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DONALSONVILLE (GA.) NEWS THURSDAY, AUGUST 20, 1964
WINGATE FOR CONGRESS HEADQUARTERS
5c Per Copy
City Edition
Six Pages One Section
The Daily Tifton Gazette
TIFTON, GEORGIA, SATURDAY, AUGUST 15, 1954
Volume 50 Number 289 Member Associated Press (AP)
Partly Cloudy . . .
Some cloudiness witah scitter
ed showers Sunday, higi of 88.
Saturday night, 62-70.
FOUR RIVALS BACK AWAY FROM UNREHEARSED BROADCAST
WINGATE FLAYS CIVIL RIGHTS, JOHNSON ADMINISTRATION
w i bis has not been done.
Wingate and King, both attorneys, clashed head
on on the civil rights issve. Win.vte sa d the Civil
•Bk Kights Act and particularly the public accomodations
.V/- and equal hiring opportunities provisions, are uncon
j stitutional. v
Wr 'T * > ' ' The Constitutional provision that the congress
QB. shall have the power to “regulate interstate com-
Bfe-yrJMB merce” was “raped” by the congress, Wingate assert-
jir ed. Th eJ power to regulate intei state commerce was
J'' cited proponents of civil rights as Constitutional
authority for the law.
King said that the Civil Rights Act is Constitutron
? al, and puts into force rights already granted.
BL Phe two also split over federal fiscal matte. »
k: '3 Wingate asserted that economics can be found,
B JHrSHEHHHB. ' * deficit spending eliminated and annual payments to re
st HF fjMBMjMMWIBii tire the national debt possible. Citing his long exper
■ft ionce in military affairs, Wiingate said the economies
could he effected without lessening national security.
Wingate favored military objectives in the space
program, but indicated that he would take a hard
lock at costly space programs with no military bearing.
||| ' 7 >/- < Wingate said welfare programs should not be
be increased, and indicated that he would review the
, | effectiveness of many of the programs.
King took a foui-squ'are position behind Presi
‘lent John-on, saying that he would favor an increase
in the expenditures of the anti-poverty bill.
: King is not firmly committed to a balanced budg-
et. He said he would approve necessary expenditures,
?. ■' :i> S- and said economic experts have found that deficit
spending is not always harmful to the nation’s econ
omy. ;• ‘ . .
Mft A. Wingate would tak4 a stronger stand in'foreign
HARRY L. WINGATE, JR. affairs. He would reduce foreign aid outlays, and take
.Has Issues, Will Talk stronger stands in and Culba. In both in-
stances, Wingate oppose United States troops, but
as “lies and smears”: would favor pushing for a successful conclusion to
1. On July 30, Wingate stated on the front page the dragging Viet Nam war. f He would also arm
of The Gazette that he would vote for Sen. Gold- Cuban refugees who want to retake their homeland-
water unless the Democrats abruptly changed its King’s statements on these issues were incon
trend to “forget the South” and conservative princi- elusive.
pies, or the Republicans veered away from their At one point, Wingate took issue with a reference
more conservative course. by King to “irresponsible mouthing®” of Sen. Gold-
Sufcsequently, Wingate was widely accused, by water,
bis opposition, of refusing to state his position. He Wingate defended Goldwater strongly, citing his
was also accused of being the “administration” candi- intimate association with the Republican nominee in
date. He has refuted these charges. his congressional role. Goldwater is also his com-
2. Sen- Russell, who Wingate has served for eight mander in the Air Force Reserve, Wingate noted,
years as staff director, of the Armed Services Commit- Wingate began combat service in World War II as a
tee, (Russell is chairman), has remained officially si- private, was discharged as a captain, and is now a
lent in the campaign. Wingate’s apposition accused major in the Air Force Reserve.
him of claiming Russell’s official endorsement. Win- Goldwater’s courage in voting against the Civil
gate challenged his opposition to produce “just one” Rights Act was cited by Wingate as an example of
person to whom 1 the alleged remark had been made, statesmanship.
