Newspapers / The Carolina Times (Durham, … / April 18, 1953, edition 1 / Page 2
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FAOl TWO ms CAROLINA TPH8 S^RDAY. AfBIL IS, llSt- CIk €tm«d PvbliMhed Every Saturday By THE CABOLINA TIMES PUBLISHING CO. 518 East Pettigrew Street DuriMin, N. C Phonae: 5-887S — 5-0671 — S-7871 Mtmher National Negro Prut AuoeiatUm VOLUME 30 — NUMBER 14 SATURDAY, APRIL 18, 1953 It it absolutely tmposaible for the CAROLINA TIMES to guarantee the exact time of publication or location in the paper of uneoUcited articles, but will strive to conform wUh the toishes of its readUng public as near as is humanly possible. ■■tared as SeeMd Claa nutter at the Peat Otfioei il Darluun. Nerth Oanllu nder Ote aet «f Marek S. It7». NatlMal AdvertialBf HepreeMitaUTe latwetate United Nevrspapers. 545 Fifth Aycnae, New Terk 17, New Ttak. BraaA Offlee; 5 Bast Jaekaon Boulevard. Chioace. nUaolB. L. E. AUSTIN C. M. ROSS _ ALEXANDER BARNES ADAHANNAR M, E. JOHNSON Publisher Editor Managing Editor City Editor Business Manager SUBSCBIFIIDN BA'TKS: « MONTHS 1 TKAB -W.M FOUnON OOUNTBOM S TBABS : Pee You «4.M |t.M Segregation: An International Issue In its issue of Sunday, April 12 the Duh- HAM Morning Herald, under the caption, “The Coming Supreme Court Segregation Verdict," and with somewhat of an anti cipatory fear, takes the nation’s highest tri bunal to task for a verdict it, at the time this is written, has not yet rendered on the mat ter of segregation in public schools. The Herald charges in the editorial that in the field of civil rights the Court has had a ten dency "to take to itself super-legislative powers and to do by Court decree,” what that newspaper claims, “is the proper duty of legislative bodies.” The Herald’s version on the matter of what the United States Supreme Court will do with this momentous question now be fore it appears to us to be the result of fear bom of prejudice, unsound reasoning and a startling failure to grasp the tremendous is sues involved, both nationally and interna- nationally, in the matter of segregation in public schools and elsewhere in this coun try. There was a time in the history of this nation when what its Supreme Court or a legislative body did for or against a minority group concerned only its own people. ||n those days even the lynching of a Negro was of little or no concern to people outside of our own country. In fact such a crime could be committed in Mississippi, Geor gia, South Carolina or North Carolina, un der the protection of state rights, without foar r>f intof-fprpnnc frnm the nntifinal gfiy. ernment or another state. That day no long er exists, for it was only a few months ago that we here in North Carolina beheld a two-year sentence imposed upon a Negro in a little known town like Yanceyville for at- atacking a white women 75 feet away, be come an international issue. In that Yanceyville case the legislative bodies in this state had enacted laws that gave4ts courts the right to impose the sen tence. However, the United States Supreme Court, established for just such occasions and purposes, declared the Negro guilty of no crime and restored his freedom. What occur red in the Yanceyville case had happened in many others involving the rights of Negroes and other minorities in this country. We think the Supreme Court of vital importance in safeguarding the rights of all the people of America and not the rights of any parti cular segment of its people as is so often the case in state courts. Such attacks on the Supreme Court, as that of the Durham Morning JIerald, only comes when its dares extend its protection to the rights of Negroes. The Dred Scott de cision in 1857 when the dictum of the Court declared that a Negro had no rights which a white man was bound to respect and the Plessy V. Ferguson case in 1896 in which the notorious “separate but equal” doctrine was established were both right because they tore from around the Negro any pro tection against the insults and abuses of segregation and robbed him of human dignity. In those decisions the Court did not, according to the version of the Herald, “take to itself super-legislative powers.” It did not do then “what is the proper duty of legislative bodies.” It is on ly when there is a conviction that the Court will bestow upon Negroes the “equal” part of the “separate but equal” doctrine, that ' consternation reigns in the hearts of that element of white people which is afraid that the idea of a master race and the theory of being superior cannot survive under the sunlight of true democracy. It i» then and only then that the Court is held as over stq>ping its bounds and accused of ‘sociologi cal Jurisjrudence.’ tlw Hexalo would put the matter of aboMshiiig segregation or upholding it solely in the hands of legislative bodies which are not for the most part made of the quality of persons, in training and experience, who comprise the Supreme Court. It would vest the power in them and them alone to deny or give to minority groups in this country their Constitutional rights as citizens. We think this in itself would necessitate the abolishing of our Supreme Court which in the end would leave the protection of the rights of Americans in the hands of^he legis- tive and executive departments of our government, a state of affairs, the imagina tion of which, should cause all freedom lov ing men and women in this country to trem ble. For we, and the Herald, are not so naive to think that our system of representative government is in any degree perfect. It is, rather, full of imperfections. Our national representatives, the U. S. Congress, and our state representatives, the various state legis latures, do not, all of our chauvinistic slogans like “representatives of all the peo ple” to the contrary, represent all the peo ple. In the South, for instance, one half of the eligible Negro voters are yet without the exerc^e of the privilege of voting. Oh yes, we are aware that Negroes have an ini creased opportunity to vote in the South. But this opportunity, notwithstanding the brave and valiant efforts of men like Judge Waring, the late Harry T. Moore and humane organizations like the NAACP, has not be gun to be realized in nothing approaching it& As flg Monday, for example, Negroes in Kinston were effectively barred from the polls by Ku Klux Klan-type intimidations methods. But, even a greater factor than these in stances of disfrancisement by threats of phy sical violence is t^ie very structure of this nation’s economic system. The ownership and means for producing wealth in this coun try lie largely in the hands of the majority race, and it follows logically that the group which controls the economic system will control the pK>litical system. Negroes, and all other minorities, must depend on the majority race for their opportunity of earn ing a livelihood. This ohe weapon, control of the economic system, is the most effective one that any group can use to subordinate another group. It is the one that the major ity race in this country has used in the con tinued disfranchisement of Negroes an4 in thwarting their efforts to shake off the cloak of second class citizenship. For if a man faces a choice between eating and exer cising a Constitutional privilege, it takes no genius to figure out which choice he will make. The founding fathers of this country were prudent enough to realize that a legislative unit, subjected to political pressures, would be woefully insufficient in protecting the rights of minorities. And they, thank God, adequately prepared for just such a situation by the establishment of a supreme judicial body which is above the level of politics, one which is immune to pressure of any kind, political or economic. The members of this body, the Supreme Coiui justices, are free to demand that the provisions and guarantees of the Constitution be enacted. This body is the great hope of freedom in this country. If and when the Court rules against segre gation we think there are enough sensible white and Negro persons in the South to rise to the occasion and calmly accept the verdict and set about in a true American maimer to comply with the ruling. There is no need to preach fear, to stir up animosity and to promote discord. Democracy is on trial be fore the highest court—the teeming imllions of colored peoples of the world. They are the jury and Communism is the Judge. What our Supreme Court rules in the matter of segregation may be the die that will cast the eternal destiny of manlrinH Plans For The Filibuster On Civil Rights, Strong Leadership Can Defeat It." tOUAUTY LKAHPF OF ... ' 7 Jiff Spiritual Insight "A Teaching: Forgiveness" By REV. HAROLD ROLAND Pastor^ Mount Gilead Baptist Church “Forgive men their tresspas ses, your heavenly father toill forgive you...“6:14. Jesus taught the wisdom of a forgiving spirit. Can one real ly be a true Christian without forgiving spirit? It is an es sential spiritual virtue. For giveness is a supreme demand for the follower of the Christ. God forgives our many sins. We are, therefore, commanded to forgive sins and trespasses of our brothers. Whatever sin w^ commit God will forgive Jj How gracious and merciful u „ God toward us erring and sin ful creatures. In like manner are we to forgive those who hurt like.. The unforgiving, stubborn and sin against us. He who for gives most is most Christian- heart cannot enjoy real Com- munion with Sod nor man...