The Detroit tribune. (Detroit, Mich.) 1935-1966, 1936-04-25
BY ROBERT GREENIDGE, ND.

Visitors from Chicago and New
York formerly alluded jokingly to
| Detroit as a great big country town
and this slur was most keenly felt
when they referred to the negligible
part that Negroes, business, profes-
sional and otherwise, played in the
political life of their city. True it
is that in Chicago and New York,
bosses" can dominate various
wards or other political subdivi-
sions of the city and by controlling
the votes in these areas, an effec-
tive weapon is available for the
election of representative of the
various minority groups to the City
Council and to other strategic posi-
tions in the local government. From
there it is only a step in the same
process to the state legislature and
to the many lucrative positions that
emanate from the seat of the state
government.
The youthfulness of the Detroit
Negroes in politics cannot be sue
cessfully denied. The political pot,
whether it contains New Deal al
phabet soup or the plain old fash
toned "gumbo," needs seasoned
cooks. True, we have had adequate
but brief representation by DR..
Ames and Attorney Charles RoX-
borough in the Legislative halls of
Michigan; but, by and large, the
heroic assistance rendered by our
group falls far short of the political
rewards promised before election.
Some say that it is due to lack of
concentrated and united political
campaign. In affairs of City gov
eminent, however, there was some
hope under the old aldermanic
! ward system, but when the city of
Detroit adopted it's new charter
which provided for the election of
nine-man council from the city at
large, the last hope was removed
for the successful candidacy of one
of our group to the councilmanic
chamber.
The late George Green, under
taker; Reverend Brady, and At
torney Rowlette are among those
who have unsuccessfully entered
the contest.
Few members of the medical pro-
fession enter the political arena.
The factor that now and then urges
some physician to seek Office or to
openly and actively support a can
didate for office, is a desire to Sc
cure one of the many lucrative
positions available to physicians
in the health department of the
city, county, or state. This was the
motive that prompted DR.. A. b.
Cleage to enter the bitter contest
in 1929, which resulted in the cleo
tion of Charles Bowles as Mayor
of Detroit. Coming to Detroit in
1916, DR.. Cleage was actively con-
cerned in the organization Of the
Allied Medical Association and the
old Dunbar Hospital. Time and
again he had made the preliminary
| political connections and had ap-
| piled for positions such as police
| surgeon, city physician, etc. To
use the common term, he never
even made first base. While the
charges of bigotry, intolerance and
xxx. backing were being directed
at Mayor Bowles, Dr. Cleage stood
by his candidate. After the smoke
| of the election had cleared away,
true to his promise, Mayor Bowles
| had the temerity to essay the ap-
pointment of Dr. Cleage as police
surgeon but finding himself in a
hornets nest, he persuaded him to
accept a second choice, that of city
physician, a position which he has
held ever since July 1880. Thus
was the ground broken and the way
prepared for the subsequent ap-
] pointments of DR.. Il. A. Carter and
DR.. j. p. Young as city physicians
by Mayor Frank Murphy. During
this same period DR.. r. G. l.. Mar.
koe received his appointment with
/ the Department of Health at Her.
man Kiefer Hospital.
The positions available to ply
sicians under the jurisdiction OF
the County are County Medical Elk.
aminers, Coroner, and Coroner AS
sistants. In the hope of winning
the election to the Office of Coroner
or of getting an appointment to
one of the other positions, DR.. A.
G.. Featherston and DR.. ID. G. Smith
entered Wayne county politics
about 5 or years ago. Not being
successful in the primary, they con-
tinued their active support of the
| party nominee. The campaign was
successful, but in the post-election
shake-up no provision was made