Kansas State Historical Society Topeka, Ks.
Court Ends Race Bans
Daily hansan
LAWRENCE, KANSAS
51st Year. No. 147
Monday, May 17, 1954
McCarthy Blasted
Washington — (U.P) — President Eisenhower today in a direct blast at Sen. Joseph R. McCarthy, ordered government employees not to tell Army-McCarthy investigators anything about conferences purely within the executive branch.
The action threw the investigating subcommittee into an uproar and left its future course in doubt. Sen. McCarthy (R-Wis.) attacked the order and said "I do not think the President is 'responsible.' I don't think his judgment is that bad."
Sen. McCarthy refused to put any more questions to Army witnesses until the subcommittee held an executive session and decided whether to submit to the order. He said the order drew an "iron curtain" over
efforts to determine who was really responsible for the pressure charges against himself and his staff members, but usually been thought, or higher-ups.
The President issued his order just before the start of today's Army-McCarthy session after discussing it with Republican congressional leaders at the White House. The leaders raised no objection to it.
Mr. Eisenhower said he was issuing the order to preserve the principal of separation of powers among the three branches of government. He said this separation is necessary to keep any one branch from seizing "arbitrary power."
The immediate effect was to prevent Army counselor John G.
Adams from testifying further about a Jan. 21 huddle on the Army-McCarthy quarrel by high administration figures gathered at the justice department.
"I fear in my mind" that maybe we have been doing an injustice to Mr. Adams, Mr. Stevens, and Mr. (assistant defense secretary H Struve) Hensel," Secretary McCarthy, "struck him, felt that they were the men responsible for . . . this smear on myself and my staff."
Sen. McCarthy bitterly attacked the President's order after a 15-minute recess in the hearings during which he consulted his associates, chief counsel Roy M. Cohn and staff director Francis P. Carr, on their future strategy.
Journalists Receive Awards; Fleeson Hits 'McCarthyism'
"The missing item in the American arsenal today is ideas - creative reflections on how to live in a world dominated by two giants, each armed with weapons which can destroy the world," Doris Fleeson. Washington columnist for
Jason Board dinner Saturday. I suggest that the ideas are missing because they cannot flourish in the climate of McCarthyism, where conformity is held up as the ideal, and education itself is suspect," the columnist said.
"Our leaders must be allowed to experiment and to adapt themselves to conditions as they arise." Miss Fleeson said. "We must trust them to use legal channels such as the FBI and the courts to put down communism," she advised. With the idea of equal rights for all men, "we must re-establish a broad, generous, and unifying purpose which will speak to that half of the world whose allegiance to freedom we need to win." Miss Fleeson said.
"With creative political ideas we can clean up the vast breeding grounds of dupes for the Soviet conspiracy to dominate the world from Moscow," she continued. "We must put down the apostles of fear and hate so that we can fight with our two arms," she warned.
No one can escape being affected by the new age in which we live, Cass Fleeson said. "The atomic bomb has been relegated to the role of a tactical weapon by the thermo-nuclear devices we call the hydrogen bomb. These megatons and megademaths are shoreland for a million tons of explosive power which can cause a million deaths."
"We are faced with the realization that the Communist empire has also exploded atomic and hydrogen weapons and is far more likely to take the initiative, for our country rejects at the concepts of preventive war.
"We are committing mayhem upon ourselves at the precise moment the free world is looking to us for leadership," she said, adding that "all our energies have been absorbed in the story of Pvt. Schine's inglorious military career." The reason for this, she said, is that we are diseased with McCarthyism, which is "by no means restricted to the junior senator from Wisconsin who'gave it his name."
When Sen. McCarthy drops the Lord Communist altogether he will have disclosed his real target," Miss Fleeson said. "His goal is power," she continued, explaining that the senator "has no program, but his methods are the strategy of
Thirty journalism students were recognized for outstanding work during the past year at the Kansan board dinner Saturday night in the Student Union ballroom.
Columnist Gets Alumni Citation
Columnist Doris Fleeson Saturday night received the citation for distinguished service of the University Alumni association
Miss Fleeson, a native of Sterling and member of the class of 1923, addressed the annual Kansas Board banquet of the Journalism school.
Howard Engleman of Salina, president of the Alumni association, and Chancellor Franklin D. Murphy presented the citation. The honor, equivalent to honorary degrees, which are not granted by the University, was voted Miss Fleeson in 1953.
Miss Fleeson is twice winner of the New York Newspaperwoman's club prize, one-time president of the Women's National Press club, holder of the Award for Distinguished Service in journalism by the University of Missouri and of the honorary doctor of literature degree from Culver-Stockton college.
The fact that Sen. McCarthy has refused under oath to tell the whole truth makes him "a kind of Fifth Amendment Communist," Miss Fleeson said. "McCarthy has shown himself a revolutionary who has sought to overthrow existing values, has devoured his allies and misled his own party, and acted as moral that which advanced his own ends," she said. "No free society can afford to tolerate him." Miss Fleeson said.
She was chosen in 1954 from among Washington correspondents to receive the Raymond Clapper award for exceptionally meritorious reporting of national news.
terror. A great accomplishment of the hearings is his disclosure that he has a fifth column in every department and agency of the government," she said.
"Legislative encroachment on the executive branch is not new in our history either," Miss Fleeson said. However, the hearings are not a true test of the separation of powers, she explained, because Sen. McCarthy "has really no legislative axes to grind."
Gene Shank, junior, was presented a newly-created $500 scholarship by Dean Burton Marvin of the School of Journalism. The award was donated by an anonymous Kansas editor.
