Evening star., 1949-02-03
The Political Mill
The Political Mil
We!I-Reosoned Program
On Civil Rights Offered
Concessions by Both Sides on Racial
Question Asked by Hays of Arkansas
By Gould Lincoln

CONCESSIONS by Both Sides on Racial
Question Asked by Hays of Arkansas
By Gould Lincoln
While the Senate Rules Committee and the
Senate itself wrestle with proposals To
strengthen the Senate cloture rule in order To
give President Trumans civil rights program
fairer chance of being enacted into law a
Southerner, Representative Brooks Hays Of
Arkansas has come forward with a well-rea.
Soned compromise
IL calls for concessions on the part of the
extremists on both sides of the racial question
and so may be rejected by these extremists.
1t should, however, make its appeal to the
great pooy OF moderateS in Congress and out,
Inc Tour major items involved in the Presi-
oents program are segregation, anti-poll,
antllynchlng and fair employment practices
legislation. Mr.. Hays compromise program has
been stated succinctly by Mr.. Hays himself,
Four-Point Program.
First he would limit Federal nonsegregation
policies to interstate movements-travel.
Second, he would repeal by constitutional
amendment poll-tax requirements for voting.
Third, he would have enacted modified anti
lynching law, leaving primary responsibility
for dealing with mob violence to the States
Federal Government to step in only when the
State and local governments fall down on the
job
Fourth, he would abandon all proposals for
Federal law for coercion in employment, but
setting up "counseling service" to work for
nondscrimination in industry.
As Mr.. Hays has pointed out, there seems
no reason for further legislation to achieve
the Presidents objective-nonsegregat in in .
terstate travel-because of the decision of tie
Supreme Court invalidating Virginia statute
requiring segregation of white and Negro pas
Sengers in interstate travel. The decision
of the court in effect sustains a nonsegrega-
ton policy for common carriers in all inter-
state travel.
This, in the opinion Of Mr.. Hays Is as far
as Federal Government and Federal law should
60 in dealing with segregation, and seeking to
enforce nonsegregation upon States and COM
munities. He argued that the feeling regarding
segregation in some localities, particularly In
the South, is too strong to be ignored, and
that it could not be overthrown without terrific
opposition, any more than it was possible to
enforce national prohibition against overwhelm-
ing sentiment. He selected an apt quotation
from Abraham Lincoln to buttress this argu-
ment, in 1854, when Lincoln was discussing the
slavery question and certain equality concepts.
Lincolns words were:
My own feelings will not admit of this, and
II mine would we well know that a great mass
OF the whites will not. Whether this feeling
accords with justice and sound Judgment In
not the sole question, If indeed it Is any part
of it. universal feeling, whether we'll or Ill
founded, cannot be safely disregarded"
To Mr.. Hays-and to many who know con-
ditlons in some Of the Southern States-Mr.
Lncolns utterance applies with great force
today.
Stand on Poll Tax.
So Mr.. Hays would have the administration
abandon any attempt at antiSegregation legis.
lation. But so far as the poll tax is concerned.
he is entirely willing to have Congress submit
to the States a proposed amendment to the
Constitution banning the imposition of such
tax as voting qualification. This will be
resisted by the poll tax objectors-who wish,
to take the quicker route of q Federal law.
hoping that the Supreme Court will sustain
its constitutionality. Since only seven States
still retain poll tax, there seems no reason
to believe that the necessary three -fourths Of
the States would not vote to ratify the amend-
ment. Had this course been followed years
ago, the poll tax might have been banned long
since. 1t Is the only proper and legal way
OF dealing with the subject, in any event.
Asserting that the lynching evil has been
virtually extinguished today, Mr.. Hays admitted
that the proponents of FedeAal legislation,
grounding their proposal upon the guarantees
of our judicial system, have some good argu-
ments. For example, he said, Mark Ethridge,
formerly Georgian and now editor of the
Louisville Courier Journal, has expressed the
belief that "our failure to have a national
policy on lynching affects us most adversely
all over the world I personally can't see any
excuse we can make to ourselves for not having
national policy on 1t and for not making
prosecution the business of the Federal Gov
eminent where State law enforcement breaks
down. Don't you thing it anarchronistic that
we are willing to legislate about motor vehicle
stealing, about kidnapping, and about crossing
State lines with woman for immoral purposes,
and yet Nation we cannot bring ourselves
to say that the right of life is sacred enough
that it ought to be protected by the Fed.raI
Government"
Mr.. Hays program is certainly worthy Il
consideration