Transcriber’s Note: This is a reprint edition provided by the Negro
Universities Press, New York, 1969. Articles split across pages of the
magazine have been re-joined. Adverts have been moved to the end of the
publication.




                        THE HALF-CENTURY MAGAZINE

                              AUGUST, 1916

                             [Illustration]

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               The HALF-CENTURY MAGAZINE PUBLISHING Company
                            Chicago, Illinois




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                VOLUME I      AUGUST, 1916      NUMBER 1




CONTENTS


    Cover               Mrs. Florence Cole-Talbert

                                              Page

    Editorial                                  3-4

    An Orator                                    5

    Centennial General A. M. E. Conference       6

    National Republican Convention               6

    An Act of Charity (A Story)                  7

    The National Association of Colored Women    8

    Musical and Dramatic                         9

    A Salesmen’s Convention                     10

    Beauty Hints                                11

    Domestic Science                            12

    Opportunity (A Poem)                        16

    The Man Who Wins (A Poem)                   16

    With Our Exchanges                          18




EDITORIAL


As there are already many race publications on the market, it is expected
of a new one that an excuse be offered for its entering the field and an
explanation be made of its object, its purpose and its policy.

The excuse that it is “to fill a long felt want,” although a stereotyped
expression, is an appropriate one in this case; for notwithstanding there
are already many race publications on the market, none of them seems to
meet the requirements, judging from the general expressions so repeatedly
heard.

There are so many features that we plan to cover, and so many things that
are done by other publications that we think are subject to criticism,
which we propose _not_ to do, that we will make mention of only a few of
them at this time, leaving the balance to be reviewed later.

It will not be our sole ambition to make this magazine a “literary gem”
either for our own gratification or to suit the fancy of the “highbrows,”
but to present facts in plain, commonsense language, so that the masses
may read and understand; or, in the words of Brother Taylor, we propose
to call a “spade a _spade_” and not an “excavating instrument for manual
manipulation.”

It is our intention to chronicle such doings of the race as may be of
interest to a majority of our readers. Such men and women of the race as
may attain eminence or affluence by perseverance, we shall be pleased
to make mention of in these columns, as we feel assured that the masses
are interested in the same; but we shall refrain from publishing such
articles as “Sister Smith of Bastrop gave a chicken dinner last Sunday
for Brother Jones of Monroe,” as we believe that of all our readers only
four persons would be interested in such an item—Sister Smith, because it
tickled her vanity to see her name in print; Brother Jones, to the extent
that as he had partaken of many similar dinners under more agreeable
surroundings, the recalling to his memory of this affair reminded him how
bored he was; Brother Jones’ wife, who was in a quandary as to why Sister
Smith should go to the expense to give her husband a dinner, and Mrs.
Brown, who lives next door to Sister Smith, who expresses her interest
with these remarks: “I think it would be better if Sister Smith would
pay her debts before she starts giving big dinners.” As such news items
are fully covered by our leading Colored weeklies, we leave the field to
their complete monopolistic control.

As the Race Problem is ever with us, we shall discuss and shall entertain
discussions of the same from time to time. We appreciate that we are now
living in a commercial era and that the factors of paramount importance
in the solution of this problem are economy, industry—the making and
saving of money—and business development. We also appreciate that in
the upbuilding of the race, unity, co-operation and race patronage are
essential. We believe where other things being equal, our business
enterprises should receive the patronage of our _leaders_ as well as
the masses. There seems to be a well-founded complaint that some of our
leaders, from indifference, selfishness or neglect, fail to patronize
our business enterprises or give them the consideration they deserve.
The Good Book says: “If you are not for us you are against us.” We shall
endeavor to “show up” from time to time which side our leaders are on.

Unfortunately, we have three classes of leaders. In the first class we
have the men and women who, through thought and sacrifice and action, are
actually _doing things_ for the race’s advancement. We will take pleasure
in mentioning them and their work, as they are entitled to every praise.

In another class we have leaders that have been selected _for us_ by
the white race, on account of their willingness to advocate inferiority
and practice submission. We have still another class that has assumed
leadership based upon falsification, gall, treachery, bigotry, egotism
and borrowed oratory. These two latter classes are appropriately
designated as “old aces” and it is customary for our race journals to
give publicity to such persons for so much per. When such persons _do_
something for the advancement of the race we will be pleased to make note
thereof, but we will not use valuable space in rehashing and gleaming
before the public, falsely assumed virtues and accomplishments to which
they are not entitled, but for which they have been given credit solely
for the reason that they have “divied up” with someone, to falsely
represent them before the public.

We should like to send every one of our Subscribers a letter telling of
our plans and ambition to give them the greatest value in the columns of
=The Half-Century Magazine= that can be obtained anywhere.

We are very pleased to announce that we have secured the services of Miss
Leona Porter to conduct our Domestic Science Department. She is, without
question, one of the leading cooking authorities in this country today
and needs no introduction. To secure Miss Porter’s services exclusively
for the =Half-Century=, it cost a great deal of money, but we wanted
to have the “real authority” to conduct this department. The recipes
which will be published each month should be saved. They are arranged
in convenient form, so that they can be cut out and pasted in your cook
book. You are at liberty to write Miss Porter at any time and she will
give you, without cost, helpful advice on all questions of marketing and
cooking, household economies, recipes, menus, left-overs and problems of
housekeepers.

Miss Evelyn Northington will conduct our Department of Beauty Hints.
Miss Northington needs no introduction, as she is of national renown
as an authority on Beauty Culture. You can rest assured that when Miss
Northington indorses anything, it has had her personal investigation and
her indorsement cannot be purchased for money. The article itself must
come up to the standard or she will not indorse it. Little aids to beauty
and good health—hints on complexion, hair trouble, skin, etc.—are matters
on which you will receive advice promptly from a source you may trust.

We shall note each month, as the information comes to us, the latest
books by Colored authors or about the Negro. The latest songs and music
by Negroes and the latest talking machine records.

We want short stories with plots and settings dealing with Negro
life and will pay a good price for all such stories as are accepted
for publication in our columns. Stories must not exceed 5,000 words,
must be typewritten and written only on one side of paper. Please
understand—manuscripts that are not accepted will not be returned unless
sufficient stamps are inclosed to pay postage on the same.

Politics! Oh, yes! The Negro is a born politician, and although we shall
try to avoid following our natural instinct to jump into the Political
Pot, at the same time we are going to reserve the right to discuss fairly
and impartially, men and measures as they may come up to affect the
welfare of the race.

We are planning a Special Fashion Number for our September issue. This
will be a unique number in which we have a big surprise in store for you.
We will show the latest fall styles in ladies’ wearing apparel. A corps
of trained fashion experts of our race in Chicago and New York have been
engaged and will especially feature our people in the latest styles.

The advertisements of a modern publication have become one of its most
important features, as it is the medium by which the manufacturer or
distributor and the consumer are brought together. It is a fact that many
persons are more interested in the advertisements of a publication than
in any other of its features, which is evidenced by the fact that they
often read the advertisements first; for it enables one not only to keep
abreast with the new developments, but also offers many opportunities for
saving in expenses, which is very important in these days of “high cost
of living”!

We believe in truthfulness in advertising, and, therefore, will not
knowingly insert in our columns, false or extremely exaggerated
advertisements; nor will we accept the advertisements of clairvoyants,
fortune tellers, promoters of questionable oil wells or mining stocks or
other get-rich-quick concerns as have fleeced our people in the past. It
is our intention to investigate the responsibility and reliability of
each advertiser before we accept same for publication. We shall aim to
set a standard that if the advertisement appears in this publication, it
is reliable; a policy that should produce such a confidence between the
advertiser and our readers, as to result in a mutual benefit.

These are only a few of the many things we have planned, to give you the
best value possible for your subscription money.

                                                               THE EDITOR.




Making up your mind about people—whether you will like them or not—the
first instant you meet them, is like reading the end of a book first. You
may (though you frequently don’t) secure a fairly accurate impression,
but all the thrill of suspense, the gradual unfolding of surmise into
certainty, is lost forever.




THE AMBITIOUS FROG.


    In old Aesop’s fable we read of a frog
      Who burst, like a bubble in air,
    While trying to show to his friends in the bog
      The size of an ox who’d been there.
    And the moral was drawn from the homely old tale
      That a man should take care what he tries,
    And plod on through life, on a nice, modest scale,
      Since only contentment is wise.

    But my heart goes out to that cocky young frog,
      Whose life was so recklessly spent;
    Who burst into bits in the midst of his bog
      Because on ambition intent.
    But tho’ he was highly conceited, I know,
      I’m strong for his courage and gall;
    For it’s better to burst in attempting to grow
      Than to have no ambition at all.

                               —Berton Braley in Life.




NEWS ITEMS


The National Association of Colored Women will hold their biennial
meeting at Baltimore, August 6 to 11.

       *       *       *       *       *

The National Meeting of Colored Odd Fellows, that is known as the B. M.
C., will be held at Washington, September 11 to 16.

       *       *       *       *       *

The Boyd faction of the National Baptist Convention will hold its
convention September 6th at the Second Baptist Church of Kansas City.

       *       *       *       *       *

The Morris faction of the National Baptist Convention will hold its
convention September 13th at the First African Baptist Church of
Savannah, Ga.

       *       *       *       *       *

The National Negro Business League, of which the late Dr. Booker T.
Washington was president, will meet at Kansas City, Mo., August 16, 17
and 18.

       *       *       *       *       *

The National Negro Press Association will also meet at Kansas City at the
same time.

       *       *       *       *       *

The National Medical Association of Colored Physicians, Surgeons,
Dentists, and Pharmacists meets at Kansas City, Mo., August 22, 23, 24.
Dr. U. G. Dailey, of Chicago, is president of this organization.




An Orator


[Illustration: WILLIAM HARRISON HAYNES]

Among the four contestants for a prize in oratory at the University of
Chicago was William Harrison Haynes of Nashville, Tenn. The first prize
of $100, which is awarded annually to a student of this university for
excellence in oratory, is given by Mr. Julius Rosenwald of Chicago.

The contest was held on the evening of June 1st, in Leon Mandel Assembly
Hall. A brown face and such a title—“A Plea for Justice”—without
difficulty attracted for the speaker the keenest attention of an audience
almost entirely white. Confident in his skill and ability and rejoicing
in this marvelous opportunity to speak before such an audience in behalf
of his people, Mr. Haynes delivered his oration in a style and manner
that has never been equaled in previous contests. It was evident by the
heavy waves of applause, that to him belonged the victory, and when the
announcement of the first prize was made, the colored speaker was hardly
able to hold his position because of the crowd that thronged about him to
extend congratulations and to express lofty words of praise.

Mr. Haynes, an A. B. from Morehouse College of the class of 1915, came to
the University of Chicago last fall and shortly after was made a member
of the Varsity Debating team. He debated for Chicago twice, winning
both times, and on the day of his graduation he was given an elegant
gold watch fob by the Delta Sigma Rho debating fraternity as a token of
appreciation of his good fellowship and excellent scholarship displayed
during his short stay at the university.


A Plea for Justice

Recently ex-President Roosevelt in a speech before the Chicago Bar
Association sounded the note for military preparedness. He and the
foremost leaders in political circles in the United States today
are trying to make the American people squarely face the issue of
preparedness from a military point-of-view.

