Arizona sun., 1949-11-18
Civil Rights
Continued From Page u


Mr.. Truman continued, saying he
thought the recent election victo-
rieS will make it easier to carry out
the party platform.
In his memorial Day message,
the President renewed demands for
civil rights legislation.
One result of the elections was to
give impetus to the fight for Con-
gressional action to outlaw the poll
tax as a prerequisite to voting in
Federal elections.
Both Texas and Virginia voters
rejected poll tax repeal proposals.
Texas because the proposal amount
ed simply to reduction in the
amount of the levy, and Virginia
because it carried other proposals
to restrict the right to vote and
gave the General Assembly too
wide discretion in enacting regis
tration laws.
The Administration is confronted
with two-fold difficulties, however,
in getting anti-poH tax legislation
passed in the Senate. The House
during the last session passed an
anti-poll tax bill, but the measure
was pigeonholed in the Senate
Rules and Administration Com
mittee.
Senator Carl Hayden of Arizona,
chairman of the Rules and Admin
istration Committee, referred all
anti-poH tax legislation to SUBJ
committee headed by Senator John
o. Stennis, Democrat of Mississippi,
who is opposed to enactment of a
simple statute to outlaw the poll
tax. Efforts of Senator Kenneth S.
Wherry, Republican of Nebraska,
to get the subcommittee to act on
poll tax legislation were blocked
when the other sub committee
member, Senator Garrett L. With
ers, Democrat of Kentucky, joined
with Senator Stennis.
Senator Hayden himself favors
a constitutional amendment forbid
ding the imposition of poll tax as
prerequisite to voting. The two
northern Democrats and the five
Republicans on the 13-member
committee, however, are sufficient
to report out an anti-poll tax bill
once the measure is dislodged from
the subcommittee.
The President renewed his civil
rights campaign Friday at lunch
con of the National Conference of
Christians and Jews. The Negro
vote is expected to play an i'm
portant part in next years 1850
congressional elections. Mr.. Tru-
man plans to stump the country
to aid the candidates. of those he
calls liberals"
The President remained after
his speech to shake hands with
notables who received citations as
outstanding citizens" from the
council.
The IL included his new Secre-
tary of the interior, Oscar l.. Chap
man, who was lauded for his "tire-
less service to civil liberties and
his efforts against "lynching and
the poll tax"
OTHERS CITED included DR..
Ralph. Bunche, Negro director of
United Nations trusteeships; Ma
0oAAAS N1JoJo AQhS4111A1 LII
dian ambassador; and Judge Will
liam H. Hastie, a Negro whom Mr..
Truman recently appointed to the
Third United States Circuit Court
of Appeals.
The President declared that
Americans have made much pro-
gress" in the cause of civil rights.
eve are awakened as never be-
fore to the true meaning of equal
ity," he said.
His secretary of labor, Maurice
j. Tobin, gave assurance earlier
that "the fight will be kept up" for
a law forbidding job discrimination.
Madame Pandit told of talking
recently with a Negro taxicab driv-
er in Chicago. She quoted him as
saying:
"'Of course, there is discrimina-
ton in America, even right here in
Chicago. But the United States is
not Utopia. It is a democracy where
everybody has an equal chance to
right what is wrong. There is no
method in life for eliminating these
things but in that of a democ-
racy'."