Evening star., 1954-05-18
Committees Await
ID. c. Proposals on
|ImpIementing Ruling

District Committee leaders in
Congress are waiting on city
officials to propose what should
be done. and when. to implement
the Supreme Court decision out
lawing racial segregation in pub
lie schools.
Some legislation viii be neces-
sary, they have been advised. but
the initiative is being left to the
District Commissioners and the
Board of Education.
It seemed certain, however.
that the general problem of
changing segregation to integra-
ton will come up for hearings
on the Districts 1855 city budget.
These win be started tomorrow
before the Wilson subcommittee
of the House Appropriations
Committee.
On Dual Basis.
The House will act first on
the District budget, now framed
in keeping with the old dual
school system plan. This pro-
vides, among other things, for
separate groups of school teach
ers for the white and colored
schools, separate examining
boards and separate Negro md
white assistant superintendentS
of schools.
Chairman Case of the Senate
District Committee said he as
sumed the Commissioners and
school authorities will advise
Congress of any modification of
District statutes that are needed.
He said he assumes, too, that
it would be the desire and intent
of the public officials of the Dis
trict Ito respect the decision of
the Supreme Court and to COM
ply with it in good spirit"
"The good spirit and good
sense Of the people of the Dis
trict." he said. "can be counted
on to work out the problems in a
reasonable period Of time, as
study of the decision and the
necessities of the situation re.
veal"
Mcmillan Not Surprised.
Representative Mcmillan Of
South Carolina. ranking minor
ity member of the House District
Committee, said he was mot
surprised" by the decision, but
feels that since the Congress
:. enacted a law granting equal
facilities for colored and white
in the District of Columbia and
this law has stood the test Of
such distinguished judges as the
late Chief Justice Hughes and
Oliver Wendell Holmes. it is
rather difficult to understand
why they reinterpreted the law
as they have in this decision"
Representative Aberne thy,
Democrat, of Mississippi, a mem
ber of the House District Com
mittee, said:
"The complexion of the court
being what it is, I am not sur
prised at the opinion. What more
can we expect Of court made
up of men who have had so little
judicial experience. who gen.
orally know far less about judi
cial science than even the most
average judges Of the lower
courts, whose training has been
confined almost entirely to the
field of practical political sci
ence, who apparently are more
impressed with and better versed
in social science than in the law
and its application. and whose
qualifications as judges from the
standpoint of experience are
limited almost entirely to their
ability to slip on the judicial
robes and sit in the judges seat.
Sees Blow to Both.
90. -. They have dealt a severe
blow both to the white and Negro
children, particularly the Negro
children. Whereas q good edu-
cation for all Negro children was
and would continue to be avail
able in my section Of the coun-
try under a segregated system
many of them will now find
themselves with little opportu-
nifty Of such The white and