Arkansas State press., 1945-09-28

nurses, specialists and admins
trative personnel in veterans
hospitals and facilities, inclusion
of qualified Negroes in whatever
division is set up to investigate
complaints, use of qualified Neg
roes in all administrative and
clerical departments of the Vet
Grams Administration itself, and
reiteration of the NAACP's
recommendation first made to
President Roosevelt in 1914 that
a qualified Negro be appointed
at the policy-making and policy
executing level were the recon-
mendations submitted here today
to General Omar Bradley by
Walter White, executive secre-
tary of the NAACP, Jesse o. Ded-
mon, Veterans secretary and
Judge William H. HASTE, chair
man of the Associations legal
committee.
The Associations representa-
tives discussed at length with
General Bradley the special
problems and difficulties Negro
veterans face, particularly in the
light of employment cutbacks.
General Bradley, with whom Mr..
White had worked in the Europ-
can Theatre of Operations, ex-
pressed deep concern regarding
the elimination of discrimination
against veterans. He stated,
however, that certain Negro doc
tors were urging him to establish
all-Negro hospitals in order that
they might have opportunity to
work in them. The Associa-
tons representatives ISSUED
General Bradley that many Ne
gro doctors do not favor segre-
gated hospitals and that he had
obviously heard only from those
who for personal or other reas-
ons want segregated hospitals
established. General Bradley
was informed that if the Negro
doctors who are opposed to seq
regation knew of the representa-
lions which had been made to
him by doctors who favored sep
arate facilities for Negroes, the
opposition would be exceedingly
vocal and widespread.
General Bradley informed the
delegation that he and Major
General Paul r. Hawley, who is
in charge of veterans hospitals,
are familiar with the experience
in the European Theatre of Ope-
rations where non-segregation
had worked out favorably and
without difficulty. He express
ed concern, however, as to wheth-
er or not the South had progress
ed to the point where non-segre-
gated hospitals could be sue
cessfully maintained there. The
NAACP representatives urged
that the experiment be tried and
pointed out that considerable pro-
gress had been made during the
war towards indignation which
was less expensive and more eff
ficient than the maintenance of
odual systems of hospitals.
1t was pointed out to General
Bradley that at present there are
approximately six thousand Ne
groes employed in the Veterans
Administration but that about
fifty-seven hundred of them are
employed as janitors and mes
sengers; that there are only about
three hundred in clerical posi-
tons and they are segregated in
two endorsements of the Vet
Grams Administrative Building.
1t was also pointed out that there
are only three persons above the
clerical rank and these serve as
investigators and adjudicators.
General Bradley expressed him
self as being determined to utilize
Negroes and all other Americans
irrespective Of race, creed or COL
or and emphatically asserted that
ANY employee in the Veterans
Administration can by faithful
and competent service rise to
any position in the Veterans Ad-
ministration, including my own"
The Associations representatives