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f PAGE 2 GEORGIA BULLETIN THURSDAY, APRIL 9, 1964 THE SENATE DEBATES Explanation Of Various Tides In Civil Rights Bill The United States Senate Is debating a Civil Rights Bill whose importance to the country can hardly be ov*rstressed. Its major provisions are meant to assure all citizens equal rights in voting, education, employment, Federally- assisted programs, and access to such public places as hotels, restaurants, theaters, libraries and parks. To accomplish this, the bill would give the Justice Department additional powers, would establish two new agencies (an Equal Employ ment Opportunity Commission and a six-man Community Relations Service), and would ex tend the life of the U S. Civil Rights Commis sion another four years. The provisions of the bill have been widely misrepresented, but, happily, the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights has issued a pam phlet that supplies “fact and sober comment” on the measure. The Leadership Conference is com posed of more than 80 national organizations interested in winning passage of the rights bill. Among them are the National Council of Cath olic Men. the National Council of Catholic Wom en, the National Catholic Social Action Confer ence, the National Catholic Conference for In terracial Justice, many Protestant and Jewish groups, and labor organizations and civic groups — all of them most reputable. Sharing as we do the sense of urgency at tached by the Administration and these and other agencies to the Civil Rights Bill, we avail ourselves of this pamphlet and reprint below a condensed version of the conference’s summary of the bill and of questions pertaining to it. The summary correctly points out that the bill does not attempt to abolish prejudice by law. It notes that a man has a right to his in dividual prejudices. But he does not have the right to translate them into actions that deny or infringe on the rights and liberties of others. Summaries of the 11 major titles or sections of the Civil Rights Bill, plus answers to related questions, follow: TITLE 1 . . . PROTECTING VOTING RIGHTS To further protect voting rights in Federal elections, this title would prohibit: (1) applying different tests and standards to White and Colored voters; (2) the denial of registration for immaterial errors made in applications. It also would require all literary tests to be given in writing or to be transcribed. Question: Is there really widespread dis crimination against Negro voters? In a government sampling of counties in former Confederate states, it was found that some counties had more registered White voters than there were Whites in the county, while no Negroes were registered. In a typical county of this sort, the White population over 21 totaled 2,624, yet there were 2,810 regia- tered White voters. None of the qualified Nc- gro population of 6,085 was registered. Other government samplings revealed that in 100 counties of the Deep South, 89 per cent of all Whites of voting age were registered, and only 8.3 per cent of the Negroes. Question: Can’t this be explained by apathy on the part of Negroes? In Belzoni, Miss., the minister who led a Negro voting drive was shot down on the courthouse steps in broad daylight by men who warned him against carrying on his campaign. In Gadsden County, Fla., 300 Negro teachers were told they would lose their jobs if they tried to vote. In Selma, Ala., last year, hun dreds of Negroes ran a gauntlet of armed state troopers and stood in line eight hours without food or water in an attempt to register. In Fayette County, Tenn., many Negroes who reg istered lost their jobs. It is true that even in places where Ne groes can register freely, registration is some times Ibw and apathy may be part of the rea son. But it is only part. Intimidation is suffi ciently widespread that the U.S. Civil Rights Commission, in 1963, said it believes “the right to vote, in large sections of the South, is still denied to many citizens solely because of their race.” Question: To what extent does this pro vision apply to state and local elections? Although it is primarily directed against discriminatory practices in Federal elections for president, vice-president, senators and rep resentatives, the provision would include any election held “solely or in part for the pur poseof choosing such candidates. Thus, in some cases it would apply to state and local elections. Question: Doesn’t the bill interfere with a state’s right to set voter qualifications? No. It merely prohibits states from setting different standards for Negroes and Whites voting in Federal elections. The states would continue to be free to establish any voter qual ifications they please so long as they apply them equally to all citizens. TITLE 2 . . . RELIEF AGAINST