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18         THE VOICE  

had any official of the government a hand in its creation. It is the result of conferences between railroad executives and railroad labor leaders covering a year, and of agreements between the railroads and their employees which are expressed in the bill. The Negro however did not have any say whatever in the framing of the bill, due to the fact that he has not established for himself a substantial organization. The better thinking Negro in railroad service is pleading daily for UNITY; and unless Unity is established and maintained, our railroad career will soon come to naught. The Patronage of our people on railroads should be secured in a way, so as to demand better recognition and consideration, not only for the Colored railway employees, but for the Races as a whole. This Bill is described for the prevention and settlement of disputes between the railroad carriers and their employees. It abolishes the Railroad Labor Board and the law pertaining to it. In its place it sets up a system of conference, adjustment, arbitrates and meditation, entirely voluntary and requiring agreement between the parties at every stage of the procedure.

Accredited Colleges for Negroes
By B. F. BOWLES, A. M.

EDITOR'S NOTE - This subject is of the Editor's choosing and not of the writer's.
The Editor is aware the the subject is not new; in other words, that the discussion involves the threshing of old straw, but he is of the opinion that there ramains quite sufficient grain to make the threshing worthwhile. He is of the opinioin also that now is a good season for re-threshing and that as conditions change from time to time the process can be profitably repeated.
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Many and perhaps most discussions and disagreements result from a failure to have or to establish the same meanings to expressions used for the interchange of ideas and opinions and the statement of facts. It necessarily follows that if the truth is to be established and understandings are to be satisfactorily reached the prime essential is a definition of terms.

A thorough discussion of this subject would involve numerous details and would necessitate more space than would likely be proportionate; but we must consider the peculiarities, purposes, realizations and possibilities of college education and equally the characteristics, tendencies, necessities and limitations (if any) of the Negro. Whether college education differs essentially from any other kind and whether Negroes differ essentially from other types of human beings are questions that must be raised and frankly dealt with. 

What we have said is purely preliminary, and in the interest of unity of treatment and continuity of thought we will defer the discussion until a subsequent issue of this publication 
(To be continued)
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KANSAS CITY MONARCHS

Frank Duncan, crack catcher of the Kansas City Monarchs returned from Cuba the first of last month. He has been playing base ball in the cities of the Sunny Isle the past winter. Duncan is in great shape and ready to begin the season right now. The Monarch players for the season are now gathering. Some old faces will be missing and a number of new ones seen in the Monarch line-up this year. Wilber (Bullet) Rogan will be the new manager this year, the veteran Joe Mendez, having resigned on account of poor health. Owner Wilkerson has bought in a large bus for transportation expense curtailment and most of the travel will be by that method. Mr Wilkerson says The Monarchs will be better than ever this year. 

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APRIL 1926

THE CRISIS
By ATTY. GEO. L VAUGHN

Syria is a narrow strip of land lying between the Mediterranean Sea and the great Arabian desert, and was, in ancient times, the highroad between the continents of Asia and Africa. The armies of the Egyptians, Ethiopians and Hittites passed through its territory on their way into Essyria, Babylonia and Persia and the invading armies for Asia, in order to reach their African enemies, made use of this same rolite. But the mountains of Syria are so arranged that the only safe route for any army lay between the eastern edge of Mount Carmel of Bibical fame and the Great Desert. This plain was called Armageddon, and so important was its possession considered that its capture was supposed to be equal to that of a thousand cities. In this plain most of the battles of the ancient world were fought and because of that fact the term "Armageddon" has come to mean the stategic battle ground on which great issues are determined. In other words, it means that victory of defeat at a given time or upon a given issue will decisively determine the question at issue for many years to come. 

Here in America, the struggle of the Negro for liberty has reached the decisive stage. If he loses now, the Negro will be retarded in his progress for many years and his children's children will have to fight over many of the battles which he supposes himself to have won, and by this means regain the ground which would be lost by the calamity of defeat at this time. In other words, the situation now confronting the Negro American is his Armegeddon. What he does in the next ten years will determine very largely what he is to be in his relationship to this country for the next fifty years. It is therefore necessary that no stone be left unturned and no opportunity be neglected in his effor to bring about a better day. 

Just now one of the pressing needs of the Negro people in America is a voice in the legislative halls of America which will interpret the Negro's feelings and desires with reference to government and which will work for a change in his condition through means of legislation. It is a most singular and deplorable fact that thirteen millions of black people, consistuting approximately one-eighth of the population of this great nation, are without representation in the national congress so far as a member of the Negro group is concerned. This condition does not obtain in any other country and in reference to any other group of people who are permitted to participate in the function of government. It is at once a very humiliating and also a dangerous situation in which American Negroes find themselves. Humiliating because it is an evidence of the lack of public respect for the group, and dangerous because legislation is carried on without knowledge of the Negro's needs and desires and, in many instances, without taking him into consideration at all. 

The remedy for this situation lies very largely in the hands of the Negro people themselves. They must take a vital interest in the affairs of government and see to it that members of the group a sent to congress and to the various state legislatures in increasing numbers. Particularly this is true of the Negro people in the 12th Congressional District of Missouri. That district lies wholly within the city of St. Louis and contains a larger number of Negro people than any other district in the country, thereby giving them power to elect one of their own group to the United States Congress. But numbers alone are not sufficient. It will take cooperation. Selfish interest must be forgotten in the face of the larger interest of the racial group. If the Negroes of St. Louis are big enough to measure up to the standard and will concentrate their forces and efforts behind  

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