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SOUTHERN SCHOOL NEWS—Feb. 3. 1955—PAGE 7 Louisiana NEW ORLEANS, La. HE integration-segregation prob lem took a side seat in Louisiana this past month as a battle shaped up between political leaders over high ways and schools. At issue are: 1. An apparent move by Gov. Rob- er t F. Kennon and a number of his supporters to throw the state’s entire rich tidelands oil revenues into a gi gantic highway building program. 2. A like move, led by the forces of former Gov. Earl Long, to set aside at least 200 million dollars for a school construction program, with the aim of equalizing facilities all over the state. It has been reported that Gov. Ken non is toying with the idea of call ing the state legislature into special session in late March to consider his plan to bond some 500 million dol lars of tidelands oil revenues for a highway program. If so, it will be the second time in three months that the Louisiana legislature has gone into special session. On Jan. 3 the body opened a 12- day meeting which eventually set aside 50 million dollars for the be ginning of a highway program from present and anticipated tideland rev enues. Since that time representa tives of eastern bonding houses have said they would be willing to sell up to a one billion dollar issue for the state if it is backed by the tidelands revenues. SCHOOL PROPOSAL However, the United Committee on Education, an. organization composed of all classes of public school em ployees, has circulated a letter to state legislators asking that 212 mil lion dollars be set aside from the tidelands revenues for use in a 15- year building program. This school building program would tie in, sources say, with the survey now being made by State Sen. W. M. Rainach’s committee to main tain segregation in the state. The committee is presently conducting a survey to determine to what extent in each parish the public school sys tem is divided between white and Negro. The battle between Long and Ken non has even further political im plications, and veteran observers have concluded that if the governor calls the special session his program stands a good chance of being de feated. Meanwhile, on the direct question of integration of the Louisiana school system, very little has happened. Louisiana, with its legal program already established by last summer’s legislature, is apparently awaiting the next move by the Supreme Court. It was last Nov. 2 that Louisiana’s voters adopted—by almost a 4-1 ma jority—a constitutional amendment which allows the state to maintain segregation in the public schools in order to maintain “peace and fmo-t order.” The constitutional amend ment says the state claims that au thority under its inherent police powers. The Louisiana Council on Human Relations met in a forum-type work shop on Jan. 11, with representatives of five cities in the state present. It was announced that the executive di rector of the council. Milton C. Vigo, will travel through the state and set ud local human relations councils in the state’s major cities. In the course of the workshop, Miss Florence Sytz of New Orleans said, “We are also suggesting that com mittees of the membership (in the LCHR) be set up to discuss with various areas the removal of segre gation practices.” A rundown on action taken in the various cities represented was also presented. It included: SHREVEPORT The “Friendship House,” an inter racial organization, was established in February 1954. Since that time it has held various forums and inter racial meetings. However, no specific action has come from any forum. To tal attendance at the forums for the year is approximately 200 white and 300 Negro. There is still “in-effect” segrega tion in the city’s churches. Negro doctors are allowed the use of only one private hospital in the city. Miss Mary Dolan, who delivered the Shreveport report, added, “I think if there is an emergency, a Negro nurse may assist a white doc tor.” BATON ROUGE Dr. Marion Smith of the Louisiana GOV. ROBERT F. KENNON Foes in Struggle Over State University faculty reported that Negroes are admitted “with no discrimination whatever” to the LSU Graduate School. He also reported that one Catholic Church integrated its small school on an experimental basis two years ago. He added that while some white persons removed their children from the school, “They have had no diffi culty with it at all.” Dr. Smith also reported, without naming specific names, that a Baton Rouge Methodist minister tried to take action opposing the recent con stitutional amendment which allowed the state to maintain segregation in the public schools. “He was dismissed and left Baton Rouge,” Dr. Smith said. THIBODAUX The Rev. Father Drolet said, “I see no improvement in race relations since 1940, which is the last time I was in Thibodaux before recently being sent there.” “There is no sizeable middle class population of Negroes. “The economic problems involved with our sugar cane industries are holding up progress.” LAKE CHARLES The Rev. Carl Lueg reported a “more tolerant” attitude toward in tegration in his area. “We have an air base where there EX-GOV. EARL LONG Use of Oil Revenues is no segregation