St. Paul recorder. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1934-2000, 1957-09-27

Minneapolis TRIBUNE political
writer John MeDonald's column
in a Sunday edition which reveal
cd for the first time, publicly, the
protests OF Negro Minnesotans
against Church being invited here
The piece reported the reaction
OF Cecil Newman, Twin city news
paper publisher 20 the obdurate
position OF the YDFL dinner COM
mittee that Church's invitation
was not going to be withdrawn
Curtis Chivcrs, by letter re-
quested that state chairman Ray
Hemenway call meeting Of the
DFL state central committee 60
consider the matter which he
termed as serious and detrimental
10 party interests.
Following his communication
the Committee on Indignation. an
organization OF active Negro DFL
leaders held meeting and APP
proved resolution urging the
YDFL to cancel It's invitation TO
Senator Church.
George Robinson, YDFL state
chairman. Indicated 10 Mr. Chivers
leader In the move to dump"
Church, that he was in favor
OF cancelllng the invitation TO
the Idahoan chiefly because the
Minnesota YDFL had always
been a strong civil rights sup
porter.
Later at meeting OF YDFL
officials. senior party leaders, in
GLIDING state chairman Ray Hem
enway, william Kubicek, Senator
Humphrey, FEPC state chairman
Eugene Anderson, Curtis Chivers,
the Rev Denzil Carly Cecil New
man, nt the DFL picnic at Excel
sior, the matter was further
thrashcd over In a rather heated
two and one-half hour meeting.
Al this meeting Rev. Carly an
nounced plans TO picket the Lean
ington Hotel where the banquet
was scheduled to be held II
Church was the speaker.
a cooling off period was re-
quested by Paul Thatcher dinner
chairman and Chivers, as chair
man acceded 10 his request
Newman agreed. but called II "a
stalHng" period. which II proved
10 be for on Sept. ~. Ray Hem.
onway. who had tried TO sell the
Negro leaders on the idea that
there wasn't much wrong with the
civil rights bill amended by
Church. and others, announced the
senior DBL party as represented
by him, had sent Church a wire
expressing It's pleasant antici-
patton Of his appearance here on
setember %. This indicated full
support for the Church appear
ance by the state DFL.
Several members Of the state
central committee in Ramsey and
Hennepin counties said they had
not been consulted on the matter.
After Hemenway threw the
weight OF his position in the party
behind the YDFL's plans to keep
Church as speaker, a political
bedlam arose with state central
committeeman Chivers issuing a
blast in the papers at the action.
He was backed by firm state
ments by Leonard Carter, st.
Paul labor leader and chairman OF
the Committee on Indignation.
The Spokesman and Recorder
newspapers, Sept 10, editorally
blasted DBL senior party leaders
who supported the plan to bring
Church in a piece titled, Does
Minnesota DFL Need Senator
Frank Church,"
state newspapers. Tv and ra-
do commented on the editorial.
The 8. & r. papers suggested the
YDFL rank and file were not in
ympathy with the Church invita-
Ion after his vote on the civil
lights issue. II applauded the
grow'ng number OF YDFLers who
were known TO be against the
church invitation.
freanwhile ticket sales were
slow. Labor unions which had In