Montana labor news., 1946-08-29
PM writer POWDERS sweet Land OF
Liberty FOR whom AS bIG0TRY
HOLDS SWAY IN The SOUTH


| have been haunted by the story
which appeared in PM two weeks aga
of a young American veteran named
Isaac Woodward. He was arrested in
a town in South Carolina. and after
the police beat him into unconscious
ness and gouged out his eyes. the
Judge fined the blinded soldier all the
money he had on him. Woodward was
thus b~rutally punished because he had
committed a certain crime-the crime
of having been born with a black skin
The picture of Woodward with his
eyeless sockets is an image Of horror
and a disgrace to the U. S. A. When
such things are permitted to happen
in a nation. the whole people bears
the moral guilt; and speaking person
ally. | feel as shocked and Inundated
for the human race-as felt the
day | entered B~uchenwald and saw
the piles Of living corpses and heaps
of cadavers. No matter who commits
the atrocity. whether it be a German
lldZt vi al hllCIlNdh SOutlCl lItlt iut.
shame of it rests squarely On the
whole community, the whole people,
every one of us.
The case of Woodward is, unfor-
%tunately. only one example Of a whole
series OF such outrages. Within the
last few days four young Americans
; were murdered by a mob in Georgia.
and two in Mississippi, All the victims
> had one thing in common-they were
all black. And because their skins diff
/, fered from those OF the majority, they
, were killed.
| All Men Created Equal
} "As a nation" Abraham Lincoln
wrote in 1855. I'VE began by declaring
that all men are created equal We
I now practically read it all men are
created equal except negroes When
! the Know-Nothings get control, it will
read all men are created equal, eX-
4 cept negroes and foreigners and Cath
a olics.' When it comes to this. | shall
q prefer emigrating to some country
n where they make no pretcnse Of loving
{ liberty"
a The negro problem, as Lincoln knew,
h is no more a problem for colored men
than is anti.Semitism a problem for
! Jews or anti-Catholicism a problem
O for Italians or Irish. These are. in
Il every possible way, national questions
and concern the whole people. and not
=. .p,, eapnrntn" pao,,,nt ,t IN. ,a,nla-
ton. The cure for the peculiarly
n American disease OF ACCOMMODATIONS
hate must be applied on a national
scale. One should remember that a
staggering number of Americans
possibly as many as 10 per sent if we
include negroes, Catholics. and Jews
- are the actual or potential victims Of
- hate.
1t is self-eyident that no nation can
remain strong. or even survive, if well
over one-thrd Of its citizens are com
PEELED to live in constant physical
fear and insecurity because Of origin
or faith. American slavery before 1860
led to the bloodiest civil war in his
tory American ace and religious pre-
JUDGE Of today can have no happv
outcome either. IF we cannot change
our attitude about race" Congress-
woman Frances p. Bolton Of Ohio
warned, we are going to bring upon
the heads of our children a
cataclysm."
No Overnight Solution
There is no overnight solution TO
this problem. but the essential point
about it is that it can be solved All
that it requires is effort. Imagination,
and will. There are many examples ia
guide and inspire such efforts. Look AT
Switzerland, or look at Russia. Both
countries. each in its W way
brought forth national harmony and
unity out of ethnic chaos and tribal
hate, Swiss citizens enjoy respect and
: equality regardless of whether thoy
are Calvanists or Catholics, German.
or French or Italians.
There are some American group,
that are working in that direction The
National Conference of Christian ane
Jews is an outstanding example. ,hf
bureau for lntercultural Education /.
another. There are still others. Thes,
organizations hold community confer
ences and publish. or encourage In,
publication of, stimulating and helpfl
materials. especially for teachers.
An encouraging example of tn,
awakening OF the teachers to tn,
whole problem is the current l,June
issue of the English Journal. the bro
fcssional magazine Of the teaching q
English in the secondary schools. Tn,
whole issue of the Journal. under III,
special editorship OF Prof. Louise Ros