Evening star., 1945-08-11

oy tuIcdtcIluB 10 WltAlOIaW rCs
System, the Interior Department h
segregation groups attack on the r
the dual system.
The dispute developed June II
segregation a. incorporated In its
Of Mrs. Alice Hunter, colored, board
intendent Of the National Capital Ps
Although the Interior Departn
that Federal land IN the recreation
program must be open to everybody,
there has been no an-embractng
directive from the department On
free use Of certain golf and swim
ming facilities. It would be impos-
sible to conduct q program Of segre-
cation on District property and one
Of nonsegregation on Federal land,
the Recreation Board has said.
The board relies on the congress
sional act establishing q precedent
for continued operation Of separate
Fairgrounds and parks to vindicate
its stand.
The Citizens Committee Against
Segregation in Recreation is loading
its legal guns to attack the Recrea-
ton Boards regulation. Studying
the advisability Of forcing test
case In the courts Is . legal action
committee composed Of George E.
c. Hayes, chairman; Leon A. Ran
som and Dean william H. HASTE OF
the Howard University Law School.
Would Change Law.
like most Of the anti-segregation-
lists, Dean Hastie's immediate objec-
tive is abrogation of that section Of
the boards bylaws laying down .
definite segregation policy. But con-
ceding that Congress has specified
there shall be separate schools for
white and colored, he also Is attack
ing the right Of the Board Of Educa-
ton and the Recreation Board to
impose segregation in school build
ings and Fairgrounds for other than
educational purposes.
Neither the organic law Of 1906
(setting up white and colored as
sistant school superintendents) nor
any regulation prior to June II, 1s45,
has made it mandatory upon the
Recreation Board to prevent volun-
tary participation Of both white and
colored persons In the use OF the
same recreational facility" Mr.
HASTE said.
ITO prove this It Is only necessary
to point out that numbers Of facili-
ties under the boards control arel
still designated for free use by an
the people.
Cites Tradition.
There has been no congressional
mandate on the Board Of Educa-
ton directing that schools be segre-
gated after classroom hours. 1t IS
a question whether 1t Is an abuse Of
discretion for public administrator
Of office to exclude a citizen from a
public facility because Of race In the
absence Of specific direction by the
Legislature one way or the other"
citing tradition and law, Recrea-
ton Board Chairman Harry 8. Wen
der has taken the stand that segre-
CATION cannot be regarded as an
arbitrary policy Of the board, but
that of q majority Of the people.
"The Corporation Counsel and the
courts until now have contended
that the Board of Education is Who'll
ly justified in denying the use Of
any Of its facilities as it sees 1T for
segregation reasons" Mr.. Wender
said.
Except for some meetings Of
civilian defense groups In the IN
terest Of the war effort, the Board
Of Education has never opened its
buildings to mixed groups.
Dates Far Back.
Social segregation dates far back
in the District, Mr.. Wender said.
"The tradition of segregation Is
carried out in public schools and
higher institutions Of learning. in
clubs, fraternities, nursery schools,
charities, virtually al churches and
indoor commercial recreation in
cluding theaters," he asserted.
Even though white and colored
eat side by side in Government
agencies, every building project Of
the National Housing Authority and
other agencies are conducted on q
segregated basis. During the liberal
Roosevelt administration there was
segregation in war housing projects,
which was q good thing for the Ne
groes because the whites might have
hogged all Of it."
Mr.. Wender said that not only
the act creating the board, but also
the tradition, customs, practices.
rules and policy in effect at the
time the board was created, "all
imposed complete segregation and
any deviation from this program
would be violation Of the law"
Right to Fix Policy.
Referring to the Senate and
House District Committee reports on
the bill creating the Recreation
Board and in which a continued pol
icy of segregation was implied, Mr..
Wender said:
TT is a we'll established fact that
reports on committees responsible
for sponsorship Of legislation should
be used as yardsticks in interpreting
the law.
"A court in determining authority
under which we act recognizes what
Congress had in mind and the in
tent of the statute. The board has
the right to determine policy, never
theless the policy must be based on
the statute.
People are saying that because
the board is given the right to estab-
lish policy that segregation is a
willful policy. This Is not true be-
cause, first, the law makes it man.
datory to follow the comprehensive
plan Of the Park and Planning
Commission and, second, the Board
of Education says it cannot allow
the use Of buildings for recreation
purposes on any but segregated
basis.
Cites Fund Curtailment.
Mr.. Wender pointed to the Fair
Employment Practice Committee 8
appropriation curtailment by Con-
gress as an example Of what might
- H. a.. e