All of this sentiment for preparation may be for future military
emergencies, or it may be to meet the growing responsibility of the
nation. In either case, if the best results are to be realized, it is
necessary that in every section of the country the fundamental principles
upon which our democracy is based shall be properly administered. If we
are to be really prepared for any emergency, then the vital principles
of this government must be understood by every man. Every section of our
great country and every man in it must know that this country stands
for justice and equal opportunities to all, and that each man is to be
permitted to work out and develop himself to his highest powers. Yet
there is a section of our country where every day the basic principles
on which our government is founded are being violated. Every day sees
men subjected to injustice and arbitrary discrimination. Every day sees
men deprived of that opportunity and equal protection of the laws which
have been so cherished by the American people. If preparedness means the
development of manhood and womanhood in order that we shall be able to
repel the injustice of a foreign invader, then we must begin by granting
justice to those here at home. Tonight, ladies and gentlemen, I wish to
speak to you on one phase of the great American problem—the relation of
the Negro to the South, and the South to the Nation.

Allow me to present briefly, if you please, an analysis of the most
prevalent forms of injustice that are practiced in the South today.
In the matter of suffrage, six states in the South have in practice
laws which virtually take away the right of the colored man to vote.
Politicians are elected to office not on the basis of their ability, but
simply willingness to design and support legal technicalities which are
prolific of this sort of injustice. These suffrage laws are based upon
property ownership, or ability to read and interpret the Constitution,
or payment of taxes; but the power of decision as to who is qualified
under these laws is in the hand of a few unscrupulous politicians, who
decide eligibility purely on the basis of race. An illustration will
serve to show how these laws operate and the evils resulting from them.
Before the disfranchisement act went into operation in Alabama there were
232,000 white and 181,000 colored male citizens of voting age, making
a total of 413,000. The total number of qualified voters in the state
today will not aggregate more than 200,000. There are 181,000 colored
male citizens of voting age in Alabama today, at least 8,000 of whom
are college graduates, and yet there are only 3,000 of them permitted
to register and vote. Nevertheless, ladies and gentlemen, these people
are counted as a basis of representation, and since they are denied the
ballot they are even misrepresented, and the power of those who do the
injustice is doubled. There are tonight almost 5,000,000 colored citizens
of this country who reside in the purview of these discriminating laws,
who are denied the right of the ballot, despite the fact that more
than 53 per cent of them pay taxes on property owned. Can these states
consistently deny the rights of citizenship to 5,000,000 men, and then in
time of crisis call upon them to support the government which has kept
them down? Can Americans who believe in justice and equal opportunity
to all afford to see these men deprived of their rights? These people
have shown that they can successfully take part in the industrial life
of the South. But what good will that do unless they can protect the
fruits of their labor by means of the ballot—the ballot that elects the
representatives who make the laws—the ballot which elects the judges who
enforce them?

We hear so much of ignorance and its attendant evils as a menace in the
South, we would suppose that the funds for public education would be
adequately and justly distributed. But such is not the case.

Forty per cent of the children of school age in eleven states in the
South are of the colored race, and yet they receive only fifteen per
cent of the school fund. In the state of Georgia the population of the
two races is almost equal and millions of dollars of the public fund are
annually spent for high school education, but nowhere in this great state
is there one public high school for members of my race. In the city of
Atlanta, last year, 4,503 colored children applied for admission to the
public school, and these came voluntarily, not forced by a compulsory
education law. The seating capacity of the schools provided for their
education was 2,951. Instead of increasing the seating capacity the board
of education abolished the eighth grade, and even to this night the
seventh grade measures the extent of public education for my race in the
city of Atlanta.

A third form of injustice in the South which shows signs of increasing
is segregation of residential sections by city ordinances. These laws
are unconstitutional because they prevent a man from selling or renting
his property to whomsoever he chooses. But, they are also teeming with
evils which do not appear on the surface. Segregation does not simply
mean that the races live apart in separate districts. It means that these
segregated divisions for colored people will be almost automatically
converted into slums. For, in them police improvement and sanitation
will be of the poorest sort, appropriations for street improvement and
sanitation will be few and far between. It means that there will be no
escape from this environment within the city limits for even the most
worthy and aspiring citizens of my race. You can easily see the dilemma
which exists in the South today where segregation is enforced. If we are
not thrifty and have no desire for education and moral uplift, we are
depicted to the world as the most worthless of human beings. On the other
hand, if we wish to develop ourselves and our children into citizens
worthy of this great Republic, in the South we are prevented by the Law.
If we ask for those privileges of the law to which we are entitled, we
are told we are not yet ready for them. If we ask for the opportunity
to prepare to exercise those privileges, we are told we would not make
use of them if we had them—and they are denied to us. The policy of the
South is illogical, inconsistent, indefensible. Unless the South squarely
faces the problem before its doors, unless it seeks to solve the problem
instead of repressing it, and deals with the problem with intelligence
and sympathy, then inevitably there must result, for my people and for
yours, stagnation, disease and death!

It is not necessary for me to call your attention this evening to the
widespread practice in the Southern states of denying the right of trial
by jury. Can any state expect to develop law-abiding citizens while
the laws themselves are freely broken in the matter of punishment? To
summarize the situation in the South, life is cheap, property is always
in danger, and lawlessness reigns supreme. As a result of it all, the law
of retributive justice brings it about that the South is the retarding
cog in the machinery of our democracy. World conditions demand that the
machine be set in prime to meet future responsibilities and duties.

The problem is neither local or racial—it is national. It is not a matter
of racial misunderstanding involving only one section of the country.
It is a matter of eleven million citizens of the United States being
subjected to flagrant injustice. Its solution involves not only the
welfare of my race, but the future of the Republic.

A correct and permanent solution of this problem involves the ready
co-operation of the colored race, the South, and the National government.
The colored race, which constitutes one-third of the population of the
South, is such a factor in the life of the South, that no plan of civil
and material welfare can ignore his rights if it hopes to reach the
highest success. We are learning the value of industrial independence and
education. Leaders of my race are coming forward, men of ideals and of
vision, who are giving to millions inspiration, ambition and hope. Given
but the opportunity, we will help to make industrious, intelligent and
patriotic citizens of our people.

Today the South is half a century behind the North in the development of
her resources and her industries. It is to the interest of the South to
learn that the time spent in repressing the negro is just that much time
lost from the promotion of its industrial and civic welfare. It is to the
interest of the South to learn that those efforts which tend to curtail
the fullest growth of one-third of this population must inevitably
curtail the fullest growth of the South itself. It is to the interest
of the South to have a spiritual awakening, if it hopes to develop its
material and civil resources.

The National government that poured out its treasures and the blood
of its sons that men might be free, cannot stop short of their full
enfranchisement through the freedom of knowledge and culture. The
National government must give its aid to develop skilled hands,
disciplined minds, and patriotic hearts. For the colored race is the one
asset of this country, especially of the South, which at present shows
promise of the greatest returns in proportion to the money and energy
spent in its development.

We, the younger generation of the colored race, realize the gravity of
the situation, and that we are factors in its solution. We are aware of
the fact that we are in the midst of a people that is the product of
twenty centuries of human progress.

At present we have every reason to be hopeful. When, during the last
half of the nineteenth century, the cries of my people were for
charitable help to combat ignorance and poverty, the philanthropists
of the North responded in the form of Morehouse, Fiske, Tuskegee and
other institutions of both higher education and industrial training.
These schools today have thousands of graduates scattered in all parts
of the South, giving their lives in fighting poverty and ignorance. At
the beginning of the twentieth century, the cry from the South is for
equal opportunity and a proper administration of justice. We expect the
government to respond. We have faith in American ideals—in the ultimate
triumph of Americanism.

We have faith in the greatness of our country, and in the ability of
its people to meet and overcome all difficulties which may beset it. We
have faith in the determination to realize for all men, both white and
black, the broadest possibilities of life and to seek its highest powers.
We have faith in the Union of knowledge, cheerful co-operation, and
broad-minded sympathy to advance the common good. Let us pray God that
the heart hurting plights of race dislikes, the sectional differences
and racial animosities and suspicions will pass away, and their place
be taken by that broader republic of human attainment which knows no
limitations of race, color, or clime!

[Illustration]




The Centennial General A. M. E. Conference


The Centennial General A. M. E. Conference held its twenty-fifth
quadrennial meeting in Mother Bethel Church, Philadelphia, Pa., on Sixth
street below Pine, just two blocks from Old St. George Church, where
Richard Allen and his followers left one hundred years ago and organized
the first A. M. E. Church in a little blacksmith shop on the spot where
Mother Bethel now stands.

Conference was called to order May 3rd, and was presided over by
thirteen Bishops, fifty-one general officers and attended by six hundred
thirty-two delegates, one hundred alternates and two hundred visiting
ministers. These delegates came from all sections of the United States,
Africa and other foreign lands, where the A. M. E. Churches are located.

Senior Bishop Lee presided over the first session and the following
sessions were presided over by the Bishops in their turns of elevation.

It was sad to note the absence of twenty members that met with the
twenty-fourth General Conference who had passed away during the past four
years, three of which were Bishops of the Church and one a very prominent
minister and officer in the Conference, and beloved pastor of Bethel
Church, Chicago. The following were greatly lamented.

Bishop Henry McNeal Turner—Twelfth Bishop of the Church, at Windsor,
Canada, May 8, 1915.

Bishop Moses Buckingham Salter—Twenty-first Bishop of the Church, at his
residence Charleston, S. C., March 21, 1913.

Bishop William Derrick—Twenty-third Bishop of the Church, at his
residence Flushing, N. Y., April 15, 1915.

Rev. James M. Townsend—Ex-Secretary of Missions, at his home, Richmond,
Ind., June 18, 1913.

Rev. T. M. Smith en route to his home in Georgia, June 1, 1913.

Rev. Wm. Conwell Banton—At his home in Montgomery, Ala., June 25, 1913.

Rev. Horace S. Graves—At Asheville, N. C., where he had gone in quest of
health, July 4, 1913.

Rev. W. H. Jones—At Gordon, Ark., March 12, 1915.

Rev. H. W. Bennett—At his home, Charleston, S. C., Oct. 1, 1913.

Rev. Theobald A. Smythe—Beloved pastor of Bethel Church, Chicago, at his
home Jan. 25, 1916.

Rev. J. W. B. Jackson—Florida, Sept. 7, 1913.

Rev. A. J. Bennett—Florida, July 2, 1915.

Rev. James Dean—Florida, Dec. 19, 1914.

Rev. A. Scott—Florida, Dec. 5, 1915.

Rev. R. M. S. Taylor—Georgia Conference, Feb. 19, 1914.

Rev. A. J. Wilkinson—North Georgia Conference, April 10, 1916.

Rev. T. F. Boddie—Macon, Georgia Conference, Feb. 22, 1916.

Rev. Bruce H. Williams—His home, Charleston, April 9, 1916.

Rev. L. W. McMillan—South Georgia Conference, Feb. 22, 1915.

Mrs. Francis E. Booker Watson—Wife of Dr. B. F. Watson, Sec. of Church
Extension, Jan. 10, 1915.

Mrs. Laura Lemon Turner, widow of Bishop H. M. Turner, Oct. 11, 1915.

Two of the lamented Bishops were among the most prominent leaders the
race had. They were born leaders and men with remarkable characters and
abilities. Their loss is keenly felt not only by the A. M. E connection,
but by the race in general.

