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SOUTHERN SCHOOL NEWS—Jan. 6, 1955—PAGE 3 Arkansas LITTLE ROCK, Ark. THEN the Arkansas General As sembly convenes Jan. 10 for its biennial legislative session, schools and money will be one of its chief problems. The state department of education, supported by professional and lay groups in the field of education, is seeking an additional $12,500,000 a year from state sources to finance a minimum educational program which would include large steps toward equalizing salaries of white and Ne- i gro teachers and toward equalizing : facilities for the two races. If the department persuades the i legislature to increase its budget from the present $29,500,000 a year to 42 I million dollars a year, the legislature i may have to do one of several things i to raise that much money—increase the sales tax from 2 to 3 per cent, put the state into the liquor business on a monopoly basis, increase several taxes already in effect, create new taxes, put the state back into the property tax field or overhaul the 1 property assessment system. ; Not all of the $12,500,000 would go 1 for equalization of facilities and sal aries between races. A substantial * portion would be used to reduce dif— * ferences between rural and urban 1 districts. COMMITTEE POSITION On this point, the United Commit- 1 tee for Better Schools, a lay group supporting the education depart- r ment’s request, headed by Hugh B. s Patterson, Jr., publisher of The Ar- karisas Gazette, says: “The disparity between white and s Negro schools in Arkansas has its 1 counterpart in the inequalities be tween urban and rural schools, i “There are counties in Arkansas in l which the best white schools, by any standard of comparison, are inferior . to the worst Negro schools in some of D our larger cities. Q “While the May 17 decision of the a Supreme Court in no way alters the impact of the significant disparity of funds available for the education of the children among the various school it t districts of the state, it does bring the problem more sharply into focus and clearly defines the alternatives; on the one hand, the increasing of the financial support for education; or on the other hand, the reducing of the educational services provided white children in order to equalize the serv ices provided the Negro children.” The additional $12,500,000 figure in cludes $1,370,000 which should be allotted to districts for capital outlay. The state education department would allocate this money to districts that are financially unable to con struct new buildings to eliminate the gap between white and Negro facil ities. The $1,370,000 would provide the annual principal and interest pay ments for retiring about 19 million dollars of construction bonds. The $12,500,000 also includes seven million dollars which would be used to provide a salary scale with a min imum of $2,400 for teachers with the bachelor degree. The average salary for teachers in Arkansas now is about $2,260, the lowest in the nation. WIDE DISPARITY In Arkansas, Negroes represent 24.1 per cent of total school enroll ment but only 12.5 per cent of the value of school property is available to them. The difference between the average annual salary for white and Negro teachers now is about $400, but the disparity is much greater in some school districts. Arkansas leaders in the campaign for additional school funds are point ing out that the May 17 decision of the Supreme Court will have a se rious financial impact upon the pub lic schools, whether the Court orders gradual or immediate desegregation. “It means that school districts at least will have to equalize facilities for white and Negro students and equalize salaries for white and Negro teachers,” State Education Commis sioner Arch W. Ford said. “In some districts with heavy Ne gro school populations, the Negroes will want to keep separate facilities but they will want equal facilities,” Louisiana NEW ORLEANS, La. j JJY almost universal agreement, the integration - segregation issue rested undisturbed in this state over the Christmas-New Year’s holidays. A. P. Tureaud, attorney for the Na- ' tional Association for the Advance- j m ent of Colored People in New l Orleans, summed it up this way: It looks like everybody’s been waiting ’til the old year goes out be- °re starting anything new.” ! Despite the apparent calm, how- • ® yer > there was some activity i throughout the state. On Dec. 17, U. S. District Judge Ed- Wlr ). h 1 - Hunter, handed down a decree Charles which ordered Mc- eese State College to admit 16 Ne- Sro students. The suit was filed by Mrs. Hilda M. ’ ®mbre and five other persons, to- ‘ ."er with 10 minors living in the ■ ll C ,i nity hlcNeese State College in 7 iq?5'^ aldes > who said that on June f > 54 they applied for admission and We re denied. 1 Judge Hunter’s decree read: a cerm° rdere< ?’ adjudged and decreed t ter injunction issue in this m the t- • . at accordingly the defendai and T? uisiana State Board of Educati Presirtoi defen dants, Lether E. Fra: • rar .. and Mrs. Inez S. Moses, reg the t~, e .agents subject to the authority govern' lslana State Board of Educati ao.cj,,, r \ g anc i controlling the accepta: to the t v SIOn °t applicants for admiss Charles J °T McNeese State College, L; servants ija ” eit her through their aget their suc° r em Pl°yees, and each of the and etnn? eSsors hr office and their age re strained° yees ' ' 3e anc * they are here from ref,, • an( t Permanently enjoir to admit S1 , ng ' on account of race or col cit hen?L P -, iffs ' and any other Ne| ‘he John ,? rly qualified and situated, Charles , MaNeese st ate College, La their train?’ ™ r the purpose of receivi McNeej -J 1 ® and education in said Jo se State College. °Pinion e add ^ nter ’ s memorandl of rented? obvious importar issuers and because educ tion is perhaps the most important function of state and local govern ments, the court feels it should make this additional observation. “The decision here is limited to the material uncontroverted facts, wherein the classification is based solely upon race.” SECOND COLLEGE The order opens the doors of the second state undergraduate college to Negro students. Southwestern Louis iana Institute at Lafayette, began registering Negro students after a ruling this past summer. Suits are still pending against Southeastern Louisiana College at Hammond, and the undergraduate colleges of Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge. However, reports from Baton Rouge have it that the state attorney general’s office will appeal the rul ing of Judge Hunter in the McNeese case. Many persons contend that the actual ruling of the Southwestern case is in itself a continuation of the old “separate but equal” theory in that by the decree doors of the school were open only to Negro students from 11 surrounding parishes. In other words, many say that the school was opened to Negro students only because that area could not sup ply the Negro students with proper educational facilities. That will be the basis of the ap peal of the McNeese decision, since it opens the doors of McNeese to all Negro students in the state. The McNeese ruling may also bring another interesting situation into the public light. President of McNeese is Lether A. Frazer, who is being talked of as a possible candidate for lieutenant governor in 1956, running with Earl K. Long, former governor of Louis- Ford said. “If facilities aren’t equal, the Negroes will be going to court.” Ford said there would be integra tion in some districts next year (in addition to Charleston and Fayette ville) but that “another legislature and probably several legislatures will meet before some districts integrate.” “If districts keep separate facil ities,” Ford said, “they won’t be able just to talk about equalization. They will have to do it and comparatively soon. And we assume tthat no district will want to reduce its program for whites to achieve an equalized pro gram.” FORD GETS NEW TERM On Dec. 13, State Education Com missioner Ford was re-named by the state board of education to a second two-year term. He had been endorsed by Gov.-elect Orval E. Faubus for continuance in the job. The job usually is considered to be under patronage and Ford’s selection ap parently means that the education department’s program, including the equalization and integration phases, will not be changed. Also on Dec. 13, Marvin Bird of Earle, chairman of the state board of education, said that members of some local boards which hope to continue segregation on a voluntary basis were “upset.” They suffer from indecision, Bird said, uncertain whether they should equalize Negro and white school fa cilities or wait until the Supreme Court hands down a final ruling on its May 17 decision. Bird said the schools face two prob lems: 1. New schools might be almost ob solete because of their location if the Supreme Court should order imme diate integration. 2. The schools would face certain litigation if they have done nothing to equalize facilities when the Su preme Court remands the pending cases to federal district courts. “The only hope the schools have of maintaining segregation,” Bird said, “is on a strictly voluntary ba sis.” He said this meant that the districts would have to make Negro facilities so attractive that “the Negroes will not demand integration.” “That’s not a scare, that’s a reality,” Bird said. “However, if the districts build adequate facilities now, in most instances the new buildings will be located in Negro districts.” A ruling for immediate integration then would place the school boards in the difficult position of getting white children to attend school in a Negro section, Bird said. LEGISLATION SEEN On Dec. 16, Education Commis sioner Ford predicted that the 1955 legislature would take some action to help carry out the Supreme Court ruling on segregation. Ford said the problem virtually was out of the hands of the state board of education and that it must be solved by the legislature in co operation with local school districts. He said that if the pending cases are remanded by the Supreme Court to the courts of original jurisdiction, it would mean that “the problem will be worked out on a district-by-dis trict basis and not a statewide basis.” “That means it becomes a prob lem for the legislature and the local districts, and it removes the state board from any responsibility. “The remanding of the suits back to the federal district courts will bring a significant time element into the implementation of the Supreme Court decision,” Ford said. “The time will vary from district to district in accordance with the judgment of lo cal courts. “Many districts will attempt to maintain at least substantial segrega tion by providing facilities for Negro students at least as good or better than those for white students. In such cases, equalization without integra tion can be achieved through volun tary agreements.” Ford said this meant the legislature would have “the opportunity for co operation” with local school districts in the equalization of facilities—a task which would require additional state aid of several million dollars a year. On Dec. 14, Federal District Judge Thomas C. Trimble completed at Lit tle Rock a two-day hearing on a suit based on the state hospital’s refusal to admit a Negro child in July, 1953. Judge Trimble said he probably would rule on the case in February. The suit is not concerned with seg regation in schools but some of the legal points may later be involved in school suits. The hospital contends that the child, Maurice Johnson, 11, of De troit, was not admitted because the hospital was crowded. It also con tends that the child was mentally re tarded, not mentally iff, and there fore not a proper patient for treat ment. Attorneys for the child, hand ling the case for the National Asso ciation for the Advancement of Col ored People, contend that facilities were available and that the child was not admitted because of his color. Dr. E. W Crawfis, superintendent, defended the hospital’s segregation policy as part of the treatment