Evening star., 1962-04-11
G.0.P.Chiefs
Disdgreeon on
Literdcy.Tests
Rockefeller Fuvors
Curbs; GoIdwuter
Backs Dixie Bloc
By ]. A. OLEARY
Star Staff Writer


Two potential candidates
for the 1864 Republican presi-
Dental nomination were lined
up today on opposite sides of
the fight brewing in the Sen
ate over curbing literacy tests
for voters.
In a letter to a Senate jul
dietary subcommittee, Gov.
Rockefeller of New York not
only advocated curbing literacy
tests. but said he hoped Con-
gress would act to eliminate
discrimination in housing, edu-
cation, employment and law
enforcement generally.
On the heels of this letter,
Senator Goldwater of Arizona,
favorite of the conservative
wing of the COP, went before
the subcommittee and lined up
solidly with the Southern Dem
ocrats who are challenging the
right of Congress to interfere
with State literacy tests.
Preparing for Floor Fight
The hearings, which are
continuing this afternoon and
tomorrow, are laying the
groundwork for floor battle
due to start in the Senate
April "a.
Senator Goldwater, who said
he spoke also for Republican
Gov. Fannin of Arizona, said
he wanted every eligible per-
son to vote and deplored abuses
of literacy tests in a few
States.
But he said he does not see
why Congress should pass a
law that would interfere with
such tests being fairly applied
in A States because of COM
plants of abuses in only six
others.
Nor can l understand the
magic of fixing a sixth-grade
education as the test of liter
acy," said Senator Goldwater
9Th Grade Is Test
He was referring to the
administration bill, which
seeks to prevent discrimina-
ton against Negroes in literacy
examinations by providing that
no person otherwise qualified
could be deprived of the vote
on the basis of an examina-
ton if he has completed six
grades of school.
The Arizona Republican said
it would be easy for a State to
get around the. sixth-grade
stipulation by requiring tech
nical proof, if the State were
determined to deprive certain
groups of their voting rights.
He pointed out that Arizona
has the largest Indian popula-
ton of any State and that in
the past many of them had
little schooling. He said there
are Indians in his State who
could demonstrate ability to
read and write in English, as
required by existing law, but
who would be unable to pro-
duce a sixth-grade school Ger
tificate.
Other Standards Possible
Earlier yesterday, Attorney
General Robert F. Kennedy
threw a new light on the bill
by bringing out that, although
it uses the sixth grade as an
automatic yardstick to prevent
discrimination, the bill would
not prevent a States fixing the
third, fifth, or eighth grade as
a standard, provided the same
standard was applied equally to
all citizens.
"In other words, if a State
did not give the prospective
voter any examination, it could
fix any grade it wanted to?"
inquired Senator Keating, Re-
publican of New York.
The Attorney General said
that was his understanding of
the bill. In his prepared state
ment he had given numerous
examples of cases in which
Negroes were turned down by
voting registrars on technical
tiles involved in literacy exam
nations. Under this bill such
technicalitieS could not be used
if the applicant could show he
had completed the sixth grade.