St. Paul recorder. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1934-2000, 1943-01-29

EMANCIPATION PrOclamatlon. 1t
was more than a pious thought; the
order established concrete ma
chinery as well as a firm moral
foundation for carrying on the
struggle against discrimination. To
an equal degree, of course, the or
der aroused the hostility and hys-
terra of the white-supremacy fan
atics in Congress and elsewhere.
They have never been willing to
concede that when a Negro asks
equal employment rights he is not
"propositioning" the boss's sister;
the FEPC inevitably became the
target Of attack in all the best lily
white circles. But it went to work
with impressive sobriety and clear
awareness of the potentiaities of
the situation. In retrospect one
might say that the FEPCs chief
defects were the product of timid-
ity.
After holding public hearings
the committee published findings
of discrimination in many areas
and issued "cease -and-desist" di-
receives. Last April IL, for ex-
ample, it exposed discriminatory
practices in ten key manufacturing
plants in the Chicago and Milwau-
kee areas. 1t hit both employers
and unions. There is no way to
estimate cOnclusively the effective
ness of these reports and directives.
FunctiOning with a meager staff
and limited funds, the committee
could not undertake to police as
well as to probe. If defiance of its
orders was extensive, no showdown
ever took place. Reports indicate
that, whatever its limitations, the
FEPCs exposures were sufficient in
many important cases to alter
long -established hiring policies. Its
activities helped to create a climate
of opinion in which employers felt
a growing guilt about their tradi-
tional prejudices-in so far as they
affected war work. This was the
essential beginning from which
greatly improved practices might
develop.
After Pearl Harbor speculation
arose Immediately as to whether
the Administration would continue
it's frontal attack on discrimination
or yield to pleas for "unity'-on
Jim Crow terms. The FEPC was
continued. Government officials
from President Roosevelt down ut
tered repeated pleas to employers
to break down racial barriers on
the assembly lines. AS the scope
of the war effort became apparent,
it was equally clear that the need
for maintaining the anti-discrimi-
nation drive had grown rather than
diminished.
Yet the FEPC faced mounting re-
sistance. Representative Rankin
and other noted NegrO-baiters took
the floor Of the House to decry its
activities. Throughout the first
year of its life the committee Op.
Grated on a budget of $50, 900. Then,
last July, the President announced
that the FEPC, which had been an
independent agency directly re-
spOnsible to him, was being merged
with the War ManpOwer Commits.
sion. This step aroused widespread
fear that the agency was slated fol-
slow death; it was pointed out that
its funds would be subjected to Con.
gressional approval, that it's acts
would be submerged in the larger
politics of the ManpOwer Commits.
sion. After months of negotiation
however, McNutt granted what ap.
peared to be virtually autonomous
status to the FEPC. He also prom.
ised to help obtain an increase II
its budget. / have no reason to be.
lieve that McNutt was not earnest
in these commitments. But Other
things were taking shape.
For one thing, the State Depart
ment, it is reliably reported, tool
exception to hearings which thu
committee was planning with re
gard to discrimination agains
Mexican laborers in Texas. Tit
hearings did not occur. A high nav!
official suggested to the FEPC tina
hearings scheduled for the Detroi
area would hamper navy morale
building" plans. Il understand tina
this protest has been withdraw
since the current row broke out.
The Railroad Brotherhoods joineC
the railway magnates in behind
the-scenes pressure to stop tn,
FEPC investigation. Governor Dix
on of Alabama defied FEPC man
dates in that state and virtual,
seeded from the Democratic Party
Most important, however, were tn
Congressional elections, the ensuin,
gloom in Administration circles
and increased White House Deepen
dency upon the whims Of the South
ern Democrats. McNutt is expecte'
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