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“SQUARED OFPW”
JACKIE NIMBLE, of junior dress fame, uses cotton taffeta
chambray in this clever style. The jacket is boxed-tucked for the
important attention to detail so necessary in fashion-right
clothes. You’ll love the crisp freshness of this new fabric that is
8o right for Spring.
sering inte SPRING
with these Red Hot Specials
Padded Ironing Boards only 3.98
| both for
JOHNSON'S - GLOCOAT and FURNITURE WAX 98:
. A only
JOHNSON'S - CAR PLATE and CAR-NU—s2.l9 value for 1,859
m
SRt o - 109
sl I e —
‘¢ RED
HODGSON'S g 3 A FERTILIZER
For Lawn and Garden For Camelias and Azaleas
100 Ib. bag Bibs. ......... ..o
w 0
s2'6o S 0 ............ =
" Now is the best time of the year to apply plant food.
“
SUNTONE (BROWN) ic SALE
. CLIDDEN ALL-PURPOSE
SKYTONE (BLUE) CLEAR VARNISH
DINNERWARE 1qt.1.69-Igt. 1c
20 Piece 54-95 1ga1.6.25-Igal. Ic
Sherlin Set
NORRIS HARDWARE (CO.
131 Clayton Street e e
AT THE MOVIES
STRAND—
Sun.-Mon.~Tues. — *“Belle of
New York,” starring Fred Astalre,
Vera Ellen. Mouse Comes To Din
ner. Newlyweds’ House Guest,
Met News.
Wed.-Thurs.-Fri.-Sat. — “Five
Fingers,” starring James Mason,
| Danielle Darrieux, Smitten Kit
ten. Met News.
GEORGIA—
Sun.-Mon, — “F. B. 1. Girl,”
starring Cesar Romero, Audrey
| Totter. Aim, Fire, Saoot. Happy
| Cobblers. Fox News. :
| Tues.-Wed.—“Mutiny,” starring
Mark Stevens, Angele Lansbury.
Blue Barron and rchestra. Dog
Gonedest Dog. "
’ Thurs. — “One Way Street,”
starring James Mason, Marta To
| ren. Teacher's Pet. News,
Fri.-Sat. — “Saddle Tramp,”
starring Joel McCrea, Wanda
Hendrix. Every Dog Has His Day.
HARLEM THEATRE (Colored)
Sun.-Mon.—“Gambling House,”
with Victor Samson’ Mature. Al
so chapter 5, Radar Man vs. Spy
King.” Disney color cartoon and
latest news.
Tues. Only — “September Af
fair,” with Joseph Cotten and
Joan Fontaine, Color cartoon.
Wed.-Thurs.—“Miracle In Har
lem,” with an outstanding colored
cast, including Stepin Fetchit.
Added: Spiritual Songs of Ameri
ca and MGM color cartoon.
Fri.-Sat. — Triple Program —
“Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye,” with
James Cagney; “Thundering
Trails,” with 3 Mesquiteers;
“Overland With Kit Carson,” with
Wild Bill Elliott. Also color car
toon.
Late Show Sat., 10:16§ p. m—
“pPanthers Claw,” with a spine
thrilling cast.
Local Colored
Church News
FIRST A. M. E. CHURCH
Cor. Strong and Hull Streets
Rev. J. Roy Moore, Pastor
Sunday School—lo a. m. Mrs.
M. L. Diggs? superintendent.
Morning Worship—ll a. m.
Evening Worship—7 p. m
THE BANNER-HERALD, ATHENS, GEOROIA
PALAOE -~
lun.-l(og.-;'ruu. 'w
the Texan, otufin{bllo
son, Joanne Dru, Gift Rapped—
cartoon. News. ' |
Wed.-Thurs.-Fri.-Sat. ~—*“Street
Car Named Desire,” mrrlng Vi
vien Leigh, Marlon Brando. cws.‘
RITZ |
Sun. — “Sea Spoilers,” starring
John Wayne, Nan Gray. Bathing
Buddies — Woody Woodpecker,
Fool and His Honey—Eddie Quil
lian. ‘
Mon.-Tues. — “Decision Before
Dawn,” starring Richard Basehart, 1
Gary Merrill, The Champ Shamp
—Tex Avery. ‘
Wed.-Thurs.—“Winchester '73”
starring James Stewart, Shelley
Winters, The Helpful Geni-—'l'er-\
rytoon. |
Fri.-Sat.—“Pecos River,” star
ring Charles Starrett, Smiley Bur
nette. Abou Ben Boogie-—Cartoon,
Mysterious Island—chapter 7. |
DRIVE-IN—
Sun.—“ Sea Hornet,” Rod Cam
eron, Adele Mara. By Leaps and
Hounds—Noveltoon,
Mon.-Tues.—“An American In
Paris,” starring Gene Kelly, Les
lie Caron, Oscar Levant. Tennis
Chump—Tom and Jerry. News.