Mother Bethel should be highly complimented on the arrangements made for
the convenience of the delegates. A telegraph office, post office, dining
room and all other necessary things were located in the church. In spite
of arrangements the throng that filled the church the first few days of
the Conference to pay their respects was so large and the confusion so
great that very little was accomplished until May 7.

On May 7 the ministers listened to what they declared the finest
addresses ever heard, delivered by Dr. Isaac N. Ross of Baltimore, Md.,
and Dr. W. H. Mixon, Selma, Ala. It is believed by all present at the
time that Dr. N. Ross’s address had a great influence on the ballots cast
in his favor in the race for Bishop.

On May 8 the big fight started for the election of Bishops. Many
ministers and Bishops did not endorse an elevation of any more clergymen
to the bench, as they felt that their present number could take care of
the business and under the existing unsettled conditions and increasing
expenses that it would not be advisable; but the sentiment among the
majority was so strong for new Bishops that the Episcopal Committee
passed on the election of two.

Fifty-three ministers entered the race. They began a systematical
campaign. Three or four districts had their headquarters together and
they kept a printer busy day and night putting out all manner of cards
and pamphlets explaining why each of the fifty-three individuals would be
best suited for Bishop.

After weeks of campaigning two Bishops were finally elected. Before the
ballots were cast Rev. R. C. Ransom asked for prayer and Bishop Parks
prayed. It would be a hard matter to eradicate from the minds of Bishops,
candidates, delegates, and visitors that fifteen minutes of prayer. All
minds were lifted to higher planes and the two weeks of campaigning were
forgotten along with personal aims and selfish ambitions as they turned
their thoughts to God and voted for the men whom they sincerely believed
would help make his kingdom on earth what he would have it to be.

The ministers elevated to the bench were Revs. I. N. Ross and W. W.
Beckett.

Rev. Dr. Beckett was born in Edisto Island in 1856, and was educated at
Clarke University and Gammon Theological Seminary, Atlanta, Ga. From
1908 he served as missionary secretary of the A. M. E. Missionary Board.
How well his services to his Church were appreciated was shown in his
elevation.

Rev. Dr. Ross comes from a grand old Tennessee family. Four of his
brothers, now deceased, were A. M. E. ministers. He served the Church
since 1880 as pastor. His fame as an orator and his faithful and tender
leadership over the flocks that he was appointed to lead were two chief
factors that stood out in his success.




The National Republican Convention


This issue of the Half-Century was delayed so as to include a review of
the proceedings of the National Republican Convention which assembled in
this city on June 7th.

From a Racial standpoint the convention was somewhat a disappointment, as
it furnished conclusive proof that the Negro is gradually, but surely,
being eliminated from National Politics. For notwithstanding practically
all of the “old guards” of the race were here—they were principally
“hangers-on”—members of the “third house,” or contestants, as but few of
them were regular delegates or even alternates.

Considering, the unfriendly attitude of the Democratic administration
toward our people, it was hoped that the Convention would go on record
by making an expression by resolution, or through its party platform, of
its recognition of the equal rights of all men without regard to race
or color, but in that there was also a disappointment. A resolution of
similar purport was offered, but failed to carry.

Concerning Mr. Hughes, the Presidential Nominee, but little is known
as to his attitude toward the race, for he has held but few official
positions in which he has come into contact with our people. As Governor
of the state of New York he was fair. However, anything to beat the
present Democratic Administration. Let us hope!

The fifteen Bishops were assigned to the following districts:

First District—Bishop Evans Tyree, D. D. Conferences, Philadelphia, New
York, New England and New Jersey.

Second District—Bishop J. Albert Johnson, D. D. Conferences, Baltimore,
Virginia, North Carolina and Western North Carolina.

Third District—Bishop C. T, Shaffer. D. D., M. D. Conferences, Ohio,
North Ohio, Pittsburgh and West Virginia.

Fourth District—Bishop L. J. Coppin, D. D. Conferences, Indiana,
Illinois, Chicago, Kentucky and West Kentucky.

Fifth District—Bishop H. B. Parks, D. D. Conferences, Missouri, North
Missouri, Southwest Missouri, Kansas, Colorado, Puget Sound, California
and Arizona.

Sixth District—Bishop J. S. Flipper, D. D. Conferences, Georgia, Macon,
Georgia; Southwest Georgia; Atlanta, Georgia, and Augusta, Georgia.

Seventh District—Bishop W. D. Chappelle, D. D. Conferences, South
Carolina, Columbia, Northeast South Carolina, Palmetto and Piedmont,
South Carolina.

Eighth District—Bishop W. H. Heard, D. D. Conferences, Mississippi,
North Mississippi, Northeast Mississippi, Central Mississippi, East
Mississippi, Louisiana and North Louisiana.

Ninth District—Bishop B. F. Lee, D. D. Conferences, Alabama, Central
Alabama, North Alabama, East Alabama, Tennessee, West Tennessee, East
Tennessee and Central Tennessee.

Tenth District—Bishop J. H. Jones, D. D. Conferences, Texas, Central
Texas, West Texas, Northeast Texas, Southwest Texas and Mexico.

Eleventh District—John Hurst, D. D. Conferences, Florida, East Florida,
South Florida, Central Florida and West Florida.

Twelfth District—Bishop J. M. Conner, D. D. Conferences, Arkansas, West
Arkansas, East Arkansas, South Arkansas, Oklahoma, North Oklahoma and
Central Oklahoma.

Thirteenth District—Bishop I. N. Ross, D. D. Conferences, Liberia and
Sierra Leone.

Fourteenth District—Bishop W. W. Beckett, D. D. Conferences, Cape Colony,
Transvaal, Orange Free State, Zambesi and Natal.

Fifteenth District—Bishop C. S. Smith, D. D. Conferences, Michigan,
Ontario, Nova Scotia, Bermuda, West India and South America.

There was very little legislation accomplished in the Centennial General
Conference. One hundred and sixty-eight bills were put off to the next
quadrennial.

We all look with admiration on the progress made by the A. M. E. Church.
It shows how a few people with comparatively nothing, started out
one hundred years ago and now own and support hundreds of churches,
ministers, and schools in every section of this country, and are now
leading in missionary work in foreign lands.

The dollar money alone contributed since the last quadrennial amounted
to $850,214.14. A small portion of this total went to needy churches and
foreign missions, widows and families of deceased ministers and Bishops,
annual conference expenses, officers’ and Bishops’ salaries and various
other sources too numerous to mention.

We look with pride upon their accomplishments and when we think of the
basis upon which their denomination is founded, “GOD OUR FATHER, CHRIST
OUR REDEEMER, AND MAN OUR BROTHER,” we cease to marvel at their success.

                                                           G. B. Campbell.




An Act of Charity

_A STORY_


There were six of us, enough to make a sextette, and when we thought of
the wasted years we spent before we knew one another, it made us sad. We
spent the greater part of our time at one another’s homes, and we usually
had a great deal to talk about. For this reason, my mother decided that
she would give us the house for two weeks. She said we could do as we
pleased, but we had to do all the cooking and house cleaning.

Early in April the other five girls came to my house to have a good time.
In all the world there is not another bunch of girls who can accumulate
more experiences to the square inch than we of the “Sextette.” Helen
even brought her dog with her. He was a beautiful dog, and as we could
observe, had only two faults. One was that he was such a friendly soul
that he would even hobnob with a burglar, and the other that he sometimes
stayed away two weeks at a time. Thus we called him Dynamite, not because
of any energy or character, but because he was likely to go off at any
time.

One night, when a few callers dropped in, we had a merry chafing dish
supper. When they had gone, we sat down to talk things over. During the
conversation, Dorothy, a very kind and sympathetic girl, suggested that
we give a dinner, and instead of giving it for our own pleasure and
that of our friends, we would give it to some of the poor unfortunates,
who never had any pleasures. We all agreed to do this, and each was to
invite a poor unfortunate one as her guest. Helen and I were to prepare
the dinner, and Ruth, Edyth and Dorothy were to arrange and decorate the
other rooms of the house.

The first guest to arrive was Mrs. Craig, a janitress in the office
building where Dorothy’s father had his office. Next came Helen’s guest,
a little newsboy that sold papers in the block where Helen lived. Then
Dr. Lyons, who was Ruth’s guest, arrived. He explained that as he was
lonesome for warmth and cheer of a real home table, instead of the cold
glitter and ceremonious services of the hotel, Ruth took pity on him,
and invited him to our jolly little party. I don’t know what we would
have done without him, for he had that tact which comes from knowing
and loving people, and he knew just how to fill in the awkward pauses,
which were bound to occur in such a mixed gathering. Edyth selected for
her guest an old man, whom she found lying on a bench in Swope Park. His
scraggly hair and beard, and his smoked glasses left a very little of his
face visible, but there was a suggestion of strength and firmness about
his mouth. I selected for my guest a poor little cripple girl who stayed
all alone at home, while her mother worked hard every day.

Well, the dinner was a success, and we girls felt fully repaid for the
little sacrifice we had made. Everyone responded to all the fun but
Edyth’s little old man, who gave his name as “just plain Mr. Jones.”
Everyone enjoyed himself, and the party didn’t break up until late in
the afternoon. As we were expecting other company in the evening, we
started to put on our jewelry, which we had taken off for the dinner,
because we didn’t think it looked well to wear diamonds and other
precious stones when our guests were so poorly clad. I had not thought
of my locket until the first guest had arrived, so I had placed it in
a vase on the dining room mantel. Now I slipped my hand into the vase,
and horrors! It was gone! All was confusion as we rushed around looking
everywhere, for we could not bear to think that anyone, who had sat at
our table and enjoyed our hospitality, would play the part of a thief.

As we were excitedly discussing the pros and cons in the case the bell
rang, and Dorothy ushered in a stranger. He was a man of some thirty-five
years, with a frank face and a firm jaw. He leaned against the wall and
said:

“I come to bring a message from an old man, whom you so kindly befriended
this morning. He wishes you to know the truth about him, for with all
his faults and sins, he finds that he still has a spark of manhood. He
is the great robber, “Desperate Jim,” in his latest disguise. All the
authorities are searching for him. He came to your home, and while he
sat at your table so silently his mind was torn by conflicting emotions.
At one moment he felt like standing up, taking off his disguise and
confessing everything and see if there was yet a chance for him to be
a man. He noticed that, in passing the mantel, one of the young ladies
glanced in the vase, and he surmised that it must contain some valuables.
He saw what it was, and took it.”

From his inner pocket he drew out a parcel, saying, “Desperate Jim” told
me to tell you that he regrets that he returned theft for hospitality
and faith, and to express his gratitude that you have made him feel that
he may yet make something of his life. Take this, and good night, young
ladies, and God bless you.”

As he turned to leave, his hat fell to the floor and when he reached for
it I saw a dark scar on his wrist, a scar just such as I had noticed on
the wrist of the old man who called himself “just plain Mr. Jones,” and I
knew that the old man and this one were one and the same person.

As soon as the door was closed I told my mother and the girls what I
had discovered and they were quite ready to call me Sherlock Holmes II.
We talked the matter over wildly and enthusiastically. We knew it was
our duty to ’phone to police headquarters and put them on the track
of the outlaw, but in some way we wanted to give him the opportunity
of reforming. Every little while we wondered what had happened to our
reformed burglar. But a few days later Ruth came in, waving a paper
frantically and calling excitedly, “Come, girls! Listen!” In a minute we
were all there looking over her shoulders and trying to get a glimpse of
the paper with the startling headlines: “The Capture of Desperate Jim.”




