Bronze Reporter [Volume: 1, Issue: 8]

\

Saturday, ae > 1954

ABE

BRONZE REPORTER

Page Seven

(Continued from Page 1)

~publicans voting in its favor.

These developments have raised
~widespread ~hopes - that legislators
of both ~parties will join together
to adopt: such a bill in 1954. Gertainy these hopes.are not ~with~out reason, inasmuch -as recent
state conventions of both ~parties
~adopted resolutions favoring fair
employment. ~practices legislation.

It is my purpose ~once again to
recommend and urge that a fair
employment act be adopted. I
take this means of: ~making that
recommendation because it ~is ~my
earnest desire that this -matter be
separated from -all the:controversial issues which will be put forth
for your -consideration; and = because it is my belief ~ that this
question CAN be lifted above the
arena of partisan politics
~eonsidered on its intrinsic merits.
If so considered, I am confident
" a workable act will be passe i

The need for ~such legislation
has never been greater.*Continu~ed discrimination in employment
on grounds of color, religion:or
ancestry, is a profound contradiction of American ~principles.
Whenever, a qualified citizen of
Michigan ~is -denied -a-job, or
penalized in his livelihood by reason of his color, creed -or race,
not only the individual victim
but the entire community suffers.
Discrimination interferes ~with
proper economic use of our labor
force, ~establishes a category-of
second-class citizenship which is
repugnant to democracy,
generates frictions and resentments which gravely damage the
unity of our people.

It. may sound startling to refer
to discrimination as subversive,
_but that is the fact. Denial of
-equal opportunity to members of
racial and religious groups plays
directly into the hands of. those
who would destroy our way of
life. ie

Eloquent testimony to this ef_ fect was given recently by the. Viee-President of ~the United
' * States, after a tour of Asia and
~the Far Hast, he reported to the

Ameriean people that our coun
try~s cause is being seriously en-.dangered by our failure to live
up to our own principles before
the rest of the world.

~Every act of racial discrimination, or prejudice in the United
States,~ the Vice-President said,
~hurts ~America as much as an
~espionage agent who turns over
a weapon to a foreign-enemy.~

In:the face of that plain warning, how can anyone~ maintain
that we ought not to legislate
against this-~type of subversive
~activity? |

Fair employment practices legislation is no longer experimental
It has been tried and _ tested i
practice. Eleven states already
have such laws on ~their books.
One third of the people of the
United States live under fair employment laws. ~3.

The combined ~experience of
these states proves beyond a
~dottbt that) state: PEP legislation
works. That experience shows
clearly that the gréat majority of
Americans want: t@end discrimination, and welcomé the support
of the law in.so doing. It shows
further that very seldom has it
been necessary to use the enforcement provisions of fair em
~ployment acts. In the vast major
ity of cases the education, conciliation and mediation services
of the fair employment commissions have sufficed to bring
~about full ~and ~willing compliance
without resort to enforcement
machinery. I-am sure the people
of Michigan, long grounded as
~the}*are in the practice of dem o~racy, will prove no less. eager:
~than the ~people of *these other
~states, to: saccept a~ fair employment act.

~There are

ee

those who, while

'

~and.

~and |

~entorcement.

re~On FECP

ranting. that diserimination is
an evil, -have expressed doubts
that it ean be restrained by Jaw,
or that such legiSlation is the
proper business of the state. At
~one time suth ~doubts ~may have
had some ground in
~But we now have adequate evidence that such. doubts are illfounded. We have the experience
of 11 othey. states. We have the
testimony of recent | conventions
of~ both Michigan political:parties, where delegates approved
planks advocating a fair employment act. And we haye the eloquent testimony of the President
of the United ~States who has: not
only urged state FEPC ~legislation but ~has ~offered- to help,:personally, in gaining ~acceptance for
aCe.

In his italees at Newark, New |...

Jersey, October 17, 1952, General Eisenhower, -then:a candidate for President, said.