which might help to bring about a better attitude,” he said. He also added that race relations are also being bettered by the work of the different managers of indus tries in the Lake Charles area. NEW ORLEANS Rabbi Emil Leipziger cited as “the most constructive thing” from the New Orleans Committee on Race Re lations—the predecessor of the Lou isiana Council on Human Relations— the integration of teachers in insti tutes. He added that the committee had obtained swimming pools for Negro parks, and that partially because of the committee’s stand, Negro police officers have been added to the New Orleans Police Department. Meanwhile, the Rt. Rev. Msgr. Charles A. Plauche, chancellor of the Archdiocese of New Orleans, in a public address, asked for the “elimi nation of segregation in (an) order ly fashion.” He said it was the duty of all “re sponsible members of the commu nity” to accomplish the change. “I would appeal to all responsible members of the community not to rebel against constituted authority or to waste time in useless gestures of defiance,” he said before a meet ing of the New Orleans Young Men’s Business Club. “I submit that there is no accept able moral alternative to the con demnation of segregation of the Ne gro and the acceptance of integration of the races in public and semi-pub lic institutions and agencies,” he said. “There remains, however, the deep-seated ingrained aversion to a change in our Southern social pat tern that has been installed into us from earliest childhood. “Try, as we may, it remains very difficult to accept the justness of the principles here stated, and even ac cepting their justness, it is difficult to decide to do something concrete and effective about them.” “But,” he added, “. . . one must do his duty nevertheless. It is not the part of a man to recoil from an ob ligation because it is hard.” OTHER INCIDENTS New Orleans’ segregation practices have been called to public attention at least twice during the past two months. The Victory Dinner of the Demo cratic Party, along with the meet ing of the National Executive Com mittee was one case in point. The dinner itself was put on at Loyola Field House, with a local hotel de livering the food by truck and then serving it. It was learned later that downtown hotels in New Orleans re fused to hold the dinners on the grounds that two delegates attending were Negroes. The same was true of the meeting place for the national committee. The two-day gathering finally took place in the 100-seat auditorium of Inter national House. An interracial meeting was held during the visit to New Orleans of Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt in the small YWCA in downtown New Orleans. Loyola University, which offered the use of its field house to the Dem ocratic Party, has been a leader in doing away with integration prac tices. The school is now accepting basketball games with teams that have Negro plavers on their rosters, and no segregation is followed in the sale of spectator tickets. Thus, the Sugar Bowl basketball tournament which was held in the field house, had an integrated audi ence, and it is reported that next year teams will be invited regardless of race of players. However, the Sugar Bowl football game which olays in Tulane Stadium, still has a color line and will not in vite a team that has a Negro player. Texas ^ AUSTIN, Texas QOV. ALLAN SHIVERS dropped four words into his prepared re- m arks on the school segregation Problem in his first address to the new legislature. The words: “—and maybe not then.” The addition made his statement a s follows: No system of public education has ")ade more progress than that of e xas during the last few years. The n rted States Supreme Court’s seg regation decision has created confu- j 10n and uncertainty as to the fu- re, but we must not allow that to amper our present program of im provement. Mr j recommend that no change be ade in 0 ur system of public educa- jj 01 } u ntil—and maybe not then—the nited States Supreme Court gives us c °mplete mandate.” Gov. Shivers has advocated keep- gj ^Srsgation i n the public schools, wh ” 6 ^ as s P°ken oot against those . 0 ' v °uld abolish public education Attain that goal. ^legislation yet Tex 6r * Wo wee ^ s in session, the on as legislature has done nothing t a tj Se ^ re S a ti°n. One member has ten- lain f ^ ra ^ s °f a proposal to main ly - 0Ca * °PLon segregation, but has d a «*d from introducing it pending tes^, 0 Pments in the Supreme Court Tey?'