Arizona sun., 1961-11-16
POSTMASTER ATTACKS


New York-Responding sharply
to Postmaster General j. Edward
Days attack upon w. w. Law,
Savannah mailman and president
of the Georgia State NAACP, As
sociation officials and friends this
week denounced the cabinet Of
ficer as unfit for his high office.
In a statement released on Oct.
"a announcing reinstatement of
Mr.. Law who had been dismissed
from the postal service on trump
ed up charges, the Postmaster
General said he was severely"
reprimanding the letter carrier and
reinstating him with great re-
gret'' in order to avoid making a
martyr" of him.
Il would not want a person with
Laws record of conduct deliver
ing mail to my family's home
he said. He further charged Mr..
Laws supporters in Congress were
motivated by political reasons. ="
The Postmaster General acted
after a departmental grievance
committee had cleared Mr.. Law
of four of the five charges against
him and on the fifth had recon-
mended only a reprimand. The
committee, after a hearing on Sept.
20, by 2 to 1 vote, decided that
the charges did not warrant dis
missal. Nevertheless, j. w. AskeW,
| the Post Office Departments re-
gional director in Atlanta, reject
/ ed the findings of the grievance
committee and sustained Mr.. Law S
discharge. An appeal then was SUBJ
mitted to the Postmaster General.
NAACP Executive Secretary
Roy wilkins denounced the Post
master Generals attack upon Mr..
Law as ''unconscionable and un-
precedented disregard for the rec
ord in the case. 1t reflects Mr.
Days contempt for Negroes as
well as disdain of fair play. In
light of this action, it is apparent
that he is no longer an asset to
the Kennedy Administration"
The Postmaster Generals state
ment was branded as vicious, in
sulting and misleading" by NAA-
CP General Counsel Robert l..
Carter who, together with NAACP
attorneys Frank D. Reeves and
J. Francis Pohlhaus of Washing
ton, represented Mr.. Law at the
departmental hearing.
eff Mr.. Law is as unfit for Serv-
ice as the Postmaster General al
leges, the charges against him
should have been sustained" Mr..
Carter said. mot to do so is cow
ardly and dishonorable" The MA
ACP general counsel expressed
the opinion that Mr.. Days state
ment had raised grave doubts
as to his suitability for the cabinet
post he holds
In Washington, Clarence Nit
chell, director of the Associations
Washington bureau, charged that
Mr.. Day ''now reveals that he will
use his cabinet post to smear the
reputation of a mail carrier who
dares to take a stand against dis
elimination. Mr.. Day shows by
his action that he is unfit for the
office he holds.
Mr.. Mitchell, who has been ac-
tive throughout the case on behalf
of Mr.. Law, was a witness at the
hearing before the departmental
grievance committee. He testified
that he had been informed by a
high postal official that Mr.. Law
was going to be discharged even
before formal charges had been
made against him.
To Senator Clifford Case (R-
N.J.) the Postmaster Generals
statement was shocking, offensive
to decency and utterly without re-
gard for fair play. "a cruel, de-
liberate effort to besmirch with
out justification"
The New Jersey Senator, acting
promptly on Sept. Is, the day of
the dismissal, called upon the
Postmaster General for AN i'm
mediate report on the circum-
stances leading to Mr. Laws dis
missal." In his statement this
week Senator Case indicated that
he intended to pursue the case
further.
Meanwhile in Atlanta, Mrs.
Ruby Hurley, NAACP regional di-
rector, charged that the Postmas-
ter General appears to be sym
pathetic to those who would deny
Negroes their rights and supports
those who would use repressive,
retaliatory measures against Ne
groes who dare resist oppression. .
He is hardly the type & man to
fill responsible cabinet position
i'll these times"