Evening star., 1947-10-30
Civil Rights Report
Greeted With Praise
And Charge Of Bias

And Charge OF Bias
Recommendations of the Presi
dents Committee on Civil Right;
won praise and promises of actor
by members of Congress and spokes.
men for other groups here today
but also was criticized as beinf
"hasty and biased"
Proposals for improvement of ciyi
rights shortcomings" in the Dis
trict came in for special commen
by Clifford H. Newell president O.
the Federation of Citizens Associa.
tfons, and Leon A. Ransom, Lega
Committee chairman of the Wash
irlgton branch of the National AS.
sociation for the Advancement o1
Colored People.
The report submitted to Presiden'
Truman yesterday by a 15-memnel
committee he appointed last De-
cember called for Federal action te
end segregation and other forms Of
racial or political discrimination
particularly in the District.
Mr.. Newell predicted that the
major recommendations eventually
will be carried out by the people
but he added that 1T cannot be
forced on the people"
Bias Laid to Some Members.
81 was very much impressed by
the fact that there were no Wash
inston people on the committee and
that most of them were far away
from Washington" he said. There
we're some very able people on the
committee, but they are people with
pronounced views. Looking over the
list of members, feel that some OF
the members were biased. I sup
pose I or any one else could appoint
a: committee of Is that would oe-
eide almost anything"
Explaining that his reading of the
report had not yet gone oeyono
newspaper accounts and the text OF
the section on civil rights IN the
District, Mr.. Newell said he saw
nbthing to change the stand he took
In a recent speech he MADE before
the Brookland Citizens Association
on racial segregation.
Tn the future, if colored people
and other groups advance along So
cial lines and practice good citizen
ship, without doubt the recommen-
dations of this report will eventually
be carried out by the people. But 1t
cannot be forced on the people"
Mr.. Ransom hailed the report as
'the greatest step forward to the
solution of the problems OF civil
rights that I have ever seen in TINS
country and, believe, in the world. y
He said it should be included among
the historic documents aboard the
Freedom Train
Ransom Calls for Test.
This report" Mr.. Ransom said,
contains the solution to all the
worries we have about Communists
and Fascists and subversive in
fluences in this country. If we can
test it here, democracy will stand. -
Senator Thomas, Democrat, OF
Utah, ranking Democratic member
Of the Senate Labor Committee;
Senator Ives, Republican, of New
York, author of fair employment
bill pending in the Senate ,CIo
President Philip Murray, and Ben
iamin c. Sigal, president of the
washington Chapter of Americans
for Democratic Action, were among
others who commended the COM
mittee's report and promised CO.
operation in implementing 1t. .
senator Thomas cautioned. how
ever, that law alone cannot wipe
out inequalities cited by the COM
mittee. He also warned that
minority groups which feel they
are hurt by various prejudices must
see that individuals in the group
live up to American ideals.
Promising he would work for con-
gressional enactments, Senator
Thomas commented: Law, OF
course. will not settle the questions
raised by the committee, but law
can become a guide to what is or
can be the ideal. Ultimately these
problems must be settled by educa-
ton and by continuously working
against every unfair prejudice"
Murray Sees Milestone.
Senator Ives welcomed the sup
port given by the Presidents COM
mittee to the pending legislation
for fair employment practices.
Mr.. Murray indorsed the report
as an important milestone In the
development and diffusion of Amer
lean democracy" He pledged full
support of the CIO in bringing the
committee findings to the public.
He described the report as "a full,
frank and free disclosure by the
various segments of our population
of their own shortcomings He said
there was a complete lack of any
attempt on the part of one group to
blame any other group for what We
frankly admit are the tagging in
adequacies of our democracy.
A statement issued today by Mrs.
Gertrude Rodman, acting chairman
of the Committee for Washington
of the Southern Conference for
Human Welfare, said that commit
tee deeply appreciates the work OF
the Presidents committee. which
backs up the program for which we
have been fighting"
Simultaneous statements from
DR.. Clark Foreman, national pres
ident of the conference, and Mrs
Virginia Foster Durr, chairman OF
the conferences Committee for Vir-
ginia, speculated on whether the
Republican = dominated Congress
would see recommendations Of the
Presidents committee put into law