Don Tice, senior, won the $25 first prize for excellence in editorial writing, Sam Teaford, senior, received $15 for second place; Tom Stewart, senior, won $10 for third place, and Clarke Keys, senior, and Letty Lemon, junior, received honorable mentions.
Janet Dearduff and Philip Dangerfield were announced the outstanding senior woman and man, respectively, in advertising, and Keys and Mary Betz in the news sequence.
Keys was presented the award of Sigma Delta Chi, national professional journalism fraternity, as the outstanding senior man.
The Henry Schott memorial prize was divided between Richard Clarkson and Stan Hamilton. The award is presented to junior men showing the most promise of success in journalism.
Keys and Dangerfield were presented the Sigma Delta Chi certificates for superior scholarship, both being in the upper 5 per cent of the journalism senior class.
work on the Daily Kansan were:
Best news story: first, Stan Hamilton,
senior; second, Ken Bronson
aunt; third, the author; thin-
letty Lemon junior; honorable
mention, Dana Leibengood,
Amy Dey Long, juniors.
Best feature story, first. Clarke Keys and Tom Stewart, seniors; second. Stan Hamilton; third. Sam Furber; fourth. Jerry Knudson, former student.
Awards for outstanding individual work on, the Daily Kogan works
Best pictures; news picture, Bill Slamin and Clarke Keys, seniors; feature picture, Al Traldi, graduat e student, and Shirley Pattl, senior.
Best promotional advertising:
first, Jack Stonestreet, '54; second,
Ronald Dobbins, senior; third, Jerry
Jurden, and David Riley, junior;
honorable mention, Audrey Holmes,
and John Glick, college
junior.
Best service and institutional advertising: first, Ed Barlett, senior; second, Martha Chambers, junior; third, David Conley, junior; honorable mention, Kenneth Winston, junior.
- Washington—(U.P.)—The Supreme Court ruled today in an historical decision that racial segregation in public schools is unconstitutional.
Speaking for a unanimous court, Chief Justice Earl Warren said education must be available to all on an equal basis.
The decision, a sweeping victory for Negroes, is probably the most important in U.S. race relations since the famous Dred Scott decision of 1857, which held that a Negro was not a citizen. The Civil War reversed that decision.
Chief Justice Warren said that because of the wide ramifications of the decision, formulation of specific decrees will be delayed until further arguments have been heard.
But the court by Mr. Warren's opinion today laid down the rule that segregation is "a denial of equal protection of the laws" to Negroes.
This is the phraseology of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution, on which the Negroes relied in bringing their cases.
Today's decision was taken in four cases brought originally in four states—South Carolina, Virginia, Delaware, and Kansas. Some 9,000,000 white and 2,650,000 Negro children attend separate schools in 17 states and the District of Columbia. Arizona, Kansas, New Mexico and Wyoming also have segregation in some localities.
The ruling invalidates many provisions in state constitutions, laws and administrative regulations in the 17 states which now require segregation.
The 12-page ruling—a document that will rank in sociological significance with Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation—swept aside the "separate but equal doctrine" laid down by the Supreme Court in 1896.
Under that doctrine, the tribunal has held in the past that Negroes must be given educational facilities equal to those afforded white students but that the facilities could be separate.
The court's decision not to issue the specific decrees at this time was apparently in recognition of the complexity of the issue and the physical difficulties involved in putting the ruling into effect.
Chief Justice Warren said further arguments will be heard, presumably in the fall, before the decrees are formulated.
Reaction of Kansas:
Topeka—(U.P.)The state of Kansas will comply with "every particular" of the Supreme Court decision abolishing segregation in the public schools.
Atty. Gen. Harold R. Fatzer said his office "will see that the ruling will be complied with to the fullest."
Mr. Fatzer's office defended Kansas segregation statutes before the Supreme Court along with Virginia, Delaware, and South Carolina.
"Several Kansas cities have heretofore abolished segregation as a local administrative policy, which they were permitted to do under the statute prior to its being held unconstitutional." Mr. Fatzer said.
"I feel certain that every school administration in Kansas will take such steps as are necessary to abolish segregation in their systems consistent with facilities and funds available.
"We reiterate the policy has always been that we have never advocated or defended segregation. A decision today approved the action taken by the Topeka Board of Education in abolishing segregation as soon as possible." he said.
Kansas law permits segregation in grade and junior high schools in 12 first class cities in the state.
But after Kansas entered the historic case several cities began integrating their systems. The Topeka school board voted to close colored grade schools and to start ending segregation in the junior high schools.
Kansas argued with the Southern states on segregation because the attorney general felt states' rights were being invaded. Kansas' argument before the high court did not defend segregation as a state policy—only that the state had the right to pass such laws.
Reaction From South:
Atlanta, Ga.—(U.P.)—The Supreme Court decision outlawing segregation in the nation's schools will cause the most radical upheaval in the South since reconstruction days.
Abolition of the public school system well may come in a few states, and is a possibility in others. Several states planned immediate special legislative sessions to decide a course of action.
The future of thousands of Negro teachers was left in doubt. A United Press survey of the states which are now segregated brought opinions from practically all that Negro teachers would not be allowed to teach non-segregated classes.
Seventeen states have laws requiring segregation of white and Negro students at the public school level. Four others, including Kansas have permissive segregation. One state, Oklahoma, makes it a misdemeanor for a teacher to instruct mixed classes.
The South has practiced segregation since the first Negro slaves were brought to the country by the Dutch in 1619. Southerners were surprised at the completeness of the high court decision but were not unprepared.
Several state legislatures, anticipating just such a decision, moved as early as 1951 to preserve segregation practices regardless of the action.