Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1956-08-03
Stanley Won't Fight
Pupil Assigning Plan
But UnyieIding
In Opposition to
Any Indignation
By ALEX r. PRESTON

grafton. Gov. Stanley has reluct-
antly withdrawn his objection to
pupil assignment plan in the
light of the latest Federal Court
decision for Arlington County.
But the Governor is sticking
by his "no-integration anywhere"
position and will press his de-
mand for authority to withhold
State funds from any locality
where indignation occurs.
An unannounced conference
was held at the Executive Man.
sion in Richmond yesterday be-
tween the Governor and Repre-
sentatives Smith of the 9th dis
trict and Abbit of the 4th; At.
torney General j. Lindsay Al
mond, ir.; State Senator Garland
Gray who heads the Commits
sion on Public Education, and
other State legislators and legal
aides.
SIuAhu a SOhIpA UHiASO
The latest stand on the pupil
assignment plan which contem-
plates placement Of students
without regard to race. repre-
sents an about-face from the
position Gov. Stanley took last
week when he informed the
Gray Commission he could not
support that portion of its rec
concentrations.
But there was no back track
ing on his stand against inte-
grafton anywhere in Virginia.
Gov. Stanley declined today to
talk with reporters who sought
to question him about yesterdays
secret conference. Late in the
morning, however, he sent an
aide out of his Office with this
statement:
Il shall offer legislation to the
extra session of the General As
sembly converting August 81,
1856, which will prevent any
indignation of the races in our
public schools"
Tuesdays decision of Federal
Judge Albert v. Bryan on the
Arlington desegregation case was
the basis on which yesterdays
conversation centered. The Alex
Iandria jurist directed Arlington
to desegregate elementary schools
by September, 1857.
Taking note of the special
session of the General Assembly
called for late this month, Judge
Bryan declared in a memoran-
dunn opinion that the Supreme
Court decisions outlawing public
school segregation do not COM
pei the mixing of the different
races in the public schools"
I He also said, mo general re-
shutting of the pupils to any
school system has been COM
manded. The order of the court
is simply that no child be denied
admission to school on the
basis of race or color"
+ This was taken by many to
be an open invitation to the
Legislature to enact the pupil
assignment plan of the Gray
Commission which the Governor
disavowed last week but now re-
luctantly accepts.
Gov. Stanley's withdrawal of
opposition to the pupil assign
ment program lessons to a con-
siderable degree one major point
of friction that threatened to
hold the Legislature into pro-
longed session. A major fight
undoubtedly will develop, how
ever, over his insistance on being
given authority to withhold
State aid to localities where
j"public interest" is threatened by
Indignation.
There is possibility, too, that
the Gray Commission, which set
August % as the dealine to re-
ceive drafts of bills dealing with
all anti-integration proposals,
may convene ahead of that date.
The scores Of bills necessary
to carry out the various pro-
posals will be drafted by early
next week. Senator Gray,
reached by telephone at his home
in Waverly. said he was giving
some thought to calling the COM
mission together ahead of the
August % deadline.
There have been persistent re-
ports in recent weeks the COM
mission was split wide open"
over the pupil assignment fea-
ture Of the Gray plan. Appar-
emily some 10 members of the
32-man group were banded to-
gether in this stand, and some
repeatedly have threatened TO
resign unless the assignment
proposal were dropped.
Most Arlington legislators and
school officials reached for COM
ment said they interpreted Judge
Bryans injunction as meaning
that the General Assembly
could work out a pupil assign
ment plan TO comply with the
Injunction arA tho Gf,nraron
Court rulings.
Mr.. Almond. on the team OF
attorneys that sought unsuccess-
fully to have the Arlington in
junction dismissed, has termed
Judge Bryan's decision as quite
moral victory He said the
court left the door open for the
General Assembly TO come up
with a valid plan OF assignment
not based on race or color.