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About Portland inquirer. (Portland, Or.) 1944-194? | View Entire Issue (March 8, 1946)
Friday. M arch 8. 1946 PO RTLAN D INQUIRER Pag* Two PROPOSED NEW HONE OF PORTLAND MEADOWS RACE TRACK Loking Forward As w e go into th e y e a r 1946, th e E xecutive S ecretary w ishes to present th e follow ing goals for th e consideration of th e B oard of D irectors and th e M em bership: ■ Public Education WILL JOE LOUIS RETAIN HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP? W hat is th e p rice of a boxing cham pionship now adays? W hat is req u ired of a fig h te r w hen he lays his title on the linei The prizefight business is now b e coming beclouded w ith sp ecu la tion and the speculators are le a v ing noth in g u n done to see th a t th e gam e is play ed to th e ir b est advantage. T he boxing com m issions are m uch to blam e for th è side a g re e m ent in w hich fig h ters a re g u a r anteed a bonus “if I lose.” W hat is left fo r th e public to believe as to th e squareness of these types of m atches? A w eek or so ago. we saw Red Cochrane, w elterw eig h t cham pion of th e w orld, tra d e h is title for $50,000, w hen he m et M arty Servo in • M adison S q u are G arden. The fourth round w as th e end. C och ran e, a fte r h av in g been knocked dow n, staggered to h is fe e t only to fall in the re fe re e ’s arm s to save him self from fu rth e r “p u n ishm ent.” T his buying across th e counter does th e boxing gam e no good. Illinois B oxing C om m ission w as aw are th a t Jo e L ouis w as forced to give Jam es J. B raddock 10 'p er cen t of his rin g earn in g s in ev ery sub seq u en t fig h t as long as he rem ained cham pion, if Louis won th e title. L ouis won. of course, an d has k ep t his ag reem en t w ith B raddock w ho m ay live a life o f lu x u ry from L ouis’ fists w here his ow n failed him . F ritizie Zivic. w ho w on th e w el terw eig h t cham pionship from H enrv A rm strong, is in c o u rt to day try in g to collect m onies due him from th e p u rses of Red C ochrane. A nd so it goes. The g en tlem en t w ho a -e th e generals of the “m an ly a rt of self defen se” are on th e look now fo r a colorful h eav y w eig h t ch am pion. Not th a t Louis is not a g re a t fig h ter b u t Louis doesn 't fit into th e ir p resen t d ay schem e o f things. It is th e “ou t o f th e rin g m oney” w hich goes lacking, and coffers have ru n d ry on m any prom otional fro n ts, i.e., th e use of L ouis’ nam e fo r com m ercial a d vertising by w hite com panies. In M adison S q u are G ard en in New Y ork in Ju n e , Jo e w ill m eet B illy C onn again w ith his h e a v y w eight cham pionship of th e w orld on th e line. In Conn, th e “M en of B road w ay ” see a glam orous cham pion. T hey w ill be able to knead him into a m illion-dollar prom otional enterprise. T hey w ill have u n bounded in tere st in m aking a fire-side hero o u t of him and w ill sell him in song and story, w here on th e o th er hand, they have shied aw ay from building th is sam e in terest aro u n d Joe Louis. B ew teen the races, sp ortm an- sh ip in A m erica is becom ing fa ir e r on th e field contest. B ut th a t is w here it ends. A black cham pion is a tem p est in a teap o t fo r th e p ro fes sional prom oters. We have w it nessed th e ir rise to th e pinacle of fistiana. W e have w itnessed th em becom ing th e victim s of high pressu re generalship, soon to be found w ith o u t m oney or title, and w ild-eyed as to w h a t had happened to them We saw Jo e C a n s th a t m em o r ab le d ay a t G oldfield— an m an dying from th e rav ag es of tu b e r culosis— forced to fig h t an d su r ren d er his title to B attlin g N el son th e “D urable D an e” a fte r 45 g ruelling ro unds G eorge D ixon tasted th e b itte r cup o f H em lock and was sacrificed upon th e a lta r of prom otional greed Jack Jo h n so n fell into th e trap th e cunning and deceptive pro- m otorers had laid fo r him th ru th e use of w om en of th e opposite race, th e re b y tak in g his m one^ and leaving him in disgrace. A nd T iger F lo w ers’ m idd lew eig h t title w as h an d ed to M ickey W alker in th e old Coliseum on a silv er p la t te r H enry A rm strong, ho ld er of th e lightw eight, feath erw eig h t, and w elterw eig h t title s all a t th e same tim e, fo u g h t from one division fack into th e other, u n til one day we saw him in th e rin g unsteady, w