DISCRIMINATION IN PLACES OF PUBLIC ACCOMMODATION This title would prohibit discrimination in most hotels, motels and other lodging places; in restaurants, cafeterias and other eating places; in motion pictures houses, theaters, sports arenas and other places of exhibition and entertainment; in gas stations and in such places as specialty shops and barber shops in hotels covered by the bill and in stores with eating facilities covered by the bill. The complaintant or the U.S. Attorney General would be able to enforce these rights through injunctions or other civil actions. There is a specific exemption for small rooming houses with no more than five rooms to rent and used by the proprietors as their own residences. Question: Does the provision apply to doc tor's offices? No. It does not affect doctors, dentists, law yers or others offering the public professional services. Question: What about private homeowners? CANADIAN BISHOP The bill contains no provision whatsoever that would affect the sale or rental of private homes. Question: Why are public accommodations such a burning issue? Because no other form of discrimination touches people so directly in every aspect of their daily lives. A Negro official pointed out that a simple vacation trip can become a har rowing nightmare if one is Colored. “Where and under what conditions can you and your family eat? Where can they use a rest room? Will your children be denied a soft drink be cause they are not White? Can you stop driv ing after a day behind the wheel or must you continue on until you reach a city where rela tives or friends will accommodate you for the night? The players in this drama of frustra tion and indignity are not commas or semi colons in a thesis. They are people, human beings, citizens of the United States of America.” TITLE 3 . . . DESEGREGATION OF PUBLIC FACILITIES The Attorney General would be empowered to initiate or intervene in. suits aimed at de segregating public facilities other than schools — such as parks, libraries, hospitals and play grounds — where the injured party is unable to pursue the remedy. He also would be au thorized to intervene in private actions brought by persons seeking relief from a denial of equal protection of the law because of race, cfeed, color or national origin. Question: Why is this provision needed? Violations of laws against segregation con tinue to be widespread. Public beaches, hos pitals, parks, reading rooms and other public facilities are still denied to Colored citizens whose taxes help pay for them. This provision would be a new tool for opening these fa cilities. TITLE 4 . . . DESEGREGATION OF PUBLIC EDUCATION This title authorizes the Attorney General to initiate or intervene in school desegregation cases. It provides for technical assistance, grants and training institutes to help commun ities prepare for school desegregation. But it exempts from its definition of desegregation the transportation of students to end racial imbalance. Question: In view of the U.S. fupreme Court school decision, why is this provision necessary? Although 10 years have passed since the school decisions, nearly two-thirds of th*e pre viously segregated school districts still deny the rights of all children to an unsegregated education. More than 2,000 school districts still require White and Negro children to at tend separate schools. Many districts listed as “integrated” offer only token integration. Question: Could the government require the reorganization of school districts or the bussing of students to eliminate racial imbalance caused by residential segregation? The local school board cannot be compelled to do anything it does not wish to do. And, in defining “desegregation," the provision speci fies that it “shall not mean the assignment of students to public schools in order to over come racial imbalance." Question: Why is it necessary to give the U.S. Attorney General power to initiate school desegregation suits? Compliance with the Supreme Court school decisions has simply been too slow. The power in this section would enable the Attorney Gen eral to implement the law of the land and has ten the enjoyment of all citizens of their con stitutional rights. TITLE 3 ... COMMISSION ON CIVIL RIGHTS This title would extend the life of the Com mission another four years and give it addition al duties of investigating vote fraud cases and serving as a national clearing house on civil rights. Question: What enforcement powers would the commission have? None. It is essentially a fact-finding agency. Its studies provide information that Congress and public and private agencies use for in telligent planning in the civil rights field. TITLE 8 . . . NONDISCRIMINATION IN FEDERALLY-ASSISTED PROGRAMS This would prohibit discrimination in any program or activity receiving Federal