The Omaha guide., 1935-10-26
Mitchell Hostile To
COstigan-W Wagner
Bill Says NAACP

RCLdCC III u WNOh. u Nj. u11I-
chell for personal spite, brands
that campaign as 'insincere' and
seeks to scuttle in advance the
fight he knows will be made for
the bill in the next session of
Congress.
"Let us look at the record:
"Under date Of December IA,
1884, before Congressman Nit
chelI was sworn in, this associa-
ton sent him a letter enclosing
a copy Of a leaflet telling Of the
horrible lynching Of Claude Neal
at Mariana, Fla, on October &c,
1884 and in that letter the N.A.A.
G.. p. said:
AS a member Of the Seventy
fourth Congress before which will
come proposals for Federal aid to
the States in suppressing lynch
ing, through a bill to be introduce
ed in the Senate by Senators Ed
ward P. Costigan of Colorado and
Robert F. Wagner Of New York,
we ask you to read and ponder
the enclosed detailed report Of an
investigation of the lynching Of
Claude Neal at Mariana, Florida,
on October 10th.
We respectfully urge your deep
interest in and ardent support Of
Federal anti-lynching Legislation
to the end hat the bill may be
passed Immediately upon the con
vening of the Seventy-fourth Con
gress.
"To this letter Congressman
Mitchell replied on December
10, 1884 avoiding any reference
to the Costigan Wagner bill, say
ing nothing about whether he
would support it or not, and Civ
ing no opinion on the subject of
lynching whatsoever. His letter
reads as follows:
[ acknowledge receipt of your
letter Of December 18th with an
enclosure on the lynching of
Claude Neal, for which / thank
you most heartily.
"This Association was consid-
erably taken back at the cool, non
committal attitude of Mr.. Mitchell
in contrast to the pledges of sup
port and cooperation received
from other senators and congress
men. Nevertheless, it could not be-
lieve that the only Negro con
gresham would do other than
support the federal anti-lynching
bill which had made such head
way In the previous congress. But
the Association had not correctly
estimated Mr.. Mitchell.
Immediately upon taking Of
flee, and before the campaign for
the Wagner bill got full
ly under way. Nh. Mitchell an
sounced that the Costigan-Wag-
ner bill was unconstitutional and
that he was going to introduce
his own anti-lynching bill. This he
did in the latter part Of January.
Under date Of January 80, 1885,
the association wrote him asking
him to send it a copy Of his bill.
From that time on Nh. Mitchell
made numerous speeches in var
lOus sections Of the country stat
ing that the Costigan-W Wagner bill
was no good and that if any bill
need to pass it would be his, and
that Democratic leaders had
promised him they would support
his bill and that President Roose-
welt had stated that he would
sign the Mitchell bill. During a
speech at Atlanta, Ca, in the mid
die OF the campaign for the COST
gan-Wagner bill, Mr.. Mitchell
made the flat assertion that edu-
cation was the only thing that
would stop lynching and that
anti-lynching bills were no good.
In the light Of this open hostility
to the Costigan Wagner bill, it
was plain to this association that
it could except no cooperation
from Mr.. Mitchell, and conse-
quently It's officers wasted no
time upon him, since there was
hard work which had to be done