Jackson advocate. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1939-current, 1956-04-07

failure during the past year to ad-
wise the Constitutional Rights Sub
committee of his views on the sew
eral civil rights bills before the
Committee following to Commit
tees request for him for reports
on the bills"
"When the Subcommittee was
considering it's bill to set up a
Civil Rights Division within the
Department of Justice and to al
low for an increase in the number
Of Federal Bureau of 1nvestiga-
ton personnel to investigate civil
rights cases." Senator Hennings
said, "the Subcommittee wrote to
Attorney General Brownell as
early as March %, 1855, asking
him for a report, and up to the
time the Committee reported the
bill on February 9, 1956-almost a
full year later-the Attorney Gen
eral had not responded to the
subcommittee request. Having
given up hope of hearing from the
Attorney General on this subject
after his silence of almost year,
the Committee felt it could no
longer delay action on this impor-
tant legislation, and as a last re-
sort, was able to rely for the in
formation it needed in considering
the bill on a report that the At
torney General had sent to the
Vice President for the fiscal year
ending June 80, 1854"
"The recent newspaper stories
Indicate" Senator Hennings con-
tinued, "that the Attorney General
will send to Congress a proposal
for a Civil Rights Commission with
subpoena powers to look into all
complaints of denial of civil rights
and a request for legislation to
protect every citizens right to
vote by permitting persons who
are denied their right of suffrage
by any person or organization in
any state the right to institute
civil action in the Federal courts. y
Regarding the latter proposal
Senator Hennings said, "the Sub
committee reported a similar bill
on February 9, 1856 which goes
further than the proposal the At
torney General evidently intends to
make on Congress, in that, by ex-
tending the provisions of the Hatch
Act to cover primaries and special
elections of Federal office holders
in all states, it provides criminal
penalties for persons guilty OF
such a denial, with penalties of a
1000 fine or a years imprison-
ment."
81 am sure this is a stronger,
and therefore a better measure
than the proposal which the news
papers disclose the administration
may advocate" Senator Hennings
said. at is indeed singular in
this connection, and certainly in
consistent, moreover, that the At
torney General intends to make
such a proposal since in a Sep
TENDER 8, 1866 letter to the Ju-
dietary Committee, the Department
of Justice stated that: whether
this particular measure should be
enacted constitutes question OF
policy concerning which the De-
partment of Justice prefers to
make no recommendation"
"On the all-important question
of the creation of Civil Rights
Commission, which the press re-
ports the Attorney General will
also PROPOSE" Senator Hennings
said, "there are presently before
the Subcommittee two bills for
the establishment of a Civil Rights
Commission in the Executive
Branch of the government. Again,
I must say that the probability
! that the Attorney General should
make such proposal is singular,
indeed, since in another letter to
the Judiciary Committee on Sep
TENDER 8, 1866, the Department OF
Justice said it preferred to make
no recommendation on this mat
ter"
IF it is the purpose of the
Attorney General to make propos-
ais about legislation already re-
ported out of this Subcommittee
and on the agenda of the full
Committee on the Judiciary" Sen
ator Hennings concluded, 1--WE are
very glad that the Attorney Cen
eral intends to express an inter
est in these matters at last"