Volume 6 The Marcus Garvey and Universal Negro Improvement Association Papers, Vol. VI: September 1924-December 1927 [Reprint 2019 ed.] 9780520342286

Citation preview

THE

MARCUS GARVEY AND UNIVERSAL NEGRO IMPROVEMENT ASSOCIATION

PAPERS SUPPORTED BY The National Endowment for the Humanities The National Historical Publications and Records Commission The Ahmanson Foundation The Ford Foundation The Rockefeller Foundation The UCLA Foundation

SPONSORED BY The University of California, Los Angeles

THE

MARCUS GARVEY AND

UNIVERSAL NEGRO IMPROVEMENT ASSOCIATION

PAPERS

Volume VI September 1924—December 1927 Robert A. Hill Editor Barbara Bair Associate Editor Stephen Gii de Montes Administrative/Production Assistant

University of California Press Berkeley Los Angeles London

University of California Press Berkeley and Los Angeles, California

University of California Press, Ltd. London, England

This volume has been funded in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities, an independent federal agency. The volume has also been supported by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission, the Ahmanson Foundation, the Ford Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation, the U C L A Foundation, and the University of California, Los Angeles.

Documents in this volume from the Public Record Office are ©British Crown copyright 1989 and are published by permission of the Controller of Her Britannic Majesty's Stationery Office.

Designed by Linda M. Robertson and set in Galliard type. This volume has been typeset by Stephen Gil de Montes of the Garvey Papers project using the T Y X S E T software system supplied by T Y X Corp., Reston, Virginia.

Copyright ©1989 by The Regents of the University of California.

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Main entry under title:

The Marcus Garvey and Universal Negro Improvement Association papers 1. Garvey, Marcus, 1887-1940. 2. Universal Negro Improvement Association—History—Sources. 3. Black power— United States—History—Sources. 4. Afro-Americans—Race identity—History—Sources, j. Afro-Americans—Civil rights— History—Sources. 6. Afro-Americans—Correspondence. I. Hill, Robert A., 1943. II. Bair, Barbara, 1955III. Garvey, Marcus, 1887-1940. IV. Universal Negro Improvement Association

E185-97.G3M36

1986

305.8'96073

I S B N 978-0-520-06568-0

Printed in the United States of America 22 21 20 19 18 10 9 8 7 6

5

4

3

82-13379

EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD HERBERT APTHEKER M A R Y FRANCES B E R R Y JOHN W . BLASSINGAME JOHN H E N R I K C L A R K E EDMUND DAVID CRONON IAN D U F F I E L D E . U . ESSIEN-UDOM VINCENT HARDING RICHARD HART THOMAS L . HoDGKiNf A R T H U R S. L I N K G E O R G E A . SHEPPERSON MICHAEL R . WINSTON

•

MB® • •

:

•

«

• ........

r U--> 7 ' - « i t a s ®ffifi

-

: . •

"?n[

• 'II::

Marcus Garvey under escort to Manhattan House of Detention (Tombs prison), New York, February 1925

In Memoriam Tom W. Shick 1947-1986

CONTENTS

XXV11

ILLUSTRATIONS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

xxxi

INTRODUCTION

XXXV

EDITORIAL PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICES

xliii

TEXTUAL DEVICES

xlix li

SYMBOLS AND ABBREVIATIONS Repository Symbols

li

Manuscript Collection Symbols Descriptive Symbols

liii

liv

Published Works Cited

liv

Other Symbols and Abbreviations

Iv

lvii

CHRONOLOGY

DOCUMENTS 1924

2 September

UNIA Delegation to President Calvin Coolidge 2 September UNIA Petition 4

3

2 September

Editorial by Marcus Garvey in the Negro World

7

6 September

William R . Castle, Chief, Division of Western European Affairs, Department of State, to Charles Evans Hughes, Secretary of State

12

Article in the New Tork Times

12

Writ of Error of Marcus Garvey, Marcus Garvey v. United States, U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Second Circuit

1+

Speech by Marcus Garvey

31

14 September 18 October

26 October

IX

T H E MARCUS GARVEY AND U N I A PAPERS

29 October

Vice President, Panama Rail Road Company, to M. L. Walker, President

34

1 November

Negro World Notice

37

4 November

Editorial by Marcus Garvey in the Negro World

38

11 November

F. W. Williams to the NAACP

41

16 November

Speech by Marcus Garvey

42

28 November

D. C. Hunter to the NAACP

49

Brief for the United States, Marcus Garvey v. United States, U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Second Circuit

49

1+ December

Speech by Marcus Garvey

67

15 December

Reply Brief for Marcus Garvey, Marcus Garvey v. United States, U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Second Circuit

72

4 January

Speech by Marcus Garvey

74

8 January

J. W. Ross to Charles Evans Hughes

81

A. E. Paterson, Freight Agent, to S. W. Heald, Superintendent, Panama Rail Road Company

82

Judgment of Appeal, Marcus Garvey v. United States, U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Second Circuit

83

4 February

Article in the New York Times

87

5 February

C. A. Harrigan to President Calvin Coolidge

88

6 February

Petition of Marcus Garvey for Writ of Certiorari to the U.S. Supreme Court, Marcus Garvey v. United States

89

7 February

Article in the New York Times

92

7 February

Article by Associate Editor Norton G. Thomas in the Negro World

93

7 February

Negro World Announcement

94

9 February

Registration Form, Atlanta Federal Penitentiary

95

ca. 10 December

1925

14 January 3 February

x

CONTENTS

IO February

Editorial Letter by Marcus Garvey in the Negro World

96

14 February

Negro World Notice

99

14 February

William Sherrill to Marcus Garvey

99

18 February

C. A. Harrigan to William J. Donovan, Assistant Attorney General

100

Marcus Garvey to Sen. James E. Watson

102

February

Clifford Bourne, UNIA Chancellor, to Marcus Garvey

104

13 March

José de Olivares, American Consul, Kingston, Jamaica, to Frank Billings Kellogg, Secretary o f State 9 March Jacob de Rytter Hiorth, Master, S.S. Goethals, to José de Olivares 110 9 March G. Emonei Carter, Secretary, Black Cross Navigation and Trading Company, to José de Olivares 111 28 January Agreement between Marcus Garvey and Capt. Jacob de Rytter Hiorth 113 ca. 28 January Instructions fir Capt. Jacob de Rytter Hiorth 113 28 January Instructions for Purser 114 28 January Marcus Garvey to George Williams 115

28 February

105

18 March

James Finch, Pardon Attorney, to Rep. Clarence J. McLeod

119

23 March

William Sherrill to Marcus Garvey

119

23 March

Denial of Writ o f Certiorari, U.S. Supreme Court

125

Editorial in the Spokesman

125

Brief for the United States in Opposition to the Petition o f Marcus Garvey for a Writ o f Certiorari, Marcus Garvey v. United States

128

4 April

Negro World Notice

13+

7 April

James Finch to Amy Jacques Garvey

13+

7 April

Article in the Star and Herald

135

15 April

J. A. Mitchell, Chief Customs Inspector, to Shipping Commissioner, Panama Canal Zone

136

March ca. March

xt

T H E M A R C U S GARVEY AND U N I A PAPERS

15 January Agreement between G. Emonei Carter and Charles V. Vaughan, Master, S.S. Goethals 136 17 April

Amy Jacques Garvey to James Finch

138

20 April

Stock Certificate

139

22 April

John Sargent, Attorney General, to Rep. William I. Swoope

1+0

Declaration by the Central Executive Committee, Workers (Communist) Party of America

1+1

28 April

William Sherrill to President Calvin Coolidge

1+4

29 April

Marcus Garvey Pardon Delegation to John Sargent ca. 29 April Petition for Pardon of Marcus Garvey 145

23 April

145

1 May

Great Adams to President Calvin Coolidge ca. May Extracts from Essay on Marcus Garvey by Great Adams 148

148

1 May

Negro World Notice

150

8 May

Amy Jacques Garvey to Arthur Schomburg

152

9 May

George Gordon Battle to John Sargent

152

n May

Amy Jacques Garvey to Arthur Schomburg

153

15 May

Report by Special Agent in Charge H. P. Wright

154

21 May

E. M. Edwards to Marcus Garvey

156

Negro World Notice

157

May

Marcus Garvey to Amy Jacques Garvey

157

May

Marcus Garvey to Amy Jacques Garvey

159

Marcus Garvey to Earnest S. Cox

160

Editorial by Marcus Garvey in the Negro World ("African Fundamentalism")

161

ca. 23 May

2 June ca. 6 June 6 June

John T. Alsop, Mayor, Jacksonville, Florida, to Special Agent in Charge H. P. Wright

165

10 June

Marcus Garvey to E. M. Edwards

166

10 June

Marcus Garvey to Earnest S. Cox

167

xii

CONTENTS

IO June

Marcus Garvey to Earnest S. Cox

168

13 June

Marcus Garvey to President Calvin Coolidge

170

IJ June

Marcus Garvey to President Calvin Coolidge ca. 13 June Application for Executive Clemency by Marcus Garvey 171

171

17 June

James Finch to Edgar M. Blessing, Solicitor, Post Office Department

198

23 June

Amy Jacques Garvey to John Sargent

200

24 June

Marcus Garvey to Earnest S. Cox

201

24 June

G. Emonei Carter to Marcus Garvey

202

27 June

Dr. A. F. Quillian to John W. Snook, Warden, Atlanta Federal Penitentiary

204

Emory R. Buckner, U.S. Attorney for New York, to James Finch

205

14 July

Report by Post Office Inspector F. E. Shea

208

18 July

Marcus Garvey to Earnest S. Cox

209

19 July

Marcus Garvey to Norton G. Thomas

209

21 July

Amy Jacques Garvey to J. R. Ralph Casimir

210

25 July

Marcus Garvey to Earnest S. Cox

211

26 July

Amy Ashwood Garvey to President Calvin Coolidge

212

ca. July

Essay by Marcus Garvey

214

ca. July

Essays on Racial Purity by Marcus Garvey

216

3 August

Acting Pardon Attorney to Emory R. Buckner

221

4 August

Emory R. Buckner to Acting Pardon Attorney

222

6 August

Judge Julian W. Mack to Emory R. Buckner

223

8 August

Marcus Garvey to Earnest S. Cox

224

8 August

Marcus Garvey to Earnest S. Cox

224

14 August

Marcus Garvey to Earnest S. Cox

226

14 August

Marcus Garvey to Norton G. Thomas

227

8 July

xiii

T H E M A R C U S GARVEY AND U N I A PAPERS

20 August

Marcus Garvey to Anthony Crawford

228

27 August

Marcus Garvey to Earnest S. Cox

229

2 September

Anthony Crawford to Marcus Garvey

233

4 September

Marcus Garvey to the Members of the New York Local UNIA Division

238

16 September

Marcus Garvey to John Sargent

239

18 September

James Finch to Marcus Garvey

240

George Weston, Vice President, New York Local UNIA Division, to the Associated Press, Washington, D.C.

240

ca. 27 September

21 October

William Sherrill to Marcus Garvey ca. 30 September UNIA Financial Reports 242

241

24 October

Negro World Notice

246

Article in the Panama Star and Herald

247

American Negro Labor Congress to Marcus Garvey

247

Theophelus E. Dixon to President Calvin Coolidge

248

Fred A. Toote, William Ware, Samuel Haynes, and J. A. Craigen to Marcus Garvey

250

Letter of Introduction for John Powell by Marcus Garvey

251

28 October

Speech by John Powell

252

29 October

Anthony Crawford to Marcus Garvey

257

30 October

Marcus Garvey to Anthony Crawford

257

31 October

Amy Jacques Garvey to Marcus Garvey

257

Officers, St. Louis UNIA Division, to President Calvin Coolidge

258

George Weston, President, and Hannah Nicholas, Secretary, New York Local UNIA Division, to President Calvin Coolidge

260

James Finch to UNIA Division No. 260, Trinidad

261

Amy Jacques Garvey to Marcus Garvey

261

ca. 25 October 25 October 26 October ca. 28 October ca. 28 October

1 November 2 November

2 November 5 November

xiv

CONTENTS

5 November

Marcus Garvey to Anthony Crawford and William Sherrill

262

Marcus Garvey to Anthony Crawford

262

5 November

Marcus Garvey to Judge John P. O'Brien, Surrogate's Court, New York

263

5 November

William Sherrill and Anthony Crawford to Marcus Garvey

263

7 November

Marcus Garvey to Norton G. Thomas

264

7 November

Anthony Crawford to Marcus Garvey

26+

7 November

Marcus Garvey to Joab Banton, District Attorney

ca. 5 November

for New York County

265

10 November

Amy Jacques Garvey to Marcus Garvey

26s

13 November

Petition from UNIA Members, Bocas del Toro, Panama

267

14 November

Amy Jacques Garvey to Marcus Garvey

268

17 November

Amy Jacques Garvey to Marcus Garvey

268

20 November

Clifford Bourne to Marcus Garvey

268

25 November

Marcus Garvey to Amy Jacques Garvey

269

25 November

Marcus Garvey to Amy Jacques Garvey

270

25 November

Marcus Garvey to Mr. McEvoy, Printer, Henri Rogowski and Company

270

27 November

Marcus Garvey to Samuel Haynes

271

28 November

Editorial by Marcus Garvey in the Negro World

273

28 November

Amy Jacques Garvey to Marcus Garvey

274

1 December

Louis Jacobson and Haskel Jacobs, Counselors at Law, to William Sherrill

274

2 December

Percival Burrows to Marcus Garvey

275

5 December

Negro World Advertisement

277

5 December

Amy Jacques Garvey to Marcus Garvey

278

6 December

Marcus Garvey to Amy Jacques Garvey

278

7 December

Marcus Garvey to Prof. D. H. Kyle

278

xv

THE MARCUS GARVEY AND U N I A PAPERS 7

December

8 December

James Finch to George Gordon Battle

279

Clifford Bourne to Marcus Garvey

279

9

December

Marcus Garvey to Amy Jacques Garvey

281

9

December

John Sargent to Sen. Frank B. Willis

281

• 9

December

Marcus Garvey to Norton G. Thomas

283

• 9

December

Marcus Garvey to Norton G. Thomas

283

IO

December

Amy Jacques Garvey to Marcus Garvey

284

II

December

Memorandum by James Finch

284

II

December

G. Emonei Carter, UNIA Secretary General, to President Calvin Coolidge

285

Article in the Nejjro World by William Sherrill

285

12 December 13

December

Marcus Garvey to Amy Jacques Garvey

289

17

December

Nicholas Longworth, Speaker of the House, to John Sargent

289

18 December

John Sargent to Sen. L. D. Tyson

291

21 December

W. L. Lains, Atlanta UNIA Member, to President Calvin Coolidge

292

21 December

Marcus Garvey to Armin Kohn and Maurice Nagler

293

23

December

Amy Jacques Garvey to Marcus Garvey

293

23

December

Marcus Garvey to Amy Jacques Garvey

294

23

December

James Finch to Nicholas Longworth

294

24

December

Marcus Garvey to James Finch

294

2+

December

Marcus Garvey to James Finch

296

25

December

Rash Behari Bose to the Secretary, UNIA

297

26 December

George Gordon Battle to James Finch

298

28 December

Nicholas Longworth to John Sargent

299

28 December

Marcus Garvey to Amy Jacques Garvey

300

Marcus Garvey to William Ware

301

29

December

CONTENTS

John Sargent to Nicholas Longworth

302

ca. 4 January

Marcus Garvey to William Sherrill

302

ca. 4 January

Marcus Garvey to Henrietta Vinton Davis

303

4 January

George Gordon Battle to James Finch

303

5 January

Petition from UNIA Division No. 200, Port Antonio, Jamaica

305

6 January

James Finch to Harry E. Hull, Commissioner General of Immigration, Department of Labor

306

6 January

James Finch to Emory R. Buckner

306

7 January

Emory R. Buckner to James Finch

307

8 January

Emory R. Buckner to James Finch

307

9 January

Marcus Garvey to Earnest S. Cox

307

11 January

Marcus Garvey to Earnest S. Cox

308

11 January

Marcus Garvey to Percival Burrows

309

14 January

Marcus Garvey to J. J. Peters

310

18 January

W. W. Husband, Second Assistant Secretary of Labor, to John Sargent

?io

20 January

Marcus Garvey to Amy Jacques Garvey

3"

23 January

John Sargent to James Finch

312

24 January

Marcus Garvey to the Secretary, New York Local UNIA Division

312

26 January

Marcus Garvey to L. J. Van Pelt

312

27 January

John Sargent to President Calvin Coolidge

31?

27 January

Department of Justice White House Memorandum

316

28 January

James Finch to Marcus Garvey

3*7

30 January

Marcus Garvey to Norton G. Thomas

317

30 January

Marcus Garvey to J. J. Peters

318

December

1926

xvii

T H E MARCUS GARVEY AND U N I A PAPERS

30 January

Marcus Garvey to Amy Jacques Garvey

318

31 January

Marcus Garvey to Amy Jacques Garvey

318

4 February

Marcus Garvey to Earnest S. Cox

319

5 February

Amy Jacques Garvey to UNIA Co-workers

319

6 February

Editorial by Marcus Garvey in the Negro World

321

6 February

Marcus Garvey to Prof. D. H. Kyle, Chairman,

6 February ca. 8—18 February

Marcus Garvey Committee on Justice

322

Marcus Garvey to Amy Jacques Garvey

323

Report of Proceedings, Ann Rebecca Morter v. Arthur Balderamos, H. H. Cain, and the UNIA

9 February

323

G. Emonei Carter to Marcus Garvey

338

10 February

Anthony Crawford to the Black Cross Navigation and Trading Company

339

11 February

Amy Jacques Garvey to Kametaro Mitsukawa

340

16 February

Amy Jacques Garvey to Marcus Garvey

3+1

19 February

Amy Jacques Garvey to Marcus Garvey

34i

19 February

Marcus Garvey to Mr. McEvoy

34-1

19 February

Marcus Garvey to Norton G. Thomas

3+2

20 February

Marcus Garvey to Norton G. Thomas

342

20 February

Negro World Notice

344

Editorial Letter by Marcus Garvey in the Negro World

345

21 February

Marcus Garvey to Amy Jacques Garvey

348

23 February

Marcus Garvey to George Alexander McGuire

349

24 February

Marcus Garvey to M. L. T. De Mena

349

26 February

Marcus Garvey to Robert Watson Winston

350

Editorial Letter by Marcus Garvey

353

27 February

Article in the New York Age

354

28 February

Marcus Garvey to Amy Jacques Garvey

356

ca. 20 February

ca. 27 February

xviii

CONTENTS

Amy Jacques Garvey to Sir Esme Howard, British Ambassador to the United States

357

Amy Jacques Garvey to Sir Adrian Bailie, Second Secretary, British Embassy, Washington, D.C.

357

3 March

Judge John P. O'Brien to John Sargent

358

3 March

C. A. Campbell to Marcus Garvey

359

4 March

Marcus Garvey to Uriah Gittens

360

Mrs. A. S. Alexander to the New York Age

361

6 March

Diary Entry by Robert Watson Winston

361

9 March

Marcus Garvey to William Phillips

362

i March i March

ca . 6 March

io March

Amy Jacques Garvey to Isaac D. White, Editor, New York World 8 March Article in the New York World 363 8 March Statement by Amy Jacques Garvey 365

363

ca. n March

Marcus Garvey to J. A. Craigen

367

12 March

Marcus Garvey to William Ware

367

13 March

Letter by Marcus Garvey in the Negro World

368

15 March

Lester Walton to Isaac D. White

369

ca. 15 March

Convention Message from Marcus Garvey

371

ca.. 15 March

Charges Against William Sherrill by Marcus Garvey

386

15 March

W. W. Husband to John Sargent 2 March Petition by UNIA Members 388

388

18 March

Marcus Garvey to Amy Jacques Garvey

392

18 March

Marcus Garvey to Fred A. Toote

393

19 March

Marcus Garvey to Amy Jacques Garvey

393

20 March

Article in the New York Age

395

21 March

Convention Report by Norton G. Thomas

396

ca. 22 March

26 March

Excerpts from the Decision of Chief Justice H. K. M. Sisnett, Ann Rebecca Morter v. Arthur Balderamos, H. H. Cain, and the UNIA

400

Marcus Garvey to Norton G. Thomas

405

xix

T H E M A R C U S GARVEY A N D U N I A P A P E R S

27 March

Report by G. Emonei Carter

406

29 March

Marcus Garvey to John Sargent

410

31 March

Article in the Baltimore Afro-American

411

3 April

Article by Cyril Briggs in the Negro World

412

3 April

Article in the Negro World

415

4 April

Speech by Fred A. Toote, UNIA Acting President General

416

17 April

Amy Jacques Garvey to Marcus Garvey

417

19 April

Marcus Garvey to Fred A. Toote

418

23 April

Fred A. Toote to Marcus Garvey

418

24 April

Fred A. Toote and F. Levi Lord to Amy Jacques Garvey 24 April Form to be Signed by Amy Jacques Garvey 419

419

24 April

W. A. Wallace to James Finch

420

25 April

Marcus Garvey to Fred A. Toote

422

25 April

Marcus Garvey to Amy Jacques Garvey

423

26 April

Marcus Garvey to Amy Jacques Garvey

423

4 May

James Finch to W. A. Wallace

423

12 May

Mohandas K. Gandhi to Amy Jacques Garvey

424

17 May

Marcus Garvey to Norton G. Thomas

424

18 May

Marcus Garvey to Fred A. Toote

425

29 May

Marcus Garvey to Amy Jacques Garvey

425

9 June

Marcus Garvey to Amy Jacques Garvey

426

10 June

Marcus Garvey to Earnest S. Cox

426

3 July

Marcus Garvey to Fred A. Toote

427

25 July

Marcus Garvey to Percival Burrows

428

29 July

Marcus Garvey to Norton G. Thomas

428

xx

CONTENTS

29 July

Marcus Garvey to Amy Jacques Garvey

429

29 July

Marcus Garvey to Fred A. Toote

429

31 July

Marcus Garvey to James P. Cannon

429

Acting Pardon Attorney to George Gordon Battle

430

Press Release of Rival UNIA Convention, New York

431

Deposition of George Weston, UNIA, Incorporated, v. Marcus Garvey, Amy Jacques Garvey, et al.

433

11 August 16 August 13 September

18 September 24 September 8 October

W. A. Wallace to the President, Officers, and Members of the UNIA

438

Marcus Garvey to UNIA Executive Officers

440

Affidavit by Marcus Garvey, UNIA, Incorporated, v. Marcus Garvey, Amy Jacques Garvey, et al.

441

10 October

Speech by Fred A. Toote

11 October

Marcus Garvey to F. Levi Lord

450

11 October

Marcus Garvey to Norton G. Thomas

450

13 October

Marcus Garvey to Amy Jacques Garvey

451

14 October

Marcus Garvey to Samuel Haynes

451

14 October

Marcus Garvey to Norton G. Thomas

452

16 October

Marcus Garvey to Messrs. McEvoy and Skinner

452

16 October

Affidavit by George Weston, UNIA, Incorporated, v. Marcus Garpey, Amy Jacques Garvey, et al.

447

453

17 October

Marcus Garvey to Norton G. Thomas

457

17 October

Marcus Garvey to Armin Kohn and Maurice Nagler

457

17 October

Marcus Garvey to Norton G. Thomas

458

19 October

Prison Visitor Record

459

A. H. Showman to the Superintendent of Prisons, Department of Justice

460

Marcus Garvey to Amy Jacques Garvey

460

ca. 20 October 21 October

xxi

T H E M A R C U S G A R V E Y AND U N I A P A P E R S

26 October

Marcus Garvey to Fred A. Toote

461

15 November

Marcus Garvey to John W. Snook

461

16 November

John W. Snook to H. C. Heckman, Assistant Superintendent of Prisons, Department of Justice

464

Interview with Marcus Garvey by Joel A. Rogers

465

James Finch to Rep. James M. Mead

470

17 January

Marcus Garvey to President Calvin Coolidge 14 January Affidavit by George Featherstone 472 December 1926 Members of the Jury to the Department of Justice 473

471

17 January

Marcus Garvey to John Sargent

474

29 January

Amy Jacques Garvey to Nicholas Murray Butler, President, Columbia University

475

12 February

Negro World Notice

476

12 February

James Finch to Armin Kohn

477

19 February

James Finch to Armin Kohn

477

21 February

James Finch to Zebedee Green

477

Armin Kohn and Maurice Nagler to John Sargent

478

2 March

Extract from Memorandum by James Finch

495

2 March

Memorandum by James Finch

496

2 March

Armin Kohn to John Sargent 2 March Memorandum by Armin Kohn 500

500

18 March

S. R. Church, Editor, Virginia Union Farmer, to President Calvin Coolidge

5x5

W. A. Plccker, Registrar of Vital Statistics, Commonwealth of Virginia, to President Calvin Coolidge

516

Prison Record of Marcus Garvey

517

22 March

Albert S. Connelly to Judge Julian W. Mack

5*7

22 March

George Mallison to President Calvin Coolidge

524

ca. 17 November 21 December 1927

ca. February

19 March

ca. 22 March

xxu

CONTENTS

23 March

Earnest S. Cox to President Calvin Coolidge

525

22 July 1925 Statement by Earnest S. Cox 526 23 March

Charles C. Berkeley, President, Newport News Post, Anglo-Saxon Clubs of America, to President Calvin Coolidge

$27

24 March

George N. Wise to President Calvin Coolidge

529

24 March

James Finch to W. A. Plecker

S30

26 March

Negro World Notices

5?i

Brief by Armin Kohn and Maurice Nagler

S32

27 March

Speech by Fred A. Toote

537

28 March

E. B. Knox to Sen. Charles Deneen

5+0

2 April

Editorial by Fred A. Toote in the Negro World

5+6

11 May

James Finch to John W. Snook

549

14 May

Lucian A. Slaughter to President Calvin Coolidge

55°

16 May

Charles T. Nellans, Physician, Atlanta Federal Penitentiary, to John W. Snook

551

ca. 26 March

ca. 20 May

Edward Hoogerbook to John Sargent 6 May Article in the Detroit Independent 552

5JI

28 May

Article in the Chicago Whip

553

28 May

Editorial by Fred A. Toote in the Negro World

554

May

"Keep Cool"

557

May

Advertisement for "Keep Cool"

559

8 June

J. Edgar Hoover to James Finch

560

8 June

Earl Little, W. M. Townsend, and Robert Finney, Officers, International Industrial Club of Milwaukee, to President Calvin Coolidge

561

11 June

Negro World Advertisement

563

17 June

J. A. Marshall to John Sargent

564

21 June

Harrison Underwood, J. H . Roberts, E. F. Gibbon, John Orr, and Prophet G. W. Hurley, Universal Hagar Spiritual Association, to President Calvin Coolidge

565

xxiii

T H E MARCUS GARVEY AND U N I A PAPERS

24 June

James Green to President Calvin Coolidge

566

25 June

Negro World Announcement

566

2 July

Negro World Notice

567

7 July

James Finch to Mrs. E. J. Wheatley

568

20 July

Marcus Garvey to J. A. Craigcn

568

20 July

James Green to John Sargent

569

21 July

Marcus Garvey to E. E. Mair, Business Manager, Negro World

570

Marcus Garvey to Caleb Robinson, Principal, Liberty University

57o

22 July

Marcus Garvey to Mrs. Thompson

$71

23 July

Marcus Garvey to E. B. Knox

572

23 July

Marcus Garvey to Chicago UNIA Division

572

23 July

Marcus Garvey to Ethel Collins

572

24 July

Marcus Garvey to Ethel Collins

574

27 July

Marcus Garvey to Sidney Dalrymple

574

31 July

Marcus Garvey to Norton G. Thomas

575

31 July

Marcus Garvey to E. B. Knox

575

1 August

Marcus Garvey to E. B. Knox

576

3 August

Marcus Garvey to E. B. Knox

577

4 August

Marcus Garvey to E. B. Knox

577

+ August

Marcus Garvey to E. B. Knox

578

5 August

Editorial in the Chattanooga News

578

10 August

Marcus Garvey to Norton G. Thomas

579

13 August

Marcus Garvey to Zebedee Green

580

13 August

Article in the Baltimore Afro-American

580

19 August

Marcus Garvey to E. B. Knox

583

19 August

Marcus Garvey to Robert Malone

584

21 July

XXIV

CONTENTS

20 August

Article in the Negro World

584

25 August

Marcus Garvey to the Egyptian Nationalist Party

588

26 August

Marcus Garvey to Zebedee Green

588

27 August

Marcus Garvey to Zebedee Green

589

31 August

William Pickens to the New Republic

589

2 September

Marcus Garvey to E. B. Knox

590

7 September

Marcus Garvey to J. J. Peters

59i

10 September

Negro World Notice

592

15 September

Marcus Garvey to E. B. Knox

593

18 September

Marcus Garvey to Leonard Smith

593

20 September

Marcus Garvey to J. A. Craigen

594

28 September

James Green to President Calvin Coolidge

595

3 October

Marcus Garvey to E. B. Knox

596

7 October

Marcus Garvey to J. J. Peters

597

7 October

Marcus Garvey to E. B. Knox

597

8 October

Marcus Garvey to Zebedee Green

598

10 October

Marcus Garvey to J. A. Craigen

598

10 October

Marcus Garvey to Norton G. Thomas

599

11 October

Marcus Garvey to J. Hamilton Kent

599

14 October

Marcus Garvey to William Evans

600

14 October

Marcus Garvey to Fred A. Toote

600

Marcus Garvey to J. A. Craigen

601

30 October

Marcus Garvey to E. B. Knox

601

30 October

Article in the New York Amsterdam News

602

1 November

James Finch to Armin Kohn

602

4 November

Amy Jacques Garvey to Marcus Garvey

603

ca. 14 October

XXV

T H E MARCUS GARVEY AND U N I A PAPERS

4 November

Marcus Garvey to Amy Jacques Garvey

603

8 November

Marcus Garvey to Amy Jacques Garvey

603

Negro World Notice

605

Recommendation by James Finch

606

12 November

John Sargent to President Calvin Coolidge

607

18 November

Commutation of Sentence

609

21 November

James Finch to Harry E. Hull

611

21 November

James Finch to John W. Snook

611

21 November

W. A. Wallace to President Calvin Coolidge

611

22 November

James Finch to John Sargent

613

22 November

G. Emonei Carter to President Calvin Coolidge

614

26 November

Notice of Discharge of Marcus Garvey from Atlanta Federal Penitentiary

616

28 November

Garvey Supporters to President Calvin Coolidge

617

29 November

Special Message by Marcus Garvey

617

Editorial Letter by Marcus Garvey in the Negro World

618

Robe Carl White, Assistant Secretary of Labor, to John Sargent

621

12 November ca. 12 November

ca. 29 November 9 December

APPENDIXES APPENDIX I

Reports of U N I A Cash Statements

APPENDIX 11

Financial Report of the Black Cross Navigation and Trading Company, 1 Fcbruary-30 September

625

632

1925

APPENDIX III

Report of Cash Audit, First Voyage, S.S. General G. W. Goethals, 18 January-31 May 1925

INDEX

636 653

xxvi

ILLUSTRATIONS

Marcus Garvey being escorted to Tombs Prison, New York, February 1925 (frontispiece) United Press International, Bettmann Archives UNIA delegation with African colonization petitions to be presented to President Calvin Coolidge, September 1904 Collection of James Van Der Zee UNIA ceremony rechristening the S.S. Goethals as the S.S. Booker T. Washington, New York harbor, November 1924 Times [London], August 1983 S.S. Goethals on view at pier 65, New York, 1924 NW, 23 August 1924 S.S. Goethals, refitted by UNIA for passenger service, ca. 1925 P&O, vol. 2 UNIA Women's Brigade, 1924 Collection of James Van Der Zee William Sherrill in UNIA motorcade, New York, ca. 1925 Collection of James Van Der Zee Mmc M. L. T. De Mena (June 1925 visa portrait) U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service Samuel Haynes NW, 21 March 1925 Casper Holstein Opportunity, July 1925 Prison docket of Marcus Garvey, prisoner no. 19359, Atlanta Federal Penitentiary, 8 February 1925 AFRC, AP

xxvii

T H E MARCUS GARVEY AND U N I A PAPERS

Aerial view of Atlanta Federal Penitentiary, ca. 1930s AFRC, AP Facade of Atlanta Federal Penitentiary, ca. 1925 Eugene Victor Debs, Walls and Bars (Chicago: Socialist Party Publications, 1927), p. 122f. UNIA Committee of Presidents, 1926 NW, 6 March 1926 Officers and auxiliaries of the Philadelphia UNIA Division, 1926 NW, 3 July 1926 Liberty Hall, Chattanooga, Tennessee, under siege by police, 1927 Chattanooga Times, 6 August 1927 UNIA leaders with portrait of Marcus Garvey at UNIA and Negro World headquarters, 54-56 West 135th Street, New York, 1926 Collection ofJames Van Der Zee Fred A. Toote NW, 7 March 1925 Laura Adorkor Kofey The African Messenger (Jacksonville, Florida, n.d.) William Ware NW, 19 June 1926 J. A. Craigen NW, 10 April 1926 Congressman Royal Weller NW,

5 May 1928

Earnest Sevier Cox Richmond Times-Dispatch, 27 April 1966 Scenes from Liberty University, Claremont, Virginia, 1926: Exterior, classrooms, Sawyer Hall NW, 7 August 1926 Exterior, Garvey Hall NW, 7 August 1926 Map of school property on the James River NW, 31 July 1926

xxviii

ILLUSTRATIONS

Marcus Garvey with UNLA officers aboard S.S. Saramacca prior to deportation from the United States, December 1927 Photograph by Arthur P. Bedou, Collection ofXavier University Marcus Garvey giving farewell speech from deck of S.S. Saramacca, New Orleans, 1927 Photograph by Arthur P. Bedou, Collection of Xavier University

xxix

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The editors wish to thank the many institutions and individuals whose generous assistance contributed to the historical research and editorial preparation o f the present volume. Important documents were provided by Columbia University, New York; Duke University, Durham, North Carolina; Federal Archives and Records Center, East Point, Georgia; Federal Bureau o f Investigation, Washington, D.C.; Fisk University, Nashville; Hall o f Records o f the New York Supreme Court, New York; League o f Nations Archives, Geneva; Library o f Congress, Washington, D.C.; National Archives and Records Service, Washington, D.C.; Ohio Historical Society, Columbus; Public Record Office, Kew, England; Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, New York Public Library, Astor, Lenox, and Tilden Foundations, New York; Tuskegee Institute, Alabama; University o f Massachusetts Library, Amherst; University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; Washington National Records Center, Suitland, Maryland; and the Western Reserve Historical Society, Cleveland. The archivists and their staffs at these institutions have been, as always, most responsive to our many requests, and we are grateful for their continued assistance. The process o f annotating the many people, places, and historical subjects that appear in the documents is an arduous one. Our burden has been eased by the helpful information provided by various institutions. We would like to thank the staffs o f the following libraries for their assistance: Armstrong Library, Natchez, Mississippi; Boston Public Library; British Library, London; City o f Chicago Library; City o f New Orleans Public Library; Cleveland Public Library; Detroit Public Library; Free Library o f Philadelphia; Gary Public Library, Gary, Indiana; Graduate Theological Union Library, Berkeley, California; Indiana State Library, Indianapolis; Indianapolis—Marion County Library, Indianapolis; Jacksonville Public Library, Jacksonville, Florida; Kansas City Public Library, Kansas City, Kansas; Knox County Public Library, Knoxville, Tennessee; Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.; Liverpool City Libraries, Liverpool, England; Maury County Public Library, Columbia, Tennessee; National Library o f Jamaica, Kingston; Newark Public Library, Newark, New Jersey; Norfolk Public Library, Norfolk, Virginia; Park Memorial Public Library, Asheville, North Carolina; Prichard Public Library, Prichard, Alabama; Public Library o f Cincinnati and Hamilton County, XXXÌ

T H E M A R C U S GARVEY AND U N I A P A P E R S

Cincinnati; St. Louis Public Library, St. Louis, Missouri; Southern California Library for Social Studies and Research, Los Angeles; Springfield City Library, Springfield, Massachusetts; Tennessee State Library and Archives, Nashville; Virginia State Library, Richmond; and Tokyo Metropolitan Central Library. The following historical societies and museums provided us with helpful information: American Baptist Historical Society, Rochester, New York; American Jewish Historical Society, Waltham, Massachusetts; Amistad Research Center, New Orleans; Adanta Historical Society; Chicago Historical Society; Cincinnati Historical Society; Florida Historical Society, Tampa; Georgia Historical Society, Savannah; Historical Society o f Western Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh; Huntington Library, San Marino, California; Idaho State Historical Society, Boise; Illinois State Historical Library, Springfield; Los Angeles Archives; Mariners' Museum, Newport News, Virginia; Missouri Historical Society, St. Louis; Montgomery County Historical Society, Dayton, Ohio; Museum and Library o f Maryland History, Baltimore; Mystic Seaport Museum, Mystic, Connecticut; New England Historic Genealogical Society, Boston; Newark Museum, Newark, New Jersey; Ohio Historical Society, Columbus; Pasadena Historical Society, Pasadena, California; Pemiscot County Historical Society, Caruthersville, Missouri; St. Augustine Historical Society, St. Augustine, Florida; Schenectady County Historical Society, Schenectady, New York; Virginia Historical Society, Richmond; and the Western Reserve Historical Society, Cleveland. We thank the following educational institutions for their assistance: Columbia University, New York; Drew University, Madison, New Jersey; Florida State University, Tallahassee; Hampton Institute, Hampton, Virginia; Howard University, Washington, D.C.; Indiana University Northwest, Gary; Lincoln University, Jefferson City, Missouri; Mississippi State University, Mississippi State, Mississippi; Occidental College, Los Angeles; Takusahoku University, Tokyo; Temple University, Philadelphia; Tulane University, New Orleans; Tuskegee Institute, Alabama; University o f Arkansas at Little Rock; University o f Cincinnati, Cincinnati; University o f Georgia, Athens; University o f North Carolina, Chapel Hill; University ofMiami, Coral Gables, Florida; University o f Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg; University o f South Carolina, Columbia; University o f Tennessee, Knoxville; Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, North Carolina; and Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut. The following institutions deserve the project's thanks as well: American Jewish Archives, Cincinnati; Archives o f the Episcopal Church, Austin, Texas; Barbados Department o f Archives, St. Michael; British Labour party, London; Catholic Church Extension Society, Chicago; Central Intelligence Agency, Washington, D.C.; City o f New York Municipal Archives; Federal Archives and Records Center, Bayonne, New Jersey; Foreign and Commonwealth Office, London; Harvard Alumni Association, Cambridge, Massachusetts; Interdenominational Theological Center, Atlanta; Italian Ministry o f Foreign Affairs, Rome; Jewish Institute o f Religion, Hebrew Union

xxxii

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

College, Cincinnati; Law Society Services Limited, London; Martin Luther King, Jr., Center for Nonviolent Social Change, Incorporated, Atlanta; Moorland-Spingarn Research Center, Washington, D.C.; National Diet Library, Tokyo; National Personnel Records Center, St. Louis, Missouri; New York State Bar Association, Albany; New York Supreme Court Appellate Division, New York; North Carolina State Archives, Raleigh; Office of the Clerk of Court, New Orleans; Office of the Postmaster General, United States Postal Service; Post Office Users National Council, London; Southern Tenant Farmers Union, Montgomery, Alabama; State of Mississippi Department of Archives and History, Jackson; State of New York Court of Appeals, Albany; State of New York Department of Labor, Albany; State of New York Department of State, Albany; State of Ohio Department of Health; the United States Department of the Army, Arlington, Virginia; and the United States Immigration and Naturalization Service, Washington, D.C. We also thank the reference and interlibrary loan staffs of the University Research Library at the University of California, Los Angeles, for their assistance. Timothy Connelly and the archival staff of the National Historical Publications and Records Commission, Washington, D.C., have continued to provide indispensable aid to the project, and we gratefully acknowledge their help. The following individuals have assisted the project with the fruit of their research knowledge or expertise: Prof. Joyce Appleby, University of California, Los Angeles; Nab Eddie Bobo, African Diaspora Youth Development Foundation, Incorporated, Saint Thomas, Virgin Islands; Harold Brackman, Simon Wiesenthal Center for Holocaust Studies, Los Angeles; J. R. Ralph Casimir, Rousseau, Dominica; Raymond A. Cook, Valdosta, Georgia; James Danziger, Sunday Times Magazine, London; Edward Fisher, Alexandria, Virginia; J. L. Freeman, Freeman and Company, Solicitors, Middlesex, England; Mason Hargrave, Cleveland, Ohio; Svend E. Holsoe, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware; Diana Hunter, Atlanta Journal, Atlanta; Tera Hunter, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut; Edwina Iredale, British Consulate, Los Angeles; Prof. Harvey Klehr, Emory University, Atlanta; Diana Lachatanere, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, New York; Prof. Linda James Myers, Ohio State University, Columbus; Mark Naison, Fordham University, Bronx, New York; Prof. Raymond Stan Nelson, Jr., Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.; Richard Newman, New York Public Library, New York; B. P. Ponnappa, University of Tennessee, Knoxville; Prof. Peter Ripley, Florida State University, Tallahassee; Raymond Rohauer, New York; Eugene R. Sheridan, Princeton University, Princeton; Mark Solomon, Simmons College, Boston; Richard Turner, University of California, Santa Barbara; and Jill Watts, University of California, Los Angeles. For permission to reproduce the photographs of James Van Der Zee, the project gratefully acknowledges Donna Mussenden Van Der Zee. Photographs by A. P. Bedou were provided by Xavier University, New Orleans. xxxiii

T H E MARCUS GARVEY AND U N I A PAPERS

It has been a pleasure as always to work with the staffs of the Los Angeles, Berkeley, and New York offices of the University of California Press and the project thanks them for their continued support. We extend special thanks to Sylvia Tidwell and Robin Haller, who copy edited and indexed the volume, and to Linda Robertson, who prepared the art work. Neal Miller of the H I T E C Corporation, Columbia, Missouri, provided typographical services and technical support. The editors wish to thank the members of the Garvey Papers staff, whose contributions were invaluable not only in the completion of this volume but also in the overall functioning of the project. Deborah Forczek, senior editor of the project until December 1985, supervised the captioning, transcription, and proofreading of the documents selected for the volume during her tenure. Diane L. Hill, in addition to her duties as administrative assistant of the project until November 1986, pioneered the introduction of computerized typesetting and shared the responsibility of proofreading the transcribed documents. Robin Dorman, publications assistant until July 1985, completed much of the research for the annotations, showing imagination and tenacity in tracking down fugitive information on little-known persons and events. She was ably succeeded by Avon Leekley and David Ralston, who conducted their own careful research for the volume. A number of graduate research and editorial assistants contributed gready to the progress of the volume during their internships with the Garvey Papers project. Michael Fitzgerald wrote many of the historical annotations using primary sources of the Garvey Papers project. Patricia Durosseau assisted in annotation research. Edith Johnson showed supurb attention to detail in helping to proofread and copy edit the manuscript. Ernest Hill prepared a draft of the chronology and assisted Patricia Karimi-Taleghani in organizing the Garvey Papers' photographic archive. The editors have also benefited greatly from the computer expertise of project staff members. Tracy Chriss, senior typist, scanned the original selection of documents using a Kurzweil optical laser scanner, and was responsible for the computer-coding of those documents to ready them for computer typesetting. R . Kent Rasmussen, senior publications coordinator, designed database records used as aids for the research and editing of the volume and assisted in the final proofing of the typeset manuscript. Stephen Gil de Montes, project administrator and principal word processing specialist, typeset the entire volume using TYXSET typesetting software developed by the TYX Corporation of Reston, Virginia. He showed great patience and technical mastery in making the many revisions required in the editing and proofreading processes. The National Endowment for the Humanities, the National Historical Publications and Records Commission, and the U C L A Foundation have sustained the project with their support, and we are deeply grateful for their continuing commitment. In addition, the project acknowledges the Ahmanson Foundation, Ford Foundation, and Rockefeller Foundation for their extremely valuable assistance. xxxtv

INTRODUCTION

The period encompassed in the sixth volume of The Marcus Garvey and Universal Negro Improvement Association Papers represents a historic divide in the affairs of the Garvey movement and the fate of its charismatic leader. Garvey's imprisonment in 1925-1927 splits the history of the U N I A in America into two distinct, almost self-contained, eras. The first era precedes Garvey's incarceration and his subsequent campaign for clemency; the second follows President Calvin Coolidge's eventual commutation of Garvey's sentence and the deportation of the U N I A leader from the United States. Garvey's deportation removed the embodiment of a political phenomenon that government officials and black and white critics had considered an unsettling presence in America's midst for nearly a decade. The relationship of Marcus Garvey to America was a remarkable one. Within a few short years of his arrival he had catapulted from obscurity and street-corner oratory to international fame. For the first half of the 1920s, the power and scope of the movement that he inspired made him seem to many the uncrowned king of Harlem and the black world. Then, suddenly, he vanished from the American scene and the goals he represented diminished in the public mind. Garvey's removal in early 1925 symbolically ended the militant phase of the New Negro era and signaled the dominance of the cultural transitions that established Harlem in popular legend as home to the Jazz Age and haven of the Harlem Renaissance. The present volume charts the debilitating impact that Garvey's imprisonment and deportation had on the function and direction of the U N I A as a political organization, including the destabilizing effect that Garvey's efforts to continue personally to direct the movement from confinement had upon an already divided leadership. In addition, the volume documents the collapsc of the Black Cross Navigation and Trading Company after a promising start. At the same time it supplies evidence of a resurgence of grass-roots support for the U N I A in certain areas of the South even while the movement was in decline at the national level. The volume opens in the aftermath of the August 1924 convention. The convention was by many accounts the largest and most impressive of the annual xxxv

T H E M A R C U S GARVEY AND U N I A PAPERS

UNIA conclavcs; significantly, it was also the last such official gathering of the movement that Garvey attended in the United States. The dominant issue during the 1924 convention was Liberia's decision to ban the UNIA from implementing its colonization plan in the West African republic. Shortly after the close of the convention, a delegation of UNIA leaders went to the White House and presented President Calvin Coolidge with a petition protesting the Liberian government's refusal to allow the delegation of UNIA technical experts to land and appealing for official American endorsement of the UNIA's African colonization program. During the same month, the UNIA mourned the death of Liberian Supreme Court Justice J. J. Dossen, who died suddenly during the 1924 convention. Dossen had been the foremost champion of Liberia-UNIA amity within the Liberian establishment and the caretaker of all that remained of UNIA assets in Liberia following the aborted 1923-192+ colonization scheme. His loss effectively ended UNIA influence upon Liberian affairs. If these disappointments dampened the challenge for activism posed by the 1924 convention proceedings, optimism was revived with the rechristening, in November 1924, of the S.S. General G. W. Goethals as the S.S. Booker T. Washington. The launching of the S.S. Goethals in mid-January 1925 by the Black Cross Navigation and Trading Company, the UNIA's successor to the Black Star Line, marked a public triumph of Garvey's leadership and the fruit of the last and greatest fund-raising campaign of the UNIA. While enthusiasm was building in late 1924 with the acquisition and expected launching of the UNIA's latest ship and Garvey devoted himself to fund raising appearances at UNIA functions across the country, the pending outcome of the appeal of his June 1923 mail fraud conviction still loomed over the movement. Between October and December 1924, as part of the filing of Garvey's appeal, attorneys for both Garvey and the government submitted extensively argued legal writs with the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. These important legal documents, printed in the present volume, illuminate the great controversy that has surrounded Garvey's trial and conviction, particularly in regard to the nature of the evidence by which he was convicted. The appeal documents remain the most detailed examination of the case against Garvey. Not only do they illustrate the complexity of the original case, but they reconstruct events surrounding Garvey and the rise and fall of the Black Star Line, thereby providing a valuable retrospective on the most critical phase of the history of the Garvey movement in the United States and the government's perception of its leader. The decision of the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in early 1925 came within a few weeks of the completed purchase and launching of the S.S. Goethals. On 3 February 1925 the appeal court issued its opinion affirming the original judgment that had found Garvey guilty on a single count of using the mails in a scheme to defraud, in violation of Section 214 of the U.S. Criminal Code. Essentially, the Circuit Court of Appeals, in upholding

xxxvi

INTRODUCTION

the lower district court judgment, ruled that the circumstantial evidence in the case was strong enough to to infer guilt. The decision set in motion a rapid chain of events. The day following announcement of the outcome of the appeal, a bench warrant was issued for Garvey's arrest. The next day, on 5 February 192J, Garvey was taken into custody at New York City's I2$th Street train station, even though he was voluntarily returning to surrender himself after news of the appeal decision had reached him in Detroit. A few days later, he was removed from the Manhattan House of Detention (the Tombs prison), handcuffed to federal marshals, and escorted by train to begin a five-year prison sentence in the Adanta federal penitentiary. While these events were transpiring in New York, in the Caribbean the voyage of the S.S. Goethals was beset at every turn by crisis. Angry crew members protested their failure to receive promised pay, and the ship was encumbered at many ports by fines and detained for violations previously committed by Black Star Line ships. By the time the ship reached Kingston, Jamaica, the U.S. State Department had received news that the crew was mutinous, the captain wished to leave the ship, and several individuals were seeking to attach the ship for payment of wages or repair bills. Capt. Jacob De Rytter Hiorth was soon replaced by a new captain, Charles V. Vaughan, and the ship resumed its tour of the Caribbean and returned to the United States. On its return voyage, the ship was boarded by Ku Klux Klan members while docked in Jacksonville, Florida. Crew members who had gone ashore fled into the swamps, while the rest of the crew took the ship out of port, returning in the morning to rescue their stranded companions. The ship returned to New York and faced mounting dockage and repair fees there. It was sold at auction, in March 1926, for a fraction of its purchase price—a repetition of what had occurred five years earlier when the S.S. Yarmouth was auctioned for $1,625.00 after having been libeled by creditors. The exigency created by Garvey's imprisonment, shifted attention away from the failure of the Black Cross Navigation and Trading Company and spurred a new wave of activism among the membership of the UNLA. A movement to secure Garvey's release was mobilized on many levels. Hundreds of private citizens from many different backgrounds and geographical locations wrote directly to President Calvin Coolidge about the injustice of Garvey's sentence. Several examples of these letters, literate and semiliterate, are reprinted in the present volume. At the same time, UNIA members circulated petitions for his release, securing thousands of signatures from members and others sympathetic to the cause. Delegations composed of UNIA officials and their lawyers regularly lobbied the attorney general and pardon attorney in Washington, D.C. They also appealed to politicians who had been aided by Universal Negro Political Union support in the November 1924 election, or who were known to be supporters of racial equity legislation, to use their influence with the Department of Justice to help secure a commutation of

xxxvii

T H E M A R C U S GARVEY AND U N I A PAPERS

sentence for Garvey. Quasi-governmental officials, such as leaders of the Inter-parliamcntary Union, were also contacted to serve as mediators between Garvey supporters and federal officials. When persistent rumors that Garvey was suffering from serious ill health mounted, concern for his physical wellbeing began to be expressed in appeals to the president, along with arguments criticizing the prejudicial proceedings of the trial. A major political role in maintaining the pressure on public officials during the crisis of Garvey's imprisonment was played by Amy Jacques Garvey. On the day that he left New York for the last time, Garvey appointed her to the position of secretary-treasurer of the Marcus Garvey Freedom and Protection Fund, giving her wide authority to raise funds and organize the campaign in behalf of his release. Whether it was in the form of conducting interviews with the attorney general or the pardon attorney, meeting with Garvey's attorneys and paying frequent visits to her exacting husband in the Adanta penitentiary, editing and publishing Garvey's speeches and writings, traveling and speaking at U N I A fund-raising events around the country, petitioning the president to grant clemency, or writing political tracts in Garvey's defense (such as the pamphlet Was Justice Defeated?, published and distributed by her in March 1925), Amy Jacques Garvey was unsparing in pursuing the goal of gaining Garvey's freedom. Garvey lobbied for his own release not only through official channels and the actions of UNIA members but also through strategic use of the Universal Negro Political Union and by forging a political alliance with the leaders of southern antimiscegenationist organizations. Hastily put together by Garvey as a political instrument, the Universal Negro Political Union aimed to win support from white politicians in hope of tilting the political balance and developing a protective shield for the UNIA. UNIA members were instructed to work for and give their votes to selected candidates in the November 1924 elections. At the same time that he urged participation in electoral politics, Garvey argued that it was necessary for the movement to abandon the radical program it had supported in an earlier period. Many congressional candidates endorsed by the Universal Negro Political Union responded to U N I A lobbying and sent letters to the Department of Justice enquiring into Garvey's case. Just as Garvey had negotiated with the acting imperial wizard of the Ku Klux Klan following his first indictment on mail fraud, so he appeared to believe—whether on pragmatic or ideological grounds is not clear—that an alliance with southern antimiscegenationists could advance his cause. Whatever his motivation, commonalities between the political terms and ideology of the antimiscegenationists and the language of Garvey's own writings while in prison are a salient feature of the documents in the present volume. The most sustained correspondence to emerge from Garvey's prison period is the series of confidential letters that were exchanged between him and the head of the White America Society of Richmond, Virginia, Earnest Sevier Cox. Cox was responsible, in turn, for introducing Garvey to John Powell, president of the Virginia-based Anglo-Saxon Clubs of America. In

xxxviii

INTRODUCTION

June 1925 Powell visited Garvey in the Atlanta penitentiary. He emerged from the encounter with the announcement that he had received the black leader's cordial support for his lobbying effort to promote passage of legislation outlawing miscegenation. Garvey arranged for both Cox and Powell to be invited to speak at U N I A gatherings, while they in turn boosted Garvey as the ablest leader that the Negro race had produced. When the Negro World, in August 1925, published an editorial mildly critical of the two white leaders, Garvey issued a stiff reprimand to the staff of the paper, stating that he viewed the editorial as an attack upon friends. Shortly afterward, he had Powell formally address the U N I A in Liberty Hall in Harlem. The members of Cox and Powell's organizations reciprocated by mounting a letter-writing campaign to the U.S. president asking that Garvey be pardoned. The support of these white southerners for Garvey made for a sharp contrast with what many U N I A members experienced on the local level in the South. White officials in Chattanooga, Tennessee, for example, feared that the growth of the local U N I A division in 1926-1927 represented the beginnings of a radical black rebellion and took steps to repress the organization. Division members were denied a permit to speak publicly in the street. When they continued to hold indoor meetings, the police mounted an armed raid on the local Liberty Hall, precipitating a bloody gun battle with uniformed members of the African Legion. The president of the division, Milton Minyard, disappeared the night of the raid and wounded U N I A members were arrested and indicted on felony charges. While Garvey received support from the radical right, he was also championed by the radical left. The Workers (Communist) Party of America protested his imprisonment and passed resolutions calling for his release. The black Communist party auxiliary, the American Negro Labor Congress, also demanded his release. Meanwhile, Cyril V . Briggs, head of the communistaffiliated African Blood Brotherhood, became involved in U N I A internal affairs. At the height of the political opposition to Garvey, Briggs had been the principal voice among black critics calling for criminal prosecution of the U N I A leader. During the financial crisis that eventually destroyed the Black Cross Navigation and Trading Company, however, Briggs adopted a different stance; he publicly chided the black leader's colleagues and accused them of scapegoating Garvey in order to escape responsibility for their part in the failure of the U N I A ' s business enterprises. Garvey met the challenge of imprisonment by applying a significant part of his time to writing. "African Fundamentalism," perhaps his most famous essay, was published as a Negro World editorial in June 192s and quickly made its way onto the walls of U N I A members as a manifesto of the philosophy of the Garvey movement. Garvey also turned his hand to writing verse, producing and publishing ' T h e White Man's Game—His Vanity Fair," a lengthy polemic that he later republished under the title the Tragedy of White Injustice. Several shorter poems were collected and published in the Poetic Meditations of Marcus Garvey, a title that emulated the Meditations of the Roman emperor and Stoic

xxxix

T H E M A R C U S GARVEY AND U N I A PAPERS

philosopher Marcus Aurelius, a work of canonical status in the world of New Thought metaphysics, of which Garvey was himself a practitioner. Garvey's first months in the Atlanta penitentiary were spent producing many of the essays that were to make up a large part of the second volume of Philosophy and Opinions of Marcus Garvey. Amy Jacques Garvey compiled and edited the volume, which was published in December 1925. The release of the book was meant to disarm hostile opinion and to woo potential friends to support Garvey's campaign for executive clemency. A related purpose was to rebut his black critics, charging them with endangering harmonious resolution of the black-white conflict in America through their quest for social equality and intermarriage with whites. Concomitantly, Garvey presented the volume as a testament of goodwill toward Earnest Sevier Cox and the antimiscegenationist cause. Garvey also attempted to use Philosophy and Opinions to discredit and dissociate himself from the provisional leadership of the UNIA headquarters in New York. This last objective is demonstrated by the backdrop of political distrust that fractured Garvey's relations with each successive group of leaders whom he placed in control of the UNIA parent body during his imprisonment. Garvey's prison writings were thus a principal instrument for retaining primacy over the movement despite his enforced absence, cementing his alliance with the white antimiscegenationist lobby, and giving direction to the campaign for his release. Garvey's problems with the UNIA parent body leadership began soon after he arrived in Atlanta and occupied a major share of his time and energy in prison. From directing the policy of the Negro World through its editor, Norton G. Thomas—who also served as Garvey's executive secretary and principal political informant during his incarceration—to disposing of leaders who failed to do his bidding or perform to his satisfaction, Garvey was tireless in his effort to assert absolute control over the affairs of the UNIA. In the crisis conditions created by the disastrous financial problems of the Black Cross Navigation and Trading Company, the exercise of Garvey's power from prison diminished the authority of the leaders whom he nominally entrusted with the administration of the UNIA. The autonomous force of Garvey's authority derived from his positive function as a charismatic leader, but its impact proved corrosive when superimposed on the bureaucratic apparatus of the UNIA. It produced an inherently unstable parent body, subject to dissension and collapse in each new crisis. The notion of Garvey as a prophetic leader with a special calling to heroism and greatness was a premise that the American movement was unable to reconcile easily with his absence from daily UNIA affairs and his gradual political eclipse. The contradiction promoted increasingly fragmented and disorganized regions of rival power, and an extended crisis of legitimation for the organization as a whole. After one year of imprisonment Garvey called on members loyal to him to hold an emergency convention in Detroit in March 1926, to elect new officers to lead the organization in place of those that he had appointed. Fred A. Toote was elected acting president general at that convention, replacing xl

INTRODUCTION

William Sherrill, who had fallen into disfavor with Garvey. Toote's leadership was always tenuous, subject to Garvey's fluctuating approval. In the same year the New York local UNIA division and its leaders held their own convention. It convened, as all previous international UNIA conventions had, in August at Liberty Hall in Harlem. A competing slate of officers with national titles was elected at that August convention, resulting in confusion between the UNIA parent body or UNIA, Incorporated, and the New York local division. Garvey's authority was also challenged in other regions of the country. In 1927 a new organizer appeared in Florida in the person of the putative African princess Laura Adorkor Kofey. A stirring and charismatic speaker, Kofey began as a disciple of the Garvey movement but soon began to attract her own loyal following, causing Garvey to denounce her in the Negro World. In the year following Garvey's deportation, the effect of her rival influence upon the operation of the UNIA in Florida culminated in a tragic event that will be documented in the next Garvey Papers volume. In spite of these institutionalized conflicts among parent body leaders and Garvey, on the one hand, and between the parent body and the local leadership of the divisions, on the other hand, the organization realized a longheld dream during Garvey's imprisonment. From the first, establishment of a regular educational training institution on the model of Tuskegee had been a goal of the UNIA. In July 1926 the organization purchased the SmallwoodCorey Institute in Claremont, Virginia, and renamed it Liberty University. Local UNIA divisions were encouraged to enroll their young people in the school, which operated at the secondary education level, and excursions were organized so that UNIA members could tour the school buildings and grounds. Liberty University formally opened for the fall session in September 1926. Operation of the school, like many other UNIA projects, was plagued by mismanagement and lack of funds. At the same time that it purchased Liberty University, the UNIA was struggling to maintain control over existing properties in New York. Several mortgages were placed on Liberty Hall, the symbolic center of the Garvey movement. The administrative offices at $4-56 West 135th Street, which housed the headquarters and the staffs of the Negro World and the Black Cross Navigation and Trading Company, were also heavily mortgaged. Efforts to raise emergency funds to save Liberty Hall eventually failed. It was owned for a time by Harlem philanthropist Casper Holstein, who continued to rent it to the UNIA for its weekly meetings; it was finally sold at auction in foreclosure proceedings in September 1927. The loss of Liberty Hall was a symbolic blow to the movement, and one of a series of financial disasters exacerbated by legal proceedings that denied the UNIA a large legacy left to the organization by Isaiah Morter, a wealthy planter in Belize, British Honduras, who died in 1924. Morter's disinherited widow contested the right of the UNIA to collect the property and funds bequeathed to it in the Morter will. In the subsequent trial, the Supreme Court of British Honduras ruled that the UNIA could not collect the legacy because it existed for what the colonial powers defined as an illegal purpose— xli

T H E M A R C U S GARVEY AND U N I A PAPERS

the redemption of Africa from colonial rule. Appeals in the Morter case continued to higher courts and eventually resulted in the victory of the UNIA. This victory, however, came much later and did not help save the organization fromfinancialruin during Garvey's incarceration. By January 1927 even the members of the jury who had convicted Garvey joined in the call for his release. Public pressure and persistent work by Garvey's lawyers were finally rewarded on 18 November 1927, when President Calvin Coolidge commuted his sentence. Garvey's requests for a brief period of time to arrange the affairs of the UNIA in New York were denied, and he was scheduled for immediate deportation. Nevertheless, he was allowed to meet with UNIA officers aboard the S.S. Saramacca while it was in port in New Orleans. There, from the deck of the ship, he delivered a moving farewell address to hundreds of followers who crowded the docks to hear him, despite heavy rain. He then returned to the land of his birth. Although Garvey never again set foot in the United States, he continued to inspire the UNIA from abroad. His deportation ushered in a new era in the history of the Garvey movement—an era that would be played out first in Jamaica and, finally, in England.

xlii

EDITORIAL PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICES I. Arrangement of Documents Documents are presented in chronological order according to the dates of authorship of the original texts. Enclosures and attachments to documents, however, do not appear in strict chronological sequence but are printed with their original covering documents. Enclosures are set in italic type in the table of contents for identification. The publication dates of news reports, speeches, and periodical articles are given on the place and date lines within square brackets. In the case of news reports, speeches, and periodical articles containing the dates of original composition or delivery, such dates chronologically supersede the dates of publication and are printed within double square brackets on the place and date lines of the document. Bureau of Investigation reports that give both the dates of composition and the periods covered by the reports are arranged according to the dates of composition. Documents that lack dates and thus require editorial assignment of dates are placed in normal chronological sequence. When no day within a month appears on a document, the document is placed after the documents specifically dated on the latest date within that month. Documents that carry only the date of a year are placed according to the same principle. Documents that cover substantial periods, such as diaries, journals, and accounts, appear according to the dates of their earliest entries. When two or more documents possess the same date, they are arranged with regard to affinity to the subject of the document that immediately precedes them or that which immediately follows them.

II. Form of Presentation Each document is presented in the following manner: A. A caption introduces the document and is printed in a type size larger than the text. Letters between individuals are captioned with the names of

xliii

T H E M A R C U S GARVEY AND U N I A PAPERS

the individuals and their titles, which are included only on first appearances. The original titles of published materials are retained with the documents; however, the headlines of some news reports are abridged or omitted as indicated in the descriptive source notes. B. The text of a document follows the caption. The copy text of letters or reports is taken from recipients' copies whenever possible, but in the absence of a recipient's copy, a file copy of the letter or report is used. If the file copy is not available, however, and a retained draft copy of the letter is found, the retained draft copy is used as the basic text. File copies are uniformly referred to as carbon copies in descriptive source notes. C. An unnumbered descriptive source note follows the body of each text. The descriptive source note describes the physical character of the document by means of appropriate abbreviations, such as TLS (typed letter signed). A complete table of these abbreviations may be found in the Descriptive Symbols section on page liv. Moreover, a repository symbol indicates the provenance of the original manuscript or, if it is rare, printed work. Printed sources are identified in the following manners: 1. A contemporary pamphlet is identified by its full title, place and date of publication, and the location of the copy used. 2. A contemporary essay, letter, or other kind of statement that appeared originally in a contemporary publication is preceded by the words "Printed in . . . ," followed by the title, date, and, in the case of essays, inclusive page numbers of the source of publication. 3. A contemporary printed source reprinted at a later date, the original publication of which has not been found, is identified with the words "Reprinted from . . . ," followed by the identification of the work from which the text has been reproduced. The same applies to any originally unpublished manuscript printed at a later date. Information on the special character or provenance of a document is also explained in the descriptive source note, as is any editorial manipulation of a document, such as "text abridged" or "original headlines omitted." D. Numbered textual annotations that explicate the document follow the descriptive source note. The following principles of textual annotation apply: 1. Individuals, organizations, and historical events are identified upon their first mention in a volume, with additional information about them sometimes furnished upon their later appearance where such data provide maximum clarification. Individuals, organizations, and events that have been annotated in previous Garvey Papers volumes are xliv

EDITORIAL PRINCIPLES A N D PRACTICES

not reannotated in subsequent volumes unless additional explication is necessary. Pseudonyms are identified, wherever possible, by textual annotations. 2. Reasons for the assignment of dates to documents or the correction of dates of documents are explained in instances where important historical information is involved. 3. Obscure allusions and literary or biblical references in the text are annotated whenever such references can be clarified or their source identified. Common or frequently cited biblical references are not annotated. 4. Printed word and manuscript materials consulted during the preparation of textual annotations appear in parentheses at the end of each annotation. All research correspondence conducted by Garvey Papers staff members is cited in annotations as if directed to or originating from the editor in chief. Frequently used reference works are cited in abbreviated forms, a complete table of which may be found on pages liv-lv. 5. Garvey's appeal case (Marcus Garvey v. United States of America, no. 8317, Ct. App., 2d Cir., 2 February 1925) contains the complete transcript of his original mail fraud trial (United States of America v. Marcus Garvey et al., C31-37 and C33-688, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, May 1923). Trial documents reprinted in the volume and references to the trial in annotations are taken from the transcript used in the appeal case.

III. Transcription of Text Manuscripts and printed material have been transcribed from original texts and printed as documents according to the following principles and procedures: A. Manuscript Material 1. The place and date of composition are placed at the head of the document, regardless of their location in the original. If the place or date of a letter (or both) does not appear in the original text, the information is supplied and printed within square brackets. Conjectural places and dates are italicized within square brackets. Likewise, if either the place or date is incomplete, the necessary additional information is supplied within square brackets. Original superscript letters are brought down to the line of type, and terminal punctuation is deleted. 2. In Bureau of Investigation and other governmental reports that were submitted on printed forms, the place and date are abstracted xlv

T H E M A R C U S GARVEY AND U N I A PAPERS

and placed at the head of each document, while the name of the reporting agent or government official is placed at the end of the document on the signature line. 3. The formal salutation of letters is placed on the line below the place and date line, with the body of the text following the salutation. 4. The complimentary close of letters is set continuously with the text in run-in style, regardless of how it was written in the original. 5. The signature, which is set in capitals and small capitals, is placed at the right-hand margin on the line beneath the text or complimentary close, with tides, where they appear, set in uppercase and lowercase. Terminal punctuation is deleted. 6. When a file copy of a document bearing no signature is used to establish the text but the signatory is known, the signature is printed in roman type within square brackets. 7. The inside address, or address printed on letterhead or other official stationery, is printed immediately below the text if significant and not repetitive. 8. Endorsements, dockets, and other markings appearing on official correspondence, when intelligible, are reproduced in small type following the address, with appropriate identification. In the case of other types of documents, such as private correspondence, endorsements and dockets are printed only when they are significant. 9. Minutes, enclosures, and attachments are printed immediately following their covering documents. Whenever minutes, enclosures, or attachments are not printed, this fact is recorded and explained. Whenever a transmission letter originally accompanying an enclosure or attachment is not printed, the omission is noted and the transmission document identified and recorded in the descriptive source note. 10. Printed letterheads and other official stationery are not reproduced. They are sometimes briefly described in the descriptive source note, or, if they contain lengthy or detailed information, in an annotation. 11. In general, the spelling of all words, including proper names, is preserved as written in the manuscript and printed sources. Personal and place names and other words that are spelled erratically in the original text are regularized or corrected upon their first appearance in a document by printing the correct word in square brackets after the incorrect spelling. Mere "slips of the pen" or typographical errors are corrected within the word and printed within square brackets; however, typographical or spelling errors that contribute to the overall character of documents are retained. 12. Capitalization is retained as in the original. Words underlined once in a manuscript are printed in italics. Words that are underlined twice or

xlvi

EDITORIAL PRINCIPLES AND PRACTICES

spelled out in large letters or full capitals are printed in small capitals. Punctuation, grammar, and syntax are retained as found in the original texts. Punctuation corrections that are essential to the accurate reading of the text are provided within square brackets. If, however, a punctuation mark appears in a document as a result of typographical error, it is corrected in square brackets or silently deleted. 14- All contractions and abbreviations in the text are retained. Abbreviations of titles or organizations used in document heads are identified in a list of abbreviations that appears on pages lv-lvi. Persons represented in the text by initials only have their full names spelled out in square brackets after each initial on their first appearance. 15. Superscript letters in the text are lowered and aligned on the line of print. 16. Omissions, mutilations, and illegible words or letters are rendered through the use of the following textual devices: a) Blank spaces in a manuscript are shown as [ ]. If the blank space is of significance or of substantial length, this fact is elaborated upon in a textual annotation. b) When a word or words in the original text must be omitted from the printed document because of mutilation, illegibility, or omission, the omission is shown by editorial comment, such as: [torn], [illegible], [remainder missing], c) All attempts have been made conjecturally to supply missing items in the printed document, according to the following rules: (1) If the missing text can be confidently conjectured, the omission is supplied within square brackets and printed in roman type. Uncertainty of the conjecture, however, is indicated by the use of italics within square brackets. (2) If the conjectured text is highly uncertain, it is rendered in italics with a question mark within square brackets. 17. Additions and corrections made by the author in the original text are rendered as follows: a) Additions between the lines, or autograph insertions in a typewritten document, are brought onto the line of type and incorporated into the body of the text within diagonal lines / /. b) Marginal additions or corrections by the author are also incorporated into the printed document and identified by the words [in the margin] italicized in square brackets. Marginal notes made by someone other

xlvii

T H E M A R C U S GARVEY AND U N I A PAPERS

than the author arc treated as endorsements and printed after the text of the document. c) Text deleted in the original, as in a draft, is restored and indicated by canceled type at the place where the deletion occurs in the original text. If a lengthy deletion is illegible, this is indicated by the words

[deletion illegible].

B. Printed Material Contemporary printed material is treated in the same manner as original texts and is transcribed according to the same editorial principles as manuscript material. 1. In the case of originally published letters, the place and date of composition are uniformly printed on the place and date line of the document, regardless of where they appear in the original, and placed within double square brackets. Elements that have been editorially supplied are italicized. 2. Newspaper headlines and subheads are printed in capital and small capital letters. Headlines are punctuated as they are in the original; however, they are reproduced in the printed document in as few lines as possible. 3. Original small capitals are retained. 4. Signatures accompanying published letters are printed in capitals and small capitals. 5. Obvious typographical errors and errors of punctuation, such as the omission of a single parenthesis or quotation mark, are corrected and printed in roman type within square brackets. 6. In the case of a printed form with spaces to be filled in, spaces are indicated as in the original with the use of hairline rules. Handwritten or typewritten insertions are printed within diagonal lines / /.

xlviii

TEXTUAL DEVICES

[[ /

]]

Double square brackets enclose the composition date of a published letter or news report, or the delivery date of a speech, if the publication date differs.

/

Incorporation into the text of an addition or correction made above or below the line by author, or of autograph insertions made in typewritten original.

[roman]

Conjectural reading for missing, mutilated, or illegible text. Editorial correction of typographical errors in original manuscript or printed document. Also used to indicate the publication date of a news report or periodical article, or to identify unnamed individuals alluded to in text.

[italic]

Assigned date and/or place of any document that is undated and/or does not indicate a specific place of origin. Editorial comment inserted in the text, such as [endorsement], [illegible], [remainder missing], [torn], [enclosure], [attachment], [in the margin]. Also used with a question mark for a conjectural reading that is highly uncertain.

canceled

Textual matter that is canceled in the original.

[. . . ]

Text editorially abridged.

xlix

SYMBOLS AND ABBREVIATIONS

Repository Symbols The original locations of documents that appear in the text are described by symbols. The guide used for American repositories has been Symbols of American Libraries, eleventh edition (Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress, 1976). Foreign repositories and collections have been assigned symbols that conform to the institutions' own usage. In some cases, however, it has been necessary to formulate acronyms. Acronyms have been created for private manuscript collections as well. Repositories ADSL

Archives of the Department of State, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Monrovia, Liberia

AFRC

Federal Archives and Records Center, East Point, Georgia

ANSOM

Archives Nationales, Section d'Outre-Mer, Paris

ATT

Hollis Burke Frissell Library, Tuskegee Institute, Tuskegee Institute, Alabama

DJ-FBI

Federal Bureau of Investigation, United States Department of Justice, Washington, D.C.

DLC

Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.

DNA

National Archives, Washington, D.C. RG 16

Records of the Office of the Secretary of Agriculture

RG 28 RG 32 RG 38

Records of the Post Office Department Records of the United States Shipping Board Records of the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations

RG 41

Records of the Bureau of Marine Inspection and Navigation li

T H E M A R C U S GARVEY A N D U N I A PAPERS

R G 59

General Records of the Department of State

R G 60

General Records of the Department of Justice

R G 65

Records of the Federal Bureau of Investigation

R G 85

Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service

R G 165

Records of the War Department, General and Special Staffs; Records of the Office of the Chief of Staff

R G 185 R G 233

Records of the War Department, Panama Canal Records of the United States House of Representatives

R G 267

Records of the Supreme Court of the United States

JA

Jamaica Archives, Spanish Town, Jamaica

LNA

League of Nations Archives, Geneva

MsHaU

University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg

MU

University of Massachusetts Library, Amherst

NcD

Duke University, Durham, North Carolina

NCU

University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

NFRC

Federal Record Center, Bayonne, New Jersey

NN-Sc

Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, New York Public Library, New York

NNC

Buder Library, Columbia University

NNDC

United States District Court for the Southern District of New York

NNHR

New York Supreme Court, Hall of Records, New York

PRO

Public Record Official Office

SAMAE

CO Colonial Office FO Foreign Office Service des Archives du Ministère des Affaires Étrangères, Brussels

TNF

Fisk University, Nashville

WIRL

West India Reference Library, Kingston, Jamaica

WNRC

Washington National Records Center, Suitland, Maryland R G 204

WRHS

Records of the Pardon Attorney

Western Reserve Historical Society, Cleveland, Ohio Hi

SYMBOLS AND ABBREVIATIONS

Manuscript Collection Symbols AAG

Amy Ashwood Garvey Papers, Lionel Yard Collection, Brooklyn, New York

AAS

Arthur Schomburg Papers, NN-Sc

AJG

Amy Jacques Garvey Papers, TNF

AP

Atlanta Federal Penitentiary Records, AFRC

CC

Calvin Coolidge Papers, DLC

ESC

Earnest Sevier Cox Papers, NcD

EW-C

Elinor Robinson White Papers, Cleveland

JEB

John E. Bruce Papers, NN-Sc

JRRC

J. R. Ralph Casimir Papers, Roseau, Dominica

JS

James Stewart Papers, Monrovia, Liberia

MGMC

Marcus Garvey Memorial Collection, TNF

MH

Universal Negro Improvement Association Papers, Mason Hargrave Collection, Cleveland

NAACP

National Association for the Advancement of Colored People Papers, DLC

NMB

Nicholas Murray Butler Papers, M C

RRM

Robert R. Moton Papers, ATT

RWW

Robert Watson Winston Papers, NcU

TGB

Theodore Bilbo Papers, MsHaU

UCD

Universal Negro Improvement Association, Central Division Papers, NN-Sc

UNIA-C

Universal Negro Improvement Association, Cleveland Division Papers, WRHS

W

New York World Collection, NNC

WEBDB

W. E. B. Du Bois Papers, MU

WP

William Pickens Papers, NN-Sc

liii

T H E MARCUS GARVEY A N D U N I A PAPERS

Descriptive Symbols The following symbols are used to describe the charactcr of the original documents: ADS Autograph document signed ALS

Autograph letter signed

AMS

Autograph manuscript

ATG

Autograph telegram message

PD

Printed document

TD

Typed document

TDS

Typed document signed

TG

Telegram

TL

Typed letter

TLI

Typed letter initialed

TLS

Typed letter signed

TMS

Typed manuscript

TN

Typed note

TNI

Typed note initialed

TNS

Type note signed

TTG

Typed telegram

Published Works Cited BFQ

Bartletfs Familiar Quotations, fifteenth edition

Bm

Blackman, weekly, Kingston, Jamaica

BM

The Black Man, monthly, Kingston, Jamaica, and London

CD

Chicago Defender

DAB

Dictionary ofAmerican Biography

DANB

Dictionary ofAmerican Negro Biography

DG

Daily Gleaner

DNB

Dictionary of National Biography

DW

Daily Worker liv

SYMBOLS AND ABBREVIATIONS

EA

Encyclopedia Americana

EB

Encyclopaedia Britannica

EWH

Encyclopedia of World History

G&G

Amy Jacques Garvey. Garvey and Garveyism. Kingston, Jamaica: United Printers Limited, 1963.

NCAB

National Cyclopedia ofAmerican Biography

AW

Negro World

NYAN

New York Amsterdam News

NTB

Negro Tear Book

NYT

New York Times

P&O

Amy Jacques Garvey, ed. Philosophy and Opinions of Marcus Garvey. 2 vols. 1923, 1925. Reprint (2 vols, in 1). New York: Atheneum, 1969.

WBD

Webster's Biographical Dictionary

WNGD

Webster's New Geographical Dictionary

WWA

Who's Who in America

WWCA

Who's Who of Colored America

WWCR

Who's Who of the Colored Race

WWJ

Who's Who in Jamaica

WWW

Who Was Who

WWWA

Who Was Who in America

Other Symbols and Abbreviations Included are abbreviations that are used generally throughout annotations of the text. Standard abbreviations, such as those for titles and scholastic degrees, are omitted. Abbreviations that are specific to a single annotation appear parentheses after the initial citation and are used thereafter in the rest of the annotation. ABB

African Blood Brotherhood

ACL

African Communities League

AFL

American Federation of Labor

AME

African Methodist Episcopal Church

lv

T H E MARCUS GARVEY A N D U N I A PAPERS

BSL

Black Star Line, Incorporated

BWI

British West Indies

GPO

Government Printing Office

MID

Military Intelligence Division

NAACP

National Association for the Advancement of Colored Peopli

NFC

Negro Factories Corporation

RG

Record Group

UNIA

Universal Negro Improvement Association

USSB

United States Shipping Board

Ivi

CHRONOLOGY

September 1924-December 1927 1924 2 September

Garvey denounces Liberian government's exclusion of the U N I A in Liberty Hall speech. UNIA delegation submits African repatriation petition to President Calvin Coolidge.

20 September

Garvey eulogizes Liberian Supreme Court Justice J. J. Dossen.

September

Garvey embarks on organizational tour to promote sale of Black Cross Navigation and Trading Company stock; travels to Detroit, Raleigh, North Carolina, Denver, and Ogden, Utah.

18 October

Brief for Garvey, plaintiff in error, Marcus Garvey v. United, States, filed in U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Second Circuit.

26 October

Garvey claims Universal Negro Political Union has fourteen hundred branches; urges members to participate in electoral politics. New York politicians speak at Universal Negro Political Union meeting at Liberty Hall. Universal Negro Political Union endorses candidates for November 1924 elections.

2 November

S.S. General G. W. Goethals unofficially rechristened S.S. Booker T. Washington, New York harbor.

16 November

Garvey explains why U N I A leadership abandoned radical program in Liberty Hall speech.

10 December

Reply brief for the United States, defendant in error, Ivii

T H E MARCUS GARVEY AND U N I A PAPERS

Marcus Garvey v. United States, filed in U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Second Circuit. 15 December

Reply brief for Garvey, plaintiff in error, Marcus Garvey v. United States, filed in U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Second Circuit. 1925

10 January

Black Cross Navigation and Trading Company completes purchase of S.S. Goethals.

18 January

S.S. Goethals leaves New York for the Caribbean; travels via Philadelphia and Norfolk, Virginia.

3 February

S.S. Goethals arrives in port in Havana, Cuba. Garvey's appeal denied by U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Second Circuit.

4 February

Judge Augustus Hand issues bench warrant for Garvey's arrest.

5 February

Garvey arrested at 125th Street train station, New York, as he returns from visit to Detroit via Albany, New York.

6 February

Garvey arraigned; signs writ of certiorari to be presented to U.S. Supreme Court.

7 February

Garvey appoints Amy Jacques Garvey secretary treasurer of the Marcus Garvey Freedom and Protection Fund; authorizes her to receive donations in his behalf. Garvey removed from the Manhattan House of Detention (Tombs prison); taken to Atlanta in federal custody.

8 February

Garvey incarcerated in Atlanta Federal Penitentiary.

10 February

S.S. Goethals arrives in port at Kingston, Jamaica.

12 February

Capt. Jacob De Rytter Hiorth and other officers of S.S. Goethals appeal to the American consul, Kingston, to be relieved from duty; report that no funds received to pay or provide rations to disgrunded crew.

14 February

Garvey appoints William Sherrill, Clifford Bourne, and G. Emonei Carter as committee of management to administer the UNIA and ACL in his absence.

12 March

Amy Jacques Garvey publishes pamphlet Was Justice Defeated?, a critique of Garvey's trial and conviction.

13 March

S.S. Goethals arrives in port at Colón, Panama; Capt. Hiorth deserts vessel. Iviii

CHRONOLOGY

Garvey submits writ of certiorari petition to U.S. Supreme Court. U.S. Supreme Court denies Garvey^s petition. U.S. Pardon Attorney James Finch states that Garvey will not be eligible for parole until 7 October 1926, when he might formally apply for executive clemency. Officers of the S.S. Goethals file suits for nonpayment of salaries with U.S. marshal, Canal Zone, Panama. Pardon attorney informs Amy Jacques Garvey that her informal request for executive clemency for Garvey is premature. Capt. Charles V. Vaughan appointed new master of the S.S. Goethals. Central Executive Committee, Workers (Communist) Party of America, issues declaration protesting imprisonment of Garvey and calls for his release. S.S. Goethals begins journey back to the United States from Port Antonio, Jamaica. William Sherrill and other members of the Marcus Garvey Pardon Delegation submit petition for Garvey's release to President Coolidgc through U.S. Attorney General John Sargent. Garvey appoints Sherrill acting UNIA president general; cancels annual U N I A international convention and asks each local division to hold its own convention. Attorney general informs Sen. Smith W. Brookhart that any application for executive clemency submitted by Garvey will receive appropriate consideration. S.S. Goethals arrives in Jacksonville, Florida. Ku Klux Klan members board S.S. Goethals, threaten passengers and crew; crew members on shore driven into swamp. S.S. Goethals returns to port in New York City. Garvey begins extended correspondence with Earnest S. Cox, founder of the White America Society and member of the Anglo-Saxon Clubs, Virginia. Negro World publishes seminal Garvey editorial, soon reprinted and retitled "African Fundamentalism." lix

T H E M A R C U S GARVEY AND U N I A PAPERS

13 June

Garvey submits first official application for executive clemency to President Coolidge.

17 June

Pardon attorney replies to petitions containing thousands of signatures by accepting Garvey's application; refers application to U.S. Attorney for New York Emory R. Buckner and Solicitor for the Post Office Department E. M. Blessing for recommendations.

26 June

Immigration and Naturalization Service, U.S. Department of Labor, issues warrant for deportation of Garvey after hearing held in Atlanta Federal Penitentiary.

27 June

In response to public concern over Garvey's health, prison doctor reports that Garvey is in good physical condition.

June

John Powell, president of the Anglo-Saxon Clubs of America, visits Garvey in Atlanta and reports Garvey's support for lobbying effort on behalf of passage of antimiscegenation legislation.

8 July

U.S. Attorney for New York recommends that Garvey's application for clemency be denied.

14 July

U.S. Post Office Inspector F. E. Shea recommends that Garvey's application for clemency be denied.

ca. 18 July

Earnest S. Cox addresses meeting of the Richmond, Virginia, U N I A division; hails Garvey as the ablest leader the Negro race has produced.

18 July

Norfolk Journal and Guide criticizes alliance between Garvey and Anglo-Saxon Clubs leaders.

26 July

Amy Ashwood Garvey, Garvey's first wife, requests that President Coolidge release Garvey so that she can collect alimony payments from him.

3 August

Pardon Attorney's Office requests that U.S. Attorney for New York obtain recommendation of trial judge Julian W. Mack regarding Garvey's application for clemency.

8 August

Garvey praises Earnest S. Cox's book White America, stating that it honestly represents white American viewpoint.

14 August

Garvey repudiates Negro World editorial critical of Cox and Powell and reprimands staff for publishing it.

15 August

U N I A divisions hold local conventions.

Ix

CHRONOLOGY

16-18 September

Garvey requests permission from attorney general to travel to New York City to straighten out U N I A financial affairs; permission denied.

18 September

Pardon attorney informs Garvey that, in view of adverse recommendations received by Department of Justice, his application for clemency is not entitled to be submitted to the President.

