Dent cangive to Omega more than Omega cangive to him. His reputation has beenmade. He is already successful in hischosen profession.

As business manager of DillardUniversity, he manages the affairsof a million dollar institution, whosepresident, William Stuart Nelson isalso a son of Omega. As superintan-dent of Pl.nt Goodrige Hospital, heheads one of the most modern, well-equipped and well-staffed hospitalsfor Negroes in the country, and heis not a physician himself. Merit isall that counts; ability. His associatesin the hospital profession realizedthat when they elected him and re-elected him president of the NationalConference of Hospital Administra-tors. '

From a neophyte in Psi Chapter, atMorehouse College, in his undergrad-uate days, Brother Dent has risen tobe chief executive of Omega Psi Phion his own coat tail. He has workedfor Omega in a national way for thepast fifteen years, and has soughtno office. Now that Omega has calledon him to serve in a more responsiblecapacity among the members, it ismore than safe to presume that Ome-ga shall grow by leaps and bounds.His report to the Chicago Conclavein December will be waited with deepanticipation. A: Dent is behind Ome-ga; Omega is behind Dent. We re-joice in his election.

"There is no failure except inno longer trying; there is no de-feat except from within; no real-ly insurmountable barrier saveour own inherent weakness ofpurpose,"

That philosophy was clearly dem-onstrated at the Cleveland Conclavewhen the undergraduates, motivatedby the fact that they had no repre-sentation on th a Supreme Council,held out en masse for th?, election ofParis (King) Sterrett, Boston Uni-

versity student, as Vice Grand Basi-leus of the Omega Psi Phi Frater-nity.

Twice before, the undergraduates,and graduates with young minds,had sought to place Sterrett in thishigh office, and twice l:efore the old-er minds had said the time wasn'tripe.

Undaunted, rather spurred to keen-er action, the young contingent cameto the Cleveland Conclave strongerthan ever, determined that their mem-bership should get national recogni-tion.

Finding a candidate for this officewho was still a student, was no easytask. After contacting the various in-ctitutions, leaders of the movementcame across young Sterrett, threeyears ago, a student at WilberforceUniversity. He had personality; hewas studious; he was active in extra-curricula activities; he loved Omega,

ORACLEIT H !:--=-. --------------

6

:! as Basiieus of Upsi-

WE L~ROD -CE THE SUPREME COUNCIL

JESSE B. BLAYTON_c: ~C!'.

-~=n:_=as decided to run Sterrett:ee Grand Basileus at the At-

. -..,. Conclave. our Brother, Dean-= . of "Wilberforce University

-- impressed wirh Sterrett ass ent, and so certain he was de-

,;,~~g. and would make an excellentzee Grand Basileus, that he went all

---e Fay from Wilberforce Univ.ersityAtlanta. Ga., to second the nomi-

zazi _ en ibis young man.Bror er Jesse O. Thomas, a figure

:. national repute, and who wasse . cr at. that time as Grand Mar-"~f,'. proved too strong an opponent:. _ :errett.

_-,.- - e Philadelphia Conclave, thevemen- to put an undergraduate

::...._.acional office had gained momen-. hn:: again young Sterrett saw

-e:fea::: :hi time, he lost to his op-_ nen; of a year before by only one

- e needs no introduction" spoke__ Percy Julian, eminent chemist,

::....nominating Sterrett; applause was~ echo. By acclamation, he was,"=£c:ed to office, the victory won.

:::errert "as initiated at BetaChapter, Lincoln University. He lat-,,_ transferred to Wilberforce Uni-ve sirv, from which instituion he was__ad~i:ed in 1936. He is the son of='::'e Re,. J. Albert Sterrett, of NewYo_ - Ciry, who, himself is an Orne-'" man. a is another son, J. VictorSterre , of Lancaster, Pa.

GEORGE A. ISABELL

GEORGE A. ISABELL

The bu.siness of handling the fi-nance is the most important functionof any organization, especially sowhen its dollars run into the thou-sands each year. Consequently, muchthought is given to the election ofthe person for such an office.

Omega Psi Phi takes pride inclaiming. among its members themost outstanding of any Negro busi-nESS man in America, so judged bythe Interracial Commission and Ros-enwald Fund in 1936. He is Jesse B..Blayton, our Grand Keeper of Fi-

,-who created it that caused the dele- "1 nances,gates at Philadelphia to take notice. Ii! 1-. Brother Blayton (his Brother~ call

An energetic and ambitious man,fji Ilim J. B.) is more than a local fl~ure,"Izzy" has made his presence in :~i .ie has long been a man of nationalOmega felt ever since his initiation ~~, renown. _ .into Beta Phi Chapter of Durham, ~ill- He is a Carnegie professor of Bus~-N.C., a few years ago. Omega knew '/J - ness Administration .at Atla~ta Um-he was dependable as a worker be- "\ij versrty ; executive VICe president ofcause he had previously held several ~~ the Citizens Trust Company,. larg~stminor offices in the National set-up. ~l Negro bank in the country; first viceAs District Representative of the ~ president of the National NegroTenth District, he aroused his Broth- C Business League; president anders in that area to action, and in 1924, " founder of the Atlanta Negro Cham-turned in from his District, 19 per bel' of Commerce; senior member, J.cent of all funds collected by the Na- B. Blayton and Company, certifiedtional office for that year. public accountants; corresponding see-

"Izzy" has been professor of social retary, National Negro Bankers As-sciences at Kittrell College, and pro- sociation, and technical adviser of thefessor of economics at Lane College. National Negro Insurance Associa-Since 1929, he has been president .of tion.the Isabell Management Company, In addition he is a member of the138 Cadillac Square, Detroit, Michi- leading: accounting and legal socie-gan. He is also vice president of the ties. He is a contributor to the lead-Detroit Real Estate Brokers Associa- ing banking, accounting, and businesstion. Though he has held several im-portant positions, he is still a youngman, being in his Early thirties.

He has held every office in the lo-cal chapter from Keeper of the Peaceto Basileus, and has served in allcapacities nobly.

As keeper of our records, he haskept his platform to make the rec-ords safe, secure and stable. Weknow him for his efficiency and forattending to matters promptly. Everyletter he receives is promptly an-swered. Each minutest detail his giv-en his expert attention.

His work for Omega has extended:beyond the confines of his office, forlast year he was responsible for se-curing summer jobs for twenty-fiveOmega undergraduates. That's "mak-ing Omega for Omega men."

He practices what he preaches andhe preaches "an awful lot."

"To make Omega for Omega men,"was the slogan that George (Izzy)Isabell rode to victory on a year agoin Philadelphia.

Omega had no grave fault to findwith the manner in which his prede-cessors had conducted the office ofGrand Keeper of Records and Seal.Indeed, she had been fortunate ingetting men for that office who wereequipped to administer the affairsnobly and efficiently. Still, there wassomething in that slogan, and some-thing in the personality of the man

WE INTRODUCE THE SUPREME COUNCIL

journals, and has been the GrandKeeper of Finances of the OmegaPsi Phi Fraternity since 1932.

He has never sought nor cam-paigned for the office, but has con-sistently br cn reelected on his rec-ord, without any opposing candidates.Omega is fortunate in being able tohave the services of this financialwizard and appreciates his willing-ness to serve us through the yearsin spite of already heavy duties.

Brothel' Blayton is not interestedin the office because of its salary.The salary would not be sufficientwere he hired by a private concernto perform the same or similar duties.He demonstrates further that themoney is of no concern to him bygiving it to students of his, at At-lanta University, members of the fra-ternity, who keep the books underhis supervision, as part of their train-ing. Not one cent of it does he keeplor himself.

Because of his unusual ability, his'loyalty to Omega, his amiability, andmodesty, Brother Blayton is one ofthe most popular members of the fra-ternity.

-----0- ----

FREDERICK S. WEAVER"Little Caesar," "Dynamo", and

--T1:e Little Giant", are a few of thenames that are applied to our newlyelected Editor-in-Chief of the Oracleand Director of the AchievementProject.

One of the fraternity's youngermen, !<'redWf3aver was initiated at

THE ORACLE

8

Alpha Chapter, Howard Universityin 1933, but was pledged throughTheta Chapter, at Wiley College, theyear before.

The effort to have undergraduaterecognition on the Supreme Councilwas a battle begun by him at the St.Louis Conclave, and was successfullyterminated in Cleveland last Decem-ber.

No better tribute to his efforts inthat direction could have been paidthan to have elected him to Nationaloffice on the same ticket that sawhis movement come into fruition.

Fred. has been actively engaged injournalism for the past eight years.While he was a student in highschool he was writing for severalnewspapers. He has served as corre-spondent for the East Tennessee[ews, The New York Amsterdam

News, the Afro-American, the Chi-cago Defender, The Associated NegroPress, the Kansas City American,and is now a member of the editorialstaff of the Washington Tribune,having formerly served as its cityeditor.

He is a hard worker for Omega.For two years, under Brother Her-man Dreer, he was the Oracle's as-sistant Editor. Last year he servedas managing editor of the Oracle.

In Washington, he is secretary-treasurer of the board of managersof Alpha-Omega, Inc., which man-ages the fraternity house and the af-fairs of Omega in Washington: Hehas directed the last three Achieve-ment Projects for Alpha Chapter,with much credit to the fraternity.

In the Third District of Omega, heis active in conference affairs andis now executive secretary of theThird District Conference, havingbeen elected by the delegates to theconference at Pittsburgh last year.

His work as editor-in-chief of ourofficial organ will be watched withinterest for he promises to give toOmega "a New Oracle."

oBENJAMIN F. WILSON

With the selection of Ben Wilsonas Grand Marshal of the Twenty-Seventh Annual Conclave, which con-venes in Chicago in December, Omegais assured of a first-class affair.

Nominated for the position by hisfull chapter, and elected by acclama-tion by the Conclave, the election ofBr n to fill this position is indicative

of the high esteem in which he iconsidered by his local Brothers inChicago and Gary, and by Brothersthroughout the state.

Running the Conclave is no smalljob, and is no one-man job, and Bendoes not intend to run it alone. Hehas already appointed a deputy mar-shal, and announced at Clevelandthat the Conclave would be run andsteered by the' host chapters, grad-uate and undergraduate. There willbe no Conclave Czar; no Napoleon.

Born in Brinkley, Arkansas, and re-ceiving his public education in thattown, Our Grand Marshal journeyedto Washington where he entered How-ard University. Meeting the educa-tional requirements for entrance tothe Boston University School of Law,he left Howard University, and be-gan the study of law, and was grad-uated from t.he Boston institution in1926. While attending Boston Uni-versity School of Law he was initiatedinto Omega through Gamma Chapter.

He went to Gary, Indiana, where hejoined the law firm of Murray andJames, practicing in Gary and Chi-cago. Since engaged in the law prac-tice, he has continued. his interest in

Omega and has served as Basileusof Sigma Omega Chapter, which isto be our host. He is former travel-ing representative of'-·Om.ega,-havingserved under two admhiistrations inthat capacity. He is, at present, presi-dent of the Chicago Parr-HellenicCouncil.

-Otto McClarrin

G LIGHTS

3.' ~OBERT AUSTIN f"\ACON

o PERO S and Happy New Year greet-ings from a scrapbook full of Omega doings

. - - e curtain goes up on our Twenty-sixth Con-~.ave in Cleveland .... The elated pleasure of be-; g a part of the great cast was manifested in a

piri of comradery as brothers from allseetio and professions gathered to be regis-::.=orerl by our host chapter, Zeta Omega .... and:::"'ey"ere "tops" in casting a sequence of epi-- - that took us on a social merry-go-roundver :lIo es Cleveland's industrial city by the

e ing for the beginning of a Conclaved be more impressive than the reception

given by the Omega Maids and Matrons. More::!!an one hundred guests gathered under the softeo ored lights of the main room of the Western? serve Club to get acquainted, sip cocktails andnibble on fancy canapes .... The guests repre-s n ed unattached Q's and an assorted collectionof charming socialites-grades A and B. Aftero ulting the Argus-eyed quidnucs, the broth-

2 _ left their charming "choices" and assembled, e audeville Comedy Club for a pre-con-

clave moker .... The usual flow of potions wasserved at the bar. All brothers had the floor ....exuberant heartfelt sentiments were expounded

he "Demostheneses" in the real Omega-p

Jammed to the four walls of the Glenville Ma-s nic Temple ballroom, is the best description0- be colorful formal given by our congenialo Alpha Phi Alpha .... gathering after the

idnite hour," Apes and Q's alike turned thepIe into a tropical heat wave.

