The Illinois standard. [volume], December 04, 1948, Page 2, Image 2

About The Illinois standard. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1948-1949

Image provided by: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Library, Urbana, IL

                
Drive for Illinois FEPC sparked
by promise of success in 1949
Illinois will get a Fair Employment Practices law in
1949 — IF the people will it and work for it.
That conviction was disclosed to The Standard this
week when it surveyed those who led the fight for a state
FEPC during and betw-een sessions of the Illinois legislature
SELECTED by the theater chap
ter of the American Veterans
Committee as "the girl who least
needs slenderizing," lovely Nor
ma Ness, 18, is crowned by
Monty McLevy in New York
City. Norma has a 33-inch bust,
23-inch waist and 33-inch hips.
New York rent
board squashes
proposed boost
NEW YORK (FP)—The poor
landlords’ dream of millions of
dollars in extra profits collapsed
here when the New York City
Rent Advisory Board this week
refused to grant their request
for a 15 percent rent boost on
some two millions homes.
The decision, which repre
sented a major victory for the
city’s tenant organizations, came
after 11 months of all-out effort
by the landlord lobby to make
15 percent rent increases com
pulsory. The ruling does not af
fect the “voluntary increases”
which many tenants have al
ready paid.
At die same time the rent
board rejected a demand by
various tenants’ groups for a 10
percent rent cut, requested on
grounds that necessary, normal
services have been curtailed by
landlords.
Tie-in rent victim
wins $3,000 award
Hundreds of tenants may be
seeking court action against
landlords for "tie-in rentals” as
a result of a decision this week
in the U. S. Court of Appeals
in Chicago.
The court upheld an award of
$3,000 double damages to Harry
Leibman of 1417 S. Keeler Ave.,
who paid $1,500 for furniture
to get a $45 per month apart
ment. It was the first time the
appellate court upheld a furni
ture tie-in suit.
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The overall picture today
is brighter than ever before,
they said, and all insisted that
they are not discounting the
continued power of the down
state coalition of industry lead
ers with lawmakers.
The key to realization of an
FEPC in ’49. it was agreed, is
effective mobilization of the
people who want it.
When the battle lines are
drawn in Springfield, the people
will have on their side facts and
forces they lacked in 1945 and
1947. Among them are:
• The successful operation of
FEPC in four states—Massa
chusetts, Connecticut, New Jer
sey and New York.
• A growing awareness among
the people of the vital need for
FEPC, sparked by the forthright
stand of Henry A. Wallace dur
ing the recent presidential cam
paign.
• More organization; operating
in the field of human relations.
• Pledges by Governor - elect
Adlai Stevenson to support
FEPC legislation.
Of course, the greatest factor
in this fight for democracy in
employment is the people them
selves. This is reflected in the
tentative plans of all interested
organizations to rally large
numbers of voters in mass meet
ings and petition drives.
For example, the Chicago
Council of Negro Organizations,
an affiliation of some 70 groups,
is all set to begin its work
among Negro citizens of Illinois.
Mrs. Irene McCoy Gaines heads
this group which lobbied in the
State capitol for passage of
FEPC in past years.
“This time we have the prom
ise of our new governor,” she
told The Standard, then added,
“But then, Governor Green
made the same promise when he
was elected. At any rate, I’ll be
on the firing line as before.”
How far the Democratic gov
ernor will go in pushing an anti
bias law is uncertain, despite his
campaign statement that “I am
for the more vigorous enforce
ment of the civil rights laws and
an adequate fair employment
practices act”
Doubts about Governor-elect
Stevenson’s positior on FEPC
when the chips are down have
been raised as a result of news-,
paper reports that since Novem
ber 2 his advisers have con
vinced him it will be necessary
to water down “liberalism” to
meet the requirements of prac
tical politics.
Also uncertain is the part to
be played by President Reuben
Soderstrom and Secretary Vic
tor Olander of the Illinois Fed
eration of Labor, veteran lobby
ists at Springfield.
Observers agree the major
arena for the fight will be the
floor of the Assembly and the
Senate. Reactionary downstate
industrialists and their right
wing henchmen in the Legisla
cut flowers
floral designs
tlooming plants
Moteff Florists
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EARL DICKERSON, Progressive
Party leader in First Congres
sional District, who is drafting
an FEPC bill for introduction
in the Illinois legislature.
ture climaxed their opposition
to the ’45 and '47 bills here.
Conservative forces “ganged
up" on even tiie modified ver
sion of the measure by testify
ing against it and by dragging
out the old red herring label—
“un-American."
The Progressive Party of Illi
nois, which has placed FEPC
in a top-priority position in its
state legislative program, is ex
