The Michigan chronicle. [volume] (Detroit, Mich.) 1936-current, 1944-04-15
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| c. O
THE
TOWN
By
RUSS COWANs

HOT SPRINGS, Ark.-This town
is literally lousy with Detroite~s.
In fact. old residents like Benny
mail In Detroit. come up with the
information that Detroit was better
represented during the past months
than any other city One OF
the first persons | bumped into
after leaving the train was JEFF
| Graham the traveller on
many years and Earl Williams.
Horace Smith. Robert Roy. Roy
Wilson. Jim Oakley. Arthur Hill
and John Gleason And there
are so many others whom I've not
seen as yet,
The town Is buzzing about the
high stakes in gambling Ac-
cording to the rumors. one chap
dropped twent grand in one night
/ at dice table and another,
kid OF 81. walked into the spot
and shot S2,l00 caught a
bright eleven on the dice and
then walked out.
Lodging is still at a premium
! here and there were many
who could not obtain a place to
sleep during the weeks the races
We're running at Oaklawn
Women have difficulty in obtaining
places 10 stay because the hotel
and rooming house operators can
put two or more men in one room,
while women resent having strange
women in the room with them. ;.
There's talk that the American
Woodmen Hotel will reopen next
season This will relieve the
situation And prices arc not
what they used to be Meals
that formerly cost SO cents. have
been advanced TO IS and room
rent has assembled The price
OF the 81 baths still remains at
SIC This is because the gov
eminent has charge OF all the water
here.
Spent the day in Memphis and
while there visited the Office OF
Universal Mutual Life Insurance
company and was conducted
through the plant by Mrs. Esther
Johnson Met DR.. William
KelSo. classmate at Meharry
Medical college OF several Detroit
doctors and NJ. w. Bonner,
father-in-law OF Detroit's DR.. ]. p.
Martin Also A Maceo Walker.
one OF the few Negro actuaries in
the president OF the company, DR..
J. A Walker.
Universal Life has a staff OF so
employees, operates in seven states
and has twJ district Offices A
soldier at Third and Beale accosted
me late Thursday night and re-
uue:ted my assistance in finding
the police. He had been robbed
of $50 He was under the in
fluence OF liquor and evidently
the thug didn't have much difiicul-
~ in lifting the poke One OF
the Clarksdale Miss.) police want
ed 10 whip Samuel Lees head on
Thursday night Lee, who Is
secretary OF the Cleveland Buckeye
team. was watching his men prac-
tice under the lights before thu
game with the Memphis Red Sox
when the officer, who was standing
behind Lee. asked the secretary
when the game would start
Not hearing the question. Lee did
not answer This made the
officer very angry. and he accused
Lee OF insulting him, ending his
remark with the assertion: IL ought
to take my blackjack and beat
your head" was ready 10
leave but Shirley Petway, who for
merly lived in Detroit. kept the
boys in stitches with stories about
his experience in the army, espe-
l ,ta al ~
snake face 10 face while crawling
on his stomach during maneuvers
and he could not stand up
and run because bullets were flying
over his head so there was
nothing 10 do but grab the rsttler
and strangle him TO death.
The truck broke down on the
trip down 10 ClarkSdale and I had
a chance 10 talk 10 some OF the
farmers who were blowing beside
the highway The boys had
a successful year in l943 and ex-
pect 10 exceed that this year
Most OF their land will be put in
cotton The country Is as fiat
as pancake with rich black
soil.
Two and three-room farm houses
usually surround the BIG HOUSE
where the owner lives and
there are plenty OF signs indicating
the name OF the plantation
Every farmer was blowing with
two and three mules Probably
the sillieSt point OF racial discrim.
nation occurred on the train be-
tween Memphis and Hot Springs.
he
ruled that there must be equal ac-
commodations. colored passengers
are now permitted to cat in the
diners There's a curtain be-
tween the last two tables in the
diner and the remainder Of the car.
Colored cat at the last two tables.
These curtains are not pulled to-
gether, so in fact. you're not sep
arated from the whites And
when the train arrived In Little
Rock there was an overflow Of
whites in the coaches and
the brakeman requested the colored
passengers to move forward a few
seats in the car they we're occupy
ing so the whites could use the back
seats A curtain was drawn
between the last scat occupied by
the colored and the first occupied
by the whites and all the coll
ored passengers were laughing
about the Stiffness OF the whole
thlng One passenger said the
American white man is tho smart.
est man in the world In hnance,
but I'm other things he is just plain
dumb.