Tuesday: The National Omega Caravan set-- ed within the walls of the Western Reserve Re-

- lican Club to receive the official welcome to-"e ci they had invaded on the night before ...

The Caravan brought from the folds of Omegasuch noted brothers as Rev. Edgar A. Love of

ashington, D.C., one of our founders, firstGrand Basileus of the fraternity and District~ perintendent of the M.E. Church; William.c.. Baugh, Indianapolis, Grand Basileus of the

two terms and educator; Albert W. Dent,e ly-elected Grand Basileus of the fraternity

uperintendent of the Flint-Goodridge Hos-:,~::a:.of Dillard University; Lawrence A. Oxley,

_ Grand Basileus and field representative of

• • • • • •

" .... Our guests consisted of unattached Q's andan assorted collection of charming socialites . . ..

grades A and B. Dances were saturated with re-freshing potables, charming 'lovelies' and sweet mu-. "SIC ••••

the United States Employment Service of theDepartment of Labor; Percy L. Julian, one ofAmerica's foremost scientists in the field of or-ganic chemistry and professor for many yearsat De Pauw University; George W. Goodman,Executive Secretary of the Boston UrbanLeague; Louia Vaughn Jones, noted violinistand professor of music at Howard UniversitySchool of Music; "Jesse O. Thomas, Field Sec-retary of the National Urban League; Paris V.Sterrett, newly-elected Vice Grand Basileus andtheological student at Boston University; GeorgeA. Isabell, Grand Keeper of Records and Sealand prominent real estate broker of Detroit;Jesse Blayton, Grand Keeper of Finances,cashier, Citizens Savings and Trust Companyof Atlanta, professor of commerce and finance,Atlanta University, and philanthropist; Fred-erick S. Weaver, Editor-in-Chief of the Oracleand director of the Achievement Project, andWashington newspaper correspondent; Rev.Alexander C. Garner, past Grand Chaplain andpastor of Grace Congregational Church, NewYork City; Ellis B. Weatherless, Executive Sec-retary of the Carlton Avenue Y.M.C.A., Brook-lyn, N.Y.; Roger M. Yancey, District Represent-ative and eminent lawyer of Newark, N.J.; L.Chappelle Glenn, past Grand Keeper of Peaceand an attendant of the past ten Conclaves;Herman Dreer, fraternity Historian, Phi BetaKappa, and educator; Robert Baskervill, distin-guished lawyer and assistant solicitor of thecity of Philadelphia; Z. Alexander Looby,N.A.A.C.P. attorney, Nashville, and BenjaminF. Wilson, newly-elected Grand Marshal of the1938 Chicago Conclave.

A gala affair .... enjoyed by all .... was theTwilight Dance given by the Iota Phi LambdaSorority at the beautifully decorated Cosmopoli-tan Club.

Under the spell of Andy Kirk's haunting andcaptivating melodies .... a Pan-Hellenic trium-virate made up of Delta Sigma Theta, KappaAlpha Psi and Omega Psi Phi, got together in aformal "Swing Jamboree" at the public audito-rium .... With Louia Vaughn Jones at the grand

THE ORACLE I

Smith University, now matriculated in the grad-uate school of the University of Michigan. TheCaravan moves on with names which thelack of space will not permit us to mention.

The official session closed on Thursday afterchoosing the Hierarchical Body to guide the af-fairs of Omega through 1938.

Only Q's. and their "lovelies" had the rarepleasure of mounting the social pinnacle of theConclave .... the Omega Conclave formal wasjust that. Behind an improvised bar on the floorbelow the main, Grand Marshal Johnson wasbartender extraordinary in pouring the potions."Deacon" Henry J. Furlow turned the bar floorinto a hilarious uproar house when he led incommon meter "Give Me That Old Omega Spir-it." 'With one Omega hero to each verse, he re-peated, and was followed by all assembled-"Itis good enough for Love, Baugh, Dent, Sterrett,Weaver, Julian, Oxley, Isabell and Blayton, itis good enough for me." Even the sophisticatedladies ended up in doing the old "Q" shout.

We are now on the main ballroom floor,where the air of dignity predominated when theband, under the direction of "Toscanini" Glenn,played an orchestration of "Omega Dear," ar-ranged by Louia Vaughn Jones .. ,. Brothersstanding in a circle with heads high, and sur-rounded by all the ladies, sang the words thatmelted every soul present into one Omega. Itwas a grand finale. So the curtain goes downon the Twenty-sixth Conclave. The hospitali-ties of George Johnson, Fred Roseboro, CharlesCarr, Howard Gresham, William Robinson, R.A. Harris, Charles White, all members .of ZetaOmega "Chapter, Omega Maids and Matrons andthe citizenry of Cleveland will linger long in ourmemories.

COXGLA \'"E HIGHLIGHTS

----------.-----------THE ORACLE TAKES THE RAP

~:a!!O.... Omega men formed a picturesque cir-~E around the ballroom and sang "Omega Dear".. der the direction of L. Chappelle "Toscanini"G enn, Delta and Kappa followed. Beyond alldoubt thi affair was the "real thing."

Those of us who were fortunate enough tocon inue the gay goings received a real treat~ednesday at the Alpha Kappa Alpha matineedance. It was saturated with refreshing po-tables, charming "lovelies" and sweet music.

Among things that emblazoned the heart ofe ery Omega man was the formal banquet atCedar Gardens. Tables covered with pure linenand decorated with in- and out-of-season flow-er , .. ,were spread with a full course turkeydinner .... hors de'oeuvres .... choice liqueors andeverything that went with a dinner .... enter-tainment "a la cabaret" and selections by theEp ilon Chapter sextet. All these generated akind of spiritual electricity that set off voltaicthunders of or~~ory all over the Gardens. GrandlIarshal, "you got something there!"

Among other brothers on the Caravan were"Hank" Corrothers, of Wilberforce; Mifflin T.Gibb , Basileus of Epsilon Chapter; Dwight Vin-cent "Desmosthenes" Kyle, Boston; D. J. "Chub-by" Gill, Roanoke,-ya.; Homer D. "Insurance}Ian" Rose, Richmond; James "Pete" Rawlins,Philadelphia; Thomas C. Collins, Detroit; J 0-

seph T. Jones, Presbyterian missionary, Chester,.C,; Edward Dixon, Dorchester, Mass.; C. R.

Alexander, District Representative, Baltimore;':U, R. Austelle, District Representative, Atlanta;Roland K. Fortune, John "Baby" Butler, "Dick"Berry and Donald D. "Astaire" Adams, all of~ ew York City; Thomas "Emperor Jones" Poag,Columbus; Henry J. Furlow, Atlanta; Francis~I. Dent, Detroit; and, oh yes, there was Wal-ter "Playboy" Howze, formerly of Johnson C.

• • • •

• BY ROY WILKINS

I HAVE noted the editorial in the DecemberORACLEentitled "Anti-Lynch Bill" and it has

occasioned me more embarrassment and cha-grin at being an Omega man than any singleincident since I became a member of the frater-nity in 1921.

The editorial must have been written with-

I THE ORACLE

10

in which the Editor of the Crisis, AssistantSecretary of the N.A.A.C.P" and a Charter Mem-ber of Xi Chapter, University of Minnesota speakshis mind concerning an editorial which appeared inthe December issue of the Oracle. , The policy ofthe Oracle in being fair to all suggests that we carryhis say in toto.

out any knowledge of the facts. It is patentlyweighed down with observations not sustained

THE OR_\.CLE TAKE THE RAP

It is asso guilty of extreme roman-srn,

o e sentence the author states that one-a~ 0 pa s the anti-lynching bill would be toraise :'500,000 and present it to the Democratic~ar:y. He then says: "This will never be ac-

piished. ' He, then, proceeds to state that:0 raise 500,000 among Negroes, is not an ar-QUOU- ta k "if we could rid ourselves of our

hite appointed lead-ers," and "not spend themoney for political favors."

\\e challenge the writer of the editorial tocite any instance in which a half million dol-.ars ha been raised by any Negro leadershipin thi country for any general purpose. Wedo no have the figures before us, but if weremember correctly, some of our wholly Negro-controlled church organizations, raising money::or a pecific purpose among peopl-e who are

embers of a particular denomination, have0- been able to raise as much as a half millionolla ~ in one year.Further romanticisms, exaggerations and inac-

curacies are revealed by the statement that th-e_-egro "has about 8,000,000 votes to cast fora Pre ident." An examination of the census~gures for Negroes over 21 years of age in theUnired States and a rough calculation of thenumber of Negroes disfranchised for one rea-son or another in the Southern states would re-veal that instead of 8,000,000 votes, the Negrohas about 4,000,000 votes to cast for President.

But it is in the comments upon the procedure0= the N.A.A.C.P. and its handling of moniesthat the editorial offers the most gratuitous and"holly unfounded insult. It descends to a pet-

ne unworthy of the journal of a fraternity0""" adult college men. The editorial advocates- e pooling of all monies taken in by the N.A.A.-c.P. toward the passage of an anti-lynchingbill. As important as lynching is, does thiseditorial writer imagine that there are not othermatters demanding attention and a portion of- e budg-et of any general advancement organi-zation? Does the writer seriously maintainthat the tremendous amount of research, edu-cation, propaganda, lecturing, traveling, officeroutine, publishing and printing called for ina campaign for general advancement could beccomplishsd if all the funds were concentrated

on a single objective? It must be remem-ered that the passage of legislation on a partie-

~ar subject forms only a small portion of the

cost. As a preliminary, there must be greatactivity along unheralded lines, but lines which,nevertheless, are expensive and require the ex-penditure of funds. The writer refers to "use-less" telegrams. Does the writer know thatthe reorganization plan for the supreme courtproposed by the administration last year wasdefeated almost solely by the telegrams, letters,and other communications which came froman aroused citizenry? Does the writer realizethat the court reorganization plan was regardedas such a "cinch" that no one imagined thatthere was any force in' America which coulddefeat it ? And does the writer realize that ifthese '.'useless" telegrams to which he refers,could have been multiplied a thousand timesin the case of the anti-lynching bill, that it~ould long ago have been enacted into law?

In matters of lobbying for legislation and inthe manipulation and use of public pressure,the Negro is a novice. Not only is he a novicebut certain members of the group persist inintruding their lack of knowledge and theirneighborhood experience into national and in-ternational affairs. In this country there aretwelve million Negroes. They are the loweston the scale of any race in America, enj eyingthe fewest liberties and opportunities. The chiefassociation organized to advance their inter-ests has the hardest kind of time raising ameasly $50,000 a year to fight for all the rightsof all the twelve million Negroes. A criticismsuch as appeared in the December ORACLEcomeswith ill grace fOT an organ of supposedly in-telligent men. For, far fewer Jews, by manymillions than there are Negroes in the UnitedStates, a Jewish committee in America' is en-gaged in raising five million dollars for theirrelief. Fifty thousand dollars hardly paystheir office rent and cablegram expenses. Yet,the N.A.A.C.P. on $50,000 is expected to passan anti-lynching bill, to fight economic prob-lems, to take up discrimination and segregationcases, to fight educational problems, to' take upresidential segregation, to seek employment forNegroes, to get Negroes out of jail, even if itmeans carrying the case to the United StatesSupreme Court, and to do all the hundred andone things that colored people desire. It issupposed to do all this work by some miraclewith a' clerical staff that is paid nothing andwith an executive staff that, in many instances,is drawing less salary than a high school teacher

(Continued on page 20)

THE ORACLE I

Al~ ATTACK ON THE CLERGY • • • ••

BY LLOYD T. BARNES

THROUGHOUT the ages nations and peopleshave been known for the accomplishments of

only a few of their number. Egypt is bestknown for the work of its architects; ancientGreece's philosophers earned for their countryits name; and Rome is distinguished in theworld's history by the adventures and conquestsof its military leaders. A few personalitiessuch as Cheops, Aristotle, and Caesar, then,represent the lives of thousands of people un-known. And today the same facts hold, withGreat Britain famed for its diplomats and Ger-many for its scientists. One could go on andon; but suffice it to say that with only a fewmen from each nation occupying the pages ofhistory I the bulk of the common people, themasses, have been totally disregarded and areconsidered not at all in judging their countries.

All that has been said may be true; butthere is one exception to be found - the caseof the Negro people. In spite of all the men,the vigorous, intelligent, educated men, who haverisen from this race to accomplishments thatshould list them among the great men of today,the group is judged entirely by its masses, itsmost illiterate, its most ignorant, and its mostdestitute. And to no matter what heights oneof this race may ascend, the epithet is reiterated- "he is a smart Negro; but still, he is just a

egro." Individual accomplishment is there-fore meaningless; it is by the masses that weare judged.