“fle ye kind one to another, tender hearted, forgiving each other even as God also in Christ for gave you..” Forgiveness brings health and happiness. Thus it is very wise to have a forgiving spirit. It is simple common sense to have a forgiving spirit. Even science is confirming the wisdom of the teaching of Jesus. The enlightened doctors now tell us that forgiveness is essential to our health and happiness. Many are suffering from so Called bodi ly ailments because they have not learned the wisdom of for giveness. Jesus gave this blessed truth to the world two thousand years ago. Jesus knew that the unforgiving spirit was a deadly enemy of our health and happi ness. He saw it around him. His wn people were destroying hemselves with their resent ments and hatred toward the contemptible Roman overlord. Thus b® calls on us to forgive that we may preserve our very health and happiness. Forgiveness Essential To Health Thousands are sick and dying becaure their souls are being poisoned by an unforgiving spirit. Stop being stupid! Be wise! Cultivate a forgiving spirit that you may be healthy and happy. Forgiveness means inward peace of mind and soul. Why would you continue in a state of inward warfare? Why carry that unnecessary burden of inner WASH iNCTON AND SMALL BUSINESS et^r A question in Washington, ea- pecially among independent bui- inesimen; * • • “Jmt hew uiefnl la the Fed eral Trade CommiralonT*' * * * When the Federal Trade Com mission was established many years ago, it was the Intent ol Congress th^tFTC would set up rules for enforcement of anti trust laws. The Depart ment of Justice Is charged with prosecution ofl violations. « .. f ^ , C. W. Hard«r The FTC !■ antt tnut matters is also an inveatiratlve body, as the FBI la tai crime matter^ • * # Some observers feel further comparison between FBI and FTC would be libellous to the FBI. • * * Bat oa disolosiires pendins In Waahinfton, comparison between FBI and FTC, bearing in mind both have inveatigative fimoUoas, can be carried even further. * * * For example, no one accuses FBI of si>ending all effort invei- tigatlng who puts slugs in penny gum machines, ix^e sa)x>teurs go unnoticed. • « • Tet the FTC spends mUliona of doUsrs on case* sach as tlie foUowins: The Stewart-AUen Campany sf New Twfc makes MBeUng pipes. Becenttj, the majesty of tiie FTC waa brfOfht to bear in a pnbllo hmrlns, re- ■altlns tat a deoiaion the Arm moat disclase its pipea are mann- factarsd in tbs V. I. em thoHgh the briar to impoHM. * * * NaitlMr would FBI Ur* V^os3» not believing in laws. Bat FXC BMlMt to teveatlsato pwidlin majM ptsWsaaa niMa By C. WILSON HARDER Retiring Commissioner John Carson reveals a case in j>oint Several months ago, in the Tire Case, FTC Invoked for the first time in history the maximum discount rule under authority given It by Coogreis. Tliis rule provides a limit to the preferen tial discounts that big dealers can secure over small dealers, e * * Tet, FTC has failed to enforce tta own r#iac* A Wasliinfton coart decided the FTC rnlins camiat ba eonteated nn^ the FTC eaferoea it • • • Carsonrequestefl fuHscale FTC investigati(H> of tire distributiaD. * * * Bat atraaceir eoensh, tlito waa blocked by an eoenemist hired by the FTC. This employee, Car son raporta, takaa the stand FTC doea not have time for tUs Job, althoash avery day the FTC fiads time to dwell «a trivial oaaes similar ta briar pipe nuttier. • « * V9 one knows wiiat influence, if any, an employee of the Com mission has on FTC, but the tacts are strange. * * * The ITO after makinc one of the most Important nilincs eVer made for free enterprise falia to enforce H. * e e ■^lis strange paradox does not stand alone in FTC record. • * * Otiiar RC actions are Joat aa pnssUng. For esample, after years of rsaeareh. the VTO pre pared a long, several handrad page report ea the aotlaaa a lew aukjer Amerieaa ail oom- paniea allied witt Brttiah oB In terests, In estabUahing aa allesad world petroteam oarteL TMa re- port waa then borled by the nco and re«alrad actloa by V. a. Saap atera to make It pdMo. • e • Tha FTC has great powan. • • • bansaslag otieas aa la Jaal haw. aa« iar wksas. la RO aatas thli Oaacaaaslaaid «ma* s* *awsr. tension and conflict. It will de stroy and waste your God-given powers. That unforgiving spirit is robbing you of your inner peace. Why do you cheat your* self? You are hurting nobody but yourself! Those who nurse afid liarbor the unforgiving spirit are gradually committing suicide. Your grudges, resent ments and hatreds are destroy ing your inward peace. Be wise! God has forgiven you! Forgive your brother or sister. In sincere prayer we can aichieve the spiritual blessed ness of an unforgiving spirit. It is hard for us in our pride to do this. Pride is a great enemy of the spiritual life. It is. hard to lie loving when someone