ustxtxb_obs_1956_05_09_50_00008-00000_000.pdf

HARRIS CONVENTION LIBERALS HIT HARD Mrs. Randolph’Backed for CommitteevVoman, Ramsey Scored; Delegates Avoid Stand on Johnson Candidacy we got when we got through! The judges split the vote anyway \(over Bailey’s “Oh Ahhoho ! What’s monished the protesting groups that they couldn’t meet in a public lot and expect to have the results honored. . The convention opened an hour late, agreed with the recommendations on the contested delegatiOns, and heard an agenda proposed by the loyalist spokesman, Dean Johnston, secretary of the liberal-controlled county executive committee. A conservative Committeeman, Joel Coolidge, proposed an amendment to require the chairman to entertain a resolution on states’ rights and interposition before the vote which was obviously going to unseat the conservative chairman, Presley Werlein, Jr. This triggered the heavy booing of pro-Shivers speakers which caused liberal leaders on the ‘stage ‘especially .Chris Dixie and J. Edwin Smith :to rush to the footlights and wave for silence again and ‘again, their faces grim with the import of such overzealousness. Bailey, tried to defend Coolidge’s motion, arguing that states’ rights is the fundamental doctrine , of the Democratic Party, but he was booed at every period. We need states’ rights, he said, to govern the states properly —,”By the “oir companies ?” shouted a heckler. “Federal control diCtated through the statesyour schools we don’t want, we don’t want” Bailey started. “Allan Shivers!” finished a bright delegate in the front of the auditorium, convulsing the assembly. After he finished Bailey went over to Bob_ Erhardt, the liberal keynoter, and told him : “You guys could hold that crowd against God.” Dixie opposed the amendment, suggesting that Shivers “ran all over the state on this issue two and more years ago and got elected and betrayed the Democratic Party and said nothing more about interposition until it was time to betray it again.” V But Smith advanced a more dramatic reply. HOUSTON Waving the American flag and beating down states’ rights and interposition resolutions, the liberal Harris County Democrats took over the county Democratic convention here this week. , They registered this huge metropolitan area in the bigcity Democratic league, and they mean to keep it there. The convention endorsed Mrs. R. D. Randolph, secretary and leader of the Harris County D&nbcrats,. forrm .. tional Democratic committeewoman from Texas. Mrs. H. H. Weinert of Seguin, the present committeewoman, has supported Shivers and voted for Adlai Stevenson in 1952: Scoring Democratic national committeeman Ben. Ramsey for “failing to speak out” for the nominees in 1952, accusing him of being “part and parcel of the Shivers organization,” the convention demanded he be replaced with a “full-time Democrat.” By these resolutions and the decision not to commit to Johnson at the county level the Harris County Demo crats served notice on the state con . vention that they will use their 270 votes–_-the largest block in the state on . behalf of liberal policies in ‘Dallas and Chicago. Although it was little noted in the . daily press, which lumped Houston with other pro-Johnson forces, leaders of the Harris County Democrats dedare they won their loyalist precincts without adopting pro-Johnson resolir-. tions and that the few silk-stocking precincts they asked the Johnson forc410$ to carry with pro-Johnson resolutions went for Shivers. This was not the state-wide pattern. Johnson resolutions helped carry many -.,normally conservative districts in the other cities and worked heavily against Shivers in rural areas. j. Edwin Smith, chairman of the liberal Democratic group in Houston, was elected chairman of the convention and expressed the view that its delegates. are “morally bound” to support Johnson, but it is clear that the delegation will insist on safeguards for liberal policies at Dallas, in default of which some of the leaders say they would bolt the convention. SOME of the new aspects of big-city politics in Texas could be seen on the convention stage Tuesday morning. Members of r a credentials sub-committee, three loyalists and three conservatives, sat in folding chairs arranged in a circle, and spectators crowded around them -. One contest over Precinct 255, off South Main involved a convention held in an open parking area