It would follow, then, that the Negro's bestapproach for elevating his station in the world'seye would lie in a general heightening of theaverage of his population. Educating a fewpersons, preparing a handful of young men ferprofessional careers, and forcing a few intohigh-salaried jobs does far less for the race ingeneral than increasing the educational, cul-tural, and social levels of the entire populace.

To continue the same train of thought, itwould seem that the clergy, who are more in-timately associated with more Negroes than anyother single profession, who weave themselvesinto the lives and personalities of the great bulkof these people, would be the very men to becharged with the advancement of our race. Itwould seem also that the ministers were inbetter position to 'bring the race out of throes

I THE ORACLE

12

It seems that the minister's chief aim inlife, his chief delight in his job, is striving forpromotion. The lure of a higher salary, a heavierspread dinner table, and a higher powered car isthe inspiration, labeled 'divine'."

of ignorance, from the shadows of misunder-standing and intolerance, and from the cellarof hatred and disdain. Yes, the opportunitylay in their laps, the cry of the masses waswithin their earshot, the responsibility of a racewas on their shoulders; but for their ownnourishment they sold out the race by theirobvious lack of preparedness, their desires forpower, their apotheosie of the oo'Iar mark andtneir capitalization of the Negro's emotionalism.That evil, in itself, has generated another-thatin failing to advance with the help his ministercould have given him, the Negro has already be-gun to retrogress as a result of content his preach-er's soft words engendered in him. Knowing nobetter, wishing for no improvement, and total-ly unmindful of his shortcomings, the Negrowas left ignorant of his plight and deceived intotrusting that God would solve all his problemsand lead him finally into a land of peace andsoftly strumming guitars, abounding in milkand honey for him who trusted the reverendmediator and poured his tithes into the shin-ing collection plate every Sunday morning.

It is toward the organized church that thisattack is directed, because it comprises by farthe ma~rity of ministers, real and otherwise.The various evangelical cults and many non-descript religious movements - such as theFather Divine, Bishop Grace, Elder Michauxand related schools - will be neglected, be-cause their worthlessness and disadvantageous-ness are taken for granted by most intelligentpersons. That they represent a barrier to theadvancement of Negro culture, that they areprofiteering schemes designed to be practicedon the credulous, and that they are objects ofridicule and stereotypy for the Negro's persecu-tors goes without mentioning. The task ishere to direct the same accusations toward theorganized church, with its business methods,constructed according to the best American stan-dards of capitalism, with its political systemsof rivalry and aspiration for high-salaried, fat-tening offices, and with its cunning lure for theignorant tithers' gifts.

~~- ATTACK ON THE CLERGY

: . er ha committed his first offenseri g lack of preparedness. The gen-of Negro clergymen have spent a few

years s 'ding through a mediocre education thatiz; 21lY other profession would pass for a poor

. -e for even preparatory training. Thereto mind the gross ignorance of English

grammar displayed by two ministers holdingrges in large Methodist and Baptist churches,

r specti ely. The sermons usually preachedare wanting in construction, subject matter, andabove all, English. The clergyman's knowledge01 matters not appearing in the Bible is woe-fully- lacking. Anyone who has talked with theaverage minister for any length of time is

ck by his ignorance of subjects pertinent to- e tudy of masses and individuals; the basicprinciples of philosophy, logic, and sociology,in which a preacher should be well versed, are

o t foreign to him. His job seems rather tobe filling the pews and plates than filling the

. ds of his parishoners, And most mentrained for the ministry who have amassedsome knowledge and who do possess someability forsake the pulpit for the professor'schair where their salary is not measured by- e number of seats they can fill. How, then,can one expect to see really competent men in

e pulpits?It seems that the minister's chief aim in life,

is chief delight in his job is striving for pro-otion, The lure of a higher salary, a heavier

spread dinner table, and a higher powered caris the inspiration - labeled "divine" - whichurges the clergyman on. In hopes that heorne day may become bishop, he preaches with

all his God-given strength, especially when oneof the "higher-ups" visits his church; he in-structs his parishoners in the inherent good ofgiving ; and he worms into the good will of ailthe influential laymen in the congregation. A::llethodist minister, after having succeeded inpaying off the mortgage on his church, said dur-ing ervices :

I was talking over the phone yesterday toanother of the ministers in this district. Hetold me that after all the good work I had doneC ere at this church they should make mehi hop. I didn't know what to say. But thenI thought - 'Why shouldn't I be bishop? After

my predecessor here became a bishop after'o . ding this church. If he could do it, I don'tsee why I can't be bishop.' I can, if you wantme TO be." And other ministers have publicly ex-

pressed their aspirations, more subtly to be sure,but just as real.

As a matter for speculation - just how manyNegrochurches are filled more than. one Sun-day out of a year? The answer, of course, isvery few. It seems that the minister must in-sist on the largest, most ornate church in theneighborhood to seat his handful of parishoners.So many ministers have insisted that the con-gregation move from a church of adequate sizeand accommodations to another, newly vacatedby white people, that is almost twice as largeand costs almost twice as much. And the"new" church need be occupied only a few yearsbefore alterations and additions are necessary -for a congregation that has not increased. Con-spicuous waste, therefore, seems to be the minis-ter's prime function; and he is greatly rewardedfor an ostentatious display of borrowed capital.

For the purchase and construction of newbuildings, for making an impression on the high-er-ups, and for earning his subsequent promo-tion, the minister must bleed his congregationof hard-earned pennies that might well go forconstructive social work. It is again to theminister's advantage to take up large collections,for in so doing he establishes himself in' hisposition. If he collects enough each Sunday heis sure to have a job; but should his receiptslag, he will be sent to a smaller church with asmaller salary. Consequently, there must beupwards of two collections at each service, spe-cial collections must be called if ,the count on .the first few is below par, and frequentlyrallies must be staged as part of the annualprogram. Of course, such a procedure tests theparson's ingenuity. He must always devisenew and ~ore interesting schemes for collec-tion of money, And so, every month anotherrally day r~ll~)around; one month it is for coal,the next'C-or?'electricity; and often the congre-gation is divided into teams so that competitioncan spur them on to larger donations. Thenonce a year all efforts are bent toward sendinga large donation to the central organization, sothat the church and its minister will not belooked upon in disfavor by the higher authori-ties. Often the church members are told thatif they like. their minister, they will send in abig donation, so that he can be returned tothem. Periodically, too, an entire sermon isdevoted to the virtue of giving - that "it ismore blessed to give than to receive"; moreblessed for the congregation to give so that the

3

THE ORACLE I

AN ATTACK ON THE CLERGY

preacher and the rest of the organization canreceive,

uch undue emphasis on pecuniary mattersmu t of necessity rob from the time devoted topreparation -and execution of the service. Withthree and four collections to be taken, the timespent on religion must be limited; and themini ter must spend time in preparation forthe rallies at the expense of his sermons. Then"hen the most active members of the .congre-gation are drafted to assist in the collection ofmoney, the time they might use searching outper ons in need of help, and souls in need ofcleansing is given over to the advancement ofthe minister. It would seem, then, that in the_-egro church the regular collection of tithes.~ far more important to the minister, the bis-hop, and all other ..church officials, than the sal-vation of souls. And the cry is always -"give for God's work." If saving sinners wer-eleft to God alone, "without such expensive as-si tants as the clergy have proved to be, theprice of entering Heaven would be prohibitiveo no one.

As far as the welfare of the Negro race as a"hole-is concerned all the previously mentionedhortcomings of the clergy heaped into one

would not equal the insult produced by oneingle ministerial device - capitalization of the

extreme emotionalism of the Negro. It is wellknown that the bulk of the colored people havenot reached the greatest height of ontogeneticdevelopment; that in education and· culture(used in its broadest sense) the Negro cannotbe taken as an example of the extreme of over-civilization. It is also well known that theheight of ontogenetic development is measuredby the degree to which the individual canrespond to the appeal of the intellect, .the .de-gree to which he is not susceptible to sugges-tion, and the degree to which he can avoid mobhysteria. That is to say, if one wishes to per-uade the more civilized man, he must tend moreoward logic and reason in his arguments;

whereas, if he is to convert a less informedperson, he must appeal to his baser emotions.The Bolsheviki realized that a bomb was a morepowerful stimulant than a metaphor. The Ne-gro minister uses the same device.

Without fluency or rhetoric the Negro clergy-man carr sway his congregation. The success

I.THE ORACLE

14

of a sermon is measured by the number of per-sons who jump up and shout, wave their arms,and dance in their seats. If he hears "amen"or "preach it, brother" only occasionally, heknows that his effectiveness is lacking. Butwhen hands clap, when feet stamp, and whenvoices ring out, then he knows he is stirringthe audience. And then by gradual steps, hebuilds it up into a frenzy, as a witch doctormight do with his death rites, until women atejumping and screaming, men are rocking andclapping, and children are crying at the deliriumof it. At the climax of one stirring sermon aman, who now is probably in Heaven for hisgood deeds, bolted from his seat and did twoIaps around the church, to fall again into hisseat, exhausted. To display the true feelingof the occasion any brother or sister who is"moved" may start a hymn, in whatever keyhe 91' she chooses, preferably in "swing time." Al-most immediately the chant spreads, the wholecongregation joins in, and over a discordant songcan be heard the rhythmic pounding of feet andclapping of hands. And at the psychologicalmoment, over the din, the minister calls thesinners from the gallery to "profess their faithin God and pledge one-tenth of their earthlypossessions to the church." Then while the

.heat of it lingers, a collection is taken.How, then, can the Negro develop, with his

emotions always brought to the fore with nochance to express the intellect he may possess,led by a man bent on personal gain, unqualifiedto perform the task he might have been ap-pointed to? How can the Negro race bringrespect when the growth and development of'its masses is hindered by implicit faith in anorganization that is not designed to benefit it?HQ,w can those few Negroes who are advanc-ing expect to be recognized when they are

\ judged on the standards of the mass, a massheld in bondage by the men who profess to beits leaders, a mass in constant state of retro-gression because of adherence to the organizedchurch? The ministers are guilty of selling outthe race to their own ends; they are guilty ofunderlining in red ink, for all to see, the short-comings and deficiencies of the average Negro.

The clergy are indeed deserving of this at-tack!

••

• BY COLONEL HENRY 0, ATWOOD

F IT could be done in as brief a sketch asthi must be, there are few things that would

be of greater benefit or of more lasting effectrpon the lives of the members of the Omega

P=:' Phi Fraternity than a just portrayal of theman, Colonel Charles Young.

He was, of course, pre-eminently a soldier.ile he was at West Point, a German officer

0:: high rank visited that institution. Afterarious cadets had been pointed out to this officer

for special excellence, he,himself singled out Ca-det You n g with thewords, "There goes asoldier." These qualitieswere only broadened andintensified by his activeduty with troops over a

Ii period of thirty-threeyears.

He was all things tohis men. On duty andin the field he was theircommanding officer; off

he was their father, affectionately called

COL. YOUNG

• • • • • •

"Uncle Charlie," to whom they 'went under anycircumstances with the certainty or understand-ing and a square deal. Their respect and confi-dence were cemented by the fact that he wasable to answer questions and that he never losta maneuver.

As a teacher, he believed in the precept ratherthan the spoken word, so that he has beennick-named, "Follow Me.';H~ :has been knownto lie down and allow, a troop of horses to goover him to prove that a cavalry horse wouldnot step on a man whendown, if he lay still.

One of the qualities which contributed to hisgreatness as a soldier and as a man was hisutter fidelity to duty, the demands of which heput above p~.rsonal likes and dislikes and evenabove what might bec<oJlIB:i~ered'the demandsof friendship.

Another striking characteristic of ColonelYoung and closely related to his high ideals ofduty, was that he never made for himself, noraccepted from those under him, an excuse fora thing done or left undone. To him, to re-fuse to accept the responsibility for one's actswas the part of a coward. ,

In whatever way he came in contact with men,(Continued 'on page 25)

1937 CONCLAVE

CLEVELAND~ OHIO

~""T¥ COOPERATION •• •

• 3Y E. B. WEATHERLE5S

RA. \TE been requested by the editor of theOR...\CLEto submit a brief statement giving

an account of my work in the Borough of Brook-.vn dealing specifically with community coop-eration. This request comes as a result of anarticle appearing in the New York Amsterdam- "eu:s January 22, 1938.

