Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1956-08-15
StevensonNear|y Over Top;
Mild Rights Plank Revealed
High Court
Decision Is
Mentioned
BY J. A. O'LEARY

STAR CONVENTION BU-
REAU, CHICAGO. Aug. 49,
Democratic platform builders
agreed today on a civil rights
plank containing a mild recog-
milton of the Supreme Court
school migration decision.
The compromise still had to
clear the 108-member Platform
Committee and the convention
itself tonight. But leaders, Striv-
ing to avoid a North-South split
in party ranks, were hopeful of
beating any attempt by either
side to change the plank.
The key section of the plank
reads as follows:
Recent decisions of the Su-
preme Court of the United
States relating to segregation in
publicly supported schools and
elsewhere have brought conse-
quences of vast Importance to
our Nation as a whole and
especially to communities direct
ly affected. We reject all pro-
posals for the use of force to
interfere with the orderly de-
termination of these matters by
the courts"
Hits All Discrimination
The remainder of the plank,
consisting of about 500 words.
was largely a repetition of the
1852 document promising to
eliminate determinations of all
kinds in all walks of life.
The Democrats again this
year scattered references to the
civil rights issue at several diff
ferent points in the platform, as
they did in 1852.
One Of these was made public
this morning in the human well
fare plank. and reads as follows:
Every American child. ire
Spective of race or national
origin, economic status or place
of residence, has full right under
the law and the Constitution,
without discrimination, to every
educational opportunity to de-
velop his potentialities."
Repeats so Pledge
Another was in the Govern
ment operations plank. where
they also repeated pleSge made
in 1852 to work for tie elimina-
ton of the filibuS.er in Congress,
which has blocked civil rights
legislation in the past.
The paragraph on education
was somewhat stronger than in
1852, because it refers to the
right of every child under the
law and the Constitution, with
out discrimination" This Ian
guage was not used in 1852.
The new civil rights plank also
differs from 1852 in one other
respect. 1t has added to it a
condemnation of Republican vio-
lation of the rights of Govern
ment employees in connection
with the security and loyalty pro-
grams. This was duplicated in
the plank on Government opera
tons.
Drafters Approve, 1875
The compromise on civil rights
was finally hammered out by the
Drafting Subcommittee at am.
this morning. The vote was 1875.
There are five Southerners on
the subcommittee and presum-
ably they registered their disap-
proval of any reference to tine
Supreme Court school decision.
But most observers here felt
that the platform as it came
from the drafting subcommittee
would not be upset either in the
full committee this afternoon or
in the convention tonight. They
were prepared for the possibility
of a minority report, which
would enable both sides to state
their positions for the record.
Roy wilkins, executive secre-
tary of the NAACP. called the
plank weaker than the 1852
Democratic statement. He and
other advocates of a strong civil
rights stand were arranging a
Sec PLATFORM pa.o A-1A