St. Paul recorder. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1934-2000, 1946-08-16

months of a second sentence for
refusing to be indicted into 9
"jimcrow and segregated Army
having served 10 months of two
year term after his first cOnvic-
ton in 1913. On April "a Parks
began his hunger strike for his
freedom and went 20 days without
food 1.-THE longest that any inmate
Of a Federal prison has been per-
mitted to go without food, before
the authorities began to force feed
him.
Nelson began his fast on April 20
and went IS days without food
before he was force fed.
Consistent Foe Of Segregation
The nearly 80 months that Mel
son spent in the Cuyohoga County
jail, Cleveland, Ohio; the Federal
Correctional Institutions in Milan,
Mich, and Danbury, were marked
by a consistent fight by him and
his pacifist colleagues against ra-
cial discrimination and segrega-
ton in the prisons. Nelson, with
another Negro conscientious OBJ
jector, Joseph Quinn Of Chicago,
with whom he was given a FIVE
year sentence on Jan. 10, 1914, in
Cleveland, and several white con-
scientious DIRECTORS, is credited
with breaking down the practice
Of segregation in the dining room
and housing section of the Milan,
Mich, institution.
He was for most of the time in
administrative segregation" for
refusing to cooperate" with the
officials of the institutions where
he was held as a prisoner. Nelson
refused to work while in prison
because he would not cooperate
in his own imprisonment"
The son of a Methodist preacher
and born in Arkansas, Nelson was
the director of a community center
in Delaware, Ohio, and a student
at Ohio Wesleyan University, when
he was indicted into a civilian pub
lie service camp in 1913. He re-
manned in this camp for about a
year. He and five others, including
Quinn, left CPS after they had
notified the Attorney General,
Francis Biddle, that they would
leave. Nelson gave as one Of his
reasons for leaving Civilian Public
Service that as a Negro and COM
ing out Of a slave background he
would refuse to continue to work
in CPS without pay, which is term
ed slavery, pure and simple" Per-
sons in CPS receive no pay for
their work, which was "work Of
national Importance" and they or
someone else had to pay 1856 q
month for their upkeep. This, ac-
cording to Nelson and other con-
scientious DIRECTORS, was a viola
ton Of the Selective Service and
Training Act Of 1910, which stated
that provided that such amounts
as may be necessary shall be avail
able for the pay and allowances Of
such individuals conscientious OBJ
jectOrs) at rates not in excess of
those paid to persons indicted into
the Army"
Rev. Clarence T. r. Nelson, pas
tor Of the Camphor Memorial
Methodist church and president Of
the st. Paul, Mimi, branch Of the
NAACP and a brother Of Wallace
Nelson, went to Washington on
July l, to intercede for the free
dom Of all imprisoned conscientious
DIRECTORS. He, with a committee Of
Washington ministers, held a con-
ference with PhilleO Nash, one Of
President Humans secretaries.
This committee asked that amnesty
be granted to conscientious OBJ
jectors, including Wallace Nelson.
Attorney General Promises
Amnesty
On July 8 Rev. Nelson assembled
an outstanding interracial commit
tee and had q conference with At