The governor of the State of New York ap-pointed a temporary commission for the pur-pose of making a study of the conditions of

Negroes in theC i t y of NewYork. This sur-vey was expect-ed to place undermicroscopic ob-servation theconditions underwhich Negroeslive, employmento p p 0 r tunities,interracial rela-tionships, e t c .R e com menda-tions forthcom-ing from a studyof this kind nat-

E. B. WEATHERLESS urally aided infurthering the purpose of the organization I amabout to mention.

In 1933 a group of property owners calledupon me to assist in the formation of plansleading to a permanent civic association in theStuyvesant section of Brooklyn. A series ofmeetings were held, the purpose of the organi-zation definitely agreed upon, and the followingpreamble to the constitution was accepted: "Anorganization maintained to develop better hous-ing, proper recreation for children, improve-ments in educational facilities, tone and atmos-phere of the section and adequate police protec-tion."

A general called meeting was held at one ofthe homes of our group. Election of officers fol-lowed. It being the desire of the body, aftermuch objection on my part, yours truly waschosen as the president.

Naturally no organization of this type reachesits maximum efficiency; that would be contraryto the law of averages. I am glad to state. thatubstantial progress has been made. Continued

I THE ORACLE

18

At the request of the editor, E. B. Weatherlesspresents here, in concise form, some of the activitiesof the Fulton-Macon Civic Association of Brooklyn,N.Y. This organization has gained national pub-licity because of its alertness and fearlessness indealing with local civic problems.

plugging, with an optimistic outlook, will carryus on to greater heights. The question of ac-complishments must be dealt with in the ab-stract. The organization is being constantlycalled upon to render services of all types. Out-standing among the achievements in this direc-tion is the successful opening of the StuyvesantAvenue end of the Fulton Street line of the In-

. ~ .dependent Subway System. Worthy of mentionis the fact that a thousand signatures of theproperty owners, both white and colored, weresecured. We petitioned the Board of Transpor-tation to favorably consider this request, point-ing out the definite conveniences made possibleby such an added service to the neighborhood.

The Fulton-Macon Civic Association mustbecome a tower of strength in the Borough ofBrooklyn. New. trends affecting the best inter-ests of the raftJs~~f~inority ~roups are becom.i.ngmore and more "lvIdent. LIke Jew and ~entIle,we must protectsourselves. We must think asAmerican citizens, and in this capacity we domake our contribution in the life of the com-munity in which we reside. To be complacentis to assume a negative attitude. No one canlook after our welfare better than ourselves. Itis nec€ssat~;· '{hajj;:W~must coordinate our pro-gram and ·stan·t~a11;1 to take our place in allmatters of civic bette1:.ment that we must sharein as citizens. To do this, .we must accept thephilosophy of that great President, AbrahamLincoln, who said, "'A house divided against it-self cannot stand.'!

Our conclusion is, "A race that continues todisintegrate its forces will never assume thoseideas that our organization is striving for."

I am glad of the opportunity to make theseexpressions; not with- the idea that it particu-larly publicizes the Fulton-Macon Civic Asso-ciation but with the desire that our readers maycatch in their hearts a spark that kindles thefire of hope, and making it possible for us tocarryon with the faith that has brought \Ji-

through the year. WE MUST EVER BEALERT.

THE A...~TI-LYNCHBILL? • • •

• BY BARRINGTON D. PARKER

THE Wagner-Van Nuys Anti-lynching Bill,ubject to one of the most intensive fili-

bu tering campaigns ever undertaken in Con-gre s on account of a legislative measure whichpurports to operate and benefit a racial group,seems doomed to failure. Not only did the sec-ond attempt to place a cloture on the Senate de-bate fail, but also the measure has been tem-porarily shelved for more "pressing" legislation.In addition, there is the further possibility thatpending conference reports which have a pre-ferred status may have the effect of displacingthe Anti-lynching Bill as the "unfinished" busi-ne of this Congressional session. For weeks,when the bill, if given the proper support ofsupposedly interested parties would have passed,a determined group of Southern Senators havebeen vociferous and unending in their denuncia-tion of this proposed legislation and equally ascaustic in their comments on the Negro group.

'While the Southerners have provided a gaudydemonstration against the measure, their col-leagues in both parties, sharing to some degreehose same perverted opinions, but either more

appreciative of the potency of the Negro votein their districts or palsied with fear lest theylose political concessions in 1940, have been lessspectacular in their procedure. Indeed this lat-er group has adroitly maneuvered a Congres-

sional dispensation of a "sit-down strike." Butthe coup de grace is deftly administered by theChief Executive when he refuses to indicate hissupport by stating-it is. alleged-"that the billi not a part of the administration's program."

The arguments and the briefs that have beenpresented against the bill may be grouped undertwo general headings. First, the opponents haveparaded out the doctrine of states' rights. Real-izing the inefectiveness of this, they have un-la hed their "moral" indignation on the secondargument, that of the racial issue.

Of these two arguments, the first has by farhe greater merit. Even then it cannot be defi-

nitely affirmed that the bill is an infringementupon states' rights. The Constitution provideswithout equivocation that the Federal Govern-ment through Congress has the inherent righto protect its citizens, and when the state fails

in this respect the Federal Government may in-er ene.

".... the filibuster has taken the tone of a third-rate amateur performance with Connally, Bilbo andEllender, each contending bitterly for the booby prize,outrivaling their European propagandist contempo-raries-Goebbels, Goerning land Streicher."

Senators Borah, George and Pepper are per-haps the chief contenders for states' rights; how-ever, we must not be unaware of their departurefrom this point. The legislative ability of thesemen we recognize at once; but it is this legis-lative ability alone-not their capacity for ju-dicial prophesying of unconstitutionality. Thefinal judgment is decreed by the Supreme Court.But in that body, when the uncompromisingquality of the recent dissent of Justice Black isreviewed, in which he challenged the personalityof a corporation under the Fourteenth Amend-ment, thus challenging a basic principle on whichthe Court has preserved capitalistic interests,one feels at a loss to predict the temper of anydecision, Moreover, today, when agriculturalcontrol legislation, relief .legislation, and exorbi-tant Federal expenditures are encouraged' on allsides, developing largely out of the inadequacyof state'-control, it is difficult to determine theline of demarcation between state and Federalpowers. In fact, there seems to exist a legis-lative inconsistency.

However, the real truth of the matter is sensedthrough the vitriolic outbursts of the Southern-ers who have assumed license to echo their in-grained prejudices and actually inspire the sen-timent of others. They have done this in wayswhich are incomparable in distortion of truth.At times the filibuster has taken the tone of athird-rate amateur performance, with Connally,Bilbo and Ellender each contending bitterly forthe booby prize. These men have clearly out-rivalled their European propagandist contem-poraries-Goebbels, Goerning and Streicher. Asone correspondent has said: "Ellender, seekinga Congressional record, complied with enoughtalk about miscegenation to turn Julius Streich-ers' stomach."

In spite of this, it is not solely with disgustthat we think of them, but perhaps; with com-passion. Such men are still imbedded in a medi-eval slime of ignorance and shallow judgment.That they represent the electorate of Americais a bitter reflection, but even this one questions,for last year it was felt that large sections of

9ORACLE I

WHAT OF THE ANTI-LYNCH BILL?

- e outh a reported through the newspaperswere lukewarm to the bill.

Co idering the significance of the filibuster-ing tactics of the Senate, one is struck forciblyby certain resulting implications. As far as ourgoYernmental structure is concerned, it marksa blatant repudiation of the spiritual conceptsof a democracy. An implication which is ofgrayer import when we notice the rise and ten-dencies of Fascism and Communism in our worldtoday. Together with this is the concentratedbaiting for Negro participation in communistand socialist circles.

The Negro, on the other hand, is in a dilemma.And he wonders whether there is any hope forecurity and recognition that a left-wing organi-

zation can guarantee. That he is serving as apolitical pawn by the two major political partiesis boldly confirmed through the recent filibuster.

But it is not proposed to set forth any politicalpolicy.

Nevertheless, one thing is clearly evident. TheNegro needs to become aware of the necessityof internal purge. Through education he mustdetermine certain social and economic standardsthat must be upheld in this highly competitiveand materialistic society. He must be as criticalin his analysises and as shrewd in his methodsas is any other group. He must not rely toolargely on the overtures of other groups whowould use him for their selfish purposes. And,above all, the inherent tendency of disorganiza-tion and disintegration of leadership must beavoided. Only until these facts are realized willhe be recognized a a formidable pressure group-guaranteeing for his present and for his pos-terity the benefits that should accrue to allgroups under a democratic system.

------.------THE ORACLE TAKES THE RAP

who works six hours a day forthe year.

It is in the reference to the places of residenceand the personal habits of the executives ofthe N.A.A.C.P. that the editorial sinks to itslowest depths. It is no disgrace to live onSugar Hill in New York City. Hundreds ofdomestic servants, postal workers, elevatoroperators, garage mechanics, nurses,' schoolteachers, actors, musicians and other peoplelive in the district known as Sugar Hill inHarlem. It is no special crime to have anunlisted telephone, but the injustice of thisstatement in the editorial lies in the fact thatit is not true. Walter White, the association'ssecretary, is in the telephone book. . The writerof this letter is in the telephone book. WilliamPickens, director of branches, is in the tele-phone book. The director of our youth workdoes not maintain 'a home of her own and,therefore, is not listed with a telephone. Onemember' of our legal staff has been living in adormitory, and, therefore, is not listed and an-other member does not have a telephone. Buteven if they did have unlisted telephones, afterthey have been on the job all day long, andfrequently, all night, lecturing, conferring,holding meetings, is it not reasonable to sup-pose that they would like a little privacy with

(Continued [rom. page 11)

nine months of their families and would prefer not to discussthe race problem 24 hours a day?

/ This letter does not maintain that the N.A.-A.C.P. or its executive personnel, is perfect.It, of course, has made, and probably will con-tinue to make some mistakes, but it is notabove criticism, and welcomes always construc-tive criticism from those who are familiar withits work and who are competent ,to pass uponthe questions of the day.

The thing that hurts me, as an Omega man,and as an official of the N.A.A.C.P., was thefact that our fraternity, as a national organi-zation, has not contributed one penny to thegreat work of the N.A.A.C.P. being carriedon to eliminate inequalities in public educa-tion. .We have received substantial financialassistance from practically all the nationalfraternities and sororities except Omega. Itmust be pointed out that the work against in-equalities in public education is of direct in-terest and benefit to the fraternity man andyet Omega has turned a deaf ear to this mostbeneficial and concrete work of the N.A.A.C.P.Several individual chapters, however, have con-tributed to specific campaigns of the organiza-tion and for this we are grateful. These arethe only acts which have saved the face of ourfraternity.

I THE ORACLE

20

S CL F JXCTION OF THE NEGROTER:\'""ITY • • •

• BY JOHN AUBREY DAVIS

HE egro college fraternity has long sincelost its original vitality and has entered a

neriod of marked decadence. The original so-~ial necessity for the Negro college fraternitya- well as its early purpose have all largely dis-appeared. In place of an organization which was+itally pulsating with a social function, thereaas evolved merely a higher type of Negro "se-cret order" based simply upon the natural gre-gariousness of man and the desire for pleasure.

As Negro intellectual society first evolved~ was quite natural and highly commendablethat a social organization expressing the idealsand tastes of this society should develop. Theearly fraternity was a medium for the associa-'on and the mutual stimulation of those men

who were blazing the trail of Negro intellec-al endeavor.In the early days it was quite common for a

prospective fraternity man to express his eager-n to join a fraternity because it would serveas a medium through which h~ might becon:e/acquainted with certain leaders III the academicand professional fields. These early leaderswere especially anxious to associate with theyounger men as they came along, to stimulatetheir minds, to mold their ambitions, and toguide them along the lines which would producescholars and gentlemen.

As far as participation in the American scenewas concerned the Negro race was extremelyvounz when the fraternity first appeared. The~egr~ was engaged in an endeavor to developintellectual capability and competence alongacademic and professional lines. The appear-ance of the fraternity was in a larger sensemerely a manisfestation of the Negro's newgrowth. Direction and ideology were given tothe new movement by Dr. W. E-. B. DuBoisthrough his theory of the necessity of the de-veloprnent of the "better tenth." In the inten-sity of the movement the race was naive enough° believe racial friction would disappear as soon

a the Negro proved his ability to assimilateand to contribute to Western civilization. Be-fore the altar of culture, it was felt, all racialdifferences would vanish. Dr. Alain LeroyLocke added his theory of the necessity and theability of the Negro living in the American en-

• •,•• • •

"The Negro f'naternity has become almost ameaningless hulk without vitality and even inade-r,.uately expressing the ideals and aims of the stag-gering Negro petty bourgeois," writes John AubreyDavis, in this stirring article on the social duty ofour fraternities.

vironment to contribute something peculiarlynegroid to American culture.

