The Tribune. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1951-19??, 1952-10-18
Facts and Figures
OF Good Will
By A WHITE soUTHERNER

profession than in most other FIELDS This
TACT has Immediate interest as we scan
the report on a survey of white physic ans
from IL southern and border states. A
QUESTIONABLE was mailed to 42,50O white
physicians, inquiring how they felt about
s-gregating patients and about ADM cclng
Negro physicians to medical societies ana
to hospital stats. This week we will dis
cuss the report concerning the segrega-
ton of patients.
The results of this survey are hot eff
the press and The TRIBUNE is one of the
first publications in, the nation to publish
them.
The survey was mode by the Southern
Conference Educational Fund, Inc. locat-
ed in New Osleans, La This is the same
organization which in 1949 completed a
South-wide canvass of teachers in white
colleges and universities and came up with
the startling revelation that nearly 70 per
cent favored complete nonsegregation in
higher education
AS m ght be expected, the doctors did
not do as well by democracy as the teach
ers. Nevertheless, as IS usually the case in
these matters, they did better than most
people would think
For example, of the $3.50 ballots re-
turned only IL per cent favored separate
hosp;ts.ls for Negroes, while IL per cent
(near-y one fifth favored no segregat on
Of any kind, in wards or anywhere.
The great majority Ca per cent? it is
true, favored admission of white and Ne
gro patients 10 the same hosp tails but on
a segregated basis. Followers of this col
umn will please note, however, that tn s
supports our theory that most of the pres
ent trouble in the South is the result of the
wide spread Illusion that "every body else
is prejudiced." For, obviously, when the
doctors voted this way they were really
voting to have Negroes separated from
white patients but not from white doc
tors, that is, from themselves. AS one ply
stefan expressed it:
"A person should not be forced to ccm,
to grips with his resistances concerning
race in the midst of facilitating phys
cal illness"
Many of the returned ballots had sim
liar comments added to them and l shall
quote some of them below. There were,
of course, also some comments which re-
vealed the old familiar prejudices. 1 shall
omit these because the frank purpose Of
this column is to call attention to the too
little remembered and greatly underest.-
mated element of good will.
The QUESTIONABLE insured whether the
doctors favored (a) complete nonsegrega-
ton of hospital patients, CO. admission of
Negro patients to white hospitals with seq
regation, OK (c) separate hospitals. Some
of the comments ran as follows:
From Arkansas, "In theory | favor Plan
(a). However, in practice admission with
out segregation--would meet with over
whelming lay criticism
From Georgia: "While I see no objec-
ton to Plan (a), it might be more realis-
tic to start with Plan OBJ and soften up
some of the objections of the die-hard
bigots."
From Mississippi: "Plan (a) is, of course
ideal, but do not believe that the gen.
eral public is quite ready to accept it,
leaving Plan (b) as the best temporary
alternative"
From South Carolina: 81 prefer Plan
(b) at present; later on, Plan (a), which
should be the goal"
From North Carolina: 81 do not permit
any method of segregation in my office
or practice and have experienced no OPP
position of any kind. Few white people
except the very illiterate desire segrega
ton, but many fear somebody else's opin-
ion and are afraid to- express their own
(Other questions in this poll will be Dis
cussed next week.
SARAH PATTON BOYLE
Box 1888, Univ. Station
Charlottesville, Va.