The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1927-11-18
By WILLIAM PATTERSON.


ABOUT the 10Th day of June of this
n year, the metropolitan press, ably
ed by the VIGOROUSLY reactionary
Herald Tribune, gave considerable
space in its columns to what it al
eyed was a discovery of tremendous
Importance. 1t had obtained evidence,
it contended, which was calculated
To uncontrovertibly prove that Soviet
Russia was engaged in the damnable
business of attempting to bring to
the Negro in America a realization
that under the present social order
his existence in this land of liberty
must forever be a precarious one,
and was advising him that if he ever
expected to realize any Of his long
cherished hopes for equality before
the law; recognition socially as a
human being, rather than continued
and almost unprecedented nortlflca-
ton and degradation as a social
pariah; acceptance on the economic
field as one whose services when
equal to those of his fellow workmen
entitled him to equal compensation,
he should at once undertake to sup
plant the present controlling social
forces by those more sympathetic
to his sensibjlities and more respons-
i've to his social needs.
The dailies did not rely upon gen
eralities, but cited concrete examples
Of the nefarious activities of those
"Bolsheviks" among the poor and
easily misguided blacks. Money had
flowed like water, other alluring in
ducements had been made to secure
their adherence to Bolshevik philo-
sophy, and there was some danger
that they might succumb to these
Establishments.
The Mississippi Flood.
These stories appeared about the
time some few Negroes in Northern
states were attempting to effectively
agitate for a national policy Of re-
lief among the Mississippi flood vic
tins, eighty-five per cent Of whom
were black, which policy they humbly
suggested should seek to elevate the
Negro in the Delta region one degree
above the conditions of slavery, the
lot which the world had learned thru
this catastrophe was still his. The
governments representative to the
stricken district, Mr.. Herbert Hoover
had declined to object to the continu-
ance of conditions as he found them;
in fact, by the manner in which he
acquiesced. he enhanced his value as
presidential timber.
The American Negro Labor Con-
gress had called a flood protest
meeting at the Abyssinian Baptist
Church in Negro Harlem, seeking to
elicit vigorous word of condemna-
ton against the administration Of re-
lief funds generally, and the pernici-
Gus conditions existing in refugee
camps particularly. With the belief
that its purpose would be sympa-
thetically interpreted, the press had
been invited. But the efforts of the
congress served only to arouse the
ire of that part of the capitalist press
which becomes virulent when a Negro
dares to believe that conditions exist
against which he has just cause to
complain. or if it is obvious such con-
ditions do exist, sees red when a
Negro has the temerity to decry their
continuance. The newspaper report
Of this meeting was a classic.
Distortions and Inaccuracies.
We return to these articles not 50
much to call attention to the glaring
distortions and inaccuracies of the
dailies since most of those who will
read this are well aware of the capt.
talist press possession of these char
acteristics, or to expose the utter
Generalization of that part of the
Negro press which copied these ar
ticles verbatim. We return to prove
that the condition of the Negro in
America is not improving and for the
purpose Of revealing to the masses
of Blacks the peril of that position
today.
Along with the press attacks, to
be considered as being in the same
category and certainly of equal i'm
portance in awakening the masses of
Negroes to the dire necessity of a
new Negro policy was the Locke
Stoddard debate "Can America Abb
sorb the Negro?" carried in the col
umns of the October Forum. True,
many of the so-called Negro intel
igentsia took issue with the learned
Mr.. Locke but the great mn io,i+,- of