St. Paul recorder., 1943-08-20

Ing company 1Or DISCRIMINATION IN
its continued refusal to employ Ne
gro women in the company's South
st. Paul plant. After adopting the
resolution and another resolution
to make a full report of the dis
elimination to FEPC (Fair Employ
ment Practices COmmittee), the
meeting lost no time in putting
teeth" into its action by unanimous
ly adopting a resolution to refuse
to buy Cudahy products as long as
that concerns policy of discrimina-
ton continues.
Members present agreed to urge
their friends to join in the boycott
and to tell their individual meat
dealers why they refuse to purchase
Cudahy products.
G. F. Atwell, member of the
Board of Management of the strong
PWOC union and an employee of
Cudahy, told the meeting of the
repeated demands of his organiza-
tion to the packing company to en-
ploy Negro women. "When the
matter first came up, the company
officials said that the white union
workers would not work with the
Negro women Negro men are en-
ployed), but we gave the lie to that
by sending an open letter to the
company urging them to employ
Negro women" Mr.. Atwell de-
clared.
He charged the company with
passing the buck and making a
''humbug of the matter" Mr.. At
wood asserted that the company is
trying to break the unity of the
white and Negro workers and there
by destroy the union. A review
Of the record of the CIO in break
ing down discrimination and segre-
cation against Negro men in the
Cudahy plant was made by the
chairman of the Bargaining Com
mittee of the PWOC that has been
negotiating with the packing plant
officials for several months, trying
to get them to employ Negro
women.
Nelson Reports On Detroit
In an address on "Some Observa-
tions of the Aftermath of the De-
troit Riot" Rev. Clarence T. R.
Nelson, pastor of the Camphor
Memorial Methodist church and
president of the local branch, said
that the situation is still very tense
in Detroit. Rev. Nelson told the
meeting about conversations that he
had with several people in Detroit
on recent visit to the motor city.
He took issue with some of the con-
clusions in the report made to Gov
ernor Harry Kelly of Michigan by
the Governors Fact Finding Com
mittee composed of Prosecutor
Bowling, Attorney General Rush
ton, Police Commissioner Wither-
spoon and State Police Commits
sioner Olander, last week. "Prose-
cutor Bowling and his committee
started their investigation of the
Detroit riot with one thing in mind
there must not be a Grand Jury
investigation. Beginning with
that false proposition as their
major premise it was a natural
thing that they would place most of
the blame for the riot on Negroes"
Rev. Nelson said. "Mr. Dowling
begs the question and lodges the
real issues when he places the
blame for the riot on the NAACP
and the Negro press. The
NAACP has simply insisted on the
Negro being given his full citizen
ship rights and that all discrimina-
tory and undemocratic practices
against him be stopped. The
Negro press has reported many of
the incidents of unfair treatment
of the Negro. The prejudiced
prosecutor has confused causes
with effects he calls what is in
reality an effect the cause" Rev.
Nelson concluded.
Prosecutor Dowling's denial of
having blamed the NAACP and
Negro press for the riot is made
now for political reasons" Mr.. Mel
son asserted.
Poll Tax Committee Active
The special Anti-Pon Tax Com
mittee of the Branch reported that
letters had been sent to 270 st. Paul
ministers, urging them and their
congregations to write letters to
the Minnesota senators, Henrik
Shipstead and Joseph Il. Ball, ask
ing that they support the anti-poll
tax bill that will come before the
Senate. Senator Ball was reported
as being lukewarm to the legisla-
ton and Senator Shipstead as being
opposed to it.
Mrs. Vienna Johnson, secretary
of the Farmer-Labor Association,
was present at the meeting. In a
brief talk she scored Senator Hen