ith his legs w ide a p a rt, his eyes closed bleeding, feeling o u t for an opponent w ho w as n o t th e re ; F ritzie Zivic stood b ack ou t of his reach, h av in g ta k e n h is last possession, his w elterw eig h t crow n. The co n stan t reducing and gaining to m eet d iffe re n t w eight req u ire m e n ts sapped A rm stro n g ’s vitality . “HAVE YOU DONATED TO THE UNITED NEGRO COLLEGE FU N D ?” It is sta te d elsew here in this rep o rt th a t the N egro population of P o rtla n d w as sm all and unob tru siv e p rio r to th e m igration. T his m eans th a t few P o rtlan d ers have had th e o p p o rtu n ity to be com e acq u ain ted w ith Negroes. T his u n fo rtu n a te in te rp re ta tio n of N egro life is p e rp e tu a te d by a d isto rted rep o rtin g of th e new s, by stereo ty p e d m ovies, and by th e om ission of th e achievem ents and co n trib u tio n s of N egroes from our school textbooks. W e sincerely believ e th a t m any of th e in eq u alities an d injustices d irected against N egroes in P o rt lan d are b red m ore o ften by m is info rm atio n th a n by malice. We look, th erefo re, upon o u r P u b lic E ducation P rogram , w hich deals w ith th e co rrectio n of th is misin form ation, as fu n d a m e n ta l to any lastin g progress in th e area of race relations. It has been show n elsew here in this rep o rt how m is in fo rm atio n has re su lte d in m any in eq u alities in th e a reas of both em ploym ent and housing. We have PR ESEN TED S P E A K ERS TO MORE TH A N 120 AUD IENCES, including th e follow ing: L eague of W om en V oters; W ar M anpow er C om m ission C onfer ence; P o rtla n d T each ers A ssocia tion; C atholic C onference on I n d u stria l R elations; P o rtla n d C on ference of Social W ork; K iw anis C lub of A storia; College A ssem b lies at R eed; M ary lh u rst, and Mt. A ngel Colleges; and m any o th er com m unity, church, and school j groups. T h ree of our sp eakers have been persons of in tern atio n al fam e. T hey w ere (1) L ester B. G ranger, E x ecu t ive Secretary, N ational U rban L eague; (2) Dr. M elville Jacobs, A n th ropologist, A uthor, and Professor; (3) L angston H ughes, o u tstan d ing A u th o r and Poet In these m eetings, th e ag g re g ate atten d an ce has been in e x cess of 30,000 persons. W e have DISTRIBU TED MORE THAN 8,000 PIE C ES O F L IT E R ATURE on th e subject of race and in d u strial relations. W e have PA R T IC IPA T ED IN TWO RADIO PROGRAM S. T he U rb an L eague recognizes th e need for a m ore intensive and co m prehensive program of P ublic E ducation. We shall a tte m p t to spearhead a coordinated effort d u rin g 1946, w ith the cooperation of o th er organizations in the com m unity. W e shall m ake a determ ined ef fo rt td induce th e local press to cease using the racial designation in th e tre a tm e n t of new s about N egroes. Since N egroes a re the only p erso n s identified in new s rep o rting, we believe it to be u n fair. C ertainly m any P o rtlan d ers a cq u ire a fallacious and u n fav o r ab le .•’.tlitu d e a fte r reading Views tre a te d w ith th is technique. 1. In d u strial R elations A. W e sh all intensify our ef forts to c reate job opportunities w hich w ill be available to p ers ons on th e basis of th e ir ab ility to perform . B. We sh all seek specifically to assist in th e opening of enough jobs to care for the needs of Ne gro residents. It is estim ated th a t 1000 jobs above th e p re-w ar level w ill be needed to satisfy this need. t C. We recognize th e efforts of, and shall give w holehearted co operation to, o th er groups in te r ested in these objectives. A mong such groups are th e U nited States E m ploym ent Service, V eterans A dm inistration, N ational A ssocia tion for th e A dvancem ent o f C ol ored People, and th e O ffice for V ocational O pportunity. D. We shall in stitu te a w ork er-education program , d irected tow ard assisting N egroes and oth ers w ho seek our service to suc ceed on th e job. Such a program w ill be carried out th ro u g h in d i v idual councelling, forum s, m eet ings, d istrib u tio n of p rin te d m a terials, and in cooperation w ith church, union, and com m unity groups. E. We shall study th e p ractic es and policies of all labor unions operating in th e P o rtla n d area; we shall assist the unions in a d ju stin g policy w hen th ey w ant and need o u r help. F. We shall seek to m ake all existing vocational