The Michigan chronicle. [volume] (Detroit, Mich.) 1936-current, 1942-06-20
COUNTY GOVERNMENT

'hOneSt-cr0SS- ny-nearJ DOyS WHO 1--WE III GIOsSe
Pointe and Bloomfield Hills are determined to stop
corruption Save the Peoples Money by putting
an amendment on the ballot which will provide for
nice, little ar-tight board of supervisors, most of
whom will be eeced-at-large in non-partisan cleo
ton No air or Negroes will get in except by accident
These Grswold street wolves did not want to
reform the city government after the city hall scan
dals but they have had their eye on the county gov
eminent for some time The Detroit Free Press and
the good government" boys of the Detroit Bureau
of Governmental Researchh have gone to some trouble
and expense to prove that unless endorse their
particular brand of reform all of going to hell
If the Devil is half as particular as they are about
minority representation all of us are safe forever
No honest citizen is opposed to needed reforms
in county government but we do not believe that
the eecton-at-arge system is democratic in the city
of Detroit, and We present the Common Council OF
the city government as Exhibit A. We tired of
popularity contests which permit baseball stars and
football coaches to ride into places of power when
they admittedly do not give tinkers damn for the
rights of our group. The Detroit members of the
proposed board of supervisors will be chosen by the
big daily papers and the radio stations. The boys
who own these propaganda media are the same ones
who put us in the sums, who own the banks and
everything else in the city of Detroit. These same
boys fought federal housing, fought the WPA, and
they are still fighting organized labor and all the
social gains which the New Deal has brought u.s.
We want efficient government, and we want
county reform but we do not want a handpicked
bunch of Grswod street stooges running the county
government. We want government of, by and for
the people, all the people By blocking minority
representation, the election-at-large system has
so effectively done in the city government the pro
posed amendment sacrifices basic principle of our
system of government. When minorties are pre-
vented from having an effective voice in government
there can be no such thing as good government in
our democracy.
Hitler's fascist government has been called more
efficient" than our democratic form because he too
has his little alright clique. We Negroes do not
like Hitherto efficiency and surprised to find
those who do in such prominent places. These local
Htleretes are also adopting their masters tactics in
trying to put their reform" over. They try to
smear everyone who has honest difference of
opinion on the matter by calling them machine poll
ticians" and suggesting that they have designs on
the people They trying to pit the majority
group against the mnorities by pointing out that
only the mnorites object to their little plan. Be-
cause we do not like their brainstorm supposed
to be in favor of corruption and against decent
government.
The time has come to expose these jackals who
work their will by dstortng the truth and confusing
the issue. we beneVe That minority groups are en-
titled to representation and that any plan which
seeks to eliminate minority representation is rotten
to begin with. A great many innocent people have
been sucked in by their bandwagon movement for
this particular brand of county reform. Selfseekng
politicians and ambitious rabbe-rousers have been
afraid to stand up and oppose these Hiterettes for
fear of reprisal Others want to be what appears
to be the winning side and have closed their eyes to
the basic truth and jumped in.
Let this be clear to all and sundry. We Negroes
want clear government and we want efficient gov
ernment but we also demand that government shall
be thoroughly representative and that all mnorites
shall have deserving hand in its affairs We do
not want special legislation for Negroes alone, we
want protection and representation for all mnortes
regardless of race or creed The proposed amend
lnent does not meet these demands We shall do our
part in defeating any measure that does not protect
all the people.
Good government is good for everybody, and the
rights of minorites are just as basic part of our
democratic government as majority rule. We are
fighting war to defend this form of government,