Evening star., 1946-05-20
Turner's S Arena Rally
Hears Ickes Advise
Negroes on Politics

Former Secretary of the Interior
Harold L. Ickes yesterday advised
the Negroes of the Nation not to
yield too quickly either to the Re-
publican or the Democratic party
and suggested they use their bal
ance of power to divide and conquer
the politicians.
An overflow crowd of 5000 came
to hear him at an Il Am an Ameri-
can Day rally in Turner's Arena
and contributed more than ST 900
toward a $25.000 fund sought to
fight segregation in Washington by
the Committee for Racial Democ-
racy in the Nations Capital.
Personally 1 do not much be-
lieve in political parties" said the
man who switched from Republican
to Democrat and now is chairman
| of the independent Citizens Com
mittee of the Arts, Sciences and
Professions. Il never have, although
I recognize there are functions to
perform that only political organi-
cations can attend to-
The self f-styled old Curmudgeon
not only advised colored listeners
that the whites were not to blame
for all the failures in race relations
but asserted that "if the Negro made
slower progress in the North than
he should have made, it was to a
large degree his own fault.
Admiration" for Fault.
But it was fault that calls for
admiration" he added. The Negro
was so grateful to the Republican
party that he continued year after
year to pay over and over for the
freedom that Republican stump
speakers kept assuring him had
been given to him by grace of the
Republican party alone"
Mr.. Ickes reported that without
the Negro vote neither the Repub-
licans nor Democrats can hope to
win in at least five crucial States in
the North, the carrying OF which is
necessary for either party to win in
November or in 1948.
"A balance of power is as effective
In politics as majority. Look at
the House of Representatives" he
remarked. You possess q balance
of power. You also have the pos
sibility of forming an alliance for
political action with other inde-
pendent groups that are more in
terested in causes than in men, in
results than in Offices"
Mr.. Ickes put in plug for Dis
trict suffrage. He said the citizens
should have the right to elect their
own oficials and also representa-
tives to both houses of Congress.
A man like Senator Bilbo becomes
Mayor of Washington because re-
SponSible members of Congress will
not accept, except as a last resort
the Craftsmanship of the District
Committee, he asserted. Without
political action, he added, the drive
for justice for the Negro will be
delayed indefinitely.
Recalls Old Stand.
Recalling that he began to attack
both Communism and Fascism Ions
before the war, Mr.. Ickes observed
If I were as concerned about
Communism as some people profes.
to be-some public leaders, som,
members of Congress and even some
editors-I would not inveigh agains
1t in denunciatory terms, I woulc
try to eradicate the infection o.
racial discrimination"
| Because he is for freedom, Mr.
Ickes is against segregation. he ex.
planned, and believes that all public
properties ought to be for the us,
Of all citizens. Pointing out tina
he recommended the appointment
of William H. HASTE, Negro Cover
nor Of the Virgin Islands, Mr.
Ickes said that the last letter
ever wrote to President Truman wa,
to express my hope that there wouls
be no further delaV bv the Senat,