petted to spearhead mobiliza
tion of popular forces for a
strong law. Kick-off in the Pro
gressive Party drive will be the
annual Cook County convention
Jan. 9.
The Illinois Civil Rights Con
gress has already served notice
that it will not accept a wat
ered-down FEPC bill. It has
asked Earl B. Dickerson, promu
nent Southside attorney and
Progressive Party congressional
candidate in the First District,
to draft a law with teeth in it.
The CRC then plans to build
mass support through a gigantic
petition campaign.
Additional pressure on hesi
tant and anti-minority legislat
ors will come from the Ameri
can Jewish Congress. Speaking
at the recent conference of the
National Association of Inter
group Relations officials here.
A J C executive Will Maslow
pointed out:
“Top priority must be given
to campaigns for state FEPC
laws. The examples of New
York. New Jersey, Connecticut,
and Massachusetts should spur
the other states to enact similar
laws. Experience has shown that
the mere existence of such sta
tutes tends to reduce discrim
ination.”
Free victims, end witch
hunt, CRC urges Truman
President Truman has before
him a demand that he ' free the
hostages of the 80th Congress”
by ordering his Justice depart
ment to drop all current and
pending charges against those
who have refused to divulge
t’ eir political affiliations in the
witch hunts of 1948.
The demand was made by the
Civil Rights Congress in a let
ter to the President after news
services reported the House Un
American Activities committee
had decided to drop prosecution
of 60 witnesses who had been
cited for contempt of Congress
because they refused to answer
whether they were or were not
members of the Communist par
ty
The cases reportedly were
dropped when the Justice de
partment told the committee that
the plea of witnesses tha* they
might ‘‘incriminate” themselves,
might be valid in light of the
pending trial of 12 Communist
leaders on charges of attempting
to overthrow the government.
Dimes add up
You spend a dollar — on
something you need and want
—and a dime goes to a good
cause — The Standard.
Here’s how it works:
We make arrangements
with an advertiser to the ef
fect that every time a Stand
ard reader buys something
from him, he will give The
Standard ten percent of
the price paid. So, if you go
into Lishon’s Record Shop
and buy a record album for
$5, you’ve automatically
contributed 50c to The
Standard. If you spend a
$1, don’t feel that’s too
small—the dimes add up.
The first 10 percent ad
vertiser is Lishon’s Record
Shop at 175 W. Washington.
Lishon’s will pay The Stand
ard 10 percent on all the
records you buy. This only
applies to records, and not
to other merchandise.
Don’t forget to ask for
The Standard POST CARD
when you buy your records
at Lishon’s.
Pointing out that numerous
others were involved in similar
charges as a result of the same
type of contempt citations, the
CRC specifically called upon the
President to:
• Free Leon Josephson, now
imprisoned for refusing to “an
swer questions of the notorious
House Un-American Activities
Committee” and “restore him to
his family for Christmas.”
• Order the Justice Depart
ment to withdraw all proceed
ings against Gerhardt Eisler,
Eugene Dennis, the Hollywood
Ten, the officers of the Joint
Anti-Facist Refugee Committee,
Harold Christoffel.
• Order the department to
withdraw all actions against
those who have refused to an
swer the same questions before
Federal Juries in Denver, Los
Angeles, Cleveland and other
cities. —
LAUGH IT OFF!
WIFE (tense with ex
citement) — “Well, what
happened when you asked
the boss for a raise?”
HUBBY—“Why, he was
like a lamb.”
WIFE—“What did he
say?”
HUBBY—“Baa.”
DuPont
take may
cost 5 G's
Lammot Du Pont may have to
shell out — hold your hat —
$5,000, if his vast industrial em
pire is indicted and found guilty
o f monopolistic shenanigans
reaching into some of America's
hugest interests.
More than 60 major companies
are under scrutiny by a Federal
grand jury in Chicago as having
possible tie-ups with E. i. Du
Pont de Nemours & Co., and for
possible favored contracts keep
ing buying and selling of ma
terials inside the gigantic fam
ily
Under the Sherman Anti
Trust Act the worst that can
h.ppen to Du Pont is a fine of
$5,000 and a year imprisonment.
The jail sentence would bo con
sidered very unlikely according
to past precedent. Should an in
dictment and guilty verdict
come down, the prospect worry
ing Du Pont most is a possible
court order to “lay off” future
dealings which already would
have netted i ime probably
running high in the millions.
Melville C. Williams, chief of
the Chicago district anti-trust
division of the Justice Depart
ment, would not guess for The
Standard how much the Du
Pont profits may have already
totalled as a result of greased
contracts with other firms.
But he pointed out that Poor’s
business index lists the Du Pont
corporation as holding more than
22 percent of the stock in Gen
eral Motors. That was but one
neat example of the type of “in
fluence” Du Pont miidly exerts
on the rest of the nation's big
business.
-SAY "I SAW IT IN THE STANDARD"—
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