aining op p o rtu n ity available to N egroes. G. We shall seek th e coopera tion of proper public officials in O regon on the S tate, C ounty, and M unicipal level, to elim in ate dis crim in ato ry em ploym ent p ractic es on all public w orks and on all contracts le t by political subdiv isions. , NOTE: This is not suggesting a quota system of hiring. If a p proved, it w ill sim ply insure all citizens an o p p o rtu n ity to w ork on public w orks and on govern m ent jobs for w hich th ey are fu l ly qualified. H. We shall constantly study th e local in d u strial scene; release our findings periodically, and point out in eq u alities and u nm et needs to pro p er officials, public, private, labor, m anagem ent, etc. II. H ousing A. We shall c a rry out an in ten siv e education program w hich i w ill point out the fallacy in the m y th th a t p ro p erty values d e te ri o rate w hen n on-w hite fam ilies a re in residence; th e evil and costly effects of th e G hetto; th e slum ; an d of com pressing a group of people into a p re-d eterm in ed area of a city. B. We shall dissem inate in fo r m ation relativ e to th e need for a constructive p ro g ram o f low cost public housing for P ortland. C. We shall confer w ith re a l tors, *eal estate dealers, hom e builders, and F ed eral H ousing A u th o rity O fficials, endeavoring to obtain m ore lib eral th o u g h t on the n u m b er and location of hom es w hich w ill be m ade available to N egro fam ilies. D. We shall continue to oppose houciov restrictions on a racial basis. W e w ill re ite ra te our su g gestion th a t “S tan d ard s of O ccup an cy ” be su b stitu ted for racial r e strictiv e agreem ents, th u s giving ad eq u ate p rotection to all, and elim inating the undem ocratic racist im plication. III. P ublic E ducation We sh all increase th e tem po of our F ublic E ducation by: I. E stab lish m en t of a S p eak e rs’ B ureau. 2. The expanded use of p rin ted m aterials for distribution. This w ill include the best m aterials available free or a t sm all cost, and the d istrib u tio n of original m es sages and research. 3. More extensive use of visual m aterials; posters, bulletins, and movies. 4. Seek cooperation of local new spapers and rad io stations. 5. C ontinuation of o u r q u a rte rly m em bership m eetings, w ith o u t standing sp eak ers and program s. 6. C ooperation w ith o th er groups w hose purposes a re sim il a r to those outlined above. IV. O ther Services 1. We sh all continue to m ake o u r services av ailab le to all local groups; and to stu d y and ex am ine the practices of local agencies, (C ontinued on page 3) •1945 •1895 4SHÑS. PAPHOS fS O B i 59 HRS. - $U .U , 5 0 0 -F 0 0 T TA N K "IIP EXPANDS 12-14 ACHE'S :N CARSO OF OIL IS- LO A D ED MtTlMS ' > iZie* te I ?¿¿o*Tsrt brüe TO ROTFNTEP /¡nyoïiATKisrÿ INVENTIONS, WAGE CF AVERAGE TACIORy WORKER IN AMERICA HAS RISEN FROM$H.5V FOR 59WAS. 50 yEARS AGO TO ALMOST $ 5 0 H?I06ENE> L , . v to s c e n t h is FEET. BELIEVING THE RISING VAPORS PERFUMED HIS B OD Y 1. VERIFICATION—Typical of hundreds of cases handled “on the spot” is this one at Godman Field, Ky., in which Cpl. Stephen 0. Lawrence tells Grant Hawkins, ARC field director, of In dianapolis, Ind., that he is worried about an emergency at home. Field Director Hawkins rushes a message to the chapter asking for veri fication which may be needed by the commanding officer in deciding the question of Cpl. Lawrence’s furlough. 2. NOTIFICATION—Field Director Hawkins passes on to Cpl Lawrence the report from the chapter and the assurance that Home Service is already on the job helping the family. He offers to lend the serviceman the money he may need for the trip if his request for a furlough is granted by the commanding offirer AUTHORIZATION—After obtaining the fur lough from his unit commander, the worried Gl goes to Operations Officer Maj. E. C. Gleed of Kansas City, Mo., to see if anything is going his way. The major notes the urgency of the situs •ion. 1. TRANSPORTATION—From Godman Field, Lawrence rides an army transport plane as far as Columbus, Ohio, a big jump on the way to Philadelphia. Early the next day, he is at home “Nothing like the Red Cross in an emergency,” raid Lawrence. À NEW JERSEY 3-yEAR- OLD CAN IDENTIFY iz i i y p B f op f* !R C f» F T NANCE'S D A R - B - Q 31 N. E. CHERRY CT. Good Meals Served All Hours Home Cooking Our Specialty DINNERS — BARBECUE SANDWICHES VErmont 9109 David N ance, Prop. 3.