assist ance under grant, contract or loan. Any de nial of funds is subject to judicial review, with a hearing guaranteed and a report to Con gress required before funds can be denied. Question: Why is the provision necessary? Although many court decisions clearly es tablish that discriminatory use of public funds is unconstitutional, such discrimination 3till continues. Suits by private taxpayers have no standing in attacking these conditions. The only recourse is Congressional or administra tive action. TITLE 7 . . . EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY Employers, labor unions and employment agencies whose activities affect interstate com merce would, under this title, be prohibited from discriminating. Coverage would apply at first to employers and unions with 100 or more em ployees or members and drop by stages to 25 after four years. An Equal Employment Oppor tunity Commission would be established to in vestigate and voluntarily settle complaints. Upon failure to settle, the Commission would be authorized to file suit to enforce non-discrimina tion. Prohibited discriminations include sex, as well as race, creed, color or national origin. Question: Wouldn’t this give Negroes pre ferential treatment over Whites in hiring and upgrading? No. Nothing in the bill permits any indi vidual to demand employment simply because of race. It contains no provision requiring an employer to set up a quota system or to main tain any kind of racial or religious balance. Its whole point is that all workers should be treated equally. Question: Doesn't the bill give the Federal government control over the employment prac- tioaa of private business?, No. Employers are permitted to set any job qualifications they wish, except those of race, religion, creed, national origin or sex (where these are irrelevant). TITLE 8 . . . REGISTRATION AND VOTING STATISTICS This title directs the Secretary of Commerce to conduct a voting census by race in roo- graphic areas recommended by the U.S. Civil Rights Commission. Question: What is the purpose of this pro vision? The census would provide data that could be used to enforce section tivo of the 14th Amendment. This amendment provides that where the right to vote in Federal or stale elections is denied, the basis of the state's rep resentation in the House of Representatives wifi be correspondingly reduced. Even if tliaf sanction is not invoked, adopting this provision would help curb abuses. TITLE 9 . . . REMOVAL PROCEEDINGS rN CIVIL RIGHTS CASES The orders of Federal courts sending certain civil rights cases back to state courts arc not now reviewable. This title would make them reviewable by appeal. TITLE 10 . . . ESTABLISHMENT OF COMMUNITY RELATIONS SERVICE This title would establish in the Department of Commerce a Community Relations Service with personnel limited to six persons. Its pur pose would be to provide assistance to communi ties trying to resolve disputes involving dis crimination that impair constitutional rights or that may affect interstate commerce. The pro vision was suggested by Southern members and added to the bill without objection during tlm House debate. TITLE 11 . . . MISCELLANEOUS: FINANCING, SEVERABILITY, PREEMPTION This title contains a number of customary provisions. One authorizes appropriations to carry out the purposes of the bill. Another says that if any provision of the act is held invalid, the rest of the act shall not be affected. A fairly standard preemption clause, added during floor debate, specifies that nothing in the act shall be construed as indicating an intent on the part of Congress “to occupy the field in which any , . . title operates to the exclusion of State laws on the same subject . . That is, where adequate state laws exist that offer protection equal to those in the bill, they will remain In effect. The federal government Is expressly forbidden to preempt the field. Hits Restrictions Over Pursuit Of Knowledge DETROIT (NC)~A Canadian Bishop warned here of “cer tain dangers" in pursuit erf new knowledge which can threaten the life of Catholic scholar ship. Bishop G. Emmett Carter of London, Ont., was keynote speaker (April 1) at the 40th annual convention of the Cath olic Library Association. SOME 1,100 delegates from the United States and Canada attended the sessions. Speaking on “Culture in an Industrialized Society," Bis hop Carter told the librarians that there Is no truth which Is not worth seeking. “The universe, we think with Christian hope, is essentially perfectable...this is the con cept laid so well before us by Pope John XX11I in his ency clical Pacem in Terris, the Ontario Bishop said. “We have to refrain from any inhibiting movement of this spirit," he continued, BISHOP Carter identified three dangers to Catholic scho larship: 1) “The practical denial of the transcendental na ture of the truth." This is man ifested, he said, by the policy of some “powers that be" that it Is much better to leave peo ple alone, In Ignorance. 