The Charlotte News
Thursday, April 26, 1956
THREE EDITORIALS
Site Ed. Note: The front page reports from London that Soviet Premier Nikolai Bulganin and Communist Party Secretary Nikita Khrushchev had begun their farewells to Britain this date, concluding their ten-day visit, placing a wreath on the grave of Karl Marx and talking for more than an hour with Labor Party leaders with whom Mr. Khrushchev had clashed sharply the prior Monday night, reportedly having soothed some of the hard feelings, with Labor Party leader Hugh Gaitskell telling the press afterward that the meeting was cordial and "ended on a friendly note." Authoritative sources, however, stated that neither Mr. Khrushchev nor the Labor Party leaders indicated any change in their feelings about Jews and Social Democrats imprisoned behind the Iron Curtain, with Mr. Khrushchev having angrily brushed aside questioning about persecution of Jews and Socialists, calling it "nonsense" and denying that there were any Social Democrats in the Soviet Union and that what occurred to Social Democrats elsewhere was none of his concern. The rest of their day had been spent flying to Scotland, where Georgi Malenkov, former Premier, during his visit recently had exhibited a love of the poetry of Robert Burns. On their return to London this night, Premier Bulganin would meet with Prime Minister Anthony Eden to sign a joint communiqué summing up the results of their talks. The general expectation was that they would report progress toward an agreement between the East and West only on lesser issues and that they would remain fixed in their previous policies regarding the major issues.
The press information officer of the Supreme Court said this date that there was no comment regarding clarification by the Court on the South Carolina bus case, referring to the Court's dismissal of an appeal the prior Monday, leaving the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals decision standing, which had applied Brown v. Board of Education to intrastate buses, outlawing segregation of passengers, eschewing application of the "separate-but-equal" doctrine of Plessy v. Ferguson decided in 1896, overruled in Brown. The Court of Appeals had allowed a lawsuit of a black woman to proceed forward, seeking damages against the bus company for maintaining segregation on the local buses of Columbia, S.C., with some lawyers, however, finding that the decision left in doubt whether the effect was to outlaw segregation on all public transportation, with some believing that it had and others questioning whether it had gone that far. The Supreme Court information officer said that the only way the Court would respond to a request for clarification would be if it came from the parties involved in the case and that no such request had been filed.
Dick Young of The News reports that the assignment of students in the City Schools for the following school year, to take place the following month, would bring Charlotte school officials face-to-face with the problem of desegregation. No school official would comment on what plans would be initiated by the City School Board to conform with Brown. The Board had a committee of three persons, instituted the prior June 27, studying the problem, which thus far had not issued any recommendation to the Board. The committee had a policy of making no comment because the responsibility of assignment of pupils rested with the full Board. What little was known about the study committee indicated that it was generally following the policies of the State outlined by the Governor's Committee on Education. State Attorney General W. B. Rodman had indicated in the State's brief in the McDowell County school case that assignment of pupils had to be done solely on an individual basis, premised on the aptitude and capacity of the child and his or her potential adjustment to the curriculum and standards of the school, the age of the child in relation to the average age of other children in the child's grade and in the several schools of the district, the probable psychological effect on the pupil applying for a change of assignment to another school and on the group of students to which the pupil would be assigned, among other factors. It was believed that the problem of assignment in Mecklenburg would be approached on a similar basis.
Julian Scheer of The News tells of farm organization leaders in Mecklenburg County agreeing that they were not in good shape, reiterating the contentions presented the previous day in the newspaper, that farming was slowly dying in the county because of the high value of land, making it appealing to the urban developer, the high costs of farming and the lower farm prices. The president of the local Farm Bureau, who was also a leading farmer in the county, said that the situation had been covered well by the newspaper, particularly the statements regarding cotton, that in the current year they would farm about 25 bales of cotton from 25 acres, while 20 years earlier, it would have been 2,500 bales, with allotments having cut down production while labor was the major factor, as farmers could not afford to pay three dollars per hundred pounds to have cotton picked by hand. In addition, land was expensive and it was getting to the point that it was smarter to develop it than plant it. Farmers were thus being pushed out, as there was not much incentive in farming anymore. Another farmer, with a 120 acres of cotton and corn east of Davidson, said that he agreed with the story, that land value had tripled in some areas while income from farming had gone down and labor cost had gone up. The chairman of the County Commission said that the principal trouble appeared to be that the farmer could not get a good price for his crops, that property values were increasing and in the long run, he might come out all right if he could hold onto his property. Other similar reactions to the article are also recorded.
Harry Shuford of The News reports that Charlotte residents 40 years earlier attending an evening vaudeville show at the Airdrome Theater had probably been reminded by a big white sign on the building wall that the Lubin Furniture Co. had just gone out of business, an advertisement, along with others painted on the wall of the building next to the theater, having later been hidden by a brick building which replaced the theater. Now that the brick building had been razed to make way for the new Wachovia Bank Building, the signs had been uncovered again, as pictured on the page. He tells of the buildings which had occupied the block at the earlier time.
