Southern Watchman from Greensboro, Alabama • 1

The Southern Watchman VOLUME 1, NO. 1 (New Series) GREENSBORO, SATURDAY, MARCH 6, 1943 10 CENTS A COPY The Revival Of The Southern Watchman fact that few of our white people actually know the extent to which these pressure groups are going in their campaign to overthrow the political, economic and social structure of the South. It will not be the purpose of The Southern Watchman, we said in our prospectus, to be anti anything. Its only purpose is to be pro-South. It will tie itself to the fundamental principles of the Democratic Party of Alabama, under whose watchword of White Supremacy our incumbent President three times accepted the electoral vote of this state.

This is to mean that it will tie itself to the principles of the party, as it will tie itself to the Alabama Constitution of 1901, and not necessarily to the organization of such a party. If, in being pro-South, The Watchman finds it necessary to be anti-New Deal, or anti anything else, it will not hesitate to do so. Its one and only purpose is to give a voice to the conservative people of the South and more immediately it will be concerned with the continued promotion of the magnificent Southern contribution toward the winning of the war without the upsetting of our civilization. Frankly, we believe that the. splendid leadership which the South has furnished in this war, as in earlier wars, is proof enough that we have something in our civilization down here which is worth retaining, our liberal critics notwithstanding to the contrary.

We will not worship the status quo, but we will insist that the status quo, which has produced so much, not be junked merely for the sake of change. We wish it clearly and distinctly understood that we have no desire, in any form or fashion, to agitate. We may publish things which at times appear to be inflammatory, but the real purpose of this will be as a palliative for the agitation of the anti-Southern groups which are so active today. We regard agitation of the racial or any other dangerous problem as inexcusable, especially in the time of war, but even more inexcusable is the inclination of many Southerners to hide their heads in the sand and thus to ignore the agitation, so fraught with explosive possibilities, which is being carried on aganst the South today. Few of our people have the proper access to information about these anti-Southern groups, and it is one of the chief objects of The Southern Watchman to bring them this information.

We wish it clearly and distinctly understood, too, that the editor of this newspaper has never been associated with the Ku Klux Klan or any other order which has attempted to erect itself above the law and we pray that we can contribute our share in bringing these anti-Southern forces to their senses so that it will never become necessary for us or anybody else to associate themselves with such an order. The people of the South white and black have shown the world that they can live in peace and concord. Nowhere on the face of the globe have two races, so dissimilar in color and philosophy, lived together with less friction and they will continue to live in this manner if let alone. We believe in the progress of the negro, within his own race, separate and apart from the white man, and what we can do to help him, we will gladly contribute and we earnestly solicit the help of sound, conservative Southern negroes as well as the white man of good will. We know that, if the present trend continues, there can be only one ending tragedy and grief, with the negro as the heaviest sufferer and we shall contribute all within our power to stop that trend.

With this issue, The Southern Watchman, published at Greensboro, is revived. The Southern Watchman was established in 1876 by W. C. Garrett, and it existed for several years under his management and later under the management of Alex Williams as an organ of the Democratic and Conservative Party of Alabama. When W.

E. W. Yerby purchased the paper in 1885, he changed the name to The Greensboro Watchman and now the present management reverts to the old title, with one edition of the newspaper to remain under the title of The Greensboro Watchman for local circulation and the other edition to go under the title of The Southern Watchman for South-wide circulation. We quote from the prospectus which we issued February 8, 1943, on the revival of The Southern Watchman: In recent months and years, the South has been subjected to an organized campaign of vilification the like of which no section of America has witnessed since the original Reconstruction. The Northern press has launched upon a systematic attempt to revamp the entire social and political structure of the Southern states, and in this effort it has the ardent support of numerous men and women high in the National Administration, in spite of the fact that this Administration bears the stamp of the Democratic Party.

Particularly vehement has been the negro press, both above and below Mason and Dixons Line, until it has become patent to any fair-minded observer that certain mulatto groups are now engaged in a nation-wide campaign which has as its ultimate aim the amalgamation of the races. In this campaign, certain radical periodicals are as fervent as the negro newspapers themselves in attempting to break down all racial segregation. It is exceedingly dangerous to discount the power of these forces. The people who carry on this campaign are ingenious, well-organized and well-financed, and any man who watches the magazines, the motion pictures and the press is aware of their achievements. On the other hand, we are confronted with a willing but impotent South a South whose people still believe in the fundamental importance of white supremacy, but yet who are poorly organized and virtually without an agency of the counter-propaganda.

With so many of the Southern publishers having sold their birthrights to the spending agencies of the government, a large sector of our daily press in the South is little short of disgrace today insofar as it pretends to speak the true sentiments of our people. The Southern Watchman is not, and it cannot be, a pretentious publication. As the prospectus points out, it designed to be a modest tabloid-size newspaper typical in format and mechanical preparation of the weekly newspaper published in the small Southern town. It will differ only in this that its editorial and news content will attempt to be Southwide in scope. The Southern Watchman will be devoted to the publication of such worthy speeches and papers, prepared by prominent Southern men, which set forth the Southern viewpoint it being patent that it is difficult to get these speeches and papers disseminated today without an undue expense upon the individual.

The Southern Watchman will attempt to keep its readers informed on such anti-Southern movements as the poll tax abolition bills, federal anti-lyinching measures and the like. Highly important, it will report regularly on the anti-Southern activities of the powerful negro and radical press of the country, we being aware of the FOES OF SOUTH CALL CONFERENCE FOR NEW ANTI-POLL TAX DRIVE 4 THE WATCHMAN THIS WEEK Page 2 John S. Tilley Gives a Southern Warning to Northern Agitators. Page 3 The William Pickens Case Page 4 "A Monumental Fraud' an editorial. Page 6 Reconstruction Days.

Page 7 The Tirade Against Warden Brown. Page 8 Judge Walter B. Jones on the Poll Tax. The National Committee to Abolish the Pol? Tax is composed largely of pinks, professional reformers, and professional anti-Southerners. There are a few Southern liberals included in the list among them being such New Dealers as Jennings Perry, Nashville newspaperman, and Dr.

Will Alexander, perennial federal officeholder. Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt is listed first among the sponsors, along with such other dignitaries as Mary McLeod Bethune, the negro educator who has been accused by the Dies Committee of being a Communist sympathizer; Continued On Page 7 The anti-South campaign will receive new impetus in a National Conference to Abolish the Poll Tax which has been set for Washington on March 9 and 10. The National Committee to Abolish the Poll Tax is sponsoring this conference. The publicity bureau of this Committee informs the public that expressions of support for the conference have been received from hundreds of organizations throughout the country.

Speakers to appear, says the press release, are Mr. A. F. Whit ney, President of the Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen, Mr. Nathan Cowan, Legislative Representative of the Congress of Industrial Organizations, Mr.

Walter White of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, Viena Johnson, secretary of the Minnesota Farm-Labor Association, Mr. Russell Saville, Legislative Representative of the Townsend Plan, and Congres-man Baldwin, sponsor of an antipoll tax bill, R. 987, which has received the support of the National Committee to Abolish the poll i.