The Farmville herald. (Farmville, Va.) 1957-current, 1963-07-16
UNITED STATES SENATE
July 10, 1863

July III, 1908
Dean Hardy c. billiard
The Law School
University of Virginia
Charlottesville, Virginia
Dear Dean billiard:
Richmond papers have quoted you as en-
dorsing the constitutionality of recent U. S
Supreme Court decisions in civil rights cases
Since you have been making a special stud
OF that phase of constitutional law | am tax
ing the liberty of asking your valued Opinion
OF the cOnsntutOnality of one of the Pres
dents civil rights, proposals. which is foun
IN Title 6. page "a of S. 1871.
That part of the so-talled omnibus civi
rights bill reads as follows:
TITLE vi - NONDISCRIMINATION IN
FEDERALLY ASSISTED PROGRAMS
Sec. Sol. Notwithstanding any pro-
vision to the contrary in any law of the
United States providing or authorizing
direct or indirect financial assistance for
or IN connection with any program or
activity by way OF grant, contract, loan,
Insurance, guaranty, or otherwise, no
such law shall he interpreted as recuir-
ing that such financial assistance shall
be- furnished in circumstances under
which individuals participating in or
benefiting from the program or activity
are Disseminated against on the ground
OF race. cOlcr, religion, or national origin
or are denied participation or benefits
therein on the ground of race. color, re-
llgiOn or national origin. All contracts
made in connection with any such pro-
gram or activity shall contain such con-
dlfions as the President may prescribe
Tor the purpose Of assuring that there
shall be no discrimination in employ
inert by any contractor or subcontrac-
tor on the ground Of race, color, re-
ligiOn. or national origin
You may recall that last spring the Presi-
dents civil Rights Commission recommended
that he whip the Governor of Mississippi into
line on the issue of the desegregation of the
University OF Mississippi by withholding all
Federal funds from that State. l made a
speech on the floor of the Senate DENYING
that the President has such power and depre-
eating the fact that he had not promptly and
publicly repudiated that suggestion A few
days later. the President did write the chair
man OF the Civil Rights Commission explain
ing that it would be against the best interest
OF the Negroes OF Mississippi for him to take
the proposed action, expressing that thought
in these words.
"Another difficulty is that in many
instances the Withholding of funds would
serve to further disadvantage those that
l know the commission would want to
aid For example, hundreds of thousands
Of Negroes in Mississippi receive social
security. veterans. welfare, school lunch
and other benefits from federal pro-
grams-any elimination on reduction Of
such programs obviously would fall alike
on all within the state and in some pro-
grams perhaps even more heavily upon
Negroes
On the same day, the President told the
American Society of Newspaper Editors:
II don't have any power to cut off
the aid in the way proposed by the Civil
Rights Commission and l would think
that it would probably be unwise to
give the President Of the United States
that kind Of power"
Now, for reasons which some feel are not
wholly altr,istic the President has changed
his mind and has asked for the power which