The National Association of Colored Women


[Illustration]

One of the interesting meetings for the coming month will be that of the
National Association of Colored Women, which will be held in Baltimore,
Md., August 6th to 11th inclusive, opening on Sunday, August 6th, with a
platform meeting.

The ninth biennial session of the Association was held in Wilberforce,
Ohio, in August, 1914, during which session invitations were extended to
them from four cities for the 1916 session—Washington, D. C., Tuskegee,
Ala., Kansas City, Mo., and Baltimore, Md. Hon. James Preston, mayor of
the latter city, cordially invited them, by long distance telephone, to
meet in his city, and Baltimore was the place selected for the meeting
this year.

The National Association of Colored Women was organized in Washington, D.
C., in July, 1896. It is a consolidation of the National League and the
National Federation of Colored Women. This organization was incorporated
in 1904. The present officers are:

    Mrs. Booker T. Washington, Tuskegee, Ala., president.
    Mrs. Mary V. Talbert, Buffalo, N. Y., vice-president.
    Miss Ida R. Cummings, Baltimore, Md., secretary.
    Mrs. Ida Joyce Jackson, Columbus, O., treasurer.
    Mrs. Elizabeth Lindsay Davis, Chicago, Ill., national organizer.

These women are working constantly, yet quietly, for the betterment
of the race. They are urging more modesty in dress, especially among
our younger women, because the modern bizarre styles attract undue
attention. It is a well known fact that our men do not always show as
much respect for our women as they should; it is not an uncommon thing
to walk into a crowded car and see all the men seated, and the women
standing; some of them are old women, too. Frequently, in the larger
cities, audible comments are passed upon the women as they pass down the
streets,—all these things show a lack of respect. Possibly some of it is
thoughtlessness, but it is none the less annoying; that is why the women
of the National Association are urging our men to show more respect for
womankind.

A number of resolutions adopted at the last biennial session, held at
Wilberforce in 1914, show that they are trying to live up to their motto,
“Lifting as we climb,” by lifting the moral status of the race. They
endorse National Constitutional Prohibition because it will save not
only our present race, but posterity, from the consequences of alcohol.
Statistics show that more colored people die of tuberculosis and other
filth diseases every year than any other race. These women are working
for better living conditions for colored people, more sanitary homes and
more modern conveniences to prevent the spread of the White Plague among
our people.

For the betterment of conditions in general, and to reach the individual
as well as the masses, this association places the work into the hands
of the women in charge of the various departments, some of which are:
Social Service, Young Women’s Work, Domestic Science, Suffrage, Mothers’,
Rescue, Humane, Kindergarten, Business, Juvenile Court, Civics and
Forestry, Religious Work, Health and Hygiene, Children, Charities,
Temperance, Rural and Railway Conditions, and Educational. Through these
departments they are able to do very effective work.

The State of Illinois will be well represented at the sessions this year.
There will be fifty or sixty delegates from Chicago alone, and they will
take a special car. The state is to be represented by six delegates from
four leading cities. Mrs. Theresa G. Macon and Mrs. C. M. West will
represent Chicago; Mrs. S. B. Jones and Mrs. Carrie Lee Hamilton, Peoria;
Mrs. Eva Monroe, Springfield, and Mrs. J. C. McClain, Rock Island. There
will be four numbers on the program from Illinois. Mrs. Joanna Snowden
Porter will talk on “The City Child.” There could hardly have been any
one chosen to talk on this subject who is better able to do so, as this
woman’s work as trained nurse takes her all over Chicago, and she comes
in contact with the city child of all classes. Mrs. Eva Monroe will
tell how we can best improve our clubs. Mrs. Theresa G. Macon, state
president, will report on the work accomplished during the past two years
by the clubs in the State of Illinois. Dr. Mary Fitzbutler-Waring, the
national chairman of health and hygiene, will talk on sanitation.

About two hundred members of the various clubs in Northern Illinois
and Southern Wisconsin attended the joint meeting in Milwaukee, Wis.,
on June 9th. Interesting and beneficial talks were given by Miss Grace
Wilson, policewoman at the State Training School for Girls; Mme. Victoria
Clay-Haley of St. Louis, Mo., assistant secretary of Civic Conditions;
Mrs. Goins, chairman of Civic Conditions; Mrs. Perry Williams of
Milwaukee, Wis.; Mrs. Lou Ella Young, the corresponding secretary, and
many others.

                                                    Katherine E. Williams.




Musical and Dramatic


Mme. Florence Cole-Talbert, whose photograph is reproduced on the
cover, one of Chicago’s favorite sopranos, recently won the Diamond
Medal at the Chicago Musical College, having made the highest average
in the graduating class. She is the first of her race to take part on
the commencement program at the Chicago Musical College in the Vocal
Department. She sang “Caro No Me” from Rigoletto, in Italian, accompanied
by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Her singing was heartily received and
endorsed by the leading music critics.

The average student spends about four years in the Chicago Musical
College: Mme. Talbert, however, took an examination that permitted her to
enter the graduating class immediately, and she finished in one year.

Mme. Talbert is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Thomas A. Cole, formerly
of Detroit, Michigan, now residents of Los Angeles, Cal. As a child,
she was well known as a dramatic reader, later, however, she began the
study of the piano and taught instrumental music to help pay for her
vocal instruction. She made her debut as a singer on the high school
commencement program, being the first girl of her race to take part in
a high school commencement program in the city of Los Angeles. After
graduation from high school she made a thorough study of modern languages.

As a member of the Hahn Concert Company she appeared on programs in many
of the larger cities of the United States and Canada, and also has made
many appearances in recital and devoted some time to teaching. Mme.
Talbert was soloist at the last May Festival at Hampton Institute, after
which she started on a recital tour of the country, accompanied by her
husband. The latter is the son of ex-Secretary Talbert of Wilberforce,
and is also well known as a musician.

       *       *       *       *       *

During the past three years Mr. William Henry Hackney has brought before
the music lovers of Chicago the very best musical and dramatic talent of
the race, in recital. At these recitals only the compositions of colored
musicians and poets are used, and every participant on the program is
colored.

On May 28th Mr. Hackney presented R. Nathaniel Dett, head of the
Music Department of Hampton Institute, who played a number of his own
compositions, which were well rendered and received with much enthusiasm.
Chicago’s favorite dramatic reader, Mrs. De Witt Smith, was at her best
on this occasion, rendering twelve numbers from Dunbar in a manner that
held her audience spellbound.

Mr. Hackney, himself, has spent many years in study under the best of
vocal instructors, and possesses a rare and well trained tenor voice. He
sang several of Harry T. Burleigh’s compositions, and also three numbers
by Miss Nora Lena James, accompanied by Miss James herself. His rendition
of the “Grey Wolf” by Burleigh was particularly commendable.

The aim of these “All Colored Composers Concerts” is to exploit the
creative talents of the Negro, so that when the music of this country,
known as American Music, has reached a high plane of development, the
Negro can show that he has had a part in its making, and his startling
originality will be made more manifest.




A Salesmen’s Convention


One of the most novel and unique meetings of the month was a convention
of the traveling salesmen of the Overton-Hygienic Mfg. Co., of Chicago,
which held a two weeks’ meeting in the company’s office, June 7th to 21st.

This concern, which is owned and managed exclusively by our own people,
manufactures a line of grocery sundries and toilet preparations—about 85
or more different articles; also the celebrated line of toilet requisites
known as “High-Brown.” It is accredited as being the largest business
enterprise in the United States that is owned and controlled by Colored
people, and employs in its office and factory from thirty to thirty-five
people.

[Illustration]

The accompanying picture, which was taken in front of their office
building during the convention, shows the president, the chemist and the
seven traveling salesmen and their two traveling agents. In the picture
they are as follows:

Seated: Mr. Anthony Overton, president of the company.

Standing (reading from left to right): Mr. Warren Roane, traveling
the North Atlantic Coast States; Mr. Wm. Gales, traveling Oklahoma,
Texas, Arkansas and Louisiana; Mr. Everett Overton, chemist; Mr. K.
Johnson, agent, Portland and Seattle; Mr. Bruce K. Tucker, traveling
Mississippi, Tennessee and Western Alabama; Mr. Wm. S. Bester, traveling
District of Columbia and Maryland; Mr. C. E. Howard, traveling Eastern
Alabama, Georgia, Florida and South Carolina; Mr. T. Champion, agent,
San Francisco; Mr. A. E. Jordan, traveling Illinois, Ohio, Indiana and
Kentucky.

In addition to those in the picture the Company also employs one other
salesman, Mr. G. A. White, of Kansas City. Mr. White unfortunately could
not attend the meeting.

This convention is one of the best evidences of the race’s advancement.
Who would have dreamed, fifty years ago—yes, even twenty years ago, that
a manufacturing concern composed exclusively of Negroes would have grown
to the extent that it would find it necessary to call their traveling men
together at its general office to discuss the many business problems? We
are informed that carefully prepared papers were read by each salesman
from day to day, which were followed by general discussions. Some of the
subjects covered are as follows:

“Salesmanship.”

“Meeting Competition.”

“How to Finance the Corporation, etc.”

My! My! Just think of it—Negroes assembled and seriously discussing, “How
to Finance a Corporation.” Surely the world “do” move. Success to you,
boys! Come to Chicago again. You are welcome!




BEAUTY HINTS

“Good Spirits Make Good Looks”


_The Care of the Skin_

Every woman wants to be considered good looking, even though she is not
beautiful. Our features need not be perfect to be beautiful; it is a
rare thing to find a face on which every feature is perfect, yet there
are many beautiful women in the world. It is possible for every woman to
be good looking. Now, just what do we mean by good looking? Many of us
have the idea that good clothes make us beautiful, but this is a mistake.
What is a more disgusting sight than a woman dressed in fine clothes and
in contrast her face showing a muddy, neglected and abused complexion?
A pleasing expression is requisite to the beautiful face, but it is
impossible to have a set rule for the cultivation of a good disposition,
because of the variation in our individual personalities. However, I will
suggest a few things that will help to make us more beautiful.

Suppose we start with the skin. The knowledge that our skin is clear
and attractive will doubtless help us to wear a smile and give us the
much-desired cheerful countenance.

Our skin is naturally beautiful—what could be more exquisite than the
skin of a baby? And it would remain so if we did not continually violate
the laws of Nature. Sins of diet are so common; overeating, eating in
haste, eating between meals, and we overdress and underventilate, many of
us get little or no exercise and spend too much time in the confinement
of our homes. While it is, of course, impossible to alter the conditions
of modern life, with intelligent care you can counteract their disastrous
effects on your complexion.

Your face, unlike the rest of your body, is continually exposed to wind
and weather, dirt and dust, and demands especial care. In very few cases,
indeed, can the skin be neglected and yet retain its freshness and
purity. The greater the natural beauty and refinement of your complexion,
the more perishable it is and the more faithfully should you attend to
its preservation.

Help your skin to overcome every obstacle, to combat every enemy. Go to
your mirror. Ask yourself these questions: Has the skin a good, clear
coloring, a natural glow? Has it a smooth, soft finish? Fine, even pores?
Is it fresh looking, firm and pliable?

Look upon your skin as an organ, an organ that must continually perform
an important duty in relieving the system of impurities.

Like the rest of your body, the skin requires nutrition and the utmost
cleanliness if it is to be healthy.

It is easy to appreciate the importance of keeping the pores active, when
we stop to think that when the surface skin is destroyed, and the pore
action interrupted, as in cases of severe burns, the danger is grave
and that when as much as one-third of the body is so affected death is
inevitable.