In Toledo, O., a fire in a home killed seven children, ranging in age from two months to nine years, who were alone, as the father had been en route with his wife to a Toledo café where she worked, at the time the fire had broken out. The father was being held for investigation by police to determine why the children had been left alone. A neighbor had discovered the blaze, indicating that the flames had spread so quickly that no rescue was possible. The couple had no other children.
At least 28 persons, 23 of whom were children, had perished in fires in North America since the prior Tuesday. Eight of the children had died in a fire in Newfoundland, and all of the other deaths had occurred in the U.S.
In Sacramento, a rifle bullet had gone through a man's head, but he complained only of a "slight headache", telling authorities that his .303-caliber rifle had discharged accidentally the previous day while he was cleaning it, with the bullet having entered just above his right eye. He said that he walked a half block for help. Doctors said that there was no brain damage and that he was in satisfactory condition.
On the editorial page, "Goodby to Smogville-on-the-Catawba" suggests that the city could have its air pollution under control before the first frost, which it finds should be the goal of City Air Pollution engineer Charles Frost, as the final hurdle for real progress had been cleared the previous morning when the City Council had adopted the newest anti-smog ordinance, a moment of triumph for the League of Women Voters and others who had fought for a meaningful measure to control air pollution in the city.
There had been some last-minute quibbling about the organizational structure described in the ordinance, whether there should be a citizens advisory committee, which the Council feared might be delegating some of its authority, a fear without foundation, as the committee would only advise while serving as a useful buffer group, saving the time and energy of the Council. It would also provide greater public identification with the need for air pollution control.
Not all citizens were suitably impressed with the urgency of the problem and a public relations campaign still had to be undertaken to impress the public with the urgency of the need so that the community would not wait until a real crisis occurred, as in Los Angeles, Pittsburgh and other cities. Pollution, it counsels, should be attacked when it was still in its potential state rather than after having become an actual and serious threat. Charlotte now had the tools to do so and it urges that they be used effectively.
"Candidate and Council: The Big Dust" tells of A. G. Brown being a candidate for the State House of Representatives, knowing that the way to run was to raise a little dust, which he had done at the City Council meeting the previous day, causing Mayor Philip Van Every to invite him to depart the meeting, which he did, warning the Council as he did so that he would kick up some dust regarding the zoning reclassification he was seeking for his businesses, which were operating in residential zones.
It indicates its admiration for dust, as it clogged eyes, kept housewives busy, gave diplomats something to settle, smelled good when it rained, meant that the sun had been shining and breezes had been blowing, finding it well-nigh indispensable. "And we say without fear of contradiction, that Mr. A. G. Brown is a real dandy dust raiser."
"Shortchanged Again by the Yankees" finds that the Yankee press had just provided the straw which had broken the camel's back, indicating that they were accustomed to Northern charges that North Carolinians had no shoes, no book-learning, no manners and no patience, but to accuse them of having no state bird, as New York papers had claimed, was carrying the "cool war" too far.
When the New York State Legislature had refused to make the bluebird its state bird, they had noted that New York was now lumped with North Carolina and Rhode Island as the only three states without an official bird.
It says it does not know about Rhode Island but that the cardinal had been selected the state bird of North Carolina on March 4, 1943. It admits that it was shared with Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Virginia and West Virginia, suggesting that the state might have selected something off-beat, as Oklahoma had selected the scissor-tailed flycatcher, and Louisiana, the eastern brown pelican.
But it believes that the cardinal would represent the state with honor and dignity, being bigger than the wren of South Carolina, brighter than the hermit thrush of Vermont, prettier than the road runner of New Mexico, better behaved than the seagull of Utah, smarter than the ruffed grouse of Pennsylvania and quieter than the mockingbird of Arkansas, Florida, Mississippi, Tennessee and Texas.
It concludes that lacking enthusiasm for the bluebird, perhaps New York might select the albatross, as it was not taken yet.
A piece from the St. Petersburg (Va.) Times, titled "Government Is Still Government", tells of Representative Carl Hinshaw of California having enlivened the Congressional Record recently with a series of definitions indicating that government still moved in its slow and mysterious way, noting that some of the definitions applying to government also applied to the type of big business represented by Republicans presently in Washington.
It provides some of his definitions, such as "program", meaning "any assignment that cannot be completed with one phone call", "channels", meaning "the trail left by interoffice memos", "coordinator", meaning "the guy who has a desk between two expediters", and so on down the list, reaching finally "finalize", meaning "scratch gravel to cover errors."
Drew Pearson reflects back to 11 years earlier when a patrol of American riflemen had pushed through the no-man's land between the forward American and Russian lines to link with a Russian patrol on the east bank of the Elbe River, where the two patrols embraced one another, offered a toast of friendship and vowed that the tragedy of war which had taken so many lives of the noncombatant women and children would never again occur. On the same day, April 25, 1945, the Charter meeting for the U.N. had begun in San Francisco.