15 October

Sherrill convenes meeting in New York of Committee of Presidents from largest U N I A divisions.

28 October

Committee of Presidents visits Garvey in Atlanta, declares lack of confidence in current parent body administration, and suggests election of new slate of officers. John Powell addresses UNIA meeting at Liberty Hall, New York.

2 November

American Negro Labor Congress publishes demand for Garvey's release.

17 December

Speaker of the House of Representatives Nicholas Longworth asks attorney general for details of the charge against Garvey and his eligibility for parole.

19 December

Garvey's attorney, George Gordon Battle, confers with pardon attorney.

22 December

Attorney general tells Speaker of the House that he has decided to keep open Garvey's application pending a further hearing of the case.

23 December

Pardon attorney, at the direction of the attorney general, writes Speaker of the House; states that Garvey's application for clemency is still under consideration; transmits attorney general's request to discuss matter with Speaker before making final decision.

24 December

Pardon attorney informs Rep. Sol Bloom that Garvey's application is receiving attention of attorney general.

26 December

Garvey submits second application for clemency; states that he will accept deportation if allowed two weeks to arrange his affairs. George Gordon Battle informs pardon attorney that he will accept responsibility for custody of Garvey if stay of deportation is granted.

29 December

Pardon attorney informs Sen. L. D. Tyson that Garvey's application for clemency is under careful consideration. Ixi

T H E M A R C U S GARVEY AND U N I A PAPERS

31 December

Attorney general writes to Speaker of the House; informing him that Garvey's application is under careful consideration.

December

Second volume of Philosophy and Opinions of Marcus Garvey, edited by Amy Jacques Garvey, published in New York. Garvey denounces communism and trade unionism as traps set for blacks; charges NAACP with advocating racial amalgamation; lauds Ku Klux Klan for policy of racial purity. Earnest S. Cox dedicates pamphlet Let My People Go to Garvey; advocates racial separation and African repatriation for blacks. 1926

2 January

Pardon attorney informs Battle that his proposal to assume custody of Garvey will be considered with Garvey's application.

6 January

Pardon attorney requests U.S. attorney for New York to wire his recommendation and that of Judge Mack regarding Garvey's application.

8 January

Pardon attorney writes Commissioner General of Immigration Harry E. Hull, inquiring about Garvey's deportation status, and whether deportation could be arranged within thirty days if the sentence were commuted. U.S. attorney for New York wires pardon attorney that Judge Mack replies that he cannot recommend commutation of Garvey's sentence before two years imprisonment is served, and that Trial Attorney Maxwell S. Mattuck altogether opposes any commutation.

18 January

Second Assistant Secretary of Labor W. W. Husband informs pardon attorney that consideration is being given to request to allow Garvey to be released for period of sixty or ninety days after commutation is granted and prior to his deportation.

21 January

Henrietta Vinton Davis, fourth assistant president general, visits Garvey in Atlanta; Garvey helps prepare her testimony on behalf of the UNIA in upcoming Isaiah Morter estate trial in Belize, British Honduras.

ca. 23 January

Pardon attorney's recommendation to commute Garvey's sentence is overruled by attorney general.

hcii

CHRONOLOGY

27 January

Attorney general submits Garvey's petition for executive clemency to President Coolidge; advises against approval. President Coolidge rules Garvey's application for executive clemency premature.

30 January

Garvey instructs G. Thomas to George Weston; faction loyal to New York.

Negro World managing editor Norton denounce leadership of Sherrill and power struggle ensues between U N I A Garvey and faction led by Weston in

January

UNIA office building, located at 52 West 135th Street, New York, sold for back taxes.

5 February

Amy Jacques Garvey urges UNIA members to lobby congressional representatives to help secure Garvey's release from prison.

8-18 February

Isaiah Mortcr case tried by British Honduras Supreme Court.

19 February

Garvey instructs Negro World staff to ignore orders from Sherrill; directs actions of managing editor from prison.

20 February

Garvey announces holding of emergency UNIA convention in Detroit; announces new slate of officers to oppose leadership of Sherrill and Weston.

23 February

Amy Jacques Garvey discusses Garvey's case with attorney general in Washington, D.C.

1 March

Amy Jacques Garvey appeals to British Ambassador Esme Howard for assistance in securing Garvey's release.

8 March

New York—based UNIA officers accuse Amy Jacques Garvey of creating dissension between American and West Indian members and officers and of trying to seize control of UNIA.

13 March

Garvey affirms his wife's loyalty and devotion to UNIA; calls on supporters to protect her name.

14 March

Emergency U N I A convention convenes in Detroit.

15 March

Prepared statement from Garvey read to convention delegates, which states that Sherrill, Weston, and G. O. Marke, deputy supreme potentate, are leaders of a conspiracy aimed at defeating the plans and purposes of the UNIA, and levels specific charges of maladministration and disloyalty against Sherrill. Ixiti

T H E M A R C U S GARVEY AND U N I A PAPERS

16 March

Amy Jacques Garvey addresses convention.

20 March

New slate of officers loyal to Garvey elected at convention; Fred A. Toote becomes new UNIA acting president general.

22 March

British Honduran Supreme Court rules against UNIA in Isaiah Morter case on grounds that organization exists for illegal purposes, namely, the redemption of Africa from colonial rule.

29 March

S.S. Goethals sold at public auction in New York for onequarter its purchase price.

3 April

Cyril Briggs, black Communist leader and former antiGarvey crusader, defends Garvey and blames UNIA officers for mismanagement of UNIA affairs and loss of S.S. Goethals.

23 April

UNIA executive council members meet with pardon attorney in Washington, D.C., to plead Garvey's case.

11 May

Garvey cited by prison guard for insolence; receives warning and reprimand.

12 May

Mohandas K. Gandhi acknowledges receipt of copy of Philosophy and Opinions ofMarcus Garvey.

May

Earnest S. Cox publishes The South's Part in Mongrelizing the Nation; Garvey declares pamphlet a masterpiece.

24 July

UNIA purchases Smallwood-Corey Institute, Claremont, Virginia, renames it Liberty University.

1—15 August

New York local UNIA division holds convention at Liberty Hall, New York; denounces Garvey and officers elected in Detroit; elects rival slate of national officers headed by Weston as president general.

11 August

Pardon Attorney's Office informs Battle that reopening Garvey's case is not currently warranted.

15-30 August

UNIA divisions loyal to Garvey hold local conventions.

8 September 12 September

Parole board denies Garvey's application. Liberty University opens for fall session.

16 September

Weston challenges Garvey's authority over UNIA affairs; secures court order against Garvey and UNIA parent body administration elected in Detroit, enjoining them from holding meetings or collecting funds in the name of the UNIA, Incorporated.

Ixiv

CHRONOLOGY

October

New York Supreme Court rules in UNIA, Incorporated, v. Marcus Garvey that the New York division has no jurisdiction over Liberty University or the collection of funds in the name of the UNIA, Incorporated; awards joint use of Liberty Hall to the New York division and the U N I A parent body.

November

Weston places $32,000 mortgage on Liberty Hall to settle court claims for back salaries of U N I A officials.

December

Nine members of jury that convicted Garvey in mail fraud trial sign affidavit recommending commutation of Garvey's sentence. 1927

17 January

Garvey resubmits application for executive clemency, accompanied by affidavit from jurors.

January

Harlem benefactor Casper Holstein assumes outstanding mortgages on Liberty Hall.

25 February

Attorney general holds short interview with Armin Kohn, Garvey's attorney, Amy Jacques Garvey, and other U N I A leaders.

17 March

Pardon attorney informs Rep. Roy G. Fitzgerald that there exists little probability of favorable action in Garvey's case.

22 March

Garvey cited by prison guard for possession of contraband food; placed in isolation under restricted diet.

24 March

Garvey's lawyers submit additional brief in support of application for clemency.

March

Prominent members of Anglo-Saxon Clubs write President Coolidge in support of Garvey's application for clemency. U N I A parent body moves its administrative offices from heavily mortgaged headquarters at 54-56 West 135th Street to 142 West 130th Street, New York.

2 April

Toote asks U N I A members to help pay off mortgages and return Liberty Hall to U N I A ownership.

7 April

Garvey admitted to prison infirmary with influenza and bronchitis.

17 April

Garvey returned from infirmary to cleaning detail.

Ixv

T H E MARCUS GARVEY A N D U N I A PAPERS

29 April

Pardon attorney declares intent to renew attorney general's consideration of Garvey's case.

15 May

Detroit UNIA division holds mass rally in support of Garvey's release.

16 May

Prison physician reports that Garvey suffers from chronic bronchial condition.

28 May

Toote declares 12-19 June as Marcus Garvey Release Week; appeals to UNIA members to demand support for Garvey's release from Republicans elccted with black votes.

May

Laura Adorkor Kofey emerges as charismatic UNIA organizer in Florida; attracts hundreds of new members.

8 June

Earl Little, father of Malcolm X, appeals to President Coolidge for Garvey's release.

21 June

Prophet George Hurley, founder of Universal Hagar Spiritual Church, appeals to President Coolidge to commute Garvey's sentence.

21 July

UNIA defaults on payment of Liberty University debts.

23 July

Garvey appoints E. B. Knox of Chicago as his personal representative at upcoming convention of New York UNIA division.

31 July

Garvey instructs Norton G. Thomas to publish notices of Toote's resignation and Knox's new status as Garvey's personal representative in Negro World.

1 August

New York local UNIA division convenes local convention in New York. Laura Adorkor Kofey visits Garvey in Atlanta along with other supporters from Miami area. Garvey advises Knox to bring conspiracy and fraud charges against those involved in Liberty Hall foreclosure transaction.

6 August

Toote resigns office effective 15 August; pledges ongoing loyalty to Garvey.

25 August

Garvey sends condolences to Egyptian Nationalist party on the death of Zaghlul Pasha.

31 August

NAACP organizer William Pickens calls for Garvey's release in letter to New Republic; describes Garvey as a visionary, not a criminal. bevi

CHRONOLOGY

14 September

Liberty Hall is foreclosed and auctioned.

IJ September

Garvey orders reincorporation of Liberty University in order to remove Toote from its board of trustees.

20 September

10 Octobcr

Garvey issues instruction to deny permission to Laura Adorkor Kofey to collect funds for an African colonization program. Garvey instructs }. A. Craigen to insert notice in Florida white daily newspaper denying any connection between Kofey and the UNLA; directs Norton G. Thomas to print notice that no UNLA divisions should entertain Kofey as a speaker and, moreover, that if she should attempt to collect funds, UNIA members should have her arrested for fraud.

14 October

Garvey threatens Toote with arrest for fraud if he does not deliver Liberty University deed to new trustees; Toote travels to Claremont, Virginia, to deliver deed.

29 October

Knox informs Garvey that attempts to have Toote arrested for grand larceny have been futile as police refuse to make arrest.

1 November

Pardon attorney informs Armin Kohn that he intends to present Garvey's case to attorney general along with his recommendation that commutation be granted.

12 November

Attorney general recommends to President Coolidge that Garvey's sentence be commuted to expire at once.

14 November

Department of Labor reports that no stay of 192s deportation warrant will be granted.

18 November

President Coolidge commutes Garvey's sentence. Garvey released from Adanta Federal Penitentiary; taken to New Orleans in federal custody.

ca. 29 November

Garvey meets with hastily assembled U N I A Committee of Presidents in New Orleans.

2 December

Garvey delivers farewell address from deck of S.S. Saramacca to followers who crowd dock in the rain to hear him; is deported from the United States.

hcvii

THE PAPERS

VOLUME VI September 1924—December 1927

SEPTEMBER 1924

UNIA Delegation to President Calvin Coolidge UNIVERSAL BUILDING, $6 WEST I35TH STREET,

NEW YORK, September 2, 1924 M A Y IT PLEASE Y O U R E X C E L L E N C Y : —

We, the delegation elected by the Delegates and Deputies attending the Fourth International Convention o f Negroes, desire to present to you this petition, embodying the sentiment of four million black citizens of the United States of America, and endorsed by the Representatives of the four hundred million Negroes o f the world, asking that you be good enough to consider our request and give us the attention necessary. We are mindful o f the fact that you are burdened at this time with tremendous business o f state, but the Negro problem is such an important one that we feel sure that you will spare us a few minutes of such valuable time, to listen to our complaints, our needs, and desires. We further hope for the success of your administration, and pray that when history writes of your regime, glory and honor as you do merit, will be recorded therein. Yours respectfully, THE DELEGATION W M . L . SHERRILL HENRIETTA VINTON DAVIS D . H. KYLE' JOHN D . BARBER FREEMAN L . M A R T I N G . EMONEI CARTER JOSEPH H . S T E W A R T

[Handwritten endorsement 1:] Enclosed 7 packages of names [Handwritten endorsement 2:] 7 Volumes of Petitions destroyed June 11,1935 under authorization of Congress (See 116/231, 243, 256).

DNA, RG 59, file 882.5511/10. TLS, recipient's copy. On UNIA and ACL letterhead. 1. D. H. Kyle was a schoolteacher in Clarksburg, W. Va. He played a significant role in the 1924 U N I A convention and the following year bccame the organization's state commissioner for West Virginia (NW, 28 March 1925).

3

THE MARCUS GARVEY AND U N I A PAPERS

Enclosure: U N I A Petition [WOT York, September 2, 1924] PETITION OF FOUR MILLION NEGROES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA TO H I S EXCELLENCY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES PRAYING FOR A F R I E N D L Y A N D SYMPATHETIC C O N S I D E R A T I O N OF T H E PLAN OF F O U N D I N G A N A T I O N IN A F R I C A FOR THE N E G R O PEOPLE, AND TO E N C O U R A G E T H E M I N A S S I S T I N G TO D E V E L O P A L R E A D Y I N D E P E N D E N T N E G R O N A T I O N S AS A M E A N S OF H E L P I N G TO SOLVE T H E C O N F L I C T I N G P R O B L E M S OF R A C E GREETING:—

We your Petitioners, representing four million members of the Negro Race, citizens of the United States, being mindful of the ever present racc problem that exists in these United States of America which has acted as a deterr[e]nt to the higher aims and aspirations of the Negro, beg to lay before you the following statement of facts, and hereby ask your help and co-operation to the end that our race be assisted in establishing a nation of its own on the continent of Africa, where our members may be given the fullest opportunity to develop themselves, and that such encouragements be given by you as to enable the race to assist in the development of already existing Negro nations, of which we may become a part. STATEMENT OF FACTS

I . The Negro was brought to this country much against his will from Africa, and held as a slave. 2. The averred purpose was to exploit his labor and incidentally to civilize and Christianize him. 3. He worked as a slave for over two hundred and fifty years. 4. He was emancipated fifty-nine years ago by President Abraham Lincoln of grateful and imperishable memory. 5. Since his emancipation, he has developed, and has become a part of American civilization, and a part of the Christian systems of our age, to the extent, however, that a new racial problem has been created. 6. The race now forms one tenth of the population of the American nation. 4

SEPTEMBER 1924

7. In its effort to rise, there have been handicaps placed in the way on account of race and other prejudices which cannot be easily removed. 8. This has to a great extent bridled the higher ambitions of millions of the race, as far as aspirations to higher office and position are concerned. 9. The race's ambition, however, cannot be permanently bridledf;] therefore, it is felt that if sufficient oudet is not given to the rising ambition of the Negro, there are likely to be continued scenes of unpleasantness, harmful to both races in their rivalry and contact with each other, for the higher places of usefulness in the nation. 10. A large percentage of the Negro race now feels with your Petitioners that with the civilization imbibed, they are able to use it in helping to develop the land of Africa from whence they were taken more than three hundred years ago. Your Petitioners, therefore, request that you give a sympathetic consideration to the program of the Universal Negro Improvement Association of which we are members, which is that of creating for the Negro People, a nation of their own in Africa, and assisting in the developing of already existing independent Negro nations of which your Petitioners could form a part. Your Petitioners are mindful of the fact that great inconvenience may be caused in the immediate arrangements of the plans for the successful prosecution of the object herein outlined, but the end to be served will more than justify such inconveniences and arrangements. We are petitioning that Your Excellency use your good influence on the State and other Departments of your Government, to facilitate in every way the efforts of those of the race who are desirous of repatriation to Africa to assist in the development of such independent Negro nations as are now existing, and that you further, personally, use your good office to help us in establishing a nation separately and distinctly in Africa, where we may enjoy freedom among ourselves. Your Petitioners beg to draw to your Excellency's attention, that our sole desire in this direction is to permanendy improve and help the Negro Race, and to lessen the terrible friction and evil that may eventually threaten American civilization, without a friendly[,] sympathetic, and considerate settlement. We also pray that Your Excellency will be good enough to submit to Congress at its next sitting, a message embodying the sentiment of this petition, and the desire of these your humble Petitioners. We also beg to inform Your Excellency that among the four millions of us who send you this petition, are numbered two million five hundred thousand voters. The rest of us are rendered voteless because of our domicile in States where we are not permitted to vote.1 We also beg to draw to Your Excellency's attention, that each epoch has its leaders, who have advanced the solution of vexing problems. We know and believe that no race problem is solved unless its solution brings lasting benefit to both groups, the majority and minority alike. 5

T H E MARCUS GARVEY A N D U N I A PAPERS

We have contemplated the future of the Negro in the western world and we have studied history and reached a logical and sensible conclusion, that no two races can reside side by side unless the stronger rules the weaker. We also know and believe that the majority race in America has done all that is possible to assist us as a minority, and that there is very little more that it can do to assist us further, and that the responsibility of any further progress rests upon our own shoulders. Realizing and believing this, makes us determined in finding a solution for the problem, and our only conclusion is that a proper solution rests in our repatriation to our Motherland Africa, and we would look favorably to your helping us in the creating of an open door through the Republic of Liberia, which was founded through the efforts of liberal white Americans, who banded themselves together in the organization known as the American Colonization Society, which was founded more than one hundred years ago. Believing that the economic struggles between races will become keener in the United States of America, and that there is every promise and belief that the native white population will increase preponderingly, we feel that there can be no other solution of this vexing problem of race than that advanced by your Petitioners, through the Universal Negro Improvement Association. We also beg to draw to Your Excellency's attention that the leader of this movement, Honorable Marcus Garvey its President-General[,] has been wickedly persecuted by Agencies under the control of your Government, used as they have been by jealous rivals of our own race, and that any effort on your part in preventing any agencies of the Government under your control being further used to unfairly handicap us in this endeavor of ours to solve the race problem, will be highly appreciated. We further beg to draw to Your Excellency's attention, the unfriendly attitude of two of Your Excellency's recent representatives in Liberia, Solomon Porter Hood and W. E. B. Du Bois, in working against the interest of the Universal Negro Improvement Association in that country, being members of a rival organization and who used their official positions to create prejudice against our cause because of jealousy and rivalry. Believing that Your Excellency will take into full consideration that your humble petitioners are from diversified sections of these United States of America, and that it is our wish and desire that the things referred to in this petition be done, we your Petitioners, therefore, representing millions of others whose names it is not convenient to herewith submit, do pray and evoke, and request of you His Excellency, Calvin Coolidge, President of the United States of America, in the name of God the Creator of all mankind, in the principles of Christianity, the advancement of civilization, and the enhancing of the Brotherhood of Man in universal love, that you do take cognizance of this our petition, and that you further send a message to Congress embodying our sentiment, and using every power vested in you to assist us in building up in Africa a national home for our race, and for this and other considerations that you may give, we do humbly pray, and to you offer thanks. Respectfully 6

SEPTEMBER 1924 submitted, [f]or four million Negro American citizens [,] members of the Universal Negro Improvement Association. WM. L . SHERRILL, CHAIRMAN HENRIETTA VINTON DAVIS D. H . KYLE J. D . BARBER FREEMAN L. MARTIN JOSEPH H . STEWART G. EMONEI CARTER, SECRETARY DNA, R G 59, file 882.5511/10. TDS, recipient's copy. 1. Between 1890 and 1910 many southern states disfranchised their black populations, using restrictions which were still in effect in the 1920s. These included the white primary, which prevented blacks from voting in the all-important Democratic party primaries. Cumulative poll taxes disfranchised many poorer blacks, and literacy tests were prevalent, generally with an exemption for white residents under the infamous "grandfather clause." Much of this restrictive legislation was vague, designed for selective application against blacks. In Mississippi and Georgia, for example, the law specified that prospective voters intelligently interpret the Constitution and also be of "good character" (NTS, p. 241). Though these practices came under legal attack by the 1920s, they still effectively limited blacks from casting more than a few thousand votes in southern elections. In view of this widespread disfranchisement, the Garveyites' depiction of the number of votes the UNIA could command seems unrealistically high. According to the 1920 census, only 1,487,000 blacks lived in the North and West, as compared to 8,894,000 in the South. Thus the vast majority of the African-Americans still resided in areas where their suffrage rights were effectively denied them (Gunnar Myrdal, An American Dilemma: The Negro Problem and Modem Democracy [1944 reprint ed. New York: Harper and Row, 1962]; V. O. Key, Jr., Southern Politics in State and Nation [New York: A. A. Knopf, 1949]).

Editorial by Marcus Garvey in the Negro World [ [ N e w York City, September 2, 1924]] Fellow Men of the Negro Race, Greeting: Our Fourth International Convention of the Negro Peoples of the World has risen and the delegates and deputies are now on their way back to their respective homes and habitats, to further promulgate and carry on the work of the Universal Negro Improvement Association, the cause for which they were assembled. Great has been the result of this august convention. We, as a people, ought to feel glad that there is in existence such a movement like the Universal Negro Improvement Association, to afford us the opportunity of legislating for our own common good rather than allowing us to depend upon the good will of others to do for us. There is no doubt about it, that the convention was a splendid success. As usual, we stirred the curiosity and attention of the whole world, and now that we have risen, the convention has left its program to be discussed by the entire civilized world. A m o n g the many 7

T H E MARCUS GARVEY AND U N I A PAPERS

things that wc did during the month of August, was to lay a foundation for the new education of our race, educating them to the policy of self appreciation and it is hoped that the four hundred million members of our race the world over will follow the advice given. T H E E N E M I E S AT W O R K

During the whole of the convention and a litde prior thereto, the enemies of our cause tried to provoke and confuse our deliberation by the many unpleasant things they systematically published against the Universal Negro Improvement Association. Our enemies in America, especially the Negro Republican politicians of New York, used the general time fuse to explode on our tranquility and thereby destroy the purpose for which we were met, but as is customary, the Universal Negro Improvement Association is always ready for the enemy. They had arranged among themselves to get certain individuals of the Liberian government along with Ernest Lyons, the Liberian ConsulGeneral, in Baltimore, himself a reactionary Negro politician of the old school, to circulate through the Negro press and other agencies such unpleasant news purported to be from Liberia as to create consternation in our ranks and bring about the demoralization that they hoped and calculated for, but as usual, the idiots counted without their hosts. The Universal Negro Improvement Association cannot be destroyed that way, in that it is not only an organization, but is the expression of the spiritual desires of the four hundred million black peoples of the world. O U R COLONIZATION PROGRAM

As everybody knows, we were preparing to carry out our Liberian colonization program during this and succeeding months. Every arrangement was practically made toward this end. Men were shipped to Liberia as well as materials to the cost of over $50,000.00. Two consignments of materials were shipped from New York, one on the 25th of June, 1924, and the next on the S.S. West Irmo, on the 2jth of July, 1924, consigned to the Association, in care of Chief Justice J . J. Dossen,1 of Cape Palmas, Liberia, in keeping with the understanding and arrangements entered into with the Universal Negro Improvement Association and the representatives of the Liberian government, and a local committee of Liberians, appointed in said government by the direction of President Charles King, all of which culminated in a higher industrial and commercial development of Liberia as a permanent home for the black race, in keeping with the constitution of that great little black republic. Unfortunately, after all arrangements had been made in this direction, our steamship secured to carry the colonists and all plans laid, these enemies of progress worked in every way to block the carrying out of the plan. For the purpose of deceiving the public and carrying out their obstruction, they tried to make out by the protest that was filed by Ernest Lyons of Baltimore, with the government at Washington, that our Association was of an incendiary character and that it was the intention of the organization to disturb the 8

SEPTEMBER 1924

good relationship that existed between Liberia and other friendly powers. A greater nonsense could not have been advanced by any idiot. What could an organization like the Universal Negro Improvement Association do to destroy the peace of countries that are already established and recognized? It is supposed that England and France are the countries referred to when, in fact, the authors of that statement know that England and France are only waiting an opportunity to seize more land in Liberia and to keep Liberia in a state of stagnation, so as to justify their argument that the blacks are not competent of self-government in Africa as well as elsewhere. If Edwin Barclay had any sense, he would know that the Universal Negro Improvement Association is more friendly to Liberia, because it is made up of Negroes, than England and France could be in a thousand years. Lyons' protest was camouflage. N E G R O E S DOUBLE-CROSSING

Everybody knows that the hitch in the colonization plan of the Universal Negro Improvement Association in Liberia came about because of doublecrossing. The Firestone Rubber and Tire Company, of Ohio, has been spending large sums of money among certain people. The offer, no doubt, was so attractive as to cause certain persons to found the argument to destroy the Universal Negro Improvement Association, so as to favor the Firestone Rubber and Tire Company who, subsequendy, got one million acres of Liberian land for actually nothing, to be exploited for rubber and minerals, and in the face of the fact that Liberia is one of the richest rubber countries in the world, an asset that should have been retained for the Liberian people and members of the black race, but now wantonly given over to a white company to be exploited in the interest of white capital, and to create another international complication, as evidenced in the subsequent subjugation of Haiti and the Haitians, after the New York City Bank established itself in Haiti in a similar way as the Firestone Rubber and Tire Company will establish itself in Liberia. Why, every Negro who is doing a little thinking, knows that after the Firestone Rubber and Tire Company gets into Liberia to exploit the one million acres of land, it is only a question of time when the government will be taken out of the hands of the Negroes who rule it, and Liberia will become a white man's country in violation of the constitution of that government as guaranteeing its soil as a home for all Negroes of all climes and nationalities who desire to return to their native land. The thing is so disgraceful that we, ourselves, are ashamed to give full publicity to it, but we do hope that the people of Liberia, who control the government of Liberia, will be speedily informed so that they, through the Senate and House of Representatives, will repudiate the concessions granted to the Firestone Rubber and Tire Company, so as to save their country from eternal spoilation. If the Firestone Rubber and Tire Company should get the concessions in Liberia of one million acres of land, which should have been granted to the Universal Negro Improvement Association for development by Negroes for the good of Negroes, it simply means that in another short while thousands of white men will be sent away 9

T H E MARCUS GARVEY AND U N I A PAPERS

from America by the Firestone Rubber and Tire Company to exploit their concessions. These white men going out to colonize, as they generally regard tropical countries, will carry with them the spirit of all other white colonists, superiority over and subjugation of native peoples; hence it will only be a question of time when these gentlemen will change the black population of Liberia into a mongrel race, as they have done in America, [the] West Indies and other tropical countries, and there create another race problem such as is confusing us now in these United States of America. These white gendemen are not going to allow black men to rule and govern them, so, like China and other places, there will be such complications as to ultimately lead to the abrogation of all native control and government and the setting up of new authority in a country that once belonged to the natives. T H E R A P E OF L I B E R I A

It is the duty of every Negro in the world to protest against this rape of Liberia encouraged by those who are responsible for giving the concessions to the Firestone Rubber and Tire Company. Why, nearly one-half of the country has been given away and, when it is considered that out of the twelve million square miles of Africa, only Liberia is left as a free and independent black country, it becomes a shame and disgrace to see that men should be capable of giving away all this amount of land to the same people who have possession of over nine-tenths of the country's [continent's] area. BRIGHT FUTURE FOR RACE

We beg to advise, however, the members and friends of the Universal Negro Improvement Association all over the world, that what has happened has not obstructed much the program of the Universal Negro Improvement Association as far as our colonization plans are concerned. AJ1 that we want is that everybody get behind the Black Cross Navigation and Trading Company2 and send us the necessary amount of money to pay for our first ship and secure other ships so as to carry out our trade contract with the Negroes of Africa, West Indies, South and Central America and these United States. The Association is devoting its time and energy now to building up an international commerce and trade so as to stabilize Negro industry. There is much for us to do. In taking the raw materials from our people in Africa to America, as well as materials [from] the West Indies, South and Central America to the United States[,] and taking back to them our finished and manufactured products in exchange, we have a whole world of industrial conquest to make and it can be done splendidly if each Negro will give us the support that is necessary. We want money to put the program over and that you must give now. We want not only one, two or three ships, but we want dozens of ships, so that every week our ships can be going out of the ports of New York, Philadelphia, Boston, Baltimore, New Orleans, Savannah or Mobile for Liberia, Sierre Leone, Gold Coast, Lagos, Abyssinia, Brazil, Argentina, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Honduras, Jamaica, Barbados, Trinidad, British 10

SEPTEMBER 1924

Guiana and British Honduras. Let our ships be on the seven seas, taking our commerce to England, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, China and India. The chance of making good in commerce and trade is as much ours as it is other races and so we call upon you everywhere to get behind the industrial program of the Universal Negro Improvement Association. If we can control the field of industry we can control the sentiment of the world and that is what the Universal Negro Improvement Association seeks for the four hundred millions of our race. M O V E THE LITTLE B A R R I E R S

So, the little barriers that have been placed in the way by the envious and wicked of our own race can easily be removed if we will get together and work together. Now that the convention has risen, let us redouble our energy everywhere to put the program over. Let us work with our hearts, soul and minds to see that everything is accomplished for the good of the race. We must have our ship in action by next month. At least, we are calculating to have our ship sail out of New York by the 29th of October, laden with the first cargo for the tropics, and to bring back to us tropical fruits and produce, and from thence to sail for Africa, the land of our fathers. Help us make this possible. SUPPORT THE B L A C K C R O S S NAVIGATION C O .

All those who are desirous of going to Africa will communicate with us at headquarters for instructions, but let everybody help us to pay for the ship now. Seventy thousand dollars more is wanted and we must have it immediately. You can help us by loaning to the Black Cross Navigation and Trading Company whatsoever you can afford for five or ten years, $25, $50, $100, $200, $300, $400, $joo, $600, $700, $800, $900 or $1,000, and do it now; and, if this is done, we are sure to defeat the enemy and carry the cause to victory. Send in your loan to the Black Cross Navigation and Trading Company, 56 West 135th Street, New York, U.S.A. With very best wishes for your success, I have the honor to be, Your obedient servant, M A R C U S GARVEY

President-General Universal Negro Improvement Association Printed in NW, 6 September 1924. 1. Two weeks later Garvey wrote a front-page eulogy for J. J. Dossen, who died 17 August 1924 at his home in Cape Palmas, Liberia. Garvey claimed in the editorial that Dossen died "not bccause he was suffering from natural ailments, but because of the sudden shock on learning of what those who were in control of the government of this country had done against the Universal Negro Improvement Association in carrying out the program for the country and to which there was a standing agreement to which he himself was a party" ( W , 20 September 1924)2. The Black Cross Navigation and Trading Co. was founded in March 1924. Before turning to the Panama Rail Road Co., the new UNIA shipping company attempted to purchase a steamship from the U.S. Shipping Board, which declined its offer. It then began negotiations for the S.S. General G.W. Goethals. Originally named the GruncwaU, the ship was built in 1911 at Vegesack, 11

THE MARCUS GARVEY AND U N I A PAPERS Germany. Garvey announced the pending acquisition of the ship, to be unofficially renamed the S.S. Booker T. Washington, at the August 1924 U N I A convention in New York. After repeated delays, the Panama Rail Road Co. received final payment for the ship on 10 January 1925. The bill of sale was transferred without "warranty as to seaworthiness" (bill of sale of registered vessel, 10 January 1925, D N A , R G 41, file 143611-N). The ship left New York on its sole voyage under U N I A management on 18 January 1925 (certificate of registry, 18 December 1920, D N A , R G 41, file 143611N; N W , 29 March 1924; Anna V. Cowne, information officer, Lloyd's Register of Shipping, to Robert A. Hill, 31 May 1978).

William R. Castle, Chief, Division of Western European Affairs, Department of State, to Charles Evans Hughes, Secretary of State [WASHINGTON,

D.c.] September 6, 1924

The Secretary: It seems to me that the President ought to have a little of the background of the petition sent him by the Garvey people in favor of sending negroes from this country to Liberia. O f course, M r . Garvey's statement that his movement is opposed only by a few politicians is nonsense. Mr. D u Bois is a much more important man than he is in this country and certainly we cannot consider the Government of Liberia, with which we are on friendly terms, as "a few politicians." It may be, therefore, that you would be willing to send the attached letter and memorandum to the President.1 W[ILLIAM] R . C[ASTLE] D N A , R G 59, file 882.5511/10. TLI, recipient's copy. O n Department of State, Division of Western European Affairs, letterhead. 1. Hughes passed this memorandum on to President Coolidge and asked him to note it in connection with the petition he had already received from the UNIA. (Hughes to Coolidge, 6 September 1924, D N A , R G 59, file 882.5511/10).

Article in the New York Times [[September 14, 1924]] SAYS A BLACK KING WILL RULE WORLD NEGRO PREACHER TELLS H I S AUDIENCE HERE THAT BIBLE PROPHECY PROMISES IT. CALLS GARVEY A MOSES

Marcus Garvey was hailed as a "new Moses" by the Rev. James M . Webb, 1 a negro preacher of Chicago, who spoke yesterday at Liberty Hall, headquarters of the Universal Neg[r]o Improvement Association at [i]20 West 12

SEPTEMBER

1924

138th Street. M r . Webb said that Garvey's mission was to develop within the black race the spirit which would result in their redemption of Africa and the establishment there of a "black universal king" to rule the world. Biblical prophecies, he said, foretold the coming of the black ruler. "Great Britain at present is the dominant power in Africa," the speaker said. " T h e diamond fields belong to her2 and E g y p t has freedom with a string tied to it.3 The head of Great Britain will do as the Kaiser did and attempt to rule as universal king. 4 Then the nations which were Great Britain's allies in the World War—Belgium, France and America—will join to crush Great Britain. The universal black king will then appear and dominate all. H e will tear down all their claims. The whites feel they have the black men frightened and they have frightened all who haven't studied biblical history. The universal black king will fill the air with airplanes. Batdeships will go down and submarines will be destroyed. [ " ] ' T h e world cannot realize this now. It will take time. When the prophetic part of the Bible is preached the world will realize that the universal black king is coming and the Universal Negro Improvement Association will mean more than it does now." ' T h e Universal Negro Improvement Association should never be discouraged at the forces arrayed against it," said he. " A great victory is coming to it, not by human but by divine power, as foretold by Daniel." 5 Printed in the N7~l] IJ September 1924. Original headlines abridged. 1. Rev. James Morris Webb of Seattle made the coming of a black king a constant theme in his sermons and publications. A believer in the course of empire, Webb took out an advertisement in the Negro World proclaiming that "the Kaiser and Napoleon failed in war to be Universal Kings" but that "the coming Negro King will not fail" (NW, 3 October 1925). A photograph of a group of Garveyites taken outside the new parent body office in Cleveland during the 1940 convention is a testament to Webb's continuing influence within the Garvey movement. In the photograph a big sign can be seen posted on the UNIA headquarters, proclaiming that "God has Prepared according to Biblical History a Colored Man with Wooly Hair to come stop Wars[,] Lynchings . . . James M. Webb . . . can be seen Here Tues. Aug. 18 [at] 8 P.M." Webb continued to act as a UNIA speaker and fund raiser in the early 1940s (photograph, 1940 UNIA convention, and James M. Webb to James Stewart, 23 July 1942, WRHS; NW, 6 September 1924; Chicago Defender, 8 February 1936; Garvey Papers 3: 419 n. 1). 2. A reference to the Kimberley diamond mines, which were amalgamated by Cecil Rhodes into the De Beers Consolidated Mines in 1888. By the 1930s, 40 percent of the capital in South African mines was locally owned, with Ernest Oppenheimer's Anglo-American Corp. dominant in both the De Beers mines and in gold (Bill Freund, The Making of Contemporary Africa: The Development ofAfrican Society Since 1800 [Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1984], p. 183). 3. Anglo-Egyptian negotiations over Egyptian independence passed through several stages before culminating in the Treaty of 1936. Although the Unilateral Declaration of 1922 legally abolished the British protectorate, its provisions reserved rights of intervention for Britain, and it was never recognized by a majority of Egyptian nationalists. Martial law, which had been in effect since 1914, was lifted in 1923, and elections were held in 1923-1924. Many political prisoners were released, and European officials working in Egypt were granted retirement. The optimism created by these reforms was short lived, however, as further negotiations ended in stalemates and internal political factionalization. Independence was not achieved until the mid-thirties with the formation of the Egyptian United Front. Under the provisions of the Treaty of 1936, the British maintained their military presence in Egyptian territory and their influence in the Suez Canal, and Egypt became a member of the League of Nations. Garvey frequently spoke of the Egyptian movement for national autonomy as an inspiration to blacks and compared it to the Irish liberation 13

THE MARCUS GARVEY AND U N I A PAPERS movement (NW, 29 November 1924; Mahmud Y. Zayid, Egypt's Struggle for Independence [Beirut: Khayats, 1965]). 4. Kaiser Wilhelm pursued a policy of world power leading up to the German aggressions of World War I. In the years before the war, his government made efforts to expand German colonial influence in Africa and Latin America and to create a league of non-Slavonic Balkan states under his patronage. In the midst of the war his representatives negotiated with Mexico for support of an invasion of the United States (with the promise that Mexico would have the opportunity to reconquer its former territories in the American Southwest). His government also unsuccessfully sought a military alliance with Japan in the hope of dominating both Eastern and Western hemispheres (Barbara Tuchman, The Zimmerman Telegram [London: Constable, 1959]; Fritz Fischer, Germanfs Aims in the First World War [1961; English trans., New York: W. W. Norton, 1967]). 5. The Book of Daniel is the first piece of apocalyptic literature in the Old Testament. A central theme of Daniel's prophecies is that of the eventual triumph over oppressors, often with the oppressive power being destroyed and displaced by a new kingdom that will be everlasting. Daniel's vision of the four beasts is a case in point (Dan. 7:1-28). The beasts are often thought to symbolize the Babylonian, Persian, and Alexandrian empires and the kingdom of Media. The horns of the fourth beast represent the Seleucid dynasty and Antiochus Epiphanes. In Daniel's prophecy, a messianic figure "whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool" (here interpreted by Rev. Webb as a black ruler) descends from heaven with a stream of fire preceding him (Dan. 7:9-10). This savior destroys the oppressive horned beast with the burning flame and takes dominion over the remaining kingdoms of the world (John L. McKenzie, Dictionary of the Bible [Milwaukee: Bruce, 1965], pp. 171-174).

Writ of Error of Marcus Garvey, Marcus Garvey v. United States, U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Second Circuit N e w Y o r k , O c t o b e r 18, 1 9 2 4 M a r c u s G a r v e y , E l y Garcia, G e o r g e T o b i a s and O r l a n d o M . T h o m p s o n w e r e indicted o n t w o indictments, each o f w h i c h contained counts c h a r g i n g various substantive offenses, o f using the mails t o defraud, and each o f w h i c h contained a count charging conspiracy to c o m m i t the substantive offense. A l l o f the defendants w e r e acquitted o f the charge o f conspiracy, a n d o n l y o n e defendant, M a r c u s G a r v e y , w a s f o u n d guilty o f the substantive o f f e n s e , and this, under only one count o f the indictment.

U p o n this single c o u n t ,

G a r v e y w a s sentenced to serve five years in the penitentiary at Atlanta and to p a y a fine o f $ 1 , 9 9 9 and the costs o f the suit.

A trial w a s had [held] b e f o r e

J u d g e Julian W . M a c k and a jury in the U n i t e d States District C o u r t f o r the S o u t h e r n District o f N e w Y o r k and j u d g m e n t o f conviction w a s rendered o n the verdict o f the jury o n J u n e 22, 1923. T h e plaintiff-in-error, M a r c u s G a r v e y , c o m e s here b y w r i t o f error o n a bill o f exceptions. T H E C O U N T OF T H E INDICTMENT UPON W H I C H GARVEY W A S CONVICTED T h e indictment charged a single scheme to defraud. T h e various counts w h i c h charged the substantive offense o f the use o f the mails in execution o f the 14

OCTOBER 1924

scheme to defraud are based upon the separate mailing of letters to different addresses. The conspiracy counts charge a conspiracy to execute this scheme to defraud through the intended use of the mails. Garvey was acquitted of all the charges in both the indictments, except the charge contained in the third count of the second indictment, that on or about December 13, 1920, "for the purpose of executing said scheme and artifice," Garvey placed in a post office in the Southern District of New York "a certain letter or circular enclosed in a postpaid envelope addressed to 'Benny Dancy, 34 W. 131 St., N . Y . C . " ' (p. 11).' There is not a scintilla of evidence that Garvey placed or caused to be placed in the mails the circular or letter described or referred to in this count of the indictment. This is so far beyond any question, that we propose to shorten the labors of the Court in consideration of the lengthy record of the testimony by addressing ourselves at the outset to this proposition. And no other demonstration is required than to refer the Court to the testimony of Dancy and to the exhibits in the record, introduced in evidence to support this count of the indictment. POINT I

There is not a scintilla of evidence, competent or otherwise, to establish the mailing of the indictment letter, upon which the third count of the second indictment was based. It was upon this count and only this count that Garvey was convicted. A. The only exhibit offered in support of the mailing of the indictment letter under the Dancy count is the front and back of an envelope, Exhibit 112 (p. 2626). B. The testimony of Dancy in full is as follows (p. 860): Q. What is your business? A. What do you mean, my work? Q. Yes. A. Pennsylvania station cleaner. Q. Pennsylvania station? A. Yes, sir. Q. Was that your business in 1919 and 1920? A. It was, yes, sir. Q. Did you buy any stock in the Black Star Line? A. Yes, sir. Q. H o w much? A. 53 shares. Q. Was that all your savings or what? Mr. Johnson: Objected to, absolutely immaterial, if the Court please. The Court: Sustained. Q. Did you get any letters? A. Yes, I got a letter. Q. Did you get a letter from the Post Office Department about it? A. No, sir, I did not. Q. Let me show you—did you give any papers to anybody in the Government service, to a post officc man, to an agent? A. Not that I know of. 15

T H E MARCUS GARVEY AND U N I A PAPERS

Q. Where did the Government get your papers, if you know? Mr.Johnson: Is this for the purpose of impeaching his witness? Mr. Mattuck: Not impeaching him at all. Mr. Garvey: I object to these leading questions. The Court: That isn't leading. Q. How did the Government get your mail, do you know? A. They came around to my house, where I live in Brooklyn, and they received my mail over there and I give it to them. Q. I am going to show you an envelope, Benny, and ask you whether you recognize it? A. Yes, sir. Q. You do? A. Yes, sir. Q. D o you remember what came in that envelope? A. No, sir, I do not. Q. What was it about? Mr. Johnson: I object. Q. Let me finish my question, if you please, Mr.Johnson; do you know what the contents o f that envelope was, what was it about? A. Some of the envelopes are about— The Court: This envelope. Q. I am going to show you :he back o f it; see if that helps you. Mr. Garvey: I beg to record my objection and exception to the method of examination and his Honor's ruling in the matter. The Court: Proceed. A. I cannot remember what was in the letter. Q. Did you get a number o f letters, Dancy? A. Yes, sir. Q. Do you remember whether or not any of them were from the Black Star Line? A. Yes, sir, some was from the Black Star Line and from the Universal Negro Improvement Association, and some were from the Negro Factories Corporation. Q. Now, the letters which you got from the Black Star Line, were about what? A. I got so many letters from them I didn't see them all. Mr. Johnson: I object. The objection is you cannot go into the contents of letters. Mr. Mattuck: I offer the envelope in evidence, on the ground it bears on the back o f it the stamp "Black Star Line" and it is a reasonable assumption that envelope contained matter from the Black Star Line. Mr. Johnson: Objected to as immaterial and irrelevant. The Court: It may go in. Mr.Garvey: Same objection for Mr. Garvey with an exception.

16

OCTOBER 1 9 2 4

The Court: Yes. Received and marked Government's Exhibit 112. Q. Now, Benny, do you know what these letters which came to you from the Black Star Line were about? A. I cannot remember all of them because I never read all the letters I got and some of them were about one thing and another and a lot of them that I got I just threw it back. Q. Tell us what these letters were about, Mr.Dancy? A. I couldn't tell you about all of them because I never read them all. Q. Those that you read? A. Well, some of the letters said invest more money in the Black Star Line for the case [cause?] of purchasing bigger ships and so forth. Q. What else that you can think of? A. There is so much I just can't remember it all anyhow. Q. Give us as much as you can remember; one of the things you said was to buy more ships, bigger ships. Did they say anything about the dividends[?] Mr. Johnson: I object. The Court: No—exhaust his memory first. Q. Tell us, Dancy, all you can think of? The Court: I did rule on it; I sustain the objection. Q. Cannot you think what you were spending your money for, what they said? A. Yes, they said in some of the letters about investing this money to help me and the rest and make bigger progress. I cannot remember the letters unless I see some of them. Q. Did you read the 'Negro World'? A. Sometimes I read some of it[.] Q. Did you hear any of Mr. Garvey's speeches? A. Yes, sir. Cross examination by M r . Garvey. Q. Mr.Dancy, you cannot remember really what you read about the Black Star Line? Mr. Johnson: He said that. Mr. Garvey: Please leave me alone. The Court: He has a perfect right to object. Q. Can you remember what you read about the Black Star Line? A. Well, a few things, not all. Q. You wouldn't swear to what you said about the Black Star Line positively? A. What I said about it? Q. Yes, things you said awhile ago, you wouldn't swear those were the things you saw or read, you wouldn't swear positively, you cannot remember and therefore you cannot swear positively that the things you said awhile ago are what you read? A. Sure, what I said, that is what I read. Q. You wouldn't swear positively that they were true—yes or no—it is so long a time you could not remember—yes or no—you 17

T H E M A R C U S GARVEY AND U N I A PAPERS

would not swear positively—just say yes or no, Mr. Dancy, yes or no? A. What do you mean? Q. That is to say, the things you said, the answers you gave to Mr. Mattuck? A. What answers? Q. The answers you gave awhile ago? A. Tell me what answer it was. Q. That you read in a circular about ships and everything and so forth. A. Yes, it was in the circular. Q. But you wouldn't swear positively those things were in the circular? A. They were in some letters. Q. Would you swear what letters they were in? A. I don't remember what letters they were in, they were in some Black Star Line, but what letters they were I don't know. Q. You don't know whether they reached you through the mail or not, you just saw things about the Black Star Line? A. I saw things about it? Q. Yes. A. I didn't saw things. I saw it in the letter. Q. Can you remember what you saw in the letter positively? A. I just told you I couldn't remember all—do you understand it? Q. I am not vexed with you. A. I am not vexed with you; you raised your voice to me; I raised mine to you. Q. I am not vexed, I just want to hear what you say. A. Take your time. Q. Would you really swear— A. I just told you I couldn't remember all the letter, bring the letter up here. Q. None of the letters that were shown you were the letters? A. What? Q. The letters that the District Attorney showed you[,] they weren't the letters? A. They weren't the letters? Q. Yes. A. Yes, they were the letters. Q. And you don't remember what was in them? A. I can't remember all of them; I got so many letters I couldn't remember all the letters. i Dancy is not charged in either of the indictments to have been one of the persons whom it was intended to defraud (fols. 8[,] 60). He could not have been included in the description "divers other persons whose names are to the Grand Jurors unknown," for the evident reason that he was known to the Grand Jury, and this appears upon the face of the indictment. 2 Dancy bought fifty-three shares of stock, but it does not appear when he bought his stock. In order to determine whether any circular or letter 18

OCTOBER 1 9 2 +

addressed to Dancy was in execution of the scheme to defraud, it is essential to know when Dancy became a stockholder. 3

Dancy did not testify that he received the envelope (Exhibit 112). It does not appear that this envelope was taken from Dancy's possession by the Government's agents. Dancy merely testifies that he recognizes the envelope (fol. 2582). 4

The envelope was offered in evidence without further testimony than the testimony of Dancy that he recognized it. It was offered by the prosecuting attorney as follows: Mr. Mattuck: I offer the envelope in evidence, on the ground it bears on the back a stamp 'Black Star Line' and it is a reasonable assumption that envelope contained matter from the Black Star Line (fol. 2585). N o letters or circulars received by Dancy were identified in any manner. N o letter or circular that is in evidence was shown to Dancy. It is not possible to say, and it was not possible for the jury to determine, whether a single one of the circulars or letters introduced in evidence were ever seen by Dancy. Dancy says that he cannot remember what was in the letter (fols. 2852, 2584). Here he obviously refers to the letter which may have been enclosed in the envelope. He got a number of letters, not alone from the Black Star Line, but from the Universal Negro Improvement Association and some from the Negro Factories Corporation (fol. 2584). The jurisdiction of the United States to punish this offense is dependent upon the use of the mails, and the gist of the offense set forth in the count upon which Garvey was convicted, was the specific instance of the mailing of a letter or circular on December 13,1920. It is true that Dancy testified that some of the letter said "invest more money in the Black Star Line for the case of purchasing bigger ships and so forth" (fol. 2587), and that some of the letters spoke about "investing this money to help me and the rest and make bigger progress" (fol. 2588). But the letters or circulars to which Dancy referred were not identified in any respcct. It is a "reasonable assumption" that Dancy was not able to identi[f ]y any of the letters or circulars which are in evidence as being similar to the letters or circulars that he received, for if this were the fact, it is obvious that the District Attorney would have exhibited the letters or circulars to Dancy for the purpose of identification. But the fundamental objection to such proof is that it does not support the charge that the mailing of any of these letters or circulars took place in the Southern District of New York. It has always been held necessary to prove the 19

T H E M A R C U S GARVEY AND U N I A PAPERS

mailing of the indictment letter. But if this could under any circumstances be dispensed with, so as to permit the proof of mailing of other letters, certainly the proof must be confined to letters mailed within the jurisdiction, and the essential fact of jurisdiction must be established beyond a reasonable doubt. Dancy testifies, without any qualification, that he does not know what was in the envelope which was introduced in support of the charge on which Garvey was convicted. He is even unable to say whether it contained any letter or circular that came from the Black Star Line. But it is essential to prove the mailing of the indictment letter. H o w else can the jury determine whether the mailing which is alleged in the indictment was in execution of the scheme to defraud? The statute never has read, and never has been construed to read, that a person engaged in a scheme to defraud may not use the United States mails. The mails must be used, whether successfully or not, in aid and furtherance of the scheme to defraud, and to effectuate the scheme. When the indictment charges the mailing of a particular letter, then it is the fact of mailing that letter that completes the substantive offense, and gives jurisdiction both to the United States, and to the Court in which the indictment is found. The general allegations that the defendants planned and devised a scheme to defraud which contemplated the use of the mails is not sufficient to charge the substantive offense. It may be adequate to charge a conspiracy to commit the substantive offense. But the substantive offense has its being and comes into existence only at the moment that the letter is placed in the post-office for the purpose of delivery, and such letter is in execution of the scheme to defraud. The charge is a nullity until it reaches the point where there is alleged the fact of mailing. The mailing of the letter is not an incident; it is of the very essence of the offense. It is therefore proof of the very thing which is the life of the indictment and cannot be dispensed with, and proof of some other facts, however cogent they may be to establish the offense in another indictment when properly chargedf,] cannot be accepted as a substitute. The indictment letter charged in an indictment for the substantive offense cannot be correlated to the charge of an overt act in the conspiracy indictment. Not alone is the allegation of an overt act required merely by force of the statute, but it is not [it if?] the essential fact upon which the power of the United States to declare a crime is based. Apart from any overt act, a conspiracy to commit an offense against any law of the United States may be made a crime. And although the overt act may give jurisdiction to the Court of a particular district to try the offense, it has nevertheless been repeatedly held that the overt act is not a part of the offense of conspiracy. The cases that hold that the proof of the mailing of the indictment letter is essential are many but we refer only to a few authorities. In Hart v. United States, 240 Fed., 911, the opinion by Hough, J., reads: An indictment that did not charge mailing or receiving and in the proper district would be demurrable. The point is jurisdictional,

20

OCTOBER 1924

and cannot be slurred over in proof. It is not necessary to descend into particulars, but as to some of these counts there was no proof at all of any mailing of the "indictment letter." The defendants requested specifically an instruction that, in order to convict, the jury must believe beyond a reasonable doubt that the particular letter mentioned and described in each count was mailed or received by mail, as the case might be, which request was refused. Such refusal might be immaterial if the matter had been covered in the general charge, but we find nothing in the charge pointing out in words or substance the absolute necessity of somehow proving, not the mailing or receipt of letters generally, but such action in respect of the particular letter named in each count of the indictment and vital to the jurisdiction of the court. In Farmer v. United States, 223 Fed., at page 909, the opinion by Lacombe, J., says: Devising a scheme to defraud generally anyone whom they might catch in their net would not by itself constitute an offense under Section 215. The actual use of the mails in furtherance of the scheme was a fact essential to be charged and proved. The second indictment charged the mailing of the Preston letter; conviction under that count could not be secured unless the mailing of that letter in furtherance of the scheme were shown. The mailing merely of other letters to other persons would not sustain conviction under this count. In Olsen v. United States, 287 Fed. at page 89, the opinion by Manton, J., says: The mailing of a letter in the execution or attempted execution of a fraudulent scheme is the gist of the offense announced by the statute. It is that act, and that alone, which confers jurisdiction upon the courts of the United States to punish authors of fraudulent schemes. P O I N T II

The conviction in this case was based not on facts in evidence, but upon an "assumption" which had absolutely no support in the evidence. Nosowitz v. United States, 282 Fed. at page 578, opinion by Manton, J.: Unless there is substantial evidence of facts which exclude every other hypothesis but that of guilt, it is the duty of the trial judge

21

T H E M A R C U S GARVEY A N D U N I A PAPERS

to instruct the jury to return a verdict for the accused, and where all the substantial evidence is as consistent with innocence as with guilt, it is the duty of this court to reverse a judgment against the plaintiffs in error. People v . Razezicz, 206 N.Y., 249, at p. 273: In a criminal case circumstantial evidence to justify the inference of guilt must exclude to a moral certainty every other reasonable hypothesis. Circumstantial evidence in a criminal case is of no value if the circumstances are consistent with either the hypothesis of innocence, or the hypothesis of guilt; nor is it enough that the hypothesis of guilt will account for all the facts proven. United States v. Ross, 92 U.S., pp. 283, 284: These seem to us to be nothing more than conjectures. They are not legitimate inferences, even to establish a fact; much less are they presumptions of law. They are inferences from inferences; presumptions resting on the basis of another presumption. Such a mode of arriving at a conclusion of fact is generally, if not universally, inadmissible. N o inference of fact or of law is reliable drawn from premises which are uncertain. Whenever circumstantial evidence is relied upon to prove a fact, the circumstances must be proved, and not themselves presumed. Starkie on Evid., p. 80, lays down the rule thus: "In the first place, as the very foundation of indirect evidence is the establishment of one or more facts from which the inference is sought to be made, the law requires that the latter should be established by direct evidence, as if they were the very facts in issue." It is upon this principle that courts are daily called upon to exclude evidence as too remote for the consideration of the jury. The law requires an open, visible connection between the principal and evidentiary facts and the deductions from them, and does not permit a decision to be made on remote inferences, Best on Evid., 95. A presumption which the jury is to make is not a circumstance in proof; and it is not, therefore, a legitimate foundation for a presumption. There is no open and visible connection between the fact out of which the first presumption arises and the fact sought to be established by the dependent presumption. Douglas v. Mitchell, 35 Penn. St., 440. Roukous v. United States, 195 Fed., 353 at p. 361: * * * while it is not necessary that any particular circumstance should of itself be sufficient to prove a criminal case beyond a 22

OCTOBER 1 9 2 4

reasonable doubt, yet it is necessary that each circumstance offered as a part of the combination of proofs should itself be maintained beyond a reasonable doubt, and should have some efficiency, so far as it has efficiency to a greater or less range, beyond a reasonable doubt, and at least be free from the condition of being as consistent with innocence as with guilt * * *. Vernon v.United States, 146 Fed., 121 at p. 123: Circumstantial evidence warrants a conviction in a criminal case, provided it is such as to exclude every reasonable hypothesis but that of guilt of the offense imputed to the defendant; or, in other words, the facts proved must all be consistent with and point to his guilt only and inconsistent with his innocence. The hypothesis of guilt should flow naturally from the facts proved and be consistent with them all. If the evidence can be reconciled either with the theory of innocence or of guilt the law requires that the defendant be given the benefit of the doubt and that the theory of innocence be adopted. The indictment charges that certain named defendants devised a scheme to defraud. In the substantive count the defendants are specifically named, and do not include "divers others persons unnamed." It is alleged that said defendants "for the purpose of executing said scheme and artifice" did place in the Post Office of the United States "a certain letter or circular enclosed in a postpaid envelope addressed to 'Benny Dancy, 34 W. 131st St., N.Y.C.'" (fol. 32). The only other reference to the use of the mails in the charge of the substantive offense is that the defendants intended as part of the scheme to defraud that certain pretenses and promises should be made "in literature circulated by mail and direct by representatives of said corporation" (fol. 10). The mere intent to use the mails is neither a requisite of the offense under the present statute, nor docs it constitute an element of the substantive offense. It is the actual use of the mails that forms the gist of the offense and gives the Court jurisdiction. It must be remembered that all the defendants were acquitted of the conspiracy. The conviction on the third count of the second indictment does violence to every rule of law applicable to the trial of criminal cases. The proof offered in support of that count of the indictment would not be tolerated in a civil case involving a trivial amount of money. Courts require proof, not "assumptions"; evidence that will support inferences, not vague suggestions that form the basis for mere speculation and conjecture. However commonplace and elementary these propositions may seem, they have been completely disregarded in this case. No better confirmation of the foregoing can be found than the statement of the prosecuting attorney: 23

T H E M A R C U S GARVEY AND U N I A PAPERS

"I offer the envelope in evidence, on the ground it bears on the back of it the stamp 'Black Star Line' and it is a reasonable assumption that envelope contained matter from the Black Star Line." With reference to this proposition, and the ground on which the envelope was offered and received, we state the following incontestable propositions: 1. It is assumed that the words appearing on the back of the envelope "Black Star Line" was constituted a stamp or mark, that identified the envelope as coming from the office of the Black Star Line. This basic assumption is without the least support in the evidence. No one anywhere testifies that the stamp or mark, appearing on the back of the envelope, Exhibit 112, was the stamp or mark of the Black Star Line. There was no proof of this fact. The very basis of the "reasonable assumption" was itself an assumption. 2. It is assumed that the envelope contained a circular or letter. It may require very slight evidence to furnish the basis for an inference that an envelope received through the mail contained written or printed matter. But at least some slight evidence there must be. There cannot be a total lack and absence of evidence upon this point. It is not a presumption of law that an envelope necessarily contains matter. It can be only an inference based upon facts. And this inference must be based upon some evidence. Dancy testified as follows: "Q. Do you remember what came in that envelope? A. No, sir, I do not" (fol. 2582). 3. It is assumed that the contents of the envelope related to the Black Star Line. This assumption is based upon the previous assumption that the envelope contained either a letter or a circular, and upon the further assumption that the stamp on the back necessarily indicated the source of the mailing. Why was it necessary to produce? Why was it not sufficient for the prosecution to offer a mass of envelopes in evidence, and rely upon these "reasonable assumptions?" 4. It is assumed that the contents of the envelope necessarily were transmitted for the purpose of executing the scheme to defraud. Is the mere use of the mails by one engaged in a scheme to defraud an offense indictable under the statute? Are the words in the statute "for the purpose of executing such scheme or artifice" of no force whatsoever? If it is possible that the jury could have found that the enclosure in the envelope did not relate to the alleged scheme to defraud, had no connection with the purpose or execution of the scheme, then there must be some evidence as to the contents of the assumed enclosure. Where there is an entire absence of evidence as to the contents, and the jury must find that the contents were in execution of the scheme, they can so find only if there is an irrebuttable, conclusive presumption of that fact. The statute specifies, as an element of the offense, that the matter deposited in the mail must be for the purpose of executing the scheme. Is it sufficient to say that a person engaged in a scheme to defraud has deposited, or caused to be deposited, an envelope, and by this, to cast upon that person the burden of

24

OCTOBER 1924

proving that the contents of the envelope did not relate to the scheme, or was not in execution of the scheme? The presumption that the defendant charged with an offense is innocent protects the defendants not alone as to the ultimate finding, but as to every element of the offense, and as to every material fact, and where there is no basis for an inference, the Court must as a matter of law presume innocence; the jury cannot be permitted as a matter of fact to infer guilt. 5. It is assumed that the envelope was mailed or caused to be mailed by Garvey. There is no evidence whatsoever of the identity, or even possible identity, of the person who mailed this envelope. The indictment does not charge that Garvey, the other named defendants who were acquitted and "divers other persons," devised the scheme to defraud (fol. 8). The persons who are described as defendants are specifically named and limited by the indictment to the defendants on trial. The indictment charges that "Marcus Garvey, Ely Garcia, George Tobias and Orlando M. Thompson, named as defendants herein and hereinafter referred to as the defendants, had theretofore devised a scheme, an artifice to defraud" (fol. 8). While the conspiracy count charges that these conspired with "divers other persons," the substantive count is limited to the named defendants. And the third count of the indictment charges that the named defendants deposited the circular or letter addressed to Dancy in the mail. While it is true that the act of any person who was acting under the directions, express or implied, of Garvey, might be charged to Garvey as his personal act, there must be some proof that the person who mailed the envelope was such a person. We challenge the prosecution to attempt to specify in the remotest way who it was that deposited this envelope. Was it Garvey himself? Was it Thompson, Garcia, or the other defendants who were acquitted? Is there any evidence as to the person who deposited the envelope? Is there any evidence that he was an employee of the Black Star Line? Dancy testified that he had purchased fifty-three shares of the stock of the Black Star Line. There is no evidence of the date of this purchase. Dancy testified that he "never read all the letters" (fol. 2586). He also heard some of Mr. Garvey's speeches. There is abundant evidence in the record that at the various meetings held by the different associations in which Mr. Garvey was interested, circulars were passed to the audience. The witness [John Simon] Scott testified that at the meetings he attended in Stamford [Conn.] circulars similar to those that he identified were given out, and he was therefore unable to state what circulars he received through the mail and what circulars were handed directly to him (fol. 270+). It appears that Dancy delivered certain papers to the Post Office Inspector. If any of these papers, whether letters or circulars, were contained in the envelope, it should have been easily possible for the District Attorney to establish this fact. It is not alone a "reasonable assumption"—it is a necessary 25

T H E MARCUS GARVEY A N D U N I A PAPERS

and inevitable inference that the District Attorney was unable to establish through the witness that any letter or circular which was produced by the witness was contained, or might have been contained, in the envelope offered in evidence. The District Attorney, recognizing his inability to establish the fact or any possible basis for inference as to the fact, rested upon a "reasonable assumption." POINT HI

The verdict of the jury was induced either by passion or prejudice. It was in entire disregard of the evidence. It is impossible for anyone to assert that the verdict of the jury can be supported by logic. How is it possible to explain the action of the jury, when it acquitted all the defendants of the charge of conspiracy, and acquitted Garvey of all the substantive counts, except on the single charge contained in the Dancy count. This finding was a vagary. It was clearly based upon an ignorance of the facts shown by the record. It necessarily implies that the jury either misunderstood the charge of the Court or paid not the least attention to it. It necessarily implies that the jury was engaged in administering a lawless justice, uncontrolled by the facts in the record, or the law as charged by the Court. In a civil case, where the result reached by the jury demonstrates that it indulged in speculation, or in an apparent effort to compromise, the Courts hasten to correct the injustice. It is recognized that the jury has not performed its duty. It is presumed that the jury has been influenced by passion or prejudice, or has yielded to mere conjecture. The reasons for insisting in a criminal case that a jury must render a verdict that is consistent with the record and the law as directed by the Court are far more potent. The sanctity of the jury system, and the maintenance of respcct for the jury system are vitally dependent upon the proper performance by the jury of its functions in strict accordance with law. There can be no compromise with this principle, if it is intended to maintain intact the due and effective operation of our jury system as a part of the administration of criminal law. We repeat that the verdict of the jury in this case has not the least possible support in logic, and cannot be defended as in conformity with the facts and the law of the case. It was a leap in the dark. This case called for the finest discrimination on the part of the jury, and the most scrupulous consideration of the facts. It required the jury to be constantly awake to the danger that it might be influenced by considerations outside of the record. It was a matter in which every juryman had an intimate personal interest. While it is important that the Government should protect a class from the alleged schemes of their accepted leader, it is even more important that the people whose just aspirations Mr. Garvey represents should be left with the feeling that their leader has received a fair trial. It was peculiarly a case where the rights of the defendant should have received the utmost protection. 26

OCTOBER 1 9 2 +

It is true that we can make no appeal to this Court, based upon the fact that the verdict is contrary to the evidence. It is true, that however slight the amount, and however unconvincing may be the force of the testimony, we are in this respect concluded by the verdict. But when that verdict on its face indicates that it was necessarily arrived at by the jury through a disregard of the facts and of the law, and when the result reached compels the conclusion that the jury speculated upon its verdict, and arrived at a compromise, then it is proper further to test the sincerity of this verdict, its consistency, its honesty, by an understanding of the facts; and if the verdict is so tested, we believe that the Court will not hesitate to conclude that the jury was in fact animated by prejudice and passion, that it acted in ignorance of the record and of the facts, and that it was led by a lawless purpose to produce a result that seemed proper to them, without regard to the issues in the case before them. In the claim that the jury was actuated not alone by prejudice, but by passion, we do not mean to imply that it was actuated by a purpose to commit an injustice against the individual Garvey. But we do mean to assert that the testimony was such as was calculated to make a most potent appeal to the feelings, the passions, and the prejudices of the jury, and to put them in the position, not of administering justice in the case of an individual, but of dealing with a general situation, represented to them as one fraught with great danger and many evils. It is as if Gandhi were to be tried by a jury of Englishmen for his leadership of the people of India. It is as if De Valera were to be tried by a jury of Ulsterites for his leadership of the Irish people. It is as if a Zionist were to be tried by a jury of Moslems for his plans and activities in the establishment of a homestead for the Jews in Palestine. It may be that the system of laws prevailing the jurisdiction where such a case might be tried would permit only such a trial. But it does undoubtedly present a situation where the courts must be most careful to scrutinize the result so as to determine whether the jury was guided by law, or was carrying out what it conceived to be a social or political remedy, determined by its own selfish interests. In all of these movements, money is necessary. In all these movements, great promises are held forth. No one who does not put himself in the place of the stricken and afflicted people to whom the appeal is made can understand or sympathize with the enthusiasm of the leader, and the trust and confidence of the masses. To treat such a situation as this indictment does, as a matter of dollars and cents and monetary fraud, and to judge it as one would judge a criminal transaction, or a speculative mining enterprise, is to warp the facts, and to commit a travesty upon the truth. No movement for the redemption of a people has succeeded in making money. The American Revolution was conducted at financial loss. During the years that the Revolution was fought, and before the Constitution was adopted, and the finances of the country placed upon a stable basis, any jury would have been justified in convicting the abettors of the Revolution and the Fathers of the country for a money fraud, when they induced people to invest in the loans, upon the promise of

27

T H E M A R C U S GARVEY AND U N I A PAPERS

repayment. It will not do to say that these matters were disposed of by the verdict of the jury. For that verdict is so inconsistent with the acquittal of all the defendants on all the other charges, that it cannot be defended as a verdict in accord with the facts and the law. The only explanation that can be made is that the jury proposed somehow to see that Garvey was stopped. The jury did not believe in Garvey and his movement. This Court has well said that in a case where defendants charged with a conspiracy are acquitted of that charge, and all or several of them are found guilty of a substantive offense, a heavy burden is laid on the prosecution to uphold the conviction for the substantive offense. The verdict of not guilty of conspiracy left for the jury's inevitable consideration a mass of testimony immaterial to the issues passed upon adversely to these plaintiffs-in-error, and their co-defendants, yet extremely prejudicial to them. Hart v. United States, 240 Fed., 911; quoted in Harris v. United States, 273 Fed. at p. 791. While this was said in connection with the importance to be attached to errors, as affecting the verdict, in this case the principle is equally true, although it has a different application. For it must be remembered that Garvey alone was convicted. There were no fellow-conspirators. There were no others who aided and abetted him in the scheme to defraud. The persons who, during the many months of Garveys absence, transacted the business of the Black Star Line, and issued and mailed circulars and letters, were found innocent of any crime. The verdict acquitting the associates must necessarily therefore include a finding that what Garvey did through his associates was innocent and free from wrong. To illustrate our point by an analogy, it is as if, in a suit for negligence, the chauffeur who drove the car was held free from blame, yet damages were assessed against the absent owner, based upon the negligence of the chauffeur. The theory of the indictment and of the trial was that everything that was done by or in the name of the Black Star Line was chargeable to the defendants; that it was only necessary to show that the matter originated in or emanated from the Black Star Line, in order to receive it in evidence and charge the defendants with responsibility therefor. But the verdict of the jury in acquitting the other defendants necessarily implies that the acts of the other defendants were free from guilt, and were no part, either of the substantive scheme to defraud, or of the conspiracy. It is alleged in the indictment that the scheme to defraud was made up of three elements. 1. False representations, pretenses and promises; 2. The sale of stock of the Black Star Line;

28

OCTOBER 1904

3. The conversion of part of the proceeds from the sale of the stock to the use of the defendants. The third element—conversion of part of the proceeds to the use of the defendants—has no support in the record. At the time of the organization of the Black Star Line Garvey received no compensation whatsoever (fol. 6656). He worked for the corporation until September, 1919, when at a directors' meeting, he was voted a salary of $50 a week. He drew this salary until some time in 1920, when it was increased to $100 a week (fol. 6657). Since the latter part of 1920 he received no salary from the Black Star Line. In September or November, 1920, he was voted a salary of $10,000 a year by the Universal Negro Improvement Association (fol. 6659). The sale of the stock of the Black Star Line was doubdess induced by the representations and promises made by Garvey and his associates. Upon the record, and in view of the verdict of the jury, it is not open to the plaintiff-inerror to contend that the representations and promises made as to the success of the operation of the ships by the Black Star Line did not to some extent form part of the inducing cause. But no one, reading the record, can fail to realize that the ship project was but a small part, an incident, of the large scheme that roused the enthusiasm of Garvey and appealed to the hopes and aspirations of the thousands of his followers. No one can fail to be strongly impressed by the undoubted fact that the persons who contributed were more intent on the ultimate uplifting and salvation that was promised to the Negro race of America, than upon the paltry profits that might be realized from the stock investment. We do not pretend that a Negro charged with crime is entided to any special rights or favor. But we do contend that when the crime charged is one that involves the relations between the Negro and white races, the utmost care should be observed to safeguard the actual rights of the defendant. In this connection we present the following considerations. 1. Application was made by Garvey to the trial Judge asking that the trial judge declare himself disqualified to try the indictments. The substantial ground of the application was that the Judge was a member of or a contributor to the [National] Association for the Advancement of Colored People, and it appeared that persons active in that association were opposed to the Universal Negro Improvement Association, of which Garvey was the head. It also appeared that one of the members of the National Association had sought to initiate a criminal prosecution against Garvey. The Judge admitted his connection with the National Association, but denied the fact of bias. The motion was denied on the ground that the affidavit did not comply with the statute. 2. Testimony was received of acts of Garvey entirely unrelated to the charge in the indictment.

29

T H E M A R C U S GARVEY AND U N I A PAPERS

It is true that in many instances this testimony was elicited by crossexamination conducted by Garvey himself. But it is also true that in many instances a plain suggestion of the fact came from the questions of the Assistant District Attorney, and Garvey was provoked to further questioning along these lines. This is particularly true of the matters relating to Garvey's association with certain women. j . The Court was unduly severe in its repeated admonition of Garvey. Time and again the Court appears to have sustained objections that were never made. Time and again the Court suggested to the Assistant District Attorney that an objection would be sustained. Where an examination is being conducted by a defendant on his own behalf, the impression that the Court is taking the part of the prosecution, and assisting the prosecution in the conduct of the case, is bound to be disturbing and hurtful. The cumulative effect of the Court's continued admonitions to the defendant was to give the jury the impression that Garvey was responsible for the undue length of the trial. This may have been the fact, and necessarily so. But it should have been the aim of the Court at all times to divert from the defendant any feeling on the part of the jury by reason of that fact. However annoying the situation was, the defendant was within his rights, and the annoyance should have no possible relation to the question of guilt or innocence. 4 . The attitude of the Assistant District Attorney toward Garvey during the trial was improper. The Assistant District Attorney had no just right to interrupt Garvey in his examination, except by proper objection to the Court, or to address remarks directly to Garvey. We do no contend that legally any one of the foregoing matters constitutes in itself legal error. We do contend, however, that the whole situation was one that tended unduly to prejudice the defendant in the conduct of his case, and to suggest an atmosphere of antagonism on the part of the Court and the Assistant District Attorney, that necessarily was reflected in the attitude of the jury. This situation helped to bring about the absurd result, whereby the jury acquitted all the defendants of the charges, except that Garvey through some strange vagary was held on a charge in the indictment that had absolutely no evidence upon which to base that particular charge. And when we seek to understand how it was that the jury, by some inexplicable, absurd process found that Garvey was guilty of mailing a circular or letter to Dancy, when there was not in the evidence any such circular or letter, and when there was not in the evidence any means by which the circular or letter could be identified, and when the sole exhibit consisted of an envelope, that did not even appear to have been addressed by Garvey, or through his procurement, then we feel fully justified in stating that the verdict was unjust, that it was the result of speculation, if not of passion or prejudice.

30

OCTOBER 1924

or letter to Dancy, when there was not in the evidence any such circular or letter, and when there was not in the evidence any means by which the circular or letter could be identified, and when the sole exhibit consisted of an envelope, that did not even appear to have been addressed by Garvey, or through his procurement, then we feel fully justified in stating that the verdict was unjust, that it was the result of speculation, if not of passion or prejudice. P O I N T IV

The judgement of conviction should be reversed and the indictment dismissed. Respectfully submitted, 2 KOHN &

NAGLER,

Attorneys for Defendant Marcus Garvey G E O R G E G O R D O N BATTLE ISAAC H . L E V Y

3

of Counsel WNRC, RG 204, file 42-743- PD; reprinted in P&O, 2: 150-169. 1. Page references are to the trial transcript, Marcus Garvey v . United States, no. 8317, Ct. App. 2d Cir., 2 February 1925. 2. Copies of the brief for plaintiff in error were sent from the U.S. Attorney's Office in New York to the Attorney General's Office in Washington, D.C. (William Hayward, U.S. attorney, to the attorney general, 23 October 192+, and William J. Donovan, assistant attorney general, to William Hayward, 28 October 1924, D N A , RG 60, file 198940). 3. George Gordon Battle and Isaac M. Levy were law partners. Levy (1880-1948) had been an assistant U.S. attorney in New York before joining the law firm of Battle, Levy, Fowler, and Neaman, where he specialized in labor law. Attuned to issues of race and nationalism, Levy represented and won a victory for the Irish Free State in a $5 million bond issue in 1922. With the rise of Hitler, he became a leader in programs to aid and resetde Jewish victims of Nazism, chairing an American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee task force on the resetdement of European Jewish refugees in Latin American countries. He was also active in the United Jewish Appeal (NTT, 11 February 1948).

Speech by Marcus Garvey [[Liberty Hall, New York, October 26, 1924]] We are assembled here this afternoon under the auspices of the Universal Negro Political Union. 1 This is the first of a series of meetings that the Union will stage in Liberty Hall during the present political campaign for the purpose of educating the members of the Union, the members of the Universal Negro Improvement Association and the Negroes of Harlem generally as to the real meaning of politics and at the same time to prepare them to vote during the forthcoming national election. Politics is an important science. It is that science that protects those human rights that are not protected by law. It is the only medium or weapon 31

T H E MARCUS GARVEY AND U N I A PAPERS

need, and for that reason the delegates representing the Negro peoples, not only in this country, but all over the world, thought it wise, good and proper that at this time we should organize within the Universal Negro Improvement Association, as an auxiliary, a distinct political institution that would be charged with the duty of protecting and looking after the political rights of the people everywhere. The Union is firmly established all over this country. We have 1,400 branches at the present time, organised by the 1,400 branches of the Universal Negro Improvement Association, all over the country, and we have given out from executive headquarters a program that is going to be followed during this campaign for the national election, and we want the Negroes of Harlem to be well acquainted with what has been done and what should be done. It is for that reason that we call you here this afternoon.2

T o BE TRICKED N O LONGER

The time has come for the Negro to stop allowing himself to be bamboozled and tricked and fooled by Tom, Dick and Harry. The time has come for him to settle down on a policy of his own, in politics, in religion, in education, in society, in every walk of life. The Jew has a policy in politics and religion. Every group has a policy in politics and religion, and we think the time has come for the Negro to have a policy in politics and religion. We have laid down already our religious policy. That was widely discussed during the convention and widely promulgated as a doctrine all over the world; and now we are laying down our political policy, and we want you to follow us carefully and attentively this afternoon as we enunciate this policy in good old Liberty Hall. I feel sure that those of you who are members of the Universal Negro Improvement Association and those of you who are members of the Universal Negro Political Union are going to exercise the franchise with telling effect during this election period. We want to say at the outset, however, that the Universal Negro Political Union is different from all other Negro political organizations. Nobody gives us any money. We support our own policies and pay for them, so that we can be in a position to talk and to demand what we want. (Applause.) Nobody pays us to talk. They could not pay us to talk. We talk because we feel the righteousness of our expressions. We talk because we feel it our responsibility to talk in the interests of the people whom we represent. N o MONEY TAKEN

You know some fellows thought we would never get into politics, but we take time doing everything. As we took time before we bought a ship, so we take time before we enter politics. But there is one thing about the Universal Negro Improvement Association and all things identified with the Universal

32

OCTOBER 1 9 2 +

Negro Improvement Association—when we enter a thing we are in it to the death. (Applause.) And we are going to see it through. And so you realize that all over this country at this time the Universal Negro Political Union is taking a stand. . . . The first speaker of the afternoon is Sir William Sherrill. Sir William Sherrill is the chairman of the American wing of the Universal Negro Political Union. You know the Universal Negro Political Union is as universal as the Universal Negro Political [Improvement?] Association. I am the Universal chairman and Mr. Sherrill is the chairman of the American wing of the Union. The Universal Negro Political Union has as much interest in the politics of Haiti and Barbados and Trinidad and British Guiana and Jamaica as in any African state. Our duty is to put in office men who we believe will serve the interests of the Negro race. So when the next election comes off in Trinidad you are going to find candidates representing the Universal Negro Political Union just as we have candidates here indorsed by the Universal Negro Political Union. When the next political campaign starts in Jamaica we are going to see to it that fourteen black men get into the legislative council of Jamaica backed by the Universal Negro Political Union. (Applause.) And so Barbados and British Guiana. We are just out in politics now and we are going to clean up everything for justice and righteousness. (Applause.) 3 Printed in NW, 1 November 1924. 1. The Universal Negro Political Union (UNPU) was formed at the August 1924 UNIA convention. Intended as a political auxiliary of the UNIA, the organization backed a mixed slate of Republican and Democratic candidates in the November 1924 elections. The strategy of the UNPU was to win political leverage over candidates who, if elected to office, would be in a position to lobby in the interest of the UNIA and perhaps to aid Garvey with his pending appeal, stemming from his 1923 conviction for mail fraud. By 1925 the UNIA reported that the UNPU had almost one million members, and some politicians credited the group with significandy aiding their campaigns (NTf, 23 August 1924,16 May 1925; E. U. Essien-Udom, Black Nationalism: A Search for an Identity in America [Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1962], pp. 39-40). After Garve/s imprisonment in 1925, politicians whose campaigns had benefited from UNPU activism were contacted for help in securing his release. J. A. Craigen wrote to Congressman Clarence McLeod a month after Garvey's incarceration, reminding him that "we the members of the Universal Negro Political Union of Detroit engaged ourselves actively in supporting your candidacy and election™ and "we are therefore appealing to you to assist us the best that you can in our effort to secure Executive clemency for our leader" (J. A. Craigen, executive secretary, UNIA Detroit Division No. 125, to Clarence McLeod, n March 1925, WNRC, RG 204, file 42-793). 2. The October 26 meeting chaired by Garvey represented a departure from the usual Sunday night gathering at Liberty Hall. In conformity with the UNLA's new policy to "interest itself in national and international politics," the New York local heard speeches by candidates on the New York Democratic ticket. George Lunn, lieutenant governor of New York, Royal Weller, candidate for U.S. Congress, and Thomas Churchill, candidate for the Supreme Court of New York, were the guest speakers. The UNPU also endorsed the presidential candidacy of Calvin Coolidge and the gubernatorial race of Democrat A1 Smith (NW, 1 November 1924). 3. In the autumn of 1924, Garvey embarked on an extensive organizational tour to promote the sale of Black Cross Navigation and Trading Co. stock and to unify UNIA membership. His editorials were written from Detroit, Raleigh, N.C., Denver, and Ogden, Utah, in September and October. He returned briefly to New York at the end of October, and traveled to Cincinnati and Detroit in December 1924 ( W , 13 September, 27 September, n October, 18 October, 1 November, 6 December, and 13 December 1924).

33

T H E MARCUS GARVEY AND U N I A PAPERS

Vice President, Panama Rail Road Company,1 to M. L. Walker,2 President 2 4 STATE STREET, N E W YORK,

October 29th, 1924 Dear Sir:— In going through our files I find that we have inadvertently neglected to send you the particulars regarding the sale of the s.s "GEN. G. W. GOETHALS." The oversight was no doubt due to the fact that Colonel Morrow was in New York during the greater part of the time that negotiations were under way and was kept informed, although report of the transaction should also have been sent to your office for your information. The sale of the steamer was accompanied with voluminous correspondence and was attended with several difficulties, but we will give you below only the salient features of the transaction:— On August 13th, 1924 we entered into a contract for the sale of the s.s. "GEN. G. W. GOETHALS" to the Black Cross Navigation & Trading Company for the sum of $100,000.00, under the following conditions: $30,000.00 to be paid upon the execution of the contract. Two payments of $22,500.00 each, with interest from the date of the contract, to be paid on September 13th and October 13th, 1924, respectively. With the payment of the aforementioned amounts, totalling $75,000.00, we were to execute bill of sale, passing title to the Black Cross Navigation & Trading Company, and deliver the steamer to them, upon condition that they would give us the bond of an established surety company absolutely guaranteeing the payment of the balance of $25,000.00 in three equal monthly instalments. The price mentioned of $100,000.00 was by far the best offer we had received, and our only apprehension in connection with the transaction was caused by the fact that the Black Cross Company is an organization of colored people, headed by Marcus Garvey of considerable and questionable fame, who has been in difficulty with the Federal authorities on one or two occasions. With a view to avoiding criticism on that score the question was submitted to the Secretary of War, who informed us informally that he could see no objection to carrying out the transaction with Garvey and his associates provided all due precautions were taken to insure the satisfactory completion of the contract. We accordingly entered into the contract and our interests were adequately safeguarded, inasmuch as the steamer remained in our possession until

34

OCTOBER 1 9 2 4

a total of $75,000.00 had been paid and was then to be delivered only upon receipt of a satisfactory surety bond for the balance. The agreement further provided that in the event of the failure of the Black Cross Company to pay us the sum of $22,500.00 and interest on September 13th, they were to be considered in default and we were privileged to retain the sum of $15,000.00 out of payment already made as liquidated damages, and in the event of default of the third payment of $22,500.00 due October 13th, 1924 (the first two payments having been made) we were privileged to retain the additional sum of $12,500.00 as further liquidated damages. The Black Cross Company failed to make the second payment on the date stipulated and requested an extension in time of four days, but in order to preserve the validity of the contract they were formally notified of default. On September 17th they tendered us the payment of $22,500.00 with interest, which we accepted, and the contract was regularly reinstated. On October 13th they were again in default and were notified accordingly. On October 20th they tendered us payment of the amount due October 13th with interest, and notified us of their inability to obtain the necessary bond for the payment of the balance of $25,000.00 except by payment of an exorbitant premium, which they were unwilling to make. We notified them that under the circumstances we would not carry out that part of the agreement that called for the passing of the title and delivery of the steamer to them, and that we would accept their payment of $22,500.00 with interest only on condition that a new agreement be entered into under which they would assume full responsibility for the steamer, which would remain in our possession until the entire balance had been paid; that our as well as their interest in the steamer would be insured for their account; that all expenses for upkeep, watching service, etc. from October 13th would be for their account; and that in the event of their failure to meet any of the three monthly payments of the balance provided for in the new agreement, we would have the right to sell the steamer at public or private sale, the proceeds of which would be used to meet any payments due and reimburse us for all expenses in connection with the ship and its sale, any remaining balance to revert to the Black Cross Navigation & Trading Company. We feel reasonably certain that the Black Cross Company will be able to meet the further payments provided for in the new agreement; in fact, they informed us that they anticipate paying the entire balance before the expiration of the 90 days allowed in the contract as they desire to despatch the steamer with a party of colored tourists to the West Indies early in January. Their original intention was to enter into a colonization project in the Liberian section of Africa, but some African potentate seems to have effectively disposed of that scheme. We doubt very much as to whether the Black Cross Company will be able to continue the operation of the "GOETHALS" in any trade for any considerable period, but they seem determined to "carry on" despite the fact

35

T H E MARCUS GARVEY AND U N I A PAPERS that an o p p o r t u n i t y w a s a f f o r d e d t o t h e m t o realize a p r o f i t o f $ 1 0 , 0 0 0 . 0 0 o n the sale o f the steamer t o o t h e r interested parties w h o s o u g h t to take o v e r the contract. Y o u r s respectfully, VICE-PRESIDENT [Address:] Col. M . L . Walker, President, Panama Rail Road Company, Balboa Heights, C[anal] Z [ o n e ] D N A , R G 185, file 6 1 - H - 2 . T L , carbon copy. O n Panama Rail Road C o . letterhead. 1. The Panama Rail Road Co., based in New York, was the owner of the Panama Rail Road Steamship Line, with officcs in the Panama Canal Zone (letterhead, Panama Rail Road Co., D N A , R G 185, file 61-H-2). 2. Meriweathcr L. Walker (1870-1947) was appointed governor of the Panama Canal Zone by President Coolidge in 1924 and served in that capacity until 1928. An engineer and career officer, Walker was a graduate of West Point and the Army War College and was a veteran of World War I. He was commissioned as a colonel in 1927 (NTT, 30 July 1947).