Perhaps the theorists of the social movementwere over-enthusiastic and naive in attemptingto show that the cultural process would eliminateracial friction and exploitation. Neverthelessthis drive of the Negro toward professionalequipment and higher academic training washighly significant and entirely necessary forthe social and economic integration of the Ne-gro into the American scene and for his verysurvival. Apologists and theorists of any move-ment are likely to systematize it into an abso-lute idealization; nevertheless, the movement hasa basic value of its own.

The Negro race in America was growing upculturally and intellectually, and in this growththe fraternity played an integral role. In fact,it became one of the most vitalizing sources fromwhich young men gained the contacts and theinspiration to pursue higher academic learningand professional training. Here was formu-lated an esprit, a sense of duty and of obliga-tion which spurred many of the first studentsto better effort and higher achievement.

Moreover in many educational institutions, thefraternity was of inestimable value in estab-lishing a sense of intellectual dignity and ra-cial freedom. In some schools it still serves orcould serve such a justifiable and worthy socialpurpose. It was especially helpful in encourag-ing the Negro to try other fields besides thetrades and agriculture, and in giving him asense of responsibility and dignity as a collegeman. In doing this it was perhaps guilty ofover-emphasizing the professional pursuits; buteven in doing this, it presented higher goalsand encouraged self-confidence and self-respectin the Negro student. In a large number ofinstances the fraternity changed the Negro stu-dent from a ward of paternalistic but restric-tive missionary philanthropy to an Americancollege student. Even freedom in the social

21

THE ORACLE I

THE ~OCIAL FU CTIO OF THE EGRO FRATERNITY

life of many institutions was achieved only af-ter the arrival of the fraternity.

It will be pointed out by some that the frater-nity developed social snobbery and smugness,which was detrimental to racial unity and to asound understanding of the economic and socialstatus of the Negro. This group will insistthat since the Negro race is overwhelminglycomposed of workers and peasants, any organi-zation which tends to split the race into classesand to aid in the installation of bourgeois ideasand consciousness merely prevented the Negrofrom making his only sound and fundamentalalliance with the working class movement.

In other words, they will insist that insofaras the fraternity aided in the "bourgeoisifica-tion" of the Negro, just so far did it delay andprevent a whole-hearted alliance with the work-ing class movement and aims with which theNegro, as predominantly a worker, must inevi-tably ally. In answer to this group it can bestated that their attitude is one of wishful think-ing, and results from a gross blurring of facts.

In - the first place, when the fraternity andthe "better tenth" movement began, there waslittle or no labor movement with which the Ne-gro could ally himself. Labor was mainly con-cerned with excluding the Negro as a possibleunder-cutting competitor, and did not recognizethe common front as it now does. It was.rthere-fore, hardly apparent that such was a possiblealliance of the Negro. Secondly, it must beremembered that if the Negro was going to livein the American society, it w~s necessary forhim to demonstrate his intellectual and culturalcapacity, to equip himself; and the fraternitywas intrinsically vital to this development.

If the fraternity became class-conscious or'aided in its cultivation in the race, this was buta natural characteristic of a race emerging fromslavery and trying to find its bearing in the so-city which surrounded it. A desire to pursuethings intellectual and the development of a cul-tured and trained group was absolutely neces-sary to the existence of the relatively "young"Negro race.

The fraternity of old, then, was a part of thedrive of a "young" race to equip itself intellec-tually, culturally, and professionally. It nur-tured and encouraged the movement. But theNegro is safely upon the road to higher educa-tion and the professions now, and there is strongevidence that he has over-emphasized this typeof training. There is little or nothing to the

I THE ORACLE

22

race occupationally besides domestic, farmlaborer, industrial worker, and professional.The drive toward professional and academictraining, then, is no longer a movement whichis vital to the development of the race nor to itseconomic and social survival. The natural so-cial development in which the fraternity evolvedand of which it was a manifestation is no longeras significant- as in the past.

The loss of some of the fire of purpose in thefraternity is entirely apparent even to the un-der-graduate, and makes all of the horseplayand pleasure side of the fraternity all the morenauseous to the serious student. Recently abrother came to me outraged because he hadbeen rebuffed by a freshman of considerablepromise. The freshman had indicated his totaldisgust for fraternities by saying that theywere extremely beneficial since they provideda means of being expelled from school whengood fellowship enticed one into festival ex-cesses. He also pointed out that initiation wasgood because it provided a means of hoistingthe ego of worthless hangers-on when they weregiven the opportunity of beating pledgees ofsuperior caliber. He added that sadistic per-sons also enjoyed initiations, and that the fra-ternity was also valuable in making excludedboys extremely unhappy. He admitted, how-ever, that fraternities did aid Negro politicians,anxious for national recognition, since they wereso easily able to capture the national organiza-tions. He definitely decried the social aimless-ness of the organization, and stated that it wasridiculous for an organization of 'college mento exist solely for the purpose of annual dancesand political shenanigans. Moreover, he wantedto know why the outstanding men in all of thefraternities were entirely unconcerned withthem.

Much of what the student said, of course, wasrancor; but it must be recognized that there wasa definite cause for the boy's excitement. Look-ing at that fraternity as a whole, he was con-vinced of its social emptiness, and all of theother attributes of the fraternity, which shouldhave been the sources of pleasure, enjoyment,good fellowship and friendship, were silly in-consequentials.

Fraternities have become' aware af their lackof utility and they have cast about in despera-tion for adequate social function. As a resultthey' have sponsored such programs as "Go to

FL~CTIOK OF THE EGRO FRATERNITY

High -'chool Go to College, "Better egroB siness ,Yeek," and " ocational Guidance."These programs are general and superficial al-mo t to the point of inanity, and it must beobserved that they are far from reaching the_-egro masses, but rather express a definite Ne-gro bourgeois approach. They are mainly use-ful in providing a week of trips and politicalballyhoo for the officers of the national organi-zations. Of course real social programs mustbe carried out by the chapters all through theyear. Any rational person looking at the pres-ent occupational picture would immediately askwhy go to high school and college? And whatprogram is the fraternity to offer to the massesof Negroes for whom a college education is animpossibility? A modern young man consciousof the effects of racialism might also quicklyask, "Why stress Negro achievement?" Hewould be quick to point out that emphasis uponracial differences is dangerous and unwhole-ome thought at this time. At present such

a young man would say that Negro and whiteworkers should be told of their essential simi-larity, cultural as well as economic. Whatfeeble attempts the Negro fraternity has madeto grapple with social problems as they existtoday are laughable in their evasiveness. Goodexamples of these programs are, "Unusual Occu-pations for the Negro," and "Causes and Effectsof Juvenile Delinquency." These subjects arepecialized and professional and the fraternity

"ill hardly itself understand or help the dis-semination of an understanding of fundamentalocial problems with such an approach. As an

organization it can certainly contribute nothingon such subjects. And it is interesting to notehow closely national fraternal programs followthe professional interests of their leaders.

The Negro fraternity has become almost ameaningless hulk without vitality and even in-adequately expressing the ideals and aims of thestaggering Negro petty bourgeois. It can besaid, of course, that "white fraternities have noocial purpose, that they exist solely for pleasure,

comradeship and friendship. But the Negro'fraternity never achieved its vitality in the pastwith such a meager offering. Can the race asa minority group. allow the only organizationwhich gathers its very best within its folds todissipate its energies upon the mere pursuit ofentertainment? Certainly the possession ofknowledge in an underpriviledged group carrieswith it the responsibility of leadership. Instead

of accepting the challenge and burden of lead-ership, our fraternities have been content to apethe leisure characteristics of the organizationsof the more affluent white race. This has builtup an atmosphere of bourgeois smugness whichhas widened the gap between the trained Ne-gro and the masses, and has made the frater-nity incapable of leadership in economic andsocial disorder. At its worst, the fraternityhas taught students a bourgeois attitude whenit has been impossible for them to support it.The result has been a socially striving and asocially irresponsible lumping proletariat.

If the fraternity is to regain its vigor, itmust ally itself with the most vital of the pres-ent social movements. It must throw asideall of its bourgeois smugness and use its un-limited sources for mass leadership. It mustactively engage in civil rights movements.Primarily its luke-warm attitude toward theN.A.A.C.P. must be cast aside. The rriost strik-ing social phemonenon of the last few years hasbeen the re-vitalizing of the labor movement, andthe broadening of its base and influence. Foronce a large section of labor appears willingto receive the Negro on an equal basis and withequal benefits. The Negro is largely an indus-trial worker, domestic, and agricultural laborer.Then, the fraternity must aid him in express-ing himself in the movements of these groups.Such men as A. Philip Randolph and John L.Lewis should receive the whole-hearted supportof the organization. Negro leaders includingDr. W. E. B. DuBois are thinking along thelines of cooperatives, and the cooperatives move-ment both racial and inter-racial has made itsappearance. Here again the fraternity shouldput its shoulder to the wheel. The Negro hasturned to buying-where-he-can-work movementsas a means of achieving fair employment and offilling out his unbalanced occupational structure.This movement directed mostly for clerical posi-tions, in which approximately twenty-three percent of the white race are employed and onlytwo to three per cent of the Negro race, is an-other one to which the fraternity should give itsintelligent leadership.

If it fails to take honest steps, the fraternitywill become merely a club for the amusementof the undergraduate, a pawn for politiciansseeking national recognition, a bourgeois clubin an essentially working class race. and an

.anathema to its elder fathers.

23THE ORACLE I

.J

• • • •

• BY r: BEAUNORUS TOLSON

I READ an article in a New York paper some-time ago entitled: "Deserted Fraternity

Houses". It seems that a wave of depressionengulfed, not only ourpoor Uncle Sam, but al-so the college brother-hoods. On the campusesof aristocratic white in-stitutions of higher mis-learning stood row afterrow of fraternityhouses looking like thesad remains of some de-serted v i I I age. Thebrothers had abandonedtheir sanctuaries.

"Now, there's a rea-TOLSON son for everything," said

the old woman to thejudge, after she had broken a skillet over thehead of her husband.

Take a simple lesson from biology. When ananimal finds itself in an environment, it mustdo one of three things: first, adapt itself to theenvironment; second, move from the environ-ment; third, die in the environment. In otherwords, adaptability is the law of life. The ancientdinosaurs didn't have sense enough to do that;so they are with us no longer. And that's thereason we have those deserted fraternity houseson the campuses of many white colleges and uni-versities. The brothers didn't have sense enoughto change with changing conditions.

The seasons change, the planets change, ani-mals change, every tiny hair on your headchanges. Then how in the name of God can aninstitution or organization expect to live with-out changing to meet the demands of contempo-rary conditions? Let us cite some facts.

First, once upon a time a fraternity was sup-posed to be made up of brothers who had thingsin common. They themselves told the ignorantpublic that. Of course, those inside knew thatthe brothers would steal each other's girls andsometimes each other's money; but everythingwent along merrily-so the folk outside thought.However, this is an age of muckraking and de-bunking. Even the President of the Land of theSpree and the Home of Burma shave is rakedover the coals. Even the closets of the preach-ers are opened and the skeletons are dragged out.

I THE ORACLE

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"It's hell to think that a brother has to show hisbrotherly love by beating the hell out of a newbrother," says this brilliant young writer from WileyCollege. Skids for "Hunkers" and curbing of dancesare recommended. Chapter notes give him a "belly-ache."

Fraternities have not escaped. The public isdemanding that fraternities prove their brother-hood. Yes, the dumbest freshman has smelledthe dead rat in the fraternity house. When thebrothers say "Brother," the wise-birds belly-laugh. Brotherhood should mean mutual help-fulness if it's worth a tinker's damn!

If a member of Omega can't be a brother, theskids ought to be put under him. And the pub-lic should know that the skids have been putunder him! Spiritual affinity is necessary. Noman is more important than an organization. Idon't believe in the decorations of big names;they hide the essential thing, which is brother-hood. The big brother should be the one whois the servant of all. Then for 1938, Omegaought to make that word "brother" stand forsomething more than a fraternity pin and a mys-terious handshake.

