The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1924-08-18
(Continued from Page ID

In response, several thousand packed
the big hall to listen to symposium
Of speeches intended to reveal the rea-
son for the governments attack on
the Negro leader.
An imposing ceremony opened the
proceedings, amidst music Of excep-
tionally fine quality. Garvey, attired
in the green and red robes which form
the subject of so much biting satire
from rival Negro leaders, marched
into the hall, escorted by a guard Of
honor of fifty uniformed members Of
the Universal Negro improvement AS
sociation with drawn sabres, carrying
the red, black and green flag regarded
as the emblem Of Negro nationalism.
These were followed by several
women in the same uniform, also with
drawn sabres, leading large corps
Of Black Cross nurses, women's aux
Hilary of the organization.
Applaud Speeches.
The speeches were some Of the most
fervent that l have ever heard, and
were greeted with applause that must
have sounded many blocks away. The
speeches were all in defense of Garvey
and in explanation of the reason for
the governments effort to stop his
public activities.
U. N. !. A. Organized Negroes
DR.. Jay j. Peters discussed the Ne
gro's problem as one of survival in a
world given to the law of the survival
Of the fittest. AS animal life is born
in profusion, with many dying and
few surviving, so he said it had been
with Negro organizations. All efforts
to organize the Negro masses had
been failures, and the Universal Ne
gro Improvement Association had sur
vived as the fittest. DIR. Peters warned
his hearers that efforts were soon to
be made to corral the Negro vote for
certain reactionary political ma
chine by giving a nomination or two
to Negroes who were venal politicians
ready to lead their people astray.
Such reactionary Negro politicians
"can be used to destroy u.s." said DR..
Peters, who asked all to remember
that the Negro often has to fight his
foes within his own ranks.s
AssalIs Critics.
William A. Wallace of Chicago paid
his sarcastic respects to those critics
who take lofty attitude toward the
masses Of Negroes, blaming the
masses "for not knowing all they
should" while at the same time the
Negro children's education is getting
one-fourth of the support that it
should receive. People who criticize
this movement of the plain Negro peo-
pie (which is actually putting over
the program that they are trying to
put over" said Mr.. Wallace, are con-
stantly misrepresenting it and when
their misrepresentation were pointed
out, they merely replied ooh, we
didn't know it was that way; we
didn't understand it." "And yet,'
said Mr.. Wallace, they are the ones
who call themselves teachers! Take
into consideration that the daily pa
pers in the United States, or whether
it be papers in Europe, Asia or where
not-are talking about Marcus Garvey
and what this movement is doing, and
then these so-calIed leaders tell you
they don't know what the Universal
Negro Improvement Association is,
and yet they pretend to tell the plain
Negroes how to solve their problems.
Tell those leaders that they don't
know what they are talking about.
There are thousands of Negroes in
Chicago, in New York, in the islands
of the ocean and elsewhere all over
the world who do know and do under
stand what this movement is"
Sheriff. Speaks.
William Sheriff., assistant president
general of the Universal Negro I'm
pfovement Association, undertook in a
very clear and well constructed
speech to show the historic back.
ground of the movement. He said:
1.-THE Universal Negro improvement
Association that for the past six years
has been startling the world and
awakening the Negroes, is not an or
ganization that Just happened This
organization is by no means an acct
dent" The speaker continued:
Born Out of Suffering.
at is not a thing that sprang into
being just because somebody had an
idea that they wanted to organize