Decatur Daily Democrat, Volume 62, Number 104, Decatur, Adams County, 1 May 1964 — Page 9

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Special Primary Editorial Page For Tuesday Election

Civil Rights Act: What It Is And Isn’t “If We Have Differences Over The Bill, . Let Them Be Based Upon The Truth”

'(Guest articles from the April 28, 1964 editorial of the New Castle, Ind., Courier-Times, published by Walter S. Chambers, Jr., and edited by Scott B. Chambers.) Reference to certain prevalent ideas as “myths" seems to have achieved popularity. We understand a myth to have no foundation in fact. Not in a long time has any public question come before the American people concerning which the facts seem to have become so obscured as they have in regard to the Civil Rights legislation. As good citizens we need to know and to understand the facts. All of us will-still not come out with the same decisions, but at least our decisions — however they may var y _ w iH be based upon truth. A good beginning is to examine the Civil Rights bill, and to know what it is and what it is not. Title 1: Makes unlawful the practises by which Negroes or others are wrongfully denied the right to vote. Applications for voter registration have been thrown out because the applicant abbreviated the name of the month; such absurdities are made unlawful. —If literacy tests are required they would have to be Catholic Paper Calls Wallace Morally Evil _ OSHKOSH, Wis. (UPI) — Alabama Gov. George Wallace was branded by the official newspaper of Wisconsin’s largest Roman C a t h o 1 ic diocese March 1 as the personification of moral evil. “Moral evil,” the Catholic Herald Citizen of Milwaukee said in an editorial on the segregation-, ist governor’s campaign in Wisconsin's presidential primary, “walks through the world on the two feet of an individual person — directed by an evil mind and motivated by an . evil heart.” The paper said Wallace was*, known “for promoting the type of racism which has been specifically condemned by Po p e Pius XI.” “Moral evil is invading Wisconsin,”'the editorial said. “Gov. Wallace of Alabama has come to our state.” Gov. Wallace was picketed by a Roman Catholic priest when he arrived in Indianapolis recently as well as by many Protestant ministers and laymen.

"A Solemn Appeal To Decency" By The Honorable Matthew E. Welsh, Governor

Mv friends and neighbors: Regardless of the outcome of the coming presidential primary in Indiana, Lyndon Johnson will be nominated by the Democrats and elected by the people. The principles of the United States and of the state of Indiana are bonded together in the cause of freedom with such powerful strands that the words of demagogues, the swords of tyrants, and the schemes of ambitious men have all been broken upon our shores. The heart of America beats against slavery, intolerance, and injustice all over the world. The police state is no more acceptable to us now than was Nazi Germany. This is' the real issue of the civil rights bill and this is the real issue that has brought Mr. Wallace of Alabama to our sLatc. He is not here to run for the presidency of the United States. He is not here to defend states rights. He i§ here only to defend

Support Pres. Lyndon B. Johnson May 5 - Vote Welsh

DECATUR DAILY DEMOCRAT

given in writing, and graduation from the sixth grade of school is presumed to certify literacy. Standards for registration are established to prevent abuses. Title II: Concerns public accommodations. It prohibits discrimination on account of race by hotels (except those with fewer than 5 rooms which are owner - occupied), restaurants, gasoline stations, and movie theaters. Its premary intention is to make the necessities of life available! to all persons as they may travel across the country. In some parts of the United States a Negro family may travel for hundreds of miles without finding a public toilet that is not locked against them. Title III: Concerns parks and other public areas. It adds no rights, but provides for enforcement of existing laws. Title IV: Concerns schools, and likewise adds ftothing to existing law except provisjpn for enforcement. Title V: Extends the life of the Civil Rights Commission. Title VI: Prohibits discrimination in programs which have federal tax support. Also requires every federal agency to establish rules and regulations regarding its employment and other operations, which would in turn be subject to Presidential approval and judicial review. Title VII: Prohibits discrimin-

- —WS Let’s All Back Our President.

