Evening star., 1949-07-30
Mi||er Denies
Secret Talk 10
7C10 Leaders
Edwards to Speak
At Meeting in
Arlington Tonight
By John V. Homer
Stor StoH Corkssnondsnt

hs rt4SI1MoND, va, July SU.-
The final round of Virginia's free
for-all fight for governor toda,
found two Democratic contestant
slugging it out for a decision il
the party primary Tuesday ant
two others sparring for an opening
State Senator John S. Battl
and Francis Pickens Miller wer,
the principal contenders. Horac,
H. Edwards and Remmie L. Arnolt
were not letting up in their effort
to win votes, however.
Senator Battles latest charge
against Mr.. Miller. backed by af.
f1davit. is that the anti-organiza
tion candidate met privately with
CIO leaders and denounced the
Virginia Public Utility Labor Re-
lations act.
3 Mr.. Miller denied this and
countered with challenge that
Attoreny General j. Lindsay AL
mond either produce public proof
of statement that he met
secretly with CIO leaders in
Roanoke, or withdraw the ac-
cusation. Mr. Almond, himself
a candidate for attorney general,
is supporting Senator Battle.
Edwards Presses Fight.
Mr.. Edwards kept trying to
drive a wedge between the Battle
and Miller extremes. He will
carry his appeal to Arlington to-
night with an address in the
Washington-Lee High School
auditorium at o'clock. 1t will
be broadcast.
Mr.. Arnold said a rumor had
spread in some quarters of the
State linking his name with the
Ku Klux Klan. He denied he is
or ever has been a member of the
khan.
Mr.. Arnold said this was caused
by a reference made to him by
former Representative John w.
Flanagan in radio address
from Bristol last Monday night in
support of the candidacy of Mr.,
Edwards.
Flanagan Quoted.
Mr.. Arnold's headquarters quot
ed Mr.. Flanagan as follows:
First I will discuss Remmie L.
Arnold-Remmie the great joiner
who belongs to every lodge and
fraternal organization in Virginia
and who I am afraid if he lived
in Georgia with the propensity
for joining being so great that in
one of his weaker moments, and.
of course, against his better judg-
ment, would land in the middle of
the Ku Klux Klan." .--
Can Associated Press story on
Mr.. Flannagan's address made
no mention of the Ku Klux
Klan statemenD.
Mr.. Arnold said, Il have tried to
conduct my campaign on a high
plane and my only interest has
been to bring to the people of
Virginia my plans and platforms S
as a candidate for Governor. . .
This statement by Mr.. Flanna-
gam is nothing new in politics
but is one of the worst tricks
pulled so far and I resent Mr..
Flanna gan'S innuendo.
Denies Membership.
II want it distinctly understood
that I am not and never have
been a member of the Klan. I
have publicly stated that this Or
ganization should be outlawed in
Virginia. I blame this directly
on Mr.. Edwards himself because
I am sure he had full knowledge
of Mr.. Flannagan's speech before
1t was made"
During an appearance at New
port News, Mr.. Miller again denied
he attended a secret Roanoke
meeting with CIO personnel as
prelude to his running for office.
Attorney General Almond has
declared that Roanoke newspaper
stories substantiate his charge to
this effect.
II respectfully suggest that since
the attorney general of Virginia
has made this charge" Mr.. Miller
said, that it is his responsibility
to consult the files of the
Roanoke daily newspapers and re-
port to the people of Virginia the
results of his research.
LAS I have said before. did
not attend such a meeting.
When he has completed his re-
search and found nothing to sub
stantiate his charge. he owes it to
the people to withdraw the state
ment he has made. Otherwise
their confidence will be badly
shaken in the reliability of the
opinions expressed by his office"
Affidavit Is Cited.
Senator Battles new attack on
Mr.. Miller's labor connections
came in a speech delivered by ra-
dio from Roanoke. 1t was based
upon an affidavit he said was
signed by Frank Nesbitt, president
of the Front Royal local, Textile
Workers Union of America, to the
effect that Mr.. Miller attended
, a CIO-PAC meeting in Richmond
last February.
50 Senator Battle said he previously