maliciously and viciously hurts our tender feelings. God’s grace is sufficient. The l^attle must i^e fought on bending knees. Prayer will detlirone pride, hatred and resentment. Prayer will clear away the Holy Spirit and the Love of God will take over. In this way you can grow in the blessed spirit of forgiveness. I dare you to try it! He who truly humbles himself in prayer, can, with God’s help, subdue and conquer the UNFORGIVING SPIRIT, Be wise! Please dont let the unforgiving spirit grow in you. Face it! Dig it up and cast it out! Prayer will change things! The unforgiving spirit is a great enemy of' the spiritual life of man. Let us keep our souls free from its destructive poison. Be wise! God has for given you! You ought forgive men! LEnER TO THE EDITOe Editor Carolina Times Dr. Mills, in your letter to the Editor April 1, you made a diagnosis in error, relative to the Science of Logic. According to the Science of Logic your argument was ad ho- minem; the Latin translation meaning ^‘to the man”. Such arguments are erroneous. The American public accepts such fallacies in political cam paigns ( mud slinging, smears, etc.) because they appeal to un developed minds and act as “vote getters” wherein a debate of issues would lead to a con fusion of the general public as well as the candidate. Emotions and personal ani mosities do not prove faUe the statements of facts or opinions. Oijie opinion does not correct or prove false another. When facts are weighed against facts ' and emotions, smears, etc. are left out, then we are on the road to a better understanding of each other. Let us be Christian men who dare not stoop to ttie emotions (Please turn to Pasa 7) WITHIN And AMONG Alfred F, Andersen Dear fellow seekers....We all know the modem attitude which prides itself in holding to a purely ethical religion: no dogma, no metaphysics, no creed, no ritual. There are those Who would add that this attitude also makes for no religion. Essentially we have taken this ethical atti tude here, an attitude which passes moral yudgement on everything, which not only tries to eat of the tree of knowledge of Good and Evil, but which threatens to devour the tree itself. It is the atti tude which defies Genesis, for it says that the rest of the Garden of Eden isn’t worth a hoot without the “forbidden fruit”. It insists that man can not live a good life, and l>e responsible about it, except as he knows from experience what good looks like, tastes like, feels like, and bow it "sets” in general. It is the attitude of “testing all things”, the basic attitude of science. But aren’t there ethical dan gers in this attitude? For in stance, there is a profound ethical difference ijetween "testing all things” in order to discover new values worthy of acknowledgement, appreci ation, reverence, and identifi cation....between this and pur suing truth in order to secure pure power for the lust of it. Pure truth Seeldng has been idolized by modern science and modem philosophy. The disinterested attitude has been called the ideal attitude in truth seeking. And there is a sense in which disinterest is ethically good, disinterest in proving one particular hy pothesis as against another, disinterest in all that is ethi cally narrow ’ and arbitrary, in all that is close-minded as to new species of value yet, undiscovered, and so forth. But when this disinterest ex tends to a disinterest in some how putting our findings to good use, to the appropriate use for the particular truth uncovered, then the virtues of disinterest have been under mined. For- there is one thing, which the ethical view must maintain a vital and evange lical interest in: namely value-making and value-de veloping. The defensible ethi cal view is interested in value that it may be worshipped and developed. It is a dynamic and outgoing view. And unless this profound *etliical motive is maintained consciously and deliberately, the fruits of the seeker’s irresponsible labor is grasped by lesser minds for' egocentric and exploitive pur poses. Therefore it is not only amoral to seek truth and value with a disinterest for its development and enhance ment as ethically dictated. Be neath the presumed disinterest there is an inevitable im moral exploitative motive. We all see this process work ing today in our modem uni versities. The truth which at one time was sought for genuinely ettiical-esthetic mo tive is now t>eing sought for a sundry, lesser motive: for a degree, for prestige in a pro fession, for qualification for more pay, for the power of pure truth, etc. Thus does pure science and pure philoso phy stand morally condemn ed! Thus doek it lay itself open to be “used”, for lack of high purpose, for low purpose to build greater bombs, to wage more psychological war