36

NOVEMBER 192+

Negro World Notice

HURRAH!

HURRAH!

HG CONCERT AND SUNDAY AFTERNOON PROMENADE

Aboard S. S. GENERAL GOETHALS, to Be Rechristened &S. BOOKER T. WASHINGTON OF

IKE BLACK CROSS NAVIGATION STEAMSHIP UNE MARCUS GARVEY, President

at PIER 65, 25th STREET and NORTH RIVER NEW YORK CITY ON

SUNDAY AFTERNOON, NOVEMBER 2,1924 AT THREE O'CLOCK SHARP

Come and Inspect This Big Ocean Liner Owned by the Negro Race MUSIC BY UNIVERSAL BAND MADAM FRAZIER ROBINSON, Soloist

THOUSANDS WILL BE THERE Buy Your Tickets Now from Office Black Cross Navigation & Trading Company 56 West 135th Street. Admission

SO Cents.

Telephone Harlem 7704

No Tickets Will Be Sold on the Dock

GET YOUR TICKETS EITHER AT THE OFFICE OR AT LIBERTY HALL NOW CONGRESSMAN ROYAL H. WELLER m HONRABLE MARCUS GARVEY Will Be Principal Speakers (Source: NW, i November 1924.)

37

THE MARCUS GARVEY AND U N I A PAPERS

Editorial by Marcus Garvey in the Negro World [[New York City, November 4, 192+]] Fellow Men of the Negro Race, Greeting: Proud as we are of the fact that the Universal Negro Improvement Association is the greatest, best organized and most compact organization in the world among Negroes, yet it is our desire to reach out for the welding together of a more perfect movement. It is true that in six years we have rolled up a membership of millions of our race, and that we are established in every civilized section of the world, yet when we come to consider the great amount of work that is yet undone, we feel that a supreme appeal should be made to each and every one for better servicc within the organization and without. T H E 12,000,000 N E G R O E S OF A M E R I C A

There are twelve million Negroes in the United States of America with the millions in the West Indies, Central and South America who should be brought together into a closer racial relationship for the general improvement and development of ourselves, and not only should we in the western world draw ourselves into a closer bond of fellowship, but we should continue to exercise every bit of energy and influence at our disposal in bringing the Africans North, South, East and West into a great fraternity of race, so that individually we may be able to stem the tide of human prejudice and solve the problem of our universal backwardness. T H E U R G E TO D U T Y

The urge now is for a higher industrial and economic life. Each race group of humanity is now called upon to shoulder its own responsibility. As the patriotic Jew clings to the ideals of Jewish race and does everything to promote the interest of Judaism and all thereto connected, and as the Irish makes the supreme effort to promote the ideals of his own cause, and as the other nations and peoples of the world are now rightly adjusting themselves to their own racial needs and desires, so should the four hundred millions of us redouble our energies in every direction in forcing ourselves forward in the promotion of those loftier and higher ideals that tend generally to the well being of the human mind and the human soul. It is everybody's duty to look after himself, and as of the individual so of the race and nation. A T T E N D TO Y O U R O W N BUSINESS

The Negro cannot reasonably expect that other groups who have their own racial interest to look after will ignore them for that of others. As far as the white man and the Negro is concerned in America, and even in the British 38

NOVEMBER 192+

and French worlds, he has done as much already as he will ever do. He has brought the Negro into a closer contract [contactP] with his civilization and has encouraged him to drink in all of its good, and even of its evil, so that the negro of today is a full-fledged partner in the civilization in which he lives. He is well acquainted with every detail of it. Nothing has been hidden away from him, but it is natural to expect that the white man is not going to do much more for the black man than has already been done in the direction of educating him to take care of himself. It is for the black man to now seize out of the civilization in which he lives the best that he desires and start out immediately doing for himself as others have had to do to insure their permanent holdings in the world. The Negro must cease relying absolutely upon others and begin more to rely upon himself. T A K I N G H I S O W N STAND

In the religious, social, industrial and political fields the Negro should take his own stand and promote his own interest. It is only by so doing can we develop a keener and more profitable racial idealism that will be the safeguard of the race from utter defeat in the great struggle of races, peoples and nations to reach the top. R A C I A L AND N A T I O N A L D E V E L O P M E N T

Look all around us[:] we find nothing else but the great urge of racial and national development on the part of each and every one. The keener English patriotism forces the Englishman toward the accomplishment of higher aims and objects for the good of his country and countrymen, and so America, France, Italy, Germany, Japan and China, and now comes India, Egypt and Palestine. Can we blame them? Surely not. It is the call that nature makes to self, and if we find it stronger in the Jew, the Anglo-Saxon, the AngloAmerican, the Indian or the Japanese than in the Negro, we will attribute the fault not to nature's self, but to the indolence of the Negro to think and act on his own account. We must think more and act more independendy. The Christian doesn't think for the Jew, neither does the Jew think for the Christian, and so the Anglo-Saxon doesn't think for the Anglo-American nor the Japanese for the Teuton, so the Negro should not allow any one to think for him, but he should soberly and intelligently think for himself. A R O U S I N G T H E P E O P L E TO A C T I O N

It is in this direction that the Universal Negro Improvement Association desires to arouse the four hundred million scattered members of our race. We want to think not only in terms of a higher racial education, but we want to think in the terms of higher nationhood. Like the Jew who desires Palestine,' the black man should also reach out for a country of his own, and for six years we of the Universal Negro Improvement Association have been promulgating

39

T H E MARCUS GARVEY AND U N I A PAPERS

the doctrine of "Africa for the Africans, those at home and those abroad," based upon the same racial and national urge as Europe for the Europeans and Asia for the Asiatics. T H I N K FOR OURSELVES

It is true that some of us who do not think look upon this as a forlorn hope, but those of us who are acquainted with the strange character of history know that all things worth while in the higher accomplishments of mankind have always been regarded as impossible, as strange and as forlorn in the early stages when idealists and reformers launched out in the deep of thought to convince the people of the possibilities of the future. The idea of African nationality for the blacks is as possible as the realized nationalism today was for the colonists of one hundred and fifty years ago. What men have done in one age for the promotion of their own interest can be duplicated by men of another age, and so long as man has not lost his power to conquer and sway, then it becomes possible for man to achieve in the future what man has accomplished in the past, so that there is absolutely no reason why the four hundred million Negroes of the world should hang their heads in hopeless fatalism, but, on the contrary, there is every cause why we should lift our hopes, our aspirations and our ambitions to the highest in the accomplishment of the Negro race. So let us go forward and perfect, and even to a greater degree, the great movement of the Universal Negro Improvement Association. ACTIVE M I S S I O N A R I E S

Let each and every one of us of the millions of its membership become another active missionary out in the highways and byways and convert men to our way of thinking and to our vision of the future. Arouse them to a new life of economic conquest so that in the years to come, not far distant, probably the Negro may hold his place in the world of industry, commerce, politics, society and education like the rest of the people around us. We in a small way have started to forge this link of closer contact in sending out our ships upon the high seas. The Black Cross Navigation and Trading Company, a commercial auxiliary of the Universal Negro Improvement Association, is to bring into closer trade relationship the Negroes of Africa, South America and the West Indies with the Negroes of the United States. Let us develop a closer trade with each other. Let us exchange our commercial and industrial ideas. Let the Negroes of the West Indies indulge in closer business contact with the Negroes of America and let the Negro of America reach out to the business opportunities presented by the Negroes of South and Central America and Africa, and as the great white man, who has become the pattern of the world, has forged a trade link with Asia, Europe, Africa and the Americas out of which he has been able to build up powerful

40

NOVEMBER ^SA-

nations and empires and rear a commercial structure that shall last forever, let us imitate him in this direction. As other great commercial empires flourish and rise in importance even to the high heavens, so shall commercial and industrial Africa rise out of the chaos of today and become, no doubt, one of the mysteries of the new world. Let us contribute our part to this change that is to come over Africa at home and abroad. Let the high intelligence that we have imbibed out of the sacrifice of the ages, let the price paid by our parents of 2jo years in bondage of slavery be not in vain, but let us with this high intelligence that we have taken from the civilization around us rise to our true position in the world, so that in the final reckoning of all things the Negro will be able to hold up his head with all other members of the human race and justify the existence that God Almighty gave him. [. . .] Printed in W ,

8 November 1924. Article abridged.

1. Garvey used the examples of Jewish unity and Zionism as a model for African nationalism throughout his career. In 1922 he asked a Liberty Hall audience "if the Jews could have Palestine, why not the Negroes another Palestine in Africa?" (NW, 8 August 1922). Fifteen years later he expounded upon the same theme as that used in this editorial, asking readers of The Black Man to "work out a plan like the Zionist so as to recover ourselves" (BM 2, no. 9 [December 1937]: 13).

F. W. Williams1 to the NAACP P.O. Box 704, Winston Salem, N.C., November nth, 1924 Messrs:— Representing the affirmative on the subject, to wit: ["] Resolved, That the Marcus Garvey Propaganda is detrimental to the future progress of the American Negro," I will be glad if you can give me some data in the history of this organization.2 I am told that its influence was primarily responsible for the defeat of Dr. Roberts' and Theadore [Theodore] Roosevelt. Thanking your for any information which you may give[,] I am, Yours Very Truly F . W . WILLIAMS

D L C , N A A C P . T L S , recipient's copy. 1. Possibly Franklin W. Williams, an attorney and notary public who maintained offices in the Suggs Building in Winston-Salem, N.C., in the 1920s (Winston-Saicm, N.C., City and Suburban Directory 22 [1924]: 762). 2. The NAACP sent Williams the December 1920, January 1921, September 1922, January 1923, and May 1924 issues of the Crisis, which contained material on the Garvey movement (secretary, NAACP, to F. W. Williams, 17 November 1924, DLC, NAACP). 3. A reference to Charles Roberts, a black opponent of Royal Weller in the 1924 congressional elections ( W , 1 November 1924).

41

T H E MARCUS GARVEY AND U N I A PAPERS

Speech by Marcus Garvey [ [ L I B E R T Y HALL,

New York, November 16, 1924]] My subject for tonight is ' T h e Silent Work That Must Be Done[.]" We are in the seventh year of the international activities of the Universal Negro Improvement Association. We have practically reached the first period in our organization history, and we are now about to launch out into the activities of the second period. That is why I selected the subject tonight, ' T h e Silent Work That Must Be Done." T H E U . N . I . A . A N D ITS L E A D E R S H I P

Those who lead—whether they be generals in the army or statesmen in the commonwealth, c captains of industry—must have a program. That program must be carefully, minutely and properly arranged before it is presented to those who are to be led. As with all great world forces and movements, so also with the Universal Negro Improvement Association. We who lead the Universal Negro Improvement Association, because of the sacred duty at hand, do not do so recklessly without reason and without rhyme, but we do it according to our best calculation of time, of effect and result, and so we gradually marched through the conflict for nearly seven years and have practically reached the end of the first period of our organization life as I said, and are getting ready now to start off with the same zest—with the same zeal— with the same determination—for the second period, only in a different way. Those who are observant must have noticed that the Universal Negro Improvement Association within the last twelve to eighteen months has gradually been changing its attitude and its aspect. We have had to do so because of the soberness of our intelligence, and because of the character of the time in which we live. The leader who is not able to measure time, the leader who is not able to calculate results from conditions and environments, leads but to doom and destruction. But he who is able to take advantage of every environment as it presents itself, and every advantage as it presents itself, and every age as it grows older is the leader who will ultimately carry that [which he leads to the point of safety as desired by the multitude. And so] we who lead the Universal Negro Improvement Association are ever mindful of our duty. One man asked me some time, I believe, around the second of November, when I was speaking in support of certain candidates for election in the national election, why it was I did not speak, and advise Negroes then as I did when I started the movement. The poor man who asked me that question did so, no doubt, from an honest desire to know the reason. On the other hand, he might have been a critic who was endeavoring to embarrass me because my attitude and my speech were somewhat different from the attitude and speech in 1917

42

NOVEMBER 1924

or 1916 or 191J. My answer to him was an answer that everybody in Liberty Hall should know, an answer that all the Negroes of this country should know, an answer that all the Negroes of the world should know—1914 and 1919 up to 1923 presented the one glorious time and opportunity for the Negro to speak out and be heard, when the world was in labor and the minds of men were disturbed over the world. The leader who essayed to lead the people of this race in 1914 and could not measure time, even as it approaches now, and not even change and adapt his program to the age and condition[,] is a leader either of unsound mind or of speculative purpose whom to follow would mean destruction. Look at the world, look at yourselves, at your condition, and see the difference between them now and in the year 1914,1915,1916,1917,1918, up to 1922. You will find that you are living today in a world that has practically returned to its normal attitude, to its normalcy of mind, which gives it an opportunity to hear, to study and to act. N E G R O E S H A D TO B E A R O U S E D

Unfortunately when we spoke out in 1914, 191$, 1916, 1917, and 1918, up to 1922, coming right to the Negroes of the world in the harshest language possible, in a most uncompromising tone, for the specific purpose of getting the Negroes who were lethargic to be awakened and be aroused and understand, unfortunat[el]y all of them could not hear, and all of them did not hear. They called us radical during that period. We had to be radical; we had to adopt a policy of aggression during that period, because the period was ripe for disturbing Negroes' minds to all the possibilities of his future one way or the other. We did everything that was humanly possible to arouse consciousness in sleeping Negroes all over this country, all over the West Indies, and all over the world. During that period we prophesied what would happen a few years after the war; we told of great economic, industrial and commercial changes that would come about to affect the economic life of the Negro, and warned them during that period. It was all done without [with?] a hope or desire that such large numbers of the race would be stirred to activity, to action, as to render them able to prepare for the normal period that would return, that period when the great world that governs, the great world that rules weaker peoples and races would return to their pre-war attitude of suppression, of exploitation, of rapine and of murder; but, unfortunately, only a few of the many millions heard. The few tried to do their best, as God knows and you all know we did. We made every effort through the Universal Negro Improvement Association to open the way, but, unfortunately, the sleeping masses around us could not understand, could not hear; and, standing in the way as they did, they prevented the realization of the great object that we had in so rudely disturbing the minds of the people during the time that the world was in an uproar. You ask me, therefore, as the man did, why do you not speak now as you spoke then? How could I afford to do it with good judgment? We have lagged behind until the world has returned to normalcy, when the

43

T H E MARCUS GARVEY AND U N I A PAPERS

world's mind is no longer on fire; when the world's mind is no longer ablaze; the world's mind is sober, and when the world does not only hear the echo, but hears every word uttered. ORGANIZATION STILL INTACT

The Universal Negro Improvement Association, fortunately, nevertheless, has in the seven years been able to bring together an organization that is still intact, that is still determined to fulfill its purpose and carry out its object; but we are living in a period now when the object and the purpose must be realized, not as we did seven years ago, but through silence and proper organization; and that is the new program that we have to present to you in 1925. It is a program, nevertheless, not new to the world. It is a program that is as old as [any] organized group of humanity; it is a program that the other great races have followed, taking advantage of the same opportunities, privileges and chances as we took during the abnormal period, through which the world passed[,] and the readjusting period—such we are now experiencing in 1924 and will continue to experience until the world is rudely disturbed again. It was through taking advantage of the same abnormal period that the Jew was able to free himself, to a great extent, in Russia and Eastern Europe. It was not during the quiet moments, it was not during the undisturbed hours that the Jews won their peace in Russia; it was during the period when Russia was disturbed, when Russia had become excited and worried[,] that the Jews seized the opportunity to destroy the powers that destroyed them, the powers that murdered them, and ultimately won out in the practice of a new life in Russia and Eastern Europe that they could not have won for themselves during the period of normalcy.1 The Russian peasants could not have won out in the revolution if the revolution was started in 1924 and not 1917. They were able to take advantage of the unsettled condition of their country and the unsettled condition of the world to seize all that they desired by way of freedom, by way of larger liberty. It was the same impulse that drove the Universal Negro Improvement Association to a radical program between 1917 and 1922; but now, as I said, the world has returned to normal—what must we do? We must do during this new period of seven years that we are going to face, as the Jews have done, as all other people who have passed through the same disadvantages have done. Today the Jew is working out a wonderful program throughout the world. It is not a program of noise, it is a program of quiet and peaceful penetration that has put the Jew in the foremost rank of commerce and industry and ma[d]e of him today one of the great powers of the world. It is the same period that we must now face with silent word and silent labor to put over the gigantic and tremendous program of the Universal Negro Improvement Association which wc radically introduced during the periods of 1914 up to 1922. We did one great wonderful thing at the convention that up to now probably some of the delegates do not realize, when we organized that 44

NOVEMBER 192+

new society [the Universal Negro Political Union] which some of you may remember and some may not. After a long and tremendous discussion coming to the close of the convention we took the sober step that is going to really lead and pioneer the Universal Negro Improvement Association for the next seven years. During the abnormal period we were able to arouse the whole world; we were able to stir the whole continent of North America, we were able to stir the entire West Indian Archipelago; we were able to stir the entire continent of Africa and the future effects are being felt now. T H E STRONGEST H O U R

Many things I cannot tell you from the platform of Liberty Hall, because I say we are passed the first period where we could talk and tell everything, but we are now face to face with the next seven years—the next period of quiet and peaceful penetration, carrying the doctrine, carrying the colors, carrying the principles where you least expect. How many of you knew that during the time you met in New York in August that we had conventions as big as the one we held here being held in other parts of the world with great effect, the results of which are being felt today all over the worldf?] Glad I am that we were able during that period of the world to have built up a great new institution that we could quietly use and not in the way that we had to do when we were trying to make it; and tonight I want to say to you of Liberty Hall and to the members of the Universal Negro Improvement Association all over the world that we are now face to face with the strongest hour in the history of this great movement. You will see more and hear more other than what we say to you for you to realize the tremendous power of this great institution. Those of you who were willing to make the sacrifice, who were willing to stick to your posts of duty to carry this movement to where it is, to have taken it above the stage o[f] ordinary organization in[to] the realm of a great institution, whose power can be as silently felt, even as we make a noise from the housetop, in 1925 will see the great changes in the life of the Universal Negro Improvement Association. READJUSTING OURSELVES

We are now just readjusting ourselves to the new work that is ahead of us. Let the historian write, let the student get to work, let the philosophers take their position, and you will find that in the last seven years we have given out enough by which could be written the great policies, the great principles that shall ever lead this great organization. We haven't to say much more now; we have said everything already to give to this organization a policy and a principle. What do I mean by that? I mean this, that in just three years, three years of all the propaganda, the Man Jesus, who was nailed to the cross of Calvary, said so much that when He died He left behind enough that could have been designated as a policy and a principle of Christian religion 45

THE MARCUS GARVEY AND U N I A PAPERS

even for two thousand years; and so in the making of the Universal Negro Improvement Association we have said enough, and we have done enough for us to quietly write a policy and a principle that will shake the foundations of the world by silent and secret propaganda, not even uttering a word from the housetop as we did before. We are going to call for men of service; we are going to call for men of character that are to make the Universal Negro Improvement Association. Remember what I have said to you—The Universal Negro Improvement Association has passed its first period, has passed out of the propaganda and organizing period when this organization is known as a great institution. All the powers and the forces of this movement are going to be felt quietly and secredy, not only in New York, not only in America, but in the four corners of the world, and will continue so until Africa is redeemed. (Applause.) Little did you know what making a noise does, but we have had to do it. Little do you know what indiscretion does, but sometimes we have had to tolerate it. Let me tell you something. Take our Liberian program, for instance. The night that we sat here and sent off the experts to Liberia,2 I knew that would have been the cause of great trouble and danger. The whole world was interested. We, nevertheless, had reached the point where we had to make a demonstration, because to organize Negroes we have got to demonstrate; you cannot tell them anything; you have got to show them; and that is why we have got to spend seven years making noise. We had to make noise; we had to beat the drum; we had to do all we did; otherwise there would have been no organization. But I am glad that you have paid the price of your own ignorance, and that you yourselves realized it. We have had to make you pay the price and then make you realize the danger that you have done to yourselves before we could get you in a mood to do what is right; otherwise it could not be done. Do you know what really handicapped the whole thing? When we were sending away these men the New York World sent up a white reporter and that white reporter, true to his instructions, came up on the platform and did not want even a word from any of the responsible officers of the organization. He went all around trying to get all kinds of information, and some fellow who has more "gab" than judgment—I believe he is a member of the Royal Guard—told him about such troops and what the Royal Guards were going to do. When he was ready to report it, he reported only that part that the enemies wanted to defeat the whole program that we were endeavoring just at that time to put over, and gave to our enemies the very argument that they wanted. The next morning I said that to the engineer; he said nobody would pay attention to that; I said, "You don't think they would; that is the very thing they were looking for." The next morning the New York World came out that we were sending the nucleus of an army, the Royal Guard was to be the shock troops. From what this member of the Legion told the reporter he made up the story out of what he said, and it was not twelve hours before what was related by this man had disturbed the chancellors of England and France, and they had the wires working, so that 46

NOVEMBER 192+

before our men even sailed they had forced an attitude in Africa that would have prevented them from landing. The argument was that they were going to stir up revolution in Africa. That was really the cause of all the danger to this organization. We have had to pay the price. We have had to pass through such experiences to prepare our minds in the proper way for the real action that we must take to win this great fight of emancipating this struggling, down-trodden race of ours, and I can promise you that 192$[,] with God's grace, will see the Universal Negro Improvement Association adopting a new line of penetration in the industrial, commercial and political world that will bring about in the near future the real results that we want. Tonight I feel as happy as any time for the future of this great organization. Those of you who are real members have demonstrated a judgment and patience and determination that is most complimentary. Big movements like the Universal Negro Improvement Association must have upheavals, must have reverses, otherwise they could not be the movements which they are. We talk about criticism; we talk about what the people say outside. Those are but contributing agencies to the greatness and importance of a movement as big as the Universal Negro Improvement Association. No real movement is free from criticism, but it grows and becomes stronger from criticism than without it. As a fair illustration of what I mean, the President of the United States did not die during September and October when the Democrats and the Independents and the Socialists and the FarmerLaborites and the Prohibitionists attacked him on every hand. They called him all kinds of names, but he became stronger after the election than he was before.3 Therefore criticism does not always mean death and destruction; and so the Universal Negro Improvement Association is made stronger through reverses. The Universal Negro Improvement Association is made more able to cope with its great work by the criticisms that are leveled against it from within and without. A C O M P L I M E N T TO T H E M E M B E R S

I am glad that we have been able to convert in the first period so many millions of men and women and children whose hearts and minds still are unchanged. The compliment is to yourselves for having stuck by an organization of this character until you have made of it the great organization and the greatest Negro institution in the world. Your power is being felt today more than ever[.] The power of the Negro is being felt today because the world recognizes you as a coming force to be reckoned with, and I feel sure that if you stand firmly by the principles of the Universal Negro Improvement Association the day of triumph is not far off. We have done well; we have carried the colors nobly and gallantly by day and by night until the Universal Negro Improvement Association is recognized the world over today as the mighty moving force of four hundred million men, women and children. What in the world is to discourage us but death, and there is no death where there is determination to live. 47

T H E MARCUS GARVEY AND U N I A PAPERS

E N T H U S I A S M IS B U O Y A N T

I have just completed a tour of the country and the enthusiasm for the Universal Negro Improvement Association is so buoyant that nobody thinks of death any more. Remember[,] men of the Universal Negro Improvement Association, our policy today is the same as it was before, only that we are using different judgment now in executing that policy, and I am glad that you are able to readjust yourselves to it. Remember, the policy of the Universal Negro Improvement Association for 1924 and 1925 as far as its objective goes is the same as it was in 1917 and 1918, only that we are using more careful judgment. The things that we could have said in 1914, up to 1920 we cannot say and do now, but we mean them just the same. This is an age of good judgment and diplomacy for members of the Universal Negro Improvement Association as well as for the leaders of the Universal Negro Improvement Association. It is not because of fear or anything like that, but because times have changed. It is the just economic result that we are afraid of. Trusting therefore that you understand enough of the program of the Universal Negro Improvement Association and its past, I would adopt a quiet penetrating silence, feeling sure that you will agree with us to follow us as we lead[;] we will leave it in your hands. Printed in NW, 22 November 1924. Original headlines omitted; transposed linotype lines silently corrected. 1. Russia pursued virulent anti-Semitic policies under czarist rule. Jewish residence was limited to certain sections of western Russia (with some exceptions). Jews were excluded by law from public service, and in 1882 they were prohibited from acquiring rural land. Government-sponsored pogroms escalated in the years after 1880. In response, much of the Jewish population supported revolutionary change, and many of the ranking Bolshevik leaders, including Leon Trotsky, were Jewish. After the Russian Revolution (1917), the Soviet government formally reversed official hostility toward the Jewish minority, although anti-Semitism continued to be evident. Garvey accepted many elements of the Jewish-Bolshevik conspiracy theory propagated by Henry Ford and others in the 1920s. In the 1930s he denounced German persecution of Jews but also supported ideas about the international political power of Jewish finance. In 1935 he wrote that Hitler was foolish to attack the Jews because "when Jewish capitalists get together they will strike back at Germany and the fire of Communism will be lighted and Hitler and his gang will disappear as they have disappeared in Russia" (BM 1, no. 8 [July 193s]: 9 ; Isaac Deutscher, The Prophet Armed: Trotsky, 1879-1921 [195+; reprint ed., New York: Random House, 1965]; Zvi Gitelman, Jewish Nationality and Soviet Politics: The Jewish Sections of the CPSU, 1917-1930 [Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1972], pp. 1 7 - 2 0 , 5 1 4 - 5 2 3 ) . 2. A special meeting was held at Liberty Hall on 4 June 1 9 2 4 "to say adieu to the experts who leave in a few days for Liberia" (NW, 1 4 June 1924). 3. Calvin Coolidge, who had succeeded to the presidency upon the death of Warren Harding in 1923, was elected president of the United States in November 1 9 2 4 and served a full term (1925-1929). Robert La Follette—who as a senator had sponsored the resolution authorizing the U.S. Senate investigation of the Teapot Dome oil leases that led to the indictment of Harding's secretary of the interior, Albert Fall—was the League for Progressive Political Action candidate in the 1 9 2 4 presidential election. La Follette leveled charges of political corruption and economic mismanagment at Coolidge throughout the campaign (NTT, 4 October, 20 October, 21 October, 25 October, 30 October, 3 November, and 2 4 November 1924).

48

DECEMBER 1924

D. C. Hunter to the NAACP Sylvia, W.Va., Nov. 28/24 Dear Sir, I am write to ask you to please give the full deteals of the Markess Garveys movement or what does it stand for or is it really a fake; Please send me some of his written matter if you have it. The reason I am writing you. Some of Garvey Agents are raising confusion in W.Va. Respectfully yours D . C . HUNTER

[Handwritten endorsement:] Also send Some to Rev. Wm Revies[,] Hill Lap, W.Va. D L C , N A A C P . A L S , recipient's copy.

Brief for the United States, Marcus Garvey v. United States,

U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Second Circuit [New York, ca. 10 December 1924]

This is a writ of error to the District Court for the Southern District of New York to review a judgment of conviction of Marcus Garvey for misuse of the mails. The case was tried before Circuit Judge Mack. T H E INDICTMENT

Marcus Garvey and three other officers of the Black Star Line were indicted on January 22,1923 for misuse of the mails. This indictment contained seven substantive counts and one conspiracy count and is set out in full beginning with page 20 of the record.1 A second indictment containing three substantive counts and a conspiracy count against the same defendants was filed on or about February 17, 1922 and is found on page 2 of the record.* These indictments were consolidated. The Government withdrew from the consideration of the jury the fourth count of the first indictmcnt and the first and second count of the second indictment (fol. 7152).3 Garvey was found guilty on the third count of the second indictment 4 and was sentenced to imprisonment for five years and to pay a fine of $1,000. All the substantive counts charge the use of the mails pursuant to a scheme to defraud certain persons by inducing them by fraudulent representations and promises to buy stock in the Black Star Line, pursuant to which the mails were used.

49

T H E MARCUS GARVEY AND U N I A PAPERS STATEMENT OF FACTS

The history of the Black Star Line begins in May, 1919, when Marcus Garvey, a then recent immigrant from the West Indies, conceived the idea of starting a negro steamship company to rival the White Star Line. Garvey knew nothing about shipping, his nearest experience being that of a checker for the United Fruit Company (fols. 634; 6629). Nor did any of those whom he brought about him know anything about the shipping business. His vicepresident was a cigar manufacturer (fol. 3929) and the man whom he picked for treasurer was a railroad clerk (fol. 6449). But describing himself as the leader of the colored race of the world (fol. 676) and as the "Provisional President of Africa" (fol. 2392) he from the very outset undertook the venture himself picking and discharging officers (fols. 3930; 5308,548), directors (fols. 546,547; 3464) and employees (fol. 439). The early finances of the Black Star Line were procured through voluntary contributions and collections taken up at meetings held in the colored section of New York (fol. 187). Those contributions, however, instead of being used in the way represented, were by Carvers direction diverted to other purposes, such as the running of a restaurant and a newspaper of which Garvey was the editor, known as 'The Negro World" (fol. i94ff )This matter of the diversion of funds called for an explanation and an accounting was requested from Garvey by the District Attorney of New York County (fol. i98ff.). The reason for that was the refusal by a Miss Amy Ashwood, who handled the funds and who subsequently became Garvey's first wife (fol. 192) to allow an examination of her books (fol. 521). With respect further to Garvey's early financing it is significant to note that Garvey attempted to cover up the improper handling of the funds by false bills (fol. 199). There was some indication also that shares were being sold in this steamship company at that time unincorporated, and it was to obviate such a possibility as well as to insure a more responsible handling of the incoming money that Garvey was compelled to comply with regular business methods and on June 27, 1919 he incorporated in Delaware the Black Star Line, Inc. with himself as President (fols. 203, 204) with its office at 134 West 135th Street, New York, with a capital stock of $500,000 and with shares at a par value of $5.00. The general purpose expressed in the Black Star Line's certificate (ex. 1) was to engage in the shipping business all over the world. Primarily, however, Garvey expressed this purpose as being the engagement in trade between the United States, the West Indies and Africa (ex. 2 etc.). No sooner had the certificate been filed when Garvey started south on a stock selling tour with three stock certificate books, the treasurer of the company and the above mentioned Amy Ashwood (fol. 207). Considerable stock was sold on this trip and the money obviously was intended by subscribers for the Black Star Line. Garvey[,] however, used it to cover outstanding checks which had previously been issued to pay bills of the restaurant and the newspaper above mentioned (fols. 443ff; 540). And no SO

DECEMBER 192+

accounting was ever made of that money. In fact, when Garvey returned after this two weeks stock selling tour, a stock certificate stub book was missing (fol. 208) and the suggestion made to him to insert an advertisement for that lost book in his paper "The Negro World" was frowned upon because he feared the confidence of people in his venture would be affected (fol. 215). These irregularities again resulted in his appearance before the District Attorney of New York County, a fact doubtless known to a great many subscribers and prospective subscribers. He very shrewdly[,] however, explained away his visit to the District Attorney's office by concealing the real purpose and representing in his paper that the summons was due to persecution by a white District Attorney in an effort to hamper the negro (ex. 2 not printed). Later, however, he retracts his insulting and libelous accusation and admits that his previous statements were false (Ex. 3). From June to September of 1919 many promises had been made about the ships that stockholders in the Black Star Line were to have (fol. 233); and so in September, I9i9[,] a boat became quite imperative to show some evidence of good faith. There was a boat right handy at the 135th Street dock on the Hudson River, very close to the section of the city where the Black Star Line had already sold considerable stock. That boat, called the "Yarmouth" had been used as a cattle boat, was in a very filthy condition and Garvey's representations to the contrary notwithstanding, was not equipped for passenger service (fol. 88iff.). But so great was his anxiety for a ship that he cared little about the kind and less about the price (fols. 76s; 766); and he refused either to get an expert to examine her or to take the advice of a colored Captain (fol. 885) whom he had himself hired, and the suggestion of a lawyer (fol. 1108) against its purchase. A contract for the purchase of that ship for $165,000 was entered into on September 17, 1919. Even before that day she had already been represented as being the property of the Black Star Line and a flag known as the Black Star Line Flag had already been devised and unfurled from her mast (ex. 4). The boat was, of course, very well located for exhibition for stock selling purposes (fols. 320-321) and a large number of negroes did inspect her at her 135th Street dock. Of course, stock selling boomed, 5530 shares being sold in that one month and over 11,000 shares being sold in the month of October (ex. 134). This boom was due not only to the purchase and exhibition of the ship, but also to its advertised sailing on October 31, 1919, for the West Indies with passengers and cargo (exs. 25 and 26; Negro World, September 27, 1919). But the financial difficulties of the company having already started[,] the company couldn't live up to the terms of the contract and a series of new and supplementary contracts as well as charter parties between the owners of the boat and the Black Star Line started on October 20, 1919 (fols. 630, 631); and this trouble, as well as the condition of the boat itself, rendered it extremely difficult to place insurance (fol. 747) and made it impossible for the Black Star Line and Garvey to live up to the promise of the sailing on October 31, 1919. 51

T H E M A R C U S GARVEY AND U N I A PAPERS

But in order to conceal the true condition of affairs from the stockholders and in order also to avert the danger of a riot by 4000 negroes assembled to see the sailing, the owners of the boat yielding to Garvey's importunities, permitted it to leave its 135th Street Dock at the scheduled time presumably on its voyage to the West Indies. The fact is, as Garvey at that time knew, the boat did not go to the West Indies but got only as far as 23rd Street (fol. 624). Garvey[,] however, on November 8, 1919, had the temerity to make a statement (ex. 27) describing the successful launching of the first ship of the Black Star Line fleet, the "Frederick Douglas" (one of a series of names of distinguished colored leaders which Garvey intended giving to the various boats), the name to be given to the "Yarmouth" when the Black Star Line actually paid for the boat. And he further took occasion to promise a second ship to be known as the "Phyllis Wheatley" to operate beginning on January 1, 1920 (fol. 7453) on the "African Route." He finished up as usual by beseeching all to buy more stock. Despite the fact that the financial difficulties in paying for its boat had already started, Garvey in October, 1919 drew for Amy Ashwood at least two Black Star Line checks (exs. 5 and 6) with which she bought a house at 125 West 131 Street, New York. Miss Ashwood took title to that property in her own name, collected the rents herself and when she sold it pocketed the selling price. There is no mention in the Black Star Line books of the transaction^ ] and Garveys attempted explanation (fols. 6823; 7054) is far from a reasonable one; but perhaps the best answer is found in the fact that Garvey married this lady about two months after the property was bought (fol. 584). On or about November 20, the "Yarmouth" did sail for the West Indies carrying a few passengers most of whom were stock sales men (fols. 893-898); and when it reached there, those salesmen instituted an intensive stock selling campaign. A continuous stream of stockholders visited the "Yarmouth" while she was there from the middle of November to the early part of January and during that time about 20,000 shares of stock were sold (Ex. 134). Despite this, however, a deficit of $65,000 already existed by the end of 1919 (Ex. 138). Not only was that fact concealed from the stockholders but Garvey in alluring speeches and glowing articles led subscribers to believe that a "splendid success had been achieved" (Ex. 29) and a report to the stockholders on December 22, 1919 was intended to show a favorable balance of $27,000. (Minute Book). In fact, at Garvey's suggestion the capital stock in December of 1919 was increased from $500,000 to $10,000,000 (Ex. 139) which increase coming after the favorable report at the December, I9i9[,] meeting would seem to indicate that it was due to the favorable financial condition of the company. The fact is that a financial stringency existed which, it might be stated here, starting as it did from the very birth of the company, continued and in fact increased as the Black Star Line grew older. Garvey knew of this financial distress and actually suggested in 1920 that knowledge of it be kept from the stockholders (fols. 5876-5878; 5871-5872); and despite that knowledge makes the statement that the corporation was solvent (fol. 3461).

52

DECEMBER 1924

To return, however, to the shipping operations of the company. The "Yarmouth" came back from the West Indies in the middle of January 1920. Two days after it reached this country, the direction came from Garvey that it was to proceed with a cargo of whiskey to the West Indies (fol. 1159). The boat was in poor condition, badly in need of repairs and the arrangement which Garvey had made of $9. per ton was hardly enough to pay for the coal bill (fol. 1163). All these facts, however, were of small importance to Garvey (fols. 909, 910), whose main object in insisting upon this voyage was the publicity that it would give him and the company (fol. 1160). The troubles, dangers and vicissitudes through which the "Yarmouth" passed on this whiskey voyage are related at some length in the record (fol. i222ff.). However, the "Yarmouth" finally reached the West Indies in February of 1920 and remained there until May of that year, engaging in no business of any kind other than acting as an inducing cause for stock buying (fol. 923) which was in line with Garvey's intended purpose (fol. 926). During this time (the Spring of 1920), Garvey felt that something had to be done to make good on his numerous promises, previously made, of an African ship by January, 1920. The financial distress that the Black Star Line found itself in in the Spring of 1920 made it impossible for it to pay for the boat which he had already contracted to buy, that is[,] the "Yarmouth" (fols. 633; 648; Ex. 19). This, however, did not cause Garvey any pause when he undertook the purchase of a second boat for $35,000 in April of 1920. Garvey indeed might have been forgiven for adding this burden to the already overburdened Black Star Line if it were by any stretch of one's imagination a step in the performance of his promise of a real ship capable of engaging in the African trade. But the boat which he contracted for, called the "Shady Side[,"] was an old excursion boat built in 1873 (fol. 5154) and Garvey's sole purpose in negotiating for that boat was to use it as a medium to increase the sale of stock (fols. 5151—5153). However, it was put to work carrying colored people on excursion up the Hudson River during the summer of 1920, and despite the fact that Garvey knew it was not making money enough to pay for its coal bill (fol. 1287), he persisted in running it. It was finally put up at Fort Lee in September of 1920 and there it sank during that winter (fol. 5137). It represented in that short space of time an operating loss of $11,000 (Ex. 137) and a loss of $20,000 paid towards its purchase price (Ex. 142). The balance of its purchase price is to this day an unpaid debt of the Black Star Line. Stock selling, of course, was going on merrily. In the first four months of 1920 over 35,000 shares of stock were sold (Ex. 134). But, that was the only source of income that the company had—it got nothing from operation. A splendid example of the obstacles put in the way of the Black Star Line to make even a semblance of operating properly is illustrated by the return trip of the "Yartmouth" ["Yarmouth"] from the West Indies in May of 1920 with a cargo of cocoanuts consigned to New York (fol. 926ff.). Garvey did not permit that cargo to go to New York

S3

T H E MARCUS GARVEY AND U N I A PAPERS

but ordered the boat to go to Philadelphia where a meeting had been scheduled for the purpose of selling stock (fols. 920—930). Garvey felt that the physical presence of that boat in Philadelphia would help the sale of stock which it undoubtedly did, but the cargo of cocoanuts was rotting. For even after the Philadelphia meeting, Garvey would not permit the boat to go to New York but ordered it to Boston, where another big stock selling campaign was in progress (fol. 938). By the time he got through exhibiting the "Yarmouth," the cargo of cocoanuts had perished and another financial burden was added to the already heavily embarrassed Black Star Line (fols. 932; 936-937). This cocoanut cargo proved to be the last attempt, such as it was, of the Black Star Line to engage in actual shipping. The activities of the "Shady Side" have been described and the "Kenawha" ["Kanawha"], the third and last ship of the Black Star Line fleet, which will be discussed later, never even attempted to carry on. The "Yarmouth" was still used to boom stock sales (fol. 3410; Minute Book) and for that purpose made a third trip in May of 1920 to the West Indies. But it was finally laid up in the summer of 1920 after it had been libelled by various creditors and was sold by the United States Marshall in November of 1921 for $1625 (Ex. 33). Neither the complete failure of the operations of the "Yarmouth" and the "Shady Side[,"] nor the dire financial straits of the Black Star Line in the early i92o[s] (Exs. 15,16,17,18, and 19), kept Garvey from continuing to make promises of an African trip and an African fleet, and from the continued sale of stock on the strength of those promises. The trouble and delay which the Black Star line had in paying for the "Yarmouth" and the "Shady Side" all through 1920, did not deter Garvey from entering into a contract for the third and final ship known as the "Kenawha," and again he made no attempt whatsoever to live up to his above described promises, which he had made all along from the birth of the Company, that it would have boats on an African route. This third boat was formerly a millionaire's yacht with a coastwise license only, used by the Government during the War as a patrol boat and at the time of her purchase was in a bad condition and sadly in need of repair (fol. 1304). Garvey was advised against her purchase also, but characteristically persisted on his own course and contracted to pay for her the sum of $65,000, which was an exorbitant price. It is significant to note that tho[ugh] only about $35,000 was actually paid toward the purchase price of the "Kenawha [,"] the cost and repairs was [were] many times that amount (Exs. 137 and 138). The use to which Garvey put the "Ken[a]wha" differed in no respect from the use to which he put the two previous ships. In order to boom the sale of stock[,] which the chart (Gov.'s Ex. 134) shows was beginning to fall off, the "Kenawha" was not only put on exhibition, but was to undertake an excursion for colored people up the Hudson River at $1.25 round trip. The boat got as far as 206th Street, a boiler blew out, a man was killed and it had to turn back (fols. 1312 to 1323).

54

DECEMBER 1924

Thereafter from July 1920 to March 1921 started a series of attempts to run the boat from New York to the West Indies, which resulted in a dreadful squandering of stockholders' money (fols. 1327 to 1343). But although the "Kenawha" finally reached the West Indies in the spring of 1921, some 8 or 9 months after its first attempt, it never was able to make the return trip and was abandoned there in 1921 (fols. 1362,1363). The "Kenawha" represented an operating income of $1207.63 (mostly receipts from the excursion trip) and an operating expense of $134,681, a net operating loss of over $133,000 (Ex. 137), which obviously came from the stockholders who throughout this time, as has already been stated, had been led to believe and had been promised that their money was going into the purchase of real ships to engage in real trade between the United States, Africa and the West Indies. That the money which stockholders were subscribing for the purchase of real ships was going into the payment for these three worthless hulks was at all times carefully concealed from the stockholders and subscribers (Ex. 23 at p. 2743)The "Kenawha[,"] bought at Garvey's direction with no serious intention that she would be used for any purpose other than booming the stocks sales (fols. 1498; 2765; 2766)[,] was, however, used for additional purpose,— the transporting of Garvey and his retinue, during his stock-selling campaign in the West Indies from February to July of 1921. The boat, during that time, was subject to Garvey's orders and was used by him as if it were his private yacht (fols. 1353; 1360; 1361; 2803; 1697, 1698). And there is sufficient in the record from which it might be reasonably inferred that Garvey's purpose in the purchase of the "Kenawha" was to give him as "Provisional President of Africaf,"] a boat havin[g] a position analogous to our own "Mayflowe[r."] 5 This constitutes a very brief history of the actual Black Star Line fleet— a cattle boat, an old river excursion boat and a dilapidated yacht, representing invested capital of over three-quarters of a million dollars. There was, however, a fourth boat which never got beyond the phantom stage, already referred to in this statement a[s] the "Phyllis Wheatley[,"] the history of which starts at the beginning of the Black Star Line and continues until the indictment in early 1922. Its history is a series of promises made and contemplated to induce stock sales and promises broken by reason in part of the expenditure of the above mentioned enormous sums on the three hulks. The first promise of a ship for the African trade was made by Garvey five months after the birth of the corporation, on November 1, 1919 (Exs. 27 and 28). The floating of that ship set for various dates was finally promised by Garvey on February 28, 1920 (Ex. 29). It was in fact to be the second ship of the fleet (fol. 934). The "Kenawha" and the "Shady Side" were bought instead, though as a matter of fact the Black Star Line was in no financial condition to buy any ship. At any rate, Garvey[,] while he was making these promises[,] must have known that an African trade ship of the description of the "Phyllis Wheadey" was beyond the wildest dreams of the Black Star Line.

55

T H E M A R C U S GARVEY AND U N I A PAPERS

However, the promises continued throughout 1920 and 1921. On October 16, 1920, for instance, he was still promising the "Phyllis Wheatley" to sail, now, in January 1921 (Ex. 27). On February 17, 1921, a photograph actually appeared in the Negro World of the ship to be known as the "Phyllis Wheatley" (Ex. 56; fol. i77off.). The fact is, however, that not a single step was taken by Garvey to ever get such a ship, and it was not until after he left for the West Indies in 1921 (fol. 4747) that frenzied efforts were made by the vicepresident of the Black Star Line to get such a boat. Obviously, the Black Star Line was in no financial condition to guarantee payment, and the securing of a performance bond was found absolutely impossible (fol. 5676; Min. Oct. 11, 1921). And though the record discloses the payment of a sum of money made up in large part of money paid for passage to Africa and money borrowed, with the Shipping Board, the Black Star Line never was able to get such a ship. The failure to get the so-called African ship, however, did not deter the advertising of sailings for Africa. As early as September of 1920 Garvey suggested selling such passage (fols. 2637 and 2638). In December of 1920 he announced that the "Yarmouth" would sail and that passengers were to be booked (fol. 2822). Such an announcement in the light of the fact that the "Yarmouth" in October of 1920 (Ex. 23) had been reported as sinking most certainly could not have been made in good faith. And in January of 1921, Garvey definitely states that the first sailings for Africa would be in March of 1921, and regularly monthly thereafter, and promises that a total of 500,000 to 1,000,000 negroes would be transported by the Black Star Line to Africa in 1921 (Ex. 44). One week later he set the sailing date definitely as March 27, 1921 (Ex. 45)[,] and then he washes his hands of the whole thing by sailing for the West Indies to induce more people "to invest in this safe investment["] (Ex. 44), leaving the little matter of getting a ship without any money to his subordinates. Not only were sailings advertised and passengers and freight booked on the "Phyllis Wheatley" and other ships while Garvey was in the West Indies (Exs. 62 to 87), but even after his return (Exs. 88 to 97) passage was sold (Ex. 141). A total of $8900 was actually collected from people who had booked passage for Africa, and that money instead of being kept apart was considerably used up for the general purposes of the Black Star Line, so that Garvey's promises to return the money were as futile as his other promises had proved to be (fols. 2614 to 2618; 2637). The financial history of the Black Star Line as might be gathered from the above brief outline was a record of failure from the very outset,—a failure absolutely and carefully hidden at all times from stockholders and subscribers. In early 1920 the Black Star Line was an established failure. Its deficit at the end of the first fiscal year (June 1920) being more than a quarter of a million dollars. That fact must have been known to Garvey. He certainly knew that the Black Star Line was operating at a tremendous loss. Still on March 6,1920

56

DECEMBER 1924

(Ex. 30) he promises dividends at the end of the financial year and that the Black Star Line will place subscribers on the road to success (Ex. 3+). Later in the spring of 1920, with an operating loss of over $100,000 (Ex. 137) Garvey in a circular letter dated June 16,1920, describes the Black Star Line as holding a high place in the great business institutions of the day, which high position he makes the basis for urging additional subscriptions (Ex. 61). In the summer of 1920, with an operating loss steadily mounting, with a deficit greatly in excess of a quarter of a million dollars, he was still promising that dividends would be declared at the end of the financial year, that such dividends would be distributed among the shareholders (Ex. 98), and that a ship would be launched every three months (Ex. 35). And this at a time when in addition to its operating loss and its deficit, the Black Star Line had to resort to post dating checks (Exs. 15, 16 and 17), could not pay wages (Exs. 52, 53 and 54), was in such bad standing that its future was described as doubtful by one of its officers (Ex. 120), and had such a bad financial record that a new corporation known as the Black Star Steamship Company had to be incorporated in New Jersey (fols. 5735, $736; Min. Oct. 1920). Yet Garvey[,] well knowing of this state of affairs and knowing too that the operation of the "Yarmouth" and "Shady Side" had to be discontinued (fols. 3472, 3473), in August 1920 continued to describe the Black Star Line stock as being such an advantageous investment that only a limited amount of stock was to [b]e had at par ("Negro World" Oct. and Nov. 1920)—a falsehood so apparent that no attempt did he make to justify it. And during this trying period of July to December 1920 over $100,000 worth of stock was sold (Ex. 134). Conditions in 1921 were even worse. Garvey went to the West Indies in February 1921 and there undertook a stock selling campaign on the same false promises that the money was going for an African ship (fol. 2630). In March of 1921 when the "Yarmouth" and the "Shady Side" were already total losses he stated that the Black Star Line had three quarters of a million in property value that could be realized to the last nickel in twenty-four hours with possibilities of 100% dividends (fol. 7i27ff.), all of which he knew was absolutely false. For from July 1920 to June 1921 there was an operating loss of $163,000, an increase in the deficit of $209,ooo[,] making a total deficit for the two years of $444,000 (Ex. 137). Despite this utterly bankrupt condition in 1921 Garvey continued right up to January, 1922, when the prosecution was instituted, to conceal the true conditions of affairs from stockholders and to ask for money to float ships on the seven seas for this "great industrial enterprisef'] (Exs. 88 to 97), and over $100,000 worth of stock was sold in the six months from July 1921 to January 1922. The deficit during this time increased by $31,000, making a total deficit for the 2 1/2 years of the life of the Black Star Line of $47$,000 (Ex. 137), the explanation for which is sufficiently contained in the foregoing statement, as well as in the method of the handling of the Black Star Line money. Some intimation of how that money was handled is contained in the

57

T H E M A R C U S GARVEY AND U N I A PAPERS

narration at the early part of this statement of the purchase of property by Garvey's first wife with Black Star Line money. The funds of the Black Star Line from the very outset were under Garvey's direct supervision (fol. 442). Incoming funds were received in Garvey's office, turned over by him or his staff to the secretary and treasurer of the company. He directed also the disposition of money received from the sale of stock by salesmen on the road. Those salesmen took with them stock certificate books signed in blank by Garvey and sealed (fol. 2369). He conferred on them a wide discretion in the spending of that money. Their expenses, for instance, were taken directly from money which they collected and oftentimes reached 60% of the total (fols. 2373; 2+8+; 3$97ff.). Those expenses were various kinds. Garvey, for instance, favored ballyhoo methods and on some of his own stock selling trips took a band of 24 picces, 4 singers, as well as a personal bodyguard (fol. 2372), all of which came out of Black Star Line funds. On such trips as Garvey himself went, the handling of the money was in charge of his then private secretary, at first Miss Amy Ashwood, who later became his first wife, and later a Miss Amy Jacques, who became his second wife, and her brother[,] a Mr. Cleveland Jacques[,] who spent the money as they saw fit (fols. 1516; 1526-1527; 5222-23, 2769, 2376). The accounting for that money is such a ludicrous attempt at orderly bookkeeping that it is not an idle speculation to say that a great deal of it was spent for other than Black Star Line purposes (See Def[endan]t's Ex. T; Ex. V ; etc.). Garvey also had charge of outgoing money. It was at all times subject to his order (fol. 2995ff.); he did with it as he pleased and his supreme control over finances was never questioned even by the treasurer, who always implicitly obeyed Garvey's orders (fol. 6476). When Garvey went on stockselling trips he would take with him checks signed in blank (fols. 2929; 3003—4). When he went to the West Indies he left checks signed in blank (fols. 3808,3809); but he took care during that trip to place in financial control as his personal representative a lawyer named Smith[,] who was not even a director of the company (fols. 5602; 3806). The issuance of stock certificates was as loose as the handling of the money. The certificates were signed in blank and given to stock salesmen, an idea conceived by Garvey because it was found that stock sales were retarded if certificates could not be delivered immediately. This loose handling of the stock books resulted in the unexplained loss of a large number of stock certificate books (fol. 2354) so that it is doubtful if the exact amount of money which the Black Star Line received will ever be known. This much, however, is known:—that when the indictment was filed in Jan. 1922, there was nothing to show for the three quarters of a million dollars that the Black Star Line collected from the sale of stock. And[,] as against additional liabilities of about $IO5,OOO[,] it had assets at best of doubtful value, amounting to $30,000 (Ex. 138). Its real condition is really reflected by its cash balance on Jan. 5, 1922—$31.12 (Ex. 138).

58

DECEMBER 1924

This in brief is the history of the Black Star Line and of the false promises and pretenses made by its president and prime mover, Marcus Garvey. This statement is not intended to be an exhaustive statement of the facts in this case. POINT I T H E B I L L OF E X C E P T I O N S Is NOT VALIDLY BEFORE THIS COURT

Judgment was entered on June 21,1923 (fol. IOJ; 7282). On the next day, June 22,1923, an order was entered extending the term for the purpose of filing the bill of exceptions to four months from June 22nd [,] instead of the usual three months allowed by Rule 5 of the Rules of the Court. That would have brought the last day of the term down to October 22, 1923. The next order, however, (page 2794) was entered over the opposition of the District Attorney on October 29, i923[,] which on its face indicates a lapse of at least seven days. The body of that order, however, makes mention of and refers to an order to show cause which presumably extended the term pending the final decision of the application. That order to show cause (p. 2803) was procured on October 16, 1923 by the plaintiff-in-error directed to the District Attorney to show why the term should not be extended three months from October 21, 1923. The order to show cause read as follows: * * * And in the meantime, and pending the hearing and determination of this motion and the entry of an order thereon, LET the time of the plaintiff-in-error within which to have allowed, signed and filed his bill of exceptions herein, and the time within which to file the record on appeal herein with the Clerk of the United States Circuit Court, Second Circuit, and the time within which to file the amended assignments of error with the Clerk of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, and the June, 1923, term of this Court be and the same hereby is extended ten days from the date of the entry of an order thereon, and the service of a copy thereof with notice of entry on the attorneys for the plaintiff-in-error (sic). Two constructions of this vague language are possible. On the one hand, it might mean that the order to show cause is itself an order extending the term; but if so, the extension is stated to be only for ten days from the date of the order to show cause which would be up to October 26th, and the final order was not entered until October 29th, so that there would still be a lapse in the term of three days. On the other hand, if the order to show cause meant that the term was to be extended for ten days from the date of entry of what might loosely be termed an intermediate order, there is nothing in the record to show that such an intermediate order was ever entered. Certainly, no copy of such an order 59

T H E MARCUS GARVEY AND U N I A PAPERS

with notice of entry was ever served on the District Attorney. So that such a construction of the order to show cause would be unavailing. Moreover, if the first of these two possible constructions was put on the quoted language, if the drawer of the order intended such a meaning, why didn't he say simply, "In the meantime, let the term be extended ten days from the date hcreof[,"] or "let the term be extended until the disposition of this application." If the second construction was the intended one, why the service of a copy thereof "with notice of entry on the attorneys for the plaintiff-in-error." At best, therefore, the language of the order to show cause is not understandable and by no construction, however liberal, could it be understood to extend the term to October 29th. So that the order of October 29th having been made after the expiration of the term, is invalid. Maresca against U.S., 277 Fed. 727. The same state of facts holds also with respect to the next order to show cause and the order entered at page 2796, and there is another lapse between the 26th and 28th of November. POINT II T H E E V I D E N C E W A S S U F F I C I E N T TO E S T A B L I S H T H E U S E OF T H E M A I L S

The challenge of the plaintiff-in-error directed to the insufficiency of the evidence seems to be rather with respect to the proof of the use of the mails than to the proof of the false pretenses and promises, and the fraud involved. In fact (appellant's brief, page 22), there seems to be a tacit admission on the part of the plaintiff-in-error that there was a sufficient basis for the jury's verdict. However, the contention is urged that the jury's finding was improper because of a total failure on the part of the Government to substantiate the claim in the indictment that the mails were used pursuant to the scheme. Garvey was convicted on a count in the indictment which charges that pursuant to the fraud scheme on a certain date, to wit, (fol. 7) on or about December 13, 1920 (fol. 31) a letter or circular was sent to Benny Dancy, 34 West 131st Street, New York City. Dancy, called to the stand, identified an envelope dated December 13,1920 which was offered and received in evidence as Government's exhibit 112. He testified also that he was a stockholder in the Black Star Line (fol. 2579), that he received considerate [considerable] mail matter from the Black Star Line (fol. 2586) and that "some of the letters said invest more money in the Black Star Line for the ca[u]se of purchasing bigger ships and so forth" (fol. 2587). On cross-examination, Dancy, although not a bright man, did not permit the cross-examiner (Garvey himself) to put words into his mouth, and persisted in his testimony given on direct [examination] that the letters of the Black Star Line contained what he said they had contained on direct examination (fol[s], 2591, 2592). Considerable stress is placed by the appellant on an alleged failure on the part of the Government to prove that the envelope above mentioned (ex. 112) gramme No Negro can ioni thr organi/.ittoi* «irfw>ut recti* ing imntedi.ue henetit Irtmi the leurtfls « h k h are heing tanghi i " mstruct adv ise and ttrengthen its ntembers. l'Iti- inasM (4 Nesrnes are damnrinc b>r marchimi ordcr« TTte\ are evolvine their i n n teaderslop nie* MModag on ho«mt> o< purpuse ¿ad true

28 November 1925.)

273

!».» ini ilil% Bn»i Kii>li. 1 .< 11. ..< .1.01.11l«-»h filkvl Viitli » lo. „( I...I.O. Alni I.* •he >«ih ilimc «h*h »ili cut -jm il» Vil'«.' lutimi dru'idx»»! iihJ ulunui. .mmlnUiii'i 1 kanrfs an>l inalili i-.m.k.I ili. c-.'l '"«-l-. I I Kto il« Iommh fu hr

l'*ndtr *nd P r w i t m i t m u l .

In

THE MARCUS GARVEY AND UN1A PAPERS

Amy Jacques Garvey to Marcus Garvey NEW YORK, N.Y. NOV. 28, 192$ AM DREADFULLY BUSY HENCE MY NOT WRITING YOU AS OFTEN AS USUAL

HOPE YOU ARE WELL

MUCH LOVE DARLING DAD

WRITE SOON

AND REMEMBER YOUR LONELY AND TIRED MOPSIE

AFRC, AP. TTG, recipient's copy. Postal Telegraph, night letter.

Louis Jacobson and Haskel Jacobs, Counselors at Law, to William Sherrill [[NEW YORK, December i, 1925]] Dear Sir: In reply to your request for information regarding [the] article in the New York 'Times" on November 20th, 192$, this is to inform you that the statements that appeared in the New York 'Times" on November 20th, 1925 are not the statements given by this office.1 What we did say is that the New York Local has procured a mortgage against its property and with this money paid all the judgments that have been recorded against them and that the New York Local is in good financial condition and that they will in the near future [begin «?] building on their plot which will be known as Liberty Hall. Any statement that appears in newspapers other than what we stated above, is false and perhaps made by someone to mislead the members of your organization. This office stands ready at all times to give your association the best service and protect the interests of your organization and its members. Very truly yours, JACOBSON & JACOBS

Printed in NW, 12 December 1925. TLS, on Jacobson & Jacobs letterhead, facsimile reprint. 1. The 20 November 1925 New York Times article was written with the implication that "the law firm of Jacobson and Jacobs" had been the source for the information in the story. Although there were no direct quotations in the article, it stated that "the lawyers said that the association was educational and that it was again flourishing" and that it was making plans to build a new Liberty Hall on the site of the existing one. Information on liabilities incurred by the UN LA. for its failure to pay employee salaries was also attributed to the law firm, as was criticism of Garve/s role in the nonpayment of wages.

274

D E C E M B E R 1925

Percival Burrows to Marcus Garvey [[3 West 136th Street, New York, December 2, 192$]] Dear Sir: I have not written you for some time, for reasons as follows: I think that your mind is worried enough by what others are telling you and what you see and read in the columns of the press from time to time, and still further that I am kept out of all important conferences, because members of the Council, especially the administrator, who told me to my face that I was keeping you informed of all that was going on up here. Weston has sewed the seed of doubt and misapprehension in the minds of the membership at Liberty Hall, to the extent that I have not been going there to have to sit and listen to discrediting speeches of you and members of the Council. However, I am communicating with you at this time to let you know that I am doing my best so far as in my power lies, against all kinds of opposition from Mr. Sherrill; but you can rest assured that I am going to stand until it is absolutely impossible to. It has almost reached the stage now, but I am determined, come what may, only to throw up the sponge when I am completely down and out for the full count. Perhaps you are classing me with the others; but whatever I have to say, I have been saying to Mrs. Garvey up to a few weeks ago, which perhaps she forgets to tell you when on her visits. I, however, shall write more regularly from now on, as I am getting the blame like an abused wife who, getting tired of false accusation, makes them true. I shall keep you informed of all that I can learn from time to time. I want you to know now that only one member of the High Executive Council is with you whole-heartedly, and that is [Levi] Lord. I am confident that you are aware of the fact that I am with you all the way. I want you to know that a large number of the members of Liberty Hall is with Weston, led by Mrs. [Theresa?] Young and [Vincent] Watley [Wattley],' and the condition of Liberty Hall is having its effect on other divisions, especially divisions where Weston was once an officer, such as Boston, Cleveland and Pittsburgh]. I am not letting anyone know of these conditions, not even the Acting President General, and unless something definite is done as soon as possible, we will be confronted with a hard problem. The receipts are daily averaging $jo. The morale of the small divisions is intact, especially in the foreign field. Weston is disloyal to you and is aided and abetted by the admin [i]strator, in that he will not show his hand and force the issue. I am confident that lots could be done, but he is a coward of the worst and meanest type.

275

THE MARCUS GARVEY AND U N I A PAPERS

I have a copy of the uncorrected minutes, which I would like you to have, but do not want to send them through the mails; hence, if you say give them to Mrs. Garvey to bring them to you, I will do so. My reasons for not wanting to send them through the mails is that they will be too bulky. I want you to be perfectly at ease where I am concerned. I have been already asked to resign in a peculiar way, but I told them that I would "like h " Therefore, I am asking you to be courageous, as I see in the not far distance a great and rude awakening for all of those who are fighting you with your back to the wall. Keep the faith, beloved friend, and rest assured that if all the world turns its back on you[,] Percival Lew Burrows will be with you. 2 1 want you to keep this part of the letter as a witness. Yours very sincerely, P. L . B U R R O W S

Printed in NW, 29 March 1926. 1. Vincent Wattley was active in the New York local U N LA division; he was also a leader of the New York Tiger Division and a member of the UN1A Royal Guards in the early 1930s (NW, 14 February and 28 March 1931). 2. Burrows wrote to President Coolidge on Garve/s behalf, describing Garvey as "a Champion of the cause of Negro Freedom in its fullest sense" (Percival Burrows to Calvin Coolidge, 18 December 1925, W N R C , RG 204, file 42-793).

276

DECEMBER 1925

Negro World Advertisement

A Lasting Christmas and New Year Present THE BOOK H U T EVERY UNKING NEGRO HAN AND WOMAN MIST READ AND PASS TO

Their Children and Posterity 414 Pages EVERY NEGRO SHOULD BECOME INTERESTED IN THE GREAT PROBLEM OF RACE AND 773 M U f f l O N

READ

THE SECOND VOLUME OF PHILOSOPHY AND OPINIONS OF

MARCUS GARVEY or

AFRICA

FOR THE A F R I C A N S

With M account of t ) » trial of MARCUS GARVEY that baa d v m d Um U f a ! and Lay n M of U » WORLD

15 FVLLJAGE ILLUSTRATIONS MARCUS GARVEY ia thaGrealeat Living Negro Lea dar, Statoman and O n lor. New I

! for Mi Maab

 Bmk 7JM WIM M Ym THINKING UGHT. Ladt eleven mlU« »air* Ne«rece h America, Europe, Aua, Africa, W « Indm, South and Comal Amern in the QUEST otf NATIONHOOD! And atout kl h coactiaayoa ta* way or thaotbtrl

If you ift imtmnd in the futur* of Amtrka and the future of the Racn. READ thia git« bock—che though® of one of (he world*« greatca n a n minA. The book contain*. m additwfi n and Opinion*," the legal doevmena and bririi in the ctkfciittd Garvey trial, thai hat an»«d th» WiierM of milt ion* of people the world The «ry of "Africa for the Afrkana" • niaed with i lock. forcefultwa and determination that hat no paiaUd ia the hiaory of mankind.

Read of the nkh and treuMa of the Black Star Liae! Read ho* UNSCRUPULOUS and UNWORTHY white mm ta»* tried»««] from Nt|wt who have tried w help thtnaehts to the great aniggk of lift, {or which MARCUS GARVEY haa bam IMPRISONED, and bow HONORABLE tod HON. EST while men ha«« tried » help the RACE—a grat

Enry Keg» penon of intelligence «nd impur* n m «ill READ th* hook. Know what h in the mind of "TV Near Negro," mho Mtki the goo) of natiae&ood. L«*ra tht TRUTH about the man C m « ) 199 WMI 12M SfrMt. N«w Y«rk C1«. r . q f a m m i i U « BOOK DETA1ITMEHT. UNIVUUAI. NEGIIO 1MFIIOVUWNT ASSOCIATION M WMI 198*1. tewt Nvw Ywfc CKy Prict-SacaiJ V o t a » , U M P « t Paid. Pwduua

(Source: NW, $ D e c e m b e r 192J.)

277

-torn Can

NOWI

T H E MARCUS GARVEY AND U N I A PAPERS

Amy Jacques Garvey to Marcus Garvey N E W Y O R K DEC. 5, [L9]2J DARLING COMFORTING

DAD

THANKS

FOR

YOUR

PHYSIOLOGY

LETTER

IT

WAS

WHAT DOES T H E INITIALS D C L A F T E R Y O U R NAME S I G N I F Y

I N ILLUSTRATIONS

I SPEAK I N B R O O K L Y N SUNDAY C O M I N G A N D SIXTY

T H I R D STREET SUNDAY FOLLOWING

M U C H LOVE MOPSIE

AFRC, AP. TTG, recipient's copy. Postal Telegraph, night letter.

Marcus Garvey to Amy Jacques Garvey [Atlanta, Ga.,] Dec. 6, 1925 Doctor of Civil Laws' for which you received diploma. Glad to interpret telegram that you are more cheerful. Much love. Telegraph me when book is off press. POPSIE

[Handwritten endorsements:] OK JWS. [$]i.o8. AFRC, AP. ATG, day letter. 1. While Garvey studied law and philosophy in courses taken at Birkbeck College, London, as a young man, there is no evidence that he received an academic degree from any institution. The doctor of civil laws degree to which he refers may have been awarded by the UNIA.

Marcus Garvey to Prof. D. H. Kyle [Atlanta, Ga.,] DEC. 7, 1925 Expect letter from Mrs. Garvey for you to be in Washington next Monday [14 December] with Peters and Barber for two weeks. Make arrangements accordingly. Best wishes to family. GARVEY

[Address:] Professor Kyle, Public School (Colored), Clarksburg, W.Va. [Handwritten endorsements:] OK IWS. Western .90c. AFRC, AP. ATG, day letter.

278

D E C E M B E R 1925

James Finch to George Gordon Battle [Washington, D.C.,] December 7, 192$ From facts reported together with adverse recommendations receivedf,] Marcus Garvey case not entided to submission to President for consideration^] Papers filed[.] No further action contemplated. [JAMES] F I N C H

Pardon Attorney [Endorsement:]

COLLECT

WNRC, RG 204, file 42-793- TTG, carbon copy.

Clifford Bourne to Marcus Garvey [[New York, December 8, 1925]] My Dear Mr. Garvey: I received your telegram in answer to my letter and I can appreciate that the many important visits you had last month in connection with other matters of greater importance prevented you from being in a position to receive me at that time, but I will await with much anxiety your telegram or letter telling me I can come down to see you, as it is very important that I have a conference with you. I may say for your information that the affairs o f the Parent Body, while they are not exactly what you would like them to be, are not beyond recuperation not even so bad, since we are not being pressed so very much by the members for payment on construction notes as before, but we try and pay them whatever we can when they make a request. The matter that I particularly want to inform you about is of the ship. You well remember that when our boat was going out on the 18th, January last, just one hour before she sailed, Crawford libeled her, and it was only through the confidence the Amsterdam Casualty Company had in us through their former dealings with us that we were able to stave off the shame that would have naturally been placed on us through what Crawford wanted to do. Also, after you were unfortunately taken away, this same man brought a suit for $1,000 for services rendered through a fictitious name and action. I personally went on the stand and gave a statement which killed him, along with the statements you sent from Adanta. Now this very man is practically the owner o f our boat, and I cannot see why he should be in charge of our boat, especially as he is totally against our entire organization.

279

T H E MARCUS GARVEY AND U N I A PAPERS

Now, this is what we are confronted with: We have been able to pay off every cent of the libels by the crew, EVERY PENNY. But Mr. Crawford is our agent collecting $350 per month as agent's fee and at the same time he has chartered our boat to himself. I mean that he is agent under the name of the Overseas Navigation & Trading Company, and has chartered the boat to himself under the name of the Overseas Navigation Corporation. Now, it is said I will not co-o[p]erate with Mr. Sherrill, but Mr. Garvey, I would rather die than endorse a thing like that, because I still contend that if Crawford was honest, since he is being paid a salary as agent, all freight that he gets should be for the account of the company, and [he should] not be allowed to charter our boat to go out and get freight; and then agree to pay us a meagre charter hire, and even at that he has not been able to put one cent in the company's hand. On the contrary every dollar that has come in has been sent down to him, claiming same is to be disbursed for the company. Now, I know that this man never had a dollar to draw on before he was our agent, but now he is a big man. Another very dangerous angle is this: He has been receiving freight for the last six weeks from shippers, and collecting, I understand, money on account of bills of lading and, since he had the Captain to sign these bills of lading, the ship is responsible, notwithstanding the fact that the company has not benefited one penny from same. I feel it my duty to inform you of this because when the crash comes I will not be included in the blame. As I told the members of the committee yesterday I have always cooperated with Mr. Sherrill just as nicely as I did with Mr. Garvey. While I must say he does not understand things one-half as well as you do, yet we always got along very well. But I cannot co-operate with Crawford in getting full ownership of a boat that you talked so hard to buy and I, doing the best I could with sleepless nights and resdess days. I am sure that I am not maligning anyone by saying that Crawford's is a scheme to get our boat in such difficulty that it can be sold for a song to someone whom he will suggest, and then pull a big deal for himself. He does not want to see me around his office, because I can see his game too quick. The same thing applies to Campbell. We can see his games and attempt to block same. But somebody else falls for them; for what reason, I am not in a position to say. Regarding my action in the whole organization I am sure that everything in my department is above board. They have just audited my Parent Body accounts, and I know they are religiously O.K. They are just having my Black Cross accounts audited and as soon as they are through and I have seen you, I am perfectly willing to resign and allow someone else whom they may desire to take my place. But, I can assure you, Mr. Garvey, that I will go feeling I have never been associated with a better person than you in my life to work with, but the others—??? In conclusion, I pray the Good Master will open the heart of the President during the Christmas season to grant you a pardon so you can come back to

280

D E C E M B E R 1925

us. But I can assure you that, wherever you are and I may be, irrespective of what happens, I am with you heart and soul. My children and Mrs. Bourne think of you day and night and pray for your early return. Accept best wishes. Yours sincerely, (Signed) C . S. B O U R N E

Printed in NW, 29 March 1926.

Marcus Garvey to Amy Jacques Garvey [Atlanta, Ga.,] DEC. 9, 1925 Hope you have forwarded books to facilitate Kyle and others on arrival Friday [11 December] and Monday [14 December] otherwise useless. Send page advertisement to Belize Independent with ten dollars, similar to Gleaner's. Much love POPSIE

[Handwritten endorsements:] OK JWS. Postal, [$]I.82. AFRC, AP. ATG, straight telegram.

John Sargent to Sen. Frank B. Willis [Washington, D.C.,] December 9,192$ My dear Senator: In reply to your letter of December 5, 1925,1 with enclosures, relative to Marcus Garvey, permit me to state that Garvey's application for Executive clemency was presented to the Department on June 17, 1925, and reports and recommendations thereon were obtained. In view of the facts reported and the adverse recommendations received, the case was not entitled to submission to the President for his consideration. Garvey was convicted in the District Court for the Southern District of New York of using the mails in a scheme to defraud and was sentenced to serve a period of five years in the Atlanta Penitentiary and fined $1,000. According to the reports received, Garvey's conviction was based upon his activities in connection with the Black Star Line, during which activities he had also an allied organization known as the Universal Negro Improvement Association. The latter organization received enormous amounts of money during the time Garvey was campaigning for the Black Star Line, which funds have never been accounted for, and the exact amount of which it is impossible to compute as no one but Garvey's wife was permitted to handle the money. 281

THE MARCUS GARVEY AND U N I A PAPERS

Moreover, very large amounts o f money were gotten by Garvey in other organizations, such as the Negro Factories Corporation, the African Redemption Fund and various loan funds, all o f which were swindles and for which there was nothing to show. It is said that the menace of Garvey, therefore, from a pecuniary standpoint, is based in great measure upon a ruthless mishandling and misappropriation of an amount of money greatly in excess of $1,000,000 which in great measure came from very poor colored people. In addition to the foregoing, it would be supposed that after one conviction for using the mails in a scheme to defraud, Garvey would have ceased his activities—certainly, along a related line—until the final determination of his case. Garvey, however, immediately upon his release from the Tombs, where he was sent after conviction, undertook the promotion o f a company known as the Black Cross Navigation Company with the same end in view that he had when he promoted the Black Star Line. Brazenly, as it is stated, he used the same methods, and it is known that he collected more than $100,000 which was used for the purchase of another ship, and this also involved a very large loss to the investors. Since conviction, so it is reported, Garvey, as he did before, has carried on a propaganda of villification and abuse of all—both colored and w h i t e — w h o take exception to the unscrupulous means which he used to promote himself. His incendiarism has continued up to recent date, and his preaching o f hate, though of a very subtle character, is extremely menacing to peaceful living in the community. Garvey's trial was an extremely fair one, and though in his supreme egotism he persisted in doing the questioning himself, he had by his side two lawyers who were with him throughout the trial. There is said to be another charge pending against him for defeating the income tax for the calendar year 1921, as well as other charges and complaints which have been made against him both in the Federal and State Courts. The Department entertains no doubt concerning the applicant's guilt and believes that the sentence was fully warranted. Trusting that the foregoing sufficiently answers your inquiry, I am Respectfully, [JOHN S A R G E N T ]

Attorney General WNRC, RG 204, letters sent in pardon cases, vol. 30: 7 January 1926. TL, carbon copy.

20 November 1925—

1. Willis was one of several members of the U.S. Congress who contacted the attorney general or the pardon attorney about Garvey's case after receiving petitions and letters from local UNIA members (WNRC, RG 204, file 42-793).

282

DECEMBER 1925

Marcus Garvey to Norton G. Thomas [Atlanta, Telegram received.

Ga.,

ca. 9 December

1925]

I strongly advise that staff [rem]ain and faithfully

p e r f o r m duties until things adjust themselves.

Villainy cannot continue for

l o n g . A s s u r e d o f y o u r salary. 1 MARCUS GARVEY [Address:] N o r t o n G . T h o m a s , $6 W . 135th St., N e w York C i t y [Handwritten endorsements:] O K JWS. Postal, [$]i.47A F R C , A P . A T G , personal delivery, Western U n i o n . 1. Norton G. Thomas had cablcd Garvey to inform him of the bad press being given the association in New York in regard to lawsuits won by creditors, and the mortgaging of Liberty Hall to meet those demands. He went on to tell Garvey that the Negro World staff is owed from two to six weeks salary and Weston has today refused to sign any checks for any one. I shall continue to work on this paper only because I feel that I owe it to you to continue until I hear from you but if my pay is not forthcoming and if I am not assured I am to be paid weekly I shall be constrained to seek other employment. Mr. Fortune and Mrs. Reeves are here and feel the same way as I do. I shall therefore be glad if you will specifically inform those responsible that the editorial staff of the Negro World must be paid. (Thomas to Garvey, 21 November 1925, A F R C , AP) The nonpayment of salaries was a recurring problem for the staff of the Negro World. Three months later Thomas was again cabling Garvey to be paid (Thomas to Garvey, 5 March 1926, AFRC, AP). Garvey replied in the affirmative (Garvey to Thomas, 6 March 1926, A F R C , AP). In 1927 Thomas was still writing in the same vein, asking Garvey to "please advise whom Mrs. Reeves and I must approach for pay[,] which has mounted to several hundreds becoming impossible to continue in this way" (Thomas to Garvey, 20 September 1927, A F R C , AP).

Marcus Garvey to Norton G. Thomas [Atlanta,

Ga.,

ca. 9 December

1925]

A d v e r t i s e m e n t f o r b o o k f r o m M r s . G a r v e y is f u l l p a g e [ , ] t w o c o n s e c u t i v e issues.

Write review

to appear second

appearance o f advertisement.1

She

will explain. MARCUS GARVEY [Handwritten endorsements:] [$].72, N [ i g h t ] L[etter],

O K JWS. Postal,

A P R C , A P . A T G , personal delivery, day letter. 1. Full-page advertisements for the second volume of Philosophy and Opinions were printed in the 5 December and 12 December 1925 editions of the Ne/jro World. No formal review accompanied

283

THE MARCUS GARVEY AND U N I A PAPERS the second appearance of the advertisement. The advertisement informed readers that Garvey "has a message that every person should read. Garvey, like Gandhi of India, [and] Zaghlul Pasha of Egypt, has a grip upon the minds of the people that will greatly affect the course of human history! Like John Bunyan, in prison, he sends a message to the world that time shall not efface." A smaller advertisement for the book appeared beneath Garve/s front-page editorial on 19 December 1925.

Amy Jacques Garvey to Marcus Garvey NEW YORK, N.Y. DEC. IO, 1925 DARLING DAD DR PETERS AND REV BARBER BOTH SAY THAT YOU LOOK DREADFULLY ILL THAT YOUR KIDNEYS ARE BOTHERING YOU ALSO A HEAVY CHEST COLD

PLEASE LET ME KNOW RIGHT AWAY HOW YOU ARE FEELING

EXPECT BOOKS TUESDAY

LOVE MOPSIE

A F R C , AP. T T G , recipient's copy. Postal Telegraph, night letter.

Memorandum by James Finch PARDON

ATTORNEY

WASHINGTON

.

{Saura: W N R C , R G 2 0 4 , file 42-793 ) 284

j

DECEMBER 192$

G. Emonei Carter, U N I A Secretary General, to President Calvin Coolidge J6 WEST 135TH STREET NEW Y O R K , D e c . , II 1925.

My Dear Sir: I am just returned from a visit to the middle and far west, where I have met thousands of Negroes, members of our Association and non members, all your ardent admirers and voters, who are asking me to make their personal desires known, relative to the release of our President General Hon. Marcus Garvey. They are praying earnestly at this the Xmas season, you will release to us this genius and honored leader o f the black people of the world, who desire a homeland of their own; and who are striving toward nationhood. Every member of the Universal Negro Improvement Association is joining in this request. We number in America alone more than two million. Thanking you for the consideration and feeling quite sure your action in this direction will more than gratify our request, as well as rectify a grave injustice visited upon a trusting and loyal following, who suffered thru his forced absence in the sentence given him to Atlanta, we are Yours faithfully, U N I V E R S A L N E G R O IMPROVEMENT A S S O C I A T I O N G . EMONEI CARTER

Secretary General W N R C , R G 2 0 4 , file 42-793. T L S , recipient's copy. O n Parent B o d y , Universal N e g r o Improvement Association and African Communities League, letterhead.

Article in the Negro World

by William Sherrill [New York, 12 December 1925] H O N . WILLIAM SHERRILL URGES MEMBERSHIP TO R E D O U B L E E F F O R T S TO S E C U R E C H R I S T M A S P A R D O N FOR GREATEST N E G R O L E A D E R OF A L L T I M E

As Acting President-General of the Universal Negro Improvement Association, I find it necessary at this time to brand as false, wicked and maliciously planned propaganda, news articles being circulated through the press and otherwise to the effect that the membership, a group of the membership or those who at present control the affairs of the Universal Negro Improvement Association, repudiate the leadership of Marcus Garvey or in any way actively or passively endorse criticism of efforts made by him to carry out 285

T H E MARCUS GARVEY AND U N I A PAPERS

the program of the association. These news articles and persons responsible for the spreading of this propaganda form but a part of the great effort on foot [afoot?] for the purpose of breaking up the Universal Negro Improvement Association and destroying the influence of Marcus Garvey. L E A D E R S H I P OF G A R V E Y I N D I S P E N S A B L E

I am in position truthfully to state that at no time has the organization been more united in its allegiance to the undisputed and indisputed leadership of the Hon. Marcus Garvey. The Universal Negro Improvement Association is satisfied with the leadership of Marcus Garvey and more confident today than ever before that he is the only real leader the race has had since Frederick Douglass. His imprisonment has but intensified the Association's determination to follow where he leads. To repudiate Garvey means to repudiate the Universal Negro Improvement Association, for the Universal Negro Improvement Association is but the material manifestation of the spirit of Garvey. The aggressiveness, ambition and ideals of this organization, the willingness manifested on the part of its followers to suffer, sacrifice and pay whatever price necessary for African Redemption are but indications of the spirit of Garvey breathed by Garvey into the souls of millions of black folks who believe in him. The agents responsible for the dissemination of this insidious propaganda put out for the purpose of destroying Garvey are totally ignorant of the futility of their attempt. I have taken no notice of this move before now because I saw from the beginning the folly of such efforts. I speak at this time merely to reassure our membership of the attitude of the administration in this particular and also to enable them clearly to discern the contemptible tactics of those would-be destroyers of our world wide organization. A VICIOUS NEWS ARTICLE

The most recent instance of this vicious propaganda is a news article published in the New York Times and subsequently released throughout the country by the Preston News Service, carrying an announcement purporting to come from the firm of Jacobson & Jacobs. According to this announcement Mr. Garvey's popularity is due to his willingness to give jobs with huge salaries to all who he thought would be of service to him in spreading propaganda for the upbuilding of his movement, and that when the Association failed to redeem the promises of Garvey, suits were brought against it and judgments obtained. It is further stated that Mr. Garvey alone is responsible for the indebtedness of the Association. Now, these false statements are too ridiculous for words. Outsiders with but a casual acquaintance with our constitution know that the Convention of the Negro Peoples of the World is wholly and solely responsible for the election and endorsement of officials who occupy high positions in the Association and that if Mr. Garvey's popularity depended upon the handful of officials who have 286

DECEMBER 1925

left, or were forced to leave and subsequently sued the Association, he would enjoy no popularity whatever. Anyone who is acquainted with the organization understands clearly that this is but an attempt to misrepresent Mr. Garvey and place him in a false light. As to his popularity, one need only to know the needs and sufferings of the Negro and learn about Garvey's program and work and the sacrifice he now makes behind prison bars to know to what his popularity is due. M R . GARVEY'S R E A L POPULARITY

Mr. Garvey's real popularity is with millions of poor, hard-working, suffering Negroes all over the world who before Garvey's coming were lost and despondent in the wilderness of oppression, exploitation and racial hate and to whom Garvey brought light, hope and courage and indicated the way to the promised land. To those poor benighted millions Garvey did not give jobs; he gave them things bigger than mere jobs—hope, courage and a knowledge of themselves as creatures of God with the undeniable right to enjoy the best things of life. He fortified them in the belief that they, too, can climb to such heights as other races have attained. He made them understand that what other men have done they, too, can do, whether it be clearing forests or painting pictures, digging ditches or building governments. It is to this new realization brought by Garvey to a down-trodden race his popularity is due. It is the millions who do not even hope for a job that love and worship him. It is the great mass of his race whom the government says he defrauded, who gave tens of thousands of dollars to his second shipping venture, still give for the carrying on of the work he started and cry aloud with sincerity, "Let Garvey go free!" So, let none be misled as to where Garvey's popularity lies. Its great abiding place is to be found not in the hearts of a few selfish individuals who enjoy "big jobs" and "huge salaries," but in the swelling breasts of the masses. N A M E OF L E A D E R M U S T L I V E

But why say more about this and other articles circulated for the purpose of destroying Garvey's work? They cannot destroy Garvey's achievements, for he has written them indelibly on the sands of time. Long after these schemers are dead and forgotten Garvey will live in the hearts of men. Despite the machinations of enemies and hypocrites who pretend to be friends, Garvey's achievements will weather the centuries and his self-sacrificing example will stand as a beacon light to guide the paths of millions yet unborn. None will know how well he has wrought until they attempt to follow in his footsteps, by carrying on what he so nobly began. With an organization of such colossal magnitude as the Universal Negro Improvement Association in his hands, opposed as he was by powerful combines who were determined to thwart every effort, confronted by jealous self-seekers within the organization who wanted to be a Marcus Garvey, but lacked the stuff of which Marcus Garveys are made, Garvey has accomplished an almost superhuman task. 287

THE MARCUS GARVEY AND U N I A PAPERS

Millions of our race love Garvey for his work and honor him for his contribution. We will not sit idly by and permit any vilification of his name or his being placed in a false light without striking back. We believe in the man, we believe in the program and stand ready to honestly defend both against all comers. L A W FIRM'S EXPLANATION

The firm of Jacobson & Jacobs has been requested to give full explanation of this announcement supposed to come from them. They assured us that the whole article was a mis-statement of the facts and replied to my inquiries as shown in the letter reproduced above. The world must know that whatever ill-informed persons may think of Marcus Garvey, the great mass of Negroes still believe and follow him. Let him but come from Atlanta tomorrow and millions of worn, tired, anxious faces will surge about him to catch but a glimpse of their only leader. B E N O T DISTURBED BY PROPAGANDA

Let no member be disturbed over this propaganda, for that is the object of its authors. If it causes dismay and loss of faith in those who are holding the fort, then the enemy shall not have labored in vain. When we believe every news article we read, every report we hear, we are but giving so much aid to those who want either to destroy the Universal Negro Improvement Association or are ambitious to advance themselves at the expense of those who are bearing the brunt of the fray. Our one duty at this time is to be sure that we are loyal to the cause of African redemption and its great leader who now suffers in behalf of that cause. We cannot be loyal to either of these, however, unless we are loyal to those who are honestly trying to carry on. Garveys hands are tied. He must have honest men who will stand by him and be true to the principles of the organization in carrying on. We have no fear of the loyalty of our members. We are proud of the way the members of our divisions are standing by and supporting the parent body. We are confident from the many encouraging letters received from all parts of the world that the membership as a whole is determined to see to it that the organization Garvey left is held intact until his physical return, for his spirit is and has been with us always. It is because of this determination and support that we are enabled to march steadily on. PARDON FOR M A R C U S GARVEY

As the New Year approaches we can have but one hope, and that is that 1926 will find our leader, the Hon. Marcus Garvey, again with us. It has been announced in the press that President Coolidge will issue a number of Christmas pardons. May God touch the President's heart to include Marcus Garvey's name in these pardons. Garvey has committed no crime. He is needed by his people. 288

DECEMBER 1925

Every member should send immediately to the President of the United States a telegram asking the President to hear the pleadings of 4,000,000 citizens of America, begging for the freedom of their leaderf,] and grant Marcus Garvey a Christmas pardon. Trusting that God will crown our work with tremendous success and that our leader will be delivered from Atlanta at Christmastide, with best wishes, I remain Yours for service, W I L L I A M L . SHERRILL

Acting President General Universal Negro Improvement Association Printed in ATJF, 12 December 1925.

