St. Paul recorder. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1934-2000, 1944-04-07

say. Yet, all were positive that
neither johnson nor Young could
have afforded to have spent that
much money in the interest of keep
ing Randolph "off a Memphis plat
FORM"
Brown Nuts" Absent
Notably absent from the mass
meeting were well known figures in
Memphis Negro life. The Crump
Brown Nuts (the Democratic boss
black stooges) didn't dare to attend
for fear of arousing the ire of Mis-
sissippi born Crump who says he
loves Negroes and has done much
for them" Consequently, the day
after Randolph's speech the wives
of the Brown Nuts" were on the
telephone trying to find out "what
Randolph said" and "what did the
folk think about it."
One woman, whose husband. is
the principal of a school, was on
the bus the morning after the adj
dress. Asked why she wasn't there.
she answered: "Now you know right
well, honey, that we (meaning she
and her husband) couldn't dare to
go. It would jeopardize my hus-
bands job"
Since there is but one lawyer in
the town, an Attorney A. A. Lat
ting, it wasn't at all surprising that
the black bar was not represented.
Physicians and business men were
either "too busy" that night or were
home with a cold"
Regardless of all this fear on the
part of the local leaders, Randolph
was thanked on the platform BY IS
white and Negro labor leaders. Pre-
cedlng him as speakers, were Cor
nelius Maiden, Negro A. F. of L. or
ganizer out of Birmingham; Milton
T. Webster, Chicago, international
vice president of the Sleeping Car
Porters and member of President
Roosevelt's Fair Employment Prac-
tlce Committee, George Googe and
others The Rev. G. A. Long, pas
tor of the church, opened the meet
ing with a prayer,
Randolph was originally sched-
uled to speak here in Memphis on
Nov. z of last year. Loring and
Randolph differed on the floor of
; the A. F. of L. national convention
IN Boston and Loring saw chance
to get even. He had saved a copy
Of an eastern Negro newspaper
which named Memphis as one of
, several cities in which a race riot
might occur. Although the story
was printed shortly after the De-
troit and Harlem riots, neverthe-
: less, Loring produced it.
Loring got Crump's ear. Ran
, dolph was pictured as a trouble
maker and racial friction would be
u, sure to follow in the wake of his
f appearance in Memphis, Loring de-
clared. Underground methods were
| used. Henchmen got busy on the
= telephones. They called the mayor,
4 the fire and police commissioner,
= the attorney general of Shelby
a county-and they called and kept
: calling Crump.
= Employers of women were
phoned that Negroes were buying
guns and as a result the closing
e. hours of factories and stores had
n been moved up two hours in order
f that these women could get home in
: daylight. Crump kept getting calls
d but the source was not the Negroes.
= They knew less about the rumors
h than anyone.
But Randolph was NOT to speak
h in Memphis if Lev Loring could
c prevent it, the Defender learned.
e Result was that the sheriff notified
= a cross section of leading Negroes
J. to present themselves at the jail
e house. It is reliably reported that
# these Negroes were taken down
= stairs for the interview" and not
= to the sheriff's office.
& The Negro delegation included
}; DR.. L. G. Patterson, Ashton Hayes
= Manassas high school principal
,e Blair T. Hunt, principal of the
ID Booker T. Washington high anG
Is said to be one of Crump's "Browr
20 Nuts; H. L. Patton, president Of
ID the Memphis local of the Sleeping
e Car Porters; Lieut.. George W. Lee
se district manager of the Atlantis
le Life Insurance company and author
j. of three books; Headwaiter Alone
Locke, Peabody hotel; o. T. West
oil brook, Union Protective Insurance.
re company district manager; the Rev
r, w. A. johnson, pastor of the Mt
he Olivet A. M. E. church; the Rev. E
10 T. B. Amos, pastor of the Pisgal
ar A. NJ. E. church; S. w. Qualls
10 undertaken; DR.. W. S. Martin, Dr.
to J. E. Walker, Universal Life In
Mt surance company president; tn
st Rev. J. L. Campbell, pastor of tn
re st. Stephens Baptist church ant
Matthew Thornton, mayor O
as "Beale street"
tn Boss Crump Absent
m Crump was not at the meeting
It Continued on Page 81