the ugly principles that brought forth the Civil War. In America it is the individual that counts ► the individual’s fight to pursue happiness, to be equal before the law. to own property, to speak freely, to vote, to walk unafraid, and to praise God in any way he chooses. This is the soul of our federation. This is the purpose of the Constitution, and it is the function of our national government to guarantee those rights where the State fails to do so. It is the federal government that grants these rights to the individual, and it is the individual in turn that grants the state government the right to exist. . r The National Civil Rights Law is an issue only in states such as Alabama, where the Government of the state refuses to recognize the rights of the individual. The people of the state of Indiana are great believers in states’ rights. This is what attracted Governor Wallace to our

ation in employment on account of race. The question it really raises is, are two people who are equally qualified being paid differently?" The widespread notion (or “myth") that it establishes quotas is not correct. As a matter of fact, a <quota could very well be a discrimination against a qualified applicant, so the law would actually forbid quotas. Without entering into any full discussion of the bill, we think three observations are in order: 1. The charge made against Title I is that it abridges the rights of the states. This argument is strictly phony, and we may discuss it more fully later. 2. Examination of the bill reveals the fact that it relates to citizenship rights, not personal affairs. Since 1870 the Negro has been a citizen; the proposed law would secure for him in fact the rights that were conferred upon him then. 3. The Civil Rights Act may not be passed in its original form; numerous proposals for amendment are being offered now in the Senate; very likely its final form will not be just exactly what any of us thinks it ought to be. But some kind of a Civil Rights Law is almost sure to be passed ,and whatever it is it will be the law of the land. As good citizens it will be the duty of all of us to respect and observe it.

state primary. But we are also believers tn fair play - - in HUMAN RIGHTS and the BILL OF RIGHTS ... so much so, that we, in Indiana, settled the question of civil rights in my first year in office as Governor, and we have been living in comparative peace ever since. But in Alabama, the state government is not a reflection of the individual. The 30% of the population that is not white have been bombed and beaten. They have been herded with electric cattleprods. hit with blackjatkS, and even shot when they tried to demonstrate against a state government that exists only to serve them. i No, Governor Wallace is not here to campaign for the presidency. He is not here looking for our kind of states' rights. He is here looking for away to save his control over the state of Alabama. The election on May sth will not settle the issue. The question of

Decatur, Indiana, 46733, Friday, May 1, 1964.

The Presidency If you vote in the Democratic primary in Indiana next Tuesday, May 5, you will choose between five names for a choice for the presidency. '■’a All Democratic leaders in Indiana, all serious Americans in either party, including Republican Lt. Gov. Richard Ristine, and Republican senate candidate Bontrager, religious leaders of the Indiana Council of Churches, the Methodist Church in Indiana, the Catholic Church, the Presbyterian church — in short, all responsible people who understand the campaign issue — earnestly ask you to support President Lyndon B. Johnson, and repudiate Gov. Wallace of Alabama, whose campaigns of lies have disgusted every person who has read the bill Gov. Wallace purports to oppose. You can support President Johnson by voting for Gov. Matthew E. Welsh, who has entered the primary election pledged to deliver his votes to President Johnson on the first ballot. If you are a Democrat, and if you vote in the Democratic party, and sincerely do not want President Johnson renominated, then — and only then — should you vote for Gov. Wallace. But if you think this is what you really want, we earnestly ask you to read the articles on this page. - If you are a Democrat, and vote in the Democratic primary, you may wonder who the other candidates are. Lar “America First” Daly has campaigned for 30 years in an Uncle Sam suit; he urges nuclear war against China and non-nuclear war against Cuba immediately. John Hugh Latham is a Rockville, Ind., farmer. Fay T. Carpenter Swain is a Cincinnati, 0., housewife. None of these three is a serious candidate, and you would be making a mockery of the American system by supporting them, unless that is what you want. ts you are a Republican, and vote in the Republican primary, you have four men running for the presidency. Sen. Barry Goldwater is the only one who could be considered a serious contender. Frank R. Beckwith is an Indianapolis Negro attorney. Joseph G. Ettl, of South Bend, is an unknown. Former Governor Harold E. Stassen has • certainly failed to generate any sizable enthusiasm for his cause. If you favor what Sen. Goldwater stands for, and has indicated by his speeches and vote in the U.S. Senate he will do if elected, you should by all means vote for him. If you do not favor the conservative senator, we suggest that a vote for Stassen would be more effective and meaningful than not voting. Let your party know how you really feel about Sen. Goldwater. In 3hort, remember that the eyes of ( the United State and the world are on Indiana. Your vote will count. Vote intelligently. If you have any real question, call up your county chairman, and ask his opinion. Vote in the primary of the party of your choice, and be prepared to support those candidates this fall! That’s the American Way!

