The potters herald. [volume] (East Liverpool, Ohio) 1899-1982, 1948-07-22
Dixiecrats Bolt
From Democrats

Philadelphia (LPA)-The walk
out of Mississippi and Alabama
delegates from the Democratic con-
vention last week in protest against
adoption Of strong civil rights
plank would have been comical if
it weren't so tragic. While other
delegates stood and booed, 35
southerners paraded out of the
steaming hall followed by a galaxy
of photographers and press. Radio
commentators complained that the
walkout looked larger than it was
because so many reporters trailed
along and the reporters assigned to
it complained because they had to
follow the Mississippians out into
a drenching rainstorm.
This gloomy spectacle was
brought on by the acceptance of the
convention of a strong civil rights
plank insisted on by liberal ele-
ments within the party. The fight
has been raging for months with
the southerners playing their
walkout threat for all its was
worth. When the dramatic moment
actually came, only Mississippi and
part of Alabama went thru with
the gesture, with 263 others re-
naming in the convention to vote
for Sen. Richard B. Russell of
Georgia. This was not enough to
keep Truman from getting the
nomination on the first ballot.
The first North VS.. South floor
fight came on the seating of the
Mississippi delegation. George l..
Vaughn, Negro delegate from Mis-
souri, presented the minority report
against the seating of the dele
cation. There was a rather dubious
voice vote on which Chairman
Barley declared that "in the opin-
ion of the chair" the majority re-
port had won. Delegations wish
ing to register protest found that
their mikes had been turned off.
Chairman Jack Shelley of the Cali
fornia delegation fought his way
to the platform to state his states
opposition to the seating of the
Missourians and Illinois and New
York also managed to be recorded
as opposed to it.
A memory of this spectacle caus-
ed civil rights advocates to insist
on a roll-call when the civil rights
plank finally came up for vote.
The south was beaten however
on a voice Immediately following
the Missouri incident. This was over
an attempt to reinstate the two
third rule which until it was de-
feated by Franklin Roosevelt in the
1886 convention had given the
southerners a veto power over
nominations.
When the platform was being
they were again yelled
down by a majority of the dele
gates who were against adding a
states right provision to the party
creed.
The final blow to the southern
delegates came when a strong
civil rights plank endorsing Presi-
dent Truman's program was passed
by a vote of 651H to 5S212. The
victory of the northern liberals fol-
lowed ten hours of intense caucus
ing climaxed by rousing speech
from Mayor Hubert Humphrey of
Minneapolis. Pleading for the mi
nority report signed by himself,
former Congressman Andrew j.
Biemiller of Wisconsin and Mrs.
Esther Murray of California, Hum
phrey whipped the convention in
to a rousing demonstration led
by a group in the Americans for
Democratic Action.
"We are confronted by emotion
alism on all Sides" said Humph-
rey, "but there is no single reli-
gion, no single class, no single
racial group. President Truman had
the courage to issue new Eman-
cipation proclamation. We are 172
years late in acting. 1t is now time
for the Democratic party to get
out of the shadow of states
rights and walk forthrightly in
the bright sunshine of human
rights, march down the highroad
of progressive democracy"
Those were strong words, and
the delegates acted on them, the
ma jority rallying to the program
and minority revolving COM