St. Paul recorder. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1934-2000, 1943-02-12

last Thursday night when John
b. Hawley, Texas born presi-
dent of Northern Pump Co.,
was heard over radio station
KSTP insult French Senegal
lese troops by referring to
them by the hated, despicabIe,
vulgar epithet n--r.
Hawley's talk with the offend
ing term before mentioned was at
st. Cloud, Minnesota, bond rally
and banquet of the Junior Cham
Der of Commerce. It was rebroad-
cast by KSTP by transcription.
Immediately storm of protests
by phone poured into the station.
All day Friday the Spokesman
and Recorder newspapers phones
rang with angry protests from per-
sons, white and black, who con-
demned both Hawley, war plant
operator, for making such remarks,
and the radio station KSTP for
carelessly rebroadcasting them.
In what apOlOgists for Hawley
claim was a compliment the manu-
facturer referred to the French
Senegalese as ''lOng-legged, six
feet four n--rs." In addition,
he made the statement evidently
intended to be in praise "these
hrs took their knives and cut
off the ears of enemies and brought
them back"
Radio Station Gives Citizens
Run-arOund
Friday so many calls were re-
ceived at Twin City Urban League
offices and by N. A. A. C. P. off
Gals that the two executive secre-
taries of the League arranged by
phone with KSTP to have a COM
mittee of both races hear a play
back of the transcription.
Accordingly a group led by
S. Vincent Owens of the st.
Paul Urban League and C. w.
Washington of Minneapolis
accompanied by white and
Negro members of their boards,
representatives from the st.
Paul WOmen's Institute and
the st. Paul Y. w. C. A. and
Rev. J. w. Kelly of Border
Methodist Church, Mime
apolis, visited the st. Paul
studios of KSTP.
Ushered in courteously they were
told that they would be allowed to
hear the transcription shortly.
After sitting in the studio for 40
minutes a studio official told the
committee that the record had been
sent to the Minneapolis office of
Batten, Barton, Durstine & Os-
burn advertising agency which han
dies a portion of the Northern
Pump Co. advertising account.
The committee meanwhile was
indignant. Minor station execu-
tives fidgeted, were apologize and
seemingly ashamed of the obvious
run around they had evidently been
forced to give the committee.
The group called the ad agency
and talked with Henry Fl. Haupt
who handles the Pump Co. account.
He told a member of the commit
tee that the missing" transcript
ton was on the way to Mr.. Haw-
ley's office at Northern Pump!
Mr.. Haupt tried to minimize Mr..
Hawley's unfortunate remarks by
saying he was sure Mr.. Hawley
meant to pay the French Negro
troops a compliment.
He said the committee would
have to secure the radio recording
from Mr.. Hawley.
When it was pointed out that the
use of insulting epithets in refer
ence to the country's foreign Negro
allies was deeply resented by
American Negroes and was a blow
at morale Mr.. Haupt made no CON-
ment. The speed with which B. B,
d. & o. "shanghaied" the record
is Indicative of the dynamite in.
vOlved in Hawley's remarks from
the public relations angle.
Hawley has spent thousands Of
dollars through ad agencies in ar
energetic nationwide newspaper
and radio campaign to glamorizt
himself.
Radio station KSTP's claim, thai
it had available only one cutting
of the record was dismissed a!
ridiculous" by committee. Mem
bers pointed out that a radio sta