The Lexington advertiser. [volume] (Lexington, Miss.) 1904-1985, 1963-05-02
legislative Report

ol Governor Ross Barnett, nave 1lleQ
the first section of an unbelievable re-
port in which they accuse U. S. Mar
shals of cruel and inhuman treatment
of rioters OF the Ole Miss campus last
fall, including alleged use of a torture
slab'' for prisoners and deliberate
gassing of eight dormitories.
A number of other equally shock
ing atrocities were attributed to the
marshals by the committee in the re-
port which reads like something out
of a .Nazi war diary. If true, it would
seriously undermine the confidence of
the people of the United States in our
national government.
Fortunately, in their zeal to indict
and discredit the Kennedy administra-
ton, members of the committee over
extended themselves and went a little
too far to be believed by any inform
ed American.
In the first place the committee
insults the intelligence of the reader
when it said:
"The Department of Justice sue
cessfully concealed the actions of its
marshals from the press and other
news media by its management Of
news at the University. 1t took weeks
of investigation for the Committee to
learn the facts concerning the brutal
ties at the garage dentention center"
This was a direct statement COM
ing from the chairman of the commit
tee, State Rep. Russell L. Fox, Jr. The
statement is obviously false, complete
Iy without foundation. Several hundred
newsmen from all over the world, who
were on the scene, would so testify,
including manv from Mississippi.
1t is a we'll known fact there were
several hundred reporters and photog-
raphers at the University during the
were free to come and go as they
pleased - and they did. There was no
restraint placed upon their activities.
AS a consequence the entire world got
the story about what happened in Mis-
sissippi.
There was no "news management"
at the University by the Kennedys' or
anyone else. There was no attempt at
news management by. anyone, and if
there had been, it could not have sue
ceeded.
One might almost wish there had
been some kind of responsible control
set I'D so that false reports and rumors
would not have been reported and pub
lished as fact in so many of our own
stste newspapers = reports which in
famed the emotions and hardened the
attitudes of many state citizens. But
these stories were gathered by our own
people on our own papers = and this
applies to state radio and television
coverage as well. But we cannot blame
the national news media for our own
failures and shortcomings.
Here is what the United States
Justice Department had to say about
the report in a statement approved by
Attorney General Robert Kennedy:
eft is an untruth document . so
far from the truth that it hardly
merits an answer.
"It is shocking to us that facts
would be distorted or ignored and in
IT, 49, -
cidents manufactured. The report of
this committee contains no names or
facts that could be checked by any
one. Worse, it is a grievous SANDER
against a courageous group of deputy
>marshals, more than two-thirds OF
whom are Southerners who de-
served far more credit for their cour-
age and dedication to orders than such
distortions and falsifications Of fact"
Justice officials said it was
Strange" that none of the brutal
ties blamed by the Mississippi Legisla-
tive Committee were reported by news
men who moved freely at Oxford and
reported the event fully"
They also pointed out the mar
shals would not have been at Oxford