Second, the time for brutal initiations haspassed. I said that ten years ago. They thoughtI was crazy. Now the papers have taken it up.Fraternities have been putting on the barbari-ties of the African jungle. It's hell to thinkthat a brother has to show his brotherly loveby beating the hell out of a new brother! Asa suggestion, wouldn't it be in harmony with theprinciples of Omega to have a neophyte read anassigned number of good books and at the in-itiation have him pass an examination? I thinkthat plan would put a fraternity on the map.The newspapers would take it up. The ORACLEcould publish the essay or poem or story thatsome brother had written for his local chapteras part of his examination. It could be sent tothe Crisis or Opportunity.. Third, when I was in college we stood forscholarship. If a man can make good grades toget in, then he can make good grades to stay in.The average fraternity nowadays looks like thedean's "F'lunkers' List." So help me, Jesus,that's a disgrace. Yes, that's a tragedy. Weboast of scholarship, and the fraternity is lousywith flunkers. If a brother is weak in a sub-ject, then a brother who is strong ought to helphim. If the flunker won't· study, put the skids

FRATER ITIES vs. OBLIVION

Why not ask some prominent white writers tocontribute a paper now and then? Our maga-zine should be made up of more than the trivialhappenings of local chapters that nobody readsbut the local chapters-and they know alreadyabout who stole whose gal last week.

In other words, our magazine should carrymaterial to a wider audience. We should havepassed that wretched period of the weekly news-paper that tells how Brother Nicodemus ate din-ner at Sister Hagar's house and how Mr. Little-john stole a kiss from the village old maid inthe basement of Mt. Zion.

The wr itings in the average fraternity maga-zine give me a belly-ache. In the first place, thewriters need a course in English I-A, at Chitter-ling Switch University. The editor of the HogTrot Weekly would put them in the box in hisouthouse. The articles sent in should be signif-icant. The stories and poems and personal ex-periences should be thought-provoking. Just asI don't have a Negro fix my ancient car becausehe is a Negro, no Omega man is going to readan illiterate article because an Omega man wroteit. If our magazine represents intelligence, letus get away from the standard of the Okay, Ark.,bi-monthly.

Let our contributors take time and get outworth-while articles from the local chapters.I must say this: the leading articles show goodtaste and judgment. I read them with profit.

Let us stop trying to put every brother'sname in the article. For God's sake, take timeto revise and re-write the article and make itinteresting. Let us have more pictures of col-lege campuses ; let them come from the candidcamera. Let us make the ORACLEa magazinethat even non-fraternity folk will buy and read.Again, the local chapter ought to place in thecollege or public library a holder for the ORACLE.

0-----IN MEMORIAM(Continued [Tom page 15)

under him. That will bring any fraternity dis-tinction.

Fourth, the time for snobbishness has goneforever. People think you're a fool nowadays.I've just returned from New York City, whereI talked with some of the big men of this coun-try in money and art and literature. I am anobody. But I've never been treated better. Inumber among my close friends a countess, agovernor, an internationally famous novelistand a lady worth $200,000,000. They are notsnobs. Snobs are inferior jackasses trying tomake somebody think they're somebodies. Todaythey gain nothing but contempt. Mrs. Roose-velt eats with girls in a five-and-ten-cent store.Let a fraternity put over a constructive programand people will give it credit. After all, you'reonly so big as the people will let you be. A popu-lar group is a group that makes friends, butholds up high standards.

Fifth, fraternities give too many dances. Allof them are doing it; therefore, there's no dis-tinction in it. Any group of dumb-bells canpow-wow. The land is full of starvation.Wouldn't it be better to seek out starving fami-lies from time to time and take them dinner-baskets or perhaps a pair of shoes? Couldn'tthe brothers gather old clothes for the needy?Couldn't they serve a dinner for some broken-down men and women? Do these things, andsensible people everywhere will look up to you.They will point you out as a constructive forcein the community. Then, what would be wrongin giving a dance for the non-fraternity stu-dents? Again, during the year, Omega couldpresent some distinguished member of someother group on the campus or in some church.

Sixth, why not have this year guest editorsfrom the other fraternity magazines to give spe-cial articles? That hasn't been done before.

he demanded their respect and almost invariablyheir affection by the sterling worth of his

character. He was the only colored memberand president of a general court convened atCamp Grant. After the conclusion of the trialthe officers composing the court presented ColonelYoung with a gold watch and chain. The offi-cers making the presentation said among otherrnings that the one thing on which the courtad been a unit" was their desire to present

Colonel Young with this watch and chain as a

mark of esteem and evidence of their admira-tion for the way in which he had conducted thecourt.

Colonel Young was not only a soldier; hewas a musician, a writer, a student of history,and a linguist of polyglot; but within and aboveall this he was a lover of his race and a believerin the possibilities of its greatness.

Buried with high military honors, the body ofour beloved brother lies in Arlington MemorialCemetery, in Washington.

