Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1958-06-15

consciousness of the Negro. Or
depending on how you look at it
an increased militancy that has
been the germ of the great civil
rights advances of the past dec
ade.
The measure of his success may
be gagged by the contemplated
fear-r1lany Southerners hold for
him. Most of his 106 House col
leagues from the South roundly
despise him-to put it mildly. But
Mr.. Powell, who taunts them by
calling them by their first names
or their nicknames. says he has a
number of friends among the
Dixie delegations and he finds it
easy to express sincere admira-
ton for some of the SouthernerS
in the House.
Often in the News
AS the most controversial men,
Der of the House, Mr.. Powell has
been the. subject of many a
Ratchet job in newspapers and
magazines. Much has been writ
ten about him--some truths, some
exaggerations, and some lies. He
said last week, for instance, that
all during his current troubles,
the only newspaper that has come
to him seeking his version of the
Powell story was The Star.
The result often has been, &C
cording to Mr.. Powell. shoddy re-
porting. He doesn't mind, for in
stance, when writer's report that
his church has $4,000 members.
or 10000, or .26,000. But, he
says, little effort is required to
learn that the actual membership
is 1882.
The preachers love of imported
sports cars has been the subject
of considerable comment, and this
often has marked him as a fast
driving, fun-loving playboy. A re-
cent sketch of him mentioned his
new white Jaguar and his Nash
Healy. Actually, the Jaguar is
blue, eight years old. and much
the worse for wear. The Nash
Healy is a 1852 model.
He doesn't agree with the often
presented picture of himself as a
free spender, although he has
admitted that his family income
is $4,000 year-including $500
a month as pastor of his church.
The reports that he owns homes
in Haiti, the Virgin Islands and
Puerto Rico are just not true, he
says-although he is presently ne
gotiating for "a $4,000 beach
shack" in Puerto Rico.
Political Moneuvers
Mr.. Powell supported President
Eisenhower for reelection in 1856
after backing Adlai Stevenson in
1852. The reason. he says: In
1856, Mr.. Eisenhower was a
stronger civil rights man than
Stevenson six months ago, how
ever, he accused Mr.. Eisenhower OF
indifference" in the civil rights
field.
The chronology of these
switches has provided his critics
with some potent ammunition,
and the White House itself came
in for some sharp barbs.
In March, 1856, Mr.. Powell
threatened to start third party
= for Negro Democrats. his COM
plant reminding many of the
Dixiecrats of 1913. On october s,
he said he would not help either
presidential candidate. But dur
ing the next week, he went to the
White House, talked 80 minutes
with the President and emerged
with the word that he was going
to support Mr.. Eisenhower-and
would also urge that Negro voters
do likewise.
The Democrats howled. They
limited darby of a deal" One
of Mr.. Powell's aides at the time
was under indictment on tax
evasion charges, and the Internal
Revenue Service had been looking
into the Congressman's own re-
turns for several months.
Income Tex Indictment
Mr.. Powell campaigned for the
President, the President won, anc
nothing was said about Mr.
Powell's tax returns-until IL
months later when the editor Of
The National Review magazine
started things rolling again with
charges that the administration
was dragging its feet in pressing
the tax charges against Nh
Powell.
The grand jury indicted thu
Congressman on three counts. Tit
charges were that he eyaded 81, .,
663 in taxes in 1852, that h
helped his wife, pianist Haze