Race and Place Newspapers

Location: Charlottesville, Virginia
Date of Publication: December 02, 1933 (Wednesday)
Frequency: weekly

Page 1

Column 1
The Anti-Lynching Conference at Baltimore

Transcript of Article

The International Labor Defense League sponsored an anti-lynching conference that met in Baltimore, Maryland a few weeks ago. The executives rented the spacious Albert Auditorium for the occasion, bedecked the interior with sensational placards and bloody drawings and finally, settled down to business. Mr. Patterson was present and we are told that his report on the victoria Price testimony provided excitement for nearly an hour. Charlottesvillians are familiar with Mr. Patterson's style of oratory.

Then, the meeting clothed itself with the aspects of a testimonial dinner, witnesses were called and they reported cases of racial injustice and countrywide hatred which paved the way for the resolution committee and gave the speakers subject matter to dwell upon for the remainder of the evening. Large placards suggesting "unity" and drawings using "Jim Crowism" were frequently referred to by speakers who placed blame for all of these unfortunate occurrences on Jim Crowism.

This journal, in sincere interest of the Negro cause, has contended and will repeat, that the permanent unification of Negro and white labor is a proposition too vague for logical comprehension. Skilled white labor has always barred Negro labor, while in unskilled labor, ther are definite signs of hatred for the Negro. The who is who of the twenty odd lynching groups that have mobilized and committed murder during this year, gives intelligent reasoning very little grounds for believing that unskilled white labor will ever have brotherly inclinations for Negro workers.

At this conference of the International Labor Defense League, Jim Crowism was attacked and eternal hell predicted as long as it existed. No speaker mentioned the obvious benefits that its presence has afforded our race; the loyalty that it has forced on a people, who had been taught for centuries to pull apart, was forgotten.

The Anti-Lynching conference accomplished very little, we fear, and it wil go down in history as just another conference, its resolutions being as significant as last year's New Year's resolutions.

Summary of Article
Asserts that the anti lynching conference in Baltimore, Maryland accomplished very little.

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Column 02
The Swan Song of Hotel Tipping

Transcript of Article

News flashes from New York City inform us that Grover Whalen, N. R. A. Administrator for that city, has begun a war on "tipping" and seeks to have the age old custom abolished in hotels and restaurants as being a contrary policy to N. R. A. idea of making labor independent and self-supporting.

If those are really Mr. Whalen's reasons for desiring this abolition of extra compensation to hotel employees, on the part of the patrons, the Negro restaurant, and hotel worker will anticipate the success of the Recovery Administrations new fight as welcome news. Long before the new Packard was sold, or the country home given up, or even before the social secretary dispensed of, Mr. and Mrs. America became too concerned with whispered reports of stock crashes and bank failures to give much thought to service. So, the extra compensation that was once left to insure service was less frequently seen. In other words, tips have been on the downward trend for quite sometime. However, the hotel and restaurant proprietors have continued to pay extremely low wages, still relying upon the generosity of the patrons in "making up" the employess check at no cost to the establishment, which means, of course, that in most instances, the low wages paid the employee is the only compensation received.

If Mr. Whalen, the National Recovery Administrator of New York, really intends for labor to become independent and self-supporting, then living wages will be demanded by codes from the, conveniently, blind employers who are content to place upon the public, the burden of paying workers' salaries instead of paying the afore-mentioned living wages themselves.

Summary of Article
An article that voices support for the N.R.A.'s move to encourage employers in service industries such as hotels to pay a living wage regardless of expected tips and "not place upon the public the burden of paying workers' salaries."

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Column 03
S.O.S.

Transcript of Article

A little fellow stood in the doorway of a cold house and gnawed on a piece of hard bread. He complained to his mother about being hungry and was joined by a mixed chorus of six or seven other hungry voices. The frail mother uttered a low sigh and closed her tired eyes as if to get momentary relief from the morbid life about her. Eight small children, husband dead, rented home and there she was sick abed.

Three blocks away, a little girl around nine years of age, who might have been pretty had it not been for the fact that she was undernourished, walked slowly down the street without even a sign of shoes on her cold, little feet and temperature below zero.

Not five blocks further, in the northern direction, a man stood on the corner, grimly silent, both hands in the pockets of his shabby top coat, disappointment stamped on his countenance. His only plea, the finding of a job. His was gone, but his family had to eat; the rent had to be paid. This sounded logical enough.

The above sketches may sound like "trial leads" for a novel of New York tenement life, or introductory paragraphs to a human interest story, but they were not intended for either. They appear in this week's issue of "The Reflector" as actual reports of true cases of unfortunate citizens right in our community, in our race and in our city. Domestic labor, in Charlottesville and at the University, has been reduced; construction work is at a standstill and many, many Negroes are in need of immediate relief. The few local organizations are doing their best to aid the reported cases but, available data shows that the cases are on the increase. So, the above sketches were taken from the notebook of a local news reporter and printed here to remind you that suffering is going the rounds and that this winter promises to be a hard one.

Consequently, if you have wearing apparel, food or a piece of money that you could spare, or even make a sacrifice, I appeal to you to get in touch at once with the Community Welfare Organization. Don't wait. Your brother is hungry. Look at your supply and see what you can inch off to help a fellow in distress.

Summary of Article
An emotional appeal to the people of Charlottesville to help those less fortunate than themselves by getting in contact with their Community Welfare Organization.

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