2) “Exaggerated prudence In debating issues touching on the spiritual realm." He said that although the Church is divine, it is also in the hands of human beings. This sometimes en genders the Idea, he continued, that we have something to hide. Bishop Carter cited difficul ties during the first session of Vatican Council II in getting the proper publicity. With the for mation of the council press of fice, subsequent coverage has given the world an example by its frank and open debates, he said. 3) “Intellectual sluggishness due to an exaggerated sense of 'having arrived’ at the truth." Bishop Carter told the librar ians that though we have the great treasure of Revelation, it was never meant to be a point if arrival." He exhorted his listeners to “take this field of God and work, it and produce fruit which Is worthy of the sons of Abraham and of his children.” Earlier, an author, lecturer and teacher told delegates that wholesome reading is the ef fective way of offsetting the harmful Influences exerted on today’s children by the mass communications media. MAY HILL Arbuthnot, the 1964 winner of the association's Regina Medal for her “distin guished contributions to child ren’s literature,” made the ob servation In her acceptance ad dress at the awards luncheon (March 31). “Unless we can counteract the banal, the brutal and the hedonistic to which they are ex posed, how are they to grow up MOST BLESSED SACRAMENT parish’s Altar Society recently held Its annual dinner in the Parish House. The event comme morated the Feast of St. Joseph, the Society’s patron. Mrs, Catherine Young was in charge of arrangements. with any Ideals of wholesome, ha’ppy living?” she asked of children. “This is where books come to the rescue," Mrs. Arbuthnot said. She then gave examples of lit erary treasures which help build In the child his beliefs in the nobility of life. Biographies are valuable, precisely because they carry the “impact of rea lity,” she said. AT THEIRfinal business ses sion (April 3), delegates ap proved a resolution expressing their “wholehearted approval their “wholehearted approval” of the Library Service and Con struction Act, recently passed by Congress and signed by the President. The CLA also announced that its annual $600 scholarship has been awarded to Mary Lucy Franzman of Mundelein Col lege, Chicago. Miss Franzman will do graduate study in library science at Rosary College at River Forest, Ill. Contest winner for National Catholic Book Week also were disclosed. Sister Timothy of Marymount Junior High School, Los Angeles, was the winner in the elementary division while Sister Mary Stanislaus, of Xa vier University Prep School, New Orleans, took top honors in the high school level. Mrs. L. Ingenthran of Most Precious Blood Parish, Denver, won the parish level award. Next year’s convention will be held April 20 to 23 in Phila delphia. Sister Claudia, association president-elect from Mary- grove College, Detroit, will be Installed for a two-y9ar term at the 1965 meeting. FIAMKNCO DKCOR A new collection of fino. hind-forged wrought Iron and handcrafted, wood artieloa with the romantic touch of lpanieh dttigna to ploaee tho ArrlSrieen taeto. Male l* Meilie tiilmlvely ter PenAmerican Imports 10*%.Peachtree (In Buekhead) 21J-97I8 IGNATIUS HOUSE RETREATS tV JESUIT PRIESTS Weekends For Men And Weekends For Women 6700 Riverside Drive N. W. 255-0503 Atlanta*. Georgia 30328 I.A.F. CHAPLAIN—A full- fledged fireman while work ing his way through the seminary. Father Frank J. Foster (above), assistant pastor of St Benedict's Church. San Antonio, has been appointed the Interna tional Association of Fire Fighters’ first official chap lain. The son of a fire chief. Father Foster for the past nine years has been chaplain of the local city firemen’s welfare association and held a similar post with the Texas’ State Fire Fighters’ Association. The IAF is a AFL-CIO organization of 100.000 members in the United States and Canada. Famous Icon On View SANFRANCISCO (NC) — The Holy Icon of Our Lady of Ka zan, perhaps the most venerat ed of all Russian icons, will be enshrined In a Catholic church here April 12 and 13 in a display of Catholic-Ortho dox exumenlsm. Archbishop Joseph T. Mc- Gucken of San Francisco will lead the proces sion accompany ing the icon into St. Boniface church and will preside at a Divine Liturgy (Mass) in the Byzantine Rite and preach the sermon. J^in/iance in all U& i£i written, uxe wAite U . . • Sutter & McLe/lctn 1422 RHODES HAVERTY BLDG. JAckson 5-2086 WHIR! INSURANCE IS A PROFESSION NOT A SIDELINE “PET.*you betl” PET mhiRmpinv dairy DIVISION For Convenient Home Delivery In Atlanta Call 636-8677