St. Paul recorder. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1934-2000, 1938-01-14
By Cecil E. Newman

Some writer whose name has
ESCAPED us wrote four years ago
around New Year, "a little more
patience, a little more charity for
all, a little more devotion, a little
more love; with less bowling down
to the past and a silent ignoring of
pretended authority; brave look
ing forward to the future with
more faith in our fellows and the
race will be ripe for a great burst
of light and life"
All of which we think makes
a very good New Years resolution
for the cOlOred people Of America.
In fact such credO is good enough
for any group of people no matter
what nationality.
What the opponents of the Wag-
ner anti-lynch bill don't mention
when they point to the decrease In
that crime is THAT the decrease is
due not to the type of people who
are opposed to the enactment of the
law but to the individuals, and
organizations which have been in
sisting on anti-lynch legislation for
years. The southern senatorial die
hards blithely skip any mention OF
the fact that only the years OF
agitation and education furnished
the country at large by those
against Americas most shameful
crime and those who sought to end
it by special law are responsible
for the falling in the lynch rate.
A point which many whites over
look is the fact that whites have
been victims of such lawlessness
and that if a Federal curb and
restraint is not put on lynching
many more will be victims. Any
group of men who will band them
selves together to murder and burn
another human being must of ne
cessity have little respect for law
and constituted authority. The
lynchers of a poor defenseless
black today are the mob murder
ers of white tomorrow.
America cannot we'll continue to
offer advice to other countries I'M
til it has set it's lynching habits In
order. In answer the old states
rights dodge which Brother VIM.
Borah uses we would remind him
that no states rights was invoked
when Edgar Hoover's &c" men
were needed to track down the
gangsters who were terrorizing the
states. No howl of states rights
is audible when Senators like Pat
Harrison and Brother Borah, too,
are seeking government allotments
for WPA or PWA projects.
The Wagner-Van Mugs bill
should be passed by the Senate.
The North should see that it pass
es and the South should be happy
when it does.
The Minneapolis City Council
Hospitals and Health Committee,
which issues licenses, has recon-
mended the revocation of the
licenses of the Southside Night
Club and the Twin City Social Club,
both operated by Negroes and en-
ploying about 35 of the group.
Now, we want to see what they
are going to do about Curly's, the
Derby and the other places whose
licenses were revoked several
weeks ago by Mayor Leach and
who successfully killed the revoca-
ton by court order.
We are not in favor of anybody
violating the law, neither are we in
favor of the law operating for some
in one manner and others in an
other way. If the Southside and
the Town Hall were operated inn
properly the others who were ac-
cused by Leach were also being
managed carelessly.
The problem of the S5 colored
walters, cooks and musicians with
out jobs is not near as difficult as
that of the employees of the other
places. We shall see what we shall
see. Trying to make Minneapolis
a IL o'clock town simply provides
opportunity for illegal operation of
blind-pigs and places which are not
licensed and cannot be policed.