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He Signed It Gov. Price Daniel as he might have appeared as he considered whether to sign the Pool-Lane bill requiring registration of members of organizations which “hinder, harass, or interfere” with school operations. He told reporters he was studying the matter then signed. \(Above he is actually pondering a question at a recent Trial of four Longview NAACP leaders under an ordinance requiring them to fork over the names of their members was postponed indefinitely when the city attorney said that the legisla ture’s law might supercede the local law and that the constitutionaitiy of such legislation is being tested in a neighboring state. See ‘Close Schools’ Feeling Gift of $2000 Leads to Firing AUSTIN The race-question image, although blurred a bit at the edges by the departure of the special legislative sessions, was still in the Texas public eyes. There have been these isolated-related developments: Dallas Joe Belden’s Texas Poll concluded from interviews of “a representative cross section of 100 adults” that “the majority of Texans disapproved the use of troops at Little Rock, and most would prefer to have their school closed rather than see soldiers on guard upholding integration orders of the federal courts.” To the question: “Do you feel that federal troops were necessary, or not necessary, to uphold the law in Little Rock?” Belden said 58 percent of the white people questioned said “not necessary,” and 34 percent “necessary.” Of Ne groes asked the same question, 50 per cent said “necessary” and 35 percent said “not necessary.” When Belden asked if closing schools would be preferred to having “federal troops stand guard,” 57 percent of the whites said “close” and 29 percent said “keep open.” Negroes again voted in opposite fashion: 52 percent said “keep open,” 29 percent replied “close.” Belden said 99 per cent of the people he interviewed had heard of Little Rock’s integration fuss. Among his conclusions: “The Little Rock incident may have solidDallas Federal Dist. Judge T. Whitfield Davidson announced the retirement, in six months, of SAN ANTONIO “There’s a saying in Spanish, ‘El hablador ea.e primero que el cojo,’ which means: ‘A fibber falls quicker than a cripple.’ ” This was State Sen. Henry Gonzalez’s reaction to Gov. Price Daniel’s appointment of 66-yearold John Hoyo, San Antonio attorney and a former legislative colleague of the Governor’s, to the 150th district court bench. Gonzalez in November fought an earlier Daniel appointment to the same post, Joe F. Brown, winning when the Senate voted with him not to confirm Brown. The fight over the Hoyo appointment had its roots in the Brown fuss, Gonzalez charging that Daniel failed to consult him before announcing the appointment in traditional fashion when appointment is subject to Senate approval. Daniel said he tried to reach Gonzalez by telephone, Atwell Retires, Blasting Court Federal Dist. Judge William Atwell, 88. The announcement followed by a week Atwell’s lecture from the bench of Dallas School Board attorney Andrew Thussl, during which Atwell told Thuss: “You are just displeased because the rulings in the school case have been going against you.” The Dallas board has on appeal with the U.S. appeals court at New Orleans an Atwell order to integrate at the close of the current shcool term, about Feb. 1, 1958. Meantime, the board had asked Atwell to construe for it the conflict between an Atwell order and a state law requiring a local option election on integration. Failure to hold the election could cost Dallas about $1.5 million state school aid and remove Texas Education Agency accreditation of Dallas schoolsmeaning that Dallas high school graduates would have to take college entrance examinations. Atwell dismissed the case, saying he had no jurisdiction over a state statute. Atwell last week, in an. interview with the Dallas News, said he personally considered segregation neither “immoral nor unconstitutional.” Earlier, Atwell had twice denied Negro student petitions for integration. He was overruled in both cases by the New Orleans appeals court. Atwell said: “I do not believe … that the Supreme Court ren failed to do so, and finally made the appointment anyhow. Gonzalez counterblasted that his first knowledge of the appointment came from Hoyo, who, he said, called on him to inform him that he was to be appointed. Gonzalez implied that the appointment was meant to slap directly at him: “I don’t know if Hoyo was a Republican last year, but he is Shelton \(a San Antonio Republican who last year managed the campaign of Gonzalez’s GOP op… has to assume responsibility for the vicious tactics used against me. It was politics of the worst stripe.” H o y o’s appointment expires before the Senate meets again in 1959. Reportedly he agreed not to seek the post by election in 1958. dered its integration decision upon past rulings of that high tribunal, but rather upon modern psychological writings and authorities … The real law of the land is the same today as it was on May 16, 1954; also as it was in 1927 when a unanimous Supreme Court bench upheld segregated schools in Gong Lum vs. Rice; as held in Plessy vs. Ferguson in 1896, with one judge dissenting, and as it was during all preceding and intervening years.” Asked what “recourse” segregationists have, Atwell said: “I know of no recourse that the people have save and except to obey and await a subsequent righteous and correct decision.” He said also he doubted the President had “legal authority” to call out federal troops to enforce a federal court order. HoustonJohn Pate, a reporter for the Houston P o s t, was “roughed up” and had his arms “twisted good” by an unknown man at a meeting of the White Citizens Council of America in Texas, Inc. Pate said he was attacked as he refused to surrender a handful of pamphlets and brochures being distributed at the meeting. Pate said a Houston Press reporter, Marie Duplaise \(who was ened. He said he was told: “If Marie Dauplaise comes here, she’ll get the same treatment.” After the incident, Robert Milner, the Houston oilman who heads the segregationist organization, said he had given orders that henceforth reporters from the Press and Post were to be “barred” from meetings. He said he thought the two papers were “spying” on the