The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1937-09-18

BOake Carter
Mr.. Blacks Dilemma
Puts President in Hole
What He Should Do


Hugo Blacks Khan affiliations
is not, to my mind, whether he
was or is a member Of the K.
K. K. but whether or not he
betrayed his colleagues in the
Senate and his President.
Did he knowingly, Tor political
expediency, fail to make a clean
breast of his past associations
with the Khan and keep silent
when the President sent his
name to the Senate Tor nomina.
ton to the United States Su.
preme Court and while his fel-
low Senators discussed his eligi-
btlityP
THE Pittsburgh Post-GaZette
= produces strong evidence to
show that Black was a member
of the Khan; resigned from it
for political reasons while run.
ming for United States Senator.
ship; returned to its f1ld after
he was safely made Senator;
made a long speech indorsing
its principles.
The President is reported as
being highly annoyed with
Black. Senatorial colleagues
ask for investigation in January.
Now first and foremost one
thing is obvious, that the only
man who can answer the reve-
lations made by the Pittsburgh
Post Gazette is Mr.. Justice Black
himself.
The next most obvious point
is that, whether or not he was
or is a member of the Khan,
he failed to make a clean breast
Of the facts to his President be-
fore his President sent his name
to Congress.
Third, therefore, he has
placed himself and Mr.. Roose-
welt in a most embarrassing and
possibly dangerous position.
The evidence so far shows
that Mr.. Black joined the K.
K. K, used it for political sup
port, quit it's membership and
then, after election, returned
to its membership.
This sequence promptly pro-
notes the question: Does this
show that Mr.. Black either sold
out the Khan by throwing it
down or betrayed himself and
his own lack Of convictions by
going back to it because he
wanted to use its strength some
time in the future?
DUT there are more dangerous
~ political implications in all
this puzzling situation. They
involve all too tragically re-
ligious and racial emotions.
1t will be pointed out that if
Black admits membership in
the Khan there will be great
groups Of the population who
will say that he must have
joined with his eyes open. That
therefore he must have Endorsed
the bigotry and intolerance for
which the Khan stood for in its
heyday.
That, on this basis, no one
can have confidence in any de.
cision he may make on the
Supreme Court bench.
This all may perhaps be a
great injustice to him. He may
not be prejudiced or intolerant,
but the milestone of Khan al.
legiance will prevent the pub
lie from believing so.
If he does not admit mem.
bership. and denies the authen-
ITCHY of the Post-Gazette reveal.
tions. there still will remain
the suspicion in the back of the
minds Of great groups Of people
against whom the Khan directed
its prosecuting campaigns in
the 20s, that everything was not
on the up and up" in the
Black appointment.
MOREOVER, under such a
AVA suspicion-again rightly or
wrongly-Mr. Roosevelt almost
has no choice but to ask Mr..
Black to resign from the court.
It is a tragic situation. It
brings again into the air the
stencil of the Hoover election
of 1928, when the American
people were driven to the polls
by mass hysteria of religious
and racial intolerance.
The best thing Mr.. Justice
Black can do is, not to waste