! are being taken to improve * as Negro colleges. e*- ^foor Shivers recommended of p r . § a constitutional program buj]d° Vlc ^ n 8 money for state college Goiy e include Texas Southern rsj ty and Lamar Technological College at Beaumont. These two be came state colleges after the present building-tax program was adopted. The state levies a tax of five cents on $100 property value for the pur pose, dividing income according to enrollment at each place. This resolution has been introduced by Rep. Max C. Smith of San Marcos and others. It also would permit the University of Texas regents to in vest its endowment fund in selected private stocks and bonds. Since Texas A&M College shares in the income from this fund (receiving one-third) Texas Ban On Mixed Bouts Ended By Court AUSTIN, Texas Texas’ 22-year-old ban on profes sional boxing and wrestling matches between whites and Negroes has ended. The state supreme court refused to review a lower court decision favor ing I. H. (Sporty) Harvey, a San Antonio Negro fighter who claimed that his right to earn a living was in jured by the prohibition on mixed matches. The ban was contained in a law passed in 1933, which ended a long period during which all professional boxing was outlawed. M. B. Morgan, state labor commis sioner and supervisor over boxing and wrestling, said that he would do nothing to stop mixed matches in view of the court’s decision. He said no appeal to the United States Su preme Court is planned. Mixed amateur matches had been held by sponsors of amateur tourna ments. it would benefit Prairie View A&M also. Prairie View is a part of the Texas A&M system. The investment now is restricted to government bonds, and sponsors say that income could be increased by millions of dollars by safe invest ments in private corporate securities. The fund totals about 200 million dollars. Prairie View now receives 5% per cent of the monev allocated to 17 state colleges for buildings. The present appropriation will permit Texas Southern, after next August, to use for buildings all money it collects as fees. Other schools are required to spend the fee collections for general operating expenses. HIGHER TUITION ASKED Gov. Shivers recommended doubling the tuition at all state col leges, and a bill for the purpose has been introduced by Rep. J. O. Gill- ham of Brownfield. The present fee of $25 per semester was set during the early-thirties depression. Doubling the fee would net about $3,750,000 a year more money. The governor also recommended increasing taxes upon motor fuel by two cents a gallon (to six cents) and on cigarettes by one cent a package (to five cents). This would provide nearly 15 million dollars a year more for public schools and more than 53 million dollars for other purposes, mainly highways. Increasing enrollment will add eight million dollars to the state’s ex penditure for public schools in 1955- 56 and 16 million dollars more dur ing the second year of the biennium (a total of 24 million dollars above current expenditures). The increase for 1954-55 was even greater, because of a $402 increase in base pay for Texas teachers (to $2,804) and extra allowances to local schools for other purposes. The governor recommended a change in the plan of distributing state school funds. He said allocations should be based upon enrollment rather than census. If done, Mr. Shiv ers said, the saving in state funds would run nearly four million dol lars a year. Most of the state’s out lay for schools is based upon “aver age daily attendance.” Both the governor and the legisla tive budget board recommended in creased allowances for Prairie View and Texas Southern, although the legislators tried to keep their budget estimates within funds available from present taxes. Prairie View spent $1,444,654 last year (1954). The legislative budget board recommended increasing this to $1,773,937 next year (governor’s budget: $1,651,952). HOUSTON, Texas Dr. R. O’Hara Lanier, president of Texas Southern University, has been elected an alternate delegate from the Episcopal Diocese of Texas to the church’s 1955 convention at Hono lulu. The well-known educator is the first Negro ever to be chosen by the Texas diocese for such honor. Four ministers and four laymen were chosen as delegates; and four minis ters and four laymen as alternates. Dr. Lanier is in the latter group and will attend the convention in event of a vacancy in the regular delega tion. Dr. Lanier is a former United States minister to Liberia. Texas Southern University spent $1,239,598 last year. The legislative budget board recommended $1,534,029 for 1955-56 (one year) and the gov ernor recommended $1,513,915. The legislative board also suggest ed setting up a special $200,000 fund for all state colleges, authorizing gov erning boards to pay teachers of ex ceptional merit more than the regu lar salary scales. There would be no top limit upon salary, but the special pay would be restricted to 10 per cent of a faculty. Rep. Charles Murphy of Houston is again sponsoring a bill to provide for a Negro majority on the nine- member Texas Southern Board. Since the college was created in 1947, its governing board has included four Negroes and five white members. The legislature two years ago failed to pass the Murphy bill. The election came after the Right Rev. Henry Knox Sherrill of New York City, presiding bishop, had or dered the convention transferred from Houston to Honolulu, after re ceiving protests that the Houston convention could not be held on a non-segregated basis. Bishop Sherrill’s action brought a protest from Rev. Clinton S. Quin, who has announced he will retire next Oct. 31 after 37 years as head of the Episcopal Diocese of Texas. Quin said that the Rev. Mr. Sher rill has disregarded a vote of the general convention making Houston the site and had made the change “in an unstatesmanlike manner,” ac cording to news reports. Negro Chosen Episcopal Delegate
