Minneapolis spokesman. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1934-2000, 1939-12-15
Hayes Sang
For England's
King George

before the late King George V of
England among his musical tri-
umphs. He win come to Mime
apolis through arrangements made
by Mrs. Carlyle Scott.
Son of a slave-born mother,
Hayes as a boy guided a bullock
drawn pillow on a Georgia farm.
From the back country settlement
of Curryville, Ga, where he was
born, the family moved to Chat
tanooga, Tenn There one of the
boys took a turn going to school
while the others worked. Roland's
job, when he worked, was in a fac
tory that made window weights.
He used to sing to make the task
bearable for himself and his fellow
workers.
While singing in a little church
cho r, he came to the attention of
a Negro teacher, Arthur Calhoun.
The decisive spur to his ambition
came when, on a visit to a white
mans house with Calhoun, Hayes
heard photograph records of Calve
and Caruso.
Later, while a student at Fisk
University, Hayes sang with the
Jubilee singers in Boston and de-
cided to remain there. Bringing
his old mother there, Hayes fur
nished a fat sparsely, studied with
Arthur Hubbard and worked hard
for eight years. Finally, one re-
cital Melted him $4,000. With this
he set off for England.
London was cool toward Hayes
until he was summoned to give the
command appearance" before the
late King George V. This was fol-
lowed by flattering invitations to
France, where he has become
known as ''le rage de Paris" and
to Austria and Germany. For
more than a decade now he has
been the musical hero to England
and the Continent.
Tickets may be secured now by
mail from 1877 Northwestern bank
building. Prices are $1.1O, $1.65
and 1920.
NEW YORK, Dec. 8.-That Will
liam Green, president of the Amer
lean Federation of Labor, stopped
to Red-baiting in an effort to sty-
mic an investigation conducted by
the National Association for the
Advancement of Colored People
into Jim Crow practices of A. F.
of L. shipbuilding unions in Tam
pa, Florida, that resulted in the
loss of 500 jobs to Negro union
men, was revealed here today by
Walter White, secretary of the
association.
According to the letter which
was sent to Green December 1,
White refers to a statement made
earlier by the A. F. of L. head, in
which he said that Frank Mccall
lister, secretary of the Florida
branch of the Workers Defense
League, was a Communist. :
According to a previous letter in
which he stated that the A. F. of
L. could have nothing to do with
Communists, Green quotes an A. F.
of L. Investigator whom he sent
to Florida to probe the Jim Crow
union conditions, as saying that
Walter White was unable to meet
Charles Silva, president of the A.
F. of L. trades council, in Tampa
last summer to discuss the Jim
Crow problem in the trade unions
there because Frank McCallister
made the appointment and Silva
had always refused to deal with
McCallister because the latter was
a Communist.
Mailing the accusation as "a
lie," White pointed out that Silva
not only knew McCalhster, but gave
as the real reason for his not want
ing to talk to White the fact that
he did not want to talk to any
Negro from Washington" This
is the South" White quoted Silva
as saying, land we know how to
handle situations like this down
here"
Disposing of the Communist &c,
cusation made in Green's letter, the
N. A. A. C. P. secretary pointed Out
that the A. F. of L. investigator.
report of the rotten conditions il
the A. F. of l. unions in lamps
was not only untrue, but white
wash as we charged in our lettel
to you of September 90"
Following an investigation las
July, when Walter White went t,
Tampa to investigate the matter
the N. A. A. C. P. has sought re
peatedly to get the A. F. Of L. t,
conduct an investigation of tn
freezing out of 500 Negro A. F
of L. union members who formerl.
worked in the Florida shipyards.