The Northwest enterprise. [volume] (Seattle, Wash.) 1931-1952, 1948-07-07
WALTER WHITE
SCORES CONGRESS

KANSAS CITY, Mo. = The sOth
Congress June % was accused by
Walter White, NAACP secretary.
of playing cheap and partisan
politics with almost total contempt
for the welfare either of America
or the world" Mr.. White made
this charge in the closing address
of the Associations seth Annual
Conference here.
The NAAcP secretary reviewed
the failure of Congress item by
item and concluded that the Amer
lean people themselves had to
share the blame for this record
because of their failure to go to
the polls in 1916 in sufficient num-
bers to assure the election of a
progressive Congress.
THE major job ahead for intel
|ligent Americans is the wise crit
zeal and non-partisan use of the
ballot to stop the paralyzing trend
toward reaction in the United
States today. In 1916 many of you
in this audience did not take the
trouble to register and vote. In
this apathy, you were Joined by
many others in organized labor,
the church and other groups. What
was the result? The election of the
most ineffective Congress, particu-
larly with respect to human rights,
in the history OF America"
The ineffectiveness of Congress,
he said, was demonstrated not
alone by its failure to pass civil
rights legislation but also by its
neglect of the pressing country's
housing needs, the failure to curb
initiation, its denial of opportunity
to the dispossessed of Europe and
its thwarted attack upon basic
civil liberties.
Wallace Failed
The failure of Congress and the
administration to take effective
measures against the racial dis
abilities confronting the Negro in
America today has stimulated,
among certain Negro citizens, an
enthusiasm for the Third Party.
"The support of Henry Wallace.
particularly among Negroes, is sig
nificant chiefly in its reflection of
despair and disgust with the two
major parties. This, despite the
fact that Henry Wallace's brave
words against discrimination tend
to obscure his almost total failure
and even refusal to do anything
about segregation and discrimina-
ton In the Department of Com
merce and Agriculture when he
headed those departments. A re-
cent study on discrimination and
segregation in the nations capital
reveals that the departments he
headed are among the worst in
Washington"
Commenting upon the Repub-
lican Presidential nominee, the
NAACP secretary said: Thomas
e. Dewey has again been chosen
by the Republican Party as its
candidate for President. Under
his administration, New York's
legislature created a State Com
mittee Against Discrimination, ia
miliarly known as SCAD. Cover
nor Dewey urged passage of this
law in 1945-after having evaded
the issue in 1944-to get past the
nominating convention and the
election. He did the same thing
this year on the issue-the very
vital issue-of racial segregation
in the New York National Guard.
"a responsibility of enormous
weight has been placed upon Gov
ernor Dewey. 1t is well within the
range of possibility that the fate
Of the entire world may be deter
mined by what happens during the
next four years. 1t is profoundly
to be hoped that Mr.. Dewey,
should he be elected President,
will grow in statesmanship, vision
and courage"
Charging that northern Demo
Gratis and Republicans in Con-
gress are terrorized by southern
filibusterers, Mr.. White said: I'VE
must let senators and congress
men alike who seek our vote
know that they will attain our
support only il they stop being
towards in the face of cheap con-
federate buster. I say solemnly
and advisably that If the southern
governors and other politicians
who threaten everything from po-
litical secession to mob violence
to prevent fulfillment of the rec
concentrations of the Presidents
Committee on Civil Rights are sue
cessful, then democracy is dead
forever in the limited States and