Minneapolis spokesman., 1942-01-16
THIS
WORLD
CARTOONISTS
SKILLED WORKERS
BYRNES-PEONAGE
McNALLY ON
LOUIS & "SON"

Gently employed two Negro car
tOonists. One of them is 21-year-
old Teddy Shearer of New York
who draws for SWANK Magazine
and Ted Watson, another New
Yorker, who is now editorial car
toOnist for THE UNITED STATES
NEWS.
Through the interest of Ward
B. Stevenson of Associated Indus
tries we have received some very
important information on the pres
ent status of skilled Negro labor
in industry. The information is in
cluded in a study made of the larg-
er industrial centers. In subse-
quent issues we will give readers
all or a portion of the study.
1t might interest readers to
know that ID. w. Oman and Sons,
one of the growing Minneapolis in
dustrial concerns, has always pur-
sued a mo discrimination on ac-
count of race" policy. We don't
know Mr.. Oman but Captain Joe
Jonas of the Minneapolis Police
Department says he is one of the
finest men in the Northwest, a man
who has come up the hard way,
made a fine success and kept his
feet on the ground doing it.
Judge Earl Lyons, Municipal
Court jurist in Minneapolis, made
his first acquaintance with COL
ored people early in life. His
father operated a hotel at Finlay-
son, Minnesota, in Pine County, and
most of the touring Negro show
troupes stopped at the Lyons hos
telry. The judge, a promising
baseball pitcher ddring his youth
Che is only "a now), played ball
against many of the Negro dia-
mond stars, including John DON
aldson, Mcdonald, Bobby Marshall
and many others.
Supreme Court Joseph Byrnes,
latest southern member on the
lands highest tribunal, wrote the
courts decision which outlaws
GeOrgia's peOnage law which has
kept thousands of southern Ne
grOes and a few whites in debt
slavery for years. Negroes should
not jump overheard on Byrnes be-
cause of one decision. He may
make a favorable Judge like Hugo
Black and he might not. One de-
cisiOn doesn't change a mans fun
damental characteristics. We cross
our fingers on Byrnes, hoping he
will keep up the good work with
the Constitution always his guide.
w. J. McNally, author, play
wright, foreign correspondent and
newspaper executive, paid a de-
served tribute to Joe Louis in his
column, "More or Less Personal" /"
in Mondays TRIBUNE. He as
other daily writer's did not touch
on the fact that Louis fought and
contributed 10000 dollars to a
branch of the armed service which
will not admit either Joe or thou
sands of his Negro-American fell
lowmen, except in the menial
brgnch of the service. Joe knows
this and joined the Army. If he
had wanted to join the Navy as a
common sailor he would have been
refused.
Mr.. McNally and other white
writers do not have the courage to
touch on this subject and in neg
lecting to inform their thousands
of readers they nullify all the nice
things they say about Louis. Thou
sands Of good white Americans are
unaware of some of the discrimina-
tory practices against Negroes by
our U. S. services.
Mr.. McNally in the next edition
of the TRIBUNE reviewed Native
Son" which played local theaters
this week. He praised the plays
star, Canada Lee, but he didn't like
the moral and social philosophy be-
hind the play. Just as he closes
his eyes and ignores the implica-
tiOns behind Joe Louis risking his
crown for a Navy which wouldn't
have him, Mr.. McNally doesn't
want people to believe that many
of the ills from which Negroes
suffer in this country are due to the
conditions under which thousands
of Bigger ThOmases" live.
No person as well travelled and
informed as Mr.. McNally can con-
vince us that he actually believes
that the social significance" of a