Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1957-10-22

must have heard 10 or Is Of
them. every telecast I heard on
television said the same thing.
I never knew where ! got 1t
from until ! read what was In
The Star. what the reporter
thought that the Commissioner
stated. and II was In quotation
marks.
Now, when ! saw that, II was
no occasion to call Mr.. Nc
Laughlin because I'm sure he
must have read II and II he
didn't call It to the attention
Of The Star and say that and
not until this time has he made
q public statement except way
down In the bottom OF the
article in The Star you see
there
Mr.. Mclaughlin - I don't
write the articles.
Mr.. Dodson--You don't write
them. but when an obvious mis-
statement has gotten out. II
seems to me 1t is incumbent IN
the interest of fairness for you
to say. II did not make that
statement"
Mr.. Mclaughlin - It didn't
come to my attention until Q
reporter from The Star got me
81 miles In the State of Vir-
ginia UP on q mountain top on
the telephone.
Mr.. D0dson - Well, 1t was
carried in the Post.
Editors Note-The quoted
statement 10 which Commits
si0ner Mclaughlin objects
was published In last Fridays
Star as follows: Therefore.
when the Justice Department
letter came yesterday clear
ing Chief Murray Of the
charges. we ordered Chief
Murray to carry out the pre-
viously discussed directive"
! The Star reporter who
conducted the telephone in
terview In which this state
ment was reported subse-
quently has reviewed his
notes In detail. He does not
find that Mr.. Mclaughlin
used the words clearing
Chief Murray Of the charges"
The Star regrets that this
phrase was interpolated into
the quotation.
Mr.. McLaughlin-My point
Is just this. that instead
Of getting in touch with us
about something which would
obviously have been an improp-
er statement to have been made
which I would think. II you had
any confidence in the Commits
sioners at all to try this matter.
you would know very well none
Of US would have said that.
You chose instead to use that
again. as q vehicle for further
tanning the flames Of hatred
and distrust in the District OF
Columbia by handing It on TO
q newspaper. s
That Is the reason ! say this
situation. II appears 10 me. Is
getting so bad that ! want TO
confer with the Commissioners
and I want to give you q chance
again to state what your feel
ing is toward the Board Of Com
missioners hearing this matter
because there Is no use to
further fan flames and then at
the end, have the whole bomb
60 UP. Maybe things aren't
as bad Of now as they would
be after we hold q two-weeks
hearing on this thing and the
NAACP possibly again say.
But. Of course, this was not
an impartial trial. It was an
improper hearing" That is the
reason I wanted the last word
as to your attitude as to the
Board OF Commissioners hear
ing this matter.
Mr.. Dodson-The NAACP
will not recede from the posi-
ton that 1t has taken that
It has grave doubts about the
partiality or impartiality Of
the Commissioners in this sit
uation. They have had It
nom the beginning. Nothing
that has happened in the
meantime has dissipated it. but
you must put yourself in the
position Of the NAACP who
has made these charges. where
there has been a dividing Of
lines in the public mind and
just on the eve Of the hear
ing. you get q report which
comes only to you from the De-
partment Of Justice and you
send an excerpt Of the letter
to me but not the whole let
ter and I don't know whether
accompanying that letter had
been some other report that
had not been made public or
not. All those things were
given to the press either be-
fore ! got my letter from you
or simultaneously Herewith,
so there hasn't been the kind
Of open-handed communication
between you and the NAACP
in this matter as you would
seem to think would demand
that upon reading that in the
paper. l had a right TO assume
that the paper was wrong.
/ have q right to assume that
The Star. a reputable news
paper. which has been on the
chiefs side from the beginning.
was certainly quoting you cor
rectly. and you have not yet in
any strong. fortnight fashion.
told The Star that they did you
q disservice by misquoting you
and we find ourselves in that