The Detroit tribune. (Detroit, Mich.) 1935-1966, 1935-11-30
CALVIN SAYS

BY Ployd J. Calvin

u Ethiopian communiQue, charges
today that soldiers of Italy's In
! vading armies have entered con
vents and violated the young sis
ters.' The communique. which sale
some OF the alleged assaults OF
women at Adowa, Aksum. Adigra'
and other occupied cities will
shock the conscience of the civil
lized world. added: Some OF the
Italian soldiers are violating even
the wives of Ethiopian priests.
At the persuasion of monks. the
communique continued. natives
are deserving the Italian-occupied
cities 'and fleeing to the desert
rather than submit to the Italian
outrages.
War brings suffering and cruel
ty in its train This war. however.
which was launched with the
avowed purpose of bringing civil
lization' TO an allegedly "barbar-
ous people, might be expected to
BIO kept near the humane plane in
It's prosecution, II Mussolini ex-
poets any sympathy whatsoever.
even from his own controlled
priests. The Catholic Church. hav-
ing blessed the African campaign.
must now witness the despoilation
OF Christian men and women at
the point OF the sword she upholds.
Sc0ttsbOr0 Victory
With the calling OF Negro juror
In the Scottsboro case. the race
won the five-year fight for judicial
reform in Alabama. When the case
was first called. Alabama scorned
the very idea OF Negro sitting on
the Scottsboro jury. But with two
reversals by the Supreme Court
OF the United States. Alabama
paused in It's mad effort to railroad
these boys TO the electric chair
Even the most prejudiced whites
concluded they might as well face
the inevitable and recognize the
existence OF Negro citizens who
were intelligent and paid taxes.
But the spirit that caused this five
years OF wrangling and bitterness
is not dead. Even now we hear the
Old South muttering through its
teeth In the editorial correspond
ence of John Temple Graves Of
Birmingham. Writing TO the New
York Times. newspaper which
did much by its policy OF fairness
TO expose the shamelessness OF the
Southern judicial system, Mr..
Graves says Southern lawyers
with whom this writer has dis
cussed the situation are convinced
that the now apparently South
wide practice OF placing the names
OF Negroes on jury rolls is legal
ly faithful to the point made by
the United States Supreme Court
last April. and that their continu
ing absence from actual juries is
something against which there can
be no recourse at law now"
This comment reveals that the
old anti-Negro spirit. where man
hood rights are concerned. Is not
dead Mr. Graves continues:
There is no doubt OF the fact that
Negroes are just about as success
fully and consistently excluded
from jury duty in this part OF the
South today IA they were before
the Supreme Courts decision. And
there are enough legal loopholes
and human ingenuities on hand TO
keep them excluded. apparently.
for a long time TO come. II is.too
bad these human ingenuities" can
not be utilized In a more construc-
tive way than IL proposed by Mr.
/ Graves II seems useless to point
out that II Is this type OF low think
ing that Is holding even the white
South down.
Need Of Playwrights
Warren Coleman, who plays the
role OF Crown In the Gershwin
opera, "Porgy and Bess. now cur
rent on Broadway in New York,
sees the future OF the Negro actor
Ihinging on the development of Ne
gro playwrights. Says Mr.. Cole
man. who studied at the New Eng
land Conservatory OF Music. and
whose play, "Juba." Is now In re-
hearsal In Boston: The theatre
has been a precarious place for the
Negro in the past. Plays for
Negroes have been few. and the
Negro actor has not had enough
steady employment to give him the
opportunity TO grow. Unfortunate
ly, few OF the literary figures
which my race has produced have
gone in for the drama. We have
had splendid poets and fine novel
lists. We must have great play
wrlghts. too--then the Negro Will
take bis proper place in the thea
ire"
The fact that Mr.. Coleman gav'
this interview 10 a leading New
York Sunday newspaper show
sympathy and support Will b.
forthcoming from the best elemen
OF the theatrical world for the Ne
gro playwright. Langston Hughes
drama. 'Mulatto," while an I'M
pleasant theme. Is already demon
strating that Broadway will sup
port plays by Negro writer's.
Mr.. Coleman was right In no
minimizing the work OF white writ
ers who have attempted to portray
with dignity and sincerity the If
OF the Negro in dramatic form. II
the same interview he said: at Il
not often that one finds people
outside the race who understand