A lot had occurred in the interim. General Eisenhower, who had met with Russia's Marshal Zhukov in Berlin where the two sought to carry out the spirit of the pledge made at the Elbe River by working out a fair degree of cooperation between American and Russian troops, had become President. General Eisenhower, in his book, Crusade in Europe, told of how for five hours he had stood on the tomb of Lenin watching a sports parade in Red Square in Moscow, stating that none of them had ever witnessed anything remotely similar, with every type of folk dance, mass exercise, acrobatic feat, and athletic exhibition being executed with flawless precision and great enthusiasm, with the band, said to number a thousand pieces, playing continuously during the lengthy show. He said that Generalissimo Stalin had appeared to enjoy every minute of the performance and had invited General Eisenhower to his side, where they conversed intermittently during the whole show. Overarching everything was a genuine desire to establish a working partnership between the U.S. and Russia.
But times had then changed, and after pictures of General Eisenhower and Marshal Zhukov had been circulated earlier to try to cast the General as pro-Communist, times had changed again, and following the death of Stalin in March, 1953, the President had again met with his co-commander, Marshal Zhukov, the prior summer in Geneva at the Big Four summit meeting. Not much had been accomplished in tangible diplomatic achievements, but much had occurred in creating a better atmosphere between the two nations, with the President having done a fine job personally, dissipating the myth that the U.S. was a nation of warmongers, popular in Communist propaganda. The diplomats, the generals and the admirals got into the act, however, and helped kill some of the success afterward.
Mr. Pearson notes further that a lot had occurred in the nine months since the summit conference, which he regards as perhaps the most momentous single period since the first nine months following April 25, 1945, "the day when a patrol of American riflemen crossed the River Elbe at noon and mingled with their Russian comrades amid the blood-soaked bodies of German women and children."
U.S. News & World Report, after interviewing Federal District Court judges on the process of desegregation of the public schools in the wake of Brown v. Board of Education, formed a composite of their opinions in question and answer form, as reprinted on the page.
The general consensus was that the Federal courts would be looking at local conditions to determine the speed which the Supreme Court's 1955 implementing phrase, "with all deliberate speed", intended, that the courts would need to balance adherence to the ruling in the case with the realization that moving too fast in certain locales could harm education for all children, but that there would be no choice in the case where a state or local government entity was acting in violation of the law, that the law would have to be upheld against a claim of a black student wishing to enter a formerly all-white, segregated school.
The courts would be concerned with public opinion in each locale and not apply the law ruthlessly in a way which encouraged people to hate and disobey it, that the goal would be to achieve desegregation through persuasion of Southerners, if at all possible, to comply over time, with appreciation for the fact that the situation in the deep South was more serious than generally understood in some sections of the country, involving the changing of people's mores, requiring utmost patience, understanding, generosity and forbearance from all people of all races.
The judges generally believed that most Southern whites were opposed to racial integration of the public schools, but that progress was being made prior to Brown, while since the decision, many in the South who previously were in favor of gradual integration were now taking a hardened attitude against it because it now appeared to involve force. Blacks in increasing numbers had been getting the vote and thus a voice in community affairs, with some cities, such as Atlanta, affording participation in civic enterprises, service on boards and committees alongside whites. States had been spending increasing amounts of money on black schools to bring them up to the standards of white schools, while blacks had also been gaining admission to a number of leading universities and colleges previously segregated, in such states as Louisiana, Texas and elsewhere. That progress had proceeded quietly, not on a large-scale but constituting a definite trend, with increasing numbers of people beginning to accept that trend.
But now there was organized opposition to the trend which was growing among whites, such that people who previously were willing to support admission of blacks to all-white universities and colleges were now siding with the extremists in opposition.
The judges suggested that the leaders on both sides ought look at the short-range and attempt the easier steps first, seeking to desegregate those school districts which were least opposed to it, enabling those districts to become examples for others more stubbornly opposed. The leaders ought also to avoid actions and statements which could incite defiance of the law, it having been one thing to deplore the ruling and another to attack it as illegal, encouraging people to hold it in contempt, only encouraging disrespect for law and order and opening the way for an impassioned, emotional response.
The judges saw much, if not most, of the trouble coming from the North, both among blacks and white liberals, which Southerners considered to be uninformed, often ill-mannered criticism and interference.
But they also believed that one could hardly expect blacks to sit back and do nothing about the opportunity afforded them by Brown. Yet, where they would press their claims was important, as in one locale, they might achieve a victory in court but find it impossible to implement the decision peacefully, while in another situation, they could win the case and integrate peacefully without inflamed passions. As long as they refrained from inflammatory statements, in court and out, against Southern whites and white institutions, they would have a much better chance of integrating peacefully, causing the least disruption possible to community feelings.
In response to questions about criticism of Brown for being based more on sociology than strict interpretation of the Constitution, the judges had indicated that it was a good idea to remember that the whole concept of law had something to do with sociology, as laws were based on society and the way it functioned, especially when regarding intangibles as in the case of the feelings of blacks and whites with regard to integration. What constituted "rights" in race relations could not easily be defined, but it had to be dealt with in determining what the law was and how best to apply it to the citizenry of both races living under its protection.
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