~State by state, without the
impossible handicap~ of federal
compulsion, we ean ~and ~must ~provide job -opportunities for our
citizens, regardless of their color,
their creed. or their national
origin.

~Tf I am eleeted to the office
for which I am now a candidate,
I will confer with the governors
of the 48 states. I will urge them
to take the leadership. in their
states in guaranteeing the economic rights ofall of our citizens.
I will ~put at their disposal | the
information, all of -the resources
and all of the know-how which a
new administration can provide.

~I will myself be at their -dis~posal, if they desire, to support
the acceptance in the various
states of a program whith -will
enlist cooperation, not invite re
~sistance.

~That is the surest way fair
employment practices will finally
get that measure of acceptance

required, to be real, meaningful
and effective.
~In this matter of equal -op- |

portunity to make.a living, I do
not believe that any state, regardless of the past. will refuse
in this modern age to outlaw discrimination in this specific field
of men and wamen seeking jobs.~

The promise of the) President
to give full aid and support to
state FEPC legislation has greatly heartened.all who want to see
this question lifted. above partison politics and dealt with asthe
moral issue it really is.

In. order that. the President
may. be apprised that his 1ecommendations are not going ~unheeded in Michigan I am sending
2 copy of this Message to him
personally. And I shall assure
him that: the ~Governor of Michigan, does desire and _= seek his
support in gaining acceptance for
this program.

In view of all these considera- |~

tions I,aga~n recommend to -you
the enactment of a state Fair
employment Practices, Act, includ
ing the establishment of a Commission to handle. the functions
of conciliation, education and
It is

be taken up at the earliest possible date after the convening
of the Session, in order that the
issue. of civil rights shall not become. entangled with other questions of ~a controversial nature.
And. I urge again that this vital
question of civil liberty and equal
opportunity.be made an. order of
business transcending all political considerations.

Let me take this oscasion, for
myself and on behalf of all in
the Executive branch of the government, to. wish each of you a
happy and prosperous New Year.

Sincerely Yours,,
G. MENNEN ~WILLIAMS

Governor

pru dence,

my earnest |;
recommendation that this matter |.

RESEARCH WILL WIN

P By Arthur J.; Edmunds,
Executive Secretary
Urban League of Flint

Since two different neighborthoods in which Negroes reside
have been~recently subjected to
what the residents term ~nuisances~ some ~discussion should be
had on the basic question of
housing. Without - going into the
specific merits of |these particular cases mentioned, there are
certain -aspects of | the over-all
problem that.can be dealt with.
And, I use the word ~problem~ because that is exactiy what it is!

A lot of people in Flint do not
know or realize that a recent
sociological study found Flint to
be the third most intensely segregated city of its | size in the
Country, as far as housing
concerned. This im itself makes.for many of ~the problems that
we face every day.~ The most
glaring of these problems are
over-crowding, poor~ neighborhood planning, ded rundown
neighborhoods. Such: less identifiable problems as| immorality,

lack of contact with the ~outside

| world, and a lack of community

pride. These might not seem like
much but they add~up to a lot
when you consider the well-being.and happiness of people.. How are these things perpetuated? They are perpetuated by
the majority. But to accomplish
a change for the bethet is-not impossible.
More than a te ago the

Urban League board of directors

FIGHT
INFANTILE

iS

PARALYS

~requested the

is ||

Frankly Speaking He~

City Commission
to appoint a Committee. to study
the city~s housing problem. Since

that time more than a dozen sohave |
Supported that request. This, in|

cial agencies and groups

itself, is indicative of the need~
a need for city-wide study. Surely under such a study, the severe
plight of Negroes will be brought
to the fore as will the many bad
conditions under which some of
our fellow white citizens must
live also.

~Check the ~
ge ns oF

your ches?

F RIGHT TB

According ~to ~reports beer

has been produced by chemists.|
They discovered a process~to pu

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without changing jis taste.

~Whale meat is. being -used extensively in Japan and in. several
European countries. It has been
estimated that one whale. produces
%3 much meat as 100 ~ of
sattle.

~the Mrs. mane seete: Se St

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