Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1919-11-12

leases as to recover for the public |
great share of the natural resources
which for the next few years will be
handed over to private plumber.
Facts On Lyncting.
An appeal to congress for an in.
vestigation of the problem of mob vio-
lence and lynching has been issued
by the National Association for the
Advancement of Colored People. 1t
points to four consequences of lynch
ing-race riots, industrial depression,
the degradation of the moral sense of
the community, and the lowering of
the position of the United States in
the eyes of the world
Among the cities where race riots
have recently occurred are Washing
ten D. c., Chicago, Omaha, Knoxville,
Tenn, Longview, Texas, Norfolk, Va
Philadelphia, Charleston, S. c., and
Bisbee, Ariz. Lynching accounted for
the deaths of 43 negroes and four
white men between January / and
September IA, 1919. Eight negroes
were burned at the stake, and one of
the victims was a 72-year-old man
who defended two colored girls from
attack at the hands of two drunken
white men. From the year 1889 to
1919 there were lynched in this coun.
try 1924 persons-2,472 colored men,
so cOlored women, 691 white men and
II white women. Less than "a per
| cent Of these lynchings were ascribed
to attacks upon women.
Selling Government Ships.
Fourteen hundred vessels built by
and for the government of the United
States are now being operated by the
United States shipping board. This
does not suit the shipping trust, nor
| it's friends in congress. A senate reso-
luton recently passed demanded of
the board a showing as to what ef-
forts it was making to sell these ships
I to private operators. A majority of
the board is anxious to sell at almost
any price, but Vice Chairman Stevens
has kept so consistently on the job
with his demand that the government
get square deal, that the majority
has not dared to override him. Hence
bids for more than 100000 tons of
these ships have just been rejected
as being too low.
World Labor Meet.
In the International labor confer
ence summoned under the league of
nations section of the Paris treaty,
and now sitting in the Pan-American
building, the most significant figures
are Leon Jouhaux, head CT the French
| 10 Nr 1oi
dras writer and philosopher who is
the organizer and head of the new
trade union movement in India, and
Mr.. Matsumoto, whom the Japanese
government insists is the labor" del
egate.
Japan's trade union movement is
small, but not SO small that it did
not send huge mob, dressed in
! mourning, to demonstrate its resent
ment when the delegate sailed. More
over, the firemen Of the ship bearing
the delegates Went on strike at sea-
and had to be "argued" out of their
protest before the ship could proceed.
The incident reveals the labor policy
of the Japanese government-its re-
fusal to let the real labor leaders
come here to speak.
Jouhaux is trying to speak for the
most radical labor movement outside
of Russia and Italy, and at the same
time to keep that constituency quiet.
His first Job here was to see that the
German and Austrian delegates were
admitted on equal terms with all
others. His next will be to lead the
fight for equal representation Of
workers, employers and governments
henceforth. This conference is made
up, one-half of government delegates,
one-fourth Of labor and one-fourth Of
employer delegates.
Elaine Race Riot.
Investigation of the race rioting
at Elaine, Ark, would appear to show
that INSCRIPTIONS exploitation Of
negro tenants was the prime cause.
The negro tenant supposedly takes
the land on half shares, but he is CON-
PEELED to do his trading at certain
store, generally run by the owner Of
the land. At harvest time the land
lord makes tour of the tenant farms
to find out how much cotton the ten
ant will make" and then he fixes
the store bill so that the negro is
bound to be in debt. Cases were
found where the negro had bought not
more than 5000 worth Of goods, had
$1,000 worth of cotton, and yet was
left indebted to the landlord.
Bills are not itemized and there is
an unWritten law that the negro can
not leave the land until his debts are
paid. The so-called revolutionary or
ganization which the daily papers
talked about turned out to be only an
organization to raise money at $3.50
head to test the lease and store
system in the courts. Local negroes
declare the fighting started when two
white men fired into one of their or.
ganization meetings without warning.