at a U-Tote-Em store. The loyalist spokesman said he would have to give the whole background. “Three minutes,” snapped a curt young conservative, Jim Bailey. It appeared that a Mr. Osburn had stood up in a convertible and .cornmenced calling for, nominations ‘for v chairman. ‘When the voting started, as one gentleman testified, “you couldn’t tell registered voters from U-Tote-Em voters in to. get a can of beer.” \(This reminded one of the judges,to ask:a bystander: “Got any cold beer out there Pete ?” “Right outside in ‘the The Shivers forces had totted up the largest vote on the U-Tote-Em lot, but their foes complained that there were more people voting than qualified ‘voters on the precinct’s poll tax list. A svelte young mirmtewoman, Louise Eon-, asserted she checked “every single solitary person’s name off this list who paSsed a poll tax to me,” but that obviously didn’t settle the question. The judges seemed about to split the precinct’s votes’ between the two sides when a young man in the fringe of the crowd interposed excitedly bobbing his head doll with every blasted emphasis, I Let me tell you how the vote was taken because I was presiding when they voted ! … And that’s the count Johnson sentiment indicated, but uninstructed Bosque; resolutions indicate pro-Shivers sentiment, but uninstructed Chambers, Brazoria, Lavaca, Runnels; In Walker County, Shivers won the precinct conventions, but ,the county delegation was released to Johnsoi; Austin, two pro-Johnson delegates, one pro-Shivers delegate; Liberty, Shivers won the precinct conventions, the county convention endorsed Johnson as favorite -son; delegates uninstructed; Gray, Shivers won the precincts, Johnson the county convention; Goliad, uninstructed. LONGVIEW An indication that interPosition may pop up again at the state convention came from Gregg County. The convention named Shivers chairman of the delegation and heard Atty. Gen. John Ben Shepperdanother delegation member recommend that petitions be circulated. Shivers is not a resident of Gregg County and did not attend the convention there. A convention official said he had been informed Shivers would accept the chairmanship. Shivers lost out in his home county of Jefferson, in Hidalgo, where Sharyland, the family estate of his wife, is located, and in Travis County, where the Governor’s Mansion is located. He carried. Tyler County ; he has a home near Woodville. THE STATE SLATE AUSTIN Here is the final list of statewide candidates for the July Democratic primaries as filed with the Secretary of State by the midnight deadline May For Governor : Price Daniel, J. Ev7th, exclusive of courts of criminal appeals : “The people in charge \(of this conpatriotism to have an American flag in this hall !” he exclaimed. Surprised, everyone looked around the stage. No flag. “I promise you when.I become temporary chairman of the ocnvention an American flag will fly! In all this states’ rights talk I am an American !” Not only did this haymaker arouse a tumult, it also countered one symbol state pridewith another symbol national pride. After they recovered from their surprise, the Werlein spokesmen expressed indignation that Smith had reflected on Werlein’s patriotism because ,,of an oversight “such silliness as this,” scoffed conservative Jim Wheat. There was a little .concern among the loyalist floor leaders that some loyalist precincts might waver on the race issue, but the effectiveness of their liberal organization work and the genuineness of their liberalism was demonstrated when they did not lose a single vote on the roll callwhich was also an event in its own right. The chairman of precinct 152 shouted out, “Not just no, but hell no !” “As Texans Voteyes!” said No. 178. “I advise all Shivercrats to cancel their reservations at, Dallas,” saidNo. 