The coastland times with which is combined the pilot and herald of Belhaven and Swan Quarter., 1960-12-16
|TERROR-STRICKEN
NEGROES FLEE AS
HOME is BURNED
Here Is Something We Don't See
Played Up In the Unfair
Northern Newspapers

| "A burning OIL 1lare thrown onto
the porch of a Negro shanty. A
Negro family of 10 fleeing in ter
ror, leaving the state to seek re-
fuge thousands of miles away.
Victorious whites mapping plans
to remove other unwanted Negroes
from their community.
Where did this happen re-
Gently? A casual newspaper
reader, accustomed to the vicious
anti-SOuth bias of the Northern
press, might we'll pas; over this
story as another incident typical
of the Plantation South.
But he would be wrong. For the
incident described above took place
many miles North of the Mason
and Dixon line.
The dateline on this story
reads-Burley, Idaho.
Negro A. ]. Thomas, a 43-year-
old worker in potato processing
plant in the Southern Idaho town
of 5000, fled from Burley with his
wife and their children a few
hours after a burning oil flare was
thrown onto the porch of their $35-
a-month shack. No one will say
where the family went, except to
report that they are now some
where in New Mexico.
The Negro told police the flare
was thrown from a car which
passed by the house several
times while he and his family
covered inside. The flaming
torch climaxed series of
threats, which included a bullet
fired through a bedroom window
several months previously
threats by teen-aged whites to
burn the house, and firecrackers
thrown at the Negro children by
the daughter of prominent
white man.
Burley has only about a dozen
Negro families. And the city editor
of the Burley Hera d-Bullesin,
Gayle Norton, said the trouble
started after rumors circulated
that potato processing plants in the
area planned to import Negro la,
Dor to displace native whites.
The white man, William Reid,
said "About go of us drew up a
petition last year and took it to
the city council. I think if they
t want a Negro town in Burley.
: that's all right - but don't let
them live around us whites"
Editor Norton said the racial in
: cidents have divided Burley's 6,
k 900 residents into factions for ane
S against racial segregation.
S "The feeling here is no different
than in New Orleans, where livet
for several years." he added. "But
a lot of townspeople are shocked
that such a thing happened here
T Editors NOte--As yet, no
word from the Federal Civil
f Rights Commission on whether
n it plans to hold hearings in Bur-
t ley. No word from the U. S.
:. Justice Department as to wheth-
: er the Attorney-G General plans
n to file civil suits, as was done
: in the Tennessee voting case.
: No press facilities have been set
t up in Burley for the swarms of
"war correspondents" from T me,
Life, Look, the New York and
D Chicago papers, the TV and ra-
dio networks. The NAACP has
D remained silent. So have both
= Presidential candidates.
r Why We repeat-WHY?
Had this story carried an Ala
$ bama, or Louisiana, or Mississip-
pi dateline, all these things
0 would have happened immedi-
i ately. The fleeing Negro family
would have been located and
e paraded through Harlem. Fidel
Castro would have praised them
v in the United Nations. The bleed
S ing-heart liberals would have had
a field, day.
Surely, simple justice requires
e SOME action, even though the
Idaho incident happened 6 weeks
ago.
: Or does the Idaho locale make