_Blackheads: Their Cause and How to Get Rid of Them_

The skin of the face is constantly exposed. In every tiny pore dust and
dirt are bound to accumulate. Unless your skin is kept in perfect health,
with every tiny pore active, these impurities make themselves evident in
the form of blackheads. These little black pests are frequently found
where the circulation is sluggish and the pores less active—on the
forehead, between the eyes, over the nose, about the chin and sometimes
on the ears.

Cleanliness is the principal secret of the clear, blackheadless skin and
nothing will so effectively get down into the pores as a cream. A good
face cream is easy to work into the pores—the skin welcomes it. And its
ingredients are such as to make its results far-reaching and successful.
Use this treatment:

Wring out a soft towel in hot water and apply it to the face. This will
relax the pores. Apply the face cream liberally, rubbing it in well and
allowing it to remain on for five or ten minutes. Wipe off gently and
it will then be easy to remove the blackhead with a comedone extractor,
which may be purchased at any drug store for ten cents. Take care not to
bruise the sensitive skin. When the face is cleared of blackheads, douche
with cold water or use cold compresses. This is most important after
steaming or massage, for it closes the pores and keeps the flesh firm.


_Pimples Frequently Caused by Uncleanliness_

When the pores are allowed to fill with dust, dirt or the impurities
discharged by the system, irritation is quick to start. Inflammation sets
in. Pimples, skin eruptions and kindred ailments, in many cases, are
directly traceable to this cause—uncleanliness. If every pore is kept
immaculately clean, free from all impurities and in good working order,
danger of infection is greatly minimized.


_Forestall Wrinkles—Banish the First Lines_

Give a few minutes a day to these simple exercises if you would forestall
the first wrinkle or banish betraying lines. To be beneficial, massage
must be regular, firm and gentle. A rotary motion should be used on the
chin, cheeks and forehead. No rubbing should ever be done until the
face is washed perfectly clean in warm water and soap. Because of its
cleansing, skin-softening properties, a green soap is well suited to use
in preparing the face for massage. Then apply a good massage cream to the
dry skin and rub well into the pores. Continue massaging the skin until
the cream rolls out. The thorough rubbing out of the cream is important.

Massage one side of the face at a time; otherwise the skin is drawn in
opposite ways, unless one is very adept.

After the massage—and this treatment should never be extended over more
than ten minutes—apply a cold compress to contract the relaxed pores.
This is important if you would retain the fine even texture of your skin.


_How an Excessively Dry Skin Invites Wrinkles_

Many people have just the opposite of an oily skin—they have a dry tight
skin which often needs oil. As we grow older, also, it is the tendency
with everyone for the natural oils of the skin to decrease somewhat and
for the skin to lose much of its pliancy and suppleness. This dry, tawny
condition is usually accompanied by roughness and is almost invariably
the forerunner of a fine crop of wrinkles. Unless you supply the
deficiency, the skin loses its power of resistance when its elasticity is
gone.

Feed your skin—keep it well lubricated. The famous beauty, Mme. Patti,
said it was impossible to overestimate the importance of keeping the skin
well fed with oils and cream.


_Know That You Use a Reliable Complexion Powder_

Beware of powders that create dryness of the skin. The purity of a face
powder is more important than many realize. The presence of bismuth,
arsenic, white lead and other mineral or alkaline substances make many
powders unfit for use on the skin. A good, pure complexion powder is
beneficial to the skin, in protecting it from dirt, wind and sun.


_How Tanning Injures Your Complexion_

The modern fashion of acquiring a rich, heavy coat of tan is to be
heartily decried. The skin can be bleached and cleared after a summer
out of doors, to restore its tone, but it is quite another matter to
recover the fine, even texture of your skin after the summer sun has
toughened and coarsened it. A thick skin is most unlovely to look upon.
And, furthermore, it wrinkles more easily and is far less responsive to
treatment than when in its natural elastic state. In some cases, heavy
tanning results in relaxed tissues and a condition of general weakness
that is most difficult to build up.

A famous dermatologist has recently said: “Oil your skin—oil it well, or
the sun will bake out every bit of natural oil and leave your skin dry
and tawny.” If you would keep your skin so delicate and transparent as to
show its natural coloring, protect it by the generous use of a very good
Cold Cream. Rub it well into your pores before you go out, dust your face
over with a good Face Powder, in the shade that blends best with your
complexion, and, thus safeguarded, you will find that you can spend a day
out of doors, at the beach, without the slightest injury.

Cleanliness, immaculate cleanliness, is the first essential to a healthy
skin. If you would rejoice in a skin that is fresh-looking, clean and
therefore beautiful, never let a day go by without bathing the entire
body with a good, pure Toilet Soap.




Domestic Science

What To Eat and How To Cook It


At the close of the honeymoon, with its “round-up” of travels and
pleasures, comes a realization to the bride that she is soon to become
mistress of the lifelong dream, “her own home.” Questions of how she is
to manage her home and the all-important problem, “How and what shall she
cook for her husband?” are about all that this ambitious young housewife
has time to think of during these days.

Since we are living in the “high-cost-of-living” period, it is most
important that a housewife should know how to buy her groceries and meats
as well as knowing how to prepare other dainty dishes, in order that her
marketing may be economical as well as pleasing to the taste.

When selecting beef, see that it is firm and of a fine-grained texture,
bright red in color, well mottled and coated with fat. The fat should
be firm and of a yellowish color. The less expensive cuts, coming from
those parts of the animal where the juices flow freely, are no less
nutritious than the expensive ones; but they do require longer cooking
at a lower temperature. A side of beef is divided into fore quarter and
hind quarter, but the point of this division varies in different sections
of the country. The hind quarter contains the choicest steaks, which are
cut from the loin and rump and are named porterhouse, sirloin and rump.
Coming from that part of the animal where the muscles are but little
used, the meat is fine grained, and consequently tender. The tenderloin,
protected by the backbone and lying under the loin and rump, lacks flavor
and has but little juice, but is easy of mastication. Round steak has
practically no waste, is very juicy, and the richest in proteid, but,
having coarser fiber, is not as tender. The second and third cuts from
the top of the round are most popular. Among the cheaper cuts might be
mentioned chuck, vein, and flank steaks. A steak should be cut from an
inch to an inch and a half in thickness, and some prefer it thicker. It
should be removed from the paper as soon as it arrives from the market
and put in a cold place. If convenient, allow it to hang rather than to
lie on a plate and never put it in direct contact with the ice. Tough
steaks may be made more tender by pounding with a potato masher after the
steak has been sprinkled with salt, pepper and flour.

       *       *       *       *       *

BROILED BEEFSTEAK: Wipe entire surface with a cloth wrung out of cold
water and trim off superfluous fat. With some of the fat, grease a wire
broiler (having fat edge next to handle) and broil over a clear fire,
turning every ten seconds for the first minute that surface may be well
seared, thus preventing escape of juices. After the first minute turn
occasionally until well cooked on both sides.

Steak cut one inch thick will take five minutes if liked rare; six
minutes if well done. Remove to a hot platter, and spread with butter
that has been creamed and seasoned with salt and pepper.

       *       *       *       *       *

SMOTHERED ROUND STEAK: Try out in a hot iron frying pan three thin slices
of fat salt pork, three by four inches, and add one onion peeled and cut
in thin slices. Cook, stirring constantly until brown. Wipe a two and
one-half pound slice of round steak, put in frying pan, pour over one and
one-half cupfuls of cold water and add about one-fourth teaspoonful of
salt. Bring quickly to the boiling point, cover closely, remove to back
of range, and let simmer slowly until tender. Remove steak to hot platter
and strain stock (there should be one cupful). Melt one tablespoonful of
butter, add two tablespoonfuls of flour, and stir until well blended;
then pour on gradually, while stirring constantly, the hot stock. Bring
to the boiling point, let boil two minutes, season with salt and pepper
and pour over and around steak. Garnish with Baked Stuffed Tomatoes
around the edge, and with overlapping slices of tomatoes and sprigs of
parsley in the center.

       *       *       *       *       *

BAKED STUFFED TOMATOES: Wipe and remove stem end from six small tomatoes.
Take out seeds and most of pulp, sprinkle inside of tomatoes with salt,
invert, and let stand twenty minutes. Cook three tablespoonfuls of
butter with six tablespoonfuls of chopped green pepper from which seeds
have been removed, for five minutes. Add three-fourths of a cupful of
stale bread crumbs, one-half cupful removed tomato pulp, one-fourth
teaspoonful of salt, one-eighth teaspoonful pepper, and a few drops
of onion juice. Fill tomato cases with mixture, put in buttered pan,
sprinkle tops with buttered crumbs, and bake fifteen minutes in a hot
oven.

       *       *       *       *       *

FILLETS OF BEEF TENDERLOIN: Cut beef tenderloin in slices one inch thick
and trim into six circular shapes. Season with salt and pepper and
pan-broil in a hot buttered frying pan six minutes. Remove to hot plates
for individual service, pour around brown sauce and garnish top of each
with a Stuffed Mushroom Cap.

       *       *       *       *       *

BROWN SAUCE: Cook three tablespoonfuls of butter with one slice of onion,
stirring constantly until slightly browned. Remove onion and stir butter
constantly until well browned; then add four and one-half tablespoonfuls
of flour and stir until blended. Pour on one and one-half cupfuls of
brown stock gradually, while stirring constantly, bring to the boiling
point and let boil two minutes; then add two-thirds of a teaspoonful
of meat extract, one tablespoonful of lemon juice, one and one-half
tablespoonfuls of finely chopped parsley and one-third of a cupful of
small carrot cubes which have been cooked until soft in boiling salted
water and drained.

       *       *       *       *       *

STUFFED MUSHROOMS CAPS: Select mushroom caps, stuff, sprinkle with
buttered crumbs, and bake until crumbs are brown. Garnish each with
diamond shapes cut from a red pepper and a sprig of parsley. For the
stuffing, clean and finely chop six mushroom caps. Add one tablespoonful
each of parsley and onion finely chopped and one tablespoonful of butter.
Moisten with a small quantity of the Brown Sauce.

       *       *       *       *       *

BAKED STUFFED EGGPLANT: Wipe eggplant and cut in quarters lengthwise.
Remove pulp close to skin, leaving shells. Force pulp through a meat
chopper and drain. There should be two and two-thirds cupfuls. Put in
saucepan, add one and one-half cupfuls of ham stock, bring to the boiling
point and let simmer twenty minutes. Add three-fourths of a cupful of
coarse dried bread crumbs, one-fourth of a cupful of melted butter, one
teaspoonful of lemon juice, one-half a teaspoonful of salt, and one egg
slightly beaten. Fill shells with mixture, sprinkle with buttered crumbs
and bake until brown.

       *       *       *       *       *

EGG DELIGHT: Cut stale bread in one-fourth-inch slices, remove crusts,
toast, and spread with butter. Arrange on a platter, and on each slice
put a dropped egg and three buttered canned asparagus tips. Pour over
eggs the following sauce: Melt two tablespoonfuls of butter, add two
tablespoonfuls of flour, and stir until well blended; then pour on
gradually, while stirring constantly, one-half cupful of milk. Bring
to the boiling point and season with one-half teaspoonful of salt,
one-eighth teaspoonful of pepper and a few grains of cayenne pepper. Stir
in two egg yolks, one tablespoonful of lemon juice and one-half cupful
of butter, bit by bit. Sprinkle sauce with finely chopped green pepper.
Garnish with sprigs of parsley, and at center of platter with a small
bunch of asparagus tips held in place with a ring cut from a green pepper.

