SOUTHERN SCHOOL NEWS—March 3, 1955—PAGE 7
Georgia
Georgia House Leaders
ADMINISTRATION LEADERS of the Georgia House of Representatives,
Floor Leader Denmark Groover Jr. of Bibb County (left) and Speaker Marvin
Moate of Hancock County in a jubilant moment.
/ANLY one law designed to help
” prevent mixing of the races in
Georgia schools was passed by the
state legislature in a 40-day session
which had convened with the pas
sage of laws aimed at strengthening
segregation a primary objective.
The Georgia General Assembly
adjourned until next January after
Gov. Marvin Griffin, in a surprise
move, decided to let two bills, pre
viously labeled “must” for anti
integration defense, remain on the
calendar but not come up for action
at this session.
Political observes, however, ex
pect the legislature to be reconvened
in a special session for tax-raising
purposes this summer and measures
dealing with segregation now on the
calendar, as well as new proposals,
could be taken up at that time.
A number of resolutions designed
to express Georgia’s opposition to the
U. S. Supreme Court decree outlaw
ing segregation in the public schools
were adopted and there is no doubt
that the Griffin administration, had
it wished, could have obtained ap
proval of other laws recommended
by the Georgia Education Commis
sion.
The Commission, an all-white
group of citizens from private and
public life appointed by former Gov,
Herman Talmadge to study ways and
means of circumventing the court
ruling, had made three recommenda
tions to the legislature.
FELONY LAW PASSED
Only one, a law making it a felony
for any school official of the state
or any municipal or county systems
to spend tax money for public schools
in which the races are mixed, was
passed. The law fixes punishment
for violation at two years imprison
ment plus liability for the money
expended.
The bill originated in the Senate,
and, pushed by administration lead
ers, whipped through easily. In the
House, only two votes were regis
tered in protest.
The House gave the bill the re
quired constitutional majority, 105
to 2, on a show of hands. Rep. C. C.
Perkins of Carroll County, who au
thored a number of proposed meas
ures dealing with segregation during
the session, jumped up to demand a
roll call after counting of the show
of hands. This is a time, he said,
when men ought to stand up and be
counted. Rep. Denmark Groover Jr.,
of Bibb County, House floor leader,
extended thumbs-down on the re
quest and, after a conference, the
roll call plea was withdrawn.
The two House members voting
egeinst the bill were Rep. Hamilton
Lokey of Fulton County (Atlanta)
®nd Rep, Bernard Nightingale of
Glynn County (Brunswick).
They warned the House that the
law would mean school officials
could not honor teacher contracts if
a federal court decree orders races
[nnced in any Georgia school, adding
net it might be difficult to hire
qualified teachers in that event.
Under wording of the bill, the
cgislators opposing it said, the mem-
bers °f the General Assembly them-
j v es would be guilty of a felony
or appropriating money for a school
et subsequently was ordered to
eccept both white and colored stu
dents.
“This bill does nothing except
wvf 6 3 re ^ an( f dare the people
, 0 would attack our system to go
ea d, ’ Lokey said in debate.
0: [HER BILLS SHELVED
l a ^ne commission had also suggested
^(1) Permit school superintendents
assign individual students to
(2i sc ^°°f s i n their districts,
ere * Allow local school boards to
ate school districts and amend and
® r them at any time,
the Pv had urged adoption of
0 _ proposals in his traditional
s ktti ^ me ssage before a joint ses-
g °f the House and Senate,
dt the strategy changed,
pg ® first recommendation was
die ’ the Senate but allowed to
a House committee,
bottif, sec °nd proposed law was
Wa- . dp in the Senate where it
° n ginally introduced.
A Griffin administration executive
department aide gave a clue to the
strategy switch by commenting that
any legislation short of the private
school plan, approved by voters as
a last resort weapon against integra
tion in the Nov. 2 general election,
would be useless and perhaps even
dangerous to the cause of continued
segregation.
“These things are subterfuges and
the court may strike them down,” he
said. “Every time we suffer a reverse,
we lose ground. We also run the
risk of gradually softening people
up to accept non-segregation.”
‘BOOBY TRAP’ SEEN
A high state official, commenting
on the decision not to make the
school districting proposal a law, said
it contained a real “booby trap” in
that it might actually have forced
mixing of white and colored chil
dren in schools in some districts.
He explained that the bill provided
for a district to have only one school,
and population dispersals, especially
in large cities, might present insur
mountable gerrymandering prob
lems. He pointed out to the governor
that such a district could have only
one school, the official further elab
orated, and it might turnout to be
a mixed one. After this, the bill was
dropped.
Gov. Griffin said he thought Geor
gia’s position on segregation is
stronger without the legislation than
it would be with it.