Editorial written by _ Dick Heller

independence will always be with us until we learn that we can no longer be independent without being interdependent. The greatness of America comes from its people: The Negro, the white, the Poles, the Italians, the Germans, the Greeks, the Protestants, the Catholics, the Jews. We are all part of the mosaic which makes up the American flag, and the American flag is the symbol of each of us, dividuallyThe Civil War was fought because we knew that, as Abe Lincoln said. “A house divided against itself cannot stand.'' Lincoln also said, “We cannot live half free and half slaye.” One hundred years ago, we let hate lead us to violence. One year ago, children w’ere bombed, people were murdered, women and men were beaten in Alabama. And because there was hate in the land, the President of the United States was shot to death. Each act of violence and hate

took place under the flag of the United States of America. The question was the same pthen .as it is now. Does the gov'ernment of the state exist for the individual, or does the individual exist for the state? And will the government of the nation protect the rights of the individual wherever he lives in the upion? This is the issue that Abe Lincoln brought to the capitol of Alabama. This is the issue that Governor Wallace brings to this campaign in Jndiana. Let his government, the state government of Alabama, pass an equitable human rights bill as we have in Indiana. Let me close with this 0 final remark. Governor Wallace is a guest in our state. He deserves to receive every Hoosier hospitality - - except your vote. The Governor of Alabama is a master of the art of argument, but he apparently knows very little about our Indiana way of life. If

What States Rights Means Its Purpose Is Not To Reinvigorate The States, But To Paralyze And Destroy The U.S. Government

(Guest article from the April 29, 1964 issue of the New Castle, Ind., Courier-Times, published by Walter S. Chambers, Jr., and edited by Scott B. Chambers.) “States rights” is a phrase very much m the news these days, and it can be deceptive, for the states rights movement and the states rights doctrine are not at all what might be assumed from the common understanding of the words. WHAT IT DOES NOT MEAN; The ordinary understanding of the words, ‘state rights,” suggests the reinvigorating of state government, the strengthening of it to meet the weltare of the people and protect their rights, in order that state government might carry more of the load of government and make unnecessary the continued growth of the bureaucracy in our national government. The people who think along these lines want to keep the government close to the people. This is NOT states rights. WHAT STATES RIGHTS MEANS: The philosophy of states rights today is the same as it was in the days of Jefferson Davis, who was president of the Confederacy. Examination of its purposes then, its application at various times in the history of the United States and its purposes today demonstrate plainly that it seeks to destroy the institutions of democracy so that government can be taken out of the hands of the American people at large and put into the hands of a few. Even after the Civil War was over, Jefferson Davis wrote the following about our national government: “No such political community or corporate unit existed, has ever been organized, or ,yet exists, and no political action by the people of the United states in the aggregate has ever taken place, or ever can take place, under the Constitution.” The plea for the individual’s rights by the advocates of state’s rights is nothing mpre than a rrfast. The doctrine of states rights has always been used to withhold opportunity and freedom from • people. Let’s take a look at its use as various issues have confronted the American people. When pioneers were pushing westward it was invoked to block them at state borders —a contention that the states, not Congress, could regulate commerce. It was used to delay the adoption of woman suffrage, contending that suffrage

he would lift his eyes above his ambition he could.. Ipok into our eyes and see-what we have in our hearts. We believe in tolerance and in brotherhood. We believe in our churches. We believe in due process of law and respect for our courts, both state and federal. We people of Indiana believe in the Federal Government of the United States, but we also believe in ourselves. We leave unto the Federal Govern- __ ment that which belongs to the Federal Government, and we in-g tend to keep those tilings that be-? long to the state. We do not need = the Governor of Alabama to= make that decision fob us. Theviolence and the hate of the CivilWar is over. We want to let itZ remain only a part of our history.-? Americans are proud of their tradition of brotherhood. Our pio- j neer ancestors felt that brother- _ hood was the quality which was' to distinguish our society from; those which preceded it.. In this ■ happy thought, they abolished I