Wed.-Thurs.—“Decision Before
Dawn,” starring Richard Base
hard, Gary Merrill. News.
Fri.—“ Phantom of Opera,” star
ring Nelson Eddy, Susanna Foster,
Claude Rains. Rooty Toot Toot—
cartoon.
Sat. — “Fighting Command,”
starring Robert Mitchum, Noah
Beery, jr. Little Quacker—Tom
and Jerry.
Our doors stand open for the
visits of our friends,
EBENEZER BAPTIST CHURCH
Chase and R~ese Streets
Rev. C. J. Gresham, Pastor
Sunday School—lo a. m.
Morning Worship—ll:3o a. m.
B. T. U—s p. m.
Evening Worship—6 p. m,
A cordial welcome awaits you
at our church.
ST. JOHN'S HOLINESS
CHURCH
Rockspring and Reese Streets
| Rev. . H. Lattimore, Pastor
Miss Marion Sheats, secretary.
) Sunday School—10:30 a. m.
. Worship Service—ll:ls a. m.
Evangelistic Service—B p. m.
Junior Church each Tuesday
evening at 8 p. m.
Prayer services at the church
eachr Wednesday and Friday
nights. &
Yr't'zfie always welcome to
come to all of our services.
MT. PLEASANT BAPTIST
CHURCH
Brooklyn
Rev. W. C. Smith, Pastor
Sunday School—lo a. m.
Morning Worship—ll a. m?
B. T.U—6 p. m. ®
Evening Worship—7 p. m.
Holy communion rites wiil be
administered today’
You are invited to worshig with
us.
GREATER BETHEL A. M. E.
CHURCH
Broad At Billups Street
Rev. T. R. Morgan, Pastor
Sunday School—lo a. m. Mrs.
Myra Wilburn, superintendent.
Morning Worship—ll:ls a. m.
Theme: “The Seven Great Won
ders.”
Evening Worship — 7 p. m.
Theme: “Come Look Upon Us.”
Prayer and Class Meeting each
Wednesday evening—B p. m.
You are invited to all of our
services.
HILLS FIRST BAPTIST
CHURCH
Reese and Pope Streets
Rev. R. B. Hawk, Pastor
Sunday School—lo a. m.
Morning Worship—ll:3o a. m.
Evening Worship—=§:3o p. m.
You are invited.
SPRINGFTELD BAPTIST
CHURCH
Fourth Street
Rev. W. H. Caldwell, Pastor
Sunday School—10:30 a. m.
Morning Worship—ll:3o a. m.
B. T. U—6:45 p. m,
Evening Worship—7:3o p. m.
Prayer Service is held at our
church each Wednesday night.
You are invited.
FRIENDSKIP BAPTIST
CHURCH
Arch Street .
Rev. J. H. Geer, Pastor
Sunday School—9:4s a. m.
Morning Worship—ll:3o a. m,
B.T. U—s p. m.
Evening Worship—T7 p. m.
Friends are always welcome.
HILLS CHAPEL BAPTIST
CHURCH
Broad and Harris Streets
Rev. Mitchell Tate, Pastor
Sunday School—lo a. m.
Morning Worship—ll:3o a. m.
B. T. U—~s p. m.
Evening Worship—T p. m.
The Lord’s Supper will be cele
brated today. -
A friendly handshake awaits
vou at our church.
(. Spurgen Taylor
Will Appreciate Your
Vote And Influence
In Behalf Of His Can
didacy For
TAX RECEIVER
Wednesday, Mch. 26.
Democratie Primary.
Why Should We Back The
& &
Athens Housing Authority
Right Or Wrong ¢
ight Ur Wrong ¢
" The following is the complete text of a speech delivered by Mr.
Paul C. Broun, Athens business man, over both local radio sta
tions on March 20, 1952, which should interest every Athenian:
I come before you as a private citizen and as a
representative of the Citizens Committee of Ath
ens, to discuss the housing crisis in ‘Athens. The
Citizens Committee is not a small clique. It speaks
for a large group of representative citizens who
are seeking to prevent a grave injustice to a num
ber of our fellow ecitizens, both white and colored.