House floor leader Groover said
the administration is anxious not to
create laws that might be killed later
by Supreme Court action.
The legislature, under Groover and
Speaker Marvin Moate of Hancock
County in the House and Sen. How
ard Overby of Hall County, floor
leader in the Senate, was well con
trolled by the administration and
the decision not to push the other
two GEC recommendations was un
doubtedly made for strategic rea
sons and not from any fear of defeat.
OTHER ACTIONS
In other activities dealing with the
segregation issue, the legislature:
• Kept bottled up in committee
a bill introduced by Rep. Perkins
which would have provided penal
ties of $2,000 in fines or 18 months
imprisonment or both for persons or
companies taking part in or spon
soring participation by white and
Negro athletes in any contest. The
bill would have applied the same
penalties to mixed dancing. Such a
law would have affected at least two
baseball clubs in the South Atlantic
League and several in the Georgia
State League who have used Negro
players in past seasons. Bill Terry,
president of the South Atlantic
League, commented that action
would “be up to the local clubs and
I’m sure they wouldn’t try to buck
it.” Bill Estroff, president of the
Georgia State League, said such a
law “would set us back 20 years.”
• Allowed to remain in commit
tee another bill by Rep. Perkins
which would have made it a misde
meanor for school officials to pay
salaries to teachers who refuse to
take oaths that they won’t teach
mixed classes. School officials would
not comment publicly on the meas
ure but, privately, they said it was
“superfluous” since another law
makes spending tax money on mixed
schools a felony. “Just more expen
sive paperwork” for the state, com
mented one official.
• Adopted a resolution com
mending E. N. Claughton, manager
of a Miami, Fla., hotel, for ordering
24 Republican Negroes to leave his
hotel at a mixed Lincoln Day GOP
dinner.
• Urged Congress to require
U. S. Supreme Court justices to have
at least five years of judicial ex
perience before appointment, a slap
at Chief Justice Earl Warren who
presided when the court handed
down its historic ruling against
segregation.
• Extended the life of the Geor
gia Education Commission, a body
empowered to plan means of cir
cumventing the ruling requiring
integration.
• Called on Congress to amend
the U. S. Constitution in order to
prevent mixing of the races in mili
tary service.
• Urged Congress to amend the
Federal Constitution to mak£ states
solely responsible for their school
policies.
• Commended Rep. E. L. For
rester of Georgia’s Third Congres
sional District for introducing
legislation in the U. S. House to
prohibit federal courts and agencies
from exercising powers over state
school systems.
• Asked the U. S. Senate not to
confirm the appointment of Judge
John Marshall Harlan to the U. S.
Supreme Court, terming such an ap
pointment “an insult to the South.”
A lone voice in dissent was raised in
the House. Rep. Lokey said mem
bers of the legislature did not know
enough about Judge Harlan and
should not judge a man on hearsay
statements. Georgia’s two senators,
Richard B. Russell and Walter F.
George, he said, were qualified to
decide upon Harlan’s qualifications.
FORRESTER’S BILL
Rep. Forrester’s bill giving states
sole jurisdiction over their school
systems was introduced in the U. S.
House of Representatives Feb. 8. It
was originally suggested by Georgia
Atty.-Gen. Eugene Cook in a speech
before the National Association of
Attorneys General.
“The passage of this bill,” Forrester
said, “Would be the complete an
swer to the threat or fact, as the
"case may be, that the federal gov
ernment is beginning or trying to
regiment education.”
Gov. Griffin expressed “delight”
over the proposed legislation and
commented: “The framers of the
Constitution were clear in their in
tent to leave education to the several
states. States build the schools, they
pay the cost of maintaining these
schools and the states should operate
the schools.”
Another Georgia congressman,
Rep. James Davis of Atlanta, in
troduced a bill before the U. S.
House to revoke an anti-segregation
order in the District of Columbia
fire department. Davis said that the
District Commission had put through
the anti-segregation ruling while
Congress was recessed last summer
and had no opportunity to voice its
sentiments. Integration of white and
colored firemen had followed the
ruling with several promotions made
without benefit of civil service ex
aminations, Davis said. A second
related measure he introduced pro
posed that the Civil Service Com
mission be requested to hold com
petitive examinations for filling
officer posts in the Washington fire
department.
OFFICIALS TESTIFY
Four Georgia education officials
testified before a Senate Labor
Committee hearing in Washington
in behalf of proposed emergency
legislation for school building assist
ance. The witnesses were Jim
Cherry, superintendent of DeKalb
County schools; Claude Purcell, as
sistant state school superintendent;
William H. Shaw, Muscogee County
school superintendent, and W. Paul
Sprayberry of Marietta, president of
the Georgia Education Association.
