St. Paul recorder. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1934-2000, 1950-06-30
N. Y. SENATOR LEHMAN BACKS
H.H. HUMPHREY ON FEPc
ARGUMENT IN U. S. SENATE
Fifth nstaIment Humphreys statement FEPC
Reprnted May Congressional Recordl

NIL EISSiuShI, EePSdIculJ III my
remarks in reference to this legis-
lation, throughout the country and
on this floor, I have paid high tri-
butte to the sincerity of purpose, to
the arguments, and to the charac-
ter of those who were in opposi-
ton. / have said repeatedly that
we have always known where GER
tain Members of the United States
Senate have stood on this issue. !
have never once made an accusa-
ton as to what I consider to be
their honesty in taking their par
ticular position.
I have made an appeal for fair
employment practice legislation
because believe it is needed
throughout this country, because 1
believe it is needed in order that
some of the aspirations and goals
of American democracy may be
realized. I have appealed for this
legislation because I believe 1t is
needed to fortify our foreign pol
icy and to fortify our foreign pol
icy in the Asiatic world, where it
needs great help at this particu-
lar moment.
I have appealed for this legisla-
ton because think it makes good
economic sense to permit people to
have jobs on the basis of their
ability, rather than on the irrele-
vancies of their religion, their ma
tional origin, or their particular
race.
And 1 have appealed for this
legislation on the basis of the con-
strIctive argument that the eff
forts to damage this legislation by
association with Communist doc
trine and Socialist programs do
not constitute a sound argument.
Mr.. LEHMAN. Mr.. President,
will the Senator yield?
Mr.. HUMPHREY. I yield.
Mr.. LEHMAN. wonder
whether the Senator from Mime
sofa has referred to the charge,
which was made on a number of
occasions yesterday on the floor
of the Senate, that this FEPC bill
was of Communist inspiration
back in 1928 and still today is
Communist supported.
Mr.. HUMPHREY. 1 have.
Mr.. LEHMAN. The clear infer
ence was that those who support
this meritorious bill have, in some
way. some sympathy with Com
munist doctrine.
1 am wondering whether the
distinguished Senator from Mime
sofa realizes that in the State of
New York, the Governor of the
State has declared himself strong
ly in favor of this bill; a former
great Governor of New York, who
later became President of the
United States, Franklin Delano
Roosevelt, declared himself
strongly in favor of this bill; and
my colleague, the senior Senator
from New York, (Mr. Ives) and I
have both declared strongly in
favor of this bill.
1t was brought up in every
political campaign in the State of
New York, as far back as my
memory goes, within the past de-
cade or more.
1 have no hesitation whatever in
saying that if the question were
directly put to my fellow citizens
in the State of New York, Are
YOU in favor of an FEPC bill or
are you against it?" at least 80
percent of the voters of the State
of New York would declare them
selves in favor of the FEPC bill;
and very few of the citizens of the
State of New York are Commu-
nists or Communist sympathizers.
/ wanted to make that very
clear, and I wish to say that l
think the Senator from Minnesota
is entirely correct and within his
rights and is justified in doing so
when he brings to light the accu-
sation by innuendo. by implication,
which has been made, namely, that
those who favor the FEPC bill are
Communists or Communist SYM
pathizers.
Mr.. HUMPHREY. 1 wish to
thank the Senator.
Mr.. HOLLAND. Mr.. President,
will the Senator yield?
Mr.. HUMPHREY. I yield.
Mr.. HOLLAND. I am sorry, Mr..
President, that the distinguished
Junior Senator from New York
has read into the arguments of
Yesterday matters which not only
were not there, but were specifi-
cally excluded by the Senators
who participated, as did the junior
Senator from Florida, in making
the true charge that the original
source of the suggestion that a
Government agency be set up to
control employment practices was
a plank in the Communist Party
platform Of 1928. We likewise said
that in the State of California the
Committee on Un-American Acti-
vities there had very clearly made
ii to appear and had conclusively
found that a majority of the men,