219. “Yes !I don’t want my girl to marry a Negro!” said No. 82 \(that precinct was not allowed any convention votes because of a contest, but he the last remark. A number of Negroes were among the delegates., Swiftly then, with the liberal majority of 1836 to 1378 formally ‘established, nomination were entered for convention chairman for Werlein and Smith. When Wheat said Werlein was “a friend of labor,” a wounded roar of boos rose from the assembly. Wheat tried againanother roar, and a front-row delegate shouted, “Does he have callouses on his hands like I do?” But then it was over.. Smith took the chair. Gor Governor : Price Daniel, J. Eyetts Haley, J. J. Holmes, W. Lee 0’-. Daniel, Reuben Senterfitt, ‘Ralph Yar-. borough. For Lieutenant G-Overnor: A. M. Aikin, C. T. Johnson, Ben Ramsey, John Lee Smith. For Attorney General: Ross Carlton, Curtis E. Hill, Torn Moore, Jr., Will Wilson. For State Agriculture Cominissioner: Jim . Barber, Bill Jones, John C. White. For Comptroller : Robert S. Calvert For Treasurer : Warren G. Harding and Jesse James. For Railroad , Commissioner WilFor Texas Supreme Court : Meade AUSTIN No violence or “in mass” attendance of ,Negro voters was reported at conventions in East Texasin spite of a most unusual last-minute statement from the Attorney General, John Ben Shepperd. Shepperd announced before the precinct fight that “it was reported to me that Negroes in East Texas have been in s tructed to attend precinct conventions in mass; unlike past years.” Where . did the reports come from? Denison, Mount Enterprise, Gilmer, Kilgore, Pittsburgh, Mount Pleasant,. Longview, Tyler, Carthage, Rockdale, and Marshall, Shepperd said. Did they come from peace officers? he was asked.. He replied he had received one such call. From .responsible persons? ter fight. The voice of the people is ‘heard today that prejudice . cannot draw a knife through our land,” Smith said. “We as Democrats hold that all positions in the party should be manned by Democrats. On that issue we will give no quarter. Those who ‘do not stand with us on that issue do not belong among’ us. “You have stated that a governOr cannot mislead you by shouting states’ rights when he has violated the rights of the state.” , Among the delegates in spirit, he said,’were Woodrow Wilson, Franklin Roosevelt8\(whose name blew up a tall loved Harryas a give-’em-hell fighter and Alben Barkley. , Smith -said they wotild be guided by Barkley’s dying words: “We would rather be servants in the Hotwse of the Lord than to, sit in the seats V of the mighty.” . With Jackson he repeated: ” ‘We are the victors ; and -to us belong the Spoils.” The convention. elected Johns, ton temporary 1 secretary and Jim Ward, a diligent precinct worker and a leader in the Houston steelworkers’ union, temporary sergeant-at-arms. Committees: were. appointed, their members solidly loyalist. v Mrs. Randolph was given a standing ovation. “You \(lid it. I didn’t do it. You the workers did it,” she said., She said that the July primaries are –still ahead. “We must elect a loyal Democratic governor, and I don’t know but one in the race and that is our great friend, Ralph Yarborough,” she said. “The one We have to defeat is the bosom friend of Shivers, as he’ always has beenPrice Daniel.” Then Bud Mosier, on the liberals’ headquarters staff, told the crowd: “We riiade ’em crawl on their bellies like snakes today but we’re gonna have to do it again in July.” At the press table, a .pro-ShiYers fellow who operated an adding machine muttered: “They don’t believe that, but believe me, it’s true.” RON NIE DUGGER Robert G. Hughes, James Norvell Late surprises were the entries John Lee Smith, the former lieutenant governor from Lubbock, into the already three-cornered race for that job this year ; Ross Carlton of Dallas, head of the Texas Citizens’ Council, and Curtis E. Hill, ‘another Dallas lawyer, in the attorney general’s race; and Bill Jones, a nurseryman from Kermit, and Jim Barber of Wylie for the agriculture spot. Barber said that on May 1 he resigned his job as an employee of the agriculture department because he feels Commissioner White doesn’t have “any ‘sincere interest” in the department and has instead been trying to “raise sufficient funds to become a candidate for governor.” “I think they were.” But he preferred not to give their names. Shepperd was asked what the complainants wanted, and he said they asked for Texas Rangers. “I. did not think that was necessary,” he said. Had he called back to local officers of the cities involved ? He replied: “No, I thought I would pass the word along through the newspapers.” A related s t o r y appeared the same dayFridayin the Longview Daily News. A. G. Morton, Jr.; president of the Kilgore Citizens’ Council, warned the council’s members that the precinct conventions might be “flooded” with Negroes: THE TEXAS OBSERVER Page 8 May 9, 1956 WE HAVE fought the bet Texas Loyalist Democrats Regain Control Shepperd’s Warning