THE ORACLE I

~~~-\TIO~ALLABOR RELATIONS ACT AND~'"EGROLABOR • • •• • • •

• BY WELFORD WILSON

THE National Labor Relations Act standsparamount amid a large group of new labor

techniques and legalizations that have developedand been enacted because of the tremendous or-ganization of American workers during the de-pression years. This act may be considered anew interpretation of the first ten amendmentsas they affect Americans who happen to beworkers in industrial America.

The economic history of America shows thatcorporations and big business had, with the in-dustrial expansion of America, and the enact-ment of various laws to protest and stimulatethis expansion, practically emasculated the pos-sibility of American workers determining theconditions under which they worked. The sweatshop developed with its long hours and shortpay; similar situations prevailed in the largerindustries; the company unions were fostered;espionage and black-listing were resorted to;John Q. Public leagues and law and order leagueswere organized, all in the effort of big businessto prevent the laborer from organizing to theextent that his demands for better conditionsnecessitated consideration. Ghibboleths were ex-pressed, such as "The Rights of Public Proper-ty," "Rugged Individualism," "The AmericanWay," to create and intensify the fear anddoubts of workers that they were engaging inun-American practices and being victimized byforeign influences when they sought to organizeto prevent the last signs of possible economicsecurity and industrial democracy from going"beyond the horizon."

The depression forced labor and the govern-ment to take action on the problems of labor;for the poverty of workers, the unemploymentsituation and capital control had gone beyondthe limits of national security. This gave birthto a chaotic national economy, which threateneda destruction of the basis of modern Americanlife, industry, capital and labor. It was thenthat the American worker discarded the sup-posedly American way of the "Old Guard" andsupported the "New Deal" policies as symbolizedin Roosevelt. The destruction of the N.I.R.A.during the depression by the Supreme Court, inthe role of the protector of big business, dis-played to the unorganized and organized workerthe extent that big business would go in order

I THE ORACLE

26

This article concerns itself with the workings of theNational Labor Relations Act and the proceduresused by the Labor Board in settling industrial dis-putes. Written in two parts, the author presentshero a treatment of the machinery of the law. Ournext issue will present an interpretation of the lawas it has affected Negro labor.

to protect capital in times of industrial emer-gencies. It was now a question as to whetherhuman lives were more valuable than the mass-ing of profits in dollars and cents. From allapparent signs, it appeared that the latter was.more valuable. This experience and generaltrend of evaluation forced the American workerto intensify his fight for existence; and, by re-sorting to a series of strikes that threatened thenational foundation, labor forced the FederalGovernment, as it had never been forced before,to become more cognizant of labor's strugglewith capital and to seek conciliation between thetwo. Out of these conditions came the NationalLabor Relations Act.

Despite the voluminous writings and involvedconcepts given the government's guarantee ofthe rights of the American worker, the NationalLabor Relations Act is simple in its procedure.

The act, in general, does three things. Itmakes legal a privilege which workers have al-ways assumed as traditionally theirs, but which,in reality, was not, i. e., the right of collectivebargaining. It outlaws unfair labor practicesexercised by big business in its efforts to throt-tle the attempts of labor to express itself demo-cratically. The joint action of the above con-sequently creates a more concrete democracy inindustry; for in exercising the right of collectivebargaining, unions and their memberships aregranted the opportunity to determine to' a greatextent their working conditions.

Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Actlegalizes the rights of the workers to unionizeaccording to their own choice and to choose theirown representatives for collective bargaining.Thus labor is given Federal protection when itorganizes and seeks a compensatory return forits work. The rights of labor to organize, tostrike and to bargain collectively have been ac··cepted as traditional rights of labor; but thehistory of labor in America shows that such hasnot been the case. In the very recent past, busi-

KATIO AL LABOR RELATIONS ACT

ness has had legal and illegal means on its side.Today the Federal Government, through the la-bor board set up by this act, is attempting todestroy the illegal and unfair practices that busi-ness has used in frustrating the rights of in-dustrial democracy among American workers.

To prevent the development of unionismamong workers, business has resorted to manyunfair practices. The National Labor RelationsBoard has enumerated five general classes of ac-tivities under which many of the tyrannical actsof industry may be categorized. The prohibi-tions are as follows:

1. Employers are prohibited from in-terfering with workers who wish to joinlabor organizations and to bargain col-lectively through representatives of theirown choice. Thus any act tending to arousefear that loss of job will result from unionactivities is forbidden to big business. Foracts of this nature, the board will take ac-tion against a company.

2. The act makes it unfair for an em-ployer to dominate or interfere with an or- ,ganization of his employees or contributeto it. Thus the "company union," a devicecreated by big business to combat the or-ganization of a bona fide union, is outlawed.A bona fide union, as defined by the board,is one in which the membership pay dues,hold regular meetings, possess writtenagreements with the company, possess con-tacts with other workers' organizations, andhas the right to demand arbitration of dif-ferences whereby the company abandonsabsolute veto power. A lack of one of thesequalities will necessitate the board's deci-sion that Section 2 has been violated.

3. It is unfair for an employer to dis-criminate in any way against a worker sole-ly for the reason of membership or activityin a union.

In many cases before the board, evidenceis presented showing that the company hasdiscriminated against certain key unionmen by demotions, wage cuts and dis-charges. No rule can be made as to whena man is discriminated against because ofunion affiliations, nor when he is dis-charged, demoted, etc., rightly. Decisionsin this matter are reached by an evaluationof the long-term relationship between theworker and his employer with regard tokill, experience and the testimony of other

workers, foremen, superintendents, et cetera.4. The law forbids employer to dis-

charge or discriminate against a worker be-cause he has filed charges or given testi-mony under the act. Thus a worker hasgovernmental job protection when he seeksthe board's assistance against a company oroffers testimony against that company.

5. It is unfair for an employer to refuseto bargain collectively with the representa-tives of his employees.The board cannot determine the solution of

labor disputes. It can only bring the employerand the employee together. The act is constructedon the belief that all disputes concerningwages, hours, etc., can be settled by ,arbitrationif both parties will agree to meet in good faith.This assumption has not proven true, and a largenumber of labor organizations, business menand legislators are asking that the board be in-vested with the powers of a mediator.

Often the board is called upon to conductelections to determine which of several contest-ing unions is the most representative of theworkers in an industry. The unfortunate splitthat has occurred in the ranks of labor at pres-ent develops many problems of this nature. Thus,by these elections it is apparent that the rankand file of workers have the right to maintainindependent unions or to affiliate with one ofthe national labor groups. The union claimingto be the representative of the workers mustshow that a majority of the workers in a plantrecognize it as such. The election, when con-ducted by the board, is a secret ballot.

The Supreme Court decision on April 12, 1937,validating this act began a new era for workers,who had not been and were not tardy in takingadvantage of the act, for within nine monthsafter the passage of the act in 1935, the boardhad handled 1,067 cases involving thousands ofworkers. Negro workers have gained in pro-portion to their membership in unions. No studyhas been made on the number of Negroes whowere affected by the action taken by the board.However, the board has cases that were broughtbefore it by Negroes and were concerned solelywith Negro labor. These cases are doubly in-teresting, for not only has the board had to re-act to those practices used by business to con-trol its workers, but it has had to react to moresubtle anti-labor practices that were intricatelyinterwoven into the racial stratification of theSouthern states.

THE

27ORACLE I

~ GR",- D "ATE DI'""]SIOXS OF GREEK-LETTER FRATERNITIES A FUTURE? YES!

• BY JESSE O. THOJV\AS

GREEK-LETTER fraternities had their birthin undergraduate culture. In the very nature

of the case they came into being in order tomeet a need and satisfy demands of campus lifeand collegiate distinction. Like most organiza-tions and institutions, the program and objec-tives were greatly influenced by the needs thatwere then apparent.

The pressure of circumstances makes it neces-sary for those persons who bring into existenceagencies and enterprises to give major concernto current needs rather than plan for an in-definite future. Frequently the limitations ofphysical, financial and social resources are tooinadequate to be spread out over a long period.Better results can often be obtained by concen-trating all resources on the needs at hand, fromyear to year. When one decade or period iscontrasted with another, the changing of em-phasis and appreciation of social values makethemselves manifest.

In many fields of endeavor, research expertsare employed who give all of their time in aneffort to discover new properties, new tech-niques and methodologies. This must be true inany dynamic society.

When all of the Greek-letter fraternities wereorganized, employment opportunities for college-bred men were not half so limited as they aretoday. A college diploma was an open-se iameto a teaching profession or white-collar job.

Our whole theory of economics has been ma-terially modified in the last decade. The geog-raphy of the world has been very largely changedin the last quarter of a century. Undergradu-ates today, therefore, face problems and mustconsider measures which their elders did notand need not have contemplated. There are,however, certain basic elements in the funda-mental principles of these fraternities that willremain adequate as a motivating influence uponthe life and culture of undergraduate men. Someof them, indeed, will survive graduate culture.The graduate division of these fraternities, forthe most part, represents an unaltered extensiondivision of the undergraduate section. In otherwords, there has been very little done on thepart of graduate men to build a program cal-culated to ienlist the enthusiastic and sustained

I THE ORACLE

28

Our former Vice Grand Basileus brings forwardSOme very pointed and timely questions regardingth.e functions of a National Greek Letter Fraternity.IRe feels that we are now at the cross-roads, andmust decide now the futuro of OUr Greek-letter or-ganizations.

interest of busy men in the various occupations,vocations and professions in which they findthemselves.

People, as a rule, are mentally lazy, morallycowardly, and sufferers from spiritual malnutri-tion. It is much easier to accept things asthey are or have been than it is to exercisesome creative imagination and intellectual in-dustry.

Some years ago, in St. Louis, the writer sub-mitted a recommendation to the Committee onRecommendations that a committee be appoint-ed to "Re-Think Omega." The Committee onRecommendations, in making its report, didn'tinclude the above-mentioned item. After thecommittee's report had been adopted, we tookthe floor and called the attention to the impor-tance of such a committee being appointed, andsecured a unanimous vote for the appointmentof a committee to "Re-Think Omega." I lis-tened not long ago to a person being nominatedfor an office in the fraternity who was givencredit for being responsible for the "Re-ThinkOmega Project." I mention this simply to in-dicate .that it has been our feeling for sometime that a radical change had to take place inour program approach if we are to retain in ourmembership any considerable number of menwho are initiated from year to year. I feltalso complimented that the Committee on Recom-mendations at Cleveland should have includedso large a part of the recommendations in ourannual message in its report to the Conclave,which were adopted.

The more nearly an Omega man approximatesthe cardinal principles upon which the organi-zation is founded, the more he will be soughtafter in the community to be identified withvarious civic, religious, business and prof'es-sional organizations. It, therefore, becomes aquestion of division of labor or the allocationof time, when other organizations with which hewill be connected will hold meetings on the samenight the Omega chapter will have its meeting.

R.-\.\b: GR.-\D -ATE Dr ISIO IS OF GREEK FRATERNITIES A FUTURE?

,-noel' the e circumstances he is called upon to::!:rink in erms of relativity. Likewise, the mat-ter of financial support becomes more a ques-'on of judicious allocation. The bigger, theore difficult and comprehensive the program,

tne more challenging the objective, the less apt-e are to destroy our fraternity through polit-= .~. chicanery, trickery and deception. In other"IT" rds, measures will become the great issues~~ conclaves, rather than men.

:::- "a our privilege to preside, during the"" itting of reports of chapter delegates at-"" Conclaves in Philadelphia and Cleveland.These reports revealed a very dangerous situa-rion in the conduct of local chapters with partic-ular emphasis on the graduate division. Thedelegate, in reporting for my own chapter, in-=ormed the Conclave that Eta Omega paid intorhe national treasury more money than anychapter in the jurisdiction. The question wasraised as to how Eta Omega constantly raisedsuch a large budget and reported such a largepercentage of its entire membership as beingfinancial from year to year. The delegatestated that it was the practice of his chapterLa require all members taking part in the springformal to have paid in full their dues for theyear.

The monthly News Bulletin of Eta OmegaChapter contains the following with referenceto the spring dance for 1938:

"The annual Eta Omega dance is sched-uled for May 6, this year. Every brotherwho plans to take part in the dance musthave his budget paid in full on or beforeour April meeting night. The detailed plansof the dance will be given at a latter date."

Practically every graduate chapter that hadhad any success in keeping members financialconcurred with the Eta Omega delegate that"the only way to keep graduate men financial isto threaten to deny them participation in theannual dance. I sumbit this situation to thecandid judgment of any member of the frater-nity who cares to exercise enough mental energy-0 analyze the situation. What can be the~ rture of an organization whose adherence givessupport primarily for the purpose of beingeligible to participate in an annual dance? I- a-ten to establish the fact that nobody en-~oy~ dancing more than the writer. I am notcri ici ing dancing. Dancing is not the point

2

at issue, except by implication. The questionhere raised is, must not the leader of thesefraternities work out some other approach fun-damentally more necessary and more far-reach-ing in its ultimate consequences as a basis ofan appeal for support.

Turn this question around: Can a graduatefraternity survive without a radical change inprogram activities for both local and nationalorganizations? I appreciate that there are manypeople who as a result of mental lethargy andmoral depression will attempt to justify inac-tion on the basis of "loyalty to the vision ofthe founders or the cardinal principle" uponwhich the fraternity was established. I wouldgo one step further in recognition of the in-sight of the founders to state that I believe thatif the founders were establishing a fraternitytoday, there would be many things included inthe program that were omitted twenty-five yearsago. If those far-seeing founders were estab-lishing a fraternity among graduate men in1938, they would so outline its program as tomake dancing relatively unimportant as astablizing influence in the organization.

We must soon decide (or lack of ability tofinance our program will decide for us) whetherwe are going to be a gentlemen's club offeringan opportunity for periodical fraternization ofmen of kindred minds, or whether we are goingto be a civic influence in the life of the communi-ties in which our chapters exist.