was a matter for each state to < settle for itself, thus keeping wo- i men from the polls until the Con- 1 | The People’s Voice | To The Editor: “By their fruits ye shall know them.” On February 6, 1956, Miss Authorine Lucy, a Negro, was expelled from the University of Alabama amidst a shower of eggs and tomatoes. Her presence at a white school had incited riots in Alabama. On December 1, 1956, Mrs. Rosa Parks, a Negro, boarded a bus in Birmingham and sat down. Later she was ordered to stand so that a white person could be seated? She refused. She. was arrested. That was in Alabama. On April 23, 1963. William Moore, a white ex-marine from Maryland, was walking near Gadsden. He carried a sign which read, “Equal Rights for All.” He was shot and killed. That was in Alabama. On September 15, 1963, four little Negro girls were killed while sitting in a Sunday School class studying a lesson on “forgiveness." A bomb had been thrown into their church. That w a s in Alabama. And now the governor of .Alabama has come to us seeking our support in his bid for the highest office in the land. He implies "that the Alabama-way should be the American-way. He talks about “states rights.” What has his state done to protect the right of its 980,000 Negroes? The state of Indiana has passed its own civil rights laws and seeks conscientiously to enforce them. He cries out against the pending national civil rights legislation. Misrepresenting the bill, he warns of a federal dictatorship. Why, if this is the case, have all eleven of Indiana’s Congressmen, including conservatives and liberals, Republicans and Democrats, voted for the measure? He is a Methodist. The official position of his church is stated in these words: “Our Lord Jesus CJhrist — permits no discrimination because of race, color or creed.” As an American ’ Methodist, I deplore Governor Wallace's misuse of “God and country” to project himself and his principles into national prominence. The “carpetbaggers” who invaded the South following the Civil War did untold harm to human rights and national unity. This is “carpetbagging” in reverse. In these troubled times, Indiana cannot afford to adopt Alabama’s way of life-nor can the United States of America. James Armstrong Sr. Minister of Broadway Methodist Church

titles of nobility and rank; they welcomed the oppressed and disadvantaged, and they enjoyed shouting, “I’m as good, as you are!” at anyone who wore a tie and a clean shirt. 9 But our brotherhood has not gi*own without problems, nor has it extended in all directions. Each of us is in—favor of brotherhood “from me on up,” and a little nervous about brotherhood ; “from me on down.” 2 Where the application of broth- = erhood gains for us advantage or 1 new privilege or new status, we 5 love it. Where the application x may cost us, we hesitate, we re2 sist. and as we all know, we even S fight. If is now clear that brotherhood 3is not something to be used nor 3is it something to be turned on Zand off at will. Unless it costs; S unless it involves sacrificial conr cern for my brother, who is every 3 man, it has no virtue. 9 ..

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stitution could be amended. It was used to block federal regulation of trusts and railroads, and to protect and perpetuate the institution of human slavery. Now it is being used to keep our Negro citizens from voting and exercising other privileges which rightfully belong to every citizen. Somewhat ironically, it was the doctrine of states rights that ate away at the vitals of the Confederacy itself, preventing agreement and concerted action among the rebel states and creating anarchy that weakened the South. WHAT DOES STATES RIGHTS MEAN TODAY? Let there be no doubt about what states rights means today. A states rights program is now before the country in the form of three propfeed amendments to the Constitution, one of which has been ratified by 12 states: The first of these amendments would deny federal courts the authority to order reapportionment of congressional districts. Some states have not redrawn the lines of their congressional districts for over 50 years, and a shift in population has left a small minority with the power to elect a majority of the state’s delegation in congress. The second proposed amendment would allow state legislatures alone to amend the U. S. Constitution, and the third proposal would create a court of the 50 chief justices of the state courts with power to override the U. S. supreme court, and hence to pass upon the acts of Congress and the President. The purpose of these amendments is to nullify, paralyze and destroy the government of the United States, which Jefferson Davis said “never existed.” States rights advocates say they fear the national government — and why do they fear it? Because they don’t really believe in freedom. They believe in government by the privileged few — people just like themselves: their color, their religion, their ideas. Moreover, the club that disfranchises Negroes can fall at will on Jews, or Republicans, or Methodists. What rights do these advocates seek for their states? The right to deprive citizens from voting because of race, color or for other reasons. The right to deny human beings equal protection under tht law. The right to nullify, paralyze and destroy the government of the United States because it stands in the way of their desire to subsitute minority rule for democracy and oppression for human liberty.

This country now faces no greater Issue than that found in the question, “Will we live up to the true demands of brotherhood?” According to our response, our survival as a world leader may well be determined. The rights of every individual must be protected or America is lost and without America, the world is lost. The significance of this primary will not change the course of the fall election. But it could plant the seeds to change the course of the world. Governor Wallace should be defeated the American way . . at the polls. He should be sent home a failure so this country can be reminded that we were not wrong one hundred years ago and we are not wrong today . , . that America, the symbol of the Individual, has not tarnished, and that in Indiana, at least, states' rights and human rights are still one and the same.