Marcus Garvey to Amy Jacques Garvey Atlanta, Ga. Deer. 13, 1925 Please telegraph immediately five dollars for renewal subscription to Washington Post[;] request them to forward paper. Much love POPSIE

[Handwritten endorsements:] OK JWS. .584;. AFRC, AP. ATG. On Western Union postal message blank.

Nicholas Longworth, 1 Speaker of the House, to John Sargent Washington, D.C., December 17, 1925 My dear Sir: My interest has been requested in behalf of Marcus Garvey, who is confined in the Federal Penitentiary in Atlanta at this time. I know nothing of the case and will appreciate it if you will let me know the charge against Mr. Garvey and whether he is eligible to be considered for parole. 2 With thanks, I am, Yours very truly, NICHOLAS LONGWORTH

WNRC, RG 204, file 42-793. TLS, recipient's copy. 1. Nicholas Longworth (1869-1931) of Cincinnati was a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives (1903-1913, 1915-1931). He served as speaker of the House of Representatives from 1925 until his death. He married Alice Roosevelt, the daughter of Theodore Roosevelt, during her father's presidency (Biographical Dictionary of the American Congress, 1774-1971 [Washington, D.C.: GPO, 1971], p . 1,306; WBD).

289

T H E MARCUS GARVEY AND U N I A PAPERS 2. Sargent's office prepared a response to Longworth's query on 22 December 1925; however, the attorney general decided not to send the letter at that time, deleted it with a stroke of pen, and wrote a brief note at the bottom with the instructions, "just say to him the matter is under consideration, and would like to see him about it before dispose of it" (file copy of unmailed correspondence, Sargent to Longworth, 22 December 1925, W N R C , R G 204, file 42-793). Pardon Attorney lames Finch passed that message on to Longworth, and later in the month Sargent sent Longworth a letter that was almost identical to the one drafted on 22 December (Finch to Longworth, 23 December 1925, and Sargent to Longworth, 31 December 1925, W N R C , R G 204, file 42—793)*

290

D E C E M B E R 1925

John Sargent to Sen. L. D. Tyson (èmextâ

eoember 18, 1926. Honorable L. D. Tyson, United States Senate.V Hy dear Senator: Replying to your letter of>eoember 17, 1926, with enclosure, permit mk^to state thaty^eports and rebmomendatlona on the application for Sjceoutiv^'-clemency of Uarcus W w y have been reoelved.

Prom the faoty/reported, together with the aoren > reocn-

mendatlons presented/^ls )^se Is not entitled to aubmissioi Hq^the^ President f o r c o n s i d e r a t i o n s . The papers have been filed, and no further aotlon is oontenrplated, Respe

Attorney General.

(Source: W N R C , R G 204, file +2-793.)

291

T H E M A R C U S GARVEY AND U N I A PAPERS

W. L. Lains,1 Atlanta UNIA Member, to President Calvin Coolidge /238/ Gairbolden St., Atlanta, Ga., Dec. 21, 192J Dear Sir: I am writing you a few lines concerning the things that worries my heart and my soul. That is this you have power to hold my leader The Honorable Marcus Garvey in the prison Wall here in Atlanta. Pilot [Pontius Pilate] had power over Christ but when they brought Christ to him. He said what evil have this man done? I find no fault in him. The jews cried out Crusifire him and let Bob Baron [Barabbas] go. Who was the guilty man? It is the same thing with you and our leader. Have you got any grace in your heart? If so send our leader out of this prison wall here. The world all over find this program to be right that he has on hand now. God said before the end of time. When God said let us make man. He did not say what kind of souls that have different kind of love. He had for one more than the other. They have made at that time the name where Eve and Adam. They were brownskin people that were in that garden. Cut your hand and let it bleed in a cup and cut the black man's hand and let it bleed in a cup and you cannot find no way of separating one blood from the other. That is why God made us in His own image. Why do you love one human more than the other? Let all men have the same rights away from us. You white men have barred the black man right way from him. We have no ambasidor up there, but one sheet. It is impossible for two white men sheet to nasty the other one. A black sheet is to nasty another black sheet. Give the black leader his people. Let him put him in the mudhole or where he wants to be. That is alright. Honorable Marcus Garvey that is the leading Negro of the World. God has sent him in this place according to the time that all leaders be sent out from God. All that were sent out were bounded on the water or by the side of the water. Moses was found in the water and has raised up by other nations, but at the time appointed Moses let all men know that was not in prison, because he killed the Egyptian and buried him in the sand. Why don't you at this time sign and send all the black race to go back where they brought them from? All nations should return to his own home and country. This is not the black man's home. Why do you all[,] any of the white people[,] object to this? Let us carry out God's plans, and not please our self. Did you know that God prepaired Moses to lead the children out of prison hands where they under heard task Masters were? We have black men that are in the same fix here. The world over knew that Honorable Marcus is right. Let Americans have America, in other words let the white man have America, and the black man have Africa. The black man has been treated in very way except right here. I remain yours in Christ, W. L.

LAINS

a Member of the U.N.I.A. 292

DECEMBER 192J W N R C , R G 2 0 4 , file 42-793- TL, recipient's copy. 1. William Lains was an active member of the Atlanta UNIA division. He delivered the main address to the division at its 14 January 1925 meeting (NW, 6 March 1925).

Marcus Garvey to Armin Kohn and Maurice Nagler Atlanta, Ga. D e c . 21,1925 A committee in Washington representing m e have [has] reached a point in m y case necessitating your advice or that o f Battle's o n matter o f accuracy o f Mattuck's brief based o n facts o f record o f trial. Failing t o carry o u t m y instructions they have kept the question t o themselves o f w h i c h they k n o w nothing f r o m the legal viewpoint. I f y o u are [or] Battle can help in the matterf,] d o so immediately. Inform Battle. M y Congressman [Royal Weiler] is also d o i n g his best t o help. G e t in touch with him. MARCUS GARVEY—19359 [Address:] Kohn & Nagler, 36 W. 44th St., Bar Association Bldg., New York City. [Handwritten endorsements:] O K JWS. 8j words, Postal, $1.30. A F R C , AP. ATG. On Western Union postal message blank, straight telegram.

Amy Jacques Garvey to Marcus Garvey NEW YORK, 1925 DEC. 23 I WAS IN WASHINGTON YESTERDAY COMMITTEE IS TRYING TO GET APPOINTMENT FOR ME BEFORE ATTORNEY GENERAL [JOHN G . SARGENT] TO PLACE FACTS ON RECORD 1 SAME HAS NOT BEEN PROPERLY DONE DON[']T ANSWER BATTLE UNTIL I GET ANSWER WHY DON[']T YOU WRITE ME MOPSIE A F R C , AP. T T G , recipient's copy, Western Union. 1. Amy Jacques Garvey met with the attorney general on 23 February 1926 (Amy Jacques Garvey to Marcus Garvey, 23 February 1926, AFRC, AP).

293

T H E MARCUS GARVEY AND U N I A PAPERS

Marcus Garvey to Amy Jacques Garvey [Atlanta, Ga.,] Deer. 23, 1925 N o use writing when instructions are not carried out. When you were here I requested you to do certain things and they have not been done except in the case of Washington. Why then should you expect me to be writing without attention being paid. Love and happy [CJhristmas POPSIE

[Handwritten endorsements:] OK JWS.

jo words, Western Union, .72 s* ö «^ S û* .2 Ü

Facade of Atlanta Federal Penitentiary, ca. 1925

U N I A Committee of Presidents, 1926 (left to right, William Ware, J. A. Craigen, Samuel Haynes; front row, Fred A. Toote)

Liberty Hall, Chattanooga, Tennessee, under siege by police, 1927

Fred A. Toote, acting UNIA president general, 1926

Laura Adorkor Kofey, UNIA organizer, 1927

William Ware, president, Cincinatti U N I A Division, 1926

Congressman Royal Weiler of New York

J. A. Craigen, secretary, Detroit UNIA Division, 1926

Earnest Sevier Cox

Scenes from Liberty University, Claremont, Virginia, 1926:

£*'

hEM

V

* a ••• • •

mm

Exterior, classrooms, Sawyer Hall

Exterior, Garvey Hall

MAP

o r R*CM.WN k lon«unc TO

5MALLWOOO-CORE.V NDUSTRIAL INSTITUTE CLAREMONT SURWV COUKTY, VinGtNWk

Map o f school property on the James River

Marcus Garvey with UNIA officers aboard S.S. Saramacca prior to deportation from the United States, December 1927

Marcus Garvey giving farewell speech from deck of S.S. Saramacca, New Orleans, 2 December 1927

MARCH 1926 and while the "membership [is] loyal" to Garvey's leadership, they "[are] worried by Sherrill's propaganda. . . . A message from you [Garvey] to Skinner means much for convention fund" (Samuel Haynes to Garvey, 6 March 1926, AFRC, AP).

Amy Jacques Garvey to Isaac D. White, Editor, New Tork World Atlanta, Ga., March 10, 1926 Dear Sir,— Enclosed is statement in reference to your article on page 30 o f your paper dated 8th inst. Your article purports to be a report of a meeting held at Liberty Hall the previous evening; from reliable sources I have been informed that no such accusations were made by George Weston or any speaker in Liberty Hall. For truth's sake I ask that you publish my statement, as hundreds of people attended that Sunday night's meeting and know that my name was not called by any speaker. Yours truly A . JACQUES GARVEY [Address:\ Editor, New York World, Pulitzer Building, Park R o w , N.Y. [Handwritten endorsements:] From M r . Barrett. I. D. White—save N N C , W. A L S , recipient's copy. O n personal letterhead; two enclosures.

Enclosure: Article in the New Tork World [New York, 8 March 1926] SPLIT I M M I N E N T IN G A R V E Y R A N K S WESTON CHARGES W I F E OF LEADER FOMENTS STRIFE TO CONTROL N E G R O ASSOCIATION MORTGAGE FOR SALARIES AMERICAN FACTION AT O D D S WITH WEST INDIANS

Liberty Hall, No. 120 West 138th Street, yesterday at a turbulent meeting of local members of the Universal Negro Improvement Association, resounded with charges and countercharges in support of and in opposition to

363

T H E MARCUS GARVEY AND U N I A PAPERS

Marcus Garvey, now serving a term in Atlanta prison for using the mails to defraud. George A. Weston, Acting President of the New York Division, accused Mrs. Garvey of seeking to stir up strife between American and West Indian members.1 Both Weston and Mrs. Garvey were born in the West Indies. When Garvey was taken to prison he named Weston head of the local organization. Because he refused to do her bidding and refused to turn against Acting President General William Sherrill, an American, he provoked the enmity of both Garvey and his wife, he says. When Mrs. Garvey told him she was of the opinion that Sherrill was trying to promote an American movement he assured her such suspicions were unfounded. Later he discovered Mrs. Garvey was playing him against Sherrill and vice versa, which was done to create dissension among officials so she might assume control of the organization, Weston alleges. In the midst of the tumult Weston produced letters and telegrams purporting to show he had communicated with Garvey relative to placing a blanket mortgage on the hall to raise money for the settlement of judgments held by former officers who had sued for back salaries.2 Although he advised Garvey the membership had voted to take such a step, the incarcerated leader never answered and now accuses him of unnecessarily encumbering the property. Garvey's calling of an international convention in Detroit March 14 to 31 threatens to split the association. Ninety per cent of the New York division are opposed to the procedure, maintaining it is illegal and unconstitutional, as the law provides for the holding of the convention in New York. Since Garvey has been in prison between $40,000 and $jo,ooo has been raised for what is known as the "Marcus Garvey Defense Fund," it is claimed by officials not on friendly terms with their leader. In different cities "Marcus Garvey Freedom and Protection" clubs are being organized and money being collected which does not come under the jurisdiction of officials of the Universal Negro Improvement Association.3 It has come to light that in four months in 1924 Garvey collected $35,000 in an African movement. The money was spent for machinery which is idle in Liberia.4 The six members of the association sent along to operate sawmills and other activities were not permitted to land. In some cities "Garveyites" are said to be blindly following their leader as of old. N N C , W. Newspaper clipping. 1. A number of Garvey's associates claimed that West Indian versus African-American ethnic rivalry underlay factional divisions within the leadership during this period. Samuel Haynes, for instance, cabled Garvey that the membership was "unitedly opposed to any attempt to Americanize association and ignore you as active head" (Samuel Haynes to Marcus Garvey, 26 November 1925, A F R C , AP). 2. See Marcus Garvey, "Salaries to Officers of the Universal Negro Improvement Association, the Conflict of Ideals," in Philosophy and Opinions, 2: 277-284.

364

M A R C H 1926

3. Several funds were established to help raise money for Garvey's defense and pardon efforts. Referred to generically as defense funds, these included the Marcus Garvey Freedom and Defense Fund, the Marcus Garvey Release Committee, and the Marcus Garvey Committee on Justice. Sometimes slightly different titles were used to refer to the same committee or fund-raising group. Amy Jacques Garvey was affiliated with what she referred to as the "Marcus Garvey Freedom and Protection Fund," which she explained was created by Garvey, who appointed her to serve as secretary (NW, 27 March 1926). She was also secretary-treasurer of the Marcus Garvey Committee on Justice, and the aforementioned fund may have been administered under that committee's auspices (letterhead, Marcus Garvey Committee on Justice, 29 January 1926, WNRC, RG 204, file 42-793). She feared that the money raised for the fund would be seized for debt—or by dissident UNIA leaders—and in order to prevent confiscation of fund money, she "had to hide some of it in a Bank in a nearby state," going by "devious routes" whenever she had to visit the bank on business (G&G, p. 156). Because of the furtive and factionalizcd character of the fund raising effort, it is impossible to arrive at a precise accounting of the total amount raised for Garvey's legal needs. One source reported in 1926 that "a sum thought to be $50,000 has been raised for the Marcus Garvey defense fund" (Baltimore Afro-American, 13 March 1926; see also NW, 30 June 1923, 14 February and 21 February 1925, 20 March and 27 March 1926; New York World, 21 March 1926). 4. A reference to the shipment of goods (consisting of "sawmills, engineering stores, medicinal stores, etc.") sent from the UNIA in New York to Liberia on 25 July 1924. The goods were confiscated by the Liberian government (NW, 17 October 1924; Garvey Papers, 5: 683 n. 5).

Enclosure: Statement by Amy Jacques Garvey [New York,] March 8th., 1926 I have refrained from participating in any newspaper controversy, as I do not like publicity, but I am compelled to contradict the untrue statements published in your paper on the /8th/ inst., to wit that Garvey seeks to dethrone William Sherrill, acting President of the Universal Negro Improvement Association]^,] and place in power his second wife Mrs. A m y Jacques-Garvey. I am not an officer of the Universal Negro Improvement Association nor am I desirous of being an officer. A t no time has Marcus Garvey suggested nor intimated that he was desirous of having me act for him during his imprisonment. If he wanted to place me at the head of affairs, he would have made known his desires to the people and they would have acted on same. The facts are these briefly:— Marcus Garvey has been in Atlanta prison for the last thirteen months, during which time the business of the Parent Body Association has been carried on by W m . L . Sherrill, who is also the President of the Black Cross Navigation & Trading Company. The N e w York Local has been run by George A . Weston[;] both of these men have conducted these affairs without even informing Garvey of their activities nor paying the slightest attention to his instructions. In October last, M r . Sherrill, without Garvey's knowledge or consent, called a Conference of the Presidents of the largest Divisions in America to get their support for his administration. These Presidents were surprised to

365

T H E M A R C U S GARVEY AND U N I A PAPERS

learn that the affairs of the Association were conducted without the knowledge of Marcus Garvey, and after investigation, elected a Committee of four from their number to journey to Atlanta prison, with the recommendation that "the people had lost confidence in some of the present officers and they should be removed." Mr. Garvey went carefully into their findings and approved of the suggestions made. Mr. Sherrill and others were requested to resign and they refused, hence the calling of an emergency Convention to dislodge them, and place men in office whom the people want and who will protect their interest. I may state here that during Marcus Garvey's imprisonment the following cases of ex-officers of the Association were allowed to go by default, by their friends who are now in office. The claims were for salaries which they never earned:— Rudolph Smith James O'Mealley A. L. Woodley

$12,103.11 3,591-35 2,252.97

Total

$17,947.43

The property at 138th. Street was attached to pay these defaulting judgments, and mortgaged for $32,000.00; a large portion of this sum being paid to brokers and others for commissions. Again, I repeat I have no desire to act for my husband during his imprisonment, and at the forthcoming Convention the people will elect their choice. The reason why I believe Mr. Sherrill has used this unmanly method of making untruthful statements against my husband[,] who being in prison cannot defend himself, is that he knows he can get the support of white interests who have monies invested in Africa and European governments, that rob and exploit the natural home of the blacks in Africa, when he fails to carry out the principles of Garveyism, and its program of "Africa for the Africans, those at home and those abroad." Then he adroitly points me out as his successor who will carry out to the letter Garvey's policies. In other words if Mrs. Garvey rules, it will be as if Garvey himself ruled, but when Sherrill rules he exhorts the people to build up Apartment houses in America and solve the problem, and Africa can be redeemed later. The African program will not be changed because it was for this purpose Garvey organized the Universal Negro Improvement Association—A nation in Africa for Negroes—The will of the people shall remove from office any officer or officers who do not carry out in toto the principles of their Association nor protect their interest. It is not Garvey who seeks to remove Sherrill from office but the people who make up the Organization. /No money has been raised for Marcus Garvey Defence Fund since he has been in Adanta prison, and there are no Marcus Garvey Freedom and 366

M A R C H 1926

Protection Clubs in America, or any part of the world [;] you should seek to get truthful news for your Readers, and not print reports from a man's enemies, particularly when that man is in prison and unable to defend himself./ N N C , W. TD, with autograph portions.

Marcus Garvey to J. A. Craigen [Atlanta, Ga., ca. 11 March 1926] Do not allow Executive officers of New York to intrigue you into sending them money, nor to compromise your standf,] otherwise you will jeopardise people's interest and nullify import o f Convention. For goodness sake act intelligently in dealing with those tricky men who are supported by tricky lawyers. If possible send fare for [C. A.] Campbell to attend as witness. Office should be closed or limited staff retained during Convention—others if necessary return after. Inform [F. Levi] Lord to do this. GARVEY

[Address:] J. Craigen, IJI6 Russell St., Detroit, Michigan [Handwritten Endorsements:] O K JWS. l$]4-29. A F R C , AP. ATG, on Western Union postal message blank, straight telegram.

Marcus Garvey to William Ware Adanta, Ga., March 12, 1926 I am warning committee that too much legal complications in Goethals matter will only end in untold legal expenses[.] I gave Toote when here definite advice for committee's immediate action as the only then possible way of getting results. It seems no one will act intelligendy and fearlessly against men to protect people's interest but delaying same with other complications to defeat the end desired[.] I am tired of giving advice without any intelligent action. Williams telegraphed me about money to go around with Judge Klein.1 I told him to wire you. I warn you about Hull as being a Crawford man[.] MARCUS

[Address:] W m Ware, 1516 Russell St., Detroit, Michigan [Handwritten endorsements:] O K JWS. [$]2.38.

367

GARVEY—19359

T H E MARCUS GARVEY AND U N I A PAPERS

A F R C , AP. ATG, on Western Union postal message blank. i. Nicholas Klein (1884-1951) of Cincinnati was a white supporter of Garvey's cause. He was a Cincinnati City Council member in the late 1920s, vice mayor in 1940 and 1941, and he practiced as an attorney in that city for more than forty years. He was known not only for his pro-UNIA position but as a friend to labor. He corresponded with both Marcus and Amy Jacques Garvey while the UNIA leader was imprisoned at Atlanta, and he lobbied Pardon Attorney James Finch on Garvey's behalf (Marcus Garvey to Nicholas Klein, 16 September 1926, Marcus Garvey to Amy Jacques Garvey, 14 September 1926, AFRC, AP; Nicholas Klein to James Finch, 18 December 1926, WNRC, RG 204, file 42-793). Klein also served as general counsel for the Marcus Garvey Committee on Justice, cosigning petitions prepared by the committee that were presented to various government officials (Marcus Garvey Committee on Justice to W. W. Husband, n.d., WNRC, RG 204, file 42-79?). An eloquent orator, Klein often spoke for the UNIA in New York, Cincinnati, and Cleveland, and made appearances at Liberty Hall ( J W , 23 June 1923, 29 May 1926, 5 February 1927; E.R.E. Gilkes to Marcus Garvey, 6 December 1925, AFRC, AP). In one Sunday night speech at Liberty Hall given in June 1929, Klein championed African nationalism, spoke of wage slavery, criticized black religious leaders who emphasized the rewards of heaven over the possibility of secular change, and praised Garvey, saying that he had succeeded in starting "something that the world cannot stop" (Nil', 15 June 1929, 3 January 1931; NTT, 23 October 1951; Cincinnati Enquirer, 22 October 1951; Times Star [Cincinnati], 22 October 1951).

Letter by Marcus Garvey in the Negro World [[Atlanta, Ga., March 13, 1926]] To W h o m It M a y Concern: This is to certify that my wife, Mrs. A m y Jacques Garvey[,] has, during the period of my incarceration, remained loyal and devoted to me in all her duties and obligations as a true and loving wife. She has ceaselessly worked, with tremendous opposition, to protect and defend me during this my time of trial and suffering in the interest of a cause I almost neglected her to serve. She also has sacrificed and suffered for the cause, and my great sorrow is that I am, by nature of my present situation, rendered unable to give her the protection necessary and to show my appreciation of her unselfish service to me and to the cause I love. She, along with the Marcus Garvey Committee on Justice, has sponsored my public defense and all that has been done for my relief has been through them, with the aid of friends and well-wishers. The wicked and vicious abuse of my wife by my enemies and certain Negro newspapers is but another scheme of my rivals and jealous enemies in the cause of African redemption, to cast aspersion and heap ignominy on my name. Because of the service I have rendered my race I call upon all of my friends to chivalrously protect the fair name of my wife from the vile and wicked tricks of my enemies.1 Sincerely yours, MARCUS GARVEY

Printed in NW, 20 March 1926. Original headlines omitted.

368

M A R C H 1926

i. Garvey expressed similar sentiments in the convention editorial he wrote for the Negro World (20 March 1926). He thanked friends "for the interest you have shown in me and the protection you have given my wife against the gang that is trying to harm her so as to further crush me."

Lester Walton1 to Isaac D. White New York, March 15, 1926 Dear Mr. White: On Saturday, March 6, I was phoned to by George A. Weston, Acting President of the New York Division of the Universal Negro Improvement Association, asking if I could attend a meeting at Liberty Hall on Sunday evening, March 7, at which he had some important statements to make of interest to the press. Also asked if I could get in touch with editors of colored press. Not wanting to wait until late Sunday evening to get the information[,] I suggested to Weston that he give me what he was going to say in advance. By appointment I met him at the home of William Sherrill on St. Nicholas Avenue the following day at 1 o'clock. Weston, Sherrill, Clifford S. Bourne, Grand Chancellor of Exchequer, and a member from Pittsburgh were present. Instead of Sherrill doing most of the talking as Mrs. Garvey seems to think, Weston and Bourne gave out most of the information. Both Weston and Sherrill did charge Mrs. Garvey with playing one against the other, one being a West Indian and the other an American. Weston related several instances in which Mrs. Garvey sought to array one against the other. Even Mr. Bourne, who is from South America, agreed with Weston and Sherrill that Mrs. Garvey was seeking to get control of the organization in the absence of her husband. They even charged she was not on the level with Garvey and said they could be more specific if they desired. Relative to controversy over mortgaging Liberty Hall, what Bourne, Sherrill and Weston told me squares with the statements of a white law/y/er on Broadway 2 and others. The man who has been closest to Garvey in recent years is Bourne. He has always been reliable and bears a fine reputation. He told us the reason Garvey has not come out in the open and f/o/[u]ght him is that he knows too much. It was he who told me that money was being raised for Garvey while in prison, also that there are "Marcus Garvey Freedom" Clubs. He named some of the cities in which they have been organized. Bourne even quoted Mrs. Garvey during a conversation several months ago while walking down town on business about how the money was coming in and what she wanted to do in collecting funds while her husband was in prison. They also told of Mrs. Garvey's boxes and drawers at home b/e/ing full of money, and charged that a sister [Ida Jacques] left for the West Indies a few weeks ago with a large sum. 369

THE MARCUS GARVEY AND U N I A PAPERS

It was con/fid/entially told me that the Negro Improvement Association has out paper amounting to nearly half a million dollars which is held by members throughout the country. The opinion was expressed at the conference that Sunday afternoon that Garvey, knowing of these debts, was aiming to split the organization and form another, leaving the old officers to hold the bag. The typewritten communication of March 8, was not written by Mrs. Garvey, I feel reasonably sure. I have kept in close touch with the organization and its officers since 1922. I also have closely watched Mrs. Garvey, who is of the domineering sort. She errs when she says if Garvey had wanted her at the head of the Association he would have put her there. He could /have/ done nothing of the kind, as the Constitution provided for the elevation of the next highest officer in the event of a contingency. My investigation c/o/nvinces me that Garvey is not calling a conventio/n/ in Detroit with a view to electing new officers because Sherrill and others failed to report to him, but because they refused to do some of the impossible things he wanted of them. Some of these demands they related to me. Garvey's attitude toward present officers is shown by his order to the editors of the Negro World to keep out their side of the case. This publication no longer prints a word from Sherrill and others, although it is the organ of the Association and supposed to be owned largely by the New York Division. So even if in jail[,] Garvey is using his old Czar-like methods, thanks /to/ his wife and others. The Constitution provides that the meetings for election of officers be held during August in New York. But Garvey has called for an election in March at Detroit. Just what's in the back of his head is hard to surmise. I agree with you that the Garveys should be given a square deal. However, whether the charges to which Mrs. Garvey takes exception appearing in The World brings up a question of veracity. Personally, I prefer to believe Bourne to Mrs. Garvey. Sherrill is also trustworthy. I don't think so much of Weston and only printed what he furnished me because others were present.3 I shall be pleased to have Mr. Bourne talk with you if you so desire. Very truly yours, LESTER WALTON

NNC, W. TLS, recipient's copy. 1. Lester A. Walton (1882-1965), journalist, theatrical manager and producer, and diplomat, began his career as a reporter in his hometown of St. Louis. He became a staff member of the New York Age (managing editor and drama editor, 1908-1914; associate editor, 1931-1935) and a feature writer for the New York World (1922-1931) and the New York Herald Tribune (1931). He was a foreign correspondent at the Paris Peace Conference in 1919 and at meetings of the International Liberian Commission, Geneva, in 1933. He served in the diplomatic capacitics of U.S. ambassador extraordinary and minister plenipotentiary to Liberia (1935-1946) and adviser to the Liberian delegation to the United Nations (1948-1949). He negotiated commerce and navigation treaties between Liberia and the United States (1937-1939), as well as agreements that established U.S. military bases in Liberia and enabled the construction of a Liberian port with American funds (1941,1943). After his return to the United States, he served as adviser to the Liberian delegation to the United Nations and as a public relations consultant with the Democratic National Committee. A member of the Commission on Human Rights in New York City, Walton also founded the

370

MARCH 1926 Negro Actors Guild and was chair of the Coordinating Committee for Negro Performers. He managed the Lafayette Theater in Harlem in 1914-1916 and 1919-1921 ( N T T , 19 October 1965; Harlem Renaissance: Art of Black America [New York: Studio Museum in Harlem/Harry Abrams, 1987], p. 88; WWCA). 2. A possible reference to either attorney Louis Jacobson or his law partner, Haskell Jacobs, w h o represented George Weston in Liberty Hall mortgage negotiations and w h o maintained law offices at 299 Broadway Avenue, New York ( N W , iz December 1925). 3. A reference to the report that was published in the New Turk Age, 27 February 1926.

Convention Message from Marcus Garvey [[Atlanta, Ga., ca. 15 March 1926}] To the Convention of the Universal Negro Improvement Association, Assembled at Detroit, Michigan1 Colleagues, Ladies and Gentlemen— I am indeed glad that you have assembled yourselves in Special Convention for the purpose of taking hold of the affairs of your organization and its auxiliary the Black Cross Navigation and Trading Company, which have been so wretchedly abused through the duplicity and intrigue of unworthy representatives. D A R E D TO SERVE

I am in prison. I am here because I dared to serve you, neglect my home, a loyal and dear woman, my wife, and myself. Above all the things I prize most in the world is the honor of my name. I have never, in all my life, to my conscious knowledge, done a mean act, because it has always been the policy of my life to "live with honor" or "die for the principle." Yet I have staked my name in a desperate gamble of international politics and world sociological movements to serve you whom I love with undying devotion. I risked myself against the powers of the world to serve and save you[,] the members of my race. How well I have succeeded is made manifest in the sweeping consciousness that has taken hold of the race in Africa, America, the West Indies, Central America and Asia—and my imprisonment for so doing. You can little realize the tremendous success that has attended our movement, and if it were not for treachery, hypocrisy and dishonesty on the part of those who should have helped me to carry on, we would have today been nearer the goal of victory. IMPORT OF O R G A N I Z A T I O N

It is impossible for you to gauge the marvelous import of the Universal Negro Improvement Association and its effect on world politics. I'm fully aware that all of you have not been trained to the art of international diplomacy 371

T H E MARCUS GARVEY AND U N I A PAPERS

and world commercial and industrial intrigue. It takes the careful student, or man of experience, to fathom all that is taking place around us in the fields of politics, sociology, industry and commerce. Our race being at the foot of the human ladder necessarily calls for the keenest intelligence and most unquestioned loyalty to lead with the hope of salvation. It is such a leadership that we seek. A leadership that cannot be bought. A leadership that cannot be influenced to your injury. A leadership that is not cowardly; a leadership that will laugh at death; a leadership that will sacrifice all in doing God's will; a leadership that is honest. I tried from the fullness of my heart, as God is my judge, to give you such a leadership. I gave up my home; I renounced my friends, circle and country; I ignored the call of a selfish, professional life; I staked my youth, ability, money, future and all I held dear in life, to serve you as God would direct, and after nearly twelve years of the hardest struggles one could make, I was able to present to you the greatest Negro movement of modern time—The Universal Negro Improvement Association. Can you imagine for but a few minutes the pain and suffering undergone to make this movement? Can you imagine years of ceaseless toil day in and day out, hounded by members of our own race as well as by others? Fought at every angle by power and prejudice; laughed at and derided; plotted against and abused; forced to spend all I possessed and left penniless and alone; to work for years without receiving a penny, while paying others to serve until everything was nearly gone; neglecting father, sister and wife, so as to make the cause go on; turning back to the organization in after years nearly every available dollar that it paid me in salary for the brief period of two and onehalf years that it made any effort to pay me for services; imperiling my health of youth to travel from place to place and to work without reasonable rest; to leave a loving and devoted wife alone and unprotected; to endanger my liberty and imperil my good name which I hold above price; to be satisfied to go to prison to save the principles of the Association without any regret, except for this hour which sees my life-work fall into the hands of cowards, traitors and dishonest men? Yes, if you can imagine all these things then you will the better appreciate how I feel at this hour, in prison, while scoundrels make light of the glorious hope of Africa redeemed and the black race freed the world over. MAKING THE SACRIFICE

If you have souls, you will forget yourselves as I have done, and picture to yourselves the agonies of our foreparents, their cries and woes; and the duty that devolves upon us to protect posterity from a return of such horrible conditions. It is because I love you and your children that I have made the sacrifice. Must it all be in vain? Yes, it will be in vain unless you, right now without waiting another week or month, take positive and decisive steps to take the association completely out of the hands of William Sherrill, G. O. Marke, George Weston and others associated with them, to ruin the great cause. If you believe in me then believe that Sherrill, Weston and Marke are untrue. I 372

MARCH 1926

do not charge them with being disloyal five or two years ago, but I charge them with being disloyal now and in a conspiracy to defeat the plans and purposes of our organization. They are not the only guilty ones, but they are the leaders in the scheme to wreck our noble cause. I am sorry that I cannot appear in person to lay these facts before you. You fully understand my position. First, I want you to know, that Sherrill and the rest of them never intended that I should be freed. They have worked skillfully and are still working in company with others to prevent that, while at the same time professing friendship for me and a desire to see me released. This is the kind of hypocrisy that stings. This is the kind of knife that cuts deep. This is the wound that pains. The whole strength of the organization that should have been used, not only to have me released, but to justify its existence, has been undermined by Sherrill in his subde way, so as to leave me in the cold, whilst he makes hay—the hay of satisfying our enemies—the hay of paying himself back and other salaries; of allowing his friends to secure false judgments against the organization, while he paraded all over the country drawing back and other salaries with allowance accounts for himself and his confederate Holder, whom he makes secretary, as per sample copy of one of his reports, and which report does not contain money received at certain places and not accounted for. (Read Report No. 1.) You will wonder why I make these statements against Sherrill. Let us consider. T H E BLACK CROSS [NAVIGATION AND T R A D I N G ] COMPANY

The Universal Negro Improvement Association at its convention in 1922, legislated that we should promote a new steamship line to carry out the objects of the Association in its African program, etc. In 1924 the Council decided that we would organize for the Association the Black Cross Navigation and Trading Company. After proper discussion and arrangements in the Council of the Universal Negro Improvement Association we floated the company and appealed to you, the members, for the help necessary. The Council oudined a program of raising the money and each officer was slated to raise his quota for the purchase of the first ship. As is customary, the rest of the fellows laid down on the raising of the foil quotas. Sherrill failed miserably, and if it were not for the extraordinary efforts on my part we would have lost the ship even before we took it over. 1 He loitered around the places of his itinerary, and when the crucial time came for the quota report to be made he had done absolutely nothing. When he was again appealed to to live up to his word in Chicago, he borrowed the funds of the organization there to make up a part of his quota. Such was the behavior of Sherrill for a long time. While I was out on the West Coast doing my best to raise my quota, they failed in theirs, and it was then, I understand, that they mortgaged the property at 52 West 135th street, with which transaction I am not fully acquainted, except by what was told me by Mr. Bourne. Nevertheless, through my activities, we secured one of the best ships afloat for the company in 1924. We paid the Panama Railroad Company $100,000 spot cash for the boat and made repairs and additions to the extent of over $30,000. 3 373

T H E M A R C U S GARVEY AND U N I A PAPERS

Owing to the disappointment of the Liberian program, we were forced to make other arrangements for the sailing of the ship. We planned to place her on a couple of trips to the West Indies and Central America for trade until we had adjusted the Liberian affair. In this respect a first trip was undertaken. The ship was to take passengers and a cargo out to the West Indies, sailing from New York on a certain date. The passenger end of the arrangement was handled by our passenger department. We had perfected a proper working organization, but, for that trip only, we had appointed one Anthony Crawford, a colored man, as freight agent. This man had assured us that he would book an abundance of freight for the trip to and fro. However, after many assurances to me in this direction, on the day before sailing Crawford was unable to deliver the cargo. All arrangements for sailing had been made. Passages were sold to passengers and arrangements had been made for the receiving of the ship by our organization in Cuba, Jamaica, Col6n, Port Limon and Bocas del Toro. I had also planned to go on this trip and speak at these places to raise funds for the company and the organization. All arrangements were made at the different places to receive us. The trip was to take 31 days, and from a rough approximate estimate we had hoped to net for the company around $20,000 on the return of the ship. I sought to get permission to leave the country but was denied. In my inability to go I accompanied the boat to Philadelphia, and Norfolk[,] and cleared her on her trip to the West Indies, sending Miss Davis, Mr. Carter and Mrs. De Mena to fill my engagements and to raise funds to cover the expenses of the trip and to be back as scheduled. After the ship sailed from Norfolk I hurriedly took the field to raise funds to capitalize the new program and take care of things generally. While in Detroit on the start of my trip the case against me was suddenly decided and I had to rush back to New York, where I was arrested at the train and rushed to Atlanta. It was the plan of my enemies to remove me just at that time when the ship sailed so as to bring about failure. When the ship sailed we never owed a penny on the purchase price. She was free and clear of all debt as far as I knew. All that was to be done was make the trip a success, which should have been easy under proper and sincere direction. I saw no impossibility about it. I could have done it, and with very little effort, too. The trip, if I had made it, would, notwithstanding any difficulty, have been overwhelmingly successful. Up to now, I have received no official report of the trip, except the information Mrs. De Mena has given me and the oral statements of Mr. Ware and Mr. Johnson. The officers made no report to me. The Executive Council of the Universal Negro Improvement Association were the directors and officers of the Black Cross Navigation and Trading Company. As you know, by the rule of the convention, service to any auxiliary of the Association was service to the Association, and no one was allowed to draw two salaries for serving the Association. The salary received from the Association covers services to all its auxiliaries, hence I had a motion prevail that all the officers of the Black Cross Navigation and Trading Company would receive no salary. This was all agreed to, so as to lessen the expense of the corporation, as the two were so 374

MARCH 1926

closcly related. The financial condition of our Association and our struggles were known to all the executive officers. Regular meetings were held at which conditions were discussed for the benefit of everybody. Mr. Sherrill, who became President of the Black Cross Navigation and Trading Company before the sailing of the vessel and who was Vice-President from its inception, knew fully the state of affairs. He knew of the plots of our enemies as we thoroughly discussed them. He knew that I was arrested and sent to Atlanta. He knew that the ship had sailed for the West Indies and he knew that he had become the most responsible officer of the corporation. I sent messages to him advising him what to do to protect our interests, and in spite of all this, Mr. Sherrill failed to remain at headquarters, as any intelligent and sincere person would have done, to take up the reins where I had left off and, with consultation and advice, direct the cause. Mr. Sherrill failed to do this. I was in Atlanta fully three months before I saw Mr. Sherrill. In that time he left New York with its tremendous affairs and made an itinerary all over the country, the result of which was to pay himself back and other salaries and expenses, while the real executive work of the Black Cross and the Association went to the dogs. I want you to understand that I am not against a man receiving a salary or reward for his services, but when it is service to an organization like this there are times when great sacrifices must be made. She[r]rill took the field at the hot time to raise funds through my imprisonment. He had no difficulty in raising funds for the first few months of my incarceration as subsequent reports will show. Sherrill, instead of using the money raised wisely and with good direction, allowed the large sums contributed to the Association and the Black Cross, on the appeal through my condition, to be practically squandered and now raises the cry of "No funds." INSTRUCTIONS TO S H E R R I L L

When Sherrill finally called to see me, after several requests on my part, I did everything to counsel him. They did not want me to have any third party present at the interview to keep a record of what I advised, and for that reason they failed to pay the expenses of Mr. Thomas, my executive secretary, to accompany them to take the notes. His expenses had to be paid by Mrs. Garvey out of the funds that were given by friends to protect me and to fight my case, and for my release, even though they had already received money for that fund to be turned over to Mrs. Garvey, which they kept, and the Chancellor was heard to remark that he would not give her a d— cent. At the interview, I advised Mr. Sherrill to do certain things, which if he had done would have resulted in the success of everything. While I was laboring under the belief that he was doing these things, he again took a spin around the country, raising money for his back and other salaries and expenses. They had the ship out for over five months instead of thirty-one days, and came back without cargo or net profit to the trip. They could have raised money in many ways with the ship while out in the tropics if they had gone about it in a 375

T H E M A R C U S GARVEY AND U N I A PAPERS

sincere and right way. Believing in Sherrill, I waited for his report; none came for months. I read in The Negro World and other papers where they were meeting with great success since my imprisonment. I was glad. I read in the papers where the ship was to sail on a certain date. I was glad. I saw through The Negro World where the people were subscribing to the operation fund of the Black Cross, and I was glad. In a subsequent interview to the first I warned Sherrill against one Anthony Crawford, about whom Sherrill knew much, as the operations of the man were discussed several times at our directors' and council meetings; especially when he tried to hold us up on the failure of getting cargo for the s[h]ip on her schedule to sail for the West Indies and his libelling the boat on Saturday at 12 noon, when all the courts were closed, to prevent the boat from sailing on Sunday afternoon, which sailing was largely and widely advertised. Although warning Sherrill and again advising him how to go about chartering the ship, he deceitfully appointed the said Crawford and our arch enemy, Cyril Briggs, known as the Overseas Navigation Company, as operating agents of the Black Cross ships, at a stated salary and other privileges, even though I had left behind a competent and equipped group of men for looking after such as Mr. Crawford was employed to do. The duplicity of Sherrill is beyond my understanding, but I must conclude that he has become the tool of our enemies, and especially mine, to crush us. I never turned against Sherrill until I was successful in forcing out of him, through repeated requests, a financial statement of the Universal Negro Improvement Association and the Black Cross Navigation and Trading Company, for periods from my imprisonment to September, as per copies published on page 7 of this issue, marked " B " and "C," in which you will see that the man received splendid support during the first months of my imprisonment, not including the large amounts he received in October and November, and if he had acted wisely all would have been well. SherrilFs scheme, as per indication, was to raise money without taking care of it, even though he knew that the ready response would not continue; especially when he did nothing to enhance the work and objects of the Association. During this period, Sherrill has done nothing but talk and raise money and pay himself. The real constructive work has not been touched. He has done nothing to circumvent Firestone in Liberia; he has done nothing to carry out our Liberian program by diplomatic means; he has done nothing to get the present Congress to take up the question of repatriation of the Negroes of our organization and the United States, to Africa in keeping with the petition which we formulated two years ago, and on which we spent fully $50,000 for the signatures of the people all over the country. The copy of the petition that should have been presented to Congress is still lying on the floor of one of our office buildings in New York. The real diplomatic work of making friends and using my imprisonment to advantage for the progress of the work, has been neglected. Realizing this, I attempted to make connections, for helping the organization and the cause, through my wife, with the result that they have now started to undermine and 376

M A R C H 1926

fight her as a part of the plans of the enemy. It is impossible to go into all of the details of the deception of Sherrill. E X P E R I E N C E OF F I R S T I M P R I S O N M E N T

With the experience I had on my first imprisonment for the Association, I was doubtful of the sincerity of the men to see me protected. If it were not for my wife I never would have been released when I was first lodged in the Tombs. The men did everything to undermine me, but when they found that I was winning out, they made it appear that they were willing to help. Several thousand dollars were raised by appeals for my defense, the major portion of which was used for the Association. I was glad to make the further sacrifice, but I found that my wife was humiliated during my absence in receiving even a small pittance of my salary. She was too proud, as I have always been, to stoop and she bore her burden calmly for my sake and for the cause. Funds were also raised for my bail bond, part of which was also used by the Association to foster their work. When I was sent to prison in February, 192s, I sent instructions to pay my wife regular allowances on my salary, but up to September, 1925, they made no payment, even though she has loaned them the last dime we had, for the ship, and which they had not repaid. Knowing the character of the men[,] I appointed my wife to conduct my defence and protection to which the public and my friends gave support. With the small response, she had conducted my defense and placed my case before the world. She has been unable to do all I requested, because of lack of funds. She has, under my instructions, compiled and published, at great expense, the Second Volume of "Philosophy and Opinions" for the major purpose of advancing the cause of the Association. The book has been sent, free of cost, to hundreds of prominent persons to acquaint them with the work of the Association and my case. It was through the publication of the first volume that Sir Isaiah Morter was impressed to bequeath to the Association a residue of his estate amounting to more than $100,000. With all that she has done, by my direction, to help the Association, Sherrill tried to undermine her and encouraged others to do so. My wife and the Marcus Garvey Committee on Justice are the only ones who have worked sincerely with the help of some of the divisions, thousands of members and friends, to present my case to the authorities. Sherrill has skillfully tried to undermine their efforts. I warned Sherrill against G. O. Marke as being more of a spy against the organization than one to be trusted. I confidentially pointed out to him certain things, but to my surprise, he has confided in Marke and operates under his influence and direction. I am under the firm belief that Sherrill is now under the influence of my enemies and the enemies of your cause. I cannot be persuaded against this belief. When it is considered that it was I who nominated Sherrill, strenuously fought for his election, and did everything to give him a chance to develop and show himself, you will realize that my reasons for denouncing the man must 377

T H E MARCUS GARVEY AND U N I A PAPERS

be deep and well-founded. If you have Sherrill, then I will be forced, by you, to spend the rest of my days in prison, and be of no use to you or my race. The man is now the tool, consciously or unconsciously, of powerful influences not only to defeat me but the entire organization and the race. TREACHERY AND DUPLICITY

Sherrill has done and is doing some of the most peculiar things that can be interpreted by the deep thinking and experienced mind as nothing else but treachery and duplicity of the worst kind. On Sherrill's second visit to me in June, 1925, after I besought of him to come, I advised him what steps to take to protect our interests in the Morter Estate in Belize. He was advised to send such person as could be spared from the office at headquarters at the time and that he was to return to New York and direct the affairs of the organization. After Sherrill left me, the first and only message from him was that he was about to sail for British Honduras along with Bourne, from New Orleans as per the following telegram. New Orleans, La., June 23, 1925 Marcus Garvey: As stated last telegram, we received letter Central America urging that our representative come to Belize immediately to save situation. As you advise that Bourne not go alone, I decided to go with him. Trust me to see that nothing but that which is right is done. I adjusted matters in New York, so that Carter and Lord can manage easily. I have seen to it that the ship will not be sold even if the worst comes before my return. I feel confident money will be raised to clea[r] libels in about thirty days.4 I have also seen to it that Liberty Hall will not be sold. Do not worry I will save this whole situation if you give me your confidence and support. Best wishes. Sailing tomorrow. SHERRILL

N.B.-There was no previous telegram received from Sherrill! I found out that he depleted the funds at headquarters, and he and Bourne went to Belize, with the pressing affairs of the Association and the Black Cross left unattended; that all during their absence headquarters was without proper direction; that the couple thousand dollars due the crew of the ship, which could easily have been paid by following the advice I gave him, were allowed to mount up to nearly twenty thousand dollars; that where quick action should have been taken to charter the boat, he, Sherrill, wickedly absented himself from the country and allowed the affairs of the organization to go to the dogs. By his wicked neglect he allowed thousands of dollars of debt to follow the ship and all the money he raised, as per statement "C," he wasted in wickedly unnecessary expenses. This man is ei[th]er wicked, crazy or a fool. 378

M A R C H 1926

How in the name of goodness could he have expected to save the ship when he was creating expense that would eat up every cent raised? He was either doing this wickedly and deliberately, or to get the stockholders (bondholders) disgusted and cause a failure. This is the mystery that causes us to ask: Who or what interest is Sherrill serving? Remember[,] Sherrill was warned by me at the interview which was reported by Mr. Thomas, my executive secretary. He was again warned on two subsequent visits when he came alone. He was closely associated with me all during my presidency. The man knew everything. Sherrill was no fool; he knew what was going on. He had up to the minute information. Sherrill had a better opportunity to make good than I had nine months before my imprisonment, because he had the full sympathy of my imprisonment for the cause, and the revenue that came in for the first few months showed that if the man had only used the money wisely and produced results we would have won handsomely. All they have done is to spend all the money and mortgage every bit of available property and assets. They are fighting my wife now and I do not doubt that they would have the nerve to mortgage her furniture to pay their salaries. I am thoroughly disgusted with the rascals. They would mortgage Heaven itself to satisfy their selfish aims. Remember, men, all the things they have wantonly mortgaged are those that I worked for and bought and paid for in the name of the people. All the assets I have accumulated for the people have been mortgaged by these men. And what have they to show for it but debts and still more debts? And yet they have the nerve to tell what they have done. They have, by duplicity, piled up debts, and then they allowed their confederates and friends to sue the Association and recover without proper defense. F A I L I N G TO K E E P I N C L O S E T O U C H

If Sherrill had kept in close touch with me and made me acquainted with the details of all that was happening, I would have so directed him that nothing else but success would have attended his efforts. He kept all of the facts as to who he was dealing with about the ship away from me. When I cautioned him about Crawford, he advised me that he had only given Crawford authority to solicit cargo like other commission agents and that all the commission he would get was on the cargo he supplied. That there was no contract or other agreement with Crawford. I got no other information from Sherrill for months until, in September, Crawford telegraphed me about the serious condition of the ship. I was surprised at the news, for up until that time, I thought everything was well. Crawford again telegraphed and wrote to me, while I heard nothing from Sherrill. To dispose of Crawford I telegraphed " D o the best you can to help," believing, as Sherrill told me, that he was only soliciting cargo for the ship on a commission basis. To my surprise, I have been informed by letter and subsequent telegram from Crawford that he has been agent for the Corporation and has had the ship under his charge and wanted me to sanction 379

T H E M A R C U S GARVEY AND U N I A PAPERS

the raising of more funds from the people to place in his hands, as per the following telegram: New York, N.Y., January 27, 1926 Marcus Garvey, Adanta Federal Penitentiary, Atlanta, Ga.[:] Situation concerning Goethals so critical now that it is absolutely necessary that we face conditions as men and forget our petty differences if we expect to safeguard interests of investors and reputation of our group. At the present time vessel is alongside pier 75, North River. While paying nominal wharfage, the amount due Dock Department is over $1,000 now.5 N o money to meet skeleton crew on board. Your officers inform me it is impossible for them to raise even the small amount of $jo. Crew, being dissatisfied, have refused to raise steam, and Steamboat Inspection Department will not permit us to replace crew until paid. With a cold wave coming, vessel is apt to freeze up, and then repiping of vessel will be an item of not less than $40,000. With your co-operation along lines I am about to outline the vessel can yet be saved. The fact that we have held vessel so long without a forced sale shows that we have done our best. Now it is necessary that you help if boat is to be saved. The vessel must carry out its contract by discharging cargo at Miami, otherwise there will be breach of contract suits to the extent of several hundred thousand dollars. While at present there are four such suits, our lawyer advises that if boat goes to Miami we can beat these suits. There is $5,000 of collectible freight on board which can be collected upon arrival at Miami and will at least cover disbursments and part of the expenses of trip. Every day vessel remains tied up the bills increase. Wharfage alone is $1,000, and I am afraid the Dock Department may force a sale, and then the boat will go for a song. While there is a preferred mortgage of $125,000 on boat in favor of the most important divisions, there is a prearranged plot on the part of the large ship owners here to bring about an early marshal's sale and buy boat at $25,000. In that case preferred mortgage will be worthless, as it won't afford the protection to the investors as originally intended. I have been told by your office that there is $40,000 outstanding from the bondholders. I would advise drawing a sight draft on the divisions for not less than 50 per cent of the outstanding amounts, and would ask that you instruct the heads of the divisions by telegraph to have their members honor the draft when it comes. Arrangements can be made with a trust company to receive this money if you feel that this will be better than having it sent to your office. I would also ask that you issue a proclamation over your name in your paper 380

M A R C H 1926

on this matter. We have been working for some time on a plan whereby somebody will advance $30,000 and charge $40,000. This same plan could be put before your people in a syndicate form and asking their subscription to this syndicate on 120-day notes on say $20 to $100. The preferred mortgage, which is held by the divisions, could be placed in a trust company's hand as a guarantee to the subscribers of this syndicate. Will you wire me which plan you think more feasible? You may probably want to work both plans. Immediate action is absolutely necessary. I am sending this telegram without the authority or knowledge of your directors or officers. ANTHONY CRAWFORD

I refused to do so, as I would rather die than allow Sherrill, Crawford and others to waste the people's money so criminally. Up to now, I have not been officially informed by Sherrill that Crawford is agent for the ship. And to imagine Sherrill making Crawford agent after knowing the history of Crawford and his association with Cyril B[r]iggs, our arch enemy. The thing is unbelievable. Can you blame me for being against such a man? Can you blame me for charging him with insincerity, duplicity, etc.? I have not related one-half the things I know about Sherrill's conduct. It is not convenient to do so now. I will rest the case of Sherrill in your hands, after pointing out that, if he were sincere, he would have wisely used the money freely given the Association and the Black Cross in the first months of my imprisonment, and so made good by accomplishments [,] that he would easily have won the support of all for the period following. He has failed to use the strength of the Association to help the Committee sponsoring my cause, thereby assisting to keep me confined, which hurts the Association because of its prolonged nature, and because of my innocence, and what was an opportunity to help the cause has been neglected. My wife, who personally represents me, and the Marcus Garvey Committee on Justice, were appointed by me, as explained before, so as not to allow Sherrill, as I knew he would do, to say that because he was looking after Mr. Garvey's release he could not give all his time to the Association. I anticipated their argumentsf;] therefore, not desiring to hinder the work of the Association, I gave him free and wide liberty and askefd] my wife, on whom I could always depend, to sponsor my protection, defense, etc. He would accuse the sun of not shining as the cause of his not doing so and so. The chasing of rainbows must stop and you must now elect men to succeed Sherrill's administration, and you must move to protect your interests, as I have advised the Committee on [of] Presidents for the promulgation of our doctrine. I recommend that you help circulate the second volume of my book among the white race for the promulgation of our doctrine. Mrs. Garvey has compiled and has had it printed at great cost to help to accomplish the object

381

T H E MARCUS GARVEY AND U N I A PAPERS

of the organization. Already it has won hundreds of friends and supporters that you may not know of. I have advised her to send a copy to each and every member of the British Parliament. Later, if she is successfiil in the sale of those on the market, it will be translated into French, Spanish and Italian and circulated the world over. Even this Sherrill is trying to discourage. The men are so selfish that they do not care if the constructive work of the organization never goes on. He has inspired the false report in the New York World that this convention is to have Mrs. Garvey elected to lead the organization. The thing is preposterous. If I could not [could?] escape the duplicity of such men, do not think I would further endanger the health of my devoted wife in dealing with them. It is only because of my predicament that my wife has had to come forth, by my request, to protect me and present my case to the world. She has already sacrificed for the Association when from 1919 to 1922, as one of my secretaries, she worked herself to nervous exhaustion and wrecked her health to help me save the Black Star Line and Association from the culprits who sought to devour them. She remained in ill health for years, and was only again forced out because she had to make the further sacrifice of seeing her husband going to prison for a group of ungrateful men and for the cause of the race. Had I wanted her as an officer of the Association when I was active, and even after, I could have appointed her as I did others[.] I would have been glad to do so because of her splendid business ability, but it is not my intention to have my wife suffer more than she has already suffered. You would do me the greatest harm if you were to elect her to any office. Sherrill well knew that neither she nor I had any intention that way. Have Thomas read the notes of my advice to the committee when they visited me and you will see the evil intent of the man in this particular. DECEIVING THE PEOPLE

Sherrill, by his published speech, has, without consulting me, changed the African policy of the organization and confused the minds of the people. He has also, clandestinely, sought to undermine the structure of the organization in confusing the minds of the people by endeavoring to start a secret organization to intrench his own wicked motives under the guise of carrying out a certain law of the organization made at the last convention, although he was advised by me not to do so, as he was not, to my mind, sufficiently careful and diplomatic to do this without injury and misunderstanding to the organization. The attached letter from Campbell is for your information. N E W Y O R K CITY, F e b . 17, 1 9 2 6

Dear Mr. Garvey: On the 2d of January last, Mr. Sherrill called me and instructed me to draft rules, laws, form of initiation, degrees, etc., for a lodge

382

MARCH 1926

and order (secret, friendly and benevolent) to be established among members of the organization. He warned me not to make it public because he intended to submit the manuscript to you for approval before the formation. He further told me that as there is very little work in the Black Cross department, I should devote my time to the order and be prepared to go out and form lodges. I am compiling and preparing the books for the press, but from the haste he has been exhibiting since last week, his statement that he wishes the thing started immediately, and the present hostility over this week's statement in The Negro World, I feel that he intends to withhold the presentation to you of the manuscript. Please advise me privately on the matter. I am making copies of the thing, one of which I can send you if you desire to see it. Of course, your wish is, to me, sacred. It may be necessary to tell you here, that Mr. Sherrill emphasi[z]es the fact that my stay here, from the standpoint of pay, depends upon my successfully and quickly establishing lodges of the order. They owe me six weeks' wages. I am told these men contemplate a fight to retain their positions. The committee is, however, here and so I shall say nothing on that, except to assure you that I am, as I have said before, with you body and soul. Conditions, as regards the vessel, are in such a condition that I am afraid they will never save her. They are still in the hands of Crawford and he is doing now the proverbial catching of a straw; i.e., trying to effect some kind of business with the vessel that will benefit Crawford & Co., and let Garvey and the people go to the devil. I am just bursting to come and explain the situation to you as I see it, but I am out of funds. Please let me hear from you as early as possible, on the question of the lodge and on any other question of which you believe I may be of service to you in the fight against your enemies. Yours very sincerely, C. A . CAMPBELL

Sherrill has ignored all my essential and helpful advice and surprisingly done the things which could lead to nothing but confusion and ruin. Sherrill has connived with Weston to encumber the property of the New York organization and when he was asked to act against Weston he refused to do so. If he had acted at the proper time much of the trouble created by Weston's acts in the New York local could have been avoided. It is my firm belief that Sherrill, Weston, Marke and others hope to encumber and dissipate the residue of the Morter Estate left for the Association, if our cause is successful, and to apply same to their salaries and that of their friends, hence their desperate effort to remain in office to control said residue. A letter from Rev. Baxter for your information here follows:

383

T H E MARCUS GARVEY AND U N I A PAPERS

2149 Fifth Avenue, New York City, July 25, 1925 Hon. Marcus Garvey, Atlanta, Georgia. Dear Sir: As you know, I am not a man that is ready to create scandals or misrepresent anyone in our organization, for I realize that such misrepresentation would be detrimental to the organization, and I shall always endeavor to get the truth before speaking. I did not know that you sent Mr. Bourne and Mr. Sherrill to South America, but Mr. Bourne himself had a conference with Mr. Tausig [Taussig] and Vernon [Vernal] Williams before leaving New York and Williams told Flanders, the trustee and myself what Bourne did. We, nor the members, knew nothing of the mission, but Mr. Bourne let the whole secret out to Mr. Tausig and told him to be ready to attach this money that he was going after for the U.N.I.A. in South America. Mr. Tausig called upon an attorney that I know well, and this attorney, in turn, told me. This information I am giving you is to put you on your guard, and let you know the real enemies in our midst. Hoping that you are in the best of health. Yours truly, REV. W . BAXTER G. O. MARKE'S CONDUCT

G. O. Marks [Marke] has long ceased to be loyal to the organization. His evasive tactics for the last two years have satisfied me that he is not a fit and proper person to entrust with the destiny of the organization. His improper conduct has resulted in creating prejudice against our work. Sherrill knew of this, but has not reported same, but has kept the said Marks as a close friend and works gready under his influence. Marks should be impeached and removed for misconduct. T H E S C H E M E OF G E O R G E W E S T O N

George Weston who has had himself improperly elected as First VicePresident of the New York Local, by not calling properly and legally the meeting that elected him, has by trick and, no doubt, collusion, encumbered the property of the New York organization out of which I believe he has benefited. The mortgages placed against this property by this man are illegal. They were not made with the full consent of the membership at properly and legally called meetings. These mortgages should be annulled. Weston has failed to carry out my instructions but has worked with Sherrill to dissipate the assets of the people. Weston is one of the most dangerous men we have

384

MARCH 1926

yet encountered. He should be immediately removed by legal process as per advice to the committee. If the committee follows my advice I feel sure that they will be able, if they act quickly and decisively, to recover much for the people. Delay is ruinous and I have warned the Committee against it several times. Let no consideration for my freedom prevent you from acting as has been so often suggested. G O O D W I S H E S FOR THE C O N V E N T I O N

I wish your convention the greatest success, and I feel sure that you will honesdy take steps to protect the interests of the people. M y imprisonment will not have been in vain, if the result brings forth a cleaner and better organization. You must take heart in knowing that our sufferings are but the natural result of all human efforts. The Christian religion had to undergo the same difficulties and hardships to reach perfection, so do not lose courage but CARRY ON.

May God's choicest blessings rest upon you and guide you through the sessions of the convention. I have the honor to be your obedient servant. MARCUS GARVEY

Founder and President-General of Universal Negro Improvement Association and Administrator Printed in

20 March 1926. Original headline abridged.

1. Garvey's statement was read to the convention by J. Milton Van L o w e on Monday afternoon, IJ March 1 9 2 6 (NW, 2 7 March 1 9 2 6 ) . The emergency U N I A convention had been convened in Detroit on the previous day. A telegram signed by J. A . Craigen on behalf o f "five thousand delegates and friends in special convention" was sent to Garvey o n that opening day, pledging loyalty to him as "our leader and president general until Africa is re[d]eemed" (Craigen to Garvey, 1 4 March 1 9 2 6 , A F R C , AP). 2. T h e Black Cross Navigation and Trading C o . experienced difficulty in meeting the terms o f the purchase contract for the S.S. Goethals. T h e company was late making the second and third payments for the vessel and was unable to secure a surety bond for the remainder, as called for by the agreement. The company thus incurred tens o f thousands o f dollars in potential damages, which the seller, the Panama Rail Road C o . , did not choose to levy. T h e title was transferred when the purchase was completed on 10 January 1 9 2 5 , one day before the ship's scheduled departure from N e w York City on its maiden Black Cross Navigation and Trading C o . voyage (correspondence o f the Panama Rail Road C o . , 1 9 2 4 , D N A , R G 41, file 6 1 - H - 2 ) . 5. Just after purchase, Garvey received an offer o f $ 1 1 0 , 0 0 0 , for the vessel—an increase o f ten thousand dollars over the amount the Black Cross Navigation and Trading C o . paid for it (vice president, Panama Rail Road C o . , to M . L . Walker, 2 9 October 1 9 2 4 , D N A , R G 4 1 , file 6 1 - H - 2 ) . 4 . This may refer to the legal efforts by the crew to recover their wages from the Black Cross Navigation and Trading C o . (DW, 1 0 November 1 9 3 0 ) . 5. The ship returned to N e w York City already o w i n g several thousand dollars to the crew for wages and to the U.S. government for violation o f maritime regulations. Once there, the ship rapidly accumulated further fees for the use o f port facilities. For example, in November 1 9 2 5 , Sherrill wired Garvey that the ship owned the dry dock company "nearly three thousand" dollars (William Sherrill to Marcus Garvey, 2 8 November 1 9 2 5 , A F R C , AP).

385

T H E MARCUS GARVEY AND U N I A

PAPERS

Charges Against William Sherrill by Marcus Garvey [Atlanta, Ga., ca. 15 March 1926] 1.

Duplicity and intrigue against the association, the Black Cross and Marcus Garvey, President-General[,] U.N.I.A

2. Disloyalty to organization and Marcus Garvey, President-General. 3. Using his office and circumstances of the imprisonment of the PresidentGeneral to satisfy his own selfish purpose by payment of back salaries, etc., while neglecting the urgent needs of the association and the Black Cross. 4. Insincerity and treachery. 5.

Failing to immediately take charge of the affairs of the Black Cross upon the imprisonment of Marcus Garvey and directing same in the interests of the organization.

6. Failing to carry out instructions given by President-General for the good of the organization and the Black Cross. 7. Conspiring to pass the affairs of the Black Cross over into the hands of Crawford and Cyril Briggs, enemies of the movement. 8. Undermining the work of Mrs. Garvey for my release as well as that of the Marcus Garvey Committee on Justice. 9. Failing to visit me after my imprisonment of three months to get instructions and advice.1 10. Failing to visit me regularly or report to me, in detail, the condition and operation of the U.N.I.A. and Black Cross after he agreed to do so. 11. Making contracts without notifying me. Making contracts that tended to injure the Black Cross. 12. Wasting the funds of the Black Cross to satisfy the plans of our enemies. 13. Allowing unnecessary debts to be levied against the ship General Goethals to satisfy the plans of our enemies. 14. Wasting the funds of the U.N.I.A. to satisfy the plans of our enemies. 15. Wickedly absenting himself from the office at headquarters at time of critical need. 16. Touring the country and going abroad only in his own selfish interest to draw salary and allowances when his services were needed at headquarters. 17. Refusing to sacrifice for the association and the Black Cross at a critical time and applying monies which could have been used to help the

386

MARCH 1926

organization to pay his back and other salaries, to the immediate injury of the organization. 18. Setting a bad example to fellow executives by his negligence. 19. Making false speeches to deceive the people regarding the Black Cross and the ship, General Goethals, at Liberty Hall and elsewhere. 20. Neglecting to carry out the African program undertaken by the organization and on which large sums of money had been spent. 21. Consorting with the enemies of the organization. 22. Refusing to have the books of the Black Cross and the U.N.I.A. audited, at the proper time, as directed by me from time to time, and as requested by the minutes of the corporation. 23. Sending me an unsigned statement of the funds of the U.N.I.A. when he was forced to make statement. 24. Sending me, after being forced to, an incomplete and unsigned statement of the funds of the Black Cross after a wait of nine months after request. Refusing to send me a statement showing the bulk of monies received for the Black Cross from divisions and individuals during the months of October, November and December, 1925, which amounted to more than $20,000. 25. Skilfully seeking to block the spreading of the aims and objects of the association through the publication of the second volume of my book. 26. Encouraging the publication of false and mischievous statements to prejudice the public mind against me. 27. Being used by our enemies to dismantle the organization, etc. During my thirteen months' imprisonment, Sherrill has sent me no funds to meet the costly expenses undergone to the extent of hundreds of dollars for the association and the Black Cross Navigation Company.2 Such expense has been met by monies sent for my personal use by my wife and friends. These and all other charges appearing in this statement I charge against William Sherrill. Being confined in prison I rely on the letters herein referred to and attached, and individuals attending the convention, as witnesses to prove. Printed in NW, 20 March 1926. 1. Although Sherrill contacted Garvey frequently by wire, there is no record showing that he visited the UNIA leader in Atlanta (prison visitor records, A F R C , AP). 2. Sherrill sent at least one small sum to Garvey while he was in prison ($7.00, received on 25 April 1925). Other contributions, some of which may possibly have originated from Sherrill, were simply noted on the records as received "by wire." A total of $4,321.39 was recorded as received under this general designation between February 1925 and November 1927 (ledger of cash received by Marcus Garvey, Atlanta penitentiary, 1925-1927, DNA, R G 60, file 198940).

387

T H E MARCUS GARVEY AND U N I A PAPERS

W. W. Husband to John Sargent WASHINGTON, D.C., March 15, 1926

My dear Mr. Attorney General: This Department has the honor to again refer to a communication, No. 42-793, dated January 6,1926, from your Mr. James A. Finch, pardon attorney, relative to a proposed commutation of the sentence imposed upon Marcus Garvey for the purpose of immediate deportation. In connection therewith attention is respectfully invited to the Department's letter addressed to you under date of January 18, 1926. On January 21, 1926, the Department declined to take favorable action upon a petition for a stay of deportation for a period of sixty or ninety days. Counsel for the Universal Negro Improvement Association has recendy presented a petition, a copy of which is inclosed, praying for temporary release in order that he may attend to and wind up certain business affairs. After reading the inclosed copy of the petition in connection with your record covering this case, will you kindly favor this Department at your earliest convenience with your views as to the advisability of granting the proposed stay of deportation? I am, Sir, with great respect, Very sincerely yours, W . W . HUSBAND

Second Assistant Secretary WNRC, RG 204, file 42-793. TLS, recipient's copy. On Department of Labor letterhead.

Enclosure: Petition by UNIA Members Cincinnati, Ohio, 2nd day of March, 1926 To the Hon. W.W. Husband, U.S. Commissioner of Immigration,' Washington The undersigned General Counsel, and General Chairman of the Garvey Committee on Justice, representing the entire membership of the UNIVERSAL NEGRO IMPROVEMENT ASSOCIATION an organization of some 2 million

members i[n] the United States, of which Marcus Garvey is the Founder and President-General, hereby respectfully represent the following to you:— 1. Marcus Garvey was indicted for the use of the U.S. mails to defraud. Altho he had lawyers in court, he acted as his own lawyer and the jury 388

M A R C H 1926

found him guilty and he was given 5 years in the Penitentiary and is now at Atlanta Ga. 2. When he learned that the U.S. courts at New York had affirmed the lower court, Mrs. Garvey and he were in Detroit, Mich, across from Canada. They took a train at once for N.Y. thru Canada as arrangements had been made by Garvey's lawyers and the District Atfy at N.Y. to surrender Garvey the next day after his arrival, as Garvey and his counsel were to sit up all night to go over all affairs and straighten out as best they could all the affairs so as to leave them in proper shape whil[e] Mr. Garvey was to be gone. Instead, Mr. Garvey was taken off the train at 125th St. Station, New York City and taken to jail at once without anyone having the chance to see him, although his lawyer was at the office waiting for him as per arrangements. The next morning he was on the train speeding to Atlanta. He had no chance to arrange any of the various affairs and as a result they were left in temporary hands and sudde[n]ly. 3. Mr. Garvey is a British subject in law and subject to deportation to Jamaica. He served 3 months in the N.Y. Tombs and now more than a year in the prison at Adanta. His further detention would be of no advantage either in the matter of Punishment or reform. If he is to be deported, it may as well be done at once to make room for others at Adanta, which place is crowded according to information. 4. Neither Mr. or Mrs. Garveyf,] his sister, or any of their relatives or friends have any money of any kind. What fraud there was took place while Mr. Garvey was gone about 5 months to the West Indies on some work. Mr. Garvey did not benefift] by it nor did he receive a penny of any such funds in any shape. 5. The following are the subsidiary corporation[s] of the parent organization, viz: (a) The Black Star Line Inc. (b) The Black Cross Navigation & Trading Co. (c) The African Communities League. 6. That Black Star Line has had to cease operations of its vessels, and has [word missing] with the U.S. Shipping Board about $25,000,000. 7. That there is an outstanding judgment in favor of the Black Star Line and Leon Swift amounting to $11,000,00 in re the River Boat "Shadyside" which has been appealed to the Appel[l]ate Division of the N.Y. Supreme Court, which appeal is now pending. 8. The "SS Goethals" was purchased by the Black Cross Navigation and Trading Co. at a cost of $101,000.00 and over $60,000.00 expended in repairs, etc. and many thousand since in various libels, etc. This vessel is in

389

T H E M A R C U S GARVEY AND U N I A PAPERS

N.Y. harbor now with cargo and cannot sail by reason of many libels, liens and attachments all of which have developed since Mr. Garvey's incarceration. These lien holders threaten to sell the ship at once, which would mean almost a total loss to the stockholders. 9. The African Communities League owns a fine printing outfit and plant, publishes an excellent weekly negro periodical called "The Negro World" with a large circulation. The printing plant had been mortgaged and attached and the place is in actual jeopardy. 10. A legacy of $100,000.00 has been willed to the Association for work, by Isaiah Morter late of Belize, British Honduras, a personal friend and former house guest of Mr. Garvey's. This is now in process of litigation as this man left a widow from whom he was separated, who is contesting the will and legacy. This requires the personal attention at once of Mr. Garvey. 11. The Association has at Cape Palmas, Liberia, agricultural machinery, sawmills, tractors, sewerage pipes and equipment, pumps, etc. worth over $50,000.00 which was to be used in a colonization plan. The property is in danger as it is virtually unguarded. 12. There is constant internal strife, dissension in the present temporary officers of the Universal Negro improvement Ass'n at N.Y.[;] various lawsuits have been instituted and default judgments of over $30,000.00 have culminated and the real property at 120 W. 138th St. and at W. 135th St. New York City have been mortgaged by the present officials for the oppressive sum of $75,000.00 with excessive brokerage fees to certain favorites, and this property covers nearly half a block in Harlem, N.Y. City[,] which is valuable and which also may become a total loss to the general membership and the investors. 13. The membership of the organization and its parts have lost all faith and confidence of the men who have made this condition possible, and who were hastily left in temporary charge of this vast organization and who have done all the things above set forth or thru their lack of experience, tact or understanding and the membership is in actual revolt against the conditions which have arisen thru the present mismanagement and have called a General Emergency Convention to be held at Detroit, Mich. USA, March 14-31 of the present year to try and save something of the present wreck if they can. 14. Mr. Garvey the founder and organizer of all these activities has the love, devotion and the deep rooted sympathy of the people who are members or have their money invested in these companies. They have absolute confidence in him as an organizer and a leader whom they trust absolutely and only he can adjust and straighten out these matters and bring some harmony between the factions and some of the matters herein can be saved only by Mr. Garvey. He alone holds the only possible key to the situation as all factions will follow his counsel and action and these matters are in dire need of his counsel and services at once if anything at all is to be salvaged out of the wreck for the stock-holders and the members. 390

M A R C H 1926

We, therefore, in behalf of the membership, which is wide, varied and scattered[,] as well [words repeated] as the stockholders]^] all of whom are poor negro people, pray that the said Marcus Garvey be deported, as we understand is mandatory, that this take place at once, but that in view of all the above and to save the savings and the property of these millions of poor people, that the said Marcus Garve/s deportation be stayed for a period of 60 days in charge of his counsel either Attorney Nicholas Klein, of Cincinnati, Ohio or George Gordon Battle of New York City, either of whom will help and work with Mr. Garvey to straighten out all the above and at a time set by your Department, counsel will deliver him as your department may designate. We know this is unusual, but we call attention to the fact that the matter herein and the numbers to be served, are also unusual. Mr. Garvey did not try to escape, altho he was coming thru Canada to go to his prisonf,] and in custody of his counsel the department can be assured that he will be delivered a[s] the department may desire. Mr. Garvey asks nothing for himself, nor do we ask anything for him. We only ask of your department that Mr. Garvey be allowed to straighten out our affairs as only he can, in the very nature of things and with the people involved and we ask and pray this in the name of the two million poor negro people herein represented. The Department can lose nothing and be of great material help to our poor people who have their savings invested which only Mr. Garvey can salvage for them. Signed this 2nd day of March, 1926, in behalf of the Universal Negro Improvement Ass'n, by its request and for its members, its kindred organizations herein set forth.2 For the organizations BISHOP GEO. ALEX M C G U I R E

African Orthodox Church of New York City DR. L. C. WHITING

Vice-Pres. Washington D.C. Division MRS. MARCUS GARVEY

New York City FRED A. TOOTE

President Philadelphia Division FRED A . JOHNSON

President Detroit, Mich. Division E. B. KNOX

Sec'y Chicago Division J. A . C R A I G E N

Sec'y Detroit, Mich. Division D R . J. J. PETERS

Pres. New Orleans Division

391

THE MARCUS GARVEY AND U N I A PAPERS SAMUEL A . HAYNES

Pres. Pittsburgh Pa. Division WILLIAM WARE

General Chairman Garvey Committee on Justice NICHOLAS KLEIN

General Counsel for the membership and organizations WNRC, RG 204, file 42-793- TD, transcript. 1. Harry E. Hull was commissioner general of immigration in 1926; W. W. Husband held that position before he became second assistant secretary of labor in 1925 (WNRC, R G 204, file 42-793; WWA). 2. This petition is a revised, expanded version of a petition drafted in February 1926. The earlier version of the petition was signed by Nicholas Klein (who identified himself as "att[orne]y for the membership"), J. A. Craigen ("sec[retar]y, Detroit Divfsion] U N I A"), Jay J. Peters ("President], New Orleans Divfision]"), Samuel Haynes ("President], Pittsburgh Div[sion]"), William Ware ("President, Cincin[atti] Division]"), Bishop George McGuire ("Hon. Chaplain Gen[era]l, UNIA"), David Booth Ennestor ("member and investor"), Dr. L. Whiting ("expresfident], Washington, [D.C., division]"), Rosa Simmons ("Lady President], Pittsburgfh], Pa., U N I A " ) , Aurelia A. Haynes ("member and investor, Pittsburgh], Pa., UNIA"), Parthenia E. Hills ("member and investor5'), W. H. Abington ("investor, Pittsburg[h], Pa."), and Amy Jacques Garvey (who simply gave her affiliation as "New York City") (petition on behalf of the membership of the UNIA for the release of Marcus Garvey, 25 February 1926, W N R C , R G 204, file 42-793).

Marcus Garvey to Amy Jacques Garvey Atlanta, Ga., March 18, 1926 Glad to learn of attitude of Liberian Legislature in refusing the Firestone deal of Barclay and King.' Request speaker to convey to Convention my joy in this matter and tell them to press on. Victory will come for cause. Accept thanks for your effort in that direction. Much love, MARCUS GARVEY

[Address:] Amy Jacques-Garvey, IJI6 Russell St., Detroit, Mich. [Handwritten endorsements:] O K J W S .

[$]2.62.

AFRC, AP. ATG, on Western Union postal message blank. 1. In January 1926 the Liberian legislature initially found the proposed Firestone-guaranteed loan of $5 million unacceptable; its members thought that the provisions for the investment undermined Liberian sovereignty, and they insisted on amendments to the proposal. After several months of negotiation, a compromise was finally agreed upon by the two parties (Nancy Kaye Forderhase, "The Plans That Failed: The United States and Liberia, 1920-193$" [Ph.D. diss., University of Missouri-Columbia, 1971], pp. 62-68).

392

M A R C H 1926

Marcus Garvey to Fred A. Toote1 Atlanta, Ga., March 18, 1926 Please convey to delegates,1 members and friends attending convention my heartiest best wishes. I sincerely trust that sacrificial and sincere leadership will result from the changes to be effected. Clean executive personnel [personnel] retaining Lord[,] Burrowes [Burrows] and Davis would meet my approval. Don't fail to prosecute actions immediately to recover ship and other property going even to highest courts. Only way to protect interest of members. Have read with annoyance and sorrow statement of Cyril Briggs. Show no sympathy to those who placed ships in his hands. Best wishes to Detroit. MARCUS GARVEY—19359 [Address:] Speaker Convention, 1516 Russell St., Detroit, Mich. [Handwritten endorsements:] O K JWS. [$]2-43. A F R C , AP. ATG, on Western Union postal message blank. 1 On 15 March 1926 Fred A. Toote was elected speaker of the convention with "about two hundred delegates and Sherrill present." William Ware was the other candidate for the post, losing to Toote in a 21 to 61 vote. Toote reported the election to Garvey, told him that his statement to the convention had been read, and asked for advice on a desired slate for the upcoming election of officers. According to Toote, "logical personnel" included "[J. J.] Peters [W. A.] Wallace [W.] Ware [S. R.] Wheat [M. L. T.] De Mena [S.] Haynes [P. L.] Burro[w]s [L.] Lord [J. G. St. C.] Drake" (Fred A. Toote to Marcus Garvey, 16 March 1926, AFRC, AP; NW, 27 March 1926). 2. Delegates were sent to the convention from local UNIA divisions or chapters representing the following areas: Fort Smith, Jefferson, and Round Pond, Ark.; Bermuda; Oakland, Calif.; Montreal, Canada; Hartford, Conn.; Antilla, Camaguey, Ciego de Avila, Havana, Mariano, and Oriente, Cuba; Washington, D.C.; Miami, Fla.; Chicago and East St. Louis, 111.; Indianapolis, Ind.; Grosse Tete, La.; Erlanger and Louisville, Ky.; Boston, Mass.; Detroit, Half Way, Hamtramck, and Macomb Garden, Mich.; Biloxi, Miss.; Hermondale, New Madrid, St. Louis, Samos, and South Kinloch, Mo.; Omaha, Neb.; Atlantic, Milmay, and Montclair, N. J.; Buffalo, New York City, and Yonkers, N. Y.; Akron, Barberton, Cincinnati, Cleveland, College Hill, Columbus, Hamilton, Lorrain, Massilon, Middletown, Warren, and Youngstown, Ohio; Muskogee, Okla.; Panama City, Panama; Elmwood, Farrell, Philadelphia, East Liberty, and Homestead, Pa.; Berkeley, Norfolk, Richmond, and West Munden, Va.; Clarksburg, and Farmington, W.Va.; and Milwaukee, Wis. (NW, 3 April 1926).

Marcus Garvey to Amy Jacques Garvey Atlanta, Ga., March 19, 1926 Convention should elect as first assistant [president general] person who will pledge faithfully to prosecute men and recover ship and property at all cost. No friend of theirs should be elected[;] otherwise the people's interest

393

THE MARCUS GARVEY AND U N I A PAPERS will not be protected.

I prefer to leave selection to convention as I am not

personally acquainted with individual attitude.

Kyle, Ware or person to be

depended on would be suitable. Third A s s t . should be man o f stern character w h o also must w o r k to recover property, etc.

If Peters lose[s] o u t he is t o

take charge o f N e w York local b y instructions I will send him. I prefer him t o d o this. Burrowes should be kept as S e c y . General and L o r d as Chancellor by appointment. Davis' salary should be reduced to twelve hundred for economy. If Kyle is not ready or convention cannot find educated first Assistant on w h o m they can depend[,] then Ware or some one should act with arrangement t o give w a y later to proper person[,] then accept second assistant's place w h e n everything is well in hand as an exchange[.] K y l e to me w o u l d be a g o o d man if possible.

Tell Speaker to have the Convention cable Liberian Legislature

and [T. J. R . ] Faulkner' complimenting them on action and offering to encourage immigration and supplying through race with co-operation o f local people['s] help for building up country for this race.

B e careful with cold,

etc. M u c h love. MARCUS GARVEY [Address:] A m y Jacques-Garvey, 1516 Russell St., Detroit, Mich. [Handwritten endorsements:] O K J W S . [$]II.J7A F R C , AP. A T G , on Western Union postal message blank. 1. Thomas J. R. Faulkner was a Liberian political leader, pan-Africanist, and, as an advocate of mass migration to and development of Liberia, a supporter of the UNIA, and later, of Mittie Maud Lena Gordon's repatriationist Peace Movement of Ethiopia. Originally an American citizen, Faulkner emigrated from North Carolina to Liberia, where he owned and managed a hotel and an ice and electric light plant in Monrovia. Henrietta Vinton Davis stayed at the Faulkner hotel while the UNIA delegation was in Liberia in 1924, and Faulkner managed the UNIA shipments of machinery and supplies when they arrived in Liberia (WW, 6 September and 17 October 1924)Faulkner maintained close ties with the UNIA in the United States, and when his wife, Mai Hall, died of black water fever in 1925, he had a memorial notice placed in the Negro World in her honor (NW, 24 October 1925). A British Foreign Office report characterized Faulkner as "one of the ablest men in Liberia," who acted with "the courage of his convictions," and who was "not very well disposed towards the British" ("Report on Leading Personalities in Liberia," 30 January 1930, PRO, FO 371/14658 042862, J333/333/24). Faulkner was a People's party candidate for the Liberian vice presidency in 1923 and a member of the Liberian legislative assembly in the 1920s. He was a leader in the movement to expose and abolish the state-sanctioned system of forced labor in Liberia, which eventually led to the resignation of President C. D. B. King. In the aftermath of King's resignation, Faulkner reorganized the People's party as the Progressive Association of Liberia and became a leading candidate for the presidency. Dr. F. W. M. Moráis, a Liberian-born political leader, was his running mate. In addition to an antislavery platform, Faulkner advocated "close financial and business affiliation with American Negroes" and the use of "their money, brain and business experience in developing the rich resources of the country instead of selling the country to white financial domination" (NW, 4 April 1931). The Faulkner-Morais ticket, which was defeated by that of Acting President Edwin Barclay in the May 1931 elections, was strongly supported by the Negro World (Lester Walton to U.S. secretary of state, 14 January 1939, DNA, R G 60, file 882.5211; Cuthbert Christy, Charles Spurgeon Johnson, and Arthur Barclay, Report of the International Commission of Enquiry into the Existence of Slavery and Forced Labour in the Republic of Liberia, League of Nations Publication No. C.658.M.272, [Geneva, 15 December 1930], pp. 43, 45, 56; NW, 3 January, 10 January, 17 January, 7 February, 4 April, 11 April, and 25 April 1931).