To this end we have been joined in a petition by
more than 1,200 Athenians in requesting the Ath
ens Housing Authority to grant a public hearing
on the matter of sites for the proposed low rent
housing projects.
Why do we have a Citizens Committee and what
is the occasion for such intense public concern
over low rent housing? Here’s the background:
In July, 1951, an agreement was entered into by
the Athens Housing Authority and the Publie
Housing Administration providing for two low
rent housing projects in Athens—neot slum clear
ance, mind you, but low rent housing. Not houses
meant ot replace the worst houses in our town, but
houses designed solely for tenant oceupancy.
Sometime after this contract was made the loca
tions of the proposed sites were revealed to the
public for the first time. How did the news first
reach the homeowners who were to be affected?
It came when groups of surveyors, appraisers and
real estate agents began to prowl without request
or explanation all over this private property.
For weeks the homeowners in these areas were
kept in a state of uncertainty and insecurity and
were harassed to the edge of exhaustion. For ex
ample, one old lady, a homeowner who had no
legal assistance, was approached on Sunday with
an insistent demand that she sign papers that were
completely unintelligible to her. She refused to
sign on the Lord’s Day and the Negotiator returned
at six o’clock the following morning, before she
had arisen. She was so terrified by his insistence
that she refused to sign any papers. This was typi
cal of the methods used in approaching property
owners in these areas. In addition, threatening let
ters were written to the colored homeowners who
refused to sell the homes which they had sacrificed
to get; the prices offered them being below any
reasonable replacement cost. These colored prop
erty owners are among our most industrious and
dependable colored citizens; and have devoted a
lifetime to establishing themselves as proud home
owners. :
Feeling their inability to cope with this threat
ening situation, many of these colored citizens
sought help from their white friends and employ
ers, just as did also many of the white homeown
ers. It was as a result of these appeals from both
the white and colored homeowners that the Citi
zens Committe came into existence in the fall of
1951. This Committee circularized a petition ask
ing for a public hearing with respect to the advis
ability of the proposed sites. After over 700 Ath
eniang had signed the petition, it was presented to
Mayor Wells, who agreed to preside at a joint
public hearing before the Housing Authority and
the Mayor and Council.
This hearing was held in the City Hall on Octo
ber 1, 1951. Over 700 people attended. The City
Hall was so packed with citizens interested in the
question that many more were not able to get into
the building. At this meeting many of the property
owners described the troubles they had been hav
ing. NOT ONE CITIZEN SPOKE IN FAVOR OF
THE PROPOSED SITES. At its next regular meet
ing, the City Council adopted a resolution advising
another site not affecting so many citizens. On
October 18, the Athens Housing Authority passed
and made public a resolution, as follows:
“WHEREAS, . . . a large number of families
would have to be disp*aced to carry out present
plans to enlarge low rent housing facilities in Ath
ens, and ;
,* “WHEREAS, approximately two-thirds of these
families are home owners, and;
“WHEREAS, these home owners cannot replace
their homes elsewhere for the amount of money
which the Authority can offer them for their
present homes, :
“THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, we the Com
missioners of the Athens Housing Authority, . . .
do not believe it is to the best interest of the com
munity to displace so many home owners for the
erection of tenant property ...”
Following the adoption of this resolution, the
public was led to believe that these sites had been
abandoned. This belief prevailed from October
until a few weeks ago. When Mr. Gordon Dudley
was not re-appointed to the Board by Mayor
Waells, the publie suspected that an effort would
be made to re-open the issue. This development
was followed in rapid succession by the resignation
of Mr. Harvey Maupin and Mr. L. O. Price, the
chairman, from the Housing Board. This height
ened the fears of the public.
On March 4 a resolution was introduced by Mr,
John P. Bondurant in the City Couneil, requesting
that the Athens Housing Authority hold a publie
hearing before taking final action on the gelection
of sites for these projects. A majority of the Coun
cil indicated their approval. But Mayor Jack R.
Wells ruled this resolution out of order.
The first information as to the appointment of
two new members of the Athens Housing Author
ity, Messrs. Raymond Lester and Heyward Allen,
appeared im the Banner-Herald of March 6, 1952.
During the next week it was announced im the
paper that Mr. Wallace Butts and the two newest
members, Messrs. Heyward Allen and Raymond
Lester, had resigned from the Board. This left on
the Board only one member, Mr, Tate Wright, who
has been living in Florida for the past several
years. In all of these appointments and resigna
tions, not one word of information has been made
public by the Housing Authority as to any decis
ions which they may have made. Meetings were
held behind closed doors and as recently as yester
day, a public statement was denied the radio by
Mr. Joel Wier, the Executive Director of the Hous
ing Authority.
