Minneapolis spokesman. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1934-2000, 1962-05-25

orders the owner and rental
rtments in Waltham, Mass, to
make accommodations available to
Maurice Fowler, Negro employed
as a contract negotiator at the Air
Force at Hanscom Field, Bedford.
Since Massachusetts, is one of
Is states with similar anti-discrim-
nation statutes, civil rights groups
are hailing the decision as a major
victory.
Order Called EpochaI
Alan Gartner, Boston chairman
Of CORE - the Congress Of Racial
Equality - said, This is the first
time any state court has explicitly
declared illegal racial discrimina-
ton in entirely privately developed
housing"
Earlier decisions have banned
discrimination in public housing
and federally aided housing.
Massachusetts Attorney General
Edward J. Mccormack Jr., des-
cribed the decision as "epochal,"
praising its clarity and scope"
His office presented the states
case in court, which was brought
by the Commission Against Dis
elimination. The commission had
ordered A. ]. Colangelo, owner Of
the 120-unit apartment building,
and John Nahigian, its rental
agent, to provide accommodations
to Mr.. Fowler.
Mr.. Colangelo contended the
order amounted to an unconstitu-
uonal taking of private property.
Mr.. Nahigian maintained that
Mr.. Fowler had been refused an
apartment solely because he rs q
bachelor.
One Justice Dissented
The lone dissenter on the high
court bench was Associate Justice
Paul G. Kirk, who took sharp ex-
cepton to the majority ruling.
He called the decision "a fragile
platform for this great leap for
ward"
Ending discrimination, he said,
Is "a wholly desirable and social
objective"
But he strongly objected to the
1859 amendment to the law, which
extends INSTRUMENTATION prac-
tees to include purely private
property.
Changing the law, he said, has
caused "a deprivation Of one Of
the essential attributes of owner
ship and an invasion of a con-
additionally protected interest to
an extent which has never before
been attempted in this Common
wealth."
Coercion Charged
He accused the Commission
Against Discrimination of resort
ing to what he termed coercive
measures, (which I think are per
sc both alien and inimical to the
letter, spirit, and the principles of
the Constitutions of our Common
wealth and our country"
Siding with the majority was
Associate Justice Jacob J. Spiegel,
who said in a separate opinion that
on the contrary the Supreme Court
had not gone far enough.
He urged that the court uphold
all phases of the commissions
order, including provisions for an
to prohibit discrimina-
ton.
He said he readily comedies
that legislation, in and Of itself,
cannot eradicate bias and preju-
dice from the minds of men,"
Perhaps the choice Of tenants
by a landlord, he said, does not
constitute a personal bias. But, he
discrimination based on
the hope Of monetary gain and not
upon a personal prejudice is even
more reprehensible. In either
event." he wrote, II find no ration
al excuse for such behavior"
In view of the fact that the
Colangelo has question
ed the constitutionality Of the COM
missions order, the issue might
be considered appropriate for ap-
peal to the United States Supreme
Court.
Mr.. Fowler, who is presently
an apartment in Cambridge
has indicated that he will not de-
eide Immediately whether to ac-
cept the Waltham apartment now.
He said he intends to await advice
and to see whether Mr.. Colangelo
will appeal the case to the federal
courts.