394

MARCH 1926

Article in the New York Age [New York, 20 March 1926] The New York local of the U.N.I.A. presided over by George A. Weston, held an interesting meeting Sunday night in Liberty Hall for the purpose of assisting in gathering money for the mortgage debt and to build a new hall. The usual preliminaries of the association's ritual were gone through at the opening, which carried a significant air when the audience sang, "I will not forget Thee." The band played a beautiful selection, followed by David Johnson, of the Johnson School of Music, a boy of 10 years old, who displayed excellent skill on the violin. President Weston introduced Westly [Wesley] McDonald Weeks, second vice-president of the U.N.I.A., who spoke on the subject, T a k e up the fight where I leave off and carry it on." The speaker implored his hearers to follow the original ideas of their leader, Marcus Garvey, and predicted a conflict between the Nordic and Latin races in the 30th Century. He closed his remarks by asking the members of the U.N.I.A. to cling to the principles of the association, and not join hands with those who wished to have it split asunder. M A R K S [MARKE] FROM SIERRA L E O N E

The Hon. G. O. Marks was then introduced. Mr. Marks is Acting Potentate for Sierra Leone, Africa. He was delegated by the followers of the Garvey movement in 1920, to come to this country to ascertain what the Garvey movement and the U.N.I.A. meant. From the beginning he did not have a very favorable impression of its working, and could not see how men of great brains, many of whose names he called[,] would long be domineered by a one man rule, and not withstanding the fact that he represented an important territory he soon got in disfavor with the provisional president. In 1920, after seeing how things were going, he asked Mr. Garvey "what would become of the U.N.I.A should you die?" Mr. Garvey only laughed. Three years after he asked the same question to which Mr. Garvey replied they will all fight and scramble among themselves. He declared the prediction had come true in regard to the Detroit Convention. He had asked Mr. Toott [Toote] of the executive council was it not against the condition of the association to hold that convention; to which Mr. Toot replied [it] was, but they intended to hold it because they were going to hold it. A C C U S E M R S . GARVEY

He credited Mrs. Garvey and one Thompson with promoting the strife which now exists by their "lying" publications and misrepresentations. He denounced the Negro World as being the most scur[r]ilous sheet published in Negro newspaperdom. He paid a glowing tribute to T. Thomas Fortune,

395

T H E MARCUS GARVEY AND U N I A PAPERS

and called him the peer of Negro writers but said his hands were tied and could not express the truth in the columns of that paper because he was hampered by Mrs. Garvey, who did not belong to the executive council[,] and one Thompson. The audience seemed to be in sympathy with the speaker in his views and beliefs. Other speakers followed in the same vein. President Weston announced the Acting President Sherrill was in Detroit, in the interest of the movement. Printed in the New York Age, 20 March 1926. Original headlines omitted.

Convention Report by Norton G. Thomas [[DETROIT, March 21, 1926]] The Detroit Convention has completed a week's work, and all is well. Summoned for the major task of electing new officers of the Universal Negro Improvement Association and its chief auxiliary, the Black Cross Navigation and Trading Company, it has a few hours ago performed this task. Officers have been elected who have pledged themselves to work in close communion with the Hon. Marcus Garvey, Founder and PresidentGeneral, now imprisoned at Atlanta, Ga. As the Hon. Marcus Garvey was unanimously re-elected President-General the delegates cheered for a full five minutes. Thereafter ail was easy going. But an hour sufficed for the filling of the other offices. A First Assistant President-General was elected with the distinct understanding that he shall hold the position temporarily until the Hon. Marcus Garvey names the man for the post. In the circumstances it was felt that the Chairman of the Committee of Presidents, Hon. Fred A. Toote, should be elected to the office, and a unanimous ballot was cast by the Secretary to the Convention in short order. Mr. Toote, who, with Messrs. William Ware, Samuel A. Haynes and Joseph A. Craigen, members of the President's Committee, did Trojan work in connection with the holding of the Convention, deprecated that it was even considered necessary on the floor of the Convention to so predicate his election to the high office, and said it went without saying that he awaited the Hon. Marcus Garvey's pleasure, as far as the tenure of office was concerned. The proviso, however, was placed on record. OFFICERS ELECTED

The following were the officers elccted: Hon. Marcus Garvey, PresidentGeneral; Hon. Fred A. Toote, 1st Assistant President-General; Hon. Dr. J. J. Peters, 3rd Assistant President-General; Lady Henrietta Vinton Davis, 4th Assistant President-General; Hon. W. A. Wallace, Secretary-General; Sir F. Levi Lord (former Auditor-General), Chancellor; Hon. Dr. St. Clair 396

MARCH 1926

Drake, International Organizer, and Hon. P. L. Burrows, Assistant SecretaryGeneral (re-elected). It was unanimously agreed that Mr. N. G. G. Thomas, Executive Secretary to the President-General and Acting Managing Editor of The Negro World, be accorded a seat on the Executive Council as an honorary member. Hon. Fred A. Toote announced that the new Council would work in harmony with Mrs. Amy Jacques Garvey, wife of the President-Generalf,] and an opportunity would be given her to take part in its deliberations as a honorary member, whenever she so desired. This met with the unanimous approval of the House, which only refrained from making her an honorary member on motion, bearing in mind the President-General's desire that she should not further be burdened. Mr. Toote also announced that Madame M. L. T. De Mena, who had rendered signal service in the past, would be appointed Assistant to the International Organizer. The announcement was greeted with cheers. The deposed officers were: Sir William Sherrill, Acting PresidentGeneral, who held the substantive post of 2nd Assistant President-General; Sir Clifford S. Bourne, Chancellor, and Hon. G. Emonei Carter, SecretaryGeneral. By common consent the offices of 2nd Assistant President-General and Auditor-General were not filled. The following officers of the old administration tendered their resignations to the Convention as requested: Hon Marcus Garvey, Hon. G. E. Carter, Hon. F. Levi Lord and Hon. P. L. Burrows. M R . SHERRILL DOES NOT RESIGN

Sir William Sherrill, who was present throughout the session and made an earnest plea for vindication by the Convention of charges of collusion with enemies of the organization and plotting against the organization, had written his resignation, but did not submit it when his plea failed. His office, however, like the others filled, was declared vacant when the time for election came. The only officer of those who were slated to go that remains to be dealt with is Hon. G. O. Marke, Supreme Deputy, now Acting Potentate of the Association. He did not put in an appearance at the Convention and was requested to present himself at Detroit on the 2$th inst. to answer charges preferred against him by the Universal Negro Improvement Association through its President-General, Hon. Marcus Garvey. In the event of failure to appear his office will also be declared vacant and will not be filled. T H E RESULTS OF T H E EVENTFUL M O R N I N G SESSION W E R E ENDORSED BY

THE

H O N . MARCUS

GARVEY

IN

A

TELEGRAM

TO

THE

SPEAKER-IN-

CONVENTION. T H E C A S E OF M R .

SHERRILL

But even though the election of officers has been completed, the work of the Convention is not yet over. Apart from the case of this Hon. G. O. Marke, the question of Sir William Sherrill's maladministration still 397

T H E MARCUS GARVEY AND U N I A PAPERS

forces itself upon the attention of the delegates. At the Thursday morning session Sir William Sherrill, after repeated requests for further time to "conclude his report" had been granted, came before the body and read the anxiously awaited document. It was then the climax of the Convention was reached. In an emotional voice, but calm and composed, amid a silence which was almost oppressive, Mr. Sherrill began. He apologized for his absence at the opening of the Convention, stating that the delay was due to lack of Parent Body funds, which became acute in view of recent developments. "Knowing all of my acts will stand the light of day and investigation," he declared, " I was determined if I had to walk to Detroit to appear before this convention was over and meet the people, stating to them facts relative to accusations made, place myself at their disposal to ask any questions they desire, or make any investigations they deem fit. And hence I find myself this morning having the privilege and opportunity of speaking to the deputies and delegates here assembled." Then he began the reading of this report. " N O T G U I L T Y , " H E SAYS

At the outset Mr. Sherrill protested that he was guiltless, stating that he defied anyone "in or out of this Convention to truthfully and honestly say that I have done anything unbecoming an officer of this great organization. . . . to say that I have at any time not dealt honestly with the Association and its funds. . . . to prove that I have by word, deed or action ever done anything to hinder the carrying on of the program of the Universal Negro Improvement Association as we all understand it. . . . to produce one person, one document of any nature or one iota of evidence to prove that I have done or attempted to do anything against the interest of Mr. Garvey and his release from Adanta Federal Prison." Then he attempted to show that his present predicament was due to the plotting of selfish, jealous persons, desirous of office, with an eye to personal aggrandizement. Disclaiming any intention to do anything which would retard the progress of the Universal Negro Improvement Association and the race, Mr. Sherrill declared that in spite of what the outcome might be he was willing to make any contribution in interest of the people. A S U R P R I S E PACKET

As Mr. Sherrill launched into a defense of his actions in connection with the Black Cross Navigation and Trading Company and the Universal Negro Improvement Association, it was evident that the double-crossing of some of his associates, as revealed in letters and other documents published in the last issue of The Negro World, had greatly shocked and surprised him, and at their door he was inclined to lay the greater part of the blame for the unfortunate position in which he found himself. It was not possible here to go into full review of the defense of Mr. Sherrill since his report is still before the convention. He has been asked 398

M A R C H 1926

few questions, no investigation such as asked for by him has been started, for the simple reason that the delegates feel it would be a waste of valuable time to attempt to return a finding as to guilt or innocence in view of the incarceration of the President-General and the absence of Messrs. Bourne and Carter from the convention—two officers, who, with Mr. Sherrill, are held to be responsible to the people for the present situation. At the time of writingf,] the Committee of Presidents as a result of a motion passed shortly after the election of officers, are in consultation with an attorney as to the advisability of the convention even taking into consideration Mr. Sherrill's plea that he be vindicated of plotting to hinder the progress of the Association and of collusion with enemies of the Association, and kindred charges. T H E CONVENTION'S ATTITUDE

It seems to be the sense of the convention that while Mr. Sherrill may be clearly convicted of disloyalty to Mr. Garvcy, incompetence and rank negligence in the administration of the affairs of the Association, the disloyalty and double-dealing of his colleagues helped to place him in a plight where almost any charge could reasonably be levelled against him, even though he may not have deliberately set out to injure the Universal Negro Improvement Association and the Black Cross Navigation and Trading Company, to dissipate their funds, and retard and weaken the efforts being made to secure the release of the Hon. Marcus Garvey from prison. As stated above, Mr. Sherrill pleaded with the convention to "lighten his burden" by removing some portion of the stigma that now attributes to the name, but the convention remained adamant, even though in sympathetic mood, clearly expressing its intention not to set itself up as a court. It felt that Mr. Sherrill by his own acts had contributed to his own dilemma and that it was for him to have rendered and to render an accounting to the Hon. Marcus Garvey, President-General, who appointed him to his post, with whom he failed to co-operate, and who, in prison or out of prison, would remain the leader of the Negro peoples of the world. H o w S H E R R I L L STANDS

And so there the matter rests for the present: Mr. Sherrill on the verge of tears as he admits error, but denies criminality or treason; the Convention solidly lined up behind Marcus Garvey, determined by no word or deed to give the impression that any of charges are not well founded; Mr. Sherrill disavowing any intention now or in the future to take any steps which will injure the organization in any way; the Convention determined that sentiment shall be banished and that it shall not, out of any considerations of sympathy, do anything which may be construed as not holding up the hands of its beloved leader, now behind prison bars for the cause; Mr. Sherrill anxious to retain eligibility for office and continuance as a member; the Convention shrugging its shoulders and saying, in effect: 'The way to Atlanta lies wide open." 399

T H E M A R C U S GARVEY AND U N I A PAPERS

Great mass meetings held every evening drew thousands of interested spectators who came from the various parts of the city of Detroit and its environs to learn the progress the Convention was making. At these meetings the delegates were given an opportunity to address the gatherings and give an account of the work in their communities. The meetings were enlivened by musical and other items, for which thanks are due to Miss Celeste Cole, 1 M r . W. Griffin, Mmes. Settles, Phillips, Stephens and [Marjorie] Stewart Joyner, and Master Fred E. Johnson, Jr., son of the President of the Detroit Division. 2 SERENE C O N F I D E N C E IN LEADER

The week's business sessions have been exceedingly orderly and businesslike. Heated passages between delegates arose not to mar but to brace the proceedings. If anyone at this late hour doubted that Marcus Garvey was destined to be the undisputed leader of the Negro peoples of the world during his lifetime, the answer was given at Detroit last week. There was no fanaticism, no excitement, no hero-worship, darting flame and fire, but a calm, abiding faith, a serene confidence, in the man, Marcus Garvey, who came to save, who has a program and a genius to save, and whom a cruel civilization has relegated behind prison bars. "Garvey shall lead," the people have decreed, and last week affirmed in unequivocal language. And the people feel that his reputation was enhanced when he became white civilization's "criminal." Printed in N W , 27 March 1926. 1. Celeste Cole was described as "a talented soloist of the city" in a 3 April 1926 Negro World report of division meetings in Detroit. 2. Fred E. Johnson, Jr., sang solos as part of juvenile musical presentations at Detroit division meetings. His father was the president of the division, and his mother division reporter (NW, 9 January 1926).

Excerpts from the Decision of Chief Justice H. K. M. Sisnett, Ann Rebecca Morter v. Arthur Balderamos, H. H. Cain, and the UNIA [[Belize, British Honduras, ca. 22 March

1926}]

M R . SISNETT'S DECISION

The question around which the conflict waged in this case is whether the residuary devise and bequest contained in the will of Isaiah Emmanuel Morter, deceased (hereinafter referred to as the testator) is or is not void and of no effect for uncertainty or illegality or both. 400

MARCH 1926

The testator died on the 7th of April 1924, leaving a will, which was admitted to probate in the Supreme Court on the 8th of September, 1924. The plaintiff is the lawful widow and relict of the testator and she was left by his will the sum of $25 out of an estate in respect of which the value of the personality alone was sworn at $18,250. On the 18th of May, 1924, the plaintiff issued a writ of summons against the defendants, the executors of the will, and later on the 30th of December, 1924, the defendants, the Universal Negro Improvement Association, Inc. (hereinafter referred to as the U.N.I.A., Inc.) were added as defendants on the application of the defendant executors, whose solicitor in his affidavit in support of the application [has] sworn that the Universal Negro Improvement Association mentioned in the will is the association incorporated under the laws of New York one of the United States of America by the name of the U.N.I.A., Inc. The residuary devise and bequest contained in the said will is as follows: After all directions are carried out I give devise and bequeath the residue of my real and personal estate wheresoever and whatsoever to the Parent Body of the Universal Negro Improvement Association (hereinafter referred to as the U.N.I.A.) for the African Redemption Fund. After disposing of the question of "uncertainty" and stating: "I do not therefore think any trust is or was intended by the testator to be created, and the question whether the gift is charitable or not does not arise." Mr. Sisnett proceeds: Q U E S T I O N OF I L L E G A L I T Y

Now I come to the question of illegality. As Mr. Dragton properly admitted, if the U.N.I.A. and A.C.L. exists for an illegal object the bequest must fail and—that—even if any one of its objects is illegal. No gift for an illegal object or for the furtherance of an object by illegal means, is good in law.* * * As I have said before, whatever may be the subsidiary objects of the U.N.I.A. and A.C.L., the principal and ultimate object is the redemption of Africa. (See the vow taken by all members of the U.N.I.A. and A.C.L. on page 75 of the Book of Laws, by which members vow to dedicate their whole lives to the U.N.I.A. and A.C.L. and the cause of the redemption of their Motherland Africa.) This redemption can be [e]ffected by peaceable and constitutional methods or by means of force of arms or other forccable means. That forceable means are contemplated and being prepared for can be gathered from the "Rules and Regulations for Universal African Legions of the U.N.I.A. and A.C.L.,["] at page 59 to 75 of the Book of Laws. These rules and regulations are, although carefully worded, more in keeping with the rules of a militant 401

T H E MARCUS GARVEY AND U N I A PAPERS

body than with a peaceful body of workers, as they speak of "Military skill and discipline," "Military Commander," "Court Martial, etc.," and 'The Universal Ethiopian Anthem (National Anthem of the U.N.I.A. and A.C.L.)" on page 96 of the Book of Laws, first verse as follows: Ethiopia, thou land of our fathers. Thou land where the Gods loved to be As storm cloud at night sudden gathers Our armies come rushing to thee. We must in the fight be victorious, When swords are thrust outward to gleam For us will the victory be glorious When led by the Red, Black and Green. Chorus Advance, advance to victory, Let Africa be free: Advance to meet the foe with the might Of the Red, the Black and the Green From this verse is clearly shown the militant nature of the fight referred to therein, and I draw special attention to the third and fourth lines. EXTRACTS FROM N E G R O W O R L D

Although I have given enough to show that the object of the U.N.I.A. and A.C.L. is to achieve the redemption of Africa by force, I shall quote some extracts from articles in The Negro World, the official mouth-piece of the U.N.I.A. and A.C.L. (see Sections 52 and 53 on pages $4 and 55 of the Book of Laws), purporting to be written by Marcus Garvey, who is admitted by the defendants, the executors, to be the person holding the official positions created by the Book of Laws, of President-General and administrator of the U.N.I.A. and A.C.L., and Provisional President of Africa, and about whom Miss Davis states in her evidence: "Marcus Garvey was elected at one of the conventions of the association as Provisional President of Africa. I was present. He was elected figuratively as Provisional President of the whole of Africa, just as De Valera was elected president of Ireland." The Negro World of October 20, 1923, contains an article purporting to be written by Marcus Garvey from which I take the following extracts: Fellow Men of the Negro Race, Greeting: To us has come the news of Africa's gradual awakening. The following bit of news but augments the steady growth of the new spirit by which we hope to conquer:

402

M A R C H 1926

N A T I V E S W I P E OUT F R E N C H T R O O P S

'Paris, Oct. 8—A band of 300 native riflemen attacked a platoon of sixty French camel troops fifty miles north of Timbuctoo, annihilating the whole detachment after a seven-hour battle,' said a dispatch from Dakar Monday. FRENCH HYPOCRISY

At last French hypocrisy has been unearthed in Africa and the natives now realize that all European Exploiters are the same whether they be English, French or Italian. There is only one thing for four hundred million Negroes to do and that is to unite and give the alien robber exploiter and gospel-grinder hell in Africa.* * * The ancients have left Africa alone; all generations of men with the exception of the present have left Africa alone, but the present one seems to have gone mad for power and gold, and they will get all the hell they are looking for in Africa when the time comcs. * * * It is sincerely hoped that no black French solider will turn against his own at the call of France, or any other nation in Africa. The time has not yet come, but when Africa calls we hope to see four hundred million black men, women and children standing together. The demonstration of the natives around Timbuctoo suggests to us that we need a great deal of scientific preparation, for the test of combat will be purely on scientific lines. Let every Negro prepare himself scientifically for Africa, for when hell is again let loose on earth we will have to hold our end in the mother land. T H E C A S E OF S O U T H A F R I C A

In the Negro World of March 8, 1924, in an article purporting to :n by Marcus Garvey appears the following:— [Jan Christiaan] Smuts and the rest of his people desire Africa as another white man's country. To reach there they all know that they must jolly along, coax, flatter and fool the Negro, who forms 95 per cent of the continent's population. So long as the 5 per cent can fool the 95 per cent they will get away with the spoils of African politics and industry. But that can only be done so long as the 95 per cent remain ignorant. That is not possible for much longer, because today the U.N.I.A. has penetrated all Africa among the natives with the uncompromising slogan of'Africa for the Africans' those at home and those abroad! We do not only proclaim this but we are sweeping the continent with the doctrine of human liberty, human rights and democracy. With this Smuts and his people will have to cope, and we are not prophesying, but we are only stating, that the dream of Smuts for a permanent white civilization 403

T H E M A R C U S GARVEY AND U N I A PAPERS

in Africa will never be realized. Like Rome and Carthage, South Africa will disappear to give way to a new United States of Africa, a commonwealth of Black men. * * * The Negro and science may yet run Smuts and his gang out of South Africa into the Indian Ocean to be rescued by the useless battleships and cruisers of the English. Look out Smuts! D o not be too sure that you are going to have a white Africa. You may yet have to run for your life. That is why I advise Negroes everywhere to seriously apply themselves to the higher development of science, especially in chemistry and mechanics. * * * But Smuts is mistaken when he thinks that the black wave will not sweep over. The same black wave that swept the British in the Revolutionary War; the same black wave that swept the confederated soldiers in the Civil War; the same black wave that swept the Spanish off the heights of San Juan in the Spanish American War; the same black wave that swept the German ruler out of Potsdam and ran him into Holland; the same black wave that swept the German across the Rhine; the same black wave that defeated the Turks and swept before them the opposing foes in Mesopotamia, is the same black wave that may yet sweep Smuts from South Africa and make him feel that the blacks are still alive. Africa is the only solution of the Negro problem and Africa is the only hope of the black man and four hundred million Negroes are determined that Africa shall be saved notwithstanding the high talk of Smuts and his crew. " N o PEACEFUL METHODS"

Can anyone reading the Book of Laws and especially the Rules and Regulations for Universal African Legions of the U.N.I.A. and A.C.L. on page 59, and the Universal National Anthem fail to recognize the close connection they have with the views expressed by Marcus Garvey in the above extracts, and that the "salvation" or "redemption" of Africa is not to be effected by peaceful and constitutional methods, but by Revolution and war to drive out the present governments in Africa and establish a Black Republic? I find that the Residuary devise and bequest in the Will to the Parent Body of the U.N.I.A. is for an illegal purpose and contrary to public Policy and consequently that such devise and bequest is void and of no effect, and that the Testator died intestate as to such Residuary devise and bequest. Judgement must be for the Plaintiff, and it is ordered that the Executors of the Will of the said Testator hold the said Residuary devise and bequest subject to the orders of the Court as trustees for the persons or person legally entitled thereto. Question of costs adjourned to Chambers on 23.3.26 at 11 a.m. for discussion. Printed in W , 17 April 1926. Original headlines omitted. Asterisk ellipses. 404

M A R C H 1926

Marcus Garvey to Norton G. Thomas [[Atlanta, Ga., March 26, 1926]] Dear Mr. Thomas: I have observed my name mentioned in report of Black Cross Navigation and Trading Company about trip to Philadelphia of S.S. Goethals and discrepancies in amounts between accounts of Balfour Williams and myself.1 I kept no accounts. My secretaries did, as the treasurer and auditor well know. The Philadelphia-Norfolk situation was a peculiar one, known to every one in the office. The New York office advanced fifty dollars through my secretary on the trip to cover expenses of the ship to finally clear her from America, which I had to do without any assistance from New York other than the fifty dollars. Port charges, wharfage, coal and extra supplies for the round trip of thirty-one days, advance crew wages, employees' wages, etc., had to be met by me between Philadelphia and Norfolk. There was a terrible accident to ship in Philadelphia that called for repairs of more than nineteen hundred dollars.2 To keep dates on schedule the boat had to be cleared on a Saturday before noon. Repairs, supplies, clearance and other important business arrangements had to be looked after in a half day before banks and business houses and customs were closed. In the rush to enable Balfour Williams, the purser of the boat, to go around with the Captain and have all other clearances arranged, I had personally to look after the supplies that were needed and which were not fully supplied in New York as per request of the Steward. Monies were needed for clearance, advance on crew's wages, fees, etc., in addition to supplies. In that respect I ordered my Secretary to pay to Williams the amount charged against him as Purser of the boat. There was no time to reach Williams in that the office was about three miles away from the ship. I took the money from the Secretary for Williams, ru[sh]ed to the ship. Williams was ashore attending to other matters; time was going. It was impossible for Williams or any one person to get through all the requirements on that Saturday afternoon. I rushed from ship to chandlers and suppliers, paid for supplies, etc., out of the money intended for Williams' account which he would have had to pay to these persons. After making these payments the balance was handed to Williams as per his account to meet urgent bills which he was rushing around to pay to clear the boat. I had not a minute's time to go into any details, because, beside looking after needs of ship, I had to be then raising the money to cover the expenses that ran into more than six thousand dollars. All the receipts for monies paid out by me for Williams' account with the exception of taxi hire were in my brief case along with other documents. I had them with me with the intent of straightening out the Williams account on the return of the ship. I was arrested on train about seven days after I cleared 405

THE MARCUS GARVEY AND U N I A PAPERS ship from N o r f o l k . 5 1 handed m y brief case to m y wife at the station and asked her to turn the papers over to M r . Bourne, the treasurer. I am sure all those receipts are there; this explains the difference o f three hundred and fifty dollars in the Williams' account. T h e receipts were for Williams to balance his books with the receipts through me from m y secretary, Miss [Sadie] Parham.

Neither the treasurer

nor the auditor paid me the compliment to ask by letter or otherwise m y part in the transaction, yet my name is used in such a peculiar manner. I demand a retraction o f the statement.

This is indeed ingratitude for

tremendous effort made with a fifty dollar advance to clear the boat on an anticipated business trip, sailing from N o r f o l k without a penny's worth o f debt. This explanation must have the same circulation as the statement.

I think it

an unfair advantage taken o f a man in prison w h o has n o means o f defending himself on the spot. Sincerely yours, MARCUS GARVEY P.S. T h e very fact that the supplies were received and n o other charges were made for them should have suggested to any one that the transaction w a s regular.

I advise that the suppliers, chandlers and agents in Philadelphia be

communicated with for duplicate receipts. M. G. Printed in NW,

3 April 1926. Original headlines omitted.

1. When this letter was reprinted in the Negro World, it was preceded by the following introductory text: "In the report of cash audit of the first voyage of the S.S. General W . Goethals, as read by the ex-Auditor-General, Hon. F . Levi Lord, at the recent Detroit Convention and reproduced in the last issue of The Negro World, references were made to 'discrepancies' and 'differences in doubt' in connection with certain expenditures entered as 'Interofficial Disbursements.' A total sum of $350 was shown as a 'difference in doubt,' the Auditor-General in his report stating that 'discrepancies cannot be verified because there was no interchange of receipts.' As the officer referred to in connection with the above-mentioned transaction, the Hon. Marcus Garvey, feeling that an erroneous impression might be created in the minds of the public, wrote his Executive Secretary the following letter." 2. A sailor on the S.S. Goethals recalled later that the ship's crankshaft broke in the Delaware River. "It was a very unusual thing to happen to a steamship, and many among the crew were whispering that the engineer did it intentionally," he reported, "but those who know anything about machinery knew it was not impossible for such a thing to happen" (DW, 30 October 1930). 3. Garvey was arrested on 5 February 1925 as his train pulled into the 125th Street station in New York City (report by Special Agent James E. Amos, 6 February 1925, DJ-FBI; NTT, 7 February 1925).

Report by G. Emonei Carter Detroit, [27 M a r c h 1926] T o THE O F F I C E R S , D E P U T I E S , AND M E M B E R S OF T H E EXTRAORDINARY CONVENTION OF THE N E G R O PEOPLES OF THE W O R L D , C O N V E N E D IN SESSION AT D E T R O I T , M I C H . , M A R C H 1 4 TO 3 1 1 9 2 6 406

M A R C H 1926

Greetings: This report covers the interval of September 1, 1924, to March 1, 1926. In the light of the handicap under which we have labored since February 7, 1925, and in spite of the efforts from within and without to materially affect the working of our great organization, we are able to report an organization intact, though terribly shaken by the winds of doubt, mistrust, conniving and suspicion, as is evinced through their reports and letters for information relative to establishing the Universal Negro Improvement Association in their communities [; it] is commendable and reassuring as to their determination to hold onto this one bright light in our erstwhile darkened lives. Everything points to the star of hope, born 38 years ago, and which came upon our horizon in 1918. In him we behold our one destiny, outlined and emerged into a program, comprehensive, all-inclusive and sane. It goes without saying, that Marcus Garvey, this star of hope, has given to the black peoples of the world new life, desire and ambition. This life, desire and ambition will not down or out, until the program of the Universal Negro Improvement Association has been successfully brought into full fruition. MEMBERSHIP

Our records show that we are growing in number. This does not mean that some are not becoming inactive, but that new persons seeking light out number those falling out of ranks. The parent body membership shows a decided increase for the last year, more than five hundred and sixty persons having joined. DIVISIONS AND CHAPTERS

Number of New Divisions Number of New Chapters

73 18

Total Number of New Division and Chapters Number Number Number Number

of of of of

91 722 192 92 23

Divisions, Domestic Division, Foreign Chapters, Domestic Chapters, Foreign

Total Number of Chapters and Divisions Grand Total Number of Charters Pending

1,029 1,120 125

407

THE MARCUS GARVEY AND U N I A PAPERS DEATHS

Number of Deaths from September i, 1924., to March 1,1926: Domestic Foreign

162 IS

Total

177

STAFF

Our staff has been reduced from fourteen, carricd while the PresidentGeneral was at liberty, to seven being employed now, and the AuditorGeneral [Levi Lord] is engaged in looking over the bookkeeping department to ascertain whether or not one person can successfully perform the duties now performed by three persons. Much credit is due [the] person now employed in my office for his faithfulness and loyalty. The services o f the Assistant Secrctary-General [Percival Burrows] have been signal, and the routine work o f the office, for which he is responsible, is carried on nicely during my absence from or presence in the office. A M E N D M E N T S TO C O N S T I T U T I O N

The amendments to the Constitution made in the last convention have been submitted to the President-General for his O.K., and, when returned, will be printed in supplemental sheets to be sent with Constitutions when ordered, or to be sent to Divisions desiring these amendments that are now fully supplied with Constitutions. The cost o f these sheets will be nominal, as the printing will be done by our printing plant. POLICY

In keeping with the objects and aims of our great organization, it has been the policy o f the Secretary-General's department to discourage the granting o f charters to disgrunded members o f a Division who apply for a charter in order that some selfish whim might be gratified. We know and believe that a large organization of thousands is better than three or four organizations o f fifty or one hundred members. We therefore always ascertain reasons for wanting a charter, and the distance this new Division or Chapter will be from the present organization. FINANCES

The moneys transmitted to the Secretary-General's department are handled in this manner: Letters opened by Mailing Clerk in the President-General's office, recorded on mailing list by her, turned over to the Cashier in my department, who checks up, enters same, and turns over to the Chancellor [Levi 408

MARCH 1926

Lord] for lodgment in the bank. Through this routine, no moneys ever reach me, regardless of how they may be sent. All endorsements are made by the department responsible for the finances, namely, the Chancellor's department. The Chancellor will give you a statement of liabilities which represent wages of employes, salaries of the executives and the current expenses for light, fuel, etc. We perhaps could meet the overhead expenses if we had no other outstanding debts to meet, but every week bonds and construction loans, printing plant loans, hotel loans are to be met and must be met. It is true divisions often pay some of their death claims and deduct same from their reports. The Chancellor's report will give you the full amount of these bonds and notes which must be met regularly and therefore can only be paid out of the funds sent up to the Parent body. In October we reduced our working force at headquarters and found out that our overhead expenses exceeded our income by at least one thousand dollars. This did not include the notes and bonds which arc becoming due each week. FINAL WORD

It is apparent that each division and chapter must realize its individual duty to the parent body to send regularly its remittances to meet the debts of the Parent Body. Let each division and chapter rid itself of the thought that large revenue is coming into headquarters and being squandered in salaries; but rather that not sufficient revenue is being sent to meet obligations. Let us face the true situation and manfully resolve to co-operate, assist and dedicate our lives to this arduous task. It will require more than mere speculation as to what it requires to maintain the Parent Body. It will require facing the situation, planning to remedy the grave condition now existing and to satisfy the many debtors who are looking for satisfaction in dollars and cents. When this can be done and those who are in charge of your affairs can devote their time to the affaris of their offices and not be wondering where they are going to secure sufficient funds to meet rent, light or other essentials necessary to life, you will find results helpful and lasting. Let us face the situation in the light that we are each responsible for the failure or success of this great movement; and without confidence in those you select to lead, the spirit of co-operation with them at all times and the courage to go forward when sorely tried, we will never do the things our Great Leader has dreamed, planned, sacrificed and suffered for the organizing of Black Peoples throughout the world into a homogeneous whole, whose strength and power will be felt by all opposing forces, to the extent of yielding to these millions of black men the things Garvey is now languishing in prison for—the Redemption of Africa. Respectfully submitted, G . EMONEI CARTER

Secretary-General Printed in NW, 27 March 1926. Original headlines abridged. 409

T H E M A R C U S GARVEY AND U N I A PAPERS

Marcus Garvey to John Sargent P.O. Box 1733, Atlanta, Ga., March 29, 1926 Sir: I am a prisoner at the Federal Prison, Atlanta. I was sent here February 8, 1925, by order of the Court of the Southern District of New York, for the alleged use of the United States mails to defraud /N/egro/es/ who had invested in a steamship line known as the Black Star Line, promoted with the hope of commercially helping my race and te carry/ing/ out a program of African colonization in which the stock-holders were interested and /of/ which allied organization/s/ they were members. The evidence in the case showed where a scheming group of white men and others profited by the transactions of the Black Star Line, a part of whose funds are now with the United States Shipping Board, if not yet paid over to the said group/,/ and for which I am imprisoned. Again in 192+ the people I represented-—who know I have never defrauded them—under the name of The Black Cross Navigation /& Trading/ Company with the further hope of bettering their condition through commercial plans and the carrying out of the African Colonization project, at a cost of more than One Hundred and Fifty /Thousand/ dollars [in margin: ($150,000)] purchased the ship General G. W. Goethal/s/. There has been a continued conspiracy to imprison me and then steal, by a trick, all the assets in this ship and in other property. As a part of the scheme, I was immediately rushed from New York, in February 1925, immediately after the ship had sailed on her maiden voyage, to the end that weak and improper management, working under the threat or influence of the conspirator/s/ would have brought about such results as to make a failure of the venture possible to thereby place the ship and the corporate assets at the mercy and disposal of those to be benefited . . . With the sensed knowledge of this in view I wrote you a personal letter of September Sixteenth, 1925, with Departmental answer +2-795-Garvcy, asking your kind permission in allowing me to be taken back to New York by the Department to then save these assets for the poor people who otherwise would have been the sufferer/s/. Your department refused me such consideration and I now respectfully beg to inform you that the ship which these people now have their money invested in has been sold at the-/a1 United States Marshal'/s/ Sale, in New York, on the order of the Federal Court of that district, for Twenty Five Thousand dollars to satisfy claims of crooked lawyers and speculators who have skillfully engineered the condition in which the boat has found itself—an amount not even enough to pay for the equipped workshop and the materials left on the boat when I was rushed to prison.

410

M A R C H 1926

Other property interest of these people has also fallen, by trickery/,/ into the hands of the speculators, which could have been avoided if I had been given the chance by returning to New York and by proper explanation to the Department of Justice. I understand that I have been sent to prison for five years for defrauding Negro people; the circumstance I have explained I feel sure ought to help you to determine crime and an interpretation of the law of fraud, where one is held a prisoner to allow others, supposed to be good citizens, to seize and swallow the corporate assets of the people he represents. I most respectfully ask that you refer to my letter of September Sixteenth, 1925. I have the honor to be, Your obediant Servant, MARCUS

GARVEY—19359

W N R C , R G 2 0 4 , file 4 2 - 7 9 3 . T L S , recipient's c o p y .

Article in the Baltimore Afro-American [Baltimore, 31 March 1926] G A R V E Y S H I P S O L D AT A U C T I O N

The S.S. Booker T. Washington, owned by the Black Cross Navigation Company, a U.N.I.A. subsidiary, was sold at auction Monday [29 March] for $25,000 in a U.S. Marshal's sale. The ship, which cost $100,000, and on which nearly $50,000 was spent in improvements and repairs, was purchased by Winthrop Waithe,' an insurance agent, who held a $10,000 mortgage on it. In shipping circles it was stated that the officers of the Black Cross Company refused an offer a few days ago for $60,000. 2 The ship was sold to satisfy a judgment of $3,900. Printed in the Baltimore Afro-American,

31 M a r c h 1 9 2 6 .

1. Winthrop Waite (1879-1941) was the head of the Waite-Stewart Insurance Co., 150 Nassau Street, New York. Waite bought the S.S. Goethals at an auction held at New York City's Pier 75 on 29 March 1926. According to the Negro World account of the transaction, Waite had "lent the Black Cross Navigation and Trading Company $10,000, an amount which was still owing, and, besides, had made an outlay of about $$,000 in connection with the chartering of the vessel last September" (NW, 3 April 1926). Waite sold the vessel to the Munson Steamship Line in 1927 (Dawn of Tomorrow [Montreal], 17 April 1926; NTT, 15 May 1940). 2. A Canadian newspaper also reported this rumor that a $60,000 offer had been made for the ship a few days before it was sold for a much smaller amount in auction (Dawn of Tomorrow [Montreal], 17 April 1926).

411

THE MARCUS GARVEY AND U N I A PAPERS

Article by Cyril Briggs

in the Negro World

[[New York, 3 April 1926]] The name of the present writer is sufficient assurance that he holds no brief for Marcus Garvey.' But he does hold a brief for Truth, and that is his reason for challenging the cowardly attempt to "pass the buck" for mistakes made and losses feared to a man behind prison bars and unable properly to defend himself. I have followed the Universal Negro Improvement Association from its inception. I have fought Marcus Garvey on certain issues. I have supported him and defended him on other issues. I have yet in my files a letter from Garvey thinking me for support and sympathetic understanding of his call for his first International Negro Congress.2 I have fought some of his methods since that letter. I have also defended him on at least two occasions since that letter. With W. R. [W. A.] Domingo and Richard B. Moore, I attacked the infamous petition engineered by Chandler Owen for the deportation of Marcus Garvey sans trial and conviction.' O U T OF P L A C E AS L E A D E R S

With Garvey's charges of disloyalty against Sherrill I am not concerned. With his charge of inefficiency and indecision I am more or less in sympathy. I happen to possess intimate knowledge of the business acumen and the "sit-andwait" policy of Mr. Sherrill and most of his associates. I can even sympathize with Marcus Garvey for past failures, now that I have been able to gauge the type of men with whom he has surrounded himself. With the possible exception of Carter and Burrows, there's not an international officer of the U.N.I.A. whose earnestness and ability I can bring myself to respect. Socially they may be all right, but without a doubt they are out of place as leaders of a great movement. Far from wrecking the organization, it is my belief that the convention called by its out-of-town presidents, with the indorsement of Marcus Garvey, is all that can save the organization from its present suicidal policy of drift and "sit and wait." As to the loss of "the little real estate which they control," I fail to see the connection. Certainly Garvey's charges and the convention call cannot cause the New York Division (and the reference is to the real estate of the New York division, I believe) to lose its real estate. Indeed, if the New York Division is as badly mismanaged as is the Black Cross Navigation & Trading Company, Inc. (officered by the international officers of the U.N.I.A.), it should be able to lose its property without the aid of Marcus Garvey. S H I P B L A M E TO G A R V E Y , T O O ?

Those who have read the letter addressed by the Oversea[s] Navigation Corporation, agents for the S.S. "General G. W. Goethals," to the directors of 412

APRIL 1926

the Black Cross Navigation & Trading Co., Inc., and appearing in the "Negro World" of February 20, are aware that this steamship is in imminent danger of being lost. Will Marcus Garvey, in his prison cell at Atlanta, be blamed for this loss, too? I give the letter here for its insight value into the "sit and wait" policy pursued at 56 West 135th Street[. . . ] 4 It need not be assumed that the agents seriously considered injecting themselves into the affairs of the Black Cross Navigation & Trading Co., Inc. The letter was probably intended to jolt the officers and bondholders into a realization of the menacing situation confronting their $100,000 property. It did jolt some of the bondholders into inquiry, but it is not on record that the serene indifference charged by the agents against the officers of the Black Cross Navigation & Trading Co., Inc., has been ruffled one whit. They still appear to be more or less apathetic to the fate of their vessel. Or, perhaps, "resigned" would be the better term. D E C R E E FOR SALE H A N D E D D O W N

While these officers "sit and wait" for something to turn up, the presiding judge in the Eastern District Court has handed down a decree in the case of Thomas vs. S.S. "General G. W. Goethals," ordering a sale by the United States Marshal of the steamship. And because of this decree several other claimants have intervened and the company will now have to raise something like $6,000 to avert a marshal's sale. A few days ago the sale could have been averted by payment of $500. This claim is only for $1,000. The proctor for the claimant probably could have been saved with a few hundred dollars[;] the officers have invited a situation which calls for thousands of dollars if the boat is to be saved from a disastrous forced sale. And this is what has been happening for a long time. Some months ago they had to pay over twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000) for wage claims that could have been settled for a little over $4,000. They paid this not because of any prejudice against them in the courts, but because they claimed they couldn't raise $4,000, when $4,000 was all that was needed. So in the end they paid over $25,000. SAYS BOAT C O U L D H A V E SAILED

It is the opinion of the agents and many of the shippers who have goods on the boat that all of the present difficulties the vessel is in could have been avoided and the boat despatched to Miami in December, 1925, had the United States Marshal been paid the $1,500 then due him. The boat could have been cleared at that time with less than $5,000. The shippers offered in the presence of some of the officers of the Black Cross Navigation & Trading Company, Inc., to loan the necessary money upon the owners paying the marshal's fees. But Mr. Bourne, who took the money over to the marshal's office, refused to part with it unless the owners could be guaranteed that their vessel would sail for Miami if the marshal was paid. The shippers who were ready to loan the vessel money had required no such guarantee. All they demanded was that 413

THE MARCUS GARVEY AND U N I A PAPERS the marshal's fee be paid by the owners. U p o n the refusal o f the owners on December 18 to pay the marshal's fee, many o f the shippers became disgusted and began to unload their cargo, with the resultant libels and difficulties n o w existent.

B u t for the strange attitude o f the owners in the matter, the boat

w o u l d probably be n o w making money in the profitable Miami b o o m trade. In face o f such a record o f apathy and unconcern, to put it mildly, it is surprising to find these men going before the public in such a brazen effort t o "pass the buck," as reported in the article to which I referred in m y opening. T o me it is evident that the U . N . I . A . will soon be on the rocks unless some drastic change o f control and policy can be effected quickly. A n d I believe it w o u l d be a great disaster to the race to have the U . N . I . A . disintegrate. Printed in NW, 3 April 1926. Original headlines omitted. 1. Although once on friendly terms, Cyril Briggs and Marcus Garvey had for many years maintained a much-publicized relationship of mutual animosity. Briggs devoted the last several issues of his Crusader magazine to criticism of Garvey. He printed exposes of UNIA maladministration written by former Garveyites, including an essay called "Why I Left the UNIA" by George Alexander McGuire, in which the former member of the UNIÀ executive council expressed his dismay with the "arrogant, domineering and dictatorial leadership" of the UNIA (Cyril Briggs, The Crusader Magazine, Robert A. Hill, comp. [New York: Garland, 1987], vol. 3, p. 1,311). Briggs ceased publication of the Crusader with its January-February 1922 issue. The lead story in that issue was Garvey's arrest. Briggs characterized the arrest as an inevitable result of bad financial dealings and stated in an editorial that "Garvey will at last be forced to give an accounting of his collections and expenditures—an accounting long overdue and one which Garvey could never be induced to give of his own accord." Briggs also used space in the final issue to reprint Garvey's court-ordered retraction of a racial slur made against the Crusader editor (The Crusader Magazine, 3: 1,347, 1,350). Norton G. Thomas preceded Briggs's Negro World article with the following editorial introduction: The following communication was sent to the Editor of the Negro World over a week ago by Mr. Cyril V. Briggs, who is an officer of the Oversea[s] Navigation and Trading Company of which Mr. Anthony Crawford, agent of steamship "Gocrhals," employed by the Sherrill administration, is president. Mr. Briggs is not a friend of the Hon. Marcus Garvey, nor can he by any stretch of imagination be considered a friend of the Universal Negro Improvement Association. His article on the mishandling of the affairs of the "Goethals" is published merely to throw some light on the distressing climax to a year of mismanagement on the part of the officers who conducted the affairs of the Black Cross Navigation and Trading Company in the absence and without the co-operation and counsel of the Hon. Marcus Garvey. 2. Garvey Papers 2: 303-305. 3. Garvey Papers 5: 182-187. 4. For Anthony Crawford's 10 February 1926 letter to the Black Cross Navigation and Trading Co., Inc., see Garvey Papers 6: 339—340.

414

APRIL 1926

Article in the Negro World [New York, 3 April 1926] S . S . G E N G . W . G O E T H A L S S O L D AT P U B L I C A U C T I O N

BY U . S . MARSHALL FOR $25,000

The S.S. General G. W. Goethals was sold at public auction by U.S. Marshal on Monday, March 29, at pier 75, foot of 35th street, New York City, by virtue of a writ of venditioni exponas for $25,000. The immediate cause of sale was libels by shippers for non-performance of contract in regard to freight which was to have been shipped to Miami. A Mr. Waite, of New York City, bought the ship. He had lent the Black Cross Navigation and Trading Company $10,000, an amount which was still owing, and, besides, had made an outlay of about $5,000 in connection with the chartering of the vessel last September. As the ship was lost to Negroes on the stroke of the auctioneer's hammer, Messrs. Sherrill, Bourne and Carter, officers of the Black Cross Navigation and Trading Company, exchanged sheepish glances with each other. They go out of office on March 31, ousted forcibly by the people. What thoughts were theirs as they beheld the tragic climax to their mismanagement, God alone can tell. Members of the new administration were also in attendance, Mr. Fred A. Toote, Mr. F. Levi Lord and Mr. P. L. Burrowes, also Mr. William Ware, Mr. J. A. Craigen, indefatigable secretary of the Presidents' Committee; Mr. Balfour Williams, purser, and Mr. E. Foulkes, third officer, but no one would have thought any of the one group were acquainted with the other. A great gulf seemed to divide them—the gulf of the dissipation of hard-earned thousands of dollars of the people's money. While, accentuating the situation, were two dozen white men, come to get the ship for the proverbial song. Even Nolan was there—Nolan, the white gentleman who led Messrs. Thompson and Garcia, of the Black Star Line, into the labyrinths of buncombe. T H E P A S S I N G OF T H E " G O E T H A L S "

The story of the passing of the "Goethals," is briefly told. The ship was doomed a month ago. But leading up to Monday's sale are these facts: The "Goethals" was chartered by Mr. B. L. Stafford, Jr., last September. The charter was canceled by the Black Cross because of the charterer's inability to meet certain stipulated payments. Enters Mr. Anthony Crawford. The ship was freighted with cargo consigned to Miami, Florida. Crawford, agent of the Black Cross Navigation and Trading Company, acting for the Oversea[s] Navigation and Trading Company, of which he is president, becomes the new charterer. The shippers' cargo remains on the boat, even though, as admiralty lawyers have advised, taking off the cargo and notifying the shippers, when the charter was canceled, would have precluded suits for non-performance. 415

THE MARCUS GARVEY AND U N I A PAPERS

The rest is a muddle. The ship is announced to sail. But it never sails. There are reports of impending sales at public auction. The people dig down into their pockets and ward off the sales. But a ship without a rudder is at the mercy of the waves. The inevitable happens. The S.S. "General G. W. Goethals," bought for $ 1 0 0 , 0 0 0 , now representing $ 2 8 7 , 0 0 0 of the people's money, is sold for $ 2 5 , 0 0 0 to a Mr. Waite. But Mr. Sherrill, ousted by the people in convention, is slated to address certain misguided members of the New York Division, bondholders many of them, on Easter Sunday. Reverend G. A. Weston, head of the New York Division, an unhappy mortal in open revolt against the leadership of the Hon. Marcus Garvey, is SherrilPs friend, you see. Truly, truth is stranger than fiction. Printed in NW,

3 April 1926. Original headlines abridged.

Speech by Fred A. Toote, UNIA Acting President General [[Elk's Hall, 129th Street, New York, 4 April 1926]] Hon. F. A. Toote, Acting President-General, then led an appeal for funds to assist in defraying the costs of taking the Morter case to the British Privy Council. He referred to the tragedy of the loss of the ship and the administration would do all in its power even at this hour to obtain the voiding of the sale. He promised the membership of the association that no stone would be left unturned to bring any guilty persons to account. T H E LIBERTY HALL TRAGEDY

Taking up the matter of the Liberty Hall property of the New York division, he gave these facts: On March 19 the property was appraised at $ 1 0 8 , 0 0 0 , the present value of the land being set at $ 8 8 , 0 0 0 and that of the building at $ 2 0 , 0 0 0 . There were two mortgages on the land amounting to $ 4 2 , 0 0 0 , leaving an equity of $ 4 6 , 0 0 0 on the land alone; with the building the equity would be $ 6 8 , 0 0 0 . But an illegal mortgage, as it is considered, of $ 3 2 , 0 0 0 had been taken on the land—illegal in the sense that a majority of the membership were not present when the vote regarding the mortgage was taken, and members did not have the required ten days' notice either by circular or through The Negro World. Only $ 2 0 , 0 0 0 of this $ 3 2 , 0 0 0 , according to information and record, went to the association, the remaining $ 1 2 , 0 0 0 being disbursed among the lawyers and other unknown persons. Thus

416

APRIL 1926

there remained for the New York Local only $14,000 of equity on the land and $20,000 on the building, a total of $34,000. SAVING THE R E M N A N T S

Continuing, M r . Toote said he had an hour ago learnt that a further mortgage of a little over $6,000 had been taken, leaving the amount of equity around $27,000. It was the duty of the officers of the association to protect the remaining assets by every means in their power, and it was for the members on their part to be alert and give the administration their wholehearted cooperation. Not only would an effort be made to save the remaining assets but the validity of the $32,000 mortgage would be attacked. W E S T O N D I S O B E Y E D INSTRUCTIONS

M r . Toote said he was instructed that M r . Weston, the Vice-President of the New York Local, had received specific instructions not to mortgage the property to lift the attachments which had been made by certain ex-officials, but to resist with every means in the division's power, since the men were not hired by the division, were not in the division's employ and the division was not responsible. If funds had to be raised and a mortgage was necessary, then the mortgage should have been used to place a bond and then the action could have been fought in the courts with excellent chances of success. INJUNCTION P R O C E E D I N G S

The speaker ended with a reference to the latest move, the formation of a Holding Company, which, he said, if the plans succeeded, would swallow up the remaining assets, and place the membership in a hopeless position as far as their property was concerned. An injunction had been started by wideawake members, however, and the full resources of the association would be used to see that this latest device to get control of the property failed. Printed in NVF, 10 April 1926.

Amy Jacques Garvey to Marcus Garvey MONTCLAIR, N. J., 17 APR 1 9 2 6 HELLO POPSIE

JUST TO LET YOU KNOW THAT Y O U R LITTLE MOUSE

THINKS OF YOU A N D IS TRYING TO GET FAT

WRITE SOON

M U C H LOVE

AND MANY KISSES MOPSIE

AFRC, AP. TTG, recipient's copy. Western Union day letter.

417

T H E MARCUS GARVEY AND U N I A PAPERS

Marcus Garvey to Fred A. Toote Atlanta, G a . , A p r i l 19, 1926 I f y o u are h a v i n g a n y t r o u b l e w i t h M a t t h e w s [ , ]

dismiss h i m

without

n o t i c e and m a k e M r s . R e e v e s o r M r s . L e a d e t t e m a n a g e r o f N e g r o W o r l d . 1 MARCUS GARVEY—19359 [Address:] Fred A . Toote, 56 W . 135th St., N e w York City [Handwritten endorsements:] O K J W S . 7 2 $ . A F R C , A P . A T G , on Western Union postal message blank, night letter. 1. Probable references to Ferol Reeves and Carrie Mero Leadett. Reeves was associate editor of the Negro World throughout the time that Norton G . Thomas was acting managing editor (October 1925-April 1929). She was also a contributing editor for the Spokesman, serving on the editorial staff along with Garveyites W. H . Ferris and H . Vinton Plummer (Spokesman, M a y June 1927). She was the president of the Women's Press Club of New York in 1927 (NW, 21 May 1927). Carrie Leadett worked as a clerk in the UNLA parent body headquarters and its shipping company offices through the 1920s. Her name docs not appear on the mastheads of the Negro World during this period (Marcus Garvey v. United States, no. 8317, Ct. App., 2d Cir., 2 February 1925, pp. 1,211-1,241).

Fred A. Toote to Marcus Garvey WASHINGTON DC 1926 APR 23 E N T I R E STAFF OF E X E C U T I V E O F F I C E R S I N T E R V I E W E D PARDON A T T O R NEY

[JAMES

FINCH]

IMPRESSION

VERY

P R O M I S E S H E A R I N G W I T H I N F E W DAYS PLEASED

FAVORABLY

P R E S E N T E D M E M O R I A L TO A M E R I C A N

INTERVIEWED

DR

CALL*

INTER

[FAVORABLE]

HE

E A C H M E M B E R OF C O U N C I L W E L L

PARLIAMENTARY

COLONIZATION UNION2

BEST

SOCIETY WISHES

FROM OFFICERS3 TOOTE A F R C , A P . T T G , recipient's copy. 1. Arthur Deerin Call (1869-1941), educator, editor, and peace activist, was executive secretary of the U.S. Group of Inter-parliamentary Union (IPU) from 1920. He was the director of the Twenty-third Conference of the IPU held in Washington, D.C., in October 1925 ( W W W A ) . 2. The IPU was founded in Paris in 1889. Its members now consist of representatives of national legislative bodies from over sixty-five countries. Conferences are held yearly to discuss such issues as international economic development and the role of I P U members as intermediaries between governments and their citizens. It was evidently in the latter context that Toote and the other U N I A officers sought Arthur Call's advice (EA, vol. IJ, s.u. "Inter-parliamentary Union," p . 316). 3. Fred A. Toote reported in a speech at Liberty Hall on 25 April 1926 that he, Percival Burrows, and W. A. Wallace had made the trip to Washington, D.C., as their representatives, and "we stood up like men and told them what you commissioned us to say, we told them the facts as they are, and we received every consideration, and I am sure, as God is in His heaven, that the Negro peoples of the world, that the Negroes of America will get the relief they seek—and soon. The gates of Atlanta will swing open and Marcus Garvey shall return to us" (NW, 1 May 1926). 418

APRIL 1926

Fred A. Toote and F. Levi Lord to Amy Jacques Garvey NEW YORK, April 2 4 , 1 9 2 6

My dear Mrs. Garvey: On April 7, 1926 the African Communities League, Inc., publishers of the Negro World, of which you are an Associate Editor, sent you a letter and Statement of Account acknowledging and exhibiting a balance of FOUR HUNDRED AND FIFTY ( $ 4 5 0 . 0 0 ) DOLLARS d u e y o u f o r S a l a r y w i t h r e q u e s t that

we be permitted to carry this amount on our books as PAST DUE SALARY and promising that payments will be made you from time to time on account of same in conjunction with your CURRENT SALARY until the full amount is paid. If this amount of $450.00 as shown by the Statement of account represents the true and correct amount of all Salary due you by the African Communities League, Inc., and/or its controlling body, the Universal Negro Improvement Association, Inc., and/or any subsidiaries of these corporations, kindly sign the enclosed letter and return to the Office of the Treasurer on or before May 1, 1926. Fraternally yours, Universal Negro Improvement Association, Inc. African Communities League, Inc. F R E D A . TOOTE

President F. LEVI LORD

Treasurer [Address:] MRS. /A. Jacques/ GARVEY, 129 West 133rd St., New York, N.Y. T N F , M G M C , box 4 , folder 14. T L S , recipient's copy. On U N I A letterhead.

Enclosure: Form to Be Signed by Amy Jacques Garvey [New York,] April 24, 1926 Gentlemen: Your letter and Statement of Account dated April 7, 1926 received. 1 CERTIFY AND ACKNOWLEDGE the a m o u n t o f FOUR HUNDRED AND

FIFTY ($450.00) dollars as shown by your Statement of Account to be the true and correct amount of all Salary due me for any and all services rendered the African Communities League and/or the Universal Negro Improvement

419

THE MARCUS GARVEY AND U N I A PAPERS

Association, Inc., and/or subsidiaries (if any) of these corporations from the date of my employment to March 26, 1926 and I further grant permission to make payments as requested by you in your letter of April 7, 1926 and further emphasized in your letter of today's date as long as I continue in your employ. Very truly yours,

[Address:] UNIVERSAL NEGRO IMPROVEMENT ASSOCIATION, INC., AFRICAN COMMUNITIES LEAGUE, INC., Universal Building, 56 West 135th Street, N e w York, N.Y. T N F , M G M C , box 4, folder 14. T L , recipient's copy.

W. A. Wallace to James Finch UNIVERSAL BUILDING 56 WEST I35TH STREET NEW YORK, A p r i l 24, 1926

Sir: In reference to our conversation of Thursday, the 23rd inst., regarding the case of Marcus Garvey, Federal prisoner, and our plea for his release, we respectfully beg to submit the following. We came away from the interview with two things imprinted upon our minds: (1) That the authorities are very much exercised over the nature of the influence Marcus Garvey will wield in the event of his release; whether he will be an influence for good or for injury, to quote your own words. (2) That the authorities are anxious that neither Marcus Garvey nor any other leader shall occupy the position where he shall have absolute control of the people's money, divorced from the accepted methods of organized business. In other words, that Marcus Garvey shall not come to the place where, ignoring any requirements of law and good business, he shall be responsible only to himself in the handling of the people's money, and utilizing his remarkable personality, compel acquiescence on the part of his followers. If we err in the slightest respect in either of the above submissions, we frankly desire to be corrected, for we are anxious on behalf of the people to 420

A P R I L 1926

remove any suspicion which may still lurk in the minds of the authorities and any obstacle which stands in the way of his early release. As we stated on Thursday we cannot conceive, from our close acquaintance with the man Garvey, that he would do anything which would hurt the Negro masses or which would be offensive and damaging to society at large. His is, we believe, Sir, a real, honest, heartfelt interest in the welfare of black men and women; more than that, he is a lover of mankind as a whole. He really does not know how to hate and is singularly free from the spirit of revenge. To the United States of America he feels deeply grateful for the opportunity it gave him to do what has proved to be a lasting service to his race and all other races, and we have no hesitation in saying that the United States of America would never have cause to regret any clemency extended to Marcus Garvey at this time. Rather would it have the undying gratitude of black peoples of this country and the world over. As far as submission No. 2 is concerned, let us earnestly repeat that the position of Marcus Garvey has been the same, and will be the same, as any other officer of the Universal Negro Improvement Association. Neither Marcus Garvey nor his wife has handled or will handle the funds of the Association. We have a proper system of accounting and financial safeguards here at headquarters to which all are amenable. Daily reports of disbursements and receipts are made and are available to all. The administrator has a veto power, conferred by the people in Convention, but he cannot authorize any appreciable expenditure over and above the wishes, or without the consent, of the Executive Council. And, as far as we are aware, there is no instance where he has authorized any substantial expenditure without first receiving the sanction of the Executive Council. This is matter of record. We, therefore, respectfully suggest that you, Sir, as your best judgment dictates, cause Marcus Garvey to be brought before the Department of Justice and interrogated in regard to the substance of submission one (1). We earnestly pray that you do this, feeling sure that you will become convinced that his liberation will be a blessing to millions of Negroes of this country and a boon to society at large. In conclusion we beg to point out the following: There is no community in the United States of America which has not benefited from the presence of a branch of the Universal Negro Improvement Association in its midst. Our sane and clean-cut policy has helped in a remarkable degree to lessen and obviate clashes between the races in the republic. We make no high-sounding demands for redress but we systematically seek to prevent them while fostering our African programme. Since Marcus Garvey and the Universal Negro Improvement Association came, Negroes have become more thrifty, more self-

421

T H E MARCUS GARVEY AND U N I A PAPERS

respecting, and better citizens in every way. In every branch of the Association there are Juvenile Units, and the children are being inculcated with the wholesome teachings of obedience to lawful authority and discipline. There are welfare units in every branch, and our trained nurses are doing a splendid work, taking care of the sick and needy free of charge. To put the case in a nutshell, the branches of the Universal Negro Improvement Association are communal welfare centers, one and all. Hoping that this further plea in behalf of Marcus Garvey will receive your earnest consideration and that you will see your way to cause him to be questioned in person, We have the honor to remain, Your obedient Servants, Executive Officers, Universal Negro Improvement Association W . A. WALLACE

Secretary-General WNRC, RG 20+, file 42-793. TLS, recipient's copy. On UNIA parent body letterhead.

Marcus Garvey to Fred A. Toote Adanta, Ga., April 2s, 1926 Have [James] Watson bring action against [Arnold] Ford and [George] Weston to re-open case.1 It was a trick of Weston and lawyers to make case go by default so as to impress members to transfer property to Holding Co. If judgment stand[s] then sue Weston and attorney to recover[.] MARCUS GARVEY—19359

[Address:] 56 W. 135th St., New York City [Handwritten endorsements:] OK JWS. 72c. AFRC, AP. ATG, on Western Union postal message blank, night letter. i. A reference to Arnold Ford v. UNIA, a civil suit brought against the UNIA for payment of back salary to Ford. The New York Supreme Court passed a judgment in favor of Ford in April 1926. The suit was one of many brought against Garvey's organization after he was imprisoned. James O'Mealley, Rudolph Smith, A. L. Woodley, George Marke, Jean Joseph Adam, and Clifford Bourne, as well as several Black Star Line crew members and officers, were among those who sued the U N I A for back salary in the 1925-1926 period (NNHR).

422

MAY 1926

Marcus Garvey to Amy Jacques Garvey Atlanta, Ga., April 25, 1926 Just seen Afro-American with Ashwood's photo with your name[.]' Go to Baltimore at once[;] consult white lawyer there and bring action[;] two hundred thousand damages against paper. If Kohn knows firm there[,] get letter of introduction. Much love. POPSIE

[Address:] Amy Jacques-Garvey, 272 Baldwin St., Glen Ridge, N. Jersey [Handwritten endorsements:} OK JWS. $2.22. AFRC, AP. ATG, on Western Union postal message blank, straight telegram. 1. The photograph of Amy Ashwood Garvey with the caption identifying her as Amy Jacques Garvey appeared in the 24 April 1926 edition of the Baltimore Afro-American.

Marcus Garvey to Amy Jacques Garvey Atlanta, Ga., April 26, 1926 Battle may have better connections in Baltimore. See him before you see Kohn. Secure twelve copies of paper. Much love POPSIE

[Address:] Amy Jacques-Garvey, 272 Baldwin St., do Fisher, Glen Ridge, New Jersey [Handwritten endorsements:] 133 \V-129th. OK JWS. 6oct. AFRC, AP. ATG, on Western Union postal message blank, straight telegram.

James Finch to W. A. Wallace [ Washington, D.C.,] May 4, 1926 Sir: Replying to your letter of April 24, 1926, regarding the case of Marcus Garvey, you are advised that I did not intend to convey the impression that the Department had any particular interest in the future activities of Garvey, aside from the bearing it has on the prisoner's application for pardon. It is

423

T H E MARCUS GARVEY AND U N I A PAPERS

true, however, that this subject was referred to, and also the importance of having trust funds, such as Garvey was entrusted with, properly safe-guarded. I have again gone over the reports received in this case and also much of the literature and representations made in behalf of Garvey, and am satisfied from a review of the facts as reported that the action taken in the case was fully warranted and that the Department would not be justified in submitting the matter to the President at this time with any suggestion for Executive clemency. Respectfully, [JAMES F I N C H ]

Pardon Attorney WNRC, RG 204, file 42-793- TL, carbon copy.

Mohandas K. Gandhi to Amy Jacques Garvey The Ashram, Sabarmati, [India,] 12-5-26 Dear Friend, I had the 2nd volume of the 'Philosophy and Opinions of Marcus Garvey5 or "Africa for the Africans," for which I thank you. Yours sincerely, M. K.

GANDHI

TNF, MGMC, box 1, folder 11. TNS, recipient's copy. In envelope addressed to Mrs. Amy Jacques Garvey, Box No. 22, Station E, New York City (U.S.A.).

Marcus Garvey to Norton G. Thomas Atlanta, Ga., May 17, 1926 Send me immediately all information on election held at Liberty Hall by Weston at which he was elected president,1 and what Toote has done in this particular to carry out instructions re election I gave when here. GARVEY

[Address:] Norton G. Thomas, 56 W. 135th St., New York City [Handwritten endorsements:] OK JWS. 72[

(Ssorgta

Name of Prisoner O ^ f t ^ ! ^ . . ^

Related to prisoner a * J j i ^ d A . . . t , A 4 Name of Visitors.

- S M À -

"iç^u

flftiL .^..iÛtAA^J/kSi'.

Address of V i a i t o r t v . . J ,

Guard Time of Visit. Length of visit..

.?.«?

(Source: A F R C , AP.)

45P

Minutes

T H E MARCUS GARVEY AND U N I A PAPERS

A. H. Showman to the Superintendent of Prisons, Department of Justice 1736 G St. N.W., Washington, D.C., [ca. 20 October 1926] Dear Sir: I hereby respectfully ask that you grant me permission to meet Marcus Garvey, now confined in the Federal Prison at Atlanta, Georgia, on or about Oct. 27, 1926.1 I am a graduate of Millsaps College,2 Jackson, Mississippi. Also hold two degrees—Bachelor of Divinity, and Master of Arts— received from Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee. Have been employed as a teacher in Southern institutions and, for a while, in the Imperial College of Commerce, Nagasaki, Japan. Have published a volume and a pamphlet dealing with the Racial Integrity of the American Negro. Was formerly Chaplain of the Mississippi State Penitentiary. My purpose in the proposed visit to Garvey is to form an estimate of the man personally. I have many of his writings and know something of his activities in the United States. I may say, further that I do not at all agree with those criticizing the Government adversely for the action taken in his case. I am now engaged in the preparation of a volume in which I seek to set forth fairly the various lines of activity and endeavor among the Negroes at this time. As the Garvey movement cannot be ignored, I feel that a personal interview should prove very valuable in carrying out the work in hand. Thanking you for any courtesy you may be able to show me in this matter, I am Very truly yours, A . H . SHOWMAN

DNA, RG 60, file 198940-395. TLS, recipient's copy. 1. Permission to visit Garvey was denied and Showman was informed that "it is not the policy of the Department to grant permission for visits to Federal prisoners in United States penitentiaries for purposes similar to that outlined in your letter" (first assistant superintendent of prisons to A. H . Showman, 21 October 1926, D N A , R G 60, file 198940-395). 2. Millsaps College, Jackson, Miss., is a private liberal arts college founded by the Methodist church in 1892 (Charles Lovejoy, Lovejofs Complete Guide to American Colleges and Universities [New York: Simon and Shuster, 1948], p . 78).

Marcus Garvey to Amy Jacques Garvey Atlanta, Ga., Oct. 21, 1926 Send me immediately Asthma cigarettes' and Baum. 2 Writing to-day. Love POPSIE

460

NOVEMBER 1926 [Handwritten endorsements:] O K JWS. W . U . 7 2 c A F R C , AP. A T G , on Western Union postal message blank, straight telegram. 1. Garvey smoked Paige brand asthma cigarettes as a cure for his chronic bronchial condition; he repeatedly ordered the remedies during his imprisonment. Asthma cigarettes were a popular cure for bronchial disorders throughout the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Inexpensive and available without a prescription, the cigarettes were made of a mixture of eucalyptus and herbs such as anise, thyme, and sage, with atropine (the active ingredient produced by the combination of atorpa belladonnae and datura stramonium) added. Inhaling the smoke of the cigarettes worked on a short-term basis to dilate the bronchi and as an aerosol expectorant. Negative effects included lung damage from extended use, the fact that atropine in large quantities can cause hallucinations, and the extremely bad smell of the burning cigarettes (Marcus Garvey to Amy Jacques Garvey, 20 July and 26 August 1926, AFRC, AP; K. Trechsel, H. Bachofen, et al., 'The Bronchodilating Effect of the Asthma Cigarette," Swiss Medical Weekly 103, no. 11 [1973]: 415-+18). 2. Possibly a reference to "balm," a healing ointment, or to a book by Lyman Frank Baum (1856-1919), American journalist, playwright, and author of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (1900) and a series of other books dealing with the fanciful country of Oz (WBD).

Marcus Garvey to Fred A. Toote Atlanta, G a . , Oct., 26, 1926 1

L e t him resign if he wants to. Place other man if competent in his place. H a v e y o u sent any m o n e y to Belize[?] GARVEY [Address;] 56 W. 135th St, N e w York City [Handwritten Endorsements:] O K JWS. W . U . collect. A F R C , AP. A T G , on Western Union postal message blank, collect cable. 1. A reference to T. Thomas Fortune. Norton G. Thomas had cabled Garvey that he would deal with the Garland slush fund in the next issue of the Negro World but that T. Thomas Fortune had been indignant over "election editorial[,] says not his views," and that he would be equally upset over an editorial about the slush fund. TTiomas, however, said, "am paying no attention" (Norton G. Thomas to Marcus Garvey, 21 October 1926, AFRC, AP). T. Thomas Fortune submitted his resignation a few days later, supposedly effective 28 October 1926, but he remained on the editorial staff until 1928 (Fred A. Toote to Marcus Garvey, 25 October 1926, AFRC, AP; mastheads, NW).

Marcus Garvey to John W. Snook [Atlanta,

Ga.,]

N o v r . 1$, 1926

Honorable and dear Sir: I hereby beg t o state—in answer t o the information given me 1 that I have been instructing m y wife f r o m here or otherwise to make appeals t o members o f m y race for funds for a supposed school in Virginia or f o r any illegal or improper purpose—that the allegations are baseless, wicked and false. 461

T H E MARCUS GARVEY AND U N I A PAPERS

My wife has made no such appeal, and I challenge any one to honestly present such communications sent to my wife by way of instructions and any such appeals for funds for any school as alleged. She, I repeat, has made no appeal with intent to defraud any one and I dare any one to so charge her. I regard the allegation as an outrage against a lonely woman who is to be hounded in the name of the government to please a group of real estate sharks, crooked lawyers and other enemies of mine who think that they can completely crush me through my imprisonment and further injury to a loyal and loving wife whose presentation of the truth in my stand for right and justice they fear. I cannot understand why any department of the government should give encouragement to each and every one, and all of my enemies to recite and make the most vile, baseless and wicked charges against me for enhancing their own selfish interests and to deny me the hearing that is due, decendy, any man charged with an offence. I appealed to the Department of Justice in June, 1925, through my petition to the President, for an impartial investigation that would have revealed then all the agencies of conspiracy and fraud operating against me in which the Government was being used as the instrument to crush me. I also appealed personally to the Attorney General through a letter in September 1925 for helping me to convincc the Government of the unholy design to use the function of Government against me whilst the plotters, headed by an unscrupulous New York lawyer by the name of Jacobson, of the law firm of Jacobson & Jacobson [,] pilfer the pocket of the organizations with which I was identified. I received no help in this direction, yet the same group, through their organized agencies, is allowed to make ungrounded charges against me. I may state that the Universal Negro Improvement Association, a properly organized organization with headquarters at 56 W. 135th street, New York City, has, from information supplied me by the officers, purchased such a school in Virginia and have made appeals to their membership as far as I am informed by them for funds to complete the purchase and conduct the school. This is no crime as far as I know, yet, if information is wanted in this direction the best persons to notify are the officers of the association at 56 W. 135th street, New York who I feel certain are capable through their lawyers of taking carc of the situation. Why my wife and I should be brought into the matter is only accountable for on the question of evil use of the functions of Government as I have raised. My wife is not an officer of the association and has no connection with the school.2 I, as you know, am in prison, which makes it impossible for me to do the things alleged. I am, still, however, by the election of the members of the organization, its President General; as such my name might have been used without my knowledge, by the officers of the association, to promote its work, for this; if properly used, I have no apology as it is my determination now and always to serve my race, and there is no power on earth that shall stop me doing so if elected by the people to serve. Persecution makes martyrs and because of the persecutions

462

N O V E M B E R 1926

heaped upon me I shall in life and death do by God's will the things that shall wholely [wholly] benefit my race. I also desire to draw to your attention the fact that the same group of selfish persons who have instigated the complaint, have, through the said lawyer, Jacobson, tried through the New York Supreme Court to cast aspersion against me and against my wife in a suit of injunction against the bona fide officers of the Universal Negro Improvement Association with the hope of gain [in] g control of the organization to exploit its assets, I being the feared hindrance to their scheme which they hope to put over with the unconscious aid of the Federal Government. My wife was made a party to the suit of injunction, even though they well know that she is not an officer of the organization; but, because they fear her exposing their motives through any instructions of mine, they made it sure to so injure her as to lessen her influence against them. The Supreme Court of New York has not acted in their favor, hence the attempt to again use the Federal Government to carry out their schemes. I may also state that this same group during the month of August visited the Department of Labor in Washington to press for my deportation with the hope of making themselves safe in their schemes to rob the assets of the organization.3 If the Government were to check up on the names of the persons who are active against me by going from department to department they should see the whole scheme of conspiracy operating against me, and on the other hand if the Government were to investigate thoroughly throughout the country they should find millions of people who believe in my integrity. To be charged with such a false and wicked accusation would be a splendid opportunity for me to arouse, when brought to trial, the attention of the entire civilized world to the methods of persecution adopted to get rid of one who is feared for his usefulness to black humanity. I am as ready as St. Paul4 was and shall not be afraid, for so persecuted they[,] the prophets who were before me. I make these statements of fact to you, dear sir, because I believe in your Christian honesty and true sense of justice to all men. If I engendered entertained any ill feeling for the many wrongs done me in the name of the Government when I entered this Institution, because of your splendid sense of justice and your fair and impartial treatment to me all during my stay, I may say that I have learnt that there are good people in the white race and all are not schemers to exploit the Negro by making a fool of him. My sentence of two years more shall come to an end, I can see, as I stated to the world before the sinister scheme to manufacture other charges against me and to ruin my family, but I may state that with the strength of God I shall speak to the heart of civilization with a voice that shall make men wonder at the crimes that are committed as against me in the name of justice. I feel sure the soul of America and civilization is not dead and men shall yet make right what seems wrong. I hold you in too high a regard, as an officer of the Government, to do anything to break the rules of the Institution, therefore be assured that I have

463

T H E MARCUS GARVEY AND U N I A PAPERS

written no such letter or sent any such instructions to my wife, whom I love too dearly to leave open to any such charge. There are times when a man's entire being revolts against the viciousness of persecution and I cannot [can] but characterize the allegations as nothing else but the vile and wicked persecution of one who for the time being cannot help himself. Thanking you, dear sir, for the privilege you have given me to explain myself on a charge of which I am innocent[.] I beg to remain, Most Respectfully, MARCUS GARVEY—19359

P.S. I also beg to draw your attention that the complaint herein referred to is but part of periodic efforts on the part of my enemies, rivals of a certain section of the Negro Press, namely the "Afro-American" of Baltimore and the "Chicago Defender" of Chicago, principally, and schemers interested in gaining control and ownership of certain real estate owned by the Association of which I am President General, to agitate the various Departments of Government having to do with Paroles, Clemency applications [,] Deportations and indictments at such times as they calculate I can be most affected or injured so as to place them in a position to carry out their intentions. M. G. DNA, RG 60, file 198940-399. ALS,recipient'scopy. 1. A special agent's report originating from New York City was filed with the Bureau of Investigation regarding the activities of Marcus Garvey and Amy Jacques Garvey on 26 October 1926. Copies of the report were sent from the director of the Bureau of Investigation to the assistant U.S. attorney general, and from his office to the superintendent of prisons and the postmaster general. Questions were evidently directed at Garvey in response to issues raised by the report (WNRC, R G 20+, file 42-793). 2. Amy Jacques Garvey was not directly involved in raising money for Liberty University and is not mentioned in connection with the management of the school. During this period she was engaged primarily in raising funds for Garve/s defense. She did, however, speak at the opening ceremonies of the school (UNIA, Inc., v . Marcus Garvey et al., New York Supreme Court, September 1926, NNHR). 3. No record of such a meeting has been found. 4. A reference to Paul, the Christian martyr who was imprisoned and executed by the Romans (John McKenzie, Dictionary of the Bible [Milwaukee: Bruce Publishing Co., 1965], pp. 648-650).

John W. Snook to H. C. Heckman, Assistant Superintendent of Prisons, Department of Justice Atlanta, November 16,1926 Dear Sir: I am in receipt of your letter of the 13th, inst. with reference to a report made by James E. Amos of the New York office of the Bureau of Investigation, 464

NOVEMBER 1926

from information furnished him by Assistant U.S. Atty SILVER1 of the Southern District of New York, relative to the activities of Mrs. Marcus Garvey, wife of Marcus Garvey, now an inmate of this institution, in which it is alleged that Mrs. Garvey is receiving instructions from Garvey, and, as a result, is using the mails to defraud Negro people. I am not aware of any such instructions being issued to Mrs. Garvey, and, upon my request for information regarding the matter, from Garvey, he has written me a letter which is self-explanatory and I enclose same herewith. 2 Yours respectfully. JOHN W . SNOOK

Warden, Atlanta Federal Penitentiary DNA, RG 60, file 198940-399. letterhead.

TLS, recipient's copy.

On Atlanta penitentiary

1. Edward S. Silver (b. 1898) was assistant U.S. attorney of the Southern District of New York from November 1925 to November 1927, when he became chief of the Bureau of Indictments for the same district. He was best known for his prosecution of international narcotics cases (WWA). 2. The warden's information was passed on to the postmaster general (O.R. Luhring, assistant attorney general, to Harry S. Hew, postmaster general, 30 November 1926, and Harry S. Hew to John Sargent, 23 December 1926, DNA, R G 60, file 198940-399).

Interview with Marcus Garvey by Joel A. Rogers [ATLANTA, GA., ca. 17 November

1926]

In coming to this city I had among other objectives two rather itching ones: To see the home of His Majesty, the Imperial Wizard,' the white king of America, and to see the black king, or more correctly, the Provisional President of Africa, Marcus Garvey. Sunday last, taking the jim-crow car, I rode out six miles on Peachtree road and saw the former, an imitation White House, nestling in an oaken grove, and a few days later, piloted by two of the fine friends I have met here, Drs. C . Waymond Reeves and J. B. Brown, I motored over to the magnificent university-like building, with the beautiful sweep of lawn, that is the Federal Penitentiary, to see the latter.2 G A R V E Y W O R E R E D SWEATER

Appearing at the barred gate under the great Doric columns we were politely ushered by the guard to a desk, where we gave our names, and after a short wait, and with much less formality than we had expected, were conducted through a heavy iron-barred door into a room where, after another short wait, we saw the stocky figure of the originator of the first world movement among Negroes enter, clad in what appeared to be the garb of any ordinary laborer hereabouts—trousers of bluish material, red sweater, and loose cap of thin dark material, nothing to indicate a prisoner in popular belief—but an unbelievable 465

T H E MARCUS GARVEY AND U N I A PAPERS

contrast to the figure in the glittering uniform, golden epaulets, plumed hat, sword and spurs on the prancing steed, which, as leader of the " 4 0 0 , 0 0 0 , 0 0 0 Negroes of the World," led his followers th[ro]ugh the streets of Harlem in 1 9 2 1 . Responding to our cordial greetings with equal warmth, he took a seat facing us with the guard nearby, and opened the conversation with a remark about my recent trip to Europe. My being refused permission to visit Africa seemed a sore point with him. "Why," said he, "if there is any place a Negro ought to be allowed to go, it is Africa." He went on to speak of the world-wide attempt being made to jim-crow Negroes, and t[ou]ched on the laws recently passed barring colored people from Brazil, Mexico and Panama,3 declaring that Negroes, particularly those of the Western World, were getting just what they deserved for their lethargy. "Soon they won't be able to travel at all, and then, perhaps, they will wake up," he said. I went on to tell him how hundreds of persons in England and France, some of them prominent, had asked me about him; of how many Negroes in this country, some of them wealthy, who sympathized with him, and of the discussions of himself and of his movement that I knew were taking place in many of our colleges—at which he seemed quite pleased. There is much about Garveyism with which I, for one, radically disagree; as, for instance, his approval of the narrow radicalism of such insidious enemies of America and the Negro as Cox, Powell, and the Ku Klux Emperor, yet the simple truth remains that there is considerable sympathy for him, sometimes, as I have found, in quite unexpected places. Although, his followers have dwindled in actual numbers, he is the most widely discussed Negro in the world today. Two recent missionaries from Africa, one of them a man for whom I hold the highest respect, told me of the hold that Garveyism was taking in Africa that was a revelation to me.4 CONVICT NO.