organization. HOT HOOPLA! AUSTIN A two thousand dollar “gift,” as it has been ex -plained, allegedly passed between John McLarty, president of Estate Life Insurance Co., Amarillo, and J. W. Pierson, a state insurance examiner for 24 years, last August 27 a n d another Texas insurance scandal is on the rails. Sen. Charles Herring’s investigating committee scheduled hearings on the “gift” in Dallas Thursday and Friday. Insurance Commissioner William A. Harrison remarking bitterly that Herring failed to return his telephone calls and that the commission had to get its own data about the gift in order to be in a position to take action fired Pierson and told Estate Life to remove McLarty or shut down. Estate Life accepted McLarty’s resignation. Harrison said both McLarty and Pierson made sworn statements concerning the payment. “Both said it was a giftthere was no other explanation,” said the commissioner. “We don’t know if this $2,000 cash gift is bribery but it does seem inappropriate for him to take money from the company he is doing business with,” said Herring. GENE FONDREN, Herrin g committee counsel, dug up evidence on the transaction in Dallas about three weeks ago, Herring said. Why had it not been turned over to Harrison, he was asked. Herring, who wa’s “present, not voting” on the Senate’s 1514 vote to disapprove Harrison as insurance commissioner, replied: “We considered it but decided not to do it. We wanted to nail it down so no one could squirm out of it. We didn’t want it to get covered up. We’re going to keep digging because no one else seems interested in digging.” \(Harrison was held by Atty. Gen. Will Wilson to be beyond the au’1—-;+v of the Senate as an adHarrison said he was told Saturday night Pierson had made a sworn statement to Fondren. He said Fondren agreed he had the statement but refused to turn it over to the insurance deparment without approval of the Senate committee. Will Davis, department legal counsel, got a second sworn statement from Pierson in a special trip to Dallas Saturday night. On Sunday Harrison fired Pierson and told Estate Life to dump McLarty or go out of business in Texas. “I don’t want to be accused of dragging my feet,” he said. “The Senate committee has not volunteered any information of any type at any time. If anyone anywhere knows of any misconduct among state insurance employees I want to know about it. I will take action as I have in this matter.” to call me as soon as he came in.” said Harrison. “I still haven’t heard from him.” Estate Life assumed policies of Physicians Life July 16 with the approval of liquidator J. D. Wheeler. Pierson and Wheeler conferred in Dallas early this week. Reportedly Estate Life was considering suit against the state for permitting it to make a bad deal for it on these policies. Harrison said he had received a letter from McLarty in September saying in effect it had been a good deal. The president of Preferred Life in Dallas, Largent Parks, has resigned. The slow action of the insurance department in acting on an unfavorable examination report about Preferred Life allegedly figured in the Senate’s hostility to Harrison. Paul Connor, assistant commissioner, said he was the one who decided not to send the information in the report to the Attorney General for action. The new insurance laws make it a one-to-five-year offense for an insurance department employee to receive, or an insurance company official to give him, anything of value. IN ANOTHER business regulation case, the state has at least temporarily shut down stockselling First Trust Co. of Houston, alleging “false and fraudulent” annual statements to the banking commission. The firm is insolvent, with capital impairment of $382,000, alleges the Attorney General in a receivership suit. Dist. Judge Jack Roberts of Austin has granted an order temporarily restraining the firm from doing further business and has appointed an attorney temporary receiver. The firm regularly received substantial sums of money from payments on “investment certificates” sold at $1,200 each, payable in monthly installments of $10 over a ten-year period. When the certificate was paid out the investor was to get a $600 “guaranteed collateral bond” and 600 shares of non-voting common stock. Manford, Price, Flewellen Set For State Posts AUSTIN Statehouse events: Gov. Daniel appointed exHouse Speaker Durwood Manford chairman of the state board of water engineers. He replaces R. M. Dixon as chairman of the board Jan. 1, who, with Otha Dent and Manford, will then make up the board. Daniel said he hoped the appointment would cause “harmony and unity of action.” The board heard a plea for a new dam in Ellis County on Waxahachie Creek. Daniel appointed E. E. McAdams, former executive director of the League of Texas Municipalities, chairman of the State Board of Control, with Judge L. H. Flewellen a new member. He ialso named County Judge Ned Price, Tyler, as employer member of the industrial accident board, replacing Manford. Study committees for the Legislative Council have been appointed by Lt. Gov. Ben Ramsey on small loans, constitutional revision, traffic accidents, a n d other subj ects. Sen. William Fly, Victoria, said the state tax study commission will hold public hearings on taxes Jan. 9-10 or Jan. 15-16 …. Rep. W. S. Heatly, Paducah, said a special committee on the legislative budget board will look into coaches’ salaries at state colleges. A&M reportedly offered a coach it was trying to hire $60,000 a year…. Gov. Price Daniel urged in Austin that the state finance school construction instead of the federal government; this would increase state spending …. The state department of public welfare annual report revealed the state paid $242 million in welfare benefits in fiscal 1957. DANIEL,GONZALEZ ARGUE ABOUT THE APPOINTEES Well, friends and neighbors, here it is almost Christmas time, and what do you think we’re gonna suggest? A lifetime subscription to the Texas Observer \(for the lifetime of pay part of a premium on a life insurance policy on the life of the editor, with benefits to be pro-rated? No. THE OBSERVER AS A CHRIST-MAS GIFT! Frighten your friends horrify your enemies! Special holiday season prices: $3.99 for the first gift; $3.98 for the second gift; $0.01 for the third gift. THE TEXAS OBSERVER Page 8 December 20, 1957