The Omaha guide., 1946-01-05

Dear Sirs:
1 was born in Vicksburg, Miss,
n attended the University of
mississippi for three years. During
|, the war 1 spent nearly four years
OF active duty in the US NAVY and
was only recently released. Dur.
ing all of this time 1 was so re-
quently embarrassed by the actions
ana words of you three gentlemen
lhat l finally kept my mouth shut
or evaded the question when any,
Ole asked me where l was born or
Where l went to college. | grew so
tndt l was ashamed to ADMIT ever
'lvlngeln the same state which ell
ected three such persons as you to
the United States Congress.
1t may be that 1 renamed all OF
my life within the borders of Miss
issippi, or Germany, I would have
reached my present age believing
as you dc about humanity. but 1
have been lucky enough t. have
had the opportunity of living in 5
other states, i'll the South, } n.
East and West, and while in the
Navy to 1--we for varying periods
in Brazil and Hawaii, an! also to
have ATTENDED two other universe
tirs since at ending the University
of Missippi. And during this tine
/ did not contIne my readlhg and
studies to technical matter such as
engineering OF law or chemistry,
but studied much about humanity,
in the fields of sociology, religion,
philosophy, literature, anthropolo-
gy, and history.
Hence I, and all my friends have
studied such humanities, have de-
veloped ideas and attitudes so diff
ferent from those you and Hitler
preach that it would take a life
time to measure the difference.
Having recently finished my part
in a World War which was large
ly caused by the deliberate spread
by the Nazis of blind, primitive,
ignorant ideas of racial superiority
1 now return to find you and your
kind in the United States appar-
emily blissfully unaware of what
has been going on during the past
/ years, and deliberately continuing
to spread the same racial ideas
| which caused the total destruction
, of the German nation.
So it is naturally of great con-
Germ to me, not only that you
should be doing this, but that there
should be people in Mississippi who
apparently think the same as you
do to elect you to such a high po-
sition. And 1 wonder if the people
in Mississippi realize what a re-
p1cation your actions have given
the state. L wonder if they realize
that merely mentioning the fact
that one is from Mississippi now
casts a social stigma in many cir
cles, as though they would say, II
am a Nazi' or Il supported Tojo,'
and puts that person on the defen-
sive to prove that he is a self-re-
J speeding member of society, in
spite Of having lived in MISSISSIPPI
pi. I wonder if the people of Tupe-
10 realize that the name of their
town may become as well known
as 'quisling'' or "Belsen" or "Da-
chau," standing Is a synonym for
bigotry, intolerance, and race pre-
udice if John Rankin remains much
longer in Congress?
I know that you r all three
to old to begin a process of reed
ucation now, so 1 will not ask you
to read the Public Affairs Pamph-
J let Races of Mankind" written
by two members of the Depart
ment of, Anthropology at Colum-
bia University. or the sincere and
| deeply moving autobiography of
Richard Wright, BLACK Boy" But
1 will ask you, and the people Of
Mississippi, to carefully consider
the value of humanity, the full
meaning of the phrase Brother
hood of Man" and the statement,
This is my commandment, That
We love one another, as 1 have
loved you" And further, that you
copQidor tho pnnorfanoa of ed1rca-