St. Paul recorder., 1963-09-26
Should Minnesota Help Pay
These ''COnfederate
SOldiers''

An article in The Progressive reporting the
Confederacy amendments TO the Constitution and
the part of the Council of. State Governments in
promoting them suggests that the Councils secretar-
nat is 'preStigtous" professional body concerned
primarily with improving state procedures and pro-
moing good federal-sbabe relations. The Progressive
is wrong.
The Confederacy amendments would (1) Place
the casually highly POLITICALLY chief justices Of the
state supreme courts in position to override the
United States Supreme Court; (2) preserve the
Illegal and Unconstitutional rotten borough system
by which rural legislators especially in the South
dominate state governments; 81 allow the state
legislatures 10 initiate and pass constitutional
amendments - a procedure which, under present
circumstances, could very we'll result in repeal Of the
Bin of Rights.
The Council of State Governments initiated
these ideas and is actively supporting them It's sec
retariat, far from being the professionals they pre-
tend to be, good Soldiers of the Confederacy and
were actively promoting the amendments before
ever the council took stand on them. Indeed, the
executive secretary Of the council cleverly arranged
things to forestall any effective debate by the
opposition. Only the proponents Of the measures
were able to get copies before the debate took place
The debate, indeed, has been described as mob
hysteria" The secretarfat did it's work WELL and in
the tradition of the Confederacy. The leading orator
this occasion was Millard Caldwell blatant rae
tst reactionary.
In spite Of all the fixing that went into this de-
bate the council almost defeated the motion 10 SUD-
port amendment and got big majority on the
others If it had not been for the inside work of
the executive secretary, Brevard Crihfield Ia Re
publican collaboration with Dd1decrats), the motion
would no doubt have lost and the latest moves Of
the Confederacy would be dead issue AS it is, we
fII1-{cale fiPht IN hands tO
the basic values of Federal government-such
as democracy and representative government civil
rights, and separation of powers. Let there be no
victory in their assault upon our form of govern
ment and upon the rights of the people. They have
done 1t because they control the Council Of State
Governments and its secretartat
Minnesota helps pay the salaries Of this Dixie
Secretariat Minnesota has also had some experience
with them. They mousetrapPed group of honorable
and we-meaning legislators in the last session into
introducing Diade-style absent voters law.
We raise the question which we have raised
before whether state ought to continue support
ing the Council in its present FORM under the dom
ination of men who have been described as intel
lectually medieval who are out-and-out segrega-
Honists, open opponents of civil rights open advo-
Gates of radical attacks upon constitution and
bin of rights. We raise the question whether we
ought TO continue contributing to the salary of
Brevard Crihfeld, who pdIoted the Confederacy
amendments through the council by highly question
Rble means.
Withdrawal from the council might be consd-
cred an extreme measure On the other hand, the
Council Of State Governments is now an extremist
organization dominated by extremist Soldiers of
the Confederacy". Does Minnesota want to con-
tribute to this?