Milford chronicle., 1954-10-01

volunteered to be a director Of the
Il association. Since then, he said, he's
been busy day and night.
The misunderstanding as to who
was sponsoring the meeting arose
when Lee Hastings of Laurel
mounted the speakers platform
After starting the meeting he in
Produced Bryant BOwles Of Wash
ingtOn, %. G., national president OF
the NAAWP, the Rev Manaen War
rington, president of the Delaware
/ Chapter as well as Mr.. West.
During the course Of Mr.. War
7 ringt0n's remarks a discussion be-
gan IN front Of the speakers plat
form involving Mr.. Hastings and
Mrs. Charles s. Workman, Sixth
Street Laurel, whose husband was
one Of the members Of the original
committee set up in Laurel to ar
range the meeting.
Mr.. Hastings then returned to
the platform and interrupted Mr..
Warrington, starting to say that no
boycott of the schools was wanted.
MIS- Workman then came to the
platform and tried to explain that
the meeting had not been called to
secure members. At this point her
remarks we're drowned out with
boos from the audience, accompa-
MED by shouts Of get of the plat
form.
This meeting was called" Z" Mrs.
workman began, when she was
again shouted down. She made sew
eral other attempts to speak but
each time was bOoed Justify by the
audience.
At this point, Mr.. Bowles re-
turned to the micrOphOne and said
he would put the matter up to the
people. He asked for a voice vote
from the audience to determine its
opinion as to whether the meeting
was called by the NAAWP or a
local group. The result Of the vote
was overwhelmingly in favor of the
NAAWP, with only a few scattered
mo" from the crowd.
Later, Mrs. Workman explained
that a local committee made uD of
seven Laurel citizens with Mr..
Hastings as chairman was formed
last Sunday to arrange a meeting
for the purpose Of trying to find out
a way to take a vote of the citizens
on the subject Of integration.
She added that the committee
was interested in finding out how
the citizens of Laurel, both white
and Negro, felt about the question.
Supplementing her remarks, Mrs.
Workman issued a statement in
which she said:
feel that we do not need mass
hysteria here at Laurel and / do
not want boycOtting. feel the
people should work with the school
board and the principal and 20
through the proper channels to
have it settled. feel that the
people, under the strain and hys-
terra, cannot think clearly. / also
feel that it involves cOlored children
as well as whites, and they should
be thought of in the same way as
the whites and given a vote also"
Prettyman Statement
After the meeting, DR.. William
p. Prettyman, president of the
board of education of the Laurel
Special School District, said:
This meeting was not promoted
or instigated by the taxpayers or
the people Of the Laurel School
District. The man who brought
forth these ideas is a man out of
Florida. He does not express the
sentiments of the people of this
community. We have no emergency
in the Laurel School District and
we have no conditions that war
rant any mass hysteria.
i think it should be emphasized
that three-fourths of the thousands
of people who attended whatever
you might call this meeting or rally
tonight were people from out of
this district. They were from Mary
land, Virginia, or away of. Their
attendance here was not promoted
by the people Of the Laurel School
District.
I'VE have no problems here and
WS wi CApggl any problems.
don't like the idea Of this excite
ment, and as a matter of fact there
is no reason for excitement. Our
school will remain open. We don't
anticipate any difficulties in the fu-
ture. What is going on is not good
for anything"
DR.. Prettyman also said Bowles
is conducting a racket in gettine
So memberships. He also said that
Bowles paid for the use Of the ath-
letic field and that Bowles had his
own loud speaker system. He added
we are not ready for integration
in Laurel at this time but we GER
tainly do not want this mass hys-
teric brought BY this man Bowles,
who comes from outside Of Del
aware"
Despite the dispute, however. the
tenor Of the remarks made at the
meeting were milder than those