       *       *       *       *       *

ORIENTAL SALAD: Wash and pick over one-fourth cupful of rice and cook
in one quart of boiling water (to which has been added one-fourth
teaspoonful of salt) until soft; drain and cool. Add to rice two chopped
hard-boiled eggs, two tablespoonfuls each of finely chopped red and
green peppers, one tablespoonful of scraped onion, one tablespoonful of
finely chopped parsley, one tablespoonful of lemon juice, and one-half
teaspoonful of salt. Force mixture through a potato ricer. Arrange
sardines in center of salad dish, and around edge of dish crisp lettuce
leaves. Between sardines and lettuce arrange prepared rice. Garnish with
sections cut from a lemon. Serve with French dressing.

       *       *       *       *       *

STUFFED TOMATO SALAD: Select tomatoes that are firm, round and of good
color. Cut a slice from the top of each, and remove the seeds and the
pulp. Mix the pulp of the tomatoes with some ham, chopped pimentos,
olives, and French dressing; divide this mixture into the tomato shells
and chill. At serving time cover the tomatoes with whipped cream seasoned
with salt and paprika to taste, and serve each in a bed of crisp lettuce
leaves.

       *       *       *       *       *

OLIVE SANDWICHES: Take a large bottle of olives, cut them free from
the pits, slice them and mix with the following dressing: Put two eggs
into a small saucepan, add one-half cupful of sugar, one teaspoonful of
flour, one teaspoonful of butter, one-fourth teaspoonful of salt, one
teaspoonful of prepared mustard, one cupful of cream and one-half cupful
of vinegar. Stir and cook until boiling. Cool and use with any kind of
buttered bread.

       *       *       *       *       *

EMERGENCY ROLLS: Take two level cupfuls of flour into which work two
heaping tablespoonfuls of butter, a pinch of salt, one tablespoonful of
sugar and two teaspoonfuls of baking powder. Moisten with milk to a soft
dough. Cut into long narrow strips and bake in quick oven.

       *       *       *       *       *

STRAWBERRY ICE CREAM: Mix well two cupfuls of mashed strawberries with
two cupfuls of sugar; add one and one-half pints of milk and one pint of
good cream. Freeze. In winter, canned strawberries may be used.

       *       *       *       *       *

STRAWBERRY ICE: Take one teaspoonful of granulated gelatine, one
cupful of sugar, one cupful of water, lemon juice, one quart box
of strawberries, one-half tablespoonful of cold water, one-half
tablespoonful of boiling water. Sprinkle berries with sugar, cover, and
let stand for two hours. Mash, squeeze through cheese cloth, and add
water and lemon juice to taste; then add gelatine soaked in cold water
five minutes and dissolved in boiling water. Strain and freeze.

       *       *       *       *       *

FRUIT SHERBET: Dissolve one and one-half tablespoonfuls of granulated
gelatine in one-half cupful of hot water and keep warm. Peel and dice
three bananas; add the strained juice of three lemons and three oranges,
three cupfuls of sugar, three pints of water and the dissolved gelatine.
Turn into the freezer, and when partly frozen add the beaten whites of
three eggs and a ten-cent can of evaporated milk. Finish freezing and
allow to ripen before serving.

NOTE: All above recipes have been tested and made with level measurements.




OPPORTUNITY.


    They do me wrong who say I come no more
      When once I knock and fail to find you in;
    For every day I stand outside your door,
      And bid you wake and rise to fight and win.

    Wail not for precious chances passed away,
      Weep not for golden ages on the wane;
    Each night I burn the records of the day,
      At sunrise every soul is born again.

    Laugh like a boy at splendors that have sped,
      To vanished joys be blind and deaf and dumb;
    My judgments seal the dead past with its dead,
      But never bind a moment yet to come.

    Though deep in mire, wring not your hands and weep;
      I lend an arm to all who say: “I can.”
    No shamefaced outcast ever sank so deep
      But he might rise and be again a man.

                                        —Walter Malone.




[Illustration: _A Graduate of the University of Chicago, 1916_]




THE MAN WHO WINS.


    The man who wins is the average man,
    Not built on any particular plan,
    Not blessed with any particular luck,
    Just steady and earnest, and full of pluck.
    When asked a question he does not guess;
    He answers the question, “No,” or “Yes.”
    When set to a task that the rest can’t do
    He buckles down till he’s put it through.

    Three things he’s learned: That the man who tries
    Finds favor in his employer’s eyes;
    That it pays to know more than one thing well;
    That it doesn’t pay all he knows to tell.
    For the man who wins is the man who works,
    Who neither labor nor trouble shirks,
    Who uses his hand, his head, his eyes.
    The man who wins is the man who tries.




[Illustration: If It’s Funny—Laugh!]


A BROTHERHOOD.

“Would you advise me to get married?”

“I can’t give you any advice on that subject, my boy.”

“You married men are all alike. None of you will give a fellow any
advice.”

“Well, marriage is a secret society.”—Louisville Courier-Journal.


THE USUAL CONVERSATION.

Father—What did you and John talk about last night, dear?

Daughter—Oh, we talked about our kith and kin.

Small Brother—Yeth, pop, I heard ’em. He seth, “Kin I hev a kith?” and
she seth, “Yeth, you kin!”—Yale Record.


WHY IT WAS SAFER.

A boy was visiting another boy, and as they were going to bed the little
host knelt to say his prayers.

“I never say my prayers when I am home,” said the visitor.

“That’s all right,” said the other boy. “You better say them here. This
is a folding bed.”


EASY.

“Did that book agent succeed in inveigling you into buying a set of
Shakespeare’s works?”

“No.”

“How did you get rid of him so easily?”

“I simply showed him the last dun I received for a set of books I bought
on the installment plan two years ago.”—Birmingham Age-Herald.


GOT ’EM THE FIRST TIME.

“Mr. Johnson,” asked the professor in the freshman class, “what three
words are used most among the college students?”

“I don’t know,” said the student.

“Correct,” replied the professor.


HIS DUTIES DEFINED.

Boss—“I wanted to speak to you, Mr. Lovum, about your attentions to Miss
Sweetthynge during office hours. I hired you as a billing clerk only—no
cooing mentioned. That will be all for the present.”


THE SUPREME TEST.

“Brudder Jackson,” said the colored preacher to a parishioner, “yo’ wife
done tell me she got religion and wants to jine de church.”

“Yas, suh, dat’s so,” replied the husband.

“Well, brudder,” suggested the preacher, “Ise gwine to put her
protestashuns to a test—de nex’ time it rains, Brudder Jackson, you let
your dawg get good an’ wet and den let the dawg in yo’ parlor and den you
tell me what yo’ wife says. Den I will know whether Sis’ Jackson should
cum into de fold or not.”


DESIRABLE THOUGHTS.

Cholly—“Before I met you I thought of nothing but making money.”

Ethel—“Well, keep right on! Pop ain’t so rich as folks think!”


TRYING THE DOG ON HIM.

“Come right into the yard,” said the farmer’s wife cordially to the tramp
who had besought something to eat.

The tramp eyed the bulldog dubiously. “I dunno ’bout dat,” he said. “How
’bout dat drog? Will he bite?”

“I don’t know,” said the housewife, “I just got him today and that’s what
I want to find out.”


PROVING MAW WRONG.

Freddy, with a determined look on his small countenance, marched into the
front room and up to the ardent suitor of his pretty sister.

“What’s them?” he demanded, thrusting out a grimy hand full of small
white objects.

“What are those?” said the young man with an ingratiating smile. “Those
are beans.”

“He does know ’em, maw,” bawled Freddy triumphantly into the adjoining
room. “You said he didn’t.”


REDUCING THE COSTS.

“Tommy,” said the fond mother, “isn’t it rather an extravagance to eat
both butter and jam on your bread at the same time?”

“No, mamma, it’s economy,” Tommy answered. “The same piece of bread does
for both.”—The Christian Herald.


DO NOTHING BUT BREATHE.

Bachelor—“Before the wedding you told me that married life would be one
grand sweet song.”

Benedict (gloomily)—“Yes; and since then I’ve found it one grand sweet
refrain.”

Bachelor—“Refrain?”

Benedict—“Yes. My wife insists that I refrain from cards, refrain from
smoking, and refrain from the club.”


TO THE POINT.

“Look here, waiter, is this peach or apple pie?” asked the patron.

“Can’t you tell from the taste, sir?” asked the waiter.

“No, I can’t,” answered the customer.

“Well, then,” asked the waiter, “what difference does it make?”


A SHORTAGE SOMEWHERE.

An advertisement of a popular spectacular play has this to say of two of
its attractions:

5,000 PEOPLE

4,000 COSTUMES


A MATTER OF ARRANGEMENT.

A teamster charged with using loud and profane language on the street,
was brought before a police magistrate, and one of the witnesses was an
aged colored man.

“Did this man use improper language?” inquired the lawyer for the
prosecution.

“Well, sah,” replied Uncle Ans, “he did tawk mighty loud, sah.”

“And did he indulge in profanity?”

The witness looked puzzled but did not answer, so the attorney tried
again.

“What I mean, Uncle Ans,” he said, “is this: did he use words that your
minister could use in a sermon?”

“Oh, yessah, yessah,” answered Uncle Ans, with a grin; “de ministah could
use dem word, sah, but he suttinly would hab ter errange dem different.”


PRECAUTIONARY.

Mrs. Bacon—“I see washerwomen in Alabama are compelled to register their
names with the city health departments.”

Mr. Bacon—“Why don’t they vaccinate them?”

“What for?”

“So they won’t take it.”

“Take what?”

“The wash.”—Yonker’s Statesman.




Classified Advertisements


WANTED FEMALE HELP

=Agents Wanted=—To sell household specialties. Big money, quick sellers;
territory going fast. Write for full particulars. B. 31, care Half
Century Magazine, Chicago.

       *       *       *       *       *

=Agents Wanted=—To secure subscriptions for the Half Century Magazine.
Liberal commission.

       *       *       *       *       *

=Agents Wanted=—Something entirely new. Sells like “wild fire.” Write for
particulars. C. J. M., care Half Century Magazine, Chicago.

       *       *       *       *       *

=Wanted=—Agents to sell Soaps, Perfumes and other toilet preparations.
Write for prices and terms. The Overton Hygienic Co., Chicago.

       *       *       *       *       *

=Stenographer=—Between 20 and 30 years of age. One that is capable
of handling a large amount of detail work. In your reply state age,
experience and salary expected. Address M. G. H., care Half Century
Magazine.

       *       *       *       *       *

=Stenographers and Bookkeepers=—Girls over 18. Must be graduates of
business department of a high school or college. Those that have had some
experience preferred. Address C-27, care Half Century Magazine, Chicago.

       *       *       *       *       *

WANTED—MALE HELP

=Agents Wanted=—To sell household specialties, big money. Write quick.
B-31, care Half Century Magazine, Chicago.

       *       *       *       *       *

=Stock Salesmen=—For high grade, quick selling proposition. Address T. S.
R., care Half Century Magazine.

       *       *       *       *       *

=A chance= to make big money selling Negro pictures. The best proposition
ever offered. Address Mardell Co., Chicago.