of mental illness. He said the hospital sought to “keep in tune” with the community. -- xnic wun Lire com- murnty trend.” He said for this rea son he followed the segregation pol icy in Arkansas where separation of the races was accepted custom. Two doctors disagreed with Dr Crawfis. he didn t think a child with a mental age level of up to four years could understand the meaning of segrega tion. 6 Dr. Earl Parsons, a Little Rock psychiatrist, testified he opposed seg regation because it was the result of abnormal thinking. “I know that I’m not popular in certain quarters for my views,” he said, “but desegrega tion—not segregation—is the reality of the times. James L. Sloan, assistant attorney general, represents the state hospital in the case. Attorneys for the child are U. Simpson Tate of Dallas, re gional NAACP attorney, and Thad D. Williams of Little Rock, also re tained by the NAACP. iana and brother of the late Huey P. Long. Earl Long has gone on record al ready as being opposed to integration of the races in the public school sys tem. Now that McNeese has been order ed to admit Negro students, there has been some speculation about the ef fect of Frazer’s dual capacity as a potential candidate and a college president. BAR GROUP PROBE The state bar association’s commit tee on grievances and ethics is con sidering briefs against two Negro at torneys charged with solicitation of clients. They are Alex Pitcher and John A. Jones, both of Baton Rouge. It is alleged that prior to the open ing of the fall school session, they approached various parents in the Scotlandville district of Baton Rouge and offered to represent them in an effort to have some 30 children ad mitted to an all-white school in the area on Sept. 3. Both sides have submitted briefs, and the committee is presently con sidering the cases. A state legislative committee study ing the integration-segregation issue, headed by Sen. Willie Rainach of Summerfield, is continuing its survey of white and Negro facilities. However, Sen. Rainach has made no public statement since last month when he hailed the passage of the state’s constitutional amendment which allows Louisiana to use the state’s police power to maintain seg regation in the public schools. Since that time, Joseph A. Davies of Arabi, who in January will take over as president of the state board of education, has said. “We will fight every case of inte gration.” The state board is an elective one, and serves in an advisory capacity, sketching general policy for the state department of education. Davies added: The State Board of Education was created by the same state constitu tion which set up segregation in the public schools. “How can we go against it? “We must follow the constitution and laws of Louisiana.” In a general discussion of segrega tion-integration trends throughout the state, Davies intimated that the state board may concede defeat in its efforts to stop Negro entrance into the state colleges. He said that, generally, the state board would concentrate its efforts to stop integration in the grade school and high school levels. OTHER TRENDS NOTED Three minor trends were also noted over the past month in the New Orleans area. Two Negro citizens of New Orleans declined to accept appointment to Mayor Morrison’s Negro Advisory Committee. Creation of such an ad visory group was authorized by the city’s new charter, which was official" ly adopted May 1. Tureaud, New Orleans NAACP at torney, said, “We don’t know what that committee is, and what it’s go ing to do. It hasn’t even held a meet ing yet. “What does the mayor want us to recommend? That we keep quiet?” U. S. Congressman, F. Edward Hebert, from the First Congressional District of Louisiana, has announced the hiring of Gilbert Porterfield, a New Orleans Negro, to his staff. Hebert’s announcement of the ap pointment said Porterfield was being hired “in an effort to expedite the handling of matters which concern Negroes on the congressional level.” Loyola University of New Orleans, which five years ago ended segrega tion in its undergraduate ranks, let it be known that its giant new field house (6,500 capacity) would not be closed to any person because of race. The university has not made an of ficial statement doing away with seg regation, but university officials have recently sanctioned basketball games between Loyola and teams that have Negro players. And the university’s officials have generally let it be known that they will make no effort to segregate blocs of seats for white and Negro. Since the Sugar Bowl’s famed bas ketball tournament will henceforth be played at the Loyola Field House, this also means that teams with Ne gro players will be invited to the tournament. In past years, teams invited to the Sugar Bowl basketball tournament which had Negro players quietly left their Negro players at home. Generally, however, the situation around the state is calm and quiet. There has been no announcement of any new legislative plan to insure segregation. Indeed, there seems to be a general belief that Louisiana will base its opposition to the desegrega tion ruling on the constitutional amendment adopted by a 4-1 margin last Nov. 2. Specifically, the amendment would allow the state to preserve segrega tion by using its police power under the constitution “to promote public health, morals, better education, peace and good order.” Any other legislation would require a special session of the legislature. And because of a current battle be tween Gov. Robert Kennon and other political leaders over a highway building program, there is very little indication that the governor would call the legislature into session for any reason, lest that body be side tracked into a fight over the road building program. The next regularly scheduled meet ing of the Louisiana Legislature is in May of 1955—but that session will be limited specifically to fiscal mat ters, and will last for only 30 days. The governor is also prohibited from calling a special session 30 days before or 30 days after the fiscal ses sion.