Evening star., 1948-02-20
Truman Faces Fight
On Civil Rights From
50 House Members
Continued From First Page.)

kCOntlnued from F1rSG PageJ
purse strings of this country-a
Congress which does not and cares
not to understand what the facts
are.
Must Make U. N. Work.
Nov it is up to you, the Demo-
cratic Party, to see that the country
goes in the right direction in order
to get world peace. In order to get
world peace we must make the
United Nations work. We must not
,hamstring it. I honestly can't trust
these reactionaries."
Resentment of the Southern
Democrats over Mr.. Truman's civil
rights message to Congress was
emphasized by the absence of Mrs
Olin D. Johnston, wife of Senator
Johnston of South Carolina and a
vice chairman of the Jefferson
Jackson Dinner Committee.
Furthermore, a table in center
Of the banquet hall at the May
flower, which had been assigned to
Senator Johnston and his party, was
conspicuously vacant.
At one point, group of New
Workers, among them Mr. and Mrs.
James D. Hedges, sought to move
to this table. They were shooed off,
however, by Col. Guy v. Whitener
OF Newburg, S. c., who had been an
aide to Senator Johnston when the
latter was Governor of South
Carolina. Col. Whitener said Sen
ator Johnston wanted to have this
table kept vacant, so that President
Truman could see it, and under
stand why it was vacant.
If the South is left alone, it will
work out its own destiny he COM
nented.
Mrs. Johnston had declined to at
tend the dinner because I might be
3eated next to a Negro" She had
appealed to Chairman McGrath of
The Democratic National Commit
Tee and been told by him that he
could not order any segregation"
and that he expected a dozen or
more Negroes to attend the dinner.
Senator McGrath told a reporter
ne will see Governors of five South
2rn States on the civil rights issue
Monday. He listed the chief execu-
ives of South Carolina, Texas, Ar
kansas, Virginia and Maryland.
Whatever they have to report,
Senator McGrath said, will be passed
along to Mr.. Truman. He promised
nothing further.
The President in his prepared
speech delivered at the Mayfower,
wrapped up the Jeffersonian Demo-
crat and the Rooseveltian Democrat
together-and pictured both as the
defender of the people, the enemy
Of entrenched wealth and special
privilege.
Increased Output Forecast.
Under the Democratic leadership,
he predicted that the next 10 years
can be made period of "extraordi-
nary achievement"
when I speak of increasing our
national output by one-third over
the next 10 years." Mr.. Truman
said, every person in his right mind
knows that this will be beneficial to
business. Under our system of en-
terprise. an expanded economy al
ways means more opportunity for
individual initiative.
Il want business earnings to grow
az our whole economy. thrives and.
prospers. But we know from ex-
perience that profits based upon ex-
cessive prices and imitation are built
upon the sand.
IN the interest eof business as
much as any. other group, we must
win the. fight against initiation to
avoid disaster.
Can Be Done.
THE timid people say this can't
be done. I say that it can be done,
and we of the forward looking faith
must dedicate ourselves to the prop
osition that it will be done"
Mr.. Truman said that the cries
which came from 'treactionary quar-
ters' after he delivered his state of
the Union message to Congress
January 7 "only prove that some
people are afraid to look ahead
These men," continued the Presi-
dent, referring to the Republicans,
who live in the past, remind me OF
a toy 1 am sure you have all seen.
The toy is a small wooden bird
called the 'fogie bird Around the
fogie birds neck is a label reading:
I fly backwards. l don't care where
I am going. 1 just want to see
where I have been
These backward looking men re-
fuse to see where courageous leader
ship can take this Nation in the
years that lie before us. These men
of small vision and faint hearts have
set up their familiar cry, of course
it's fine idea, but it can't be done
Mr.. Truman pointed to what has
been done, through the efforts of
the people, with the aid of the