fare, to devise “techniques’' for accomplistiing this or that ugly and privileged scheme. We have tried, in this col umn, to keep the moral and ethieal motive foremost. We have tried to show that where as this view must always re ject the dogmatic and authori tarian attitude, it must main tain what may be called the (seemingly) supreme moral attitude: namely, the reverent and wor^ipful acknowledge ment of a working Moral Or der beyond and prior to one self by which one is humbled and which. seems morally re quired to “make sense” of the moral insight we do have. We have no set creed, but we commit ourselves (our lives) to a morally.required hypo thesis which ought to l>e true, and to which we commit our- lives to testing as long as our sense of ought dictates. And as we use it, this sense of ought grows and refines. Somewhere along the way the ethical and esthetic seems to blend and courage and rever ence is reconciled. This is our destination, fellow seekers;' the point at which your col umnist lays down his pen and stands in humble awe at the inexpressible wonder of it alll THE MER SOUTH SPEAKS By Robert Durr (FOB CALVIN NEWS SERVICE) Freedom via Slavery While talking to the Presi dent (white) of a large insur ance company (75,000 policy holders) engaged in selling buri al insurance to Negroes and for whom I serve as public rela tions counselor, he told me of the largest white owned instu'- ance company in Alabama which buried 80 per 'cent of all the whites who died in Alabama last year. He wanted me to meet an official of this huge company as he is interested in Negroes. The man to whom he referred taught at Howard College in Birmingham for 20 years, re signed to do public relations for Birmingham’s up and going Chaml>er of Commerce which refers calls for information alx>ut Birmingham’s metropoli tan area Negro population to this columnist and hence to his present position. Mr. W. B. Sowell, President of Service Insurance, recently in troduced me to Dr. Brakefield, who diuring our close to two hour conference, praised the progress made by Negro people as being more than that made by any other group in the amount of time since the Negro’s physical emancipation in 1869 by Abraham Lincoln. He observed that the white man acquired his freedom by six thousand years of fighting while black Americans got theirs through slavery and he pointed out that whereas my grandfather was a slave, I am the Editor of a newqwper and the public relations counselor of a great insurance company in the Deep South—doing a good job in a clean way so much that they regard yours truly as a part of the company I serve. My observation was that we have barely scratched the sur face becatise we have to try to endure and survive in a hostile world. 1 asked him ^iduit he would recommend as the most effective way to approach our difficulties. Dr. Brakefield replied that he did not believe in all the hulla baloo about equality l>ecau8e there is no stich thing among whites. For instance, he Would not accept an invitation to at tend a club function from the President of Liljerty National Life Insurance’s millionaire Frank Sanford, because that man could spend a couple of thousand or more to entertain a group one evening at his club or home while he, a compara tively small salanied man, could not afford it. If he Sbould ac cept Mr. Samford’s invitation, he would~want to return same. So of course, he accepts only invitations of those on his salary level so that he can return same. Hence his feeling is that even though two men are of the same color it does not mean they are of the same kind. He feels that real progress in the field of human relations is a selling job—^getting whites and blacks to first want to progress and'then finding a way to get done what ought to be done. This columnist agrees with Dr. Brakefield that the South will be UHnorrow what it is sold on wanting to Toe today. And selling the South on the above can not be done by individuals who are not what they demand of others. Rather this selling must be done by people who realize that though one group came to its present position by fighting and the other by sla- m ands that the channels of com- very, nevertheless progress de- municating facts must be kept open so that all may know the truth and find the way to go forward. Dr. Brakefield and many other southerners backed by great conc^s travel widely over the country and sell their ideas to millions of people. We need very much to make it possible for humanity loving Informed and selfless salesmen to go about on a day to day (Please turn to Page 7)
The Carolina Times (Durham, N.C.)
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April 18, 1953, edition 1
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