The northwestern bulletin., 1923-10-27
Urban League in
Great Convention
At Kansas City
Phases of Business and Eco
nomic Situation Discussed
by Various Speakers

nuaI conference here this week in
the Auditorium of the Paseo Y. NJ.
C. A. over fifty delegates and visit
ors from twenty states attended the
sessions which bristled with inter
esting addresses. Among these were:
The address of welcome, delivered
by Mr.. o. ]. Hill, Chairman of the
Association of Colored Charities and
of the Kansas City Inter-racial Com
mittee.
Mr.. Hollingsworth Wood, Chair
man of the National Urban League
Board, characterized the work In
which the organizations of the Urban
League are engaged as noble bat
unpopular cause. I'VE are facing"
he indicated, 'the most serious wint-
er yet to be experienced in the life
of this work. 1t is necessary to
swim against the current and in the
satisfactions which follow this SER
vice, an unpopular cause, through its
nobility, becomes a beautiful path
of benevolence and brotherhood.
Wages Discussed
President John Hope, of Morehouse
College, spoke on What are the
minimum social standards for a nor
NAL life?" His emphasis was upon
the obvious inadequacies of Negro
life, particularly in the South. He
asked with consciousness of repeti-
ton for security in work, social re-
lations and leisure; education, and
the one weapon of democracy; the
ballot. II have become part of all
that / have seen and heard done and
had done to me-" he said. Before
normal life can be obtained for
Negroes 1t will be necessary to work
on the American mind to upset those
presumptions which are brought to
every consideration of question in
volving the Negro: the presumption
of difference, and its subsequent
temptations to a feeling of inequality
and to injustice. America will never
be able to function squarely even in
inter-racial affairs" he said, until
she learns to deal fairly with the
Negro population. Reference was
made to the work of Atlanta in pro-
viding excellent new schools for Ne
groes, but which provided only 28o
more space than formerly, leaving
42% of the Negro school population
still without accommodation" "Wag-
es," he said, will be different just
as long as they can be different"
Race Insurance
c. C. Spaulding of Durham, N. c.,
President of the North Carolina Mu-
tual. spoke. THE contribution of
Negro Life Insurance Companies to
Negro Health" was his topic. He
used the health statistics collected by
his own and other colored companies
to give a most interesting statement
of the life and health ratios of Ne
gro people.
The Kansas City Community Ser
vice Urban League was host. We'd
nesday morning the visiting delegates
visited the Sumner High School, Kan
sas City. Kansas. At the morning
session. Mr.. John r. Cary of Balti-
more, Md, detailed the plan Of the
Home-makers Building and Loan AS
sociation for Negroes which he or
ganized. The Association buys homes
and resells them to Negroes on a
ten year time basis, the first pay
ment being 10 per cent of the cost
and weekly payments equivalent to
the rent. This provides an insurance
against foreclosure for default.
John T. Clark of the Urban League
told of the work of Negroes in the
steel district "Steel work." he said,
ATTRACTS high proportion of unskiIl-
ed labor. Ninety per cent of the
work is unskilled. The 5000 Ne
groes at work in the 23 steel plants
of the Pittsburgh District represent
Fl per cent of the total working
force and practically all of them are
unskilled. Prior to 1919 no Ne
groes were employed in 19 of these
23 mills" Mr.. Clark said. Gradually
Negro workers are advancing to high
er positions. One plant employing
2.S75 Negroes has 35 Negro sub-fore-
men directing $50 men, of, whom 273
are foreign whites. IL of the 23
mills have Negro foremen. 'It is the
general opinion" said Mr.. Clark,
that Negro workers can Withstand
high temperatures better than the
average white workers can, and as
result they are much in demand in
summer months, but as winter ap-
proaches, they have been supplanted
by the white workers"
Mrs. r. B. Chapman, sos st. An
thony avenue, will leave Saturday for
Nashville Touu Tn sueud the xuinter