Jackson advocate. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1939-current, 1957-08-17
Common Sense Takes Hold

The Senate civilrights bill was battered hard over
the weekend by pique and politics But now common
sense is having its innings in Washington. Following
Senate approval of the amended bill by strong 72to18
VOTE observers report general expectation that the
House of Representatives and the White House will not
insist on the version they originally approved.
This is very welcome development. For it raises
high hopes that genuinely effective civirights egsa-
ton will be enacted at this session This bill contains
features which trust the Senate-House conferees
eliminate. The jurytral section should be limited
to votingrghts And the bill lacks features which
many earnest citizens considered necessary. But we
believe it will prove effective in practice than
ambitious plans, and will give practical help
to Negroes seeking equal rights to vote.
The disappointment of many civil rights advocates
is easily understood But their original hopes large
ly iuSory growing out of lack of knowledge
ing the real difficulties facing any attempt to make fed
era intervention effective against local resistance Sim
cere folk have criticized al-ncudng this newspaper
who refused to insist the House version of the bill
They declare that to center voting rights is to back
on the Constitution and equal protection of the laws in
regard to all other rights.
This risconception of the actual choice present
ed by this effort to obtain civil rights legislation 1t is
easy forget that the Fourteenth Amendment has been
in the Constitution for 80 without Congress making
its equal protection clause practically effective for
American everywhere In fact for many decades
Congress had not even tried :" =
Many who urged strong do not realize
other sincere uphoders of the Constitution believe that
federal intervention to enforce integrationas distinct
from voting righs-overrides both states rights and the
individuals rights to choose his associates Few Ameri
appear ready to bayonets to alter this conviction
The actual choice then has been to do nothing to
rely the Supreme Courts gradual pressure for nte
grafton and to tackle voting rights with moderate eg
laon The latter required not only national support but
measure of consent in the South.
1t seems to us that the Senate bill is such measure
Even the Jurytral amendment now centers national at
tention jury trials involving Negroes national
commission will spotlight abuses. And special dvi-
sion of the Department of Justice is set federal
power to intervene for protection of Negroes against
official injustice or local intimidation.
Unfortunately some politicians who encouraged il
lusory hopes took "al-or-nothng' attitude. They
seemed ready to throw all this down they could say to
disappointed voters eve tried but those other fellows
blocked u.s. Now however it appears if
would make the decision For many others-like this
newspaper-who staunch uphoders of the Constitu
tion and of equal protection under the laws" sim
cerey convinced that the solid gains this bill presents
should be firmly graspedThe Christian Science Mont
tor.
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