The insecurity that encompasses NegroAmerica today suggests, even though feebly tomost of the brethren, that the future of Greek-letter fraternities will be conditioned either bythe restlessness in the mental behavior of thosewho are charged with the responsibility of ourexecutive government or by the unprotestedresignation as now too largely characterizes theofficial conduct of both local and national offices.

In the former instance we shall courageously,steadfastly project on the screen of our imagina-tion the onrushing trend and shall evolvemediums through which these trends might beembraced with the minimum amount of socialmaladjustment, on one hand; or in the latter,we shall continue to stumble along like theheads of other fraternal organizations of yes-teryears (such as Odd Fellows, Pythians, Ma-sons, etc.) until on the flood-tide of stupidity,indifference, inactivity and the lack of concretevision, we drift the ways of all the earth.

THE ORACLE I

• • •~ THE REAL~I OF SPORTS •An Energetic Sports Writer Strikes .Iim-Crowis.m in our 1 ational Pastime

• BY CLEVELAND JACKSON

A LONG, drawn out battle for recognition ofcolored performance by the baseball major

leagues reached a climax this winter whenSamuel H. (Sam) Lacy, Washington Tribunesports writer, succeeded in collaring Clark C.Griffith, president of the Washington Senators,and wringing a statement from him on thesubject.

It was the first time since the fight for theadmission of Negro players into the big leagueswas beg..n some two years ago, that a magnatewas brought to indicate that organized baseballentertained the thought that some day the sportmight be opened to athletes of all races. Griffithacknowledged that the merits of colored base-ball players would sooner or later be rewarded.

The major leagues, for a long time prior toLacy's entrance into the fight on behalf of col-ored players, had been branded as "contemptiblyprejudiced" and "malicious in their bias" bysports writers of color all over the country.They had been objects of the most derisive criti-cisms and were looked upon as "ink-smears onan otherwise tolerant sports firmament."

The ace Tribune columnist, however, wentabout the task of bringing the matter directlybefore the eyes of the game's administration.He deserted the practices of "yellow journalism"which had for so long blasted the discriminatingpolicy of the big leagues. Instead of writingnumerous blistering columns on the subject,which he knew could very easily be ignored -and perhaps not even seen - by the majorleague moguls, Lacy put the matter squarelyup to them in direct letters.

When the maj or league meetings were heldin Chicago, December 6 and 7, last, the Tribuneman had a request on file in the office of JudgeKenesaw M. Landis, commissioner of baseball,for an audience for a committee of three Ne-gro newspaper men, to be named as soon as therequest was granted. These three, Lacy ex-plained, would take not more than 15 minutesto plead the cause of the colored man in or-ganized baseball before an open session.

When the commissioner refused to reply toLacy's request in time for the meetings, thereporter wrote Griffith urging him, as presi-dent of the team playing before the patronage

I THE ORACLE

30

"Cleve" Jackson, former sports writer for theCleveland Call-Post, reviews in this article theprogress being made in an effort to have Nezrobaseball players participate in "Big; League" games.His story of Lacy's success in wringing from oneof the big moguls a statement On the subject isworth reading.

of Negroes of the Tribune's native city, to rec-ommend consideration of the colored baseballplayer as a potential big league hireling. Hepointed out that the 171,000 Negroes in Wash-ington looked upon him (Griffith) as their rep-resentative at the sessions, and prevailed uponthe president of the Senators to serve as such.

The matter was not taken up before the bodyitself, but Griffith and Judge Landis discussedit between themselves. As a result the formercalled the 'I'ribune writer immediately on hisreturn to Washington and arranged for a con-ference at the American League Baseball Parkoffice on the following Monday, December 13.

Out of the interview Lacy gleaned that dur-ing their informal talk Landis and Griffith a-greed on the following facts:

(1) That the time was not far off when theinfusion of Negro blood into the anatomy oforganized baseball would become an actuality.

(2) That though there are several playersof unusual promise among the many coloredteams of the country, there are few, if any,who at the present could be expected to makethe grade in the "big time."

(3) That it was low intellect combined withtraditional sectional bigotry that prevented the.possibility of an early breaking down of thebars against the colored diamonder.

. (4) That the setting up of a colored leaguewhich would be run on an "above-board" basis,would be the quickest and surest way of gainingthe respect of fans of the nation and, eventually,the administrators of the paying sport.

(5) That the major leagues would be willingto cooperate to the fullest extent in the govern-ment of such a circuit.

The December 25th Tribune carried a detailedreport of the interview and numerous expres-sions have been forwarded to the writer, a largenumber of which have already been printedin a symposium running currently in the Capi-tal weekly.

Bob Considine (Universal Service): "I thinkGriffith is sincere and that his paramount interestis in merit, rather than in color."

Benjamin L. Hunton (Howard University):"I have been seated in the stands and heardwhite players called everything from a ,'pansy'to the offspring of a female canine. Why couldnot a Negro, whose racial history is one of fac-ing constant buffeting, face the same ?"

George G. Jefferson (Attorney-at-Law): "Mr.Griffith places too great a burden on us. He wantsa Babe Ruth or Lou Gehrig without having toexpend any. money to prepare him for the bigshow."

Ernest L. Brown, Jr., (Kansas City Call) : "Itwould be hard to find a man in the Negro WesternLeague possessing both ability and charactersuitable to bring credit to the race in the big'leagues. The player himself, however, is notentirely to blame. Poor pay .... "

John Kieran (the New York Times) : "Therecan be no logical, intelligent and unprejudicedobj ection to permitting Negroes to play in or-ganized baseball. But while agreeing with thetheory, we must face the facts. Prejudice, ig-norance and lack of logic now bar the way."

Ferdinand Q. Morton (Civil Service Commis-sioner, New York) : "There is no form of racialdiscrimination of which the Negro is a victimmore objectionable and less justifiable than thediscrimination he suffers at the hands of or-ganized baseball."

Vincent X. Flaherty (the Washington Herald) :"If the colored man isn't playing big-leaguebaseball, it's not the fault of the major leagues.It's the fault of the colored race, for not untilcolored baseball is thoroughly organized will thecolored player break into the scheme."

Hon. Joseph H. Rainey (Magistrate, Phila-delphia, Pa.): "There is no question but thatthousands and probably millions of whites wouldenjoy as thoroughly seeing a colored player per-form as they do a white player."

L- THE REALM OF SPORTS

Hundred of letter" have arrived at Lacy's deskr spon e to the article. Statements have

come from all sections of the country, coloredand white, and from individuals representing allwa of life.

Communications fro in Eddie Dooly, of thePhiladelphia Record; John Kieran, New YorkTimes : Chester Washington, Pittsburgh Courier;, r- be Kountze, Boston Chronicle; Lester Rod-.~ey. Daily Worker; Leon Hardwick, Afro-Ameri-

: Bob Considine, Universal Service correspon-'ar' Vincent X. Flaherty, Washington Herald;-immy Powers, New York News; Ernest L.Brown, Kansas City Call; George B. Murphy,Afro-Arnerican : Randy Dixon, Philadelphia Trib-, ne : E. B. Rea, Norfolk Journal and Guide,and Garland Mackey, editor, the WashingtonTribune, have been printed in the symposiumwhich is attracting nation-wide interest.

Among others who have written the Wash-ington paper are Attorney George G. Jefferson,:::ormer Washington and Jefferson football starand ex-coach of Howard University; AlfredEdgar Smith, administrative assistant, WorksProgress Administration; Meyer Rowen, Oak-~and, California; Benjamin L. Hunton, HowardLniversity student; Attorney James G. Tyson,former assistant coach of football at HowardLniversity : Honorable Joseph H. Rainey, formerPennsylvania State Atheltic Commissioner, nowa magistrate in Philadelphia judiciary; Honora-ble Ferdinand Q. Morton, of the New York CityCivil Service Commission, Dr. William J. Thomp-kins, Recorder of Deeds for the District of Col-umbia, and a host of others.

Excerpts from a comparative few of themfollow:

Jimmy Powers (New York News): "Football'~ a much more vicious body-contact sport thanba eball, yet there are no 'cruel epithets' hurledat the Negroes who play all over the country.Brud Holland smeared many a white star, and"as almost unanimously chosen All-American."

THE ORACLE I

AN EXPLANATIONHE OR';_C:"-Ehas received numerous communi-

cation from members of the fraternity whofeel that our publication should be conducted ona high literary level, demanding the respect of- 0 e outside of our realm, soug-ht after by col-lege libraries and portraying the literary abilityof our membership. That chapter notes had noplace in such a publication, was the opinionvoiced,

After consultations with members of the staff,it was decided, as an experiment, to eliminatechapter notes from the March issue, therebygiving space to the several feature articles thatfound their way to this office. We would like tohave comments from the members generally asto this move. If generally approved, it will beour model for future issues.

We are very grateful to the following chap-ters and Lampados Clubs which submitted notes:

UPSILO!,I EPSILON NU PSI SIGMA PHI RHO PSIWilberforce University New York Cty State Colle-ge Montgomery, Ala State CollegeWilberforce, Ohio ALPHA SIGMA Ettricks, Va. NU OMEGA

Nashville, Tenn.

ETA PSI Morris Brown Co'lege RHO Detroit, Mich. Delta Alpha LampsFisk University Atlanta, Ga. J. C. Smith University FI ALPHA

Dayton, Ohioashville, Tennessee PHI Charlotte, N. C. Princess Anne Gamma Sigma Lamps

MU University of Michigan DELTA Maryland State Teachers CollegePhiladelphia, Ann Arbor, Mich. I'lashville, Tenn. ZETA

Montgomery, Ala.Pennsylva nia ZETA SIGMA DELTA ALPHA Virginia Union Kappa Sigma LampsTHETA PSI State Teachers College Dayton, Ohio Richmond, Va. Lane CollegeState College Bluefield, W. Va. KAPPA SIGMA PSI OMEGA

Jackson, Tenn.Institute, W. Va. XI PSI Lane College Augusta, Ga. Theta Psi LampsEPSILON SIGMA State College Jackson, Tennessee GAMMA SIGMA State CollegeTillotson College Orangeburg, S. C. ZETA PHI State Teachers College Institute, W. Va.Austin, Texas 8ETA SIGMA Indianapolis, Ind. Montgomery, Ala. Nu Psi LampsOMICRON ALPHA Southern University ETA PHI TAU PHI State CollegeWilmington, N. C. Scottlandville, La. Boston, Mass. Little Rock, Ark. Ettricks, Va.

PSI BETA PHI PSI Epsilon Sigma LampsMorehouse Co!lege Lincoln University ETA OMEGA Langston University Tillotson CollegeAtlanta, Ga. Lincoln U., Pa. Atlanta, Ga. Langston, Okla. Austin, Texas

DR. NE.LSON HARRIS

Phi Chapter, at the University of Michigan,i<; praising Brother Nelson Harris, who, at theclose of the first semester, received the coveteddegree of doctor of philosophy from the Univer-sity of Michigan.

Brother Harris's field of interest is educa-tion. His dissertation is entitled "Teacher Train-ing in Negro Schools of North Carolina." Heis a graduate of Virginia Union University,Richmond, Va., of the class of 1924. He re-ceived the master of arts degree from the Uni-versity of Michigan in 1926. He has taught atWilberforce University, and at present heads thedepartment of education at Shaw University,Raleigh, N.'C.

Murray Brothers Pr-in trur Co., We shinr-ton, D. C.

TO ACCOMMODATE THOSE BROTHERS IN THE COLLEGES WHOSE HOMEADDRESSES WE DO NOT HAVE, THE JUNE ISSUE OF THE ORACLE WILLBE ::\IAILED IN MAY SO THAT IT MAY BE RECEIVED BEFORE THE SUM.}!EB VACATION BEGINS. IT IS NECESSARY, THEREFORE, THAT MATERIAL

~_:nED FOR THE JUNE ORACLE REACH THIS OFFICE BY APRIL 25.JU..CLES WILL BE MAILED ON MAY I5.-THE EDITOR.

icholson (Bas.)Bailey (K.R.)

iversity, Jefferson City, Mo.ffiA-W. J. Gibbs (Bas.)

&: • College, Greensboro, N. C.- I 0 OMEGA-S. H. Dreer (Bas.)

335 Cote Brilliante, St. Louis, Mo.F. s, Anthony (K.R.)II . Jefferson Ave., St. Louis, Mo.

I EGA-W. A. Campbell (K.R.)I S. Adams St., Tallahassee, Fla.

EGA-T. J. Crawford (Bas.)2231 Orleans St., Detroit, Mich.-. R. Fortson (K.R.)L&a E. Canfield Ave., Detroit, Mich.

PHI-W. E. Elston (K.R.)14 12th Ave., N., Birmingham, Ala.

3: A PHI-Geo. W. Cox (Bas.)Box 201, Durham, N. C.

GAMMA PHI-Dr. J. B. Singleton (Bas.)1208'12 Cedar St., Nashville, Tenn.J. W. Beasley (K.R.)1112 Jackson St., Nashville, Tenn.

fPSILON PHI-B. Lewis (K:R.)1175 Cannon St., Memphis, Tenn.

ZETA PHI-Fred A. Ransom (Bas.)828 N. California St.Paul Johnson (K.R.)2307 Indianapolis Ave.Indianapolis, Ind.

ETA PHI-C. Coates (Bas.)G. M. Soloman (K.R.)85 Inman St., Cambridge, Mass.

I ETA PHI-Jackson M. Daniels (K.R.)2542 W. 5th s-, Jacksonville, Fla.

10 A PHI-Dr. C. L. Mellon (Bas.)325 Mayflower StreetPittsburgh, Pa.

PPA PHI-J. A. Walker (Bas.)1233 Madison St., Paducah, Ky.

MBDA PHI-L. R. Bywaters (K.R.)Fort Valley N. & I. School,Fort Valley, Ga.

U PHI-R. Gadsden (K.R.)608 W. 36th St., Savannah, Ga.

- TA PHI-Dr. W. B. Scott (K.R.)406 Kansas Ave., Topeka, Kan.PH I-J. O. Bowles (Bas.)2708 Anita Ave., Houston, TexasWm. Moore (K.R.)1614 Carr St., Houston, Texas

XI PHI-E. B. Weatherless (Bas.)405 Carlton Ave., Brooklyn, N. Y.Philip Jones (K.R.)327 Halsey St., Brooklyn, N. Y.IRCON PHI-J. W. Martin (Bas.)Mather Academy, Camden, S. C.T. J. Hanberry (K.R.)600 Marion St., Columbia, S. C.

CHAPTER DIRECTORY(Continued from inside front cover)

PI PHI-L. Alexander (K.R.)517 S. Caldwell St., Charlotte, N. C.

RHO PHI-C. H. Hill (K.R.)5420 Franklin Ave., New Orleans, La.

SIGMA PHI-Dr. R. T. Adair (Bas.)208'12 Monroe St.H. L. Van Dyke (K.R.)State Teachers CollegeMontgomery, Ala.

UPSILON PHI-Dr. Chas. Gibson (Bas.)I Summit Ave., Summit, N .. J.Atty. R. M. Yancy (K.R.)45 Clinton St., Newark, N. J.

CHI PHI-W. H. Pinkett (Bas.)2650 Gilpin St., Denver, Colo.F. S. Brickler (K.R.)1218 E. 23rd Ave., Denver, Colo.

PHI PHI-Henry J. McGuinn (Bas.)Virginia Union UniversityWalter T. White (K.R.)1244 DuBois Ave., Richmond, Va.

PSI PHI-A. I. Terrell (Bas.)G. L. Johnson (Bas.)Winston-Salem Teachers CollegeWinston-Salem, N. C.

TAU PHI-Elza H. Hunter1912 E. 6th St.Little Rock, Ark. .

ALPHA ALPHA-John W. Lee (K.R.)27 Libby St., Phoebus, Va.

BETA ALPHA-Levi PattonAlcorn College, Alcorn, Miss.

GAMMA ALPHA-L. A. Sydnor [Bas.]810 7th St., Roanoke, Va.W. DiI!ard (K.R.)330 Gilmer Ave., N. W., Roanoke, Va.

DELTA ALPHA-L. O. Lewis (K.R.)2338 Lakeview, Dayton, Ohio

EPSILON ALPHA-W. K. McMillan (Bas.)1327 Missouri Ave., Fort Worth, TexasC. O. Wallis (K.R.)1053 Humbert St., Fort Worth, Texas

ZETA ALPHA-R. M. Harris (Bas.)Box 311, Warrenton, N. C.

ETA ALPHA-H. M. Purnell (Bas.)301 N. 5th St., Columbia, Mo.Dr. A. A. Kildare (K.R.)Lincoln University, Jefferson City, Mo.

THETA ALPHA-Dr. E. H. Browne (Bas.)Homer Hamilton (K.R.)2700 Flora St., Dallas, Texas

IOTA ALPHA-L. C. Porter (Bas.)Leon Nonce (K.R.)J. H. Stokes (Ed.)234 N. University Ave., Knoxville, Tenn.

KAPPA ALPHA-W. H. Witherspoon [Bas.]221 Wilson St., Rock Hill, S. C.A. L. Stanback (K.R.)Clinton College, Rock Hill, S. C.

THE NEXT ORA~LE

LAMBDA ALPHA-J. O. Mosely (K.R.)Southern University, Scotlandville, La.

NU ALPHA-Dr. Boisey Barnes (Bas.)525'12 E. Nash St., Wilson, N. C.

XI ALPHA-R. A. Parker (Bas.)1336 Elmwood Ave., Charleston, W. Va.W. Christian (K.R.)914 Lewis St., Charleston, W. Va.

OMICRON ALPHA-Dr. S. R. Rosemond(Bas.)

409 N. 7th St., Wilmington, N. C.W. J. Wheeler (K.R.)818 Red Cross St., Wilmington, N. C.

PI ALPHA-Fletcher M. Morton (Bas.)Princess Anne AcademyJas. A. Spencer (K.R.). Princess AnneHigh School, Princess Anne, Md.

ALPHA SIGMA-Wm. H. Collins (Bas.)D. A. Talbot (K.R.)Morris Brown College, Atlanta, Ga.

BETA SIGMA-Earl Marcelle (Bas.)Frank Davis (K.R.)Southern University, Scotlandville, La.

GAMMA SIGMA-J. Ramsoure (Bas.)Fred Fant (K.R.)Ala. State Teachers College,Montgomery, Ala.

DELTA SIGMA-F. Martin (Bas.)634 S. 15th St., Louisville, Ky.E. T. Bradford (K.R.)1511 Garland Ave., Louisville, Ky.

KAPPA SIGMA-Herbert Burton (Bas.)Clarence McKinney (K.R.)Lane College, Jackson, Tenn.

MU ALPHA-H. C. Moultrie92 Morris St., Charleston, S. C.

EPSILON SIGMA-W. A. Haley (Bas.)M. A. Hammond (K.R.)Tillotson College, Austin, Texas

ZETA SIGMA-L. A. Saunders (Bas.)James Broady (K.R.)Bluefield State. Teachers CollegeBluefield, W. Va.

THETA SIGMA-Earl Clay (Bas.)2104 State St., New Orleans, La.Wesley Brown (K.R.)2338 Belmont Place; New Orleans, La.

PI PSI-John M. Jones (K.R.)1203 W. Stoughton St., Urbana, 11/.

PSI OMEGA-Dr. J. E. Carter (Bas.)I 141 Twelfth StreetBenj. L. Dent (K.R.1826 Ninth St., Augusta, Ga.

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