       *       *       *       *       *

FOR SALE

=Typewriter=—Monarch, latest model, in first class condition. Price,
$25.00. A. J. Spears, 5202 Wabash Ave., Chicago, Ill.

       *       *       *       *       *

=Household Furniture=—Beds, Tables, Chairs, etc. Everything necessary for
housekeeping. A bargain, as I am breaking up housekeeping. Address M-19,
care Half Century Magazine, Chicago.

       *       *       *       *       *

=For Sale=—Office desk, chair and Royal typewriter, same as new, at a
bargain for quick sale. Make me an offer. Banks, Wabash Ave., Chicago.

       *       *       *       *       *

ROOMS FOR RENT

=Rooms to Rent=—One large front room for one or two gentlemen. Reference
required. Nice neighborhood. M-20, care Half Century Magazine.

       *       *       *       *       *

=Rooms for Rent=—Light and airy; to respectable people; reference
furnished and required. Address M-24, care Half Century Magazine.

       *       *       *       *       *

=For Rent=—Nice room, suitable for man and wife, or bachelor quarters for
two ladies. Address M-25, care Half Century.

       *       *       *       *       *

MISCELLANEOUS

=Notice=—I will not be responsible for any debts contracted by anyone
except myself after this date, June 26, 1916. Henry B. Brayson.

       *       *       *       *       *

=Wanted to Purchase=—A set of the latest edition of Encyclopedia
Britannica. State lowest price you will take for same. Address M-27, care
Half Century Magazine, Chicago.




[Illustration: WITH OUR EXCHANGES]


BERT WILLIAMS AGAIN STAR OF ZIEGFELD’S “FOLLIES.”

Noted Comedian Makes New Yorkers’ Sides Ache With His “Othello.”

(Louisville News.)

New York, June 18.—Bert Williams, premier comedian of his day, is again
the star of Florence Ziegfeld’s “Follies.” Ziegfeld started his “Follies”
in 1907 and each year he has outdone the preceding year in this type of
show—which consists of elaborate staging, pretty girls and plenty of
them, funny men, all kinds of music and dance, in short his “Follies”
have been hash, a little bit of everything. Shortly after George Walker’s
death, which left Bert Williams to travel alone, Ziegfeld did what no
other manager or producer in this country would have done and that was to
take a Colored performer into a purely white company. He snatched up Bert
Williams, it was a bold thing to do—but it paid. Of course, the “Follies”
can not go into some cities because of Williams, but that loss is over
made up in the other cities. Williams has often saved the “Follies” from
being pure and simple burlesque despite the fact Ziegfeld has most of
the high priced white stars. This year the “Follies” have a Shakesperian
travesty after the tercentenary in honor of the great Shakespeare. Bert
Williams plays “Othello” in the play of that name. Space forbids a rehash
of the scene—but if you’ve ever seen Bert Williams in anything, just shut
your eyes and imagine him as the jealous Moor. You might then get a faint
idea of what makes New Yorkers’ sides ache.


INCREASING OPPORTUNITIES.

(From Amsterdam News.)

When the present European War was begun we gave it as our opinion that
with the exodus of the foreign reservist and the cessation of immigration
economic opportunities would be on the increase for the colored American.
The results have vindicated our predictions. But has the colored man
seized the opportunities presented? Is he taking the best advantage of
the present situation?

Three times since the outbreak of the European War we have advised our
young men and women to learn Spanish. Today the metropolitan dailies are
filled with advertisements calling for Spanish speaking and enterprising
young people. In many cases the need is so pressing for the expansion
in South America of this country’s commerce that were a colored man to
answer one of these advertisements there is hardly one chance in nine
that he would meet with a rebuff. Little over a year ago the situation
would have been exactly the reverse. But necessity and the Almighty
Dollar work some awful changes. Prejudice usually disappears when it
affects the moneyed interests. Colored men and women are holding down
positions today that only eighteen months ago were tightly closed against
them. And, what’s more, they can continue to hold those jobs even after
the war, if their services are up to the required notch of efficiency.
With many hundreds of them being used at present to fill places of the
departed reservists still the advertising goes more emphatically on for
more, yet more. Is the supply equal to the demand?

And the demand is even more urgent for Spanish speaking men and women to
travel to the South American countries as the trade representatives of
the big American firms. Will our people accept this opportunity, too?
Or, now with opportunity thundering at their doors, will they ignore
Ambition’s call to higher things?

Three times before we have advised them to learn Spanish. For a fourth
time we reiterate the advice: Young man, young woman, learn Spanish! For
behind that easily mastered language is the beckoning hand of increasing
opportunities. Prepare yourself, and do your best on any job you accept.
So when you leave it, another COLORED MAN OR WOMAN may be employed.


BUSINESS SENSE.

(Chicago Defender.)

Business, generally speaking, is a new thing with most members of the
race, so it is not surprising to find a large percentage of failures
among those who venture in it. There are a great many reasons why success
does not come more often, the first being that hackneyed expression
“unpreparedness.” A railroad man, for instance, may accumulate a little
money and open up a grocery store. Having had no experience, he neither
knows how to buy or to sell. If he prospers, it is simply by sheer luck
and not due to any business knowledge.

As much of the profit lies in buying and keeping down overhead expenses
as it does in the selling. Many large business houses have gone to the
wall simply through poor management. In the identical place one man makes
a failure, another makes a huge success. The first requisite is to have
what the public wants and offer it for sale at an attractive figure—one
that will permit of a fair profit yet meet competition. Make no
misrepresentations; better lose a customer for the time being by telling
him you haven’t in stock just what he wants than by selling him something
inferior and claiming it is just as good. He might be fooled the first
time but he will fool you ever afterward.

Many people open stores in the heart of what is termed “the black belt,”
offer inferior goods, poor service, and ask high prices, and expect
because the skin of those around them happens to be the same as theirs,
that they are in duty bound to “trade with one of their own color.” In
other words, the customer is asked to measure his race pride in dollars
and cents. If he can get a good can of tomatoes across the way for 15
cents, he is expected to pay the same price or more for an inferior
quality from the brother in mourning. If he refuses to so squander his
money he is accused of todying to the white man.

We have learned the lesson well that as mechanics or any skilled workmen
we must equal the best if we would even get scant recognition. The color
line in the labor field is drawn taut, yet here and there the line is
broken and employment given us. The new business man must realize he
must be fitted for what he undertakes. He wouldn’t attempt to repair a
watch without having gone through an apprenticeship in watch repairing.
Why start a grocery, meat market, haberdashery, etc., before acquainting
yourself with the particular line you wish to engage in?

We differ from other races only in that we are overconfident in our
ability. We believe in starting at the top and sliding to the bottom; it
looks so much easier. Climbing is hard work, but it is worth while, and
when the top is reached, even though you are weary, you hold something
tightly in your grasp that the world cannot take from you—experience.
And, after all, that is the one great thing in life that brings success.


RIGHT IDEA.

A Portland school teacher asked this question:

“Now, Johnny, suppose you wanted to build a $1,000 house and had only
$700; what would you do?”

“I ’spose I’d have to marry a girl worth $300,” answered the young
financier.


EXPLAINED AT LAST.

The physician was giving an informal talk on physiology.

“Also,” he remarked, “it has recently been found that the human body
contains sulphur.”

“Sulphur!” exclaimed the girl in the blue-and-white blazer. “And how much
sulphur is there then in a girl’s body?”

“Oh, the amount varies,” said the doctor, smiling, “according to the
girl.”

“Ah!” returned the girl. “And is that why some of us make better matches
than others?”


A darky walked into a restaurant, sat down to the table, and looking up,
recognized the waiter as an old friend. “Huh!” he said, “I sees you is
wuking here.” “Yes,” said the waiter, noting the sarcasm, “I’se wuking
here, but, thank de Lawd. I ain’t eatin’ here.”


MIDNIGHT SPREADS.

For years it has been dinned into our ears that we should not eat before
going to sleep, and we have forgone many a pleasant bite for fear of
sacrificing our good health. And now along comes a noted physician and
tells us that many morning headaches were merely the result of hunger.
This does not mean that we can immediately proceed to gorge ourselves
with all sorts of sweets and not have to pay the penalty the next
morning. Sweets should be eschewed during the midnight repast, and
one should substitute some wholesome sandwiches—cheese sandwiches are
wholesome and nourishing and can be eaten with impunity even during the
wee small hours.


TO FRESHEN LEMONS.

If lemons are old and dry, place them in a pan of hot water and keep the
water at an even temperature for a few hours. As a result the lemons will
become fresh and juicy again.


SUBSCRIPTION PRICE

The subscription price of =The Half-Century= is 75 cents per year, or
50 cents for six months. Some time ago we made an offer as a special
inducement to send the publication for one year for fifty cents—to all
who would send us their subscription before the date of publication.
The responses were very flattering, which shows in what confidence the
management is held. As this offer did not reach many of our friends in
time to take advantage of the same, we have decided to extend the offer
until August 10, 1916. The offer will positively be withdrawn on that
date. As a matter of fact, the probabilities are that the subscription
price =will have to be advanced to One Dollar per year=, on account of
the steady advance in the cost of paper, printing inks, labor, etc.

Therefore, we suggest that you take the benefit of this extremely low
offer, by filling in the attached coupon and mailing same with your
remittance to us promptly.

                                [COUPON]

                       =OUR SPECIAL ADVANCE OFFER=

                      =Extended to August 10, 1916=

             =The Half-Century Magazine Publishing Company=
                   =3708 WABASH AVENUE, CHICAGO, ILL.=

      =Subscription Price, One Year 75 Cents; Six Months 50 Cents;
                          Three Months 25 Cents=

    GENTLEMEN:

    Enclosed find 50 cents in payment of One Year’s Subscription to
    The Half-Century Magazine as per your Reduced Price Advance
    Offer.

            Name .....................................

            Street or P. O. ..........................

            Town ................. State .............

    Date ..........................




_Don’t Be A Fossil! Live in the 20th Century_


You wouldn’t by preference travel now in an ox wagon, would you?

                            THEN WHY NOT JOIN

                            THE INTERNATIONAL

                   =Benevolent & Protective Association=

=An Up-to-Date Fraternal Order that Meets the Requirements of Today=

Some of the old-time orders offer you weekly dues when you are sick,
burial when you die and endowment to your beneficiaries. _We do that for
you, too, and we do more._

          =WE HELP YOU TO LIVE=      =WE HELP YOU TO PROSPER=

We furnish you free medical attendance and pay you for the time you lose
while you are sick.

=We Help You in Your Business or Daily Vocation=

We assist you _financially_ when in need. Each member pledges to deal
with other members in preference to those who are not members (other
things being equal), and we use every legitimate method to _require_
members to truthfully live up to this pledge—even to the extent of
expulsion, where it is conclusively proven that said member continues
to violate this obligation. However, we do not require one member to
pay another _more_ for the same article or service. We have this plan
perfected so that it works out harmoniously.

=We Oppose Race Discriminations=

Such as unequal accommodations on railroads, etc., by persuasion and the
influence of prominent, fair minded white persons, and also by legal
process through the courts. We condemn the practice that many white firms
have of advertising their products by ridiculing the race, and oppose the
same by boycotting such firms and their products.

=If there is no lodge of ours in your city you can join individually,
Chicago Council No. 1, and live where you are—you will not have to come
to Chicago to do so.=

           Write for application blank and full particulars to

         =_The_ International Benevolent & Protective Association=

                      OLGA L. PORTER. COR. SECRETARY
                            ORGANIZERS WANTED
                     5349 Indiana Ave., Chicago, Ill.