19359

And as I listened to Convict N o . 19359 speak in his resolute, wellinformed way5 of the doings in the world of Negroes—of affairs in Abyssinia, South Africa, Liberia, the West Indies, Brazil, as well as of India, Egypt, and the League of Nations—I realized that Garveyism is still very much alive. Of his original program he has evidendy yielded not one step. "When I get out of here," he said, with all that old fire that had held his great audiences spellbound in Madison Square Garden, "I mean to do a thousand times more." This was in direct answer to a question about his steamship program. These activities, however, will take place on British territory, unless Uncle Sam relents, as, according to Garvey himself, his deportation is settled. I N P I N K OF H E A L T H

The self-appointed ruler of Africa is considerably thinner, gone are most of his paunch and his beefy shoulders, but he looks several years younger and 466

NOVEMBER 1926

in the pink of health. Time, he says, does not hang heavily, as he has abundant time for reading after duties, which, he said, he was not permitted to name. "Before I came in here," he said quite cheerfully, "I had no time whatever for reading, but now I can keep well posted on everything," and he evidently does. This, of course, is as near as I can recall his words, as I was stopped by the guard when I took out paper and began to write. Number 19359—the Harlem fans might try that6—feels that he has not been fairly treated by that part of the Negro people who opposed his movement. Such, he declared, had never looked into his program, but had based their objections on rumor, or on what his enemies had said. As to the latter, he charged that they had first called him a "nobody," then later a "West Indian," and when he still continued to gain a following, "a crook." As to the two volumes of his "Philosophy and Opinions," he said that the Negro press had been silent about it, while his wife had a scrapbook filled with clippings from the white press here and in Europe. THE N.A.A.C.P. When I asked him what he thought of the N.A.A.C.P., he said that he thought it was an excellent and highly necessary movement, but that the leadership was wrong, declaring that the present leaders were only interested in succeeding themselves in office and pushing only those cases that would bring them plenty of notoriety. 'The N.A.A.C.P.," he said, "encourages Negroes to move into white neighborhoods, and to do such things as got the Sweets7 into trouble, then turns around and cashes in on them." For this remark, I felt that the advocates of residential segregation in Washington, D.C., and elsewhere would give him plenty of publicity. As to the $5,000 given to Dr. W. E. B. Du Bois for the study of Negro education8—is it in the South or South Carolina?—and which appeared in the September Crisis, he wanted to know why that sum should have been necessary, since Du Bois had lived in the South and was familiar with conditions there. He was plainly elated at the articles appearing in the P I T T S B U R G H C O U R I E R . "Vann (Robert)," he said, "has dragged to light facts which I had long felt to be true." 9 LIBERIA

Of Liberia, he said President King had deceived him; gladly accepting him at first, but ousting him for bigger game. As to the Firestone Company, he said that it would have been better had Liberia only leased the land, but as things now were it should try to get the tire company under governmental control. Regarding the rumor of his not being permitted to return to Jamaica, British West Indies, he said that there had been similar talk in 1921, but he had visited all the places it was said he could not go and had returned to America 467

T H E M A R C U S GARVEY A N D U N I A PAPERS

without any trouble. It was at this point he complained of the "baseless rumors perpetually floated about him," one of which was that President Coolidge had offered him a pardon if he would leave the country. H i s DOMESTIC AFFAIRS A s to his first wife, he said she was motivated by "pure notoriety," and that he had been legally divorced from her prior to his second marriage. When I suggested that he would have fared better had he got a lawyer, he insisted that here for once the maxim that the man w h o is his own lawyer has a fool for his client was wrong. If he had had a lawyer, it is his belief that he would have got "sixty years," as there was much on the inside that an onlooker would never have understood. A t the end of an hour the guard warned us that our time was up, and N o . 19359 returned to what will be his home for another t w o years at least, while the three of us passed again through the iron gates to see again the magnificent lawn and the wooded expanse in all the glory and gold of an Indian summer. I, for one, absorbed in the thought that the once humble West Indian peasant that had just disappeared behind the clanging gates had started something that, liked or hated, is destined to affect the future of humanity in no mean way. Printed in the NTAN, 17 November 1926; also printed in the Pittsburgh Courier, 20 November 1926. 1. Hiram Wesley Evans became the imperial wizard of the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) in January 1923. His rise to power climaxed a long internecine battle among the leadership of the KKK and resulted in the forced retirement of former leaders Edward Young Clarke (who, as acting imperial wizard, had met with Garvey in June 1922) and William Simmons. He became the head of the party secretariat in 1922 and used the position to work with territorial leaders interested in the reorganization of the upper levels of the KKK hierarchy, a successful tactic that led to the banishment of Simmons and Clarke. Evans presided over the heyday of the organization in the 1920s, when as many as two to three million people are said to have been members of the invisible empire. Evans reared in June 1939, and James Colescott succeeded him as imperial wizard (David M. Chalmers, Hooded Americanism: The History of the Ku Klux Klan [New York and London: New Viewpoints, 1965], pp. 40, 101-109, 317-318). 2. The architecture of the federal prison at Atlanta did resemble a university hall; the long multistory stone building was built in classical style, topped with cornices and a cupola, fronted with a landscaped lawn, and approached by a scenic curving driveway with decorative lampposts. In his memoirs of his imprisonment at the Atlanta penitentiary, Eugene Victor Debs wrote of the misleading impression that the stately exterior of the main building made upon visitors. "Not a few of them are impressed with the plaza at the front of the reservation and with other external features intended to relieve the grimness of the gray walls and steel bars," Debs wrote, and "they conclude that the state has provided a comfortable resort and has done handsomely by the criminals who are confined there. . . . Had these visitors" been privy to the interior workings of the prison, he continued, had they "been obliged to spend a month within the walls, submit to the iron discipline enforced there, eat the nauseating food, and feel themselves isolated, cramped, watched day and night, counted at regular intervals, and dwarfed and dulled by the deadly routine, they would undergo a radical change of opinion" (Eugene Victor Debs, Walls and Bars [Chicago: Socialist Party, 1927], pp. 76-77). 3. A law was passed in Panama in October 1926 prohibiting the immigration of "Chinese, Japanese, Turks, Syrians, East Indians, Dravidians and [NJegroes of the West Indies and Guiana whose original language is not Spanish" {NTT, 24 October and 7 November 1926; NW, 30 October 1926). The 1926 law was later applied against Garvey in 1927 (Marcus Garvey to Frank Billings Kellogg, 20 December 1927, DNA, RG 59, file 811.108 G 191/42). Earlier in the year 468

N O V E M B E R 1926

Mexico had passed its own alien law aimed at "undesirables" defined in criminal and economic, not specifically racial, terms (NTT, 1 June and 13 June 1926). Like those of Panama, Brazil's immigration restriction laws targeted Asian populations. In the late nineteenth century, when the majority of Brazilians were of African, Amerindian, or mixed extraction, the Brazilian elite actively supported the recruitment of agricultural laborers from western Europe, particularly from Italy, Portugal, Spain, and, to a lesser extent, Germany. After Asian immigrants began joining this influx of Europeans, a decree was issued on 28 June 1890 declaring the country open to "free entry by persons healthy and able to work . . . except natives of Asia or Africa" (Thomas E. Skidmore, Black into White: Race and Nationality in Brazilian Thought [New York: Oxford University Press, 1974], p. 137). In 1907 a new immigration decree went into effect barring the criminal and insane but lilting the racial ban. It was reversed in 1923 when a new color bar was tacked onto immigration legislation, prohibiting the entry of blacks and limiting Oriental immigration to a strict 3-percent quota. This policy was reiterated in art. 121, sec. 6 of the Constitution of 1934, which stated that "the entry of immigrants into the national territory will be subject to the restrictions necessary to guarantee the ethnic integration . . . of the immigrant" (Skidmore, Slack into White, p. 198). The racial quotas were again reinforced in article 151 of the Constitution of 1937, and in Getulio Vargas's decree law number 7967 of 18 September 194} "stipulating that immigrants should be admitted in conformance with the necessity to preserve and develop, in the ethnic composition of the population, the most desirable characteristics of its European ancestry" (Skidmore, Black into White, pp. 192-200, 199). Brazilian authorities who had reacted unfavorably to race consciousness among Asian immigrants (who had by and large established their own communities and failed to assimilate, thus contradicting the miscegenationist "whitening ideal" of Brazilian race policy) had a similar reaction to the importation of black nationalist ideas and separatist practices. In 1921 a large land grant in the western state of Mato Grosso was made to developers, but was prompdy canceled when state authorities discovered that organizers in the United States were recruiting North American blacks to colonize the area (Skidmore, Black into White, pp. 192-193; Carl N. Degler, Neither Black nor White: Slavery and Race Relations in Brazil and the United States [New York: Macmillan, 1971]). 4- By 1926 the Garvey movement was actually in decline throughout Africa. This topic will be examined at length in the African Series of the Garvey Papers. 5. Garvey continued regular subscriptions to several newspapers while he was in prison and frequently asked his wife to either bring or send him specific books. He maintained subscriptions to the New York Times, the New York Age, the Neva York World, the Washington Post, and the Chicago Tribune (Marcus Garvey to Amy Jacques Garvey, 13 December 1925, 28 February and 15 September 1926, AFRC, AP). 6. A reference to playing the numbers, which Claude McKay called "the most flourishing clandestine industry in Harlem" ("The Business of Numbers," in Claude McKay, Harlem: Negro Metropolis [New York: E. P. Dutton, 1940], pp. 101—116). The numbers began in the Mediterranean region and spread to the United States via die Caribbean, becoming well established in New York City in 1910—1920. They were run through barber shops and other small businesses managed mainly by Puerto Rican and Cuban immigrants, and patronized largely by West Indians. Originally called bolita or paguerita, the gambling system was renamed the numbers and popularized by American West Indians. The winning numbers were derived from the totals of domestic and foreign sales on the stock exchange, which were published in the daily newspapers. Some black Harlemites grew rich and entered an elite social circle from the proceeds of the business, including Casper Hoistein, owner of the Turf Club, patron of black education and the arts, and purchaser of Liberty Hall when the UNIA began to default on its mortgage payments. Playing the numbers was also associated in Harlem with an interest in mysticism and the occult, as players sought tips from psychics, consulted one of many best-selling books of dreams, or relied on a favorite fetish in their choice of a lucky number. Common things were imbued with special significance, as "house numbers, car numbers, letters, telegrams, laundry, suits, shoes, hats, every conceivable object"—including, in this case, Garvey's prison number—could be seen as keys to a lucky choice (McKay, Harlem: Negro Metropolis, p. 106; see also advertising sections, NW, 3 January, 17 January, 11 April and 18 April 1931). 7. On 9 September 1925, shots were randomly fired from inside the Detroit home of Dr. Ossian Sweet into a mob of whites crowded outside, killing Leo Breiner, a member of the crowd. As a result eleven black people, including Dr. Sweet, his brothers Henry (a college student) and Otis (a dentist), and his wife Gladys (a teacher), were arrested and tried for murder in the first degree. Dr. Sweet was a successful gynecologist and eventual founder of the Good Samaritan Hospital, 469

T H E MARCUS GARVEY AND U N I A PAPERS

Detroit. He graduated from Howard University Medical School, Washington, D.C., and pursued postgraduate studies at the University of Vienna and at the Curie Institute in Paris where he carried on research on the effects of radium on cancer (1923-1924). Returning to the United States in 1925 with his wife, Gladys Mitchell Sweet, herself a college graduate, Dr. Sweet bought a house in a lower-middle-class white neighborhood in Detroit. He did so in an atmosphere of severe racial tension, when the influence of the Ku Klux Klan in the city was at its peak, and when previous incidents of white violence against blacks had occurred as the burgeoning black population (which had grown from 6,000 in 1910 to 70,000 in 1916) attempted to find housing outside the racial boundaries of desperately crowded ghetto areas. Dr. Sweet, warned by the previous owner of the house of threats on his life, requested police protection while his household goods were moved in. He also purchased firearms and ammunition. His house was surrounded by a white crowd for the first two days of occupancy. Violence broke out on the second night as his brother Otis and another man were stoned and chased by the crowd as they exited a taxi in front of the house. After the windows of the home had been shattered by the attacking crowd, Henry Sweet fired from inside the dwelling, killing Breiner and wounding another bystander. The defense of the Sweets and their «¡defendants was arranged by the NAACP, which was already involved in desegregation cases in Louisville, Ky., and New Orleans at the time of the Sweets' arrests. Walter White, the assistant secretary of the NAACP, sought the services of semiretired Clarence Darrow, who agreed to represent the eleven defendants for a minimal fee. Darrow hoped to make the Sweet trial a landmark case by arguing a stance of self-defense, setting a precedent supporting the right of blacks to react against white aggression in the protection of their lives and property. In his famous statement to the jury, Darrow argued that the case was not one of murder but of racial oppression. The Sweets, he contended, stood outside the protection of the law, "with the history of the race behind them, with the knowledge of shootings and killings and insult and injury without end . . . in the face of a mob, and the hatred of a community" and fought "for their rights, and for your rights and for mine" (Arthur Weinberg, ed., Attorney for the Damned [New York: Touchstone Books, 1957], pp. 241-242). The first trial resulted in a hung jury (27 November 1925), the retrial, in the acquittal of Henry Sweet (19 May 1926) and the eventual dropping of charges against the other ten defendants (21 July 1927). Garvey's opinion of the Sweet case is ironic in light of the fact that "Ossian Sweet . . . had been moved . . . by Garvey's passionate calls for black pride and black identity," and it was this Garveyite consciousness that inspired him to take a militant stand in his home and on the witness stand, where he saw "himself as the leader of more than just the eleven people in the courtroom" (Kenneth G. Weinberg, A Man's Home, a Man's Castle [New York: McCall Publishing Co., 1971], p. m). 8. Du Bois received a $5,000 grant from the Garland Fund to study black education in South Carolina. Robert Vann, editor of the Pittsburgh Courier, derided the size of the grant as "liberal for such a purpose" (Pittsburgh Courier, 16 October 1926). James Weldon Johnson, secretary of the NAACP, defended the grant by claiming that the subject of the study actually was "Negro Public School education throughout the South" (Pittsburgh Courier, 30 October 1926). This statement backfired when the Courier published NAACP documents proving the grant was indeed limited to South Carolina. As a Negro World headline proclaimed, "Courier Gives Lie Direct Re Du Bois $5,000 Survey" (NW, 6 November 1926; see also Pittsburgh Courier, 23 October 1926; NW, 30 November 1926). 9. A reference to the Pittsburgh Courier articles of 9 October, 16 October, 23 October, and 30 October 1926, regarding the NAACP and the Garland Fund (Andrew Buni, Robert L. Vann of the "Pittsburgh Courier": Politics and Black Journalism [Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1974]).

James Finch to Rep. James M. Mead1 {Washington, D.C.,] December 21, 1926 Dear Mr. Mead: Replying to your letter of December 17,1926, making inquiry concerning the present status of the application of Marcus Garvey for Executive clemency, 470

JANUARY 1927

you arc advised that the Attorney General and the President have heretofore considered the Garvey application. There has been no new development in the case, the recommendations are all adverse and I am not aware of any sufficient reason for reopening t[he] case at this time. Respectfully, [JAMES F I N C H ]

Pardon A[ttorney] WNRC, RG 204, letters sent in pardon cases, vol. 37: 26 November 192619 January 1927. TL, carbon copy. 1. James M. Mead (1885-1964) of New York served as a Democratic representative (19191938) and a U.S. Senator (1938-1947) (Biographical Directory of the American Congress, 1774-1971 [Washington, D.C.: GPO, 1971], p . i,396).

Marcus Garvey to President Calvin Coolidge [Atlanta, Ga.,] January 17th, 1927 SirMay I most respectfully invite your attention to my application for a pardon made in the latter part of 192s, to-wit, about December[.] That application was marked "Premature" and I presume no further action was taken in connection with it.1 Next month I will have served two years of my sentence. During that time I have conducted myself in strict accordance with the rules and regulations of the Prison. This, I believe, will be verified by the Prison officials. Prior to my incarceration at the Federal Penitentiary, I was confined for about three months in the Tombs Prison at New York City in connection with this case. This was due to the fact that the original applications for bail in my behalf were denied. The Prison officials of the Tombs Prison[,] I believe, will likewise verify that I conformed to the rules and regulations in every particular in that Prison. I now most respectfully submit my application for a consideration of my case, and most respectfully request re-consideration of the same with a view of final action thereon. I am informed that nine members of the Jury which sat upon my case, have recommended a pardon or commutation of my sentence to expire forthwith. One member declined to sign, and two members of the jury, who have changed their addresses, cannot be located. The recommendation of the nine members of the Jury will be submitted to your Excellency in due course. May I therefore respectfully pray your favorable consideration in the reopening of my application for pardon or commutation of my sentence to expire forthwith. With my assurances of great respect and high esteem, I am Your obedient Servant1 MARCUS GARVEY 471

JANUARY 1927

you arc advised that the Attorney General and the President have heretofore considered the Garvey application. There has been no new development in the case, the recommendations are all adverse and I am not aware of any sufficient reason for reopening t[he] case at this time. Respectfully, [JAMES F I N C H ]

Pardon A[ttorney] WNRC, RG 204, letters sent in pardon cases, vol. 37: 26 November 192619 January 1927. TL, carbon copy. 1. James M. Mead (1885-1964) of New York served as a Democratic representative (19191938) and a U.S. Senator (1938-1947) (Biographical Directory of the American Congress, 1774-1971 [Washington, D.C.: GPO, 1971], p . i,396).

Marcus Garvey to President Calvin Coolidge [Atlanta, Ga.,] January 17th, 1927 SirMay I most respectfully invite your attention to my application for a pardon made in the latter part of 192s, to-wit, about December[.] That application was marked "Premature" and I presume no further action was taken in connection with it.1 Next month I will have served two years of my sentence. During that time I have conducted myself in strict accordance with the rules and regulations of the Prison. This, I believe, will be verified by the Prison officials. Prior to my incarceration at the Federal Penitentiary, I was confined for about three months in the Tombs Prison at New York City in connection with this case. This was due to the fact that the original applications for bail in my behalf were denied. The Prison officials of the Tombs Prison[,] I believe, will likewise verify that I conformed to the rules and regulations in every particular in that Prison. I now most respectfully submit my application for a consideration of my case, and most respectfully request re-consideration of the same with a view of final action thereon. I am informed that nine members of the Jury which sat upon my case, have recommended a pardon or commutation of my sentence to expire forthwith. One member declined to sign, and two members of the jury, who have changed their addresses, cannot be located. The recommendation of the nine members of the Jury will be submitted to your Excellency in due course. May I therefore respectfully pray your favorable consideration in the reopening of my application for pardon or commutation of my sentence to expire forthwith. With my assurances of great respect and high esteem, I am Your obedient Servant1 MARCUS GARVEY 471

THE MARCUS GARVEY AND U N I A PAPERS

WNRC, RG 204, file +2-793. TLS, recipient's copy. 1. Garvey had not only been denied his application for executive clemency but had also been denied parole. He was due to become eligible for parole on 7 October 1926; the parole board formally denied that parole be granted on 8 September 1926 (AFRC, AP). 2. This letter was followed by a formal resubmission of Garve/s application for executive clemency and a request for interviews with the attorney general and the president by Garvey's attorneys, Armin Kohn and Maurice Nagler (Kohn and Nagler to John Sargent, 24 January 1927, W N R C , R G 20+, file 42-793).

Enclosure: Affidavit by George Featherstone CITY AND COUNTY OF N E W YORK,

14th day of January, 1927 1

GEORGE FEATHERSTONE, being duly sworn, deposes and says— That in this latter part of December, 1926, he called upon the members of the Jury who sat upon the case of MARCUS GARVEY, and who convicted him, with a view of ascertaining from [them] their views on the question of recommending a pardon or commutation of sentence. That he thereafter called upon the following members of the Jury— WILLIAM J . CARR, LEO PINCUS, C . F . JANSON, GEORGE F . BURT, LANSING A . WOOD, C . DELANO KNAPP, MARTIN J . CREGAN, DANIEL F . M c E L K E N N Y , E . H . SCOTT a n d SAMUEL e . MOOREHEAD. 2

The first nine of these gentlemen signed the recommendation. After one or two interviews with the tenth, Mr. Samuel E. Moorehead, deponent was informed that Mr. Moorehead had spoken with the Assistant Prosecutor who had conducted the prosecution of this case, and that he declined therefore to sign any recommendation. T h e other two Jurors,

to-wit,

GEORGE B. MACLEAN and FRANK P.

CONKLIN, deponent has not been able to locate, they having moved from the addresses given by them at the time they served as Jurors. Deponent made diligent effort to find these two gentlemen on January 3rd, 4th and jth, 1927, and was unsuccessful, and in the further hope that letters might be forwarded to and reach them through the Post Office Department, wrote letters to each of the said gendemen to their last known addresses. Both of these letters were returned "not found" and are attached hereto and made part hereof in the original condition in which they were returned.3 Deponent further states that Juror Martin J. Cregan, when interviewed by your deponent, stated that he held out in the Jury Room for a long time against the conviction of MARCUS GARVEY and voted instead for a conviction of Orlando Thompson[,] one of the other defendants, but finally was persuaded by his colleagues to join with them. G E O R G E FEATHERSTONE

472

JANUARY 1927

[Typed endorsement.-] Sworn to before me this 14th day of January, 1927. /Edith Sherman/ [Stamped endorsement:] COMMISSIONER OF DEEDS, Residing in Kings County, Kings Co. Clerk's No. 17, N.Y. Co. Clerk's No. 47, N.Y. Register's No. 27017, Commission Expires Jan. 2 7 , 1 9 2 7 W N R C , RG 204, file 42-793. TLS, recipient's copy. Notarized. 1. George Featherstone was listed in the New York City directory as residing at 902 Trinity Avenue in 1931; however, he used 21 Minetta Lane, New York City, as his return address in 1927 (U.S. Local History and Genealogy Department, New York Public Library, to Robert A. Hill, 23 May 1985). 2. Limited biographical information can be found on the individual members of the jury that convictcd Garvey. William J. Carr was an elderly physician, while George F. Burt was vice president of a furniture manufacturing firm. C. Delano Knapp was the treasurer of a family-owned business. C. F. Janson was self-employed as a furrier. Martin J. Cregan is listed in the New York City directory as a fireman, while Daniel F. McElkenny is described in the same source as having no occupation in 1933. Leo Pincus appears to have been a salesman, and Lansing A. Wood was a clerk in a trust company (NTT, 22 June 19+3 and 2 June 1950; General Directory ofNew York [New York, R. L. Pblk and Co., 1933], pp. 887, 2,227, 3,528). 3. On 5 January 1927 Featherstone did write to Frank P. Conklin, at 133 West 83rd Street, New York, and George B. MacLean, at 66 West 88th Street, New York, urgently requesting that they contact him. The letters were returned to sender on 7 January and 13 January 1927 respectively and were later stamped received by the Pardon Attorney's Office (25 February 1927) (WNRC, RG 204, file 42-793)-

Enclosure: Members of the Jury to the Department of Justice N e w York [late December

1926]

To the Department of Justice, Washington, D . C . We, the undersigned, members of the Jury, which convicted MARCUS GARVEY of the charge of using the mails to defraud, having been informed that the said MARCUS GARVEY has now been confined in the Adanta Penitentiary for nearly two years, and that since his incarceration his conduct in prison has been good, and having been further informed that a warrant of deportation has been issued against the said MARCUS GARVEY, and is n o w lodged with the Warden of the Penitentiary, and that upon his release from prison he is to be deported by the authorities, therefore believing that under the circumstances he has been sufficiently punished, respectfully recommend and ask that the sentence of the said MARCUS GARVEY be commuted so as to expire forthwith. Dated, N e w York, 1 WILLIAM J. CARR

81 Clifford Ave., Pelham, N Y .

473

T H E MARCUS GARVEY AND U N I A PAPERS

950 Woody Crest Ave.

LEO PINCUS

2615th Ave.

C . F. JANSON

24 W. 48th St.

GEORGE F. BURT

281 Wadsworth Ave.

LANSING A. WOOD C. DELANO KNAPP

209 W. 18th St.

MARTIN J. CREGAN

3140 Decatur Ave. 161 W. 36th St.

DANIEL F. MCELKENNY

350 W. 117th St.

E . H . SCOTT

WNRC, RG 204, file 42-793. TLS, recipient's copy. Both signatures and addresses are handwritten endorsements. 1. This document bears no specific date; however, George Featherstone stated that he visited the jury members in the "latter part of December, 1926" (affidavit by Featherstone, 14 January 1927, W N R C , R G 204, file 42-793).

Marcus Garvey to John Sargent [Atlanta, Ga.,] January 17th, 1927 Sir— I have this day taken the liberty of writing a letter to the President of the United States, a copy of which I take the liberty of enclosing to you herewith. I appeal to you to consider a re-opening of my application for a pardon or a commutation of my sentence to expire forthwith. The facts stated in my letter to His Excellency the President, are true in every respect. I have served about two years of my sentence. I have, as stated in the accompanying letter, conducted myself in strict conformity with the rules of the Prison. In addition to the two years served here, I was also confined for three months in the City Prison (Tombs) at New York City, as a result of the denial of applications made in my behalf for bail pending my appeal, and before my attorneys were enabled to have an application favorably passed upon, three months elapsed. Under all the circumstances of my case, I respectfully urge upon you the propriety of reconsidering the re-opening of the case. With assurance of my esteem and respect, I am Your obedient Servant. MARCUS GARVEY

WNRC, RG 204, file 42-793- TLS, recipient's copy.

474

JANUARY 1927

Amy Jacques Garvey to Nicholas Murray Butler, President, Columbia University New York City, Box 22, Station L January 29, 1927 Dear Sir— I have mailed you today, "The Philosophy & Opinions of Marcus Garvey or Africa for Africans," so that you may be informed of the hopes and ambitions of Negroes who are making an effort to lift themselves to the level of progressive humanity.1 Respectfully yours, A . JACQUES GARVEY [Address:] Prof. Nicholas Murray Butler, Columbia University, Washington Heights, N . Y . C . N N C , N M B . T L S , recipient's copy. On personal letterhead. 1. Nicholas Murray Butler was president of Columbia University from 1902 to 1945. He acknowledged "with thanks the receipt of the volume" (President Butler's office to Amy Jacques Garvey, 31 January 1927, N N C , NMB; Garvey Papers 1: 228 n. 8).

475

T H E M A R C U S GARVEY A N D U N I A P A P E R S

Negro World Notice

MARCUS GARVEY Completes Second Year of Imprisonment

400,000,000 NEGROES Pass Another Milestone on the Road of Shame Two years ago—on

February

7, 1925—the

Hon.

Marcus Garvey, greatest living Negro, founder and president-general of the Universal N e g r o Improvement Association, was handcuffed to two white men and rushed to Atlanta penitentiary, Georgia, to serve a term of five year*' imprisonment for "using the United State? mails to defraud " T h e e he still languishes, wasting his precious day*, his only "crime," as Negroes and the fairminded of the universe see it, being the espousal of the cause of the Negio race in modern and manly fashion. It is the solemn especially heard

duty

in these United

in protest

grievous

of Negr States,

throughout

s everywhere,

and

to make

their

world

against

the

voices this

wrong.

Every day longer spent by this great patriot and statesman behind prison walls sees the forging of another link in the chain which would bind the Negro race irrevocably to a condition of servitude. Sons abroad,

and

daughters

it is you who

the dutches

of

must

of the octopus

yoa will rescue

Africa, rescue

at your

home leader

of oppression.

and from Thereby

yourselves.

Protest time is not all spent.

Raise your voices now.

Let your daily, unceasing cry be, " M A R C U S G A R V E Y M U S T BE

RELEASED!"

The conscience WASHINGTON, (Source: NW,

of the white D. C., WILL

world HEED.

12 F e b r u a r y 1927.)

476

is not

dead.

FEBRUARY 1927

James Finch to Armin Kohn [Washington, D.C.,] February 12, 1927 Sir: Replying to your letter of February 8, 1927, concerning Marcus Garvey, you are advised that your former communication is before me and I have not yet had an opportunity to take the matter up with the Attorney General. After I have done so you will be promptly advised. Respectfully, [JAMES F I N C H ]

Pardon Attorney WNRC, RG 204, letters sent in pardon cases, vol. 38: 20 January-7 March 1927. TL, carbon copy.

James Finch to Armin Kohn [Washington, D.C.,] February 19, 1927 Sir: Replying further to your letter of February 8,1927, concerning the Marcus Garvey case, you are advised that I have arranged an interview for you with the Attorney General for Friday, February 25, at 9:30 A.M. The Attorney General feels, however, that in view of the extensive interviews that have heretofore been granted, a prolonged interview will probably not be necessary. You will, however, be given ample opportunity to present what you have to say. I need not, I presume, suggest that you be here promptly at the hour stated. Respectfully, [JAMES F I N C H ]

Pardon Attorney WNRC, RG 204, letters sent in pardon cases, vol. 38: 20 January-7 March 1927. TL, carbon copy.

James Finch to Zebedee Green1 [Washington, D.C.,] February 21, 1927 Sir: Your letter of February (?), 1927, to the President in behalf of Marcus Garvey, has been referred to this Department for consideration. In reply you are advised that the Attorney General has granted a further hearing to 477

T H E MARCUS GARVEY AND U N I A PAPERS a representative o f G a r v e y , at w h i c h t i m e it will be d e t e r m i n e d w h e t h e r o r n o t f u r t h e r action is w a r r a n t e d at this time. I have read y o u r letter carefully and o b s e r v e an attitude o f t h o u g h t and m i n d w h i c h is I believe d u e largely to a m i s a p p r e h e n s i o n o f the facts and a belief that G a r v e y is innocent. T h i s , I a m sure, is erroneous.

Whatever may

b e said c o n c e r n i n g G a r v e / s general p u r p o s e , there is n o question in m y m i n d b u t that he violated the l a w . R e s p e c t f u l l y , [JAMES F I N C H ] Pardon Attorney W N R C , R G 2 0 4 . Letters sent in pardon cases, vol. 38: 2 0 January to 7 March 1 9 2 7 . T L , carbon copy. 1. Zebedee Green, a laborer, lived at 4213 Shields Street in Pittsburgh with his wife, Mathilda. He was the first vice president of the Pittsburgh U N I A Division No. 61 in 1927 and author of several pamphlets, including Why I Am Dissatisfied. He and Mathilda Green frequendy lent money to the division, the parent body, and the Nejfro World and owned several shares of Black Star Line stock. By 1940 the amounts owed the couple by the U N I A had accumulated to several hundred dollars, including amounts contributed to special loans for mortgage and building funds for the Pittsburgh Liberty Hall in 1927. Green maintained a working correspondence with Garvey after Garve/s deportation and eventual relocation to England, and was either a local distributor for, or subscriber to, the Black Man. In the summer of 1936 he wrote Garvey to tell him " I am confined to a sanatorium for an indefinite period if I continue to improve I will be out I suppose about the first of the year. My illness is the only thing that will keep me from the [1937] convention [in Toronto] and from seeing you once more in person" (Zebedee Green to Marcus Garvey, 30 June 1936, W R H S , UNIA-C). Green was the third vice president of the Pittsburgh U N I A Division No. 61 when Garvey died in 1940 (Helen M. Wilson, Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania, to Robert A. Hill, 2 May 1985; Zebedee Green to Calvin Coolidge, February 1927, W N R C , R G 204, file 42-793; Samuel Haynes to Marcus Garvey, 31 July 1927, A F R C , AP; Garvey to Green, 4 November 1936, and accounts of Zebedee Green, Mathilda Green, and the U N I A , 27 August 1940, W R H S , UNIA-C).

Armin Kohn and Maurice Nagler to John Sargent N o . 36 W e s t 4 4 t h Street, N e w Y o r k C i t y

[ca. February 1927] M E M O R A N D U M ON B E H A L F OF M A R C U S G A R V E Y FOR A P A R D O N A N D C O M M U T A T I O N OF H i s S E N T E N C E . M A R C U S GARVEY w a s c o n v i c t e d o f u s i n g the mails t o d e f r a u d . H e w a s c o n f i n e d in the T o m b s P r i s o n at N e w Y o r k C i t y f o r o v e r three m o n t h s , and w e n t t o the A t l a n t a Penitentiary o n o r a b o u t F e b r u a r y 5th, 1925, so that he has spent a b o u t t w o years there, m a k i n g in all a c o n f i n e m e n t o f a p p r o x i m a t e l y t w o years and three m o n t h s . T h e r e w e r e eleven (11) c o u n t s in the indictment, a n d the trial lasted approximately five (5) weeks.

478

FEBRUARY 1927

The jury deliberated for many hours before finally finding Garvey guilty on only one (1) count, thereby[,] at least by implication, finding him not guilty on the others. The record of the trial proceedings covers 2800 odd pages. In no place in this voluminous record is there a single word indicating or proving that Garvey personally benefitted to the extent of one single dollar by the operation of the Black Star Line, Inc., nor was it charged even by his bitterest prosecutors that he did so. As a matter of fact Judge Mack in his charge to the jury specifically stated (Vol. IV—page 2410—folio 7228)1— They had a perfect right to go out and sell stock in that corporation. They had a perfect right, out of the money that came in from that stock, to purchase ships and to make repairs and to pay reasonable salaries, and, in my judgment, the salaries as testified to were reasonable; that is for you to say, too. A careful reading of this record cannot but convince the most biased reader that Garvey's great crime consisted, not in wilful or deliberate dishonesty, but in indiscretion, and in attempting to manage and operate a business with which he himself had had no serious previous experience, and which perforce compelled him to rely upon the judgment and wisdom of others for final action. It seems to us that the question involved in this entire case and in the matter in which we are now acting, is not one of the wisdom or practicability of the plan for which the Black Star Line or its associated interests were organized. Perhaps the whole plan is idealistic—perhaps it may never be brought to a realization—perhaps it is impractical—perhaps even, it may be unwise, but at least, if the founders or sponsors of the plan were and are honest in the belief that it can either now or at some future time—perhaps even in some future generation, be carried out, criminality should not attach. We are not arguing on this application that the crime was not committed. The jury has spoken, and legally there is a conviction against Garvey which holds that he committed the crime charged. But for the purpose of this application we believe that it is proper, and we hope that we are not presum[p]t[u]ous[,] in advancing the point that we may go behind the verdict of the jury for the purpose of ascertaining what really was in the mind of this man which led up to his conviction. One of the great difficulties that Garvey was obliged to contend with from the very inception of this corporation was, that there was no substantial sum of money on hand, nor were the amounts subsequendy realized for the purpose of ships, ever substantial by themselves. By that we mean, that these amounts were the results of small individual donations, subscriptions and collections, were only obtained by Garvey's travelling around the country from place to place, working morning, noon 479

T H E M A R C U S GARVEY A N D U N I A P A P E R S

and night in an effort to place before the People of his race the projects that this steamship company represented. So that a great part of the time while Garvey was away from the office at New York, the business of operating the steamship company and of launching it, was in the hands of others. Garvey did not depend upon his own judgment in the purchase of any of the ships in question. As a matter of fact he had what was called in the company a "Marine Adviser," one Joshua Cockburn (Vol. II, page 1298—folio 3 8 9 3 ) . When a ship was offered by a broker or others, the practice was for Garvey to consult Captain Cockburn or some other marine expert. He was a government witness, but under examination by Garvey testified ([V]ol. I, page 338—folio 1 0 1 2 ) — Q. Can you remember Captain, a conversation that Mr. Garvey had about the trade facilities of West Africa? A. Yes * * * * Q. Will you explain to the Court? A. I told you the prospects were great out there in Africa, plenty of wealth there * * * . P A G E 339

Q. Can you remember the first time you spoke to him (Garvey) about such a thing? A. Yes, you told me that you wanted me to see as to getting a ship or some ships.2 Q. That is all the conversation? A. Oh, no, you told me—you asked me what would be a suitable ship for the West Africa trade and I told you what I thought was the class of ship that I thought would be suitable for the West Africa Trade * * * Q. Now, Captain, have you ever conversed with the directors of the Black Star Line? A. Ycs[,] we had a meeting there—once you invited me to the directors' meeting * * * Q. Can you relate to the court the conversation you had with the directors of the Black Star Line—the first time you met them? A. I had a conversation—or several conversations with you first, and I told you about several ships that I had offers of to purchase for your corporation and you invited me to go to a meeting or directors' meeting so that I might tell the directors the conversation that I had with you or as I told you about the ships. This expert and Garvey and other officers of the corporation would then examine the ship. The marine expert would consult an engineer, who 480

F E B R U A R Y 1927

would examine the engine in the ship and then make a report to the Board of Directors. When these experts recommended the purchase of the ship and stated that the value demanded was a fair value and that the ship was in a good and seaworthy condition, the ship would be purchased. Garvey did not divine or suspect that Cockburn for instance, was receiving commissions from the sellers of the ship, which prompted his glowing reports as to the ship's condition (Vol. IV, page 2218—folios 6653-6654). These circumstances are outstanding, and are pointed out to give some general idea of the difficulties under which Garvey labored. In other words, Garvey himself was honest. His whole life and every thought was devoted to the furtherance of his general plan to bring the Negro peoples of the World together—to educate them—to give them culture, refinement, and to raise them above the level upon which they were living. Naturally in a vast enterprise of this character, he was obliged to rely to a very great extent upon the assistance and advice of others. He had no means of ascertaining that there was treachery and dishonesty within his own Camp. He had no reason to suspect or believe that Cockburn[,] on whose judgment he relied in connection with some of these ships, was being paid by the other side. It is reasonable to assume that had he been made aware of Cockburn's treachery, he would not have followed his advice in the purchase of any ship. (Vol. IV, pages 2213-2214—folios 6639-6640).' When this project was first launched, there was no business with assets— there was no money—there was no property. Unlike the beginning of the usual business enterprise, this project started out only with an idea. It affected a particular class of people—a particular race of people—people of other classes or races were not interested, and by no means could their interest be aroused because the plan did not affect them. The only natural way therefore, to approach the launching of this enterprise, was to place it before the people of the particular race affected and request from them contributions. In the brief submitted on the appeal to the Circuit Court of Appeals by the learned Prosecutor, reference is made on page 3 to the fact that the early finances of the Black Star Line were procured through voluntary contributions and collections taken at meetings held in the colored section of New York. That is true, but surely, Garvey should not be criticized for this, as it was the only way to collect moneys as a nucleus for the building up of what he hoped would be a large and successful international shipping line, devoted exclusively to the interests of colored persons. The insinuations contained on the same page of the prosecutor's brief that the contributions, instead of being used "in the way represented, were by Garvey's directions, diverted to other purposes" is not fair, for even if some of the money was used in connection with the Negro World, this was one of the means employed for carrying out the general plan. The Negro World was owned, operated, controlled and managed by 481

T H E M A R C U S GARVEY AND U N I A PAPERS

colored persons exclusively, all of whom were likewise interested in and were part of the shipping line. After the initial contributions had been made, and it was called to Garvey's attention that under the laws of the State of New York, a project of this character, in order to be technically legal, would have to be incorporated, The Black Star Line, Inc. was created as a corporate entity and thereafter in view of the advice of an attorney, instead of soliciting voluntary contributions, which were in the nature of donations[,] as had theretofore been done, the Black Star Line issued to the contributor $j.oo shares of stock representing $5.00 contributions. It is safe, we believe, to state that none of the persons who made contributions to the Black Star Line, either before or after the issuance of the stock, did so because they ever expected any substantial dividend or interest on the contribution. They did it as a matter of race pride, and race glorification, and because every one of them were members of the Universal Negro Improvement Association, which fathered and spons[o]red the steamship line idea, and which was behind the movement, not only as an organization, but as to its individual membership. The same principle applies[,] we believe, so far as these contributions or stock purchases are concerned, as that which applies to an organization of a college or a university by a group of men. Such a project represents usually large investments; scholars, philanthropists and others interested in the furtherance of educational projects, are called upon to make contributions or donations. None of them ever hopes to receive any profit or dividend upon such investment or donations. The uppermost thought being to make the project a success, not from a financial point of view, but from an educational standpoint. In this connection, may we respectfully point out that the Black Star Line was on a par in this respect with the instance just cited. However, the persons behind this movement labored under the great disadvantage that there are no steamship lines or ships manned or operated out of this country by colored persons; so that the field from which they could draw for experienced managers or navigators was practically barren of material. They were dependent[,] therefore, upon a handful of men whom Garvey believed to be as spiritually enthusiastic and honest about the movement as he was. Unfortunately for him, there came a denouement upon the trial, when for instance, Cockburn admitted upon the witness stand that he had been treacherous and a traitor to the cause, by secretly accepting money by way of commissions in connection with the purchase of one or more of these ships. As a matter of fact[,] at the trial Garvey claimed that Thompson was another who had betrayed his trust; Garcia another, who had negotiated with the Morse interests to the detriment and disadvantage of the Black Star Line, and without knowledge or consent of Garvey. We are reliably informed that at least one of the Jurors held out for a long time during the deliberation for the acquittal of Garvey, and for the conviction 482

FEBRUARY 1927

of Thompson and others in the organization, but this Juror finally permitted himself to be persuaded by his colleagues. We do not wish to make this memorandum unwieldly. We desire merely to set forth as concisely as possible, some of the outstanding facts in connection with the organization and operation o f this steamship line. We do think however, it is important to answer and explain some of the matters contained in the brief submitted upon the appeal by the prosecuting attorney, and which we understand, is before you, in the consideration of this application. On page 4 of that brief, it is stated that when Garvey returned after a two weeks ['] stock selling tour down South, a certificate stub book was missing and the suggestion that it be advertised for, was frowned upon. As a matter of fact you are respectfully referred to Vol. IV[,] page 2130, folio 6390, at which George Tobias, Treasurer of the Black Star Line testified— A.

The stock book was lost. That first stock book was lost,

but f o r every stock sold 1 HAD A SLIP WITH THE NAMES AND ADDRESSES A N D E V E R Y T H I N G SO T H E R E WAS A R E C O R D O N T H A T SLIP

and at page 2131, folio 6393*— Q. And you kept that for the purpose of checking up the stocks? A. Yes. Q. Were you able[,] Mr. Tobias, to make a full and true report of the stock sold on that trip? A. When I came back and turned my report over to Mr. Gray—who I think was Secretary then—I am not sure—he or Warner—one of them, every bit of stock was checked up AND THE M O N E Y WAS T U R N E D B A C K T O M E A N D D E P O S I T E D I N T H E BANK.

Q. I ask you if you made a full report including the stock that was lost? A. I made a full detailed report of all stock transactions * * *

*

THE COURT:

D I D Y O U M A K E A R E P O R T OF E A C H S P E C I F I C

S T O C K I N T H E S T O C K B O O K T H A T WAS LOST S H O W I N G T H E S T O C K T H A T W A S S O L D T H A T CAME O U T O F T H A T S T O C K B O O K ? THE WITNESS:

I DID.

So that while the insinuation in the prosecutor's brief is that after the shares of stock contained in that particular book had been subscribed or paid for, the book itself was conveniently lost so as to conceal the amounts received for the stock therein contained. As a matter of fact, there was for each share of

483

T H E M A R C U S G A R V E Y AND U N I A PAPERS

stock sold from that book a slip with the names and addresses of the persons purchasing each of the said shares, and those slips were kept by Tobias for the purpose of checking up the stocks, which enabled him to make a full report of the stock sold on the trip, and the money realized from the sale of those shares of stock was deposited in the bank. There is no competent evidence that this stock book was ever in the possession of Garvey or that it was lost by Garvey, or that he received any part of the money represented in the sale of the certificates of stock contained in that book or in any other book. While we are on this point, we wish to emphasize the fact that in no place throughout this long trial is there a single word of testimony to the effect that one single dollar was ever paid into Garvey's hands personally, either for the sale or purchase of stock or by way of contributions, donations or other collections. The Government made a big point of an alleged representation that the Black Star Line owned a vessel known as the Phyllis Wheatley, and merely by way of illustration as to how difficult it was for Garvey to overcome the presumption of falsity of this representation, we desire to refer briefly to the record. When the Black Star Line was organized, it was the plan that as fast as money was accumulated by the corporation, ships would be purchased and built and renamed after celebrated men and women of the colored race. (Vol. IV, page 2230—folio 6689). After the steamship Kanawha had been acquired, the Traffic Manager of the Black Star Line was instructed to negotiate with the United States Shipping Board for the purchase of one of its ships, it being the intention to rename the ship so purchased "Phyllis Wheatley" (Vol. IV—page 2231—folio 6691).5 In connection with these negotiations the Traffic Manager was sent to Nova Scotia to examine a ship. Another representative inspected several ships and negotiated for their purchase, but without success. At about this time, Garvey was preparing to leave for the West Indies, and negotiations were going on with the well known firm of Lamport, Holt & Co. for the purchase of a steamship, the S.S. Tennyson. These negotiations had progressed to a point where Garvey arranged with the directors to go with him to the West Indies and raise funds necessary for the first payment. (Vol. IV, pages 2228-222«)—folios 6682-6683).6 From Cuba, Garvey cabled $5,000 or $6,000 under the belief that the S.S. Tennyson had been purchased, and under the further belief that she had been renamed the "Phyllis Wheatley." It was for the initial payment on this purchase, that he cabled the $5,000. or $6,000. That was in the early part of 1921. He remained out of the country until July, 1921 (Vol. IV, page 2232—folio 6695) and then learned that the deal on the Tennyson had not been completed (folio 6695). At the time of the circulation of the advertising matter referring to the Phyllis Wheatley (Government's Exhibits 57 and 58 Vol. IV, pages 2558-2559^

484

F E B R U A R Y 1927

he was not in the country and knew nothing whatever about it, but on the contrary believed that the Tennyson and now—so far as he knew, the Phyllis Wheatley, belonged to the Company. As a matter of fact it seems that some of the officials of the Black Star Line had through one Silverstone [Silverston], been negotiating further with the Shipping Board, and had paid to the Shipping Board the sum of $22,000 or $23,000. (Vol. IV, page 223$—folio 6704). After he learned that the deal on the Tennyson did not go through, he read an item in the "Commercial Journal" that the Shipping Board had awarded to the Black Star Line another steamship, the "Orion" (Vol. IV, page 2235, folio 6705) [,] and then he became convinced that finally the ambitions of the company had been realized, and they owned the Phyllis Wheatley. When he returned to America, he instucted Mr. [Wilford] Smith, one of the attorneys for the Company, to write to the Shipping Board to ascertain how much money had actually been paid to them, and finally, as a result of these instructions to Mr. Smith, and a further letter to the Shipping Board, a reply was received (Vol. IV, page 2237—folio 6710) that the sum of $22,500 had been paid, and not the sum of $25,000, as Silverstone and Thompson had represented to him. Part of this $22,500 was made up of the $5,000 or $6,000 that Garvey had cabled from Cuba, and the remainder from stock sales or contributions. So far as we know, that $22,500 is still in the hands of the Shipping Board. Of course, in analyzing a record of a criminal trial, it is not difficult to place a guilty construction upon the most innocent acts. A man convicted, whether rightfully or wrongfully, of a crime is immediately engulfed in an atmosphere of general wrong-doing. The most harmless acts—the most innocent correspondence or conduct are turned and converted into the blackest motives and conspiracies. Taken by themselves, however, and eliminating the thought that permeates the mind of the investigator, that everything that man has done in connection with the business was from illicit motives and not from worthy ones, it is not difficult to establish that what Garvey did with respect to the Phyllis Wheatley was a perfectly logical, reasonable and honest thing to do. In other words, it was desirable to purchase a ship to be renamed the Phyllis Wheatley. As the head of the organization, he began negotiations for the purchase of a ship. He instructed others to do likewise. As a result of these various negotiations, he believed that something definite was coming out of them. He knew that money was required. He also knew that the company had not sufficient moneys. He started for the West Indies where he felt he could collect sufficient to make the initial payment. He, through assistants, collected several thousand dollars, forwarded this money to the company, then learned that the deal on the first sheet [ship] did not close, but that the United States Shipping Board had awarded the Orion. He immediately in his mind's eye saw the Orion as the Phyllis Wheadey. The

485

T H E M A R C U S G A R V E Y AND U N I A PAPERS

name Orion meant nothing to him, or to those associated with him. The name Phyllis Wheatley meant a great deal to the entire Negro race. When he returned to America, he was informed by one or two persons whom he believed to be trustworthy at the time, that $25,000 had been paid to the Shipping Board on account of the Orion, and he found later that this was untrue, and that only $22,500 had been paid. However, the thought and the acts which motivated him in calling the Orion the Phyllis Wheatley were not dishonest. The worst that can be said of him in this regard is that he was hasty, that he was perhaps unsophisticated so far as his associates were concerned, in believing too much in their spoken and written word. Had he been in America himself during this period, he would have known that the Orion had not actually passed to the Black Star Line, and when he received word that the Shipping Board had awarded this ship to the Black Star Line and read in the Commercial Journal that that had taken place, he did what any other man under similar circumstances would have done— he believed that the transaction had been consummated. Having in mind the installment of money that he had previously sent to America, he thought this installment had been used to "clinch" the deal. Yet this circumstance of the Phyllis Wheatley which was "played upon" by the prosecution was woven in with the other similar circumstances, any one of which standing by itself meant absolutely nothing, but taken together, in combination and deftly and skillfully manipulated and handled, painted a black picture indeed. One other word on this subject, and that is, that there is no evidence in the entire record that Garvey knew of, authorized or directed the printing or circulating of the printed matter advertising the ownership of the Phyllis Wheatley. As a matter of fact, the record is replete with testimony that during all the times that the circulation of this advertising matter was taking place, Garvey was out of the country (Vol. IV, pages 2246 to 2252—folios 6738 to 6756).8 Garvey was out of the country, or at least away from New York, for an average of about eight months in the year, either travelling through various cities of America or in other countries. Necessarily, therefore, most of the Executive and Administrative affairs of the company were in the hands of others. (Vol. II[,] pages 1250-1251—folios 3750 to 3756s—Vol. IV[,] page 2246—folio 6738).'° We invite attention to what we consider a very important element in this application, namely, what became of the money received for stock purchases— how was it handled and by whom; were any entries made with respect to the money and were records kept—what was the system? We are not taking our answers to this question out of the air, nor are they argumentative. We rely upon the record of the trial. On page 1221 (folio 3662) Carrie Ledeatt [Leadett], a clerk in the Black Star Line, stated that she never turned any money received in the mail over 486

F E B R U A R Y 1927

to the President (Garvey). That the money was turned over to the Secretary's office where there was a reporting system to the President's office, that is, a report was filed in the President's office. Every day the Secretary was obliged to file in the President's office a report of the transactions of the day setting forth the amount of stock sold and the amounts received. These reports were signed by the Secretary and Treasurer, and they included all receipts for stock sales which came through the mails or through agents. This witness never saw Mr. Garvey handle any money at all (Vol. II, page 1221, folio 3663)." The money received by the Secretary's office was turned over to the Treasurer, George Tobias (page 1222, folio 3665) who banked it. The witness Gwendolyn Campbell testified that she assisted with the opening of the mails, and testified further that when she opened the mails she turned over to the various departments to which the same belon[g]ed the proceeds (Vol. II, page 1245—folio 3733). The money intended for the Black Star Line was turned over to the Treasurer's office (folio 373+). Moneys for the Universal Negro Improvement Association Inc. were turned over to the Secretary but all moneys for the Black Star Line went to the Treasurer's office (folios 3735 and 3736). Upon the delivery of such moneys to the Treasurer's office, the Treasurer gave her a receipt and thereafter the Secretary and Treasurer's office made reports to the President's office. There was a printed form in the Secretary's office which was passed on to the President's office (folio 3738). There was some one in charge of that work of the reports coming in at the President's office, one of the persons being Miss Buford (folio 3739) and a Rev. Paul who was called "Inspector of figures" and (folio 3742)12 the reports were an itemized statement of what the moneys were paid for, that is, the moneys received for stock sold in the office and mail "and so forth." This was all in the Secretary's report. The witness Campbell (folio 37+4) never saw Garvey sell any stock at his office nor did she ever see any stock salesmen who went out on the road selling stock, bring any money or stock to Mr. Garvey's department or report the same to Mr. Garvey (folio 3745). The whole subject of the method employed in the handling of money and the record of the same, the system which governed the passing from one department to the other, is covered in folios, in addition to those already quoted (Vol. II, page 1313, folios 3937, 3939, 3943, 4000 and 4001). So that we may make ourselves perfectly clear, stock was sold in three ways— (a) At the office of the company (b) By Mail (c) By stock salesmen and others on the road Therefore, perhaps it would be enlightening to point out the method used in the handling of money under each of these three.

487

THE MARCUS GARVEY AND U N I A PAPERS

The second subdivision, that is, the sale of stock through the mail, we have just discussed above. May we be permitted to point out the method followed with respect to (a) and (c)— STOCK SOLD AT THE O F F I C E

At folio 3650 the witness Ledeatt testified that there were continuous streams of people purchasing stock and the place where they made these purchases was at the office, which was situated on the top floor at 56 West 135th Street, which is the Secretary's office. It was from the office of this Secretary where these stock purchases were made that the daily reports came to the President's office. The President's office however, was on the first floor of the building, entirely separate and apart from the office of the Secretary. There is no evidence that the President (Garvey) was ever in the Secretary's office during any time that the stock selling was going on. The Witness Campbell, at folios 3743 and 3744 testified that the stock was purchased from the stock department on the second floor of the building which was under the control of the Secretary and that she never saw Mr. Garvey sell any stock in his office. Jeremiah Certain, at folios 3889 and 3990, testified that stock was purchased from [E. D.] Smith-Green and [Fred] Powell, and that Smith-Green and Mr. Warner had charge of selling the stocks, and that to the knowledge of the witness, no stock was ever sold in the President's office; that he never saw the President sell any stock, nor the Treasurer; that all the stock was sold in the Secretary's office. The witness [Arden] Bryan at folios 4136 and 4137, a stock salesman, testified that the Secretary had control of the stock sales department, and that large sums of money were taken in for stock, and that he turned over the money to Mr. Smith-Green or Mr. Powell. That all the moneys received for stock sold by him were turned over to these people (folio 4138). No stock was sold in the President's office, and while large numbers of people during that period, called at the offices to purchase stock, none of them came into the President's office. That he traveled with Mr. Garvey and heard Mr. Garvey make speeches at various meetings. Mr. Garvey did not sell stock (folio 4141) nor receive any money. We do not think that it is seriously contended that Garvey actually received any money in the mails or at the office for stock sales. And thus we go to the next subdivision. STOCK SOLD ON THE R O A D

The witness Jenkins testified at folio 4016 that she attended many of the meetings that Mr. Garvey addressed between 1917 and 1919, and never saw him receive any collections or moneys. 488

FEBRUARY 1927

The witness Bryan at folio 4140 testified, that he traveled with Marcus Garvey, as a salesman for the Black Star Line, and as Secretary, and he heard Mr. Garvey address meetings, but he never saw him receive any money at any of the meetings, nor did he ever see him sell any stock, although he was in his company. Henrietta Vinton Davis, at page 1095, Vol. II (folios 328$ to 3287), testified that Mr. Garvey went out in the interests of the Universal Negro Improvement Association and the Black Star Line. That stock was sold at various meetings, but that the Secretary sold the stock and that she never saw Mr. Garvey sell any stock or receive any money at those meetings. He merely addressed the meetings. Enid Lamos accompanied Mr. Garvey on some of his travels and testified that she as Secretary, received money. Mr. Garvey never received any. After she received money she made an account (folio 4955), a proper account of all her receipts and disbursements, and when she returned to New York made a report of the money, accounting for all the moneys received and disbursed, one to the Secretary-General's office and one to the President's office, and one to the Auditor's office, and one copy she kept for herself. Bearing in mind that this was a prosecution and conviction for using the mails to defraud, it would seem that the evidence of the use of the mails in connection with the particular scheme or device involved should be rather clear and convincing. On the question of mailing, the only testimony given supporting the count upon which Garvey was convicted was that by Schuyler Cargill in Volume I beginning at page 683. His testimony at page 697, folios 2090 and 2091 is significant. The sole testimony on what has been described as the "Benny Dancy" count, the one upon which Garvey was convicted, is contained in Vol. II, pages 860 to 86$, and since the testimony is so brief and the sentence of the court upon this testimony and the count involving it so severe, we believe that we are justified in quoting it at length beginning with folio 2579 and ending with folio 2594. BENNY DANCY, called as a witness, having first been duly sworn, in behalf of the Government, testified as follows: Direct-examination by Mr. Mattuck: Q. What is your business? A. What do you mean, my work? Q. Yes. A. Pennsylvania station cleaner. Q. Station cleaner? A. Yes, sir. Q. Pennsylvania station? A. Yes, sir. Q. Was that your business in 1919 and 20? A. It was, yes, sir. Q. Did you buy any stock in the Black Star Line? A. Yes, sir. 489

T H E M A R C U S G A R V E Y A N D U N I A PAPERS

Q. How much? A. 53 shares. Q. Was that all your savings or what? Mr. [Henry Lincoln] Johnson: Objected to, absolutely immaterial if the Court please. The Court: Sustained. Q. Did you get any letters? A. Yes, I got a letter. Q. Did you get a letter from the Post Office Department about it? A. No, sir, I did not. Q. Let me show you—did you give any papers to anybody in the Government service, to a post office man, to an agent? A. Not that I know of. Q. Where did the Government get your papers, if you know? Mr. Johnson: Is this for the purpose of impeaching this witness? Mr. Mattuck: Not impeaching him at all. Mr. Garvey: I object to these leading questions. The Court: That isn't leading. Q. How did the Government get your mail, do you know[?] A. They camc around to my house, where I live in Brooklyn, and they received my mail over there and I give it to them. Q. I am going to show you an envelope, Benny, and ask you whether you recognize it? A. Yes, sir. Q. You do? A. Yes, sir. Q. Do you remember what came in that envelope? A. No, sir I do not. Q. What was it about?' Mr. Johnson: I object. Q. Let me finish my question, if you please, Mr. Johnson; do you know what the contents of that envelope was, what was it about? A. Some of the envelopes are about— The Court: This envelope. Q. I am going to show you the back of it; see if that helps you. Mr. Garvey: I beg to record my objection and exception to the method of examination and his Honor's ruling in the matter. The Court: Proceed. A. I cannot remember what was in the letter. Q. Did you get a number of letters, Dancy? A. Yes, sir. Q. Do you remember whether or not any of them were from the Black Star Line? A. Yes, sir, some was [were] from the Black Star Line and from the Universal Negro Improvement Association, and some were from the Negro Factories Corporation. Q. Now, the letters which you got from the Black Star Line,

490

FEBRUARY 1927

were about what? A. I get so many letters from them I didn't see them all. Mr. Johnson: I object. The objection is you cannot go into the contents of letters. Mr. Mattuck: I offer the envelope in evidence, on the ground it bears on the back of it the stamp "Black Star Line" and it is a reasonable assumption that envelope contained matter from the Black Star Line. Mr. Johnson: Objected to as immaterial and irrelevant. The Court: It may go in. Mr. Garvey: Same objection for Mr. Garvey with an exception. The Court: Yes[.] Received and marked Government's Exhibit 112. Q. Now, Benny, do you know what these letters which came to you from the Black Star Line were about? A. I cannot remember all of them because I never read all the letters I got and some of them were about one thing and another and a lot of them that I got just threw it back. Q. Tell us what these letters were about, Mr. Dancy? A. I couldn't tell you about all of them because I never read them all. Q. Those that you read? A. Well, some of the letters said invest more money in the Black Star Line for the case of purchasing bigger ships and so forth. Q. What else that can you think of? A. There is so much I just can't remember it all anyhow. Q. Give us as much as you can remember; one of the things you said was to buy more ships, bigger ships. Did they say anything about the dividendsf?] Mr. Johnson: I object. The Court: No—exhaust his memory first. Q. Tell us, Dancy, all you can think of. The Court: I did rule on it; I sustain the objection. Q. Cannot you think what you were spending your money for, what they said? A. Yes, they said in some of the letters about investing this money to help me and the rest and make bigger progress. I cannot remember the letters unless I see some of them. Q. Did you read the "Negro World?" A. Sometimes I read some of it. Q. Did you hear any of Mr. Garvey's speeches? A. Yes, sir. by Mr. Garvey. Q. Mr. Dancy, you cannot remember really what you read about the Black Star Line? CROSS E X A M I N A T I O N

491

T H E MARCUS GARVEY AND U N I A PAPERS

M r . Johnson: He said that. M r . Garvey: Please leave me alone. The Court: He has a perfect right to object. Q. Can you remember what you read about the Black Star Line? A. Well, a few things, not all. Q. You wouldn't swear to what you said about the Black Star Line positively? A. What I said about it? Q. Yes, things you said a while ago, you wouldn't swear those were the things you saw or read, you wouldn't swear positively, you cannot remember and therefore you cannot swear positively that the things you said awhile ago are what you read? A. Sure, what I said, that is what I read. Q. You wouldn't swear positively that they were true—yes or no—it is so long a time you could not remember—yes or n o — you would not swear positively—just say yes or no, Mr. Dancy, yes or no? A. What do you mean? Q. That is to say, the things you said, the answers you gave to Mr. Mattuck? A. What answers[?] Q. The answers you gave a while ago[.] A. Tell me what answer it was. Q. That you read in a circular about ships and everything, and so forth. A. Yes, it was in the circular. Q- But you wouldn't swear positively those things were in the circular? A. They were in some letters. Q. Would you swear what letters they were in? A. I don't remember what letters they were in, they were in some Black Star Line, but what letters they were I don't know. Q. You don't know whether they reached you through the mail or not, you just saw things about the Black Star Line[?] A. I saw things about it? Q. Yes. A. I didn't saw things, I saw it in the letter. Q. Can you remember what you saw in the letter positively? A. I just told you I couldn't remember all—do you understand it? Q. I am not vexed with you. A. I am not vexed with you; you raised your voice to me; I raised mine to you. Q. I am not vexed, I just want to hear what you say. A. Take your time. Q. Would you really swear—A. I just told you I couldn't remember all the letter, bring the letter up here. Q. None o f the letters that were shown you were the letters? A. What? Q. The letters that the District Attorney showed you, they weren't the letters? A. They weren't the letters? Q. Yes. A. Yes, they were the letters.

492

FEBRUARY 1927 Q.

A n d y o u don't remember w h a t w a s in them?

can't remember all o f them;

I g o t so m a n y letters I

A.

I

couldn't

remember all the letters. W e feel that on this unsatisfactory testimony, and f r o m a reading between the lines o f the animosity that some o f the witnesses for the G o v e r n m e n t had against G a r v e y , that the sentence o f the court o f five years and a fine o f $ 1 , 0 0 0 . was unusually severe. In view o f the fact that the defendant has served more than one third o f this sentence, and spent over three months in the C i t y Prison at N e w York, and o f the circumstances o f the case, and o f the further fact that thousands upon thousands o f N e g r o peoples in America are anxious to see him released, w e respectfully urge that the Attorney-General o f the United States make a recommendation t o his Excellency, the President, that the sentence o f M a r c u s Garvey, be commuted so as to expire forthwith. A l l o f which is m o s t respectfully submitted. 1 3 ARMIN KOHN o f Counsel KOHN & NAGLER, Attorneys for M a r c u s G a r v e y W N R C , R G 2 0 4 , file 42-793. T D , stamped by Pardon Attorney's Office, 25 February 1927. Asterisk ellipses. 1. Minor discrepancies occur between some of the citations given in this document and those in the official court transcript. Citations that vary from passages in the transcript or that need clarification are annotated below. Asterisks were used as ellipses in the affidavit to indicate abridgement of some of the testimony in the original trial. Folio numbers refer to sections of the court transcript rather than to page numbers. 2. Cockburn's response was, 'Tfes, you told me that you wanted me to see after getting a ship or some ships" (Marcus Garvey v . United States, no. 8317, C t . App. 2d Cir., 2 February 1925, P- 339). 3. The folio numbers in the published transcript are 6637 and 6638. 4. The correct reference is to folio 6391. 5. The reference actually commences at folio 6690. 6. The correct reference is to folios 6683-6686. 7. Government exhibit no. 58 is not included in the published trial transcript. From the context, it appears that the reference actually refers to exhibits no. 57 and no. 59 on pp. 2,5582,563. 8. This reference does not appear on the indicated pages. The correct reference may be to folios 6758-6773, pp. 2,252-2,258. 9. The correct reference is to pp. 1,250-1,253. 10. This information does not appear on p. 2,246. 11. The correct reference is to folio 3664, p . 1,221. 12. The correct reference is to folio 3739. 13. Armin Kohn and Maurice Nagler wrote to President Coolidge and to John Sargent in support of Garvey's 14 January 1927 application for pardon (Kohn and Nagler to Calvin Coolidge, 21 January 1927, Kohn and Nagler to John Sargent, 24 January and 8 February 1927, Sargent to Kohn and Nagler, 12 February 1927, WNRC, R G 204, file 42-793). Sargent passed the materials on to the pardon attorney, James Finch, who wrote to Armin Kohn in a seemingly sympathetic tone. He informed Kohn that he had reviewed the case along with the newly submitted information, "and I think I should say that from the facts thus reported, the situation in the Garvey case does

493

T H E MARCUS GARVEY AND U N I A PAPERS not look so good." He promised to "bring your request for [an] interview to the attention of the Attorney General" (Finch to Kohn, 17 February 1927, W N R C , R G 204, file 42-793). T w o days later he reported success in arranging a meeting for Kohn to discuss the case with the attorney general. The meeting was scheduled for the morning of 25 February 1927. Finch cautioned Kohn that Sargent felt "that in view of the extensive interviews that have heretofore been granted, a prolonged interview will probably not be necessary." He assured Kohn that he would have "ample opportunity to present" what he had to say and advised him to be on time for the appointment (Finch to Kohn, 19 February 1927, W N R C , R G 204, file 42-793).

494

M A R C H 1927

Extract from Memorandum by James Finch ¿c

y/gU^sl

£

—

^¿l^f

J - / . V_ . '

{Source: W N R C , R G 204, file 42-793-)

495

/

y

—

^

^

T H E MARCUS GARVEY AND U N I A PAPERS

Memorandum by James Finch DEPARTMENT OF J U S T I C E , WASHINGTON, D.C.,

March 2, 1927.

M E M O R A N D U M OF N O T E S TAKEN ON B R I E F OF T H E U N I T E D STATES IN T H E C [ I R C U I T ] C[OURT OF] A[PPEALS], SECOND CIRCUIT, IN THE GARVEY CASE

Convicted in connection with the promotion of the BLACK STAR L I N E — bankrupt to extent of three quarters of a million dollars. Garvey had an allied organization known as the Universal Negro Improvement Association, which had received enormous sums of money at the time he was campaigning for the Black Star Line. Funds never accounted for—exact amount unknown—Garvefs wife handled the money. Association's one object payment of sick and death benefits—was continually in arrears in such payments—said to be a total failure so far as benefits were concerned. Garvey also received large sums from other organizations: Negro Factories Corporation, African Redemption Fund, and from various loans. Garvey a menacefrompecuniary point of view—due to mishandling and misappropriation of an amount of money said to be gready in excess of $1,000,000. After conviction Garvey continued along related lines until final determination of his case. Upon release from Tombs, immediately undertook promotion of "Black Cross Navigation Companf' with same end in view as Black Star Line. Collected more than $100,000 and purchased another ship—also involved great loss to investors. Propaganda of vilification against all—white and colored—who took exception to his methods. Threats to both prosecutor and judge and intimidation of witnesses throughout trial. Money contributed for Black Star Line was diverted by Garvey to other purposes, such as—running a restaurant and a newspaper "The Negro World," Garvey editor. Accounting requested—refused by Miss Amy Ashwood, who subsequendy became Garvey's first wife, and who refused examination of her books. Garvey attempted to cover up improper handling of funds by false bills. This relates to his early financing.

496

M A R C H 1927

Black Star Line, Incorporated June 27, 1919. Considerable money subscribed which Garvey used to cover outstanding checks previously issued to pay bills of the restaurant and newspaper. No accounting ever made of that money. From June to September, 1919, many promises had been made about the ships that the stockholders in the Black Star Line were to have and a boat became imperative. "Yarmouth," a cattle boat—not equipped for passenger service—He refused either to get an expert to examine the boat or to take the advice of the colored captain, $165,000 purchase price, September 17, 1919. Stock sales bounded—5,530 shares September—11,000 shares October (1919) due to purchase of "Yarmouth" and advertised sailing October 31, 1919 for West Indies. 4,000 negroes assembled to see vessel start. Boat went only from 135th Street dock to 23rd Street dock. Nevertheless Garvey on November 8, 1919, made a statement describing the successful launching of the first ship of the Black Star Line fleet, the "Frederick Douglas" and promised a second ship to be known as the "Phyllis Wheatley" to operate beginning January 1, 1920, on the African route. Despite financial difficulties, Garvey drew at least two Black Star Line checks for Amy Ashwood, with which she bought a house, at 125 W. 131st St., New York, to which she took title in her own name and collected the rents thereof and sold the property, pocketing the selling price. Garvey married this woman about two months after the property was bought. Nov. 20, 1919. The "Yarmouth" did sail for West Indies carrying a few passengers, mostly salesmen. About 20,000 shares of stock sold in West Indies. Deficit of $65,000 by end of 1919. Garvey concealed this and announced that "splendid success had been achieved" and his report to stockholders Dec. 22, 1919, showed a favorable balance of $27,000. Capital stock increased from $5,000,000 to $10,000,000 in December, 1919, at Garveys suggestion. Financial stringency increased and Garvey actually suggested in 1920, that it be kept from stockholders. "Yarmouth" returned about middle of January, 1920, in poor condition, badly in need of repairs and took a cargo of whiskey. Encountered great hardships and vicissitudes and reached West Indies in February, 1920, remained there until May, 1920. Black Star Line unable to pay for "Yarmouth." In face of this condition Garvey purchased the "Shady Side" for $35,000 in April, 1920. This was an old excursion boat built in 1873. Sole purpose of this purchase was to increase sale of stock. "Shady Side" put to work carrying colored people up the Hudson River—losing money all the time as Garvey knew—did not even pay coal bills.

497

T H E M A R C U S G A R V E Y AND U N I A PAPERS

Shady Side finally put up at Fort Lee in September, 1920, and sank during the winter, operating loss $11,000, paid on purchase $20,000. Stock selling went on merrily—sold over 35,000 shares first four months, 1920. "Yarmouth" returned from West Indies in May, 1920, with cargo of cocoanuts consigned for New York. But Garvey did not permit vessel to go to New York but sent it to Philadelphia to aid in sale of stock—cocoanuts by this time rotting. Garvey then sent boat to Boston to aid in stock selling campaign. Meantime cargo of cocoanuts had rotted. This was the last attempt of the Black Star Line to engage in actual shipping. The "Kenawha" [Kanawha], third and last ship purchased, never attempted to carry on. The "Yarmouth" made a third trip to West Indies in May, 1920, but was finally laid up in the summer of 1920, after it was libelled by creditors and was sold in November, 1921, for $1625. None of these failures nor the dire financial straits of the Black Star Line deterred Garvey from continuing to make promises of an African trip and an African fleet, and he continued to sell stock on those promises. "Kenawha"—Net operating loss $133,000. This boat was bought with no serious intention that she would be used for any other purpose than booming the sale of stock. Boat was afterwards used as Garvey's private yacht. Brief recapitulation: A cattle boat An old excursion boat A dilapidated yacht. All representing an invested capital of $7jo,ooo. The "Phyllis Wheatlef' never got beyond the phantom stage, merely a series of promises to induce stock sales. Continued until Garvey's indictment in 1922. He even promised the "Phyllis Wheatley" to sail in January, 1921, and photographs of the boat actually appeared in the Negro World—but not a single step was ever taken by Garvey to get such a ship, and it was not until after he left for the West Indies in 1921, that frenzied efforts were made by the Vice-President of the Black Star Line to get such a boat. A sum of money made up in large part of money paid for passage to Africa and borrowed money was paid to the Shipping Board, but the Black Star Line was never able to get a single ship. In December, 1920, Garvey announced the "Yarmouth" would sail for Africa and passengers were to be booked, when he knew the vessel had been

498

M A R C H 1927

rejected as being in a sinking condition, and in January, 1921, definitely stated first sailings would be in March, 1921, and monthly thereafter—promising five-hundred /thousand/ to a million negroes would be transported to Africa in 1921. One week later he definitely set the sailing date as March 27, 1921, and then washed his hands of the whole thing by sailing for the West Indies to induce more people to invest in this safe investment and left the litde matter of getting a ship without any money to his subordinates. Passage was sold and freight booked on the "Phyllis Wheatley" and other ships and return passage was sold. An absolute failure carefully hidden at all times from stockholders and subscribers. He promised dividends and that the Black Star Line would place subscribers on the road to success. June 16,1920, he describes Black Star Line as occupying high place in the great business institutions of the day. In summer of 1920, with a deficit of a quarter of a million dollars, he promised dividends by the end of the year and that a ship would be launched every three months. In August, 1920, he described the Black Star Line stock as being such an advantageous investment that only a limited amount of stock was to be had at par. In March, 1921, when "Yarmouth" and "Shady Side" were total losses, he stated that the Black Star Line had $750,000 in property value that could be realized to the last nickel in twenty-four hours with possibilities of 100% dividend.

The foregoing does not purport to be a complete review of the brief for the Government but merely an outline of some of the high spots noted in its perusal.1 Respectfully, JAMES A . F I N C H

Pardon Attorney WNRC, RG 204, file 42-793- TDS, recipient's copy. 1. After Armin Kohn attended the meeting James Finch had arranged with Attorney General John Sargent on 25 February 1927, he asked Finch "to let me have the typewritten copy of the notes we discussed." Finch complied, sending him a copy of these notes on the brief of the United States in the Circuit Court of Appeals to aid him in his preparation of a supplemental memorandum for submission to Sargent (Kohn to Finch, 26 February 1927, and Finch to Kohn, 9 March 1927, W N R C , R G 204, file 42-793).

499

THE MARCUS GARVEY AND U N I A PAPERS

Armin Kohn to John Sargent ?6 WEST 4 4 T H STREET, N E W YORK MARCH SECOND 1927 ATTENTION OF H O N . JAMES A . F I N C H I N RE: 4 2 - 7 9 3 — G A R V E Y

Dear Sir— Enclosed I am handing you supplemental memorandum in the above matter, which I am sending you by your courteous permission. If in your judgment, I have not covered any objections that you may have in mind, I would very much appreciate it if you would point out to me what I have omitted to cover. With assurances of esteem, Very truly yours, ARMIN KOHN

WNRC, RG 204, file 42-793. TLS, recipient's copy. On Kohn & Nagler Law Offices letterhead.

Enclosure: Memorandum by Armin Kohn No. 36 West 44th Street, New York City, [2 March 1927] SUPPLEMENTAL M E M O R A N D U M I N S U P P O R T OF A P P L I C A T I O N FOR PARDON OR COMMUTATION OF SENTENCE OF M A R C U S GARVEY

In the argument made and the memorandum submitted to the AttorneyGeneral on February 25th, 1927, we could not, by reason of the voluminousness of the record, cover every point involved in the trial, nor can we even in a supplemental memorandum, do so. However, there are certain points raised in the brief of the Assistant United States Attorney presented in the United States Circuit Court of Appeals in this case, which we believe should be answered, so that the Attorney-General may be further enlightened as to the defendant's position. On page 2 of the brief, under the tide "Statement of Facts" the Prosecutor states that— Garvey * * * * conceived the idea of starting a Negro Steamship Company to rival the White Star Line. 500

MARCH 1927

We were present throughout this long trial, and we have since carefully read the entire record. At no time during the trial was the claim made nor does it appear any place in the record, that Garvey intended any such thing. This is purely an argumentative allegation by the Prosecutor, and is not supported by the evidence. The Prosecutor agrees with us on the same page, that Garvey knew nothing about shipping, nor did any of those who surrounded him. This argument by the Prosecutor is in direct line with our statement to the AttorneyGeneral that the people at the head of this shipping venture, excepting for the marine advisers[,] were entirely inexperienced in business of this character. On the upper part of page 3 of the Prosecutor's brief, he says— contributions instead of being used in the way represented, were by Garvey's direction diverted to other purposes, such as the running of a restaurant and a newspaper of which Garvey was the editor, known as "The Negro World" and he refers to folio 194 of the record. He omits[,] however, to state in his brief, that the contributions were separately made to the various enterprises controlled by the Universal Negro Improvement Association. All of the money collected by way of donations was not for the purpose of fostering or furthering the steamship enterprise. Some of the contributions were made for the purpose of carrying on the several enterprises operated by the Universal Negro Improvement Association, and the moneys collected for those purposes were used for those purposes, and the moneys collected for the steamship company were used for that company's business. The witness upon whom the Prosecutor relies for his argument, testified (Vol. I, page 64, folios 190-194) exactly in line with the claim made by the defendant upon the trial, and with the claim made by us upon the argument, to-wit, that after the collections of moneys were made, it went ordinarily to the persons that were handling the money of the organization, and at folio 192— Mr. George Tobias, also his Secretary Miss Amy Ashwood. Also to a lady by the name of Miss [May] Clarke (fol. 193) and another gendeman who is supposed to be the Assistant Treasurer with Mr. Tobias. and to the Prosecutor's question at folio 194, the following answer was made— Q. What became of that moneyf,] Mr. Gray [Edgar M. Grey]? (Government witness). A. The money would be turned over to the EXECUTIVE SECRETARY WHOSE NAME WAS COMMBS [Coombs?] 501

AT THAT T I M E A N D

T H E MARCUS GARVEY AND U N I A PAPERS T H E M O N E Y W A S U S U A L L Y U S E D TO B R I N G OUT, HELP B R I N G OUT T H E " N E G R O W O R L D " TO M A I N T A I N T H E RESTAURANT AT IJJTH STREET

NUMBER

$6

AND

LIQUIDATE

DEBTS

THAT

HAD

BEEN

CREATED BY T H E A F R I C A N C O M M U N I T I E S L E A G U E A N D T H E U N I VERSAL N E G R O IMPROVEMENT ASSOCIATION

FOR

PROPOGANDA

PURPOSES * * * * .

It is important to note that the "Negro World" was owned by the African Communities League, a corporation organized for the purpose of operating the "Negro World." It must be borne in mind that at this time, these moneys were not purchases of stock, but represented contribution [s]. See folio 195 where the court asked— I am not clear as to what the witness means. At these meetings was this money for a definite object, and if so, was it solicited as gifts for the Black Star or was it for stock subscriptions or what? The Witness [Edgar M. Grey]—Not stock subscriptions— merely contributions. Mr. Mattuck—That was at a period before the Black Star Line was incorporated? The witness—Merely contributions. On page 3 of his brief, the Prosecutor refers to— a diversion of funds called for an examination and an accounting was requested from Garvey by the District Attorney of New York County (fol. 198). As a matter of fact, folio 198 reads as follows— Q. Can you state to the court and jury the circumstances which led up to the incorporation of the Black Star Line actually? A. About the 20th of May—no, about the 16th of May, 1919, at a meeting which was held, I thinkf,] at Palace Casino, a speech was made by Mr. Garvey. The speech purported to explain his problem in the promulgation and organization of this Black Star Line. During the course of this speech he adverted to an interference as he termed it, that had been made in his business, by an Assistant or Deputy Assistant District Attorney of New York County. Q. What was his name? A. A man by the name of [Edwin P.] Kilroe * * * *. We have not reproduced the complete answer, as the balance of it has nothing whatever to do with the question of the funds.

502

M A R C H 1927

There is nothing whatever in the testimony at this point, nor as a matter of fact, at any other point, indicating that the District Attorney requested an accounting or explanation of diversion of funds, as alleged on page 3 of the Prosecutor's brief. As a matter of fact, Mr. Kilroe, at folio 36$ testified in answer to the following question— Q. Do you remember what transpired at that first meeting with regard to the Black Star Line and its incorporation? A. Yes, I had a conversation with Garvey about whether or not it was incorporated. Q. What did he say? A. He said it was not. Q. And then did you thereafter in the course of your conversation indicate to him the necessity for incorporating? A. Yes, I had a conversation with him in reference to an advertisement I think that appeared in the "New York World" or in the "Negro World". * * * * * *

Q. And what was that conversation further with reference to the incorporation of the Black Star Line? A. Well, I told him that I thought if he was selling stock in a concern that was not incorporated, that I thought it was a misleading representation. Q. That all took place on June 16th? A. To the best of my recollection. and at folio 366— Q. Do you remember anything else that took place at that time, Mr. Kilroe? A. I think we have covered this other question of the collection of the money up to that time and the necessity for incorporating the Black Star Line. On page 5 of the Prosecutor's brief, the statement is made— From June to September of 1919 many promises had been made about the ships that stockholders in the Black Star Line were to have (fol. 233); and so in September, 1919 a boat became quite imperative to show some evidence of good faith. A reference to folio 233 fails to disclose that there is a single word in the testimony at that point indicating that any promises whatsoever had been 503

T H E M A R C U S GARVEY AND U N I A PAPERS

made from June to September, 1919, that the stockholders in the Black Star Line were to have a boat. As a matter of fact, a boat was purchased some time in September, 1919, but it must be remembered that this corporation was organized without funds. It was dependent entirely upon voluntary contributions and subsequently upon the sale of stock in small individual amounts, so that until a sufficient amount had been accumulated by way of contributions or stock sales the company was without sufficient funds to enable it to even pay a deposit upon the purchase of the ship. The purpose of collecting these funds was to ultimately buy a ship, and, at the time of the second or third interview at the County District Attorney's Office in New York County, it appeared that a deposit of $50,000 (Vol I, page 78, folio 234) had been made and the name of the ship upon which this deposit was paid was the "Yarmouth" (folio 235). The Yarmouth, by the way, was the ship purchased upon the advice of Cockburne [Cockburn]. Cockburne, as will be recalled, was supposed to be the experienced marine adviser, and Cockburne was also the man (Government witness) who brazenly admitted upon the witness stand that he had been paid a commission by the sellers of the ship, and that he had concealed this fact from his employers, the Universal Negro Improvement Association, and the Black Star Line, and it was upon his advice, that the Yarmouth was purchased, and the price paid. The argumentative statement on page 6 of the aforesaid brief, to the effect— But the financial difficulties of the company having already started the company couldn't live up to the terms of the contract and a series of new and supplementary contracts as well as charter parties between the owners of the boat and the Black Star Line started on October 20, 1919 (fols. 630, 631). is not a fair synopsis of the testimony. In reading this testimony in these two folios, it is also but fair that the testimony at folios 632 and 633 and down to folio 636, be read in conjunction therewith. Otherwise, the insinuation contained in the argument of the Prosecutor at page 6, as applied merely to the two folios he cites, 630 and 631, perhaps would seem warranted, but when those two folios are read in conjunction with the additional folios just referred to, it would appear that the Black Star Line had paid $92,000.00 on account of the purchase price of the ships, leaving a balance of $78,500.00, and that the arrangement was that the balance be paid in ten installments, $20,000.00 in cash upon the execution of the extension agreement, and $5,650.00 per month thereafter. This it seems, was in the early part of January, 1920. Mr. Garvey later on informed Mr. Healy, the Government witness (folio 633) that the operation of the ship cost more than he thought it would originally; or when he bought the boat, and he inquired whether he could not arrange for a litde "lighter agreement" (folio 634) in reference to the 504

MARCH 1927

payment of the notes. Surely, there is nothing wrong about this. If there is any culpability attached to a man attempting to arrange a modification of an agreement, whereby the amount of installment payments might be reduced or the time extended, then Garvey was culpable. It is too bad that he did not exercise the same discretion at the very outset when he came to negotiate for ships in the first place. Perhaps, had he exercised a little more caution and discretion and wisdom, and not depended upon the advice of others, he would not find himself in his present position. In discussing[,] however, the testimony of this particular witness Healy, an attorney representing the North American Steamship Company, who had a great deal to do with the sale of this ship to the Black Star Line, it is interesting to read his testimony under cross examination at folios 688 and 689 when he was asked— Q. How would you account to the officers of the North American Steamship Company for their portion of this money that you would frame if you could collect it? A. Well I have a little outstanding obligation and the North American Steamship Company has an outstanding obligation against me (the witness) and I think that I could take that as a fee. Q. You think that is a proper thing to do? A. I think Mr. Harris would give me all I can get out of this company of yours as a fee. Q. Is that so? A. I think he would. So that this witness had a particular animos [animus] or motive if it might be called so, in testifying against Garvey. It seems that the Black Star Line was indebted in some sum to the company represented by the witness Healy. Healy had apparently been trying to collect this sum. Had he collected it, according to his testimony, he would have pocketed it as a fee. Having failed to collect it, he thereby lost a fee. He was naturally[,] therefore, not in a very amiable frame of mind so far as the defendant was concerned, and it is fair to assume that he might even have been willing to go out of his way to harm the defendant, which he apparently did. On page 6 of the Prosecutor's brief, he refers to the fact that the boat did not go to the West Indies, but got only as far as 23rd Street (fol. 624). The testimony on this subject is likewise enlightening in Vol. I, page 208, folios 624 and 625, this being the testimony of Healy, the representative of the company that sold the boat to the Black Star Line— Q. Was he [Garvey] down at the dock? A. I understand he was at the dock in a taxicab, at the back of the dock. I did not talk to him. I consented to allow the boat to sail with the proviso that I stay on the boat with my Port Captain. I S05

T H E MARCUS GARVEY AND U N I A PAPERS

stayed on the boat with the Port Captain, Captain Duffy. The boat sailed from the pier and we went down the Hudson River AND I NOTIFIED THE CAPTAIN TO STOP T H E BOAT AT 2 J R D STREET AND REFUSED TO ALLOW IT TO GO ANY FURTHER.

This is the act of Healy, not the act of Garvey, and yet the insinuation in the Prosecutor's brief is that Garvey sent the boat out knowing that it was to stop at 23rd Street, when as a matter of fact, he had nothing whatever to do with stopping the progress of the boat after it left the dock and beyond 23rd Street. Q. Cast anchor at 23rd Street? A. Some place around 23rd Street. Now the next question at folio 625, page 209— Q. That was far as the Yarmouth got that day? A. That was as far as the Yarmouth got that day. I got off the boat in a row boat with Captain Duffy and rowed to the shore, THE NEXT DAY OR A COUPLE OF DAYS AFTERWARDS THE INSURANCE WAS PLACED ON THE BOAT AND T H E BLACK STAR LINE GOT TO SEA AND DID SAIL.

The reason Healy stopped the boat the day before at 23rd Street was because the insurance papers had not yet actually been received. Otherwise the boat would have proceeded on this first trip on that day. As it was, according to Healy's testimony at folio 623, the insurance arrived the next day or a couple of days thereafter, and the boat "got to sea and did sail". This boat, as the evidence clearly showed, was a boat registered under the Canadian Laws, and it was necessary therefore to insure her in Lloyd's Insurance Company, as an American Insurance Company would not place the insurance. On page 7 the Prosecutor says in his b r i e f On or about November 20th the Yarmouth did sail for the West Indies carrying a few passengers, most of whom were stock salesmen (fols. 893-896). Again a reference to the record will be enlightening— Q. And the boat sailed on that day ? A. Yes, sir. Q. Now, on your first trip [as] Captain of the "Yarmouth" you carried what? A.

I CARRIED DOWN A CARGO AND PASSENGERS.

Q.

How many passengers? 506

MARCH 1927 A.

ABOUT F I F T Y .

Q.

W E R E T H E Y A L L PAID PASSENGERS?

A.

NO,

AMONGST THE

PASSENGERS WERE

ONE

OF

THE

V I C E PRESIDENTS OF T H E BLACK STAR L I N E A N D A L S O ONE OF T H E ASSISTANT S E C R E T A R I E S , A T R E A S U R E R ALSO OF T H E BLACK STAR L I N E .

Not a single word here that most of the passengers were stock salesmen as alleged in the middle of page 7 of the Prosecutor's brief. As a matter of fact on the contrary, out of the fifty passengers carried, as stated by the Government witness Cockburne, he distinctly testified that only three of the fifty were nonpaying passengers, and those three were officers of the Black Star Line. There is nothing very unusual about permitting three officers of a steamship corporation to sail on a ship on her maiden trip. As a matter of fact, it is common knowledge that when the big white steamship lines launch their ships groups of officers of the companies travel on the ship on her first official trip, and on many occasions, these officers bring friends as their guests, and without pay. Here[,] however, only three officers of the Black Star Line sailed on this maiden trip, without pay, and this is the testimony by the Government star witness Cockburne. The statement in the brief on page 7— that a continuous stream of stockholders visited the Yarmouth while she was there from the middle of November to the early part of January is likewise an unfair argument, as a reference to Government's Exhibit 134 will show that during the months of November and December, i92o[,] and January, 1921, the stock sales were less per month than in the preceding ten months respectively,' and in the succeeding three months, and the only other two months in which the proportion was about the same as for the months of November and December, i92o[,] and January, 1921, were the months of May and June, 1921. We think that this is an important observation as indicating that the argument of the Prosecutor on his brief was not always sound, and was not in many instances based upon the record. Another erroneous statement on page 7 of the brief is that— while she (Yarmouth) was there from the middle of November to the early part of January, and during that time about 20,000 shares of stock were sold (Exhibit 134). It requires no great argument on our part to show the fallacy of this statement as Vol. IV, page 2648, folio 7943,* will conclusively prove that this statement is not so. 507

THE MARCUS GARVEY AND U N I A PAPERS

A mathematical calculation of the stock sold during these four months shows that 13,481 shares of stock were sold during those particular four months.3 The prosecutor stresses the fact that those shares of stock were sold as a result of the launching of the Yarmouth. Let us therefore see the total amount of stock sold during the four months period preceding November. There was no claim made by the Prosecutor that during this period stock was sold as a result of any represented ownership of the Yarmouth or any other ship. Take the months of July, August, September and October (Vol. IV, page 2648, folio 7943) and we find that 19,942 shares of stock were sold. 4 Likewise take four months after January, 1921, February, March, April and May, and we find that 17,204 shares were sold. So that during the period when the Prosecutor claims stock sales were at their highest, due to the alleged representations concerning the Yarmouth[,] as a matter of fact during that very period the sales were at their lowest, and only 13,481 shares were sold as against 19,942 for the four months preceding, and 17,204 for the four months succeeding. The statement on page 8 of the Prosecutor's brief that a financial stringency existed of which Garvey knew and ACTUALLY SUGGESTED IN 1920 THAT KNOWLEDGE OF IT BE KEPT FROM THE STOCKHOLDERS, is n o t b o r n e

out by the record. The Prosecutor bases his argument upon folios 5876 and 5879, and folios 5871 and 5872. There is nothing in any of these four folios to warrant this assertion in the brief. On the contrary, the witness [Orlando M.] Thompson, who was a co-defendant, testified at folio 5877: Q. Did you ever tell Mr. Garvey about the condition of the company? A. Yes, I did. Q. What did he say? A.

