St. Paul recorder. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1934-2000, 1952-04-04

ing hard by means of Cancellation
and private pressure to improve
conditions. Otherwise, to talk of
education" and voluntary meth
DDS" is simply a protective cover
for a do-nothing policy.
Taft has never done anything in
his home city or state to improve
race relations. He is a powerful
figure in Cincinnati. He is asso-
ciated with the leading law firm.
He and his associates sit on the
boards of the leading banks and
business firms. His roster of big
name clients is impressive. Taft
has never used an ounce of this in
fluence in even quiet way to i'm
prove conditions for the Negro.
Taft aided in the organization
of the city's railroad terminal. No
Negroes are employed there en-
cept as redcaps. For many years
when in private practice one of
Taft's biggest clients was the
Terminal Warehouse Co. No Ne
grOes are employed there.
Two of his strongest hackers
are the Proctor family which
owns Proctor and Gamble Soap
Co, and the Geier family, which
owns the Cincinnati Milling Ma
chine Co. Both of these firms are
non-union. Proctor & Gamble en-
ploys no Negroes. The Milling Ma
chine Co. hires Negroes only in
the foundry and as janitors and
cleaning women. The Geiers re-
fused permission to the local
branch of the NAACP to solicit
membership among its colored
employees.
Negroes are excluded from the
leading hotels and restaurants In
Cincinnati which suffers from Its
proximity to Kentucky and the
so-caIIed Southern Exposure"
Negroes live in partially segre-
gated housing projects. Taft has
never spoken out against these
abuses, publicly or privately.
Theodore Berry, one of the two
Negro members of the Cincinnati
City Council, told The Post:
Sen. Taft has never done any
thing to help the Negroes Of Gin
cinnati break down segregation or
social and economic discrimina-
ton. The only Negro votes Taft
will get here if he runs for Presi-
dent are the diehard followers of
his own party"
Berry, Is years ago, was a
promising young figure in the Re
publican Party. He rose to be-
come assistant county prosecutor
He was purged by the machine
when he refused to campaign for
repeal of proportional represen-
tation. Berry pointed out to the
Republican bosses that only un-
der PR had Negroes obtained rep
resentatiOn on the council. Taft
has always fought against PR al
though he is aware of the adverse
effect repeal would have on Ne
gro representation.
Taft's blank record on civil
rights in his own home community
casts a revealing light on his a
vowed enthusiasm for education
and Cancellation.
Apparently his patience as far
as the difficulties of others is in
exhaustible. For example, on Feb.
9 1916, he told the Senate; IF
they Cthe Negroes run up against
a stone wall in some fields. it is
better for them to go around it
than by main force TO beat down
human prejudices which have ex-
listed from the beginning Of time,
and are likely to continue to ex-
ist."
In 1874, Taft served as chair
man of the platform committee at
the Republican National Conven-
ton. The committee adopted a
plank promising a permanent
FEPC." In September, Taft voted
to report out of committee in the
Senate a bill calling for the com
pulsory FEPC advocated by liber-
ais.
Two months later, however,
after he had been safely reelected
in the November election, Taft an
nOunced that by permanent" H.
had not meant an FEPC with en-
fOrcement power. He explained
away his September vote in the
Senate committee by explaining
that II was only a tactical man
euver to get before the Senate a
bill which nobody expected TO
pass"
During the 1916 filibuster on
CONTINUED on page g.
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