       *       *       *       *       *

=Everything Musical=

The Azalia Hackley

MUSIC

Publishing House

_MUSIC PUBLISHERS_

AND DEALERS IN

    PIANOS
    PIANO PLAYERS
    BAND INSTRUMENTS
    STRING INSTRUMENTS
    SHEET MUSIC
    MUSIC BOOKS
    VICTROLAS
    And other Talking Machines

_All the Latest Songs and Records_

We make a specialty of songs and music of all kinds—Religious, Patriotic,
Classic or Ragtime written by our people.

We set your words to music and publish same on a royalty basis.

Mail Orders Filled

                           =The Azalia Hackley
                          Music Publishing House
                      5244 State St., Chicago, Ill.=

       *       *       *       *       *

=DON’T Take a Chance With Your Films=

Don’t have them developed with inferior chemicals. We use only the best
C. P. Mallinckrodt Chemicals in our photo finishing laboratory, and
employ only skilled photographers to FINISH YOUR WORK. In our printing
and enlarging departments we produce perfect black and whites, and use
only the best grades of developing paper. All prints are masked with
white border and trimmed with even margin.

Your order receives undivided attention in our laboratory, where QUALITY
OF FINISH is the first consideration.

Any size roll of film, 6 or 12 exposures, developed for 10c.

Your Photo finishing may be sent to us by mail. It will have prompt
attention.

We carry a complete line of =Cameras and Kodaks=

                           =The Azalia Hackley
                         Music Publishing House=
                         5244 State St., CHICAGO

       *       *       *       *       *

WE SELL BOOKS

When you want a Book of any kind

_WRITE US_

If we can’t get what you want,

It’s not in print

_Books written By Colored-American Authors Our Specialty_

Lowest Prices

Quick, Efficient Service

                                   THE
                      =Progressive Book Publishers=
                      3519 State St., Chicago, Ill.

                         We Publish Books, etc.

       *       *       *       *       *

IN SUMMER YOU NEED

=PU-RI=

To Prevent the Odor From Perspiration

       *       *       *       *       *

COMING

READY AUGUST 1st

[Illustration: =BLACK’S BLUE BOOK=]

=Directory of Chicago’s Active Colored People and Guide to Their
Activities=

On news stands or sent anywhere on receipt of price 25 cents

                        =FORD S. BLACK, PUBLISHER
                   6446 St. Lawrence Ave. Chicago, Ill.=

       *       *       *       *       *

USE

=RO-ZOL=

[Illustration]

The Face Bleach That Will Bleach

Will Also Positively Remove Tan, Liver Spots and Freckles

AVOID IMITATIONS

                   =THE OVERTON-HYGIENIC MFG. COMPANY
                        Dept. H. C. Chicago, Ill.=

=AGENTS WANTED=

We are also manufacturers of the Original High-Brown Face Powder, the
first and only face powder made especially for the complexion of our
people.

       *       *       *       *       *

High-Brown Hair Grower

WILL GROW YOUR HAIR

_It Is A Straightener As Well As A Grower_

Nicely Perfumed—Absolutely Harmless

[Illustration]

Gives the hair that live, glossy appearance which is so much desired. A
trial will convince the most skeptical.

PRICE 50 CENTS

MADE ONLY BY

                 =The Overton-Hygienic Manufacturing Co.=
                              CHICAGO, ILL.

       *       *       *       *       *

START A BUSINESS OF YOUR OWN

=The Perfumers’ Supply Co.=

Importers and Jobbers of Materials for

_Manufacturers of Hair Preparations Toilet Articles and Perfumes_

=We Carry A Complete Stock at the Lowest Prices=

Some of which are as follows

    Talcum
    Waxes
    W Petrolatum
    C Petrolatum
    A Petrolatum
    Jars
    Colors
    Boxes
    Bottles
    Labels, etc.
    Oil Rose
    Oil Lilac
    Oil Lemon
    Oil Lavender
    Oil Bergamot

We will sell you the supplies and teach you _Free_ how to make Cold
Creams, Face Bleaching Creams, Hair Pomades, Hair Growers, Perfumes,
Toilet Waters, etc.; or we will make any of these articles for you and
print your name on the label, ready for you to sell.

=Catalog and terms sent on receipt of 10 cents in postage=

                        =THE PERFUMERS’ SUPPLY CO.
                        Dept. J, Monadnock Block=
                              CHICAGO, ILL.

       *       *       *       *       *

_Successful baking requires a good baking powder_

Hygienic Pet Baking Powder

_meets that requirement_

=Economical and Strictly Pure=

A LARGE CAN FOR =10c=

For sale by all good dealers

[Illustration]

                           OVERTON-HYGIENIC CO.
                                 CHICAGO

       *       *       *       *       *

A Marvel! A Revelation!

=Magic Furniture Polish=

_THE POLISH THAT MAKES OLD FURNITURE LOOK THE SAME AS NEW_

Made only by the inventor

                             =THOS. B. BANKS
                    5163 Wabash Ave. Chicago, Illinois=

Agents wanted. Write for prices and terms.

       *       *       *       *       *

_Chew the Good Chew_

TWO KINDS

TRIPLEMINT

A Peppermint Flavor

LIMENTO

A Fruity Flavor

Price 5 Cents A Package

                    =The International Gum and Candy=
                                 COMPANY

FOR SALE BY ALL LIVE DEALERS

       *       *       *       *       *

_Do you want information of any kind?_

                                   =THE
                          National Negro Directory
                            AND REPORTING AGENCY=

SPECIALIZES AS FOLLOWS:

If you want information about persons or firms in other cities we can
supply you.

Should your wife or husband, son or daughter leave home and you want them
looked up, we can do so through our agents throughout the United States
at a small cost.

We furnish other services which we should be pleased to explain upon
application.

_Agents and Reporters wanted for every town where we are not now
represented_

For further information write to

                               THE NATIONAL
                  =Negro Directory and Reporting Agency=
                            Chicago, Illinois

       *       *       *       *       *

Do You Like Good Perfumes?

THEN TRY

_OUR PERFUMES_

AND

_TOILET WATERS_

_If you wish Lasting Perfumes and Toilet Waters in the true flower odors,
use some of these_:

    =LES FLEURS=—A combination of flowers.
    =HIGH-BROWN=—A fragrant, lasting odor, originated by us.
    =DIANANIS=—Something new and original.
    =LE TREFLE=—The true odor of a clover blossom.
    =VIOLET=, =ROSE=, =CRAB APPLE=, =LILAC=, and a number of other popular
      odors.

_We also manufacture a line of Sachet Powders._

MADE BY

                 =The Overton-Hygienic Manufacturing Co.=
                           Dept. H. C., CHICAGO

       *       *       *       *       *

A BEAUTIFUL SKIN IS YOUR BIRTHRIGHT

=THE OVERTON-HYGIENIC=

=Peroxide Vanishing Cream=

Prevents and relieves chapped skin. This vanishing cream is soothing,
healing and antiseptic. Being greaseless, it is especially good for use
in the daytime; unequaled for oily skins; delightful after shaving. The
peroxide in the cream _Bleaches_ the skin. Will not injure the most
delicate complexion nor cause hair to grow. =Price 25 cents.=

MADE ONLY BY

=The Overton-Hygienic Manufacturing Co.=

       *       *       *       *       *

[Illustration]

=HIGH-BROWN SOAP=

A Good Soap Is Essential to a Beautiful Complexion. High-Brown Soap Will
Keep The Pores Clean And Free From Impurities.

=Absolutely Pure=

=Highly Perfumed=

Handsomely Put Up Two Cakes to a Box

=PRICE 50c=

MADE BY

                 =The Overton-Hygienic Manufacturing Co.=
                                 CHICAGO

       *       *       *       *       *

=The Journal of Negro History=

PUBLISHED QUARTERLY

100 PAGES

=_Edited by_ CARTER G. WOODSON=

THE JOURNAL OF NEGRO HISTORY is the official organ of the _Association
for the Study of Negro Life and History_, which is now trying not to
promote an isolated research into the history of the black race but to
show how civilization has been influenced by contact with the people of
color. This publication aims to popularize the movement to save and make
available the scattered historical materials bearing on the Negro. In
it appears scholarly articles and valuable documents giving information
generally unknown. It is concerned with facts, not with opinions.

=Subscription price $1.00 per year. Foreign Subscription 25c extra. Single
numbers, 25 cents; 30 cents by mail.=

Checks should be made payable to THE JOURNAL OF NEGRO HISTORY and
addressed to

                           =CARTER G. WOODSON,
                 2223 12th St., N. W., WASHINGTON, D. C.=

       *       *       *       *       *

=WIND AND SUN=

Work Havoc With The Skin

The Cool Velvet Touch of Our

TALCUM POWDERS

[Illustration]

Eases the burning and irritation.

A trial will convince you of their superiority.

=Five Odors:=

HIGH-BROWN, CARNATION, ROSE, DIANANIS, VIOLET

=PRICE 25 CENTS=

MADE BY

                 =The Overton-Hygienic Manufacturing Co.=
                                 CHICAGO

       *       *       *       *       *

AIDA HAIR POMADE

[Aida Overton-Walker]

=_A Delightfully Perfumed Hair Dressing_=

That makes stubborn and harsh hair soft and pliable and easy to comb. It
is also prepared especially to be used in straightening of the hair with
the “irons,” _preventing the evil effects_ heretofore resulting from the
use of the “irons” with other similar preparations.

[Illustration]

_A large, handsome, lithographed tin box_

=Only 25c a Box=

Agents wanted

                         THE OVERTON-HYGIENIC CO.
                        DEPT. H. C., CHICAGO, ILL.

       *       *       *       *       *

_A Live Book for Live People_

HOW A NEGRO SHOULD CONDUCT A BUSINESS

To Gain the Patronage of His Own People

=PRICE $1.50 POST PAID=

=Now in press. Will be published about Sept. 1, 1916=

If you are in business or contemplate entering business, you should have
this book. The book will contain Fourteen Chapters—not a dead line in it.

=SYNOPSIS OF CHAPTERS=

     1 A Brief Review of Early Negro Business Ventures.
     2 Statistics of Negro Business in the United States.
     3 Prejudice as it Affects the Negro in Business.
     4 The Importance of Business in the Race’s Development.
     5 What is Necessary to Secure the Patronage of Our Own People?
     6 What is Necessary to Secure the Patronage of White People?
     7 How to Buy Goods at the Lowest Price.
     8 How to Establish Credit with Wholesale Houses.
     9 What Constitutes Good Salesmanship?
    10 Whom to Credit.
    11 How to Make Collections.
    12 How to Advertise.
    13 How to Systematize a Business.
    14 How to Conduct a Business in General.

The price of the book is $1.50, but as a special inducement to advance
subscriptions we will send it when published for One Dollar to those who
will sign the attached slip and send to us before Aug. 20, 1916.

=Cut out this coupon, sign and send to us promptly.=

                                        _Date_..................._19_....

    =THE PROGRESSIVE BOOK PUBLISHERS
        Chicago, Ill.=

    _Gentlemen_:

    _Kindly enter my subscription for one copy of “How a Negro Should
    Conduct a Business,” for which I agree to remit [to you] $1.00 as soon
    as you send me notice that the book is ready._

    _Name_................................................................

    _Street or R. F. D._..................................................

    _Town_............................................ _State_............