H e s a i d — " 1 AM ALWAY HANDING OUT INFORMATION TO

PEOPLE THAT THEY NEED NOT H A V E . "

In other words, Garvey was giving the people more information about the business affairs of the company than he felt they required. Because in the sale of stock for any corporation, while persons appealed to for stock purchases are perhaps entitled to know something about the affairs of the company upon which they base their decision for ultimate purchase, it certainly will not be claimed that a person offering stock for sale is obliged by law or ethics to tell the proposed subscriber all of the business secrets of the business enterprise. If this were so, it might very well be claimed, in order to make an offer of stock for sale a legitimate one, and to keep it within the bounds of law, it would be necessary or proper to invite the proposed buyer to the office of the business corporation and have him examine the books of account and the inventory, and the merchandise on hand, and the bank account, and what-not. 508

M A R C H 1927

The statement on the lower part of page 8 and the upper part of page 9 of the brief— that the Yarmouth remained at the West Indies until May engaged in no business of any kind other than acting as an inducing cause for stock buying (fol. 923) which was in line with Garvey's intended purpose (fol. 926). is not in line with the testimony as indicated at those folios, and elsewhere. At folio 923 it appears that at the West Indies the ship was required to undergo certain repairs—that took time, and that had nothing to do with selling stock. It appears that the bills for the repairs were O'K'd by the chief engineer, and the witness Cockburne [Cockburn], and that in some instances they were sent to New York, and in others to Jamaica where payments were made. Naturally some stock was being sold, but it does not appear that the purpose of keeping the ship there all this time was for the purpose of selling stock. As a matter of fact they were busy picking up a cargo of cocoanuts (fol. 926) which was consigned to New York. It is fair to assume that the repairing of the ship, arranging to get the cocoanut cargo, and getting things in order for sailing, took some time. Another illustration of the ambiguity of the argument of the Prosecutor and perhaps the double meaning contained in some of the allusions in his brief, is shown in the statement on page 8— that the Yarmouth finally reached the West Indies in February of 1920 and remained there until May of that year * * * *. It is common knowledge that the West Indies are made up of a group of islands. The Prosecutor knew perfectly well that this ship went from place to place during that period, to-wit, Cuba, Jamaica, Hayti, Col6n[, Panama,] and several other places, and these trips from port to port took quite a long time, which, coupled with the time that it took to make the repairs and the time that it took to arrange for and take on the cocoanut cargo, accounts for pretty much the period that the ship spent at the West Indies. The Prosecutor on page 9 of his brief refers to the Shadyside as an excursion boat built in 1873 (fol. 5154) and [states that] Garvey's sole purpose in negotiating for that boat was to use it as a medium to increase the sale of stock (fols. 5151—5153). Any testimony taken in a court of law, whether in a criminal or a civil case, to be binding upon the person charged, must have some semblance of competency, and we respectfully urge on this application, that in considering a great deal of testimony of the Government's witnesses, the Attorney-General take in consideration whether or not the testimony was legally competent as for instance, and referring to the boat Shadyside— 509

T H E MARCUS GARVEY AND U N I A PAPERS

Question by the Prosecutor (Vol. Ill, page 1718, fol. 5154): Q. You [Leon R. Swift] did not hide any facts of the Shadyside from Mr. Garvey? A. Not a bit. A boy at law school for one month knows that this is not a competent question, and a novice out of law school trying this case would have known enough to object to it, but Garvey, being his own lawyer, being untrained and unskilled in the law of evidence, permitted the question to go unchallenged and the answer to remain. We maintain on this application that testimony of this character should not be considered against Garvey as it would not stand in any court in this or any other land. Q. And you told Mr. Garvey the Shadyside was built in 1873, didn't you? A. I think so, yes, sir. The answer, by every known law of evidence, should have been stricken out, and the witness should have been made to answer either "yes" or "no." Is the answer—"I think so" going to be held against Garvey on an application of this character? Q. And that the Shadyside was some forty years old you told Mr. Garvey, didn't you? A. Yes, sir, thoroughly rebuilt at that time. This question was palpably a leading one, and the answer of the witness was suggested by the question itself in the form in which it was put. Nevertheless, much to the disappointment of the Prosecutor the witness added to the words—"Yes sir"—"thoroughly rebuilt at the time." And at page 1719, folio 5155, following the preceding question— Q. A. Q. A. the boat. Q. A.

I beg your pardon? She had just been rebuilt. And you disclosed all those facts to Mr. Garvey? Yes[,] I enumerated all those things that had been put in So you didn't hide anything at all from him? Not a thing.

Clearly a leading question, the answer being contained in the question and the answer is made, to all intents and purposes, not by the witness but by

510

MARCH 1927

the Prosecutor himself. This is the line of testimony urged by the Prosecutor in his brief, which should be held against Garvey. On page 10 of the brief reference is made to the return trip of the "Yarmouth" from the West Indies and the Prosecutor observes that the cargo of cocoanuts consigned on that trip had perished (folios 932—936-937). The only reference to the cargo of cocoanuts made in the testimony of the witness Cockburne is contained, so far as we have been able to find, in folios 939 to 941, and despite the leading questions of the Prosecutor to the witness, the best he was able to get the witness to do for him, his own witness, with respect to the cocoanut cargo, was the following— Q. You still have the cargo of cocoanuts? A. Yes. Q. You were in Boston one day? A. Yes, sir. * * * * *

(folio 940)Q. What was happening to this cargo of cocoanuts all the time[,] Captain? A. Bound to deteriorate, it was a perishable cargo. Q. Was it perishing? A. Why, sure. * * * * *

Q. Was it still perishing or had it already perished? A. Perishing. There is no testimony whatsoever by this witness or any other, so far as we have been able to find, that the cocoanuts had actually perished. It is a matter of common knowledge that cocoanuts start perishing from the time they leave the cocoanut tree. This is likewise true of other fruits, such as bananas, apples, etc. In other words, it is perishing from the time it is removed from the tree or vine, right into the hands of the consumer, but there is no evidence in this case that this cocoanut cargo had actually perished. Such is merely the conclusion of the Prosecutor. On page 12 of the brief, the Prosecutor refers to— a dreadful squandering of stockholders' moneys (fols. 1327-1343). You are respectfully referred to these folios for support of this allegation. You will find upon reference that there is not a single word from folio 1327 to 1343 nor elsewhere in the record, indicating the "dreadful squandering of stockholders' moneys" as mentioned by the Prosecutor. 511

T H E M A R C U S G A R V E Y AND U N I A PAPERS

As a matter of fact, the testimony is that this ship, the "Kenawha" on its trip to the West Indies met with certain mishaps requiring repairs. If the ship had been abandoned, Garvey would have been criticized for his abandonment; because she was not, and because she put in for necessary repairs, he is criticized for doing this. So far as this situation is concerned, he finds himself "between the devil and the deep sea" and to borrow an expression quite recendy in vogue—"He is damned if he does, and he is damned if he doesn't." The subject of the "Phyllis Wheatley" referred to on page 13 of the Prosecutor's brief, we believe we have substantially covered in our original memorandum, pages 13 to 17 inclusive, and in our argument before the Attorney-General. On page 17 of the Prosecutor's brief, he states that Garvey went to the West Indies in February, 1921, and stated— that the Black Star Line had three-quarters of a million in property that could be realized to the last nickel in twenty-four hours with possibilities of 100% dividends (fol. 7127) * * * *. As a matter of fact, the testimony referred to was brought out under cross-examination of Garvey, the defendant, who testified in substance, at folios 7127, 7128, 7129 that the corporation controlled three-quarters of a million dollars not on mere paper but money that could be realized on in twentyfour hours, and he was specifically asked the question by Mr. Mattuck, the Prosecutor, at the lower part of page 2376, fol. 7128 (Vol. IV.)— Q.

Did you say that in substance?

A.

I don't know. I have said many things bearing on that.

Page 2377, folio 7129— Q. Did you say that in substance, Mr. Garvey? A. N O [ , ] 1 D I D N O T . Where is the warrant therefore, for the positive definite statement in the Prosecutor's brief that the testimony was quite the reverse? On page 19 of the brief, the statement is also made that— Garvey had charge of outgoing moneys and did with the moneys as he pleased and his supreme control over finances was never questioned even by the Treasurer * * * * (fol. 6476). At folio 6474, Vol. IV[,] Page 2158, Tobias, the Treasurer, was asked under cross-examination by Mr. Mattuck—

512

MARCH 1927

Q. And your business was to sign checks? A. Yes. Q. Sign checks on orders from the President's Office? A. Yes. *

*

*

*

Q. Whatever they were you signed them? A. Yes. Q. When the President signed any order you never questioned it? A.

SOMETIMES I DID.

Q.

You questioned the President?

A.

SOMETIMES I ASKED WHAT IT WAS FOR.

Q. You asked what it was for? A. Yes. Q. After you found out what they were for, you signed? A. Yes, sir. Q. You signed regularly? A. Yes, sir. Q. Do you know of a single instance where you refused to sign a check? A. I may have refused, I don't remember. This certainly is not testimony to warrant a statement that Garvey paid out moneys as he pleased, or that he had supreme control over finances, and it is not fair for the public Prosecutor to insinuate facts in his brief which are not sustained by the record. This is briefly a synopsis covering possible objections that may be raised as a result of argumentative statements contained in the Prosecutor's brief. However, there is one other point that we think pertinent to this application, which we should like to urge here. The sentence of the court was five years, and the payment of a fine. We understand that the usual commutation for good behavior would reduce this sentence to three years and eight months. We believe that it will be conceded that the purpose of the sentence was to create a deterrent so that the defendant might in the future, by reason of the sentence, be deterred from a repetition of the offense charged. As we urged upon the oral argument before the Attorney-General, we believe that different types of persons require different types of punishment. What will act as a deterrent for one type might not act for the other, and what might be very severe and burdensome punishment for the one type, might on the other hand, not be any punishment whatsoever for the other. Is it not fair to assume that to a man of Garvey's calibre, education and attainments, a punishment of two years and three months which he has now

513

T H E MARCUS GARVEY A N D U N I A PAPERS

undergone, considering the time spent in the Atlanta Penitentiary and in the City Prison, will be just as impressive a deterrent as the additional one year and five months that he is now called upon to serve by reason of his original sentence, or is it to be argued that the additional one year and five months will complete the cure. In other words, what we are trying to urge is that if it was the purpose in imposing a sentence of five years, that Garvey should be punished by actual service of three years and eight months, has not that service been fully accomplished by his actual service of two years and three months[?] Will the deterrent be any greater by the added one year and five months? It is our frank opinion, knowing the man as we do, that it will not. Another point that we desire to urge here, is that assuming for the sake of the argument of this application, that all of the testimony of the Government's witnesses is true, and that Garvey actually committed the crime charged with full knowledge of the wrong he was perpetrating by a misrepresentation of the assets of the company, should the fact that he is guilty as charged be an absolute and complete bar to an application for executive clemency? If the jury had not found him guilty as charged, we would not be here now applying for a pardon or commutation. It is our belief that there are extenuating circumstances in connection with his operation of this business, which should be taken into consideration and which should be the sole outstanding factor in determining this application. These extenuating circumstances, we believe, we have urged in the original memorandum and upon the argument, but advert to them briefly again. They are, that he lacked business experience; that he depended upon the advice and counsel of others, and trusted it. That when he made representations as to the assets of the corporation, being of a certain fixed amount, he honesdy believed that to be the fact because those assets represented the expenditure of sums of money representing what he thought was the value of those assets. Had he had the business experience or acumen of an average business man he would have known that certain allowances should have been made for depreciation in those assets. His failure to do so we do not believe was wilful misrepresentation. It was due to ignorance of business management. Another important circumstance that we think should bear great weight in the consideration of this application, is that Garvey tried his own case and that a great deal of testimony of an incompetent nature was admitted without objection by him, due to his lack of training in law and in the rules of evidence. As we have already urged in this brief, had a novice out of law school represented Garvey upon the trial of this prosecution, we venture to say that the verdict of the jury might have been otherwise. We also respectfully call attention to the fact that nine of the ten jurors interviewed, and who sat during this long and tedious trial, have recommended the pardon or the commutation. They apparently are of the opinion that the defendant has been sufficiently punished. 514

MARCH 1927

We think this should be a very strong factor in his favor on this application.5 All of which is further respectfully submitted. ARMIN KOHN

of Counsel KOHN &

NAGLER

Attorneys for Marcus Garvey W N R C , R G 204, file 42-793. TD, stamped by Pardon Attorney's Office, 3 March 1927. Asterisk ellipses. 1. It is true that the stock sales for the period between November 1920 and January 1921 were well below the levels of the surrounding months; however, the prosecutor's brief clearly refers not to 1920-1921, but to the period between November 1919 and January 1920, one year earlier than that stated by Kohn (memorandum on the brief of the United States in the 2d Cir., Marcus Garvey v. United States, WNRC, RG 204, file 42-793; government exhibit no. 134, Marcus Garvey v. United States, no. 8317, Ct. App., 2d Cir., 2 February 1925). 2. A reference to government exhibit no. 134, entitled "Monthly Summary of Shares of Stock Issued, Cancelled, Transferred and Outstanding" of the Black Star Line (Marcus Garvey v. United Suites, no. 8317, Ct. App., 2d Cir., 2 February 1925). 3. It is unclear to which four months Kohn refers. From the context it appears that the reference is to the three-month period from November 1919 to January 1920, the time of the initial voyage of the S.S. Yarmouth. The figure of 13,481 shares sold is not reflected in the exhibits for the trial. Government exhibit no. 134 indicates that over twice that many shares were sold from November 1919 to January 1920. 4. According to government exhibit no. 134, 18,700 shares were sold and 383 shares canceled from July 1919 through October 1919. 5. Armin Kohn wrote to John Sargent twice more in the following few months to inquire into the status of Garvc/s application (4 May and 2 June 1927, WNRC, RG 204, file 42-793). Finally James Finch replied to Kohn to advise him that he intended "to take this matter up with the Attorney General in the near future" (James Finch to Armin Kohn, 10 June 1927, WNRC, RG 204, file 42-793). Kohn wrote again on 25 July, n October, and 12 November 1927, in the last letter inquiring about a news report that Sargent had been quoted as saying he would not consider Garve/s plea for clemency. Finch wrote back and told him that the news report did not reflect the attitude of his office and cautioned him that "agitation at this time, in my opinion, is not desirable," strongly implying that Kohn would see favorable action taken in the case "in the near future" (Finch to Kohn, 14 November 1927, WNRC, RG 204, file 42-793). Garvey was granted executive clemency four days later.

S. R. Church, Editor, Virginia Union Farmer, to President Calvin Coolidge Lynchburg, VA, March 18, 1927 M y dear Sir: I understand that application has been made to you for the pardon of Marcus Garvey now serving a sentence in the Atlanta penitentiary. From what I have heard, Garvey is doing a very useful work among his own race, and while no doubt he was guilty of a violation of law, I understand, and am credibly informed, that his act was occasioned rather by ignorance than any criminal intent.1

515

T H E MARCUS GARVEY AND U N I A PAPERS

I have no doubt that his application will receive your very careful attention, and I venture to ask that that attention be as favorable as possible. Very sincerely, S. R .

CHURCH

WNRC, RG 204, file 42-793. TLS, recipient's copy. On Virginia Union Farmer letterhead. 1. James Finch replied to Church's letter, informing him that Garvey "was undoubtedly guilty" of mail fraud, and his case "had repeated considerations by this Department, and it is by no means clear that clemency should be extended to the applicant" (Finch to Church, 24 March 1927, W N R C , R G 204, file +2-793).

W. A. Plecker, Registrar of Vital Statistics, Commonwealth of Virginia, to President Calvin Coolidge Bureau of Statistics, State Board of Health, Richmond, Commonwealth of Virginia, March 19, 1927 Sir: I learn that the application of Marcus Garvey for pardon, and release from the Federal Prison at Atlanta, is to be presented to you shortly by the Department of Justice. I am one of a considerable number of white people of Virginia who have given his case thought, and who believe that his violation of the law was an error of judgment rather than deliberate crime. Believing that he has been imprisoned sufficiently long to serve the ends of justice, I plead in his behalf that he may be pardoned, and permitted to continue his work with his race in this country. One of Garvey's chief aims is to inspire his people with the desire to preserve their racial purity, and to teach them abhorrence of mongrelization as it is progressing in the South in spite of restrictions as to intermarriage, and in other sections at a more rapid rate, because of the lack of such restrictions. Trusting that his application may receive your favorable consideration, I have the honor to be Most respectfully yours, W. A. PLECKER

WNRC, RG 204, file 42-793- TLS, recipient's copy.

516

MARCH 1927

Prison Record of Marcus Garvey [Atlanta, Ga., ca. 22 March 1927] DATE 1926 M a y II

VIOLATIONS INSOLENCE.

I told this man not to interfere with the cleaners when I had them on a job. He commenced to argue, I told him to hush. Then he said no man was able to make him hush talking, in a defying way. Even clenched his fist and looked like he was going to strike me. Guard—Bowen. Action: Reprimanded and warned. Note:—As head cl[ea]ner, this prisoner was over anxious about the work. (Signed) Julian A. Schocn' 1927 M a r 22

POSSESSION CONTRABAND FOOD.

The above named prisoner had in his possession, on main mess this PM steak not served on regular mess. Guard—Tinsley. Action: Isolation on restricted diet. In I s o . 3/22/27 10 am. R e l e a s e d ] 3/23/27 3 pm. 2 Days A F R C , AP. Printed form with typed insertions. 1. Julian A. Schoen, of Georgia, was appointed deputy warden of Atlanta Federal Penitentiary 31 January 1925 (Register of the Department of Justice and the Courts of the United States, 51st ed. [Washington, D.C.: GPO, 1926], p . 115).

Albert S. Connelly to Judge Julian W. Mack Washington, D.C., March 22, 1927 My dear Sir: I very respectfully make hereby some comments to your Honor, on the justification^] as it has appeared to me, for the Universal Negro Improvement Association to buy Steamships in the work that they aimed for[,] the so-called Redemption of Africa, that resulted in Marcus Garvey being convicted for the Misuse of the United States Mail and sentenced to serve a period of five years in the United States Penitentiary. For several years before 191J I had given considerable time in making research and inquiry into matters concerning the so-called Race Problem, 517

T H E M A R C U S GARVEY A N D U N I A PAPERS

and some particularly as to conditions of the Republic of Liberia, West Coast, Africa; and when in New York City, in the year 1915, to try and give encouragement to some people who had sent to Liberia a Schooner with Merchandise, for them to work up an interchange of commerce,1 with the view of developing conditions inviting Negro migration from the United States to Liberia[,] I learned that there was a Negro in New York City, who had come from London[,] England[,] where he had been [tr]ying to get support for an Industrial and Training School for Liberia about the time the World War beg[a]n, and as I did not see him then I wrote to him and he came to Washington; then I learned that he had been consulting Engineer, in South Africa, for the Cape to Ca[ir]o Railroad, later Minister of Public Works2 for the Republic of Liberia, with much travel in Europe, that it seemed to qualify him to sp[e]ak as good authority in gene[ra]lities, and some particular as to conditions relating to the Republic of Liberia; so, I assisted him to get up about thirty-five meetings here within a year where he spoke at several of [the] leading churches for the colored people and twice at Howard University;3 but at that time there was comparatively little interest in affairs concerning Liberia and Africa to what there is now; and, from what he said it seemed when the Steamships came for merchandise that they would claim that there was no space for the Natives['] goods who were doing a limited or small business, and this was verified some years later by Mrs. Casely Hayford, 4 of Freetown, Sierra Leone, West Coast, Africa, when she was here making an appeal for money to build an Industrial and Training School for Yo[u]ng Women in Sierra Leone; in fact she made remarks quite reflective on the attitude of Great Britain toward the Native people; that, considering the high official position of her h[u]sband, with his standing as an authority with the British Government, it did seem to me that Mr. Garvey's Black Star Steamship Line would be needed, if he were to make a success of an interchange of commerce with Liberia and transport Negroes there from the United States: howev[e]r, I was aware little or no economic success has been made by American Steamships in the commercial trade, either on the Atlantic or Pacific oceans, and how can we expect it with great variation in the standard o[f] values used in the different Nations, with that of the United States in some cases two or three times higher than that used in countries that do the sea transportation. With my knowledge, by some personal observation, of the resources in the Western part of the United States and in Canada, it has seemed to me that Mr. Garvey, and the Universal Negro Improvement Association were not as much guilty of an offence, by the Advertise[me]nts to se[ll] stock in the Black Star Steamship Line, that should be inquired into, than those who were selling stock in the Chicago and Milwauk[e]e Railroad;5 and, I continue to think this is so at this time, with what I consider was in part justification for them to try and own and operate some steamships. In the year 1906 I went to Atlanta, Georgia, to see Bishop Henry M. Turner, who as I understand had been eighteen years in Missiona[r]y work in Liberia and Africa, as I had seen an article in the Salt Lake City, Utah, 518

M A R C H 1927

Tribune, he advocated for his people, the negroes, to become interested in Liberia, as it was his opinion the solution of the Race Problem was for them to go to Liberia,6 and he made reference to both Lincoln and Grant having been interested in the migration of the negroes to Liberia and Santo Domingo; and from what the Bishop said to me about the wonderful possibilities of Liberia and Africa; and, he stated in substance, that, when his people learned the actual conditions of that country, st[ea]mships could not be got to carry them fast enough that would want to go there, which statement appeared something like a fairy story—almost absurd—to me then, but has become more and more convincing, as time has passed, that the Bishop did /not/ misrepresent the situation to me; for the illustrations by moving pictur[e]s of the landscape scenes in Africa that have been shown here in the last few years, has given to me a comparative idea of the wonderful undeveloped resources of that country, that it did not seem possible for me to grasp to only a very limited extent with the much reading I had done of books, magazines and newspaper articles. Since the year 19151 have made it an object to try and attend many of the meetings held here by the colored race to hear them speak and discuss their problems, and I have heard Marcus Garvey eighteen (18) times, and while I have thought he has said things it might be considered indiscreet, not for the best interest in the cause for which he has appeared to be earnestly working for; but, when I take into consideration the results of the awakening of the colored race to the general situation as it concerns them, particularly as it relates to Africa; in connection with what Thomas Jefferson said about the Race Problem,7 and more particular what President Lincoln proposed after the Civil War,8 looking towards sending all the negroes to Africa, and later what President Grant said in his Message to Congress in 18769 in connection with the proposal to annex Santo Domingo; that, with the World Problems as they have developed before and since the World War, especially as it relates to Africa; it makes it seem to me very questionable whether it might of [have] been possible to make suggestions that would have avoided Mr. Garvey[']s arrest, and at the same time aided in promotion of the work, in part, producing a race consciousnes[s] for the colored people to wish to go to Africa—volunta[ril]y—an ideal human[e] way; but, not all on one ship, or in one year, as many good intentioned persons seem to think is the aim, but, in an evolutionary process, by a Community Settlement in Liberia, or elsewhere, like the Universal Negro Improvement Association proposed in their Agreement with some Government officials of the Republic of Liberia; that was annulled by President King, of Liberia, and I am of the opinion by the misunderstanding of the object and aims of the Universal Negro Improvement Association, in which both France and Great Britain may have used th[e]ir influence with pressure for President King to issue the order not to permit Negro Emigrants from the United States to land in Liberia[.] With my observations by attending many public meetings held here during the past several years at the National Academy of Science,10 The Cosmos Club," at Churches and elsewhere to hear many speakers on various subjects, 519

T H E MARCUS GARVEY AND U N I A PAPERS

with discussions, makes it seem very convincing to me that the Constitution of the United States will be held with much higher reverence in the future than it is now; and, as the Republic of Liberia has a Constitution very much like that of this country, it is in part reason for me to believe we should be naturally interested in the progress of that country, if it is Governed by people of African descent; that, with the question of nothing better in sight to offer than the aims of the Universal Negro Improvement Association to aid in improving conditions in Liberia, by the Community Settlement, that at the same time would, in my opinion, develop into the proper way of solving the so-called Race Problem of this country, which is a matter of serious concern, it seems to me, in connection with Mr. Garvey[']s imprisonment for an alleged offence that may not have been of such a character to justify the sentence given to him by his Honor presiding when the case was on trial. I understand there has been charges made that Mr. Garvey did not pay, for some months, his Income Taxes in the year 1921; and while I do not have information to make comments on the justification of such allegations; however, I did hear Mr. Garvey speak at a meeting here about the difficulty he had in getting to land in the United States, after he had been some months in Central America, and that he had to appeal to the Secretary of State, Mr. Hughes, before he was permitted to land in the United States. As I am informed, the Jurors, who heard the evidence, have signed a recommendation asking the immediate release of Mr. Garvey, and that the Attorney General Mr. Sargent, has approved of his release; and it is hoped that your Honor may feel justified in acting likewise. At the office of the Attorney of Pardons, Department of Justice, some months ago, I was told that Mr. Garvey had conducted himself first class in prison, and they did not know of any other charges /against/ him before that for the Misuse of the United States Mail. For reference, if you desire information about me, I give the names of Congressmen Royal H. Weller, of New York City, who has given attention, that should be appreciated to assist in having Mr. Garvey released; and Mr. Emanuel Celler, of Brooklyn, New York[,] who has taken an active part in trying to have a Racial Commis[s]ion created by introducing a Bill, and making a most comm[e]ndable Statement, in my opinion, before the House Judiciary Committee for the justification of such a commission.'2 Very respectfully submitted,'3 ALBERT S. CONNELLY

WNRC, RG 20+, file +2-793. TL, carbon copy. 1. Development of maritime trade and transatlantic emigration programs between AfroAmericans and West Africans was the dream of many in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The rise of Garveyism lent these ideas new appeal in the period following World War I. Paul Cuffee and Chief Sam were among the many early proponents of shipping connections to Africa and enterprises such as the Liberia Exodus Steamship C o . (supported by Martin Delany), the United States and Congo National Emigration Steamship Co., and the Afro-American Steamship and Mercantile Co. were given backing. In the 1860s Alexander Crummell urged blacks to recognize the existence of their own shipping expertise, writing that "there are scores, if not 520

M A R C H 1927

hundreds of colored men who own schooners . . . pilots and engineers, captains and seamen, who, if once moved with a generous impulse to redeem the land of their fathers, could, in a brief time, form a vast commercial marine . . . whole fleets of vessels, manned and officered by black men from the United States and Liberia, would outrival all the other agencies which are now being used for grasping West African commerce" (Ian Duffield, "Pan-Africanism, Rational and Irrational," Journal of African History 18, no. 4 [1977]: 603). The New York and Liberia Steamship Co. was founded in 1904 by an American, James R. Spurgeon, and a Liberian, A. D. Williams, a former secretary of war and navy of the Republic of Liberia (announcement for the New York and Liberia Steamship Co. signed by A. D. Williams and J. R. Spingeon [Spurgeon], n.d., NN-Sc, JEB). It attracted the support of John E. Bruce, who later became a Garveyite, and its policy of raising money from working-class blacks makes it a precursor of the Black Star Line in style as well as purpose. The Inter-Colonial Steamship and Trading Co. also operated a shipping line out of New York City (Duffield, "Pan-Africanism," pp. 604-605). Bruce corresponded with S. O. Logemoh of Monrovia, Liberia, in connection with shipping coffee and other African products to the United States via the steamship line in 1922. He had been involved in plans for an African Saw Mill and Steamship Co. to operate between Philadelphia and Monrovia in 1920 (Ian Duffield, "Some American Influences on Duse Mohamed Ali," Pan-African Biography, cd. Robert A. Hill [Los Angeles: University of California, Los Angeles, and Crossroads Press/African Studies Association, 1987], p. 34; S. O. Logemoh to John E. Bruce, 5 June, 15 June, 22 June, 24 June 1922, NN-Sc, JEB; Baltimore Afro-American, 11 June 1920). 2. A reference to J. Edmestone Barnes, an American-born civil and metallurgical engineer who was director of public works in Liberia from 1910 to 1912, appointed by President Arthur Barclay. In 1910 he was engaged in supervising the surveying and cutting of a highway from Philadelphia, Liberia, to Bolobo on the Cavalla River, a venture that brought the government's desire to gain access to natural resources into direct conflict with the native population's desire to maintain their way of life and resist forced labor. Barnes and his crew were fired upon by local soldiers while working on the road in the Cavalla woods near Bolobo. When questioned about the incident, Bames stated that "the country will commence to be opened up gradually from this section, and the native population meantime will be taught to appreciate the method of continual labour; and learn too, their first lesson that the mind and hand must work together in concert if practical good is to be achieved" (TheLiving Chronicle [Cape Palmas, Liberia], 26 November, 1910, p. 4). Barnes previously worked in an official capacity on road building projects in Natal, South Africa. During the 1910s he lived in England and traveled to the United States, encouraging investment in Liberia but criticizing political corruption in the republic. Letterhead he used for correspondence in 1916 identified him as president and director of the Society for the Establishment and Maintenance of the Liberian Industrial Training Institution and Schools, with temporary headquarters at the Liberian Legation, 13 Eaton Place, S.W., London (J. Edmestone Barnes to Paul Sleman, 26 January 1916, DLC, American Colonization Society general correspondence files, 1909-1965). Over the years Barnes lobbied the Roosevelt, Taft, and Harding administrations on behalf of the economic development and political independence of Liberia. He was the author of several monographs, including The Signs of the Times: Touching the Final Supremacy of Nations (London: G. F. Brion, 1903), The Economic Value of the Native Races of Africa in Relation to the Development of the Resources of that Continent (London: Watts and Company, 1908), and The Economy of Life: Some Suggestions for World Betterment (Chorley, Lancashire: Universal Publishing Company, 1921). The Economic Value ofthe Native Races of Africa included an introduction by Rev. Charles Garnett, who later introduced Garvey at meetings during the UNIA leader's tour of England in 1928. In The Economy of Life, he argued that Africa (using Egypt as the primary example), had once been a proud civilization, and could be again, given entrance into a world economy (Wilbur J. Carr, director, U.S. Consular Service, to Edwin S. Cunningham, American Consul, Durban, Natal, 25 April 1910, DNA, RG 59, file 800.154/12917/29; J. Edmonstone Barnes to President William Howard Taft, 16 December 1910, DNA, RG 59, file 882.00/426; memorandum by H. Morley, Department of State, 28 October 1919, DNA, RG 59, file 9992.50/-; Barnes to President Warren G. Harding, 19 April 1921, DNA, RG 59, file 763.72119 P 81.170; PRO, CO 879/107, 879/110; Svend E. Holsoe, University of Delaware, to Robert A. Hill, 25 April 1988; Richard T. Gould, Diplomatic Branch, National Archives, to Robert A. Hill, 24 May 1988; Timothy Connelly, National Archives and Records Service, to Robert A. Hill, 8 June 1988). 3. Connelly announced Barnes' upcoming trip to Washington, D.C., and planned lectures on Liberia at Howard University and the African Methodist Episcopal Literary Society in a letter to American diplomat William Phillips in 1915. He informed Phillips that Barnes supported Henry

521

THE MARCUS GARVEY AND U N I A PAPERS Wellington Wack (b. 1869), author of The Story of the Congo Free State (New York and London: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1905), for appointment as Liberian Consul General (Connelly to Phillips, 12 October 1915, D N A , R G 59, file 882.00/501). Barnes delivered a lecture at Howard University in November 1915 as part of his tour to encourage the development of Liberia and to raise funds for an agricultural and industrial school to be founded there ("Dr. Barne's Lecture," Howard University Journal 13, no. 7 [19 November 1925]: 2; Clifford L. Muse, Jr., Moorland-Spingarn Research Center, to Robert A. Hill, 12 May 1988). 4. Adelaide Cascly-Hayford (1868-1960), African activist, educator, and feminist, was lady president of the Freetown, Sierra Leone, UNLA. Of mixed African and English ancestry, she was born in Africa but educated at elite schools in Britain and Germany. She married the Gold Coast nationalist J. E. Casely-Hayford in 1903 and lived in the Gold Coast until her separation from him in 1914. A firm believer in the necessity of alternatives to missionary school education for African women, Casely-Hayford began raising fluids for a school that would combine progressive notions of home economics and technical skills with the bolstering of pride and knowledge of African mores and culture. She began raising money through the auspices of the Freetown U N I A , but soon branched beyond U N I A members for patronage and support (Colonial and Provincial Reporter, 5 June 1920). In the summer of 1920 she traveled to the United States with her niece, Kathleen Easmon (1892-1924), in order to visit schools and raise funds to establish her own vocational school for girls in Sierra Leone ( W , 14 August 1920). The pair spoke at churches and institutions in several cities, including a program following a U N I A division meeting at Trinity Baptist Church in Baltimore in October 1920. In some of her speeches Casely-Hayford endorsed the ideas of a blackowned steamship company and of direct trade between Afro-Americans and West Africans (AW, 13 November 1920). During her two-year lecture tour she was elected vice president of the African division of the International Council of Women of the Darker Races of the World. She returned to West Africa and opened her technical and industrial school for girls in Freetown in October 1923. Casely-Hayford summed up her educational goals when she said: " M y work is to get the women of the country to preserve these customs and all the native beauty of the African race . . . I want them to see that they have a contribution for the world, and to help them keep that contribution, so that civilization will not destroy it" (NW, 28 May 1927; see also Sierra Leone Weekly News, 2 August 1924; Adelaide Casely-Hayford, " A Girls' School in West Africa," Southern Workman 55, no. 20 [October 1926]: 449-456; Rina Oknonkwo, "Adelaide Casely Hayford: Cultural Nationalist and Feminist," Phylon: A Review of Race and Culture 42, no. 1 [March 1981]: 44). 5. The Chicago, Milwaukee, and St. Paul Railroad went into receivership in 1925 due to a series of poor financial decisions. It was the largest corporate bankruptcy in United States history to that date. As this "gilt edge investment stock" became less secure, some of the larger shareholders, among them the Rockefeller and Armor families, quiedy unloaded their stock while the "smaller stockholders tended to remain in the company" (Max Lowenthal, The Investor Pays [New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1933], pp. 4-5). A series of hearings before various congressional committees in 1926 placed the railroad's directors in an unfavorable light. The Chicago, Milwaukee, and St. Paul purchased two smaller lines at highly inflated prices, amid severe financial troubles; some of the directors were affiliated with brokers who received large fees for these purchases, and allegations were widely made that personal gain was a motivating force for the transaction (NTT, 1 April, 8 April, and 10 April 1926; Lowenthal, The Investor Pays, pp . 3-51). 6. At the turn of the century Bishop Henry McNeal Turner (1834-1915) was the most prominent advocate of Afro-American repatriation to Africa and of Amcrican-Liberian trade. H e was one of the backers of the Afro-American Steamship and Mercantile Co. The Salt Lake City Tribune, a Republican paper owned by the Salt Lake Tribune Publishing Co., was published as a biweekly beginning in 1868, and as a daily beginning in 1870 (Ian Duffield, "Pan-Africanism, Rational and Irrational," Journal of African History 18, no. 4 (1977): 603; Edwin S. Redkey, Black Exodus: Black Nationalist and Back-to-AJrica Movements, 1890-1910 [New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1969]; N.W. Ayer and Son's American Newspaper Annual [Philadelphia: N.W. Ayer and Son, 1909], p. 887). 7. Thomas Jefferson endorsed colonization as a necessary consequence of the emancipation of American Blacks. In Notes on Virginia, for example, he praised gestures by the Virginia legislature toward gradual emancipation, adding that the blacks should be "colonized to such place as the circumstances of the time should make proper" (Adrienne Koch and William Peden, The Life and Selected Writings of Thomas Jefferson [New York: Random House, 1944], pp. 255-256). Unless this were done, he added, social convulsions would ensue, continuing until "the extermination of one or the other race." He observed in his autobiography that "nothing is more certainly

522

MARCH 1927 written in the book of fate, than that these people are t o be free, nor is it less certain that the t w o races, equally free, cannot live in the same government. Nature, habit, opinion, have drawn indelible lines of distinction between t h e m " (Fawn Brodie, Thomas Jefferson: An Intimate History [New York: N o r t o n , 1974], p. 441). In his later years, Jefferson supported efforts t o colonize emancipated slaves o n the coast of Africa, writing that this was "the most desirable measure which could be adopted for gradually drawing off this part of our population" (Thomas Jefferson t o John Lynch, 21 January 1811, The Writings of Thomas Jefferson, ed. Paul Leicester F o r d [New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1898], v o l . 5, p . 563). 8. D u r i n g the early years of the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln p r o m o t e d removal of blacks f r o m the United States as a solution to the problem of emancipation. In his second annual message he stated, "I cannot make it better known than it already is that I strongly favor colonization" (The Collected Works of Abraham Lincoln, ed. R o y P. Basler [ N e w Brunswick, N.J.: Rutgers University Press, 1953], v o l . 5, p . 534). Congress appropriated some $600,000 to f u n d voluntary black colonization, and Lincoln immediately began planning various settlements in the Caribbean. I n April 1863 a government-sponsored party of five hundred actually set off for lie & Vache, off the coast of Haiti, but this g r o u p soon returned complaining of p o o r preparations and the choice of a disease-ridden location. Lincoln then abandoned the project; as his private secretary wrote in mid-1864, "the President has sloughed off the idea of colonization" (Mark E. Neely, Jr., The Abraham Lincoln Encyclopedia [New York: McGraw Hill, 1982], pp. 62-63). 9. President Ulysses S. Grant had great interest in annexing Santo D o m i n g o (now the D o m inican Republic) t o the United States. Dominican president Buenaventure Baez proposed annexing his nation t o the United States in payment of debt; and, according t o one historian, "the American navy kept Grant's Dominican allies in power while the annexation negotiations progressed" (William McFecly, Grant: A Biography [New York: N o r t o n , 1981], p . 339). T h e U.S. Senate twice rejected Grant's purchase treaty in the early 1870s. I n lobbying for this measure, Grant argued that acquisition of the island republic would aid the American black population. H e stated in December 1876 that "the emancipated race of t h e South would have f o u n d there a congenial h o m e , where their civil rights would n o t be disputed. . . . Thus in cases of great oppression and cruelty . . . whole communities would have sought refuge in Santo D o m i n g o , " the freedman could then "demand his rights at h o m e o n pain of finding t h e m elsewhere" (McFeely, Grant, p . 444). 10. T h e National Academy of Sciences was founded in 1863; located in Washington, D.C., the organization hosted a variety of lectures o n public and scientific issues during the 1920s ( R e x m o n d C. Cochrane, The 'National Academy of Sciences: The First Hundred Tears [Washington, D . C . : National Academy of Sciences, 1978], p . v). 11. T h e Cosmos Club was an elite Washington, D.C., men's social organization catering t o "persons interested in science and literature" (Thomas Spaulding, The Cosmos Club on Lafayette Square [Menasha, Wise.: George Banta Publishing Co., 1949], p . 3; Cosmos Club, Annual Reports, 1931 [Washington, D.C.: W. F. Roberts, 1932], p . 9). 12. Emanuel Celler (1888-1981) was a Democratic representative f r o m N e w York's Tenth Congressional District (Brooklyn) f r o m 1923 until 1971. Various bills t o create a N e g r o Industrial Commission were proposed by Celler and others. Celler testified before the H o u s e Judiciary Committee o n behalf of one of them, H . R . 5350, o n n February 1926. T h e goal of his bill, he observed, was t o furnish southern blacks with objective information o n conditions in the N o r t h . H e wanted potential migrants t o know that most cities were n o longer appropriate destinations. As he stated, "in N e w York City alone, o u t of every twelve or thirteen people you find a negro; that is a most appalling situation. We have n o t r o o m in N e w York City for all those negroes; at least in N e w York City proper" (minutes of the H o u s e of Representatives Committee o n the Judiciary, n February 1926, D N A , R G 233). Celler expressed the hope that a commission could induce migrants t o avoid the industrial centers and opt for the northern countryside, where they would "find conditions somewhat similar" t o the rural South. N o t h i n g came of Celler's efforts to create a federal commission (Timothy Connelly, National Archives and Records Service, t o R o b e r t A. Hill, 7 January 1986; WWW). 13. Albert S. Connelly wrote similar letters to Maxwell Mattuck, the prosecutor in Garvey's mail fraud trial, and t o Pardon Attorney James Finch. In those letters he supported the development of commerce between African nations and the United States via black steamship lines and argued for Garvey's release based o n the legitimacy of the U N I A leader's desire t o foster such enterprises. Connelly also enclosed transcriptions of articles f r o m the Negro World and L o n d o n , Detroit, and Chicago newspapers that supported Garvey's release and the cause of African redemption (Connelly t o Finch, 29 March and 17 June 1927, Connelly to Mattuck, 5 May 1927, and Mattuck t o Connelly, 9 May 1927, W N R C , R G 204, file 42-793). 523

THE MARCUS GARVEY AND U N I A PAPERS

George Mallison to President Calvin Coolidge Rfoute] 4, Box 112-A, Hampton, Va., March 22,1927 Sir: It is understood that a petition for the pardon of Marcus Garvey, a prisoner confined in the penitentiary at Atlanta, is to be presented to Your Excellency for action in the near future. I am not familiar with the circumstances of his indictment, trial and conviction; but friends of mine, in whose judgment I have great confidence, advise me they have investigated the Garvey case and are convinced that the acts of which he was found guilty resulted from over zealousness or faulty judgment, rather than criminal intent. If this man and his followers are true to the cause to which they openly proclaim themselves to be bound, and it seems these professions should be taken at their face value, then they represent the laudable spectacle of a primitive people struggling for racial integrity and attempting to give some expression to a nascent yearning for national life. The encouragement and fostering of these sentiments, under the direction and supervision of American statesmanship, would avoid the incongruities of crude effort unsupported by enlightened sentiment, and might lead to safety from that dreaded threat of amalgamation and to an eventual solution of the threatening, distracting, and, in many respects, sordid race problem. Believing it possible that the exercise of clemency in this case may not be without beneficial results in the directions indicated, and believing further that it is rather hard, under the circumstances in which we find him amongst us, to hold the Negro to that same degree of responsibility as is imposed in the case of the white man, I hope that Your Excellency may be able to exercise clemency in this case.' Very respectfully, G E O . MALLISON W N R C , R G 20+, file 42-793- T L S , recipient's copy. 1. Finch replied that "Garvey is not being detained in prison because of his doctrine as respects the race question, but for fraudulent use of the mails, of which he was proven guilty. The Department has not yet reached the conclusion that he is a suitable person to be set at liberty" (James Finch to George Mallison, 26 March 1927, W N R C , RG 204, file 42-793).

524

MARCH 1927

Earnest S. Cox to President Calvin Coolidge 901 West Grace St., RICHMOND, VA., March 23, 1927 Sir: Because o f my sympathy for the negro Marcus Garvey, now in a federal prison, I beg to be allowed to join with those w h o express to you a hope that his application for a pardon may meet with your approval. I have taken the time and the pains to obtain a reasonable estimate o f Garve/s ideals and to determine his influence among the common people o f his race. H e teaches his people to value their blood integrity and not seek to mate with the whites. In this matter he stands unique among negro leaders. It seems to me that a logical sequence o f this teaching led, indirectly, to his present unfortunate situation, for a program of race progress based upon the ideal o f race integrity calls up a vision of race independence. His opposition to miscegenation seems to have strengthened his cause among the blacks but to have aroused the enmity of the mulatto leaders o f the race. I have had considerable correspondence with Garvey, sent a personal representative to him in prison, and have received representatives from him on two occasions. I believe him to be sincere and to be laboring to the utmost of his ability for the welfare o f his race. It has been my privil[e]ge to publish a small volume in support o f Garve/s ideal o f race integrity and o f his desire to lessen the negro problem in America by reviving the movement o f American negroes to Liberia. More than 20,000 copies of the work have been ordered by negroes in this and alien countries and numerous expressions o f appreciation cause me to believe that Garvey is held in high esteem by negroes w h o do not wish to solve the negro problem by mixing the blood of the negro with that of the white. Believing that it is a sound public policy to support the good that is in the Garvey movement and reason with his followers over the phases of their program which cause uneasiness or which may be deemed impractical1 I, for one, will be greatly pleased if it be judged that his imprisonment has met the essential requirements o f justice and if executive clemency may, at this time, effect his liberation in terms which will not cause his deportation from our nation. Respt., 2 EARNEST S. COX

WNRC, RG 204, file +2-793. TLS, recipient's copy. 1. Cox maintained a dialogue with UNIA members over the following years. He appeared as a speaker at meetings of the Berkeley, Va., U N I A Division N o . 339 in 1925 and 1931, presenting his views on "the American Negro problem" followed by a response from a U N I A official (Norfolk Journal and Guide, 14 November 1931; NTF, 5 December 1931). 2. Cox's letter was referred to the Justice Department. James Finch acknowledged its receipt, saying "it has been read with interest and will be considered in connection with any action taken" (James Finch to Earnest S. Cox, 2 April 1927, W N R C , R G 204, file 42-793).

525

THE MARCUS GARVEY AND U N I A PAPERS

Enclosure: Statement by Earnest S. Cox Richmond, Va., July 22,1925 NOTE TO APPEAR IN THE FOURTH EDITION OF "WHITE AMERICA"

The amazing success of the great Negro leader, Marcus Garvey, in assembling around him millions of his race by proclaiming the ideal of integrity and independence of the Negro peoples, gives white men cause for serious thought. White men, contemptuous of the self-styled leaders of the Negro race who seek for the race to escape its heredity by inflicting it upon the white race, are arrested by the teachings of Garvey that his race shall stand upon its own feet, fight its own battles, and not feed out of the hand of the white man. The American Negro problem will be solved and there are but two methods by which it may be solved—the separation of the races or the amalgamation of the races. Garvey holds aloft the ideals of Negro integrity and Negro independence. He won the hatred of erstwhile leaders of the Negro and the white allies of these leaders, and is now in the Atlanta penitentiary; charged with making false promises to Negroes in order to secure funds with which to pay for ships to assist in transporting Negroes to Africa. Large numbers of Negroes are reading this book and tens of thousands of them eagerly read the small book, "Let My People Go," which was written for the purpose of securing white sympathy and support for the Garvey movement. To those who so evidently hope for a future for their race I wish to say that the blood stream of other races passing into the white race has always deprived the white race of the limited genius it has shown that it possesses. But nature is no respector of a "color line." If the Negro develops to the point of progressive civilization based upon his own genius there is no reason to believe that the crossing of the Negro with another race may not do for the Negro what it does for the white, destroy the peculiar mental qualities which give eminence to the race. EARNEST S. COX

[P.5.] The book [in the margin: /at our Public Library/], "White America" (Price $2.00), by Earnest S. Cox, and the little book, "Let My People Go" (15 cents per copy, five dozen for $3.00), are issued by the White America Society, Richmond, Va. Write for them. WNRC, RG 204, file 42-793- PD.

526

MARCH 1927

Charles C. Berkeley, President, Newport News Post, Anglo-Saxon Clubs of America, to President Calvin Coolidge NEWPORT NEWS, VA., March 23rd, 1927

I am advised that there is or will shortly be before you a petition for the pardon of Marcus Garvey. While I am not acquainted with the technicalities of the case against him upon which he was convicted, I am aware that there is a very powerful influence in this country being exerted in opposition to the doctrine which Marcus Garvey advocates, to-wit, segregation of whites and blacks, and the migration of the blacks back to Africa. Those who are opposed to the exodus of the blacks, which is the necessary first and important step in the only possible solution of the race question, and the only possible way of maintaining a white race in America, seem to be bent on the amalgamation of the whites and blacks, a program which one can hardly conceive that any white man could commit himself to, or in any wise lend his assistance, except through the grossest ignorance of race conditions in America. Inasmuch as about one-eighth of our present population is either negro or negroid,1 many persons who have given the race question serious thought, have concluded that in not less than from five hundred to a thousand years America will be a degenerate race of octoroons. In addition to the emigration to this country of people from the negroid countries of South America, Portugal, Spain, Italy, Greece and other negroid countries, bordering on and near the Mediterranean and elsewhere, who pass for white here, we already have in America a large population of negroids, sprung from our African slaves, in the short period of three hundred years, who are in many instances accepted as white persons. For instance, I am informed, there are probably 25,000 negroids in Virginia alone, who are regarded by many as whites, and in one county in Virginia probably as much as twenty percent of the population thought by many to be white, is negroid. Fortunately for Virginia, she has a very able, earnest and energetic vital statistician, who has compiled information from which can be identified the negroid strain in most of such people in this State, and it is only in the last fifty years that negroids, have, to any great extent, attempted to pass as white or Indians in Virginia. Other states in the Union are not so well off in this respect, especially the states in which mixed marriages are permitted, which is true of all Northern States east of the Mississippi, with the exception of Indiana, to which states many of our negroes and negroids migrate. Near white negroids, who formerly went from their home counties to others, and there in some instances, passed as white, now go to other states, where they can so pass with greater ease, and in states where mixed marriages are permitted, they have nothing to fear in marrying white persons. 527

T H E MARCUS GARVEY AND U N I A PAPERS

There are even now many instances of cultured negroids in whom the negro strain was not suspected, marrying whites of the upper strata of society. These happenings are by no means confincd amongst the lower classes of whites. However, in our country, many of those who are now of the lower classes of whites, in a generation or two may be of the upper classes. Owing to the above conditions, the infusion of negro blood into the white, is now or shortly will be advancing by geometrical progression, and if these conditions continue, which is most likely, another three hundred years, will be sufficient to make America practicably negroid, and it is not at all unlikely that some of your great grandchildren will be negroids, and owing to the greater animal vitality of the inferior race, some of them may even be yellow or darker. This is the heritage we are now preparing for our posterity. Some think that unless we have complete segregation of the races, which can not be accomplished, without beginning with the removal of the negro, that we will later have either complete amalgamation or a bloody war of extermination of the blacks and negroids by the whites. I think that on account of the subtle and gradual permeation of intermixture of which the people seem wholly ignorant, that the ultimate result will be amalgamation, just as has happened in the history of all other countries where whites and blacks lived. This, of course, only argues that the plan of Marcus Garvey is the correct plan to begin with to save both the whites and blacks, and that the program of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People is such as to hasten the absorption of the negro, and negroid, which is undoubtedly the purpose of that Association, if it is to be presumed that they understand the inevitable result of their efforts to mix the races socially and otherwise. If Marcus Garvey is suffering by reason of his advocacy of segregation, which seems to be the impression of a great many people, it is hoped that he will be released.2 It is a well known though unfortunate fact, that the prejudice of jurors and the atmosphere of a jury trial, have everything to do with whether the verdict is "guilty 3 ' or "not guilty." Respectfully, CHARLES C. BERKELEY

President, Newport News Post Anglo-Saxon Clubs of America WNRC, RG 204, file 42-793- TLS, recipient's copy. 1. According to the U.S. census reports, the total population of the United States in 1920 was 105,710,620. The racial composition of the population was 88.7 percent white, 9.9 percent black, and i-4 percent Native American or Asian-American. The census returns reflected the increase in black migration to northern urban areas, along with a continued high concentration of blacks in the population of the southern states in comparison with northern and western regions. The total black population outside the South was 1,550,900 in 1920, an increase of over 43 percent since 1910, while the black population in the south was 8,912,259, or 26.9 percent of the total southern population (NTB). 2. Berkeley's letter was referred to the Pardon Attorney's Office. James Finch replied to Berkeley much as he had to George Mallison, stating that Garvey was not being detained for

528

MARCH 1927 his political beliefs but because of his conviction of a federal crime, and informing him that the Justice Department had not yet reached a conclusion regarding Garvey's release (Finch to Berkeley, 26 March 1927, W N R C , R G 204, file 42-793).

George N. Wise to President Calvin Coolidge NEWPORT NEWS, VA., March 24th, 1927

Sir: I am advised that you have before you a petition for the pardon of Marcus Garvey who is now in the Atlanta prison. I am advised by friends in whom I have confidence that the matter has been gone into very carefully and that it appears probable that Garvey's excess of enthusiasm was more responsible for the cause which led up to his imprisonment than a criminal intent. In addition to this I am led to believe that there is a disposition on the part of those who differ from Garvey to want to keep him in prison because of their objection to Garvey's views. If I am correctly advised Garvey's position in regard to the negro race is identical with all educators in regard to children— that the primary purpose is to make it possible and to encourage the child to develop the best that's in him. My understanding being that Garvey's wishes for the negro race is for them to develop as negroes and to develop the best that is in them. I believe this is the only hope for the negro race—certainly the only possible hope for them as a race; the only other alternative being the utter obliteration of the negro race by its absorption. If I am correct in the first part of this letter, or in any event, it would seem to me a good cause would be more injured by keeping this man incarcerated than by releasing him, and unless there is good reason to further punish him it would seem highly desirable to release him and let him work along the lines of encouragement to his own race to be worthy of respect, confidence, etc., rather than to try and get it by demands. May I add that I am a son of a confederate soldier and a southerner who has been brought up to believe that the best interests of the white race in the south and the best interests of the colored race in the south could not conflict, that whatever worked out for the good of one of necessity worked out for the good of the other. My people never believed that slavery was defensible on any ground, social, political or otherwise, but they fought with the south. When the negro was freed they were among the first, if indeed not the first, who believed that the negro was entitled to own his home in my county and permitted him to buy land for that purpose. When I add that my Grandfather's diary written for his children noted the death of President Lincoln and added, "I never agreed with Mr. Lincoln politically, but I always admired him as a great and a good man" (at the time this was written he did not know whether his soldier son was dead or alive and he never expected to see him again on account of his own health), you will see the trend of my training. I mention 529

T H E MARCUS GARVEY AND U N I A PAPERS

these things to show you that my training has naturally been such that I ought to be governed by my judgment, good or bad, rather than by prejudice. And I am writing this letter because I feel that all people who are interested in the negro race, or indeed in either race, should at least be willing to express their opinion when matters of this sort arise. Respectfully yours, GEO. N .

WISE

WNRC, RG 204, file 42-793. TLS, recipient's copy. On George N. Wise Law Offices letterhead.

James Finch to W. A. Plecker [ Washington, D.C.,] March 24, 1927 Sir: Your letter of March 19, 1927, to the President, in behalf of Marcus Garvey, has been referred to this Department for acknowledgement and consideration. In reply you are advised that whatever Garvey's aims and aspirations were and are for the colored race, he was convicted of fraudulent use of the mails, of which he was undoubtedly guilty, and many thousands of colored people throughout the United States were defrauded out of small sums aggregating in the whole probably $1,000,000. Owing to his great popularity with the colored race and their unbounded confidence in him and his failure to recognize that he has done anything wrong in the matter, the chances are that if, or when, released he will again exploit these willing victims with the same result, probably, as before. The Department has not, as yet, found any justification for hastening that date. Respectfully, [JAMES F I N C H ]

Pardon Attorney WNRC, RG 204, file 42-793. TL, carbon copy.

530

M A R C H 1927

Negro World Notices

UNIVERSAL LIBERTY UNIVERSITY (Formerly Small wood-Corey Industrial Institute)

CLAREMONT, SURREY COUNTY, YA, U. S. A. Offering courses of study covering a wide range of departments, among which are Collegiate, Academic, Grammar Grade for children of the Practice School, Industrial, Scientific, Agricultural, Business, Domestic Science, Vocal and Instrumental Music, Normal, Bible Training, Physical Culture, Dressmaking, Plain

Sewing.

For details

Typewriting, as to terms,

Stenography opening

and

Bookkeeping

data*, etc., write

to:

Universal Liberty University (Formerly Smallwood-Corey Industrial

Institute)

Claremont, Surrey County, Va., U. S. A.

ATTENTION OF PRESIDENTS ORGANIZE YOUR UNIVERSAL POLITICAL UNION All Divisions and Chapters are hereby instructed to keep their Political Union in active operation and to insist on all members becoming registered at the first opportunity. List oi voters must be forwarded to headquarters. Universal Political Union, Universal Negro Improvement Association. H O N . F R E D A. T O O T E , Acting President General

W. A. W A L L A C E , Secretary General

531

THE MARCUS GARVEY AND U N I A PAPERS

IMPORTANT NOTICE !

142 W. 130th Street NEW YORK CITY Is the NEW ADDRESS of the Parent Body Headquarters

UNIVERSAL NEGRO IMPROVEMENT ASSOCIATION All Communications Must Be Addressed Thereto and NOT to 56 W. 145th Street W. A. WALLACE,

Secrmtary-C eneral

(Source: NW, 26 March 1927.)

Brief by Armin Kohn and Maurice Nagler [New York, ca. 26] March 1927 IN THE M A T T E R OF M A R C U S G a r v e y , F O R A P A R D O N O R C O M M U T A T I O N OF S E N T E N C E A N S W E R A N D STATEMENT O N B E H A L F OF MARCUS GARVEY COVERING ADDITIONAL P O I N T S IN T H E C A S E .

1. Bankruptcy proceedings were never filed against the Black Star Line; it just ceased carrying on. Speakers of rival organizations at public meetings and otherwise, stirred by sentiment against Garvey, who was the president of the Black Star Line, connived with employees of the corporation through rival business concerns and individuals for the purpose of discrediting the leadership of Garvey of the negro race and so as to make his plans for an industrial and political emancipation of the race more difficult, if not impossible. 532

MARCH 1927

2. The Black Star Line was not a private personal organization owned by Garvey. It was a corporation organized under the laws of one of the states [Delaware] and he was elected to office in keeping with the by-laws of the corporation, as all other officers of corporations are elected. This election represented the thought and wish of millions of negroes throughout the world and when they spoke he became the president-general of the Universal Negro Improvement Association which, through its membership, owned the Black Star Line. To accuse Garvey of "having" the corporation is tantamount to accusing the president of the American Federation of Labor of "having" the Federation, or the president of the Grand Central Railroad system as "having" the system. 3. The moneys received by the Universal Negro Improvement Association were not received by Garvey, but by the 1400 individual branches of the association scattered throughout the world, with their individual local officers, the president, secretary, etc.[,] over whom he had no personal control whatsoever. The moneys that were sent by these local organizations to the parent organization by ways of dues, taxes or assessments, in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution, were not received by Garvey but by the proper officers of the organization. These moneys were deposited in the regular bank depository of the association by the chancellor and drawn upon for association purposes, upon the signatures of the president-general, the chancellor and the secretary-general. 4. When the tremendous amount of work accomplished in organizing over 11,000,000 negroes throughout the world, and the immense program of racial development undertaken by the organization is considered, it is not fair to talk about "enormous sums" when the books in the custody of the prosecutor show the exact amount and the period during which such amount came into the possession of the organization. 5. This account, when examined, will show that it does not compare with the sums received by similar organizations for similar purposes, such as the Zionist Movement and the Irish Republic Movement sponsored by white people. Apparently a very important question has been entirely overlooked. No credit whatsoever has been given either to Garvey or to the organization for the large property and assets acquired during the period under discussion. The general liabilities have been loudly proclaimed and discussed but a deep and ominous silence is maintained regarding the assets. This organization owns and controls large properties, as for instance in New York City, about $100,000 in real estate, Philadelphia, $20,000 Pittsburgh $30,000, Detroit $50,000, Chicago $30,000, and so on throughout many cities of the United States, as well as in Cuba, Jamaica, B . W . I . , Panama City, Panama, BocasdelToro [Bocas del Toro], Panama, Pbrt Limon, Costa Rica, Belize, British Honduras, Spanish Honduras, Guatemala, other Central-American countries, South America, the West Indies and Africa.

533

T H E M A R C U S G A R V E Y AND U N I A PAPERS

6. It is not true that the funds were never accounted for. As a matter of fact the record will disclose that the prosecutor had in his possession for a considerable time prior to the trial the account books of both the Universal Negro Improvement Association and of the Black Star Line. The government's accountants struck balances and testified to the accounts. The very fact that they were enabled to strike balances and give testimony is the clearest and strongest proof that accounts were kept. These accounts as kept by the organization were certified from time to time by accountants employed by Garvey or other officers and made [into] reports. These insinuations and innuendoes to the effect that no accounts were properly kept are not just and are not fair, particularly so if they are to be even considered on an application of this character. 7. Garvey's wife never at any time handled the fluids of the Black Star Line. He had no wife at the period mentioned. He married Amy Ashwood (to whom he was engaged in Jamaica, West Indies, in 1914), on December 25, 1919, and she at no time from that date on had any connection with the Black Star Line. He separated from his first wife in February, 1920, and married his second wife, Amy Jacques, in July, 1922, which was five months after he was indicted. 8. Both Amy Jacques and Amy Ashwood before Garvey married them were employed with the Universal Negro Improvement Association, like thousands of others, and we maintain that he had as much right to marry either or both of these women and divorce either or both of them if warranted as would any other man. 9. The association has a number of objects. Its constitution provides the objects, among others, as follows: to establish a universal confraternity among the race; to administer to and assist the needy; to assist in civilizing the backward tribes of Africa; to assist in the development of independent negro nations and communities; to establish a central nation for the race; to establish commissaries or agencies in the principal countries and cities of the world for the representation of all negroes; to promote a conscientious spiritual worship among the native tribes of Africa; to establish universities, colleges, academies and schools for the education and culture of the people; and to work for better conditions among the negroes everywhere. 10. Surely these are worthy objects and deserve the cooperation and aid of an enlightened white race. Some of these objects have been carried out; some have been partly carried out according to the financial ability of the association. Any student of economics and sociology would know that the full carrying out or the full maturity of these objects in a decade or in several decades could not be accomplished in the short time in which this organization was in existence by the expenditure of a sum of money approximating $500,000. At the time the association was started and Garvey became the leader, it had but a handfull of members. It has grown so that its membership is in the millions and its assets in the many many thousands. The various branches throughout the world have

534

MARCH 1927

buried thousands of its deceased members and cared for the sick and generally helped the membership in times of distress. There is no question but that in the colored race it has been an instrument for good and the statement that it has not paid any benefits is without foundation and is not a fact. 11. The charges made by the prosecutor in his brief were never voiced by the membership of either the Black Star Line or of the Universal Negro Improvement Association. These charges were inspired by enemies of Garvey's and by rivals in business enterprises. The members themselves always expressed approval of Garvey's management of the association's affairs and down to this very day continue to do so. The members of the organization over which Garvey presided supplied the moneys for what they wanted. These moneys were not supplied by the enemies of the organization, nor by Garvey's enemies. Most of the persons who have been most active in seeing Garvey incarcerated never were members of the organization and never invested any moneys in it. 12. It has been charged that Garvey has villified certain persons. Is it a crime under our jurisprudence to refuse to "turn the other cheek"? The very persons who complained of Garvey's criticism of them are the most vehement and vociferous in their villification of Garvey. 13. A statement was made by Richard Warner to the effect that the Black Star Line's money was used for restaurants and for maintaining the "Negro World." This statement is false and untrue as will be indicated by the record on appeal and by the exhibits attached to the record. Attention is called to one of the statements of Warner to the effect that "he would say anything the District Attorney told him to." Warner was a disgruntled employee, having been dismissed from the organization by Garvey for dishonesty. Thereafter, we are informed, he was employed by the Government as a prohibition officer, and we are likewise informed that he now stands indicted in the County of New York, by the very Government that employed him, for fraud in collecting moneys from violators of the Prohibition Law. Edgar Gray, who was also dismissed from the employ of the organization, with his friend Warner, is also a disgruntled and dissatisfied ex-employee. 1+. It is important to note that the conviction was on one count of the second indictment which was for the alleged mailing through some unidentified agent of an empty envelope to one Benny Dancy, who testified that the Government came after him to get his mail. The prosecution was no voluntary act on the part of Dancy. On this very point, the fact that an empty envelope was produced with no evidence whatsoever to show that it ever contained anything or if it did the nature of the contents, this application should be granted. IJ . On the question of the "ss YARMOUTH," this boat sailed out of New York harbor with proper certificates for seaworthiness as a passenger carrier. These certificates are issued by the United States Marine Service. It makes no difference what the ship was before. The fact is that she was properly converted

535

THE MARCUS GARVEY AND U N I A PAPERS

and altered and reconstructed so as to pass the necessary tests prescribed by a department of the United States Government, and this department of the United States Government issued a certificate of seaworthiness. 16. The "Frederick Douglas" referred to was the re-christened "Yarmouth." From a reading of the prosecutor's brief it might appear that "Yarmouth" and "Frederick Douglas" were two different and distinct ships. This is not a fact. The "Yarmouth" and the "Frederick Douglas" were one and the same ship and this ship was launched under the flag of the Black Star Line. 17. With reference to the loan of $500 made to Amy Ashwood, the testimony will show that this was not a loan made personally by Garvey. At the time, she was a director of the company and it was agreed to make her a loan of $joo on a piece of property on which she claimed to have a lien and which she was later on to sell to the Black Star Line. Laterf,] she did not carry out her agreement to refund the $500. In December, 1919, Garvey married this same Amy Ashwood. Later, when he found out that she had not carried out the terms of her agreement with regard to the loan of $500, and when he also found out her unreliability, he separated from her in February, 1920. In other words, he remained married to her and living with her from December, 1919, to February, 1920. Garvey never had any interest in the property claimed to have been owned by Amy Ashwood, and there is not a word in the evidence to indicate that he ever benefitted directly or indirectly from this $500 loan. 18. The prosecutor insinuates in his brief that the increase in the capital stock of the corporation was at Garvey's suggestion. As a matter of fact, this increase was made as a result of a recommendation by Edward Smith Green who was the secretary at the time, and it was passed upon by the board of directors. 19. It is unfair and untrue that Garvey kept the failure of the affairs of the organization from the people. The people, represented by Garvey, were at all times informed of the state of the corporation so as to carry out the program outlined. The Black Star Line as an idea was realized in the acquisition and the sailing of ships. This was no representation. This was a singular advance for any people just about 60 years out of slavery and the thing would have progressed and would have succeeded had Garvey not been surrounded by disloyal colored persons whose sole interest was to steal and plunder on the one hand and pretend on the other that they were loyal friends of the movement. The promises he made to the members of the organization he made upon what he considered to be reasonable belief that the venture would prove a tremendous success. All of which is respectfully submitted. KOHN & NAGLER

Attorneys for Marcus Garvey W N R C , R G 2 0 4 ,FILE42-793- T D .

536

MARCH 1927

Speech by Fred A. Toote [[Liberty Hall, NEW YORK, March 27, 1927]] H O N . F R E D A . TOOTE'S ADDRESS

Hon. Fred A. Toote, acting President-General, next spoke. He said: "I desire to speak to you for a few moments on the subject: 'Inanimate Things That Inspire Nations and Peoples.' Why have I chosen to speak to you on this subject[?] It is because very, very serious situation confronts this organization. We are today face to face with an attack which, if we are unable to ward off, will mean the destruction of that thing that has inspired the millions in our organization. "If we would look back upon history we would find that the first thing that history records that gave inspiration to a people was the altar. There Cain and his brother carried their sacrifices and laid them down because of the inspiration that they gained through that inanimate altar that they believed in their minds God had set up to inspire them. We go further down into the history of the Jews and we find that after Moses had gotten them together and was about to enter into the Promised Land he erected an ark, the Ark of the Covenant, and that ark was to be an inspiration to guide his people on. Whenever that ark moved they were to move with it. That ark bespoke that Jehovah, their God, was with them. E M B L E M OF C H R I S T I A N R E L I G I O N

"And so, my friends, we find in the Christian religions today that the one thing, the inanimate thing that inspires Christians more than anything else, is just two pieces of wood, a cross, and every Christian man and woman looks to that cross as an emblem, an inspiration to goad them on in their work in the Christian religion. "If we would take the history of nations and we would look first of all at the British empire, we would find that in that great empire there are many inanimate things, things that inspire the Britisher to do and to dare. We would find him inspired by his Westminster Abbey, inspired by his St. Paul's Cathedral, inspired by his Buckingham Palace—yes, inspired by his Runnymede, by his Trafalgar Square. These things have no life, but yet they have an historical background that whenever the white Englishman looks upon them he looks upon them with pride, with honor and with devotion, and he is ready to give his life for the sacred ideals that are incarcerated in those inanimate things. INDEPENDENCE HALL, PHILADELPHIA

'Take the great American Republic. We find that the building that Americans revere most today is not the Woolworth building with its towering 537

T H E MARCUS GARVEY AND U N I A PAPERS

structure. They might take you to Washington and show you the capitol of the nation; they might show you the White House; they might take you to Richmond and show you the White House of the Confederacy; but they would tell you that it is not those things that give them inspiration. If they were going to point you to the things that give the greatest inspiration, the things that make their pulses beat fast, the things that move them to great endeavor, they would take you to Philadelphia, to Chestnut Street, to a little low building, a little brick building that they call Independence Hall. In that building the Declaration of Independence of the American colonies was signed, and they would take you there and tell you that that building is a source of wondrous inspiration to the American nation. If you were in France they would tell you of the Bastille. And every race and every nation has its inanimate things that inspire them to victory and to glory. FLAGS

"You find that the Britisher has the Union Jack. That old piece of bunting has no life in it; you can burn it up like any other piece of cloth, but, my friends, it represents the ideals of a people. It is the same way with the Tricolor of France. If you will take the American flag, it is the same. But, my friends, it moves Americans to action and sacrifice and great endeavor when it reminds them of the many sacrifices and suffering they made and passed through to bring it where it is. Insult that flag and millions would be ready to shed the last drop of their blood in its defense. The same with their national anthem. Each nation has its national anthem. These anthems inspire them on to do great things. Though it does not live, though it cannot speak, yet it is an influence permeating their lives, making them feel that they are doing God's work, they are doing their nation's duty. "And, my friends, as we march on in this organization through the difficulties that we encounter on every side, I wonder how many of you realize that you as a race, scattered the world over, cannot look to any place or anywhere where there is anything erected that will inspire your race to do and dare. It is a shame, it is a terrible disgrace, that as we stand today we have no place to point to with pride. "When the Jews were preparing to go into the Promised Land, Moses erected some stones. What was the significance of those stones? He said: The time shall come when your children shall ask you and you shall tell them what the Lord, your God, did for you." No

MONUMENTS

"When we look back upon the sacrifices that Negroes have made on Flanders field, in Mesopotamia, and all over the world, we have no monuments, we have no buildings, we have nothing to inspire the millions of black people who are going to come to higher ideals. And the time has come when we

538

M A R C H 1927

must—duty demands and posterity charges us with the responsibility—erect a monument that future generations may follow in our footsteps. "What does all this mean? It means this, that the only building that Negroes have erected, the building in which our Bill of Rights was framed, the enemies o f the race are now concentrating to destroy. If the American people knew that an enemy government was coming here to g o to Philadelphia to destroy Independence Hall and take out that piece of brass they have in there—the Liberty Bell, they call it—you know what would happen. And you and I and the whole organization must now get busy, and I am sending the warning out tonight that the enemy are determined, no matter what we may do, to wrest Liberty Hall from us. This hall belongs to the Negro peoples of the world. It is from this building that the messages were sent forth which inspired millions to Negro nationhood, and for this Liberty Hall to go into the hands of the enemy would be a real catastrophe for the organization we love. "Some o f you may tell me of the sacrifices you have made. True. But if I look at the sacrifices that other races and nations have made I would say that you have not made any, though I appreciate your every effort. ALL MUST COME TOGETHER

"And so we are calling upon the whole organization to vow that come what may Liberty Hall, the shrine of Negro liberty, the rostrum from which the H o n . Marcus Garvey sent his clarion cry around the world bringing Negroes everywhere to know themselves and to come together, in one great organization for the redemption o f their motherland, shall not be desecrated by the tread o f the enemy, but shall remain inviolate, a monument and an inspiration to Negroes. This spot is a hallowed spot. This is the birthplace of Negro nationhood. And I am appealing to you, my friends, to organize your manhood and womanhood. Let us save our Liberty Hall. It can be done and it must be done. "They think that by destroying Liberty Hall they will destroy the ideals of this race o f ours, but they are mistaken. Even though Independence Hall in Philadelphia were demolished by the enemy, the great American Republic would survive. And so the great Universal Negro Improvement Association would live were Liberty Hall in the hands o f the enemy. But even as every last American would shed his blood freely to preserve Independence Hall inviolate by reason o f the great ideals bound up in it, so must the Negroes of the world see to it that this sacred building stands to continue to be an inspiration to millions of Negroes the world over. Printed in NW, 2 April 1927. 1. Tootc seems to be conflating two biblical references in this allusion, but both deal with the great importance o f material items as symbols of liberty. The first is Exod. 13:8. In that passage, Moses told the Jews who had fled Egypt to eat only unleavened bread, in remembrance for all

539

T H E MARCUS GARVF.Y AND U N I A PAPERS future generations o f their deliverance from bondage: "And you shall tell your son in that day, saying, T h i s is done because o f what the Lord did for me when I came up from Egypt.'" Toote's reference is also an allusion to Josh. 4:2-9. It was Joshua, not Moses, w h o led the Jews into the promised land. When they crossed over the Jordan River, Joshua had one man from each o f the twelve tribes o f Israel take stones with them on the crossing to build a monument, decreeing that "this may be a sign among you when your children ask in time to come, saying 'What d o these stones mean to you?'" and that they would answer "these stones shall be for a memorial to the children o f Israel forever."

E. B. Knox1 to Sen. Charles Deneen2 5007 South State Street, CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, M a r . 28, 1927

Hon. Sir— I have been urged by thousands of members of the Universal Negro Improvement Association in my districft], which comprises Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin, and by many prominent white friends, all of whom have great faith in your high sense of justice and fair play, to submit for your consideration, the following salient reasons why Marcus Garvey, now incarcerated in the Federal Prison at Adanta, for using the mails in a "scheme to defraud," merits the consideration of the Department of Justice, and of His Excellency President Calvin Coolidge. Marcus Garvey is the founder and President General of the U.N.I.A., which is conceded by every thinking person, whether it be member or nonmember, friend or foe, to be a laudable organization, and the only feasible solution for the lamentable, long standing race problem. Garvey has dedicated his life to the service o f this organization. His thorough knowledge, born of extensive travel and study, and his manifest sincerity of purpose is not questioned, and has attracted millions of conscientious followers into the U.N.I.A. Permit me to call to your attention, however, the fact, as it is the basis of the case against Garvey, that this immense following created a rivalry for leadership, very narrow in scope and selfish in purpose, on the part of a few Negroes who at first, did not understand or agree with Garvey's doctrine, consisting principally of the following groups: 1. Some politicians, who sell Negro votes at election time, 2. Some preachers, who are fearful of losing their good members' collections, and 3. Some mullatoes, who think that all Negroes should be "light colored" like themselves, and advocates of miscegenation. You probably are aware of the fact that this ill notioned element, has for a long time constituted the directing force in all efforts of civic improvement 540

M A R C H 1927

among Negroes. And as you may also know, the doctrine they have advocated, has [b]een the doctrine of "social equality" between Negroes and white people, and miscegenation. This, however, is both erroneous and vicious, and tends to intensify race friction, and even encourage it. Hence, they are advocating social equality, and miscegenation, [defeating their own purpose. The average right thinking white person, true enough, believes that the Negro should develop himself in a cultural and political way, but they are avowedly opposed to going about it by practicing social equality and miscegenation, as is advocated by the above mentioned type of Negro leaders. Marcus Garvey, on the other hand, emphatically denounces social equality etc., and advocates race purity and race pride, among all races. To achieve these ends among his own race, he organized the Universal Negro Improvement Association. The sole aim and object of the organization, notwithstanding reports to the contrary born of selfish motives, its to promote these principles by advocation [advocating] a home land in Africa for the Negroes. And [this] is very similar to the Palestine movement advocated by the Jews. The only distinction being that the Jews do not suffer as gready from internal rivalry, Poverty, and ignorance, nor on account of their racial identity, as do the Negroes. The Negro has instinctive ambitions, and should have an opportunity to attain them without restraint and untrammeled, in a country of his own, and not in competition with a powerful majority race. Marcus Garvey has never advocated wholesale migration of Negroes from America to Africa, though this idea has been well impressed upon many well thinking white people, by the afore mentioned type of Negro leaders, in order to strengthen their opposition against Garvey and his organization. However, Garvey is not advocating wholesale migration of Negroes to Africa, any more than the Jews are advocating wholesale migration of the Jews to Palestine. The U.N.I.A. has done much to combat ignorance and criminality among the race; though we members of the organization are not any more inclined to such traits than the Negroes of other organizations. Garvey, in the early days of the organization, made many propaganda remarks that were, as all sensible organizers know, merely intended to attract the attention of his extremely apathetic people, whom he knew could not have been as successfully organized otherwise. This thought might be further clarified, by refering to some of our world war propaganda: About the time I went into the army, there was much being said by many leading patriotic citizens, even by those high up in public office, which did not in tone, anticipate terms. But the propaganda was designed to inspire me and my "buddies" to defend in ad[versity?} the golden rule policies of our country, in the pursuits of peace; but peace propaganda is not as exciting as war propaganda. I have endeavored to explain the misconception as to the U.N.I.A. in its early days, when we were sometimes called "reds" etc. Some of the ablest leaders and educators of the race, now, such as Dr. Johnson, 3 president of Howard University, and dean Kelly Miller, are now

541

T H E MARCUS GARVEY AND U N I A PAPERS

converted to the endorsement of the principles and policies of the Universal Negro Improvement Association. The Universal Negro Improvement Association was designed to allow the Negro opportunity to develop himself in every line of civic and industrial activity, through its various auxiliaries, such as[:] The Negro Factories Corporation, The Black Star Line Inc., and, The African Redemption Fund. These were merely auxiliaries constituting the Universal Negro Improvement Association, but the trial records show that the prosecuting attorney tried to make it appear that the Black Star Line was the main organization; The other auxiliaries as separate and distinct organizations, and the U.N.I.A. as an adjunct to them all. All designed however, to afford Garvey an opportunity to operate a "scheme to defraud" notwithstanding there was not a single indication of Garvey having appropriated a penny to his personal use. The evidence was conclusive on this point, but it was not given credence, on account of reasons refered to in succeeding paragraphs. Very li[m]ited business experience generally, renders the Negro extremely liable to business failures. This contingency was only natural in the case of the U.N.I.A. and its auxiliaries—the Black Star Line etc. But the diversion of funds raised for one auxiliary to the use of another, in order to avert a financial crisis in the organization proper, does not indicate deliberate criminal intent, which is the essence of crime. I have the honor to submit for your consideration, the following reasons, which, in our opinion, warrant executive clemency in behalf of Marcus Garvey: 1. The application made by Mr. Garvey in the first instance, was disapproven [disproven], only on the grounds that it had been made prematurely. 2. By now he has served approximately one half of his five year sentence, lacking only one month, which is in excess of the parole period. 3. Accompanying his application for pardon, is a petition in his b e h a l f , s i g n e d b y N I N E OF T H E JURORS W H O PASSED ON H I S CASE,

(all others but one not being found). And also a petition in his behalf, signed by 2,000,000 people, both white and black, coming from every walk of life, from members of the United States Senate and House of Representatives to the humblest backwoods Negro farmer. This discounts the theory that we who request the release of Garvey, know not what we are doing, or that his release would be helpful to society, as surely this mass of people are the best possible judges on this point.

542

MARCH 1927

4. Garvey did not benefit personally, one cent, through the alleged "scheme to defraud." All funds collected, were appropriated to the use of the U.N.I.A., though it was at times, diverted from the use of the auxiliary for which collected to the use of another. 5. Garvey, neither his wife, [Neither Garvey nor his wifeP] handled the money collected. The records are conclusive on this point. And the secretary's books were always available to the proper persons, for inspection. 6. In the government's investigation to determine Garve/s wealth, as a result of the alleged embezzlement, or "scheme to defraud" it was found that he was comparatively penniless, save a couple of hundred dollars. 7. Garvey tried his own case, which is a hazardous undertaking at the best. It is agreed in all quarters, that this alone, is the cause of his conviction. Being unfamiliar with American Law and Practice, and being of an unusually sensitive nature, he throughout the trial, failed to give credence, or proper answer, to many details of the alleged offense, as appears in the records of the trial. 8. The three other defendants indicted with Garvey on the 13 counts, being represented by counsel, were acquitted, while Garvey representing himself, was convicted on, ONLY ONE COUNT. 9. The offense of misrepresentation, is based primarily, upon statements printed in various issues of the "Negro World" newspaper, and a certain envelope, which was not properly identified and empty, which had been sent through the mails, which in it self was not preponderant evidence of the alleged crime, BUT COMBINED WITH INCIDENTS W[H]LCH TOOK PLACE IN THE COURT ROOM DURING THE TRIAL, it was sufficient for securing conviction under these peculiar circumstances. And too, Garvey a mere layman, in combat with a trained prosecuting attorney.

10. All of the Government's chief witnesses, were disgruntled former officers of the organization, and they had instituted this action, as a matter of revenge against Garvey, the head of the organization[,] with the inevitable anticipation of handicapping the organization as a whole. But even a novice lawyer could have won this case for Garvey. 11. The Government's star witness, Captain Cockburn, who had been discharged because of his irregular conduct, had been hired by the organization, because of his supposed marine experience, and upon him, Garvey chiefly relied in making purchases and managing the affairs of the corporation. On the witness stand, Cockburn, for the Government, accused Garvey of making unwise purchases, although it was the same transaction that had been specifically 543

T H E MARCUS GARVEY AND U N I A PAPERS

advised by Cockburn's own testimony, that he received money from the salesman who sold the "Yarmouth" to the organization. And that is why he advised the purchase. 12. Cockbum jettisoned a heavy cargo, for no other reason, than that he was drunk, and happened to be the captain [of a] ship at sea. His irregular habitfs], generally, for which he was discharged, precipitated the crisis of the Black Star Line. But, unfortunately, under the circumstances, he could not be so held, and the responsibility was shifted to Garvey. But the fact remains, that if there is any one person responsible for the failure of the Black Star Line, it is Captain Cockbum. 13. The failure of the Black Star Line Inc., out of which the "alleged scheme to defraud" grew, was not so much due [to] the diversion of its funds to some other auxiliary of the U.N.I.A., as it was to circumstances over which Garvey had no control. Such as a sudden slump in the shipping industry in 1921-22; the manifest inability of Negroes generally, in this field of industry, and the cupidity [of] shipping sharks in dealing with a "green["] concern, all of which, Garvey did not, and could not foresee. 14. The American Shipping Board has lost hundreds of millions of dollars in the operation of its ships; Jewish shipping lines have lost a couple of millions, and the Polish shipping has failed completely, therefore, it should not be surprising or unusual for the Black Star Line to fail. So why punish Garvey? 15. After it became evident that the Black Star Line was failing, Garvey being a normal person, but without sufficient experience in that line of industry, did every thing possible to avert the failure. He could have easily, perhaps, let it go, but he was trying to save the investment of the people, by having us to invest more. And as it is so clear that he did not appropriate any of the funds to his own use, it seems that he should not be held in prison. 16. His making inducing statements to members for funds, that were not in comport with the true financial status of the corporation, is the government's strong point. It is noteworthy, however, that every penny collected, at all times, whether for one auxiliary or the other, were [was] appropriated to the use of the U.N.I.A., and not to Garvey's personal use. 17. All intelligent human experience dictates, that if released, Garvey, a man of unusual ability and character, would stear [steer] clear of the causes which resulted in this technical infraction of the federal laws. All circumstances surrounding the case implies this. He is a poor sincere honest man, and surely the ends of justice could not be further served, by keeping him longer confined in prison. 544

M A R C H 1927

18. The attorney for Mr. Garvey, has already filed a complete answer to the Government's brief, covering all of the foregoing etc. It was filed Mar. and within three weeks thereafter, we were to have received consideration from the Dept. of Justice. That time is far past, and as yet, we have heard nothing from them. It seems, the three weeks, intimated by the Pardon Attorney, should have been ample time to have "perused the records[.]" 19. I being the official representative of the organization in this matter, have the honor to humbly pray, that the Dept. so recommend, and His Excellency President Coolidge, kindly give due consideration to these petitions; One coming from approximately 2 , 0 0 0 , 0 0 0 liberty loving American people, and one from the jurors who passed on Mr. Garvey's case. After being released from the Tombs on bonds, pending Garvey's appeal, the Black Cross Navigation & Trading Co., was organized, which purchased and fully paid for the steam ship Gen. Goethals. This ship had been launched and every thing was going along successfully, proving that we had profited by our experience with the Black Star Line. But Garvey's imprisonment, being calculated to hamper the success of the organization, he was rushed to prison three weeks after the launching of the vessel. We say rushed, because although he returned to New York to surrender to the authorities, unsolicited, save by his attorney, he was taken into custody at the station, and denied even reasonable courtesies, as are usually allowed prisoners in confering with their attorneys and business associates. And was rushed to Adanta. We feel, however, that those outside the government authorities, who started the case against him, are more to blame for this than the authorities themselves, for all along they were able to bring undue influence to bear against Garvey. But, any way, immediately after his imprisonment, the members of the Black Star Line, and the organization as a whole (U.N.I.A.), began to disagree as to the operation of the ship, and the administration of affairs of the organization as a whole. In fact we all, became more interested in the release of our leader, even if it required the suspension of activities altogether, in order to have executive clemency extended to him. This became more important to us, than all the fleets in all the world, and we are of the same attitude today. And not because we are fanatically insane. All over the land, it is known that Garvey has been wrongfully accused and, that it was due to the revengeful attitude of disgrunded former officers of his organization—[the] U.N.I.A. The government has always shown some interest in the general welfare of its Negro citizens, as to their improvement in all lines. The release of Garvey to continue leading the millions of members of the Universal Negro Improvement Association, and its sympathisers, would be, as is already shown, a tremendous help to the Negroes. To help the Negroes, the most unfortunate citizens of this country, would be a help, or benefit to the country in general, and an opportunity to do so 545

T H E MARCUS GARVEY AND U N I A PAPERS

should be highly cherished, both by the Department of Justice and by the Chief Executive of our beloved country. Trusting that through your efforts in our behalf, that we will receive favorable consideration in this matter immediately, I have the honor to be, my dear Senator, Your obedient servant, E. B. K N O X

U.N.I.A. Commissioner of Illinois, Indiana & Wisconsin P.S.—Marcus Garvey has been a model prisoner ever since his incarceration, and shown himself to be a man of the highest character. And too, every utterance he has made therein, indicates that he intends to remain loyal to his race and its organization, in prison or out. WNRC, RG 204, file 42-793. TLS, recipient's copy. On Chicago UNIA Division No. 23 letterhead. 1. E. B. Knox was a major figure in the UNIA during the late 1920s. American-born, he graduated from Prairie College in Texas at the age of twenty. He joined the UNIA around 1923 and rapidly rose to become vice president of the prestigous Chicago division. Knox arrived in New York City in July 1926 and thereafter held nearly "every possible official post" within the national organization (NW, 28 March 1931). After Garveys deportation he served as the UNIA leader's personal representative in the United States, and in 1929 he became first assistant president general of the UNIA (Bm, 10 August 1929). 2. Charles Deneen (1863-1940) was a Republican senator from Illinois from 1925 to 1931. An attorney, he had previously served in the Illinois House of Representatives (1892) and as a twoterm governor of Illinois (1905-1913). His ancestors had moved to the Illinois area from Georgia in the early nineteenth century, reportedly because of their hatred of slavery. His 1928 campaign for the Senate was marked by political violence. His home was bombed, and two ward leaders who supported his campaign, one black, the other Italian, were murdered (NTT, 6 February 1940; WWA). 3. Mordecai Johnson (1890-1976), minister and educator, began his powerful administration of Howard University, Washington, D.C., in 1916 (Rayford W. Logan, Howard University: The First Hundred Tears, 1867-1967 [New York: New York University Press, 1969]).

