The Omaha guide., 1935-11-30
THE WAY OUT
ABSENT WITHOUT LEAVE
by Loren MiIIer)

send-of meeting when Angelo
Herndon left for the Georgia
chain gang.
There were a lot of other peo-
pie who weren't present either,
but the absence of the Liberty
Leaguers was noticeable because
of their avowed purpose of de-
Tending every person whose con-
stitutional rights have been vio-
lated. The country is in a pretty
bad way if the right to organize
unemployed is a crime.
l am sure that Mr.. Oscar De
Priest must have been saddened
by the failure of the Liberty
League to fly to Herndon's de-
Tense. The Leagues roster re-
yeals that it is made up of the
very rich men whom he is fond of
saying are the Negroes very best
friends.
If the members don't care any
thing about the constitution, they
should at least be exercised over
the injustice done to one of the
lowly Negroes they are supposed
to love so well.
Legal Advice Free
The League will probably argue
that Herndon hasn't invited them
in, but then neither did the Balti-
more dentist who recently had the
benefit of Liberty Lacquer John
w. Davis counsel. The dentist
admitted on the witness stand
that he was somewhat surprised
when Mr.. Davis showed up in
court as his lawyer; he said that
he hadn't paid the ex-presidential
candidate a red cent.
l know that the term red is a
bad one but that is a matter for
the minis; | don't set color styles
for coins.
But there is no use of making
q mystery of tn e action of the
League in defending a Baltimore
dentist and in refusing to defend
an organizer for the unemployed.
After all, the quarrel in Balti-
more concerned private property;
Mr.. Davis showed up to help his
pet corporations in their battle to
invalidate the public Utilities
Holding Company Act.
Glad He's Gone
1t is perfectly natural that as
organization of wealthy men
the League should be opposed to
reforms that threaten their Sc
ourity. Why shouldn't they be?
They only cloak their concern
over property rights with the con-
stitution in order to p~opularize
their cause.
They are glad to help them
selves by pretending to help an
obscure Baltimore dentist; they
are just as glad to see Angelo
Herndon go to the chain gang. He
was a menace to them when he
was organizing jobless whites and
Negroes to demand better relief.
That, think, exposes the weak
ness of Mr.. De Priests case. If
he could see beyond his nose he
could understand that rich e
have to be concerned with their
own interests.
They talk about loving the low
ly, but when they act it is in their
own behalf. l don't need to go
the census statistics to prove
that Negroes aren't rich. AS a
group we + poor and can't ex-
pect rich men to defend or to
help us.
In The Same Boat.
Anybody who is familiar with
Herndon case knows that his
defense has been the work of or
CARNATIONS composed of working
people. The chairman of the New
York farewell meeting was a Gar
ment Workers Union organizer
who disagrees violently with
Herndon's political views. Other
speakers anne from similar or
CARNATIONS and many of them are
Just as convinced that Herndon is
dead wrong about politics.
They pitched in to help fight
Herndon's battle because they
know that what threatens a
black working man also threatens
white working men. It's about
time that o working men. Ne
gro and white, were seeing the
same point. If more of us had
caan - -. -