Minneapolis spokesman. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1934-2000, 1943-04-23
Equal Rights
Bill Finally
Passes House

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so-called equal rights law" on
Tuesday after majority leader Roy
Dunn made a motion 10 place the
bill on special orders.
The passage Of the bill with all
of its original proposals except one
ended the most hectic battle for
democracy and tolerance ever re-
corded in the Minnesota legislature.
The final victory for the broad
ened bill which added to the old
civil rights law the words national
origin" which proponents Of the
amendments said would strengthen
the bill, saw Representative Roy
Dunn who had two weeks before
told this newspaper that its attack
on the maneuvering in the House
had definitely killed the bills
chances for passage actually lead
ing the parade to pass the bill
Mrs. Mabeth Hurd Paige Of the
Both district, veteran legislator,
and good friend Of women, chill
dren and minority rights intro
duced the amendments which put
life back into the bill as reported
out by the House Judiciary com
mittee.
The judiciary committee after
tabling the bill which had been
passed by the Senate was forced
by vigorously expressed public
opinion to recommend the bills
passage to the House after oppo-
nents of the measure thought the
bill was safely buried in the COM
mittee.
Attacks on the committee by the
Minneapolis Star Journal, st. Paul
Pioneer Press, Minneapolis Trib-
une, American Jewish World and
the Spokesman and Recorder news
papers back by individuals and or
CARNATIONS forced the issue to the
extent that the committee finally
recommended passage Of the bill
but took all of the teeth out of it.
Observers including Judge Ed
ward Waite, advocate Of the meas
ure called this a maneuver to cause
dissension between the Jewish and
Negro groups chief groups affected
by the law.
This strategy proved a boom
erang because these two groups got
together and presented a united
front. Attempts by prominent legis-
lators to play Jews against Negroes
and Negroes against Jews and
other religious and racial groups
against both other groups failed
miserably as the newspapers con-
tinued a barrage of editorial con-
demnation of the obvious machina-
tons of certain members Of the
legislature.
When the emasculated bill
reached the floor Mrs. Mabeth
Paige, Robert Fitzsimmons, Vernon
WEIGH, author of the house bill,
led the fight to secure passage.
Rep. R. T. Burns, aided by
Representative Gordon Peterson,
tried to amend the measure again.
WEIGH and Fitzsimmons labeled his
actions as an attempt to halt the
bills passage.
After a prolonged debate the bill
was passed.
1t was sent to the Senate which
concurred in the amendment and
will no doubt be signed by Gov
ernor Harold E. Stassen, who sup
ported the measure by the time
this news is in print.
Original work on the broadened
law was done by the Minnesota
Jewish Council of which Samuel
L. Scheiner is executive secretary.
Senators B. L. Novack of St.
Paul and Ralph Mayhood of Min
neapolis sponsored the bill in the
Senate where it was passed with
out much opposition.
When it appeared that the bill
was destined to be buried in COM
mittee, group Of leading citizens,
Catholics, Jews and Negroes ap-
peared before a public hearing be-
fore the Judiciary committee to
which the house had passed the
bill for unofficial burial"
When efforts of the group failed
the St. Paul and Minneapolis
branches Of the National Associa-
ton for the Advancement of Col
ored initiated the formation of a
Twin City Equal Committee which
was headed by Rev. C. T. R. Mel
son, clergyman and president Of
the St. Paul NAACP. Secretary
of the committee was Irving Blum
berg, a member of the Minneapolis
NAACP executive committee. Ac-
tive on the committe was Jonas
Schwartz, Mill City attorney and
Rev. ]. W. Kelly Of Border NJ. E.
Church, Minneapolis and Mrs. Jean
Wilcox of the Women's Interna-
tional League for Peace and Free
dom