Sen. George H. Bender of Ohio, a
member of the committee, asked
Cherry if he thought states opposing
the Supreme Court integration de
cision are entitled to federal money
for school building needs. Cherry
replied that integration of the
schools would not decrease the total
number of pupils and Georgia in
tends to take care of all her school
children.
Later in the hearings, Sen. Bender
again touched on the integration
question. The transcript recorded the
following exchange between Ben
der and Shaw:
Bender: “Since the Supreme
Court decision, what are you doing
about the Negro children in Georgia?
. . . You have separate schools?”
Shaw: “The state of Georgia re
quires that, Senator.”
Bender: “Are you going to respect
the Supreme Court decision or are
you going to adopt a private school
system?”
Shaw: “An amendment was passed
which would give the legislature the
right to give money to citizens to go
to schools of their choice.”
Bender: “But certainly we would
not be in a position, with the Court
being the last word, to provide
money for schools in some of the
states that are adopting this manner
of procedure ... I imagine that in
any bill that is passed by this com
mittee or by Congress an amend
ment will be offered, an anti-segre
gation amendment ... I might as
well be direct with you.
The Washington committee hear
ings ended with predictions that
efforts would be made to include in
the school aid bill provisions that
no federal funds be made available
to assist in the construction of edu
cational facilities in segregated areas.
Sen. Irving M. Ives of New York
and Sen. Bender said they favored
an anti-segregation condition in the
school aid bill.
Sen. McNamara of Michigan op
posed an anti-segregation require
ment.
OTHER COMMENTS
The Associated Press reported on
comments of other members of the
committee:
Sen. Purtell of Connecticut said
he thought school aid legislation
should be for the benefit of “all
children, not just white children.”
Sen. Murray of Montana said he
believes the controversy is a sepa
rate issue that should be fought out
later.
Sen. Hill of Alabama said, “I think
we can get a bill through without
having to go into that issue.”
Sen. Smith of New Jersey said,
“The subject is a much broader one
than can be dealt with simply by
including a paragraph in any leg
islation. It depends on how the Su
preme Court handles the question of
how and when to put its decision
into effect.”
SCHOOL LEADERS WARNED
As Georgia school leaders met in
Atlanta to present state school needs
to the legislature, they were warned
they must help maintain segregation
in the classrooms if they want co
operation from the state board of
education.
The school leaders outlined a
multi-million dollar expansion plan
called the Adequate Program of
Education in Georgia to a group of
joint House and Senate committees.
The report was sponsored by rep
resentatives of the Georgia School
Boards Association, Georgia Educa
tion Association and Georgia Con
gress of Parents and Teachers.
Following the presentation, George
P. Whitman Jr., a member of the
state board who has been sharply
critical of educators for their fail
ure to submit plans for segregation
to the board and to the Georgia
Education Commission, declared:
“We are going along with you on
selling this program but the ad
ministration and the board are going
to insist on adequate education in
segregated schools.”
Meanwhile, former Gov. Talmadge,
who stepped out as chief executive
of the state in early January, has
kept himself in the public eye. The
Supreme Court decision on segrega
tion is criticized regularly in Tal-
madge’s political paper, The States
man, and the former governor has
made references to the decree in
several speeches, stating that the
court has set itself up as “a glorified
board of education.”
OTHER DEVELOPMENTS
In late January, the Episcopal
Council of the Diocese of Atlanta
adopted a resolution that racial
segregation is un-Christian. The res
olution, which passed unanimously
read:
“Be it resolved that the question
of segregation is not a problem
within the Episcopal church in the
diocese of Atlanta, and be it further
resolved that we affirm the Christian
principle of the brotherhood of man
under the fatherhood of God which
means segregation on the basis of
race alone is inconsistent with the
principles of Christian religion.”
In other segregation developments
in Georgia, a special referendum in
Forsyth was held to decide if Ne
groes could use the balcony of the
town’s only movie theatre. The vote
was 446 to 196 in favor of the balcony
seating arrangement. Whites voted
315 for and 193 against. Negroes
voted 131 for and 3 against.
The election was called after a
controversy developed when the
new owner of the Rose Theatre, P. E.
Shave, obtained a court order per
mitting opening the balcony to
colored patrons. The order generated
so much debate that Shave closed
the theatre during the Christmas
holidays.
Prior to the election, about 40 in
dividuals and business firms, in
cluding seven local ministers, issued
a joint public statement in favor of
allowing Negroes in the theatre
balcony.
In Atlanta, construction of the
South s first Negro-operated post
office was begun. Designated “Sub
station B,” it will serve approxi
mately 53,000 residents. Although it
will be operated by Negroes and
will be located in a Negro neighbor
hood, said Acting Postmaster Burl
F. Sanders, it will serve the needs of
anyone caring to patronize it.