Editorial by Fred A. Toote in the Negro World [New York, 2 April 1927] To Negro Lovers of Liberty and Freedom, Greeting: It is for me officially to notify you of the serious condition affecting our very valuable Liberty Hall property at New York. Inspired by selfish motives, a few Negroes aided by certain real estate interests in the City of New York are making desperate efforts to acquire this property and so deprive the Association of its use. L I B E R T Y H A L L was purchased by the Hon. Marcus Garvey in 1919 for the Universal Negro Improvement Association and improved at a total cost of $110,000. U p to February, 1925, when the H o n . Marcus Garvey was taken to 546

APRIL 1927

prison, the Universal Negro Improvement Association had paid in a total of $71,700.00, leaving a balance of $38,300.00 divided up into a purchase-money mortgage of $22,000.00 and held by the Metropolitan Baptist Church and a balance of two first mortgages of $2,000.00 and $14,300.00 respectively, held by the Emigrants Industrial Savings Bank. In November, 1926 [1925], a mortgage of $32,000.00 was placed on

LIBERTY HALL by George A. Weston, ostensibly for the purpose of retiring certain judgments and mortgages accrued on the said property. This matter is now in the hands of the Supreme Court of the State of New York under an order to compel a proper accounting of the disbursement of the said $32,000.00. In January, 1926, the property was encumbered by a fourth mortgage of $6,300.00 placed there by George A. Weston. In March, 1926, when the present administration1 took over the affairs of the Association following the Detroit Extraordinary Convention, we found all of these encumbrances upon the LIBERTY HALL PROPERTY. Since coming into office it has reduced these encumbrances by $19,000.00 paid out from time to time. The administration has been confronted with great difficulties in its attempt to save LIBERTY HALL due to the operation of certain sinister agents and their backers in an effort to acquire the LIBERTY HALL PROPERTY and deprive the members of the Universal Negro Improvement Association of its use, thereby stultifying their endeavor to prosecute the program of "Africa for the Africans." To this end, Casper Holstein, 1 a Negro, upon his own application either in person or by attorney, purchased from the Emigrants Industrial Savings Bank two past-due first mortgages totaling $12,000.00 which the bank was quite willing to carry as long as the Universal Negro Improvement Association paid the interest on these mortgages. Just two days before an installment payment of $3,435.00 was due on our third mortgage, this Casper Holstein through his attorney notified us of the assignment of these two mortgages to him by the Emigrants Industrial Savings Bank and demanded payment from us within twenty-four hours. The Association was not in position to comply with this demand and Casper Holstein began foreclosure proceedings to sell the LIBERTY HALL PROPERTY.

There is not the slightest doubt that a concentrated effort is now being made to acquire this very valuable site. The holders of the third mortgage of $32,000.00, which is now reduced to $26,000, have also demanded payment in full by April 1st. Members of the Universal Negro Improvement Association, the matter of continuing our ownership of LIBERTY HALL now rests entirely with us. Shall we continue to own it, or shall we succumb to the pressure of notorious Negroes aided by certain realty self-seeking interests? Now is the time for each and every member and well-wisher of this greatest of Negro movements to come to the rescue of LIBERTY HALL—the sacred shrine of Negro Liberty. Whatever be the dollars-and-cents cost o f the LIBERTY HALL PROPERTY,

it is a secondary matter to the millions of suffering Negroes throughout 547

T H E M A R C U S GARVEY AND U N I A PAPERS

the world. T h e inspiration that they have received from time to time from the historic gatherings at LIBERTY HALL is far beyond pecuniary value. It is from LIBERTY HALL that millions have been inspired to race consciousness, and to allow this our LIBERTY HALL to succumb n o w for the lack o f a little sacrifice upon the part o f the members o f our race would be an act no less amazing than tragic. [ . . . ] LIBERTY HALL must be saved at all costs, for w e cannot permit the selfseeking destroyers o f N e g r o Liberty to put over such a sinister move at the expense of the race. Call out to the encroachers: W o o d m a n ! Woodman! Spare that tree, Touch not a single bough; In youth its branches sheltered me A n d I'll protect it n o w 3 T h e Universal N e g r o Improvement Association calls upon each and every member scattered throughout the entire world to donate $ 5 . 0 0 or more within the next 90 days and help to save LIBERTY HALL, N e w York City. Forward your donation to the "Secretary, Liberty Crusaders Campaign, 142 West 130th Street, N e w York C i t y . "

Also fill in the donation blank and

become a member o f the Crusaders. 4 FRED A . TOOTE Acting President General Universal N e g r o Improvement Association Printed in NW, 2 April, 9 April, 16 April, and 23 April 1927. 1. In March 1927 the pro-Garvey administration of the UNIA, headed by Fred A. Toote, moved its offices to 142 West 130th Street, New York City. The UNIA headquarters property at 5456 West 135th Street was mortgaged to Charles Schimmer and the Real Estate Holding Corp. The mortgage was executed by George Weston on the aggregate mortgages of $34,000 already placed on the property. An additional mortgage was negotiated between George Weston, in the name of the UNIA, Inc., and the Strong Service Corp., on 21 January 1926. On 22 October 1926 the New York Supreme Court ordered the property sold at public auction as settlement in the case of Moses Rodin v . Slack Star Line, Inc. The auction took place 18 November 1926 and the premises were sold to Frederick Oppenheimer for $14,700. Oppenheimer's bid was subsequently transferred to Frederick Purcell, assignee of the UNIA, Inc., on 20 January 1927. The office building at 52 West 135th Street was sold for taxes in January 1926 (records of the New York Housing and Development Administration, Department of Buildings, office serial nos. M 2394, M 31883; Baltimore Afro-American, 15 January 1927). 2. Casper Holstein, "for many years one of the largest contributors to the Garvey movement," purchased Liberty Hall at the beginning of January 1927, paying $36,000 and assuming the outstanding mortgages. In January 1926 Holstein had assumed a mortgage on the property at 120-140 West 138th Street that had previously been held by the UNIA, Inc., and then assigned to the Strong Service Corp. In doing so, he assumed the $6,300 owed on the principal. Many people in the black community saw Holstein's purchase as a positive situation for the UNIA; as one black newspaper reported, "his purchase prevents the sale of the hall to white interests who planned to build apartments there" (Baltimore Afro-American, 15 January 1927). By May 1927 Toote's characterization of Holstein had changed considerably. On 22 May 1927 he introduced Holstein at a Liberty Hall meeting and praised him "as a man who was demonstrating splendid liberality and unselfishness in assisting in saving Liberty Hall." Holstein was given a massive ovation, and in "a neat speech . . . promised the members that he would continue to do all 548

MAY 1927 in his power to help preserve their property and said he asked for nothing but the execration of Negroes throughout the world if he, as had some time ago been hinted, attempted to do anything which would hurt the interest of the membership or imperil their property" (NW, 26 May 1917). On IJ August 1927 the New York Supreme Court ruled that foreclosure and sale of the property must take place as settlement in the case of Real Estate Holding Corp. and Charles Schimmer v . UNIA, Inc., Strong Service Corp., Casper Hoktein, et al. The heavily mortgaged property was sold at public auction on 14 September 1927 (records of the New York Housing and Development Administration, Department of Buildings, office serial no. c 13918). 3. A reference to the first stanza of "Woodman, Spare That Tree," a poem by George Pope Morris (1830). 4. A Liberty Crusader's application and donation blank was printed in the center of Toote's editorial. With entry blanks for name, address, and date, it stated, "I desire to become a member of the LIBERTY CRUSADERS. Please find my donation of $ Kindly place my name on LIBERTY CRUSADERS' roll and forward me certificate of membership" (NW, 2 April 1927).

James Finch to John W. Snook [Washington,

D . C , ] M a y 11, 1927

Sir: Persistent representations are being made by friends o f M a r c u s G a r v e y that he is in bad physical condition.

In order that the Department m a y be

informed u p o n the subject, will y o u be kind enough to have the prison physician submit a statement regarding the prisoner's present physical condition. 1 Respectfully, [JAMES F I N C H ] Pardon Attorney W N R C , R G 2 0 4 , file 42-793. T L , carbon copy. 1. Finch had requested similar information at the beginning of 1926. The prison physician reported at that time that Garvey "has had trouble with asthma" but "at present condition good" (James Finch to J. W. Snook, 25 January 1926, and Snook to Finch, 26 January 1926, WNRC, R G 204, file 42-793).

549

¿l - s « 0 E • 5 •

td «s g> h d u 4a n «I •H »4 4 e >» I » M at s) B u * * , S ti u id » B e al t» IQ V -rH a Q) > t-t *M •u 4» Itf M f U co o -n e j: n - i t) * o > 1d U O M o V « s • •H tí U M -I e id d a. » * tfhO

U M O C C JS « «M « ja » M O _ ¡K Vi E l/> "tí o> M 3 O I H tí £ Id h ^ Í N M C Vi

^ V B CO O A U 4» « T3 7 n. 15 Davis, Mortimer J., 172, 173,174, 208 Dawn of Tomorrow, 618 n . 1 Death benefits, UNIA, 205, 409, 496 De Beers Consolidated Mines, 13 n. 2 Debs, Eugene Victor, 468 n. 2 Declaration of Independence, 192, 198 n. 20 Delany, Martin R., 520-521 n. 1 De Mena, Berniza, 117-118 n. 1 de Mena, Francisco Hiberto, 117-118 n. 1 De Mena, Maymie Leona Turpeau, no—HI

n. 3; The South'! Part in Mongrelizing the Nation of, lxiv, 309 n. 2, 427 n. 1; UNIA addressed by, be, 169 n. 2, 209 n. 1, $25 n. 1; UNIA on, 255; White America of, lx, 160-161 n. 1, 168, 169 n. 1, 201, 224-225, 229, 231, 233 n. n, 253, 25$, 270 n. 2, 526 Craigen, J. A., lxvii, 33 n. 1, 242 n. 2, 317 N. 1, 344, 3J9, 367, 385 N. 1, 391, 392 N. I, 415, 552-553 N. I, 568, 570, 576, 593,

594, 598, 601; Garvey on, 353; and Liberty University, 439-440 n. 1, 601 n. 1; on UNIA Committee of Presidents, 250-251, 266 n. i, 348 n. i, 349-350 n. 1,396; visits Garvey in prison, 301 n. 2, 310, 458, 459 Crawford, Anthony, »228 n. i§, 262, 341, 355, 359, 360, 367, 383, 414 n. 1, 415; on Black Cross Navigation and Trading Company's management, 233-237; and Briggs, 381; Garvey on, 374, 376, 379, 381, 386; Goethals chartered by, 247 n. 1, 279, 280; on Goethals's finances, 257, 339-340, 379381; Goethals libeled by, 279, 280,340 n. 1, 376; on sale of Goethals, 257, 263, 264 Anthony Crawford Enterprises, Inc., 228 n. i§ Crawford and Harris (attorneys), 590 n. 1 Creationism, 165 n. 5 Cregan, Martin J., 472, 473 n. 2, 474 Crick, Stephen, 359 Crimm, John William Henry, 182, »197-198 n. 17 Crisis, 41 n. 2, 173, 195 n. 2, 353, 467 Cromwell, Oliver, 161 Crummell, Alexander, 520-521 n. 1 Crusader, 195 n. 4, 228 n. i§, 414 n. 1 Crusader News Service, 195 n. 4 Cuba: Garvey in (1921), no n. 5; Goethals in, 105, 114; Kanawha in, 109 n. 3; UNIA in, 393 N. 2 Cuffee, Paul, 309 n. 3,520-521 n. 1 Curran, Henry H., 176, *i95-i96 n. 7 Curtis, Helen, 352, »353 n. 2 Curtis, James, 353 n. 2

N. I, 116, 117, *II7-II8 N. 1, 203, 320 N. 2,

349, 393 n. I, 574 n. 2, 593, 596, 597 n. I, 638, 640, 648; on Goethals, 118-119 n. 2, 374; on Negro World staff, 117-118 n. 1; supports Garvey, 322-323 n. 1, 437438 n. 4; at UNIA convention, 350 n. 2, 397

Demeunier, Jean Nicolas, 198 n. 19 Democratic party, 555 Deneen, Sen. Charles, 540, *s*6 n. 2 Denver, Colorado, Ivii, 33 n. 3 Detroit: Garvey in, lvii, 33 n. 3, 146, 185, 374, 389; Ku Klux Klan in, 469-470 n. 7; segregation in, 469-470 n. 7; UNIA in, lxvi, 117-118 n. I, 151 n. I, 255, 393 n. 2, 55^-553 N. I

Detroit Independent, 551 n. 2,552 de Valera, Eamon, 27, 334, 402 Dial Press, 603 Diplomacy of UNIA, 69 Disfranchisement. See Black(s), franchise Ditto, J. R., 253, 257 n. I Ditto, Mrs. J. R., 257 n. 1 Dixon, Theophelus E., 248-249 Dogley, Edward S., 267 Doheny, Edward Laurence, 70, *7i n. 3 Domingo, W. A., 87, 173, 174, 176, 178, 183,

Daily Gleaner, 174, 213 n. 2, 281 Daily Negro Times, 184 Dalrymple, Sidney, 574, »575 n. 1 Dancy, Benny, 31, 84, 171, 179; bought Black Star Line stock, 18-19, 25; "count" (at Garve/s trial), 15, 18, 19-20, 23, 26, 9091, 295 n. 1, 535; letter mailed to, 72, 73, 85-86, 129, 130, 132-133; testimony of, 1519, 20, 24, 25-26, 60, 61, 62, 86, 130-131,

188,195 n. 4, 412 Dominican Republic. See Santo Domingo Donovan, William Joseph, 31 n . 2, 100, *io2 n. 1,104 n. 4, 133 Dossen, Justice J. J., xxvi, lvii, 8, 11 n. 1,351 Dotlin, Charles, 267

489-493

Daniel (prophet), 13, 14 n. 5, 620 Darrow, Clarence, 165 n. 5, 469-470 n. 7 Daugherty, Harry M., 207 n. 1 Davidson, Louise, 260 Davis, Henrietta Vinton, lxii, 3, 7, 155-156

658

INDEX Douglas, A. R., 320 n . 2

Douglas v. MitcheU, 23 Douglass, Frederick, 286

Douglass, S.S. Frederick. Sec S.S. Yarmouth

Douglass, Will, 154, 155 n . 5 Dowling, Levi, 565 n . 1 Dragtcn, F. R . , »300 n . 2, 301 n . 1, 324, 325, 327, 328,32^-330, 332, 333, 335, 336-337, 338, 401, 425 Drake, J. G. St. Clair, 117-118 n . 1, 393 n . 1, 396-397, 44o n . 4 Draper, Col. Wickliffe, 169 n . 1 Du Bois, W. E. B., 12, 220-221 n . 1; on amalgamation, 217, 219; on colonization, 173, 352-353; H . V. Davis on, 33s; education grant of, 467, 470 n . 8; on Garvey, 173,195 n . 2; Garvey on, 97, 167, 195, 217-218, 219, 225, 230, 350, 351, 352-353, 467; in Liberia, 6; Pan-Africanism of, 353; as "race enemy," 97, 167, 225; on social equality, 230; on U N I A , 128 n . 4, 353 n . 2 Duffy, Captain, 506 Duncan, Samuel, 261, *262 n . 1 Durham, J. H., 320 n . 2 Dyer, Lconidas C., 88, 101, 215 Dyer Anti-Lynching Bill, 88, 89, 101, 555 Dyett, Thomas, 271-272 n . 2, 429 n. 1

on, 217, 541; at Hampton Institute, 229, 230; Knox on, 541; Powell on, 232 n . 5 Estabrook, Arthur, 427 n . 1 Ethiopia, 81 n . 1,197 n . 12,336, 394 n . i, 402, 569

Ethiopia Observer, 197 n. 12

Ethiopian World, 117-118 n . 1 Evans, Hiram Wesley, 465, *468 n . 1 Evans, William, *6oo n . 1 Evcrsby, Rev. George, 260 Evolution, 162, 165 n . 5

Fall, Albert, 48 n . 3, 71 n . 2

Farmer v. United Stata, 21, 130 Fascism, Japanese, 297 nn. 1, 2 Father Divine, 117-118 n . 1 Faulkner, Thomas J. R . , »394 n . 1 Featherstone, George, 472, *473 n . 1, 473 n . 2, 474 n . i Ferris, William H., 128 n . 1, 341 n . i§, 418 n . i, 432-433 n . i Finch, James, lix, lxi, Ixii, lxiv, lxvi, Ixvii, *ii9 n . i, 138, 153 n . i, 198, 205, 207 nn. i, 2, 290 n . 2, 294, 296, 298, 303, 307, 310, 312, 317, 368 n . i, 388, 418, 420, 423, 523 n . 13, 525 n . 2, 528-529 n . 2, 545, 549, 551 nn. 1, 2,560, 606, 621; on Black Star Line, 4 9 6 499; on clemency for Garvey, 134, 240, 261, 279, 284, 358 n . i§, 470-471, 4 7 7 478, 493-494 n . 13, SIS n . 5, 530, 568, 602603; on Garvc/s pardon, 306, 611, 613; on Garve/s handling money, 424, 496, 497; on Garve/s health, 204-205 n . 2; reviews Garve/s case, 495-499,516 n. 1, 524 Finney, Robert, 561

Earle, Whiting S., 637 Easmon, Kathleen, 522 n . 4 East St. Louis, Illinois, U N I A in, 151 n . 1, 260 n . 4,393 n . 2 Ebimber, Dr. Milton Tube, 117-118 n . 1 Eclipse of the sun, 89 n . 2 Education: in Africa, 522 n . 4; Du Bois's grant to study, 467, 470 n . 8; Garvey on, 8; U N I A program of, xli, 439-440 n . 1 {see also Liberty University) Edwards, E. M., 156,166, 201 Edwards, Dr. Solomon, 639, 640, 647, 648 Egypt, 76, 165 n . 6, 569; civilization of, 226 n . 1; Great Britain in, 13-14 n . 3, 588 n . i§; nationalism in, 13-14 n. 3, 69, 588 n . i§

Firestone Tire and Rubber Company, 9-10, 81 n . i, 143, 376, 392 n . i, 467 Fishback, Judge L. F., 82 Fisk, Almond T., 196 n . 9 Fitzgerald, Rep. Roy G., lxv Flags, 51, 356 Flanders, Mr., 384 Florida: Goethals in, 154-155, 165-166, 247; U N I A in, xli, 117-118 n . 1, 393 n . 2, 594595 n . 1,598 n. i§ Ford, Arnold J., 312, 360, 422, 432-433 n . 1, 594-595 n . 1

Egyptian Nationalist party, 588 n . 1$ Egyptian United Front, 13-14 n . 3 Elections: of 1924, xxxviii, lvii, 33 n . 1, 42; of 1928, 554-555 Ellis, C. J., 106-107, I " , 335, 337 Ellis, Frank Raphael, 324, 327-328, 329 Elmwood, Mrs., 571 n . i§ Emancipation, slave, 47, 164 n . 3, 522-523 n. 7 Emigrants Industrial Savings Bank, 271-272 n . 2,547 Emmet, Robert, 180 Ennestor, David Booth, 392 n . 1 Equality, social: Anglo-Saxon Clubs on, 232 nn. 4,5; black leaders on, 230,541; Garvey

Arnold Ford v. UNIA, 422 n. 1

Ford, Henry, 48 n . 1 Ford, Justice John, 456 n . 4 Foreman, Mr., 639, 648 Forte, Harry, 107-108 Fortune, T. Thomas, 227 n . 1, 228 nn. 1, 2, 229, 232 nn. 3, 7, 283 n . i, 341 n . i§, 395396, 461 n . i Fort-Whiteman, Lovett, 248 n . 1 Foulkes, E., 415 France: in Africa, 69-^70, 81 n . 1,194, 403; on

659

INDEX

in, 9, 69-70,194-195, 403; on exploitation of, 9-10; on Firestone Company in, 9-10, 376, 467; on Liberia, lvii, 152 n. 2, 394, 467; on nationalism of, 87, 617, 618 n. 1; redeemed, 251; School of African Philosophy of, 164 n. 1, 439-440 n. 1, 573 n. 1, 604 n. 1; on sleeping sickness in, 76; as solution to American race problem, 181, 193, 212, 220, 404; on UNIA program in, 8-9, IO-II, 4^-47, 181, 352-353, 376, 498499; on United States of, 404

Liberian colonization, 9, 348 n. i§, 519 Francis, Lionel, 338 n. 1, 446 n. 1 Franco, J. J., 300 n. 1, 324-325, 328, 329, 330, 331, 332, 333, 337, 338 n. 3; on African Redemption Fund, 325-326, 327 Franco and Ellis (attorneys), 327, 328 Franco-Prussian War, 98, 99 n. 2 Frankfurter, Felix, 207 n. 1 Frazier, E. Franklin, 128 n. 4 S.S. Frederick Douglass. See S.S. Yarmouth French West Africa, 81 n. 1 Friedman, Solomon I., 271-272 n. 2, 437, 456, 590 n. 1 Fundamentalism, political and religious, 164 n. 1, 165 n. 5 Fusion party, 195-196 n. 7, 196 n. 8, 207 n. 1

ON BLACK LEADERS AND BLACK ORGANIZATIONS

77, 78, 102, 183, 215, 220, 226, 372; on black press, 178, 181, 184, 190, 211-212, 229, 230, 231, 232 n. 9, 44, 619; on Briggs, 174, 376, 386, 393; on Du Bois, 97, 167, 195, 217-218, 219, 225, 230,350, 351, 352-353, 467; on Hampton Institute's faculty, 231-232, 233 n. 12; on Weldon Johnson, 219; on NAACP, lxii, 97, 167, 168, 184, 187, 217, 219, 229, 308, 350, 457, 467; on politicians, 8; on preachers, 350

Gaines, Emmett L., 196 n. 9 Gandhi, Mohandas K., Ixiv, 27, 180, 258, 424; Garvey compared to, 277, 283-284 n. 1; Garvey on, 75, 76 Garcia, Elic, 14, 25, 63, 65, 90, 208, 415, 482, 589 Garland Fund, 457 n. 1, 461 n. 1, 470 nn. 8,9 Garnett, Rev. Charles, 521 n. 2 Garvey, Amy Ashwood. See Ashwood, Amy (Garvey) Garvey, Amy Jacques. See Jacques, Amy (Garvey)

ON BLACKS/NEGROES AND RACE ISSUES

MARCUS GARVEY: "African Fundamentalism" of, xxxix, lix, 161—163, 164 n. 1, 269, 270 n. 2, 563, 621 n. 1; Black Cross Navigation and Trading Company founded by, 206, 282, 496; Black Star Line stock sold by, 129; handles money, 58, 188, 421, 424, 481-482, 484, 486-487, 488, 489, 496, 497, 501, 502, 533, 543; income tax charge against, 183, 207 nn. 1, 3, 208-209, 520; at Madison Square Garden, 102; pictures of, sold, 563, 621 n. 1; song by, 557-558, 559, 563, 621; speeches and writings of, 7-12, 3133,38-41, 42-48, 67-71, 74-81, 96-99,161163, 273, 345-348 (see also The Philosophy and Opinions ofMarcus Garvey)-, as stockholder, 181 ON AFRICA

for Africans, 40, 151, 277, 321, 403; awakened, 402; on black civilization of, 162, 165; on black nation in, 39, 41 n. 1, 101, 163, 168, 171-172, 180, 194, 210, 273, 314; on colonization/repatriation to, 8-9, 1011, 181, 193, 194, 210 n. 2, 212, 308, 309, 351, 352-353, 376, 382, 387, 410; on Europe 660

on amalgamation/miscegenation/mulattos, xl, Ix, lxii, 10, 167, 168, 211, 216, 217, 219, 220, 225, 350-351, 525; on black heroes, 161-162; on black literature, 162; on black nationalism, 96, 309 n. 1, 619; on black wave, 404; on "colored" v. Negro as term, 167, 218-219; on condition of Negroes, 7778, 79-81; on executive ability of Negro, 67, 68, 71; "History and the Negro," 226 n. 2; on industrial race responsibility, 38, 70,189, 232 n. 8; on Jimcrowism, 466; on justice for black man, 191-192; on Negro laborer, 214; on Negro as lazy, 224; on Negro in politics, 31-33, 45; on Negro's self-responsibility, 38-39; on race clashes, 187; on race consciousness, 43, 45, 230, 371, 529; on race education, 8; on race emancipation, 47; on race enemies, 97, 167; on race extermination/race future, 10, 43, 75, 76-77, 78-79, 80-81, 97, 168, 217, 220, 224; on race independence, 69, 162, 526; on race loyalty, 163,194; on race pride, 541; on race problem and Africa as solution of, 181, 189, 193, 212, 220, 404, 526; on race purity, lxii, 167,168,187, 201, 216-220, 252, 525, 541; on race separation, 168, 210, 230, 252, 314; on race trading, 40; on race unity, 38, 79-80, 163, 214; on race uplift, 570; on racial integrity laws, 202 n. 3, 319; on social equality, xl, 217, 541; on whites deceiving Negroes, 214, 215-216, 619, 620

INDEX

DEPORTATION

behavior at, 6 4 , 6 5 - 6 6 , 175, 2 8 2 ; Garvey on, as biased, 6 4 , 6 5 , 1 7 1 - 1 8 7 , 1 9 0 , 1 9 1 , 2 1 9 , 4 4 3 — 4 4 4 , 6 0 2 ; government brief opposing writ of certiorari in, 4 9 - 6 6 , 1 2 8 - 1 3 3 , 2 0 5 , 2 0 7 n . 2 ; indictment in, 1 4 , 4 9 , 1 2 8 - 1 2 9 ; judge and prosecutor threatened in, 206, 2 0 8 ; jury in, 2 6 , 6 3 , 1 7 2 , 212 n . 3, 4 7 1 , 4 7 2 474, 514, 520, 542; original testimony in,

OF

xxxv, xlii, lxi, Ixii, 9 2 , 1 4 1 , 1 4 3 , 1 5 3

n.

1,175-

1 7 6 , 2 0 4 n . I, 2 0 6 , 2 0 7 , 2 4 7 , 2 9 8 , 303, 3 0 4 ,

412, 446 n. I, 463, 561, 621; commutation coupled with, 3 0 6 , 311, 313, 6 0 6 , 6 0 7 - 6 0 8 , 611, 613; farewell address at, xlii, bcvii, 618621; Garvey on, 181, 193, 239, 294, 295, 296, 466; Immigration Service on, !x, 304 n . 2 , 3 1 4 , 6 0 8 n . 1; Labor Department on, lxvii; Post Office on, 209; Powell on, 256; UNIA on, 391 MAIL FRAUD

1 5 - 1 9 , 2 0 , 2 4 , 2 5 - 2 6 , 6 0 , 6 1 , 6 2 , 86, 1 3 0 - 1 3 1 , 489—493;

OF

arraignment in, 8 7 - 8 8 n . 1; arrest in, lviii, 9 2 , 157, 183, 185, 208, 374, 406 n. 3; in Adanta Federal Penitentiary (see Garvey, Marcus, in prison); bail during, 1 7 7 - 1 7 8 ; bench warrant in, xxxvi, lviii, 8 7 - 8 8 n . 1; bill of exception in, j9; clemency/pardon application in, xl, 25, 30, 3 8 8 - 3 8 9 , 4 7 8 - 4 7 9 , 5 4 3 ;

M E T A P H O R S U S E D BY/ QUOTES

2 0 0 , 2 0 4 - 2 0 5 n . 2, 2 0 7 n . 2, 221, 222, 223, 256, 2 9 1 , 2 9 4 - 2 9 5 , 2 9 6 , 2 9 8 , 313, 315 n . I, 316, 3 1 7 , 4 3 0 , 4 6 8 , 4 7 1 , 4 7 2 n n . I, 2, 4 7 + , 4 9 9 n . I, 5 0 0 - 5 1 5 , 5 3 2 - 5 3 6 ;

clemency/pardon opposed, lxi, 134, 207, 2 0 8 - 2 0 9 , 2 2 1 , 2 2 2 , 2 2 3 , 2 4 0 , 2 6 1 , 2 7 9 , 281, 2 8 4 , 358 n . I § , 4 7 0 - 4 7 1 , 4 7 7 - 4 7 8 , 4 9 3 - 4 9 4

n . 1 3 , 5 1 5 n . 5, 5 3 0 , 568, 6 0 2 - 6 0 3 ; clemency/pardon supported, xxxvii, xxxviii-xxxix, xlii, lix, bei, lxiii, lxv, bevi, 8 8 - 8 9 , 1 3 4 n . 1,

OFFICERS, TITLES A N D

1 3 8 , 1 4 1 - 1 4 3 , 1 4 4 , 1 4 5 - 1 4 7 , 1 4 8 , 153, 2 0 4 - 2 0 5

SALARIES

n . 2 , 2 8 0 , 2 8 2 n . 2 , 285, 2 8 8 - 2 8 9 , 2 9 2 , 2 9 9 , 388-

392, 4 2 0 - 4 2 2 , 4 6 4 n . 2 , 4 7 1 , 4 7 2 - 4 7 4 , 5 1 4 , 5 1 5 , 5 1 6 , 5 2 0 , 5 2 4 , 5 2 5 , 5 2 7 - 5 2 8 , 529-530, 540, 5 4 2 , 550, 5 6 0 , 561, 565, 5 6 6 , 569,

595-596,

co-defendants in (see Garcia, Elie; Thompson, O. M.; Tobias, George); commutation of sentence applied for, 388, 4 7 8 - 4 9 3 , 5 0 0 - 5 1 5 , 5 3 2 - 5 3 6 ; commutation granted, xxxv, xlii, Ixii, lxv, lxvii, 306, 307, 605, 6 1 4 - 6 1 5 ;

311, 312, 3 1 3 - 3 1 5 , 6 0 6 , 6 0 7 - 6 0 8 ,

OF

180, 434; as Doctor of Civil Laws, 278; as managing editor of Negro World, 570; as president of African Communities League, 584; as president of Black Cross Navigation and Trading Company, 239, 636, 646; as president of Black Star Line, 5 0 , 5 6 , 1 2 8 , 146, 172, 182, 239, 533; as president of New York local division, UNIA, 4 4 2 , 4 4 4 , 5 7 7 , 578; as President General of UNIA (Parent Body), 179, 239, 396, 442, 444, 462, 533, 579; as Provisional President of Africa, 50,

n . 2 , 2 1 2 - 2 1 3 , 2 4 8 , 256, 2 5 8 - 2 6 0 , 2 6 1 , 2 7 6 305, 3 1 4 , 3 ' 9 - 3 2 o , 3 4 9 n . I, 357—358,

OF

Aristotle quoted/influence of, 604 n . 1; on being beware of Greeks bearing gifts, 214, 215; Bible quoted by, 163; on Dickens's attitude of sitting down, 346; Jefferson quoted by, 192; on live and let live, 251; Marcus Aurelius influences, xl; on neither fish nor fowl, 167; Paine quoted by, 192; on a place in the sun, 161; Shakespeare quoted by, 97, 163; on the sun shall never set, 163

l x , l x i , l x v , 1 4 0 , 1 5 2 - 1 5 3 , 1 7 0 , 1 7 1 - 1 9 5 , 198,

477, 4 7 8 - 4 9 3 ,

1 3 4 , 1 4 0 , 198,

sentence in, 8 7 , 2 0 8 , 3 1 3 ; U.S. Supreme Court on, lix, 8 9 , 9 2 n . 3, 9 3 , 1 0 4 n . 4 , 125, 152; witnesses at, 1 7 9 , 1 9 6 - 1 9 7 n . 11, 4 8 9 , 5 0 1 5 0 2 , 5 1 2 - 5 1 3 (see also Dancy, Benny); writ of certiorari in, lix, 8 9 - 9 2 ; writ of error in, 1 4 - 3 1

TRIAL

AND SENTENCE

parole in, lxi, lxiv,

2 8 9 , 2 9 0 n . 2 , 2 9 4 , 313, 352, 6 0 5 , 6 0 6 ;

609-610,

55, 8 4 , 1 2 8 , 1 7 9 , 2 0 8 , 2 7 7 , 3 3 4 , 335, 4 0 2 , 4 6 5 ;

611, 613; conviction in, 26, 49, 60, 63, 129,

salaries of, 29, 182, 183, 189, 207 n. 3, 270,

205, 3 0 2 , 313, 335, 4 4 3 - 4 4 4 , 516 n . I, 5 2 4 ;

3 3 4 , 4 4 4 , 4 4 6 n . 3, 455, 4 7 9

conviction appealed in, xxxvi, lvii-lviii, 14, 4 9 , 7 2 - 7 4 , 8 3 - 8 7 , 8 9 - 9 2 , 125, 1 3 2 - 1 3 3 , 1 4 6 ,

152, 179, 180, 191, 313, 496, 500; conviction sustained in, xxxvi-xxxvii, 9 0 , 1 1 9 , 1 4 6 , 313; "Dancy count" in, 15, 1 9 - 2 0 , 2 4 , 2 6 , 9 0 91, 295 n. 1,535; defense funds/committees for, xxxviii, lviii, lix, 94, 145, 210-2:1, 322-

OPINIONS OF OTHERS

ON

accused of mishandling money, 282, 424, 431, 4 3 2 , 4 3 3 - 4 3 4 , 435, 4 3 6 , 4 9 6 , 4 9 7 , 5 1 2 -

513; as anti-Semitic, 186; Amy Ashwood on, 1 9 7 n . 12, 2 1 2 - 2 1 3 ; as black king, 4 6 5 ; black leaders/black organization on, 173,

323 n . I, 3 6 4 , 365 n . I, 3 6 6 - 3 6 7 , 368, 3 6 9 ,

381, 386, 388, 437 n. I, 444, 556; fine in, 207, 208, 313; Garvey as his own counsel at, 16, 1 7 , 18, 3 0 , 6 0 , 6 4 , 65, 8 6 , 1 4 6 , 1 7 2 , 2 8 2 , 4 9 0 , 4 9 1 - 4 9 3 , 514, 5 4 3 ; Garve/s

1 7 4 , 195 n . 2 , 335, 4 1 2 , 4 1 4 n . 1, 578, 579 n . 3,582,590;

black press on,

101, 125-128,

2 0 4 - 2 0 5 n . 2 , 2 5 4 , 4 1 4 n . 1, 4 6 7 , 5 8 6 - 5 8 7 ,

618 n . 1; Bureau of Investigation on, 464

661

INDEX

n. i; compared to Paul Bunyan, 277, 283284 n. 1; compared to Christ (as Messiah), 8 4 , 1 0 0 , 1 8 0 , 2 9 2 , 4 2 7 n . 1, 5 6 6 ; compared to Frederick Douglass, 286; compared to Gandhi, 2 7 7 , 2 8 3 - 2 8 4 n. 1; compared to Joan of Arc, 100; compared to Mohammed (Mohamet), 100; compared to Moses, 12, 84, 133, 180, 566, 569; compared to Zaghlul Pasha, 2 7 7 , 2 8 3 - 2 8 4 n . 1; compared to George Washington, 100; as incendiary, 206; as martyr, 161 n. 3, 566; as prophet, xl; as race agitator, 208; as race leader, 2 8 6 , 5 6 9 ; raises race consciousness, 541, 554; as savior, 314, 436; as spiritual leader, 238 n. 1; as star of hope, 407; UNIA officers on, 1 1 9 - 1 2 0 , 1 2 3 , 2 7 6 n. 2 , 285, 3 2 2 - 3 2 3 n .

1 , 3 3 4 , 335, 4 0 7 , 6 1 4 - 6 « ;

as

n. 1,

348, 349 n. 1, 3 5 6 , 394, 417, 423, 425, 4 2 6 , 4 2 9 , 451, 341,

health of, xxxviii, lx, lxv, lxvi, 284, 294-295, 466-467, 565,596;

340

393-

460,

603;

393,

9;

171,

342,

367,

405-406,

265,

410,

on his enemies, 174,

175,

176,

181,

64,

373, 643;

96,

182,

374,

on

97-98,

183,

184,

39-40,

87,

189,

231,

232

n .

9;

o n

TRAVELS OF

1,

in Cincinnati, 33 n. 3; in Denver, lvii, 33 n . 3 ; in Detroit, lvii, 33 n . 3 , 1 4 6 , 1 8 5 , 3 7 4 , 389; in Great Britain, 521 n. 2; in North Carolina, lvii, 33 n. 3; in Philadelphia, 3 7 4 , 4 0 5 - 4 0 6 ; in Utah, lvii, 3 3 n. 3 ; in

553-554, 555, 5 6 4 , receives money, 1 0 3 - 1 0 4 n . 3, 3 8 7 551,

264,

381,

147,193,204,

2 9 8 , 313, 3 1 4 , 4 6 0 , 4 6 1 n .

549,

263,

38,

278,

392,

584

1, 6 0 3 ;

need for ships, 10-n; on need to be prepared, 70; on Overseas Navigation Company, 376; on Palestine/Zionism, 39, 4i n. 1, 189; on patriotism, 39; Poetic Meditations of, xxxix-xl; on politics, 3133; on prejudice, 77; on propaganda, 619, 620; on readjustment, 45; on religion, 163; on science, 163; on self-government, 309; on "silent work" to be done, 42, 48; on slavery, 180, 183, 193, 195, 219; on trade unions, lxii, 2 1 4 - 2 1 5 ; on Universal Negro Political Union, 3 1 - 3 3 , 4 5 ; "The White Man's Game—His Vanity Fair" (poem) of, xxxix, 566; on white press, 96

393-394, 427, 431, 435, 436, 572, 574, 597,

323,

2,598 n.

332,

377, 452, 620; on nationalism, 13-14 n. 3,

598, 600, 601; because of political views, not crime, 1 3 4 n . 1, 1 5 6 , 1 7 6 , J 8 0 - 1 8 1 , 1 8 3 , 3 7 1 , 5 2 8 , 5 2 9 , 5 5 2 , 553; behavior, lxiv, lxv, 5 1 7 , 546; correspondence with Amy Jacques from, 1 0 3 - 1 0 4 n. 3, 1 5 7 - 1 5 8 , 1 5 9 , 2 0 4 - 2 0 5 318,

317,

187, 188, 321, 467; on his own sacrifices, 371, 372; on history, 224, 226 n. 2; on honor of his name, 371, 372, 451; on India, 75, 76; on Irish, 13-14 n. 3, 38, 189; on Louis Jacobson, 427, 577; on Jews, 38, 39, 44, 48 n. 1, 69, 79, 80, 1 6 3 , 1 6 6 , 3 0 8 ; on justice, 1 9 1 - 1 9 3 , 3 2 1 ; on leadership, 75, 76; on Liberty University, Ixvii, 4 4 5 , 5 7 0 - 5 7 1 ; on life as conflict, 7 4 75; on lynching, 215; on Morter estate,

322, 341, 343 n . I, 450-451, 452, 570, 596,

1,

311,

102-104,166

378-379, 151,

J99; attempts to control UNIA from, xxxv, xl, lxiii, 9 9 , 1 5 0 - 1 5 1 , 3 1 7 , 3 4 9 , 3 6 2 , 3 6 9 - 3 7 0 ,

n.

310,

459, 576 n . 1,

1,597 n.

117, 262,

Haiti,

IN PRISON

313

1,594-595 n.

1,

458,

376, 387, 410; on Black Star Line, 87, 1 8 8 - 1 9 0 , 4 1 0 , 4 4 3 , 4 8 4 - 4 8 5 ; on capitalism, 48 n. 1, 70, 214; on communism, lxii, 2 1 4 - 2 1 5 ; on Declaration of Independence, 192; on diplomacy, 69; on Egypt, 76; on elections of 1924, 42; on evolution, 162; on friendship, 2 5 1 - 2 5 2 ; on Goethais, 1 1 3 -

xxxvii, lviii, 8 7 , 9 2 - 9 4 , 1 4 1 , 4 7 8 , 6 2 0 ; access to books and newspapers of, 103104 n. 3, 289, 469 n. 5; asks permission to leave, 239; attempts to control Negro World from, xl, lxiii, lxvi, 227, 229, 250,

311,

n .

322, 345, 346-347, 353, 371, 373, 374, 375,

371, 372, 376-377, 382, 462, 463, 571, 574,

300,

302-303

343 n . 1,

on American Indian, 220; on America's industry, 70; on Amos, 174, 184; "Appeal to the Soul of White America" of, 254; on Black Cross Navigation and Trading Company, 10, 11, 40, 68, 97, 239, 301,

618; nickname of, 269, 270 n. 3; as printer, 95; visa problems of, no n. 5, 181; works for United Fruit Company, 50

294,

2,

TOPICS IN SPEECHES AND WRITINGS OF

PERSONAL LIFE OF

2, 257, 261, 265, 268, 2 6 9 , 2 7 0 , 2 7 4 ,

2,

n.

writes, xxxix-xl,

on Amy Ashwood, 1 8 1 , 1 8 7 - 1 8 8 , 4 6 8 ; as British subject, 389; as Roman Catholic, 95, 180; citizenship of, 147, 174, 184, 191, 1 9 3 ; described, 4 6 5 - 4 6 6 ; education of, 2 7 8 n. 1; first marriage of, lx, 212, 213 n. 2, 468, 536; on his own death, 97, 98; on Amy Jacques, 97, 321, 322, 368, 369 n. 1,

293,

n .

338 n.

visionary, 590

n.

301

552,

n. 2; registration form, 95; released from, Ixvii, 476, 616; takes courses, 599; visitors, lx, 2 0 1 n . 2 , 2 0 2 n . 3 , 2 2 9 , 2 3 2 n . 6 , 2 5 4 ,

662

INDEX Virginia, 37+, 405-406; in West Indies (1921), 56, 57, 58, 106, no n. 5, 484

576, 578; on membership of, 350; removal of Parent Body, 446 n . 1; on New York local and Parent Body as separate, 441442, 445; on out of propaganda and into diplomacy, 69, 70; on real estate of, 238 n. 2, 373, 427, 464, 576, 577; resigns office in, 339 n . 1; on salary disputes of, 373; on ship business of, 71; as stronger for criticism, 47

AND UNIA, NEGRO WORLD, AND BLACK STAR NAVIGATION AND TRADING COMPANY OFFICERS xl, 42, 67, 68, 69, 99, 239-140, 301, 309, 345, 346, 371, 393, 578; on Burrows, 394; on Craigcn, 353; on Crawford, 374, 376, 379, 381, 386; on Fortune, 229; on H. V. Davis, 394; on S. Haynes, 353; on Holder, 373, 443; on Isles, 443; on Amy Jacques having no office, 382,445, 462, 463; on Knox, 579, 618; on Kofey, xli, bevii, 594, 598, 599; on Kyle, 394; on Lord, 394, 593 n. 2, 596597; on Marke, lxiii, 372-373, 377, 383, 384; on Matthews, 418; on Negro World staff, 450, 451; New York local sues, lxv, lxvi, 433-437, 440-441 n . I, 441-446, 453-456, 463, 567, 575-576, 577; on Peters, 394; on Sherrill, xli, lxiii, 232, 308, 310, 317, 322, 341, 342, 347-348, 349, 353, 354-355, 362, 370, 372-373, 375-376, 377-378, 379, 382383, 386-387, 412, 427 n . 1; on L. Taylor, 443; on Thomas, 342, 347, 450, 451, 452; on Toote, bevi, bevii, 353, 428, 580, 583, 593 n . i, 600, 601, 602 n . 1; on UNIA Committee of Presidents, 341, 353; UNIA forces against, xl-xli, lxiv, 271 n . 1, 285286, 287, 288, 349-350 n . I, 353-354, 427 n . I, 431-432, 433-434, 435, 436, 440-441 n. i, 453-456; U N I A support for, xxxviixxxviii, lxiv, 119-125,145,241 n. i, 246, 267, 276 n. 2, 286-288, 385 n. i, 390, 395, 399, 433 n. 2, 437-438 n . 4, 4 4 0 n. 4, 4 4 7 448, 535,552-553 n . 1,555, 575 n . I, 583 n . 4, 611-612; on Ware, 353, 394; on Weston, lxiii, 271, 310, 312-313, 317, 322, 342, 349, 362, 372-373, 383, 384-385, 427, 428, 439, 443, 445, 457, 583

AND WHITE ANTIMISCEGATIONISTS and Anglo-Saxon Clubs, lx, 210 n. 1, 2:1, 216, 220, 252, 254; and Cox, xxxviii, xxxix, lix, be, lxiv, 160,161 n. 3,167-168,169 n. 2, 201, 209 n . i§, 210 n . 2, 211-212, 224-227, 229-232, 233 nn. 10, 11, 253, 254, 270 n. 2, 307-309, 319, 426, 427 n . i, 466, 525, 526; criticized, 220, 226-227, 228 nn. 1, 2, 232 n . 7, 466; on Ku Klux Klan, lxii, 166, 186-187, 211, 216, 229; and Ku Klux Klan, xxxviii, 166, 175, 186, 210 n . 2, 212 n. 3, 220, 254, 466, 590 n. 1; and Powell, 201 n . 2, 210 n. i, 211, 227, 230, 232 n. 5, 251252, 270, 308; and White America Society, 211, 216 ON WORLD LEADERS AND HISTORICAL AND RELIGIOUS FIGURES on Christ, 45-46, 618-619; on Coolidge, 47, 191-192, 468; on Daniel, 620; on Dossen, lvii, 8, 11 n. 1; on Gandhi, 75, 76; on Hitler, 48 n. 1; on Lincoln, 192; on Zaghlul Pasha, 76; on Simon the Cyrenian, 617; on Smuts, 334, 403-404; on Sojourner Truth, 161 Garvey Clubs, 446 n. 1,573 n . 1, 574 n. 2 Garvey, Marcus, Committee on Justice, 322323 n. i, 365 n • i, 368, 381, 386, 388 Garvey, Marcus, Defense Fund, 364,365 n . 1, 366, 437 n . I, 4 4 4 Garvey, Marcus, Freedom and Protection Fund, xxxviii, Iviii, 94, 210-211, 364, 365 n. i, 366-367, 369 Garvey, Marcus, Memorial Institute, Liberia, 439-440 N. I Garvey, Marcus, Pardon Delegation, lix, 145 Garvey, Marcus, Release Week, bevi, 556 Marcus Garvey v. United States. See Garvey, Marcus, mail fraud trial of "Garvey Must Go" movement, 590 n. 1 Garvey Papers Project, editorial practices of, xliii-lvi Garveyism, xxxv, 126, 420, 421-422, 469-470 n. 7; in Africa, 101, 466, 469 n. 4; and African colonization, S20-521 n. 1; black press on, 41 n. 2,586,587; in Florida, 594595 n. 1; Japanese on, 297 n. 2

ON UNIA on A C L as separate from, 589; on African program of, 8-9,10-11, 46-47, i8r, 352-353, 376, 387; on aims/purposes of, 40, 44-48, 67, 69, 70, 229; on annual convention of 1925 canceled, lix; on convention of 1924, xxxvi, 7-8; on convention of 1926 (Detroit emergency convention), xl, lxiii, 339 n . 1, 349, 352, 354, 362, 364, 367, 371-384, 392, 393-394, 397; on convention of 1929, 617; on enemies of, 8-9, 350; on finances of, 376, 387, 444,575; on honesty of, 232 n . 8; on industrial program of, 10-11, 69, 7071; on influence of, 371-372; as institution, 67; local charter revoked by, 598 n . i§; on local conventions of 1925,150-151; on local conventions of 1927, bevi, 567, 574, 575-

663

INDEX

Gmyosha (Japanese political organization), 297 n. 1 George V of Great Britain, 258, *26o n . 1 Georgia: racial integrity law in, 202 n . 3, 254; UNIA in, 292 German East Africa, 160-161 n . 1 Germany, 14 n . 4, 79, 297-298 n . 3 Gibbon, E. F., 565 Giltens, Uriah, 203, *204 n . 3, 241 n . 1, 349, 360, 361 n . 1, 426 n . 1, 437-438 n . 4, 440-441 n . 1, 444, 454,584 n . 1, 597 n . 2 S.S. General G. W. Goethals, 37, 178, 233, 239, 345-34¿, 348 n . 1, 382-383, 412, 414; chartered, 236, 247 n . 1, 263, 264 n . 1, 279, 280, 415; crew unrest on, Iviii, 105, 106, 107, 108,110, in-113,135-136 n . 2,154, 235, 237, 264 n . 1, 279-280, 380, 385 n . 5; damage/repairs to, 380, 385 n . 5, 405, 406 n . 2; finances/debts of, 105, 106, 108, HI, 113, 114-115, 116, 118-119, n . 2, 135, 235-236, 237, 257, 264, 339-340, 379-381, 385 n . 5, 386, 405, 406 n . 1, 636-651; in Florida,

Greater Liberia Bill, 169 n . 2 Green, James, 566,569-570, 595-596 Green, Mathilda, 478 n . 1 Green, Zebedce, 320 n . 2,477, *478 n . 1,580, 584,588,589, 598 Greensboro Commercial College, 117-118 n . 1 Grey, Edgar M., 501-502, 535 Griffin, W., 400 Griffith, D. W., 150 n . 1 Grimmer, Herman C., 154 Gyochisha (Japanese political organization), 297 n . 2 Hagar Young People's Unions, 565 n . 1 Haiti, 9, 309, 432,523 n . 8 Hall (attorney), 359 Hall, Mr. (of New York City), 301 n . 1 Hall, Mai, 394 n . 1 Hall, Otto, 248 n . 1 Hampton Institute, 229, 230, 232 n . 4, 439440 n . 1 Hampton-Tuskegee endowment fund, 232 n. 4 Hand, Judge Augustus N., lviii, 87-88 n . 1, 92, *93 n . 1, 186 Hand, Judge Learned, 87, 93 n . 1,179, 180 Harding, Warren G., 48 n . 3, 88, 103 n . 1, 195-196 n . 7, 311 n . 1; Birmingham speech of, 176; death of, 181,197 n . 14, 259 Harlem: black culture, xxxv; housing/evictions in, 76, 81 n . 2; Jewish capitalists in, 81 n . 2; mysticism and the occult in, 469 n . 6; numbers racket in, 469 n . 6; YWCA in, 353 n . 2 Harlem Furniture Company, 104-105 n . 2 Harlem Renaissance, xxxv Harrigan, C. A., 88-89, 100-102 Harris, George W., 103 n . 2, 311 n . i§ Harris v. United States, 28 Harris, Magill and Company (attorneys), 175, 188, 505

154-155, 165-166, 247; Garvey on, 113-117, 262, 263, 264, 265, 342, 367, 373, 374, 378379, 381, 393, 405-406, 410, 643; insurance on, 234-235; Ku Klux Klan boards, xxxvii, lix, 155-156 n . 9; libeled/sued, lix, 105, 135, 247 n . 1, 264 n . 1, 264 n . i§, 279-280, 340 n . 1, 359, 376, 378, 389-390, 413, 415; offer to buy, 411; as propaganda vehicle, 105; purchase of, lviii, 11-12 n . 2, 3436, 189, 373, 385 n . 2, 410, 545; to be renamed, xxxvi, lvii, 103 n . 2, 236,573 n . 1; sold, xxxvii, Ixiv, 203, 247, 262, 263, 264, 265, 359-360, 378, 410, 411, 413, 415-416; violates maritime regulations, 154,155 n . 7, 155-156 n . 9, 385 n . 5; West Indian voyage of, xxxvii, lviii, H-12 n . 2, 82-83, 105-109, m , 112, 113-117, 118-119 n . 2, 135, 136, 154, 202-203, 247, 374, 385 n . 2, 636-651 Gordon, George William, 161, 165 n . 4 Gordon, Mittie Maud Lena, 160-161 n . 1, 394 n. i Gordon, Mrs. Sarah E., 267 Gorgas, W. C., 136 Grant, Madison, 160-161 n . 1 Grant, Ulysses S., 362,519,523 n . 9 Grant, St. William Wellington, 437-438 n . 4 Great Britain: in Africa, 13, 69-70, 81 n . 1; "cat and mouse" law in, 197 n . 2; in Egypt, 13-14 n . 3, 588 n . i§; empire of, 337; Foreign Office of, 394 n . 1; Garvey in, 521 n . 2; Garvey as subject of, 389; in India, 75; in Japan, 297 n . 1; on Liberian colonization, 9, 34& n . i§, 519; nationalism in, 39; Privy Council of, 323, 338 n . 1, 425 n . 1; UNIA headquarters in, 446 n . 1; U.S. aid to in World War I, xoo-ioi, 194; women's suffrage movement in, 197 n . 12

Hart v. United States, 20-21, 28, 85 Haydcn, Carl, 144 n . i§ Haynes, Aurelia A., 392 n . 1 Haynes, Samuel A., 242 n . 2,271, 302,303,317 N • I, 344, 349, 355, 362-363 n . 1, 392, 393 n . 1, 451, 452, 458; on "Americanization'' of UNIA, 364 n . 1; Garvey on, 353; on Garve/s release, 322-323 n . 1; as member of UNIA Committee of Presidents, 250251, 266 n . 1, 301 n . 2, 348 n . 1, 349-350 n . 1, 396 Hayward, William, 31 n . 2, 66 Haywood, Harry, 248 n . 1 Heald, S. W., 82, 135 n . 1 Healy, Leo, 175, 186, 188, 504,505-506 Hearst, William Randolph, 195-196 n . 7, 196 n . 8, 319 nn. 1, 2 Hcckman, H. C., 104 n . 4, 464

664

INDEX Hemiti Young Men's Industrial Association,

437-438 n . 4, 454, *456 n . i Integration, racial, 469-470 n. 7. See also Race, separation; Segregation Inter-Allied Repatriation Commission, 311 n. i Inter-Colonial Steamship and Trading Company, 520-521 n. i International Council of Women of the Darker Races of the World, 522 n. 4 International Industrial Club of Milwaukee, 56i International Labor Defense, 430 n. 1 International Spiritual Church, 565 n. 1 Inter-parliamentary Union (IPU), xxxviii, 418

583 n . 4

Henry, Patrick, 191 Herbert, Fritz C., 196-197 n . 11 Herod, 618 Hill, H. G., 137 Hills, Parthenia £., 392 n . 1 Hindcnburg, Paul von, 258, 260 n . 3 Hiorth, Captain Jacob de Rytter, xxxvii, lviii, 106, 109, *IIO n . 6, n o n . 9, HI, 112, 113, 135-136 n . 2

Hiss, Alger, 93 n . 1 Hitler, Adolf, 48 n . 1 Hogue, Rev. E. H., 260 Holder, Wesley MacDonald, 355,362-363 n. 1, 432-433 n . 1, 437-438 n . 4, 446 n . 2; Garvey on, 373, 443 Holly, James T., 309 n . 3 Holstein, Casper, xli, bev, 271-272 n . 2, 469 n . 6,547, 548-549 n . 2, 577-578 n . 1 Hood, Solomon Porter, 6, 352 Hoogerbook, Edward, 551 Hoover, Herbert, 554 n. 1 Hoover, J. Edgar, 166 n. 1,560 Hough, Charles Merrill, 21, *87 n. 1, 179, 180 Howard, Esme, lxiii, 357 Howard, H. H., 449-450 n. 1 Howard University, 518,521-522 n. 3,541 Hoylc, Edmund, 126, *I28 n. 2 Hughes, Charles Evans, 12, 81, 181, 348 n. i§,

nn. j, 2, 3

Inter-Racial Council, 311 n. 1 Irish Free State, 31 n. 3 Irish, nationalism of the, 13-14 n. 3, 38, 79, 89, 189, 533 Isles, William, 432-433 n. 1, 437-438 n. 4, 443, 44A n . 2 Italy, 69-70, 194 Ivory Coast, 194, 348 n. i§

520

Jackson, Ed, 554 n. 1 Jackson, James, 581,583 n. 3 Jacobs, Haskel, 196 n . 9, 271-272 n . 2, 274, 371 n . 2, 577-578 n . i Jacobson, Jacob J., 437-438 n . 4, 577-578 n . 1 Jacobson, Louis, 196 n . 9, 271-272 n . 2, 274, 371 n . 2, 427, 437-43« n . 4, 462, 463, 577,

n. i, 611, 613

Jacobson and Jacobs (attorneys), 286, 288,

Hull, Harry Edward, lxii, *3o6 n. 1, 367, 392

578,583,584,590 n . i, 601 n . 1

Hunt, Lawrence J., 62, 131 Hunter, D. C., 49 Hurley, George William, bivi, »565 n. 1 Husband, W. W., lxii, 310-311, * j n n. 1, 314,

577-578 n . i

Jacques, Amy (Garvey), lxv, 95, 104, 117118 N. I, 120, 156, 166, 168, 185, 188, 201, 203, 205, 209, 225, 226, 228, 254, 255, 263 n . i, 271 n . i, 275, 276, 281, 283, 284, 289, 307, 3 3 3, 335, 340, 349, 355, 363, 368 n . i, 386, 389, 391, 392 n . i, 440, 455,

388, 392 n . i

Hyatt, Roy, 578,581,585 Hyer, James, 87-88 n. 1, 157 n. 1 Hylan, John F., 176, 195-196 n. 7, »196 n. 8,

573 n . i, 586, 589, 597 n . 2; accompanies Garvey to Atlanta, 94; accused of trying to control UNIA, 364, 365-367, 369, 370, 376377, 379, 382, 395, 396, 431, 435, 445, 462, 463; on African program, 366; in Black Star Line, 58; Bureau of Investigation on, 464 n . i, 465; confused with Amy Ashwood, 423; corresponds with Garvey in prison, 103-104 n . 3, 157-158, 159, 204-

263 n . i, 318, 319 n . 2

Ikki, Kita, 297 n. 2 Ile a Vache, Haiti, 523 n. 8 Illinois. See Chicago; East St. Louis Immigration and Naturalization Service, lx, 304 n . 2, 314, 608 n . i

Immigration quotas and restrictions, 88, 89,

205 n . 2, 257, 261, 265, 268, 269, 270, 274, 278, 293, 294, 300, 3ii, 313 N. I, 318, 323, 340 n . i, 341, 348, 349 n . i, 356,

n. i, 466, 4 6 8 - 4 6 9 n . 3, 608 n . 1

Improved Benevolent Protective Order of Elks of the World, 150 Independence Hall, Philadelphia, 538,539 Indiana: Ku Klux Klan in, 554 n. 1; UNIA in, 393 n . 2 India, 75, 76, 297 n. 1 Industrial and Commercial Bank, 599 n. 1 Industrial Workers of the World, 430 n. 1 Ingraham, Justice Daniel Phoenix, 429 n. 1,

392, 393-394, 417, 423, 425, 426, 429, 451,

460, 603; and Cox, 202 n . 4; on Cox,

231; edits Garvey's speeches and writings, xxxviii, xl, bui, 157-158, 159, 211, 268, 308, 332, 377, 566, 574 n . 2; Garvey on, 97, 321, 322, 368, 369 n. i, 371, 372, 376-377, 382, 462, 463, 571, 574, 618; on Garvey's

665

INDEX health, 204-205 n. 2; on Garve/s release, xxxviii, lviii, lix, lxiii, 94, i}4 n. 1, 138, 145, 152, 153, 200, 210-211, 319-320, 322-323 n. 1, 357-358, 365 n. 1, 366-367, 369, 375, 377, 381, 437 n. 1, 464 n. 2; and Garvey Committee on Justice, 322-323 n. 1, 365 n. 1, 381; and Garvey Defense Fund, 437 n. 1; and Garvey Freedom and Protection Fund, xxxviii, lviii, 94, 210-211, 365 n. 1, 366-367; and Garvey Pardon Delegation, 145; on Goethals, 265; handles money, 421, 554, 543; health of, 350 n. 2, 382, 425, 426; on Liberty University, 439-440 n. 1, 462; nickname of, 258 n. 1; rechristens Goethals, 103 n. 2; restraining order on, 104-105 n. 2; salary of, 419-420,574; sells Garve/s picture, 157 n. 3, 164 n. 1, 563, 621 n. 1; sells Garve/s song, 559, 621 n. 1; sends copies of Philosophy and Opinions, 277, 357, 424, 475; on Sherrill, 350 n. 2, 364, 365-366; on staff of Negro World, 151 n. 2, 229, 419; statements against, 571,574; sued by New York local, 433-437,440-441 n. 1, 441-446, 463; at UNIA convention of 1926 (Detroit), lxiv, 309 n. 2, 350 n. 2, 366, 397; visits Garvey in prison, 311, 350 n. 2; Was Justice Defeated? of, xxxviii, lviii, 134 n. 1, 198, 198-199 n. 2, 205; on Weston, 365 Jacques, Cleveland, 58 Jacques, Ida, 369 Jamaica, 458 n. 2; Garvey in, 106, no n. 5; Garvey deported to, 608 n. 1; Goethals in, xxxvii, lviii, 105-109, hi, 114; independence for, 117-118 n. 1; politics in, 33; UNIA in, 305, 439-440 n. 1, 446 n. 1; UNIA convention of 1929 in, 117-118 n. 1, 446 n. 1,573 n. 1,574 n. 2 Jamaica Save the Children Fund, 117-1:8 n. i Jamaica Women's Liberal Club, 117-118 n. 1 Janson, D. F., 472, 473 n. 2, 474 Japan: fascism in, 297 nn. 1, 2; and Germany, 14 n. 4; immigration from restricted, 88, 89 n. 1; militarism in, 297 n. 2; nationalism in, 297 n. 2, 297-298 n. 3 Japanese Exclusion Bill, 88, 89 n. 1 Jefferson, Thomas, 192,195,198 n. 19, 216,519, 522-523 n. 7 Jenkins, Janie, 488 Jenkins, D. A., 154, »155 n. 2 Jesus. See Christ Jews, 330; and Bolsheviks, 48 n. 1; as capitalists, 81 n. 2; against Garvey, 166, 308; Garvey on, 38, 39, 44, 48 n. 1, 69, 79, 80, 163, 166, 186, 308; nationalism of, 38, 39, 69 (see also Zionism); Palestine/promised land for, 88, 189, 533, 539-54° n. 1, 541; race unity of, 79, 80, 163; in Russia, 44, 48 n. 1; Toote on, 448, 538,539

Jimcrowism, 466,582 Joan of Arc, 100, 161 Johnson (on Goethals), 374 Johnson (of Pittsburgh), 598 n. i§ Johnson, Aaron J., 260 Johnson, David, 395 Johnson, Fred E., 145, 322-323 n. 1, 391, 640 Johnson, Fred E., Jr., 400 n. 2 Johnson, Gabriel, 334,589 Johnson, Henry Lincoln, 15, 16, 17, 172, 490, 491, 492 Johnson, Ira, 581,583 n. 3 Johnson, James Weldon, 167, 219, 457 n. 1, 470 n. 8 Johnson, Leonard, 135-136 n. 2 Johnson, Mordecai, 541, »546 n. 3 Johnson and Higgins (insurers), 235 Johnston, Sir Harry H., 226 n. 1 Jones, Benjamin, 573 n. 1 Jones, Edwin, 327 Joshua, 539-540 n. i Joyner, Marjorie Stewart, 400 Justice, legal, 191-193, 259-260, 321, 556 Kaiser Wilhelm. See Wilhelm II S.S. Kanawha, 54,55, 109 n. 3, 129, 484, 498, 512 Kansas, 309 n. 3, 362 n. 3 "Keep Cool" (song), 557-558, 559, 563, 621 Kellman, Christopher, 637 Kellogg, Frank Billings, 105, *io9 n. 2, 152 Kellogg v. United States, 85 Kent, J. Hamilton, *599-6oo n. 1, 600 n. 1 Kentucky, 393 n. 2, 469-470 n. 7 Kenya, 81 n. 1 Key, Francis Scott, 198 n. 21 Kilroe, Edwin P., 65, 502-503 Kimberley diamond mines, 13 n. 2, 160-161 n. i King, A. L., 432-433 n. 1, 437-438 n. 4 King, C. D. B., 8, 220-221 n. 1, 333, 352, 392, 394 n. i, 467,519 Kingdom of God in Christ, 565 n. 1 Kinney, Robert, 561 Klein, Judge Nicholas, 349 n. 1, 367, *368 n. i, 391, 392 Kline (Chattanooga policeman), 581 Knapp, C. Delano, 472, 473 n. 2, 474 Knesiphi (of Gold Coast) 594-595 n. 1 Knights of Columbus, 335 Knights of Pythias, 335 Knox, E. B., lxvi, lxvii, 117-118 n. 1, 271-272 n. 2, 391, 540-546, *546 n. i, 570 n. 2, 574, 576, 577, 578, 583, 590, 593, 596, 597 n. 2, 598, 601, 602; on black leaders, 541; Garvey on, 579, 618; as Garvey's representative to New York local convention, 572, 575, 579, 618; on Liberty University, 601 n. i, 602 n. 1; on social equality, 541;

666

INDEX

visits Garvey in prison, 584 n . 1, 603 Kodoha (Japanese Young Officer movement),

tute in, 439-440 n . 1; Monrovia College in, 353 n . 1; People's party in, 394 n . 1; U N I A colonization program in, xxxvi, lvii,

297-298 n . 3

3 - 7 , 8 - 9 , 10-11, 12, 36, + 6 - 4 7 , 143, 173, 181, 333, 348 N. I § , 352-353, 364, 365 N. 2, 376, 387, 390, 4 3 4 , 519, 520, 631

Kofey, Laura Adorker, xli, Ixvi, lxvii, »594595 N. I, 598,599

Kohn, Armin, lxv, lxvii, 198-199 n . 2, 293,

Liberia Exodus Steamship Company, 520-521 n. 1

4 2 ? , 4 1 6 , 4 4 1 N. 2, 457, 4 7 2 N. 2, 4 7 7 ,

602; on G a r v e / s deportation, 608 n . 1; on Garve/s pardon, 478-493, 499 n . 1, 500-

Liberian Industrial Training Institution and School, 518,521 n . 2 Liberty Crusaders, 548, 549 n . 4 Liberty Hall (New York City), 432, 436, 440441 n . 1, 546, 574, 577; condition of, 356; foreclosed/sold, xli, bivi, lxvii, 196 n . 9,

515, 532-536

K o h n and Nagler (attorneys), 31, 74, 103,104, 234, 293, 440, 441 n . 2,515

Kraus, Mr. (of N e w York), 301 n . 1 K u Klux Klan, 201 n . 2, 215, 468 n . 1, 561562 n . 1; on black franchise, 590 n . 1; in Detroit, 469-470 n . 7; Garvey and, xxxviii, 166, 175, 186, 210 n . 2, 212 n . }, 220, 254, 466, 590 n . 1; Garvey on, lxii, 166,186-187, 211, 216,229; Gotthais boarded by, xxxvii, lix, 155-156 n . 9; in Indiana, 554 n . 1; on race purity, lxii, 187, 211 Kyle, D . H . , *3 n . 1, 7, 145, 278, 281, 322, 394

469 N. 6 , 5 4 7 , 5 4 $ — 5 4 9 N. 2, 577-578 N. 1,

590 n . 1,591 n . 2, 602; as inspiration, 539, 547-548; joint ownership of, xli, lxv, 437438 n . 4; mortgaged, xfi, lxv, 141, 143, 238 n . 2, 271, 283 n . 1, 342, 349, 356, 364, 366, 369, 371 n . 2, 378, 395, 416—417, 429 n . 1, 4 4 5 , 539, 547, 5 4 Ì - 5 4 9 n . 2, 576; n e w , 274;

politicians speak at, 176, 195-196 n . 7, 196 n . 8; Powell at, 252-256; raided, 177 Liberty University, lxv, 436-437, 440-441

Lacombe, J., 21 Lafayette Theater (Harlem), 370-371 n . 1 La Follette, Robert, 4« n . 3 La Guardia, Fiorello, 195-196 n . 7 Lains, William L., 292, *293 n . 1 Lamos, Enid, 186, 489 Lamport and Holt Line (steamships), 4S4 Langer, William, 160-161 n . 1 Law Journal, 196 n. 9 Lawrence, D . H . , 456 n . 4 Leadett, Carrie, *4i8 n . 1, 486-487, 488 League for Progressive Political Action, 48 n. 3

N. I, 453, 455, 532, 568 N. I, 592, 593, 601

n . 1, 602 n . 1; aim/purpose of, xli, 439440 n . 1, 570; default on, bevi; funds for, 462, 583 n . 4; Garvey on, lxvii, 445, $70-571; A m y Jacques o n , 439-440 n . 1,

462; officers/control of, 439-440 n . 1, 440 n . 4, 600, 601; purchase of, xli, lxiv, 571 n . 2; reincorporated, lxvii, 593 n . 2, 601 n . i § ; U N I A excursions to, 437- See also Smallwood-Corey Industrial College and Institute Lincoln, Abraham, 4, 88, 164 n . 3, 180, 192,

League o f Nations, 13-14 n . 3, 103 n . 1, 242

195, 216, 220-221 n . 1, 253, 362, 519, 523 n . 8, 529

N. I, 4 3 2

Lindbergh, Charles, 564 Little, Earl, lxvi, *56I-J62 n . 1 Little, Louise, 561-562 n . 1 Little, Malcolm. See Malcolm X. Llewelyn, William, 362-363 n . 1 Lloyd George, David , 197 n . 2 Lloyds o f London, 235, 236,506 Logemoh, S. O . , 520-521 n . 1 Longfellow, Henry W . , 449 Longworth, Nicholas, bei, »289 n . 1, 290

Lcary, Justice Thomas A., 151 n . 3 Ledonne, E., 137 Ledpister, Francella, 305 Leflûrmtz v. United States, 85 Lenht, Rabbi Haling Hank. See C o o k , Bishop Allan Wilson Let My People Go (Cox), lxii, 161 n . 3, 167, 233 n. 11, 253,526

Levy, Isaac M., »31 n . 3, 74, 84, 349 n . 1 Liberia, 370-371 n . 1, 432; American investment in, j2i n . 2,521-522 n . 3; bans U N I A colony in, xxxvi, lvii, 152 n . 2, 348 n . i§, 394, 467, 519; as colonization/repatriation site, 308, 309 n n . 2, 3, 518, 519, 520-521 n . I, 578-579; constitution o f 520; H . V . Davis in, 394 n . 1; D u Bois in, 6; Europe's influence in, 9, 34« n . i§, 519; Firestone Company in, 9-10, 81 n . 1, 143, 376, 392 n . I, 467; forced labor in, 81 n . 1, 394 n . I, 521 n . 2; legislature of, 152 n . 2, 392 n . I, 394; Marcus Garvey Memorial Insti-

n . 2, 294, 299, 302

Lord, F. Levi, 242, 266 n . 1, 271-272 n . 2, 275, 327, 328, 367, 378, 393, 397, 406 n . 1, 408-409, 415, 419, 429 N. 1, 431, 4 3 7 438 n . 4, 450, 573 n . 1, 574, 593; on

Black Cross Navigation/Goif&ofr finances, 350 n . 2, 636-651; Garvey on, 394, 593 n . 2, 596-S97; sued by N e w York local, 440-441 n . 1; as U N L A officer, 339 n . 1, 396, 439-440 n . 1; visits Garvey in prison, 597 n . 2

667

INDEX Louisiana, U N I A in, 117—118 n . 1, 393 n . 2. See also New Orleans L'Ouverture, Toussaint, 161, 165 n . 4, 556 Lowell, James Russell, 449 Lowman, Annie, 449-^.50 n . 1 Lowman, Bertha, 449-450 n . 1 Lowman, Clarence, 449-450 n . 1 Lowman, Demon, 449-450 n . 1 Lunn, George, 3} n . 2 Luther, Martin, 180 Lynchings, 149, 215, 447, 449-450 n . 1, 555, 587 Lyons, Ernest, 8, 9

Martin, John Wellborn, 154, *i55 n . 3 Maryland. See Baltimore Mason ( U N I A or Black Star Line employee), 312 Massachusetts. See Boston Matthews, E. R., 317, 418 Matthews, William, 218, 220-221 n . 1 Mattuck, Maxwell S., lxii, 16, 17, 18, 19, 24, 66, 73, 84, 87, 93, 172, 173, 174, 175, 177, 178, 179, 182, 183, 184, 185, 186, 189, 293, 489-491, 492, 502, 512, 523 n . 13; opposes commutation, 307, 313; threatened, 206, 208 Mead, Rep. James M., 470, *47i n . 1 Merrilees, Thomas P., 208 Metropolitan Bank and Trust Company, 232 n. 8 Metropolitan Baptist Church, 271-272 n . 2, 547 Metropolitan Business College, 117-118 n . 1 Mexican Petroleum Company, Ltd., 71 n . 3 Mexico, 14 n . 4, 466, 468-469 n . 3 Michigan, U N I A in, 115 n . 2, 393 n . 2. See also Detroit Midgett, H. C , 232 n . 2 Miller (sued U N I A ) , 196 n . 9 Miller, Kelly, 541 Millsaps College, 460 Minyard, Milton, xxxix, 581,583 n . 4,586 Miscegenation. See Amalgamation, racial Mississippi, U N I A in, 393 n . 2 Missionary education, 522 n . 4 Missouri. See St. Louis Mitchel, John Purroy, 196 n . 8, 207 n . 1 Mitchell, J. A . , *i36 n . 1 Mitchell, William DeWitt, 610 Mitsukawa, Kametaro, *297 n . 2; The Negro Problem of, 297, 340 Mitsuru, Toyama, 297 n . 1 Modernism, 164 n . 1, 165 n . 5 Mohammed, 100,180 Molière, Jean-Baptiste, 102 n . 3 Mongolians, 163 Mongrelization. See Amalgamation Monrovia College, Liberia, 353 n . 2 Moodie, A. Dunn, 587, *j88 n . 2 Moore (U.S. Marshall), 247 Moore, Fred R., 103 n . 2 Moore, Louis, 583 n . 3 Moore, Richard B., 412 Moorehead, Samuel E., 472 Morais, Dr. F. W. M., 394 n . 1 Morales, Eduardo V . , 432-433 n . 1 Morris, George Pope, quoted, 548 Morrison (attorney in Pittsburgh), 584 n . i § Morrow, Colonel, 34 Morse Dry Dock Company, 482 Morter, Ann Rebecca, 300 nn. 1, 3, 301 n . 1, 323, 338 n . 3, 390, 400, 401. See also

Macbeth, 98-99 n . 1 McCabe, Edwin P., 309 n . 3 McCray, Gov. Warren T., 553, *554 n . 1 McDonald, G. S., 305 McDougle, Ivan, 427 n . 1 McElkenny, Daniel F., 472, 473 n . 2, 474 McEvoy, 268 n . i§, 270, 341, 457, 603; and Skinner, 452 McGuire, Rev. George Alexander, 268 n . 1, 300, 349, 391, 392 n . 1, 414 n . 1 Mclnnis, H . H . , 644 Mack, Judge Julian W., bt, lxii, 14, 49, 66 n . 3, 172, 173, 175, 177, 178, 180, J86, 189, 517; on bias of, 64-65; Garvey on, 64, 65; on Garvey's commutation, 307, 313314; on Garvey's pardon, 221, 222, 223; on Garvey's salaries, 444, 446 n . 3, 479; and N A A C P , 29, 212 n . 3; sentences Garvey, 208; threatened, 206, 208 McKay, Claude, 469 n . 6 McKinley, Sen. William Brown, 319, +320 n. 1 McLean, Gov. Angus Wilton, 232 n . 4 MacLean, George B., 472, 473 n . 3 McLeod, Clarence John, 33 n . 1, *H9 n . 2 Macmillan Company, 603 McPherson, L. E., 305 Madagascar, 81 n . 1 Madison Square Garden, 102 Mair, E. E., *570 n . 1, 576,596,597 nn. 1, 2 Malcolm X, 561-562 n . 1 Mallison, George, 524, 528-529 n . 2 Malone, Robert, »584 n . i§ Manhattan House o f Detention. See Tombs Manhattan Republican Club, 195-196 n . 7 Manton, Judge Martin, 21, 62-63 Marcus Aurelius, xl Marke, George O . , 250, 266 n . 1, 348 n . 1, 349-350 n . 1, 397, 432-433 n . 1; Garvey on, lxiii, 372-373, 377, 383, 384; on Amy Jacques, 395, 396; as Potentate, 334, 454; sues for salary, 422 n . 1 Marshall, J. A., 564 Martin, Cassie Bell, 565 n . 1 Martin, Freeman L., 3, 7

668

INDEX Morter estate case Morter, Isaiah E., xli-xlii, 269, 270 n . 1, 535. See also Morter estate case Morter estate case (Ann Rebecca Morter v. Arthur Balderamos, H. H. Cain, and the UN1A), lxii, lxiii, 300, 301 n . 7, 323338, 3 7 7 , 38?, 4 1 6 , 6 2 0 ; appealed, 3 0 2 - 3 0 3

Negro Actors Guild, 3 7 0 - 3 7 1 n . 1 Negro American Alliance, 238 n . i§ Negro Champion, 248 n. 1 Negro Factories Corporation, 1 6 , 1 9 ,

Negro Industrial Commission, 5 2 0 , 5 2 3 n . 12 Negro University. See Liberty University Negro World, xli, 17, 50, 51, 201 n . 2, 203,

n . 1, 3 0 3 n . 1, 323, 331-335, 338 n . i , + 0 2 , 4 0 5 , 4 2 7 - 4 2 8 n . 1, 4 2 8 , 4 5 1 , 4 5 2 , 5 6 i n .

1;

2 0 4 n . 2 , 2 0 6 , 2 3 2 , 2 7 1 - 2 7 2 n . 2 , 3 2 9 , 337,

British Privy Council to hear, 3 2 3 , 3 3 8 n . 1, 42$ n . 1; decision in, xli-xlii, lxiv, 323, 338 nn. 1, 3, 4 0 0 - 4 0 4 ; partial settlement in, 327; Sherrill and, 378; U N I A as beneficiary in, 300 nn.

1 , 3, 301 n . 1 , 3 0 2 - 3 0 3 n .

349

n.

I,

376,

383,

398,

427

n.

I,

428,

458, 4 7 0 n . 8 , 503, 523 n . 13, 531, 543, 565 n . I , 573 n . I, 5 7 4 , 583 n . 3, 5 9 4 - 5 9 5 n .

1,

618; African Communities League owns and publishes, 390, 419, 502; on African nationhood, 335; on antimiscegenationists, xxxix, lx, 2 2 6 - 2 2 7 ; on Black Cross Navigation and Trading Company, 341 n . 1; in British Honduras, 300 n . 4; on Burrows,

1,

323-324, 390, 4 0 1

Moses, 292, 448, 537, 538, 539—$40 n. 1; Garvey compared to/as, 12, 84, 133, 180,566,569 Mozambique, 81 n . 1 Mulzac, Hugh, 182, 197 n . 16 S.S. Munorlcans, 247 n . 1 Munson Steamship Line, 247 n . 1, 411 n . 1 Murphy, J. C., 320 n . 2 The Music Trade News, 559 Mysticism, 565 n . 1

310 n . 1; finances o f , 2 4 3 - 2 4 4 , 356, 4 8 1 4 8 2 , 4 9 6 , 4 9 7 , 5 0 1 , 5 0 2 , 535, 5 7 6 , 5 9 6 , 5 9 7

n . 2; Garvey attempts to control from prison, xl, lxiii, Ixvi, 2 2 7 , 2 2 9 , 2 5 0 , 3 2 2 , 3 4 1 , 3 4 3 n . I, 4 5 0 - 4 5 1 , 4 5 2 , 5 7 0 , 5 9 6 , 5 9 9 ;

Garvey,

2 0 4 - 2 0 5 n . 2, 2 4 6 , 4 3 7 - 4 3 8 n .

on 4,

on Goethais, 2 4 7 n . I, 411 n . I, 415-416; on Jewish capitalists, 81 n . 2; on Kofey, 599 n. 1; on Liberty University, 4 3 9 - 4 4 0 n . 1 , 5 3 2 , 5 9 2 ; on N A A C P , 457 n . I, 461 n . 1; New York local convention on, 432; as official organ, 335; on Paine, 198 n . 20; on Peters, 238 n . 1; Philosophy and Opinions advertised in, 2 7 7 , 2 8 3 - 2 8 4 n . I , 563; salaries of, 2 8 3 n . 1,450 n . 1; on Sherrill, 317 n . 1; Sisnett quotes from, 4 0 2 - 4 0 4 ; to be sold, 328; staff/editors of, xl, 1 1 7 - 1 1 8 n . 1, 128 n . 1, 151 n . 2 , 2 2 9 , 2 3 2 nn. 3, 7 , 317, 3 4 i n . i§, 3 4 2 , 3 4 3 n . I , 4 1 8 n . I , 4 1 9 , 4 5 0 , 451, 4 5 2 , 570 (see also Fortune, T. Thomas; Thomas, Norton G.); suppressed, 184; on Toote, 575 n . i§; on U N I A in Chattanooga, 583 n . 4 , 5 8 4 - 5 8 7 ; on U N I A convention of 1926 (Detroit), 344; Weiler supported by, 1 0 3 n. 2 Nellans, Charles T., 551 New Jersey, 393 n . 2 4 7 6 , 5 5 2 - 5 5 3 n . 1 , 5 6 6 , 605;

N A A C P . See National Association for the Advancement of Colored People Nagler, Maurice, 293, 457, 472 n. 2; on Garvey's pardon, 4 7 8 - 4 9 3 , 5 3 2 - 5 3 6 . See also Kohn and Nagler (attorneys) Napoleon I (Napoleon Bonaparte), 161, 456 n.

2 0 6 , 282,

443, 4 9 6 , 542

1,556

Napoleon III (Louis Napoleon), 98, 99 n . 2 National Academy of Sciences, 5 1 9 , 5 2 3 n . 1 0 National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), 41, 49, 173, 195 n . 2 , 2 1 6 , 2 2 0 - 2 2 1 n . 1, 353 n . 2 , 528, 5 9 0

n . 1; on amalgamation, racial, lxii, 217, 219; Amos as alleged agent of, 184; black press on, 457 n . 1, 467, 470 nn. 8, 9; on Cox, 253; Cox on, 212 n . 3; education grant of, 467, 470 n . 8; Garland (slush) fund of, 457 n . 1, 461 n . 1. 470 nn. 8, 9; Garvey on, lxii, 97, 167, 168, 184, 187, 217, 219, 229, 308, 350, 457, 467; as Garvey's enemy, 29, 187, 335, 350; Garvey's trial influenced by, z u n . 3, 219; Judge Mack in, 29, 212 n . 3; as "race enemy," 97, 167; and Sweet family, 4 6 9 - 4 7 0 n . 7 Nationalism: African, 87, 368 n . 1, 617, 618 n . 1; black, 96, 309 n . 1, 619; British, 39; Egyptian, 13-14 n . 3, 69, 588 n . i§;

New Negro, 220-221 n . 1, 277, 447; Garvey influences, xxxv, 126 New Negro World, 169 n. 2,573 n. 1 New Orleans: desegregation in, 4 6 9 - 4 7 0 n . 7 ; Peters to, 591; U N I A in, 1 1 7 - 1 1 8 n . 1, 238 n . i § , 5 9 1 , 5 9 7

G a r v e y o n , 1 3 - J 4 n . 3, 38, 3 9 - 4 0 , 87, 96, 189, 231, 2 3 2 n . 9 ; German, 2 9 7 - 2 9 8 n . 3;

Newport News, 210 n. 2 New Republic, bevi, 589 New Thought metaphysics, xl New Times and Ethiopian News, 197 n. 12 New York (city), U N I A in (New York Local U N I A Division), 2 6 0 - 2 6 1 , 2 7 6 n . 1, 312, 319, 364, 412, 416, $73 n . 1; acts as U N I A ,

of Indians in Japan, 297 n . 1; Irish, 1314 n . 3, 38, 79, 89, 189, 533; Japanese, 297 n . 2 , 2 9 7 - 2 9 8 n . 3; Jewish/Zionist, 38, 39, 6 9 , 1 8 9 , 5 3 3 ; Turkish, 2 9 7 - 2 9 8 n . 3 Nebraska, 393 n . 2