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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