How did the citizens of Athens learn what was
going on? Mayor Jack R. Wells in a radio address
two night ago (March 18, 1952) disclosed for the
first time that the Housing authority on March 6,
1952, had taken action calculated to put these
projecs on the original sites. These are the same
sites that the citizens of Athens had objected to;
these are the same sites that the Council passed a
resolution against; these are the same sites that
the Athens Housing Authority had repudiated as
working an injustice to homeowning citizens of
Athens.
It is against this background of secrecy that
Mayor Wells made his radio address two days ago,
in which he appealed for cooperation and har
mony. The Mayor stated in his radio address that
whether the sites selected are right or wrong we
should back the actions of the Athens Housing
Authority. He stated that they had acted in good
faith. Can we agree with the Mayor in view of the
fact that the Athens Housing Authgrity has not
kept faith with the public im upholding their decis
ion and published statement of October 18, 1951,
in which they stated that these sites are undesira
ble? Can we trust a board which has done every
thing possible to prevent the public from gaining
the first inkling of information as to what they
were doing. We consider that this Board has de
faulted on its moral contract with the publie.
In the Mayor’s radio address he stated that:
“On March 6, 1952, the Local Housing Authority
passed a resolution stating that it had made con
tinuous efforts to find sites better suited for the
low rent housing program without success.” Who
were the members of the Board who passed this
resolution on March 6? Mr. Tate Wright, who has
resided for several years in Florida, was Acting
‘Chairman; Mr. Wallace Butts, who, as you all
know, is a very busy man; Mr. Heyward Allen and
Mr. Raymond Lester, whose appointments were
announced publicly on the very same day that this
Board action was alleged to have taken place. The
Mayor had appointed no fifth member. This is the
Board from which the three local members resign
ed one week later. This leaves Mr. Tate Wright as
the sole, surviving member.
We would like to ask, who is trying to push
these projects in these sites? Apparently it is not
the Housing Board members, as several have
stated their disapproval of the sites in recent
weeks. Board members come and go but there is a
continuing determination to put these projects in
these much-disputed sites. Who wants them there?
Is it the Mayor, who has the authority to nominate
all members of the Board ?—ls it Mr. Joel Wier,
the Executive Director, who is merely a paid em
ployee of the Board? Or is it Mr. Tate Wright, who
is a non-resident and the only remaining member
of the Housing Board?
The Mayor, in his address, stated that these
sites would inconvenience some families. Inconven
ience is a gross understatement when a homeowner
not only loses his home but is not paid enough to
re-establish himself. In the areas under considera
tion two-thirds of those “inconvenienced” are
home owners and furthermore are people of rela
tively low income. They are not in a position to
bear the major financial burden for the acquisition
of this property to make way for low rent housing.
The Housing Authority itself recognized this situa
tion when it declared in its resolution of October
18, 1951, “. . . these homeowners cannot replace
their homes elsewhere for the amount of money
which the Authority can offer them for their pres
ent homes . . .”
The Mayor contends that the City Council has
no authority whatsoever over the Athens Housing
Authority. I am no lawyer, but I would like to read
from the United States Code, Annotated, Title 42,
Section 1411 A, which was approved by the Presi
dent on August 31, 1951, as follows:
“The Public Housing Administration shall not,
after August 31, 1951, authorize the construction
of any project initiated before or after March 1,
1949, in any locality in which such projects have
been or may hereafter be rejected by the govern
ing body' of the locality or by public vote, unless
such projects have been subsequently approved
by the same procedure through which such rejec
tion was expressed.” End quote. To me, what I
have read means that the Mayor and Council do
have the authority and the duty to reconsider the
question of sites for these two projects.
As a representative of the Citizens Committee
and of the more than 1,200 Athenians who have
expressed their concern over this prolem, I appeal
to the Mayor and each member of the Council to
reject the proposed sites until a fair-minded Hous
ing Board, composed entirely of local people holds
a public hearing. We cannot subscribe to the
Mayor’'s statement that whether the sites selected
are right or wrong, we are obligated to support
ill-advised actions of the Athens Housing Author
ity. We do not believe that the general welfare of
Athens can be built upon individual injustice.
CITIZENS COMMITTEE OF ATHENS
J. N. Hartford, Chairman.
AWV R TEREART S
SUNDAY, MARCH 23, 1952