St. Paul recorder. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1934-2000, 1941-05-09
Praises Papers. As
-. ADVERTISING Me ium

Advertising Medium
Dear Mr.. Newman:
Please accept our thanks for the
splendid manner in which you han
died our advertising for the St.
Thomas Style Show. We followed
your suggestions to the letter and
believe that in so doing we were
able to sell the advance" tickets
so much easier.
The Minneapolis Spokesman and
the st. Paul Recorder well deserve
the high esteem with which they
are held as media that reach the
people of the Twin Cities to keep
them informed.
Sincerely,
w. D. Brown, M. D.,
Pres. Mems Club of
st. Thomas Church.
ASKS SUPPORT OF ANTI-POLL
TAX BILL
Editor: May 11-17 is National
Anti-Poll Tax Week. During that
time concerted effort will be made
by hundreds of progressive organi-
cations all over the country to edu-
cate the people concerning the sig
nifcance of the Poll Tax and of
the efforts now being made to bring
Anti-Poll Tax legislation before the
House of Representatives. This leg
islation in the form of the Geyer
Anti-Poll Tax Bill III. R. 7534) is
important because it serves to pro-
tect the democratic rights, civil lib
critics, and freedom of the franchise
in the North by giving to millions
of southern Negroes and poor
whites for the first time - the
right to vote.
Because they are elected by a
favored minority, the Poll Tax. Con-
gressmen feel no responsibility to
the great bulk of their constituents
the Negro and white sharecrop-
per-the impoverished tenant farm
ers. It is men like Cotton Ed Smith
of Georgia, Martin Dies of Texas,
Cox of Georgia, Howard Smith of
Virginia, Hatton Summers of Tex
as-who go to Washington, elected
by a mere $3.50 of their potential
voters and fiibuster the Anti
Lynch Bill or foster Anti-Labor
laws and attack the Civil Liberties
of the whole nation.
There are 16 senators and 70 rep
resentatives in Congress from the
8 poll tax states. These men are
elected on an average by less than
24%o of their potential voters. They
enjoy an average stay in office
nearly twice as long as the law
makers sent from the forty states
having free and democratic cleo
lions. By virtue of their seniority,
they get the important committee
posts - Hatton Summers is chair
man of the House Judiciary Com
mittee; Martin Dies is a member of
the Rules Committee.
This is the way Poll Tax elected
Congressman voted on the Anti
Lynch Bill in 1887: In the House
from the 8 poll tax states the vote
was 65-2 against the bill while
from the forty other states it was
275-53 in favor of the bill.
In the Senate where poll tax men
filibustered and finally voted the
bill down, the vote from the 8 poll
tax states was 40 against and
from the free states it was 44-22
against.
AS long as there remains in Con-
gress a solid block of lawmakers
who have not the least concern for
the vast majority of their own con-
stituents then the welfare, the
democratic rights and civil liberties
of all minority groups in the whole
nation are in danger.
We believe in democracy - the
right kind-that includes all races
and minority groups. We believe
that democracy can be preserved
only by practicing it-and that free
speech can only be preserved by
speaking. The Poll Tax is germ
which withers and kills one part
of the democratic body politics. II
spreads it's insidious poisons
throughout the remainder, render
ing it weak and impotent.
It must be eradicated.
R. A. Harris,
Dill To,r ;&Hoo