Goldwater unless the two major parties shift positions
before Nov. 3-
Wingate, who resigned as Sen. Russell s staff
director J or the Armed Services Committee to cam
paign, m. de the remarks Friday night in an hour-long
interview sponsored jointly by radio station WTIF and
The Da? Tifton Gazette.
Thie full interview will be rebroadcast on WTIF
(1340) f nday at 1 p.m Editorial comment will foltow..
ALTHOUGH ALL SIX candidates had firmly
pledged themselves to attend, four suddenly dropped
out iQ. fche final hours before the 8 p. m. broadcast.
King, an Albany attorney and staunch
of the Johnson Administration, appeared
to contest Wingate’s views-
Attempts to intimidate candidates were conducted
for seven 1 days prior to the broadcast but all had
lemaine?. firmly committed to attend until the final
hours. ' .? •
The ime was made available free to the candi
dates as a public service.
This sequence of events occurred as air-time ap-.
proached:
1. James Keyton said the illness of a relative
would prevent his attending.
2. David Jones’ staff called Friday morning to
say that probably only Wingate and King would ap
pear. ~ x-U
3. Several hours after that call, a caller identify
ing himself as Maston O’Neal’s wife said he had virus,
and could not attend. . . ,
4. Only minutes before air-time, Jones sent a tele
gram expressing fears of racial demonstrations, and
saying he would not attend. No demonstrations oc
curred*
Gerald Tuck simply failed to appear without ex
planation.
THE SPONSORING NEWSPAPER and radio
station issued this statement today :
“Too many ridiculous ‘coincidences’ have oc
curred. We cannot escape the conclusion that there
is a conspiracy to embarrass Mr. Wingate by trapping
him into being the only candidate to share the forum
with Mr. King, a Negro.
“Mr. Wingate’s opposition, many days before
the broadcast, launched a campaign of lies and
smears. All had firmly committed themselves to ap
pear, knowing Mr. King was included.
“This is an affront to the voters 1 of Tift County.
Mr. Wingate carried Tift County by a substantial
margin as a young candidate 10 years ago. The fact
that all his opponents, except Mr. King, showed such
contempt for Tift County in refusing to share their
views will not be lost on the electorate.”
The Gazette and WTIF cited these two incidents
Harry L. Wingate, Jr., the front-running candidate
for the second district congressional nomination, at
tacked the Civil Rights Act as “unconstitutional” and
reaffirmed his ' intentions of voting for Sen. Barry
An Editorial
Opposition Appears
Afraid of Wingate
We cannot escape the conclusion that the sudden*
eleventh-hour refusal of four candidates previously
committed to airing their views before the Tift County
voters is anything less than a combination of two
factors:
1. They appear afraid to share the panel with
Harry L. Wingate, Jr., an articulate young man who
reflects well the conservative principles held dear by
his native South' Georgia constituents. In short, they
are afraid that they would 1 compare unfavorably to
Wingate, who enjoys much broader experience and
knowledge as a long-time, trusted intimate of Georgia’s
commander of the South’s anti-civil rights forces,
Sen. Richard Russell.
2. The lateness and suddeness of their withdrawal,
after solemnly agreeing and allowing the public to
believe it would hear their views on Friday night
smells a bit phony. Could this be an attempt to trap
Wingate into being the only white candidate to share
the platform with a Negro, C. p. King? Also, the
articulate manner in which King can enunciate views
with which The Gazette and WTIF manager, Dale
Smith disagree may have frightened these less quali
fied candidates.
We have no intention of arguing with individuals
over whether they caught a cold or had a sick-in-law,
' or had bad dreams about racial demonstrations that
«, never occurred. A fourth candidate failed to show
without explanation.
But all had agreed to the interview knowing the
Negro candidate would appear.
We can expect more smear campaigns against
Wingate as the shrill opponents, now obviously feeling
like losers, try to distort the picture.
In fairness to Wingate, the one outspoken oppon
ent of the Civil Rights Act and proponent of tradition
al Southern conservatism who had the courage to ap
pear, we will continue our campaign of truth. When
lies appear, we will quickly set the record straight.
Any candidate who fears the truth is unfit for
Congress.
Reprint from' Front Page of Tifton Daily Gazette
Pelham, Georgia
paid political advertising
294-8359 294-8257