ustxtxb_obs_1958_04_11_50_00005-00000_000.pdf

CANDIDATES *Ex-interim Sen. William A. Blakley of Dallas announced for a full six-year term in the Senate. Probable B14kley opponent is incumbent Ralph Yarborough of Austin. \(For an editorial ‘r Former Sen. George Nokes of Waco announced in opposition to Lt. Gov. Ben Ramsey. *Sen. William T. Moore of Bryan announced for reelection, saying, among other things, “my record speaks for itself.” *Don Williams, 31, an El Paso electric appliance retailer, said he’d make a race for the legislature against incumbent Rep. J. E. Blaine. *Sylvester Lewis of Lampasas said he’ll run for the Senate vacancy created by the voluntary retirement of Carlos Ashley of Llano. Lewis, an attorney-rancher, is a former county judge and county attorney, and a former mayor of Lampasas, *Mike Levi, a Travis County rancher, announced a race against county Democratic chair. man Trueman O’Quinn, an Ikeliker and the special target of Travis County loyal Democrats. Levi said his platform included “support for all the nominees and the platform of the Democratic Party.” * Don Booker, an Orange in surance man who recently resigned as vice-chairman of the Orange County Republican committee, announced for governor as a Democrat. Booker resigned after the Jack Porter dinner for Rep. Joe Martin, saying the GOP “has deserted me.” *State Treasurer Jesse James announced for reelection, making it official by paying the $875 filing fee. George Cook, Odessa insur ance man, announced against Rep. John Lee, Kermit, who has not yet announced for re-election. -AState Sen. Carlos Ashley said he will not seek re-election. “Henceforth,” he said, “it will be my purpose to devote more time to my family and business, to writing about my beloved Hill Country, and to the cultivation of cherished friendships.” THE TEXAS OBSERVER Page 5 April 11, 1958 Houston’s Textbook Woes Sam Miffed On the heels of the Blakley announcement for the Senate, Sen. Ralph Yarborough moved back his promise to announce from April 25 to May 1. May 5 is the deadline date. / The Dallas News chewed v over the possibility that Yarborough may replace Sen. McNamara of Michigan on the McClellan rackets committee \(inwould give the people of Texas the best criterion of his character as a Senator.” Neil McNeil, a Scripps-How ard Washington reporter, said denials to the contrary, “some of the majority leader’s re cent political fence mending \(Johnson came home for Easter the assumption that Johnson Political Intellioence might not walk too far or too fast away from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.” McNeil said Johnson a conflict between Johnson and Yarborough grows daily more visible. / Rep. Glenn Kothmann, San Antonio, still a possible agriculture commissioner candidate, said he found much, anti-John White sentiment in the Lower Valley recently. An informed liberal politico at Austin has scratched Dist. Judge Jim Sewell as a serious challenger to Gov. Daniel. “Jim will run until May 5,” the politico puts it. Ex-Gov. Allan Shivers sounded like several years ago, speaking to San Antonio Rotarians: He said both major parties are too liberal for him; “I find myself without a place to go.” Speaker Sam Rayburn, en route home for Easter, stepped from a plane at Love Field, took a Dallas News editorial denouncing him from his pocket and denounced the News back. He called the editorial “most unfair, false, malicious … infamous.” / Former Sen. George Nokes of Waco spent several hours researching at the Capitol on state finances and on Lt. Gov. Ben Ramsey’s Senate maneuverings. The Dallas News reports Rep. Robert Sutton is mulling a race against Sen. George Parkhouse. / Houston Labor Journal gives Lyndon Johnson “a pat on the back for moving speedily upon the request of labor to get action moving on an anti-recession program,” “including bills to provide more schools, hospitals, and roads.” VHillsboro Mirror, responding to an Observer political intelligence item reporting that “it was announced that the usual $2.50 meal at the Hillsboro chamber of commerce banquet would be served, but through the courtesy of a ‘wealthy friend,’ tickets would sell for 50 cents each,” with Sen. Blakley the speaker, did some checking, replied angrily the Observer, “an antiBlakley publication,” was wrong in “insinuating” Blakley or some other wealthy person picked up part of the tab. “The citizens of Hillsboro need no wealthy friend to finance their chamber of commerce banquets,” said the Mirror. The tickets sold for 75 cents, and “The difference in the cost of the banquet and the funds received from the sale of tickets was paid with chamber of commerce funds,” said the Mirror. WHO’S DOT AUSTIN The chairman of Democrats of Texas, addressing a gathering of Travis County Democrats last week, said DOT is not labor-dominated but is “truly representative of the people of the state,” accused state Democratic executive committee members of being “Republicans and Dixiecrats,” and referred to the Governor as “Republican Price Daniel.” Mrs. R. D. Randolph said that Harris County Democrats are in for a hard fight for county convention control, “and I’m not about to tell you that we’re going to win.” Conservativei have set up a large headquarters and have hired Bill Hollis, “nothing,” said Mrs. Randolph, “but a promoter, a good promoter, but he doesn’t believe in anything.” “They have all the money they need and have hired six paid organizers under him,” she said. “They’re telling them, ‘Well, we’re all just good Democrats … Nov you just come along with us.’ Fortunately, our executive committee members aren’t that dumb. They are going to run someone against every committeeman we have. They are trying to find people who haven’t been working with the Dixiecrats who they can deceive us with. This is happening in every county. “We do not have much money,” she said, “but we do have dedicated workers.” “All over the state, Jake Pickle has been going about saying that we are a labor-controlled group,” Mrs. Randolph said. “This is really a representative group.” The executive board members are chosen by district caucuses, and the steering committee by county caucuses, one member per county; officers were elected at a statewide meeting, she said. “Serving on the executive board,” said Mrs. Randolph, “are twelve businessmen, nine farmers or stockmen, eight lawyers, four housewives, three labor union officials, two salaried employees, and one city official. Serving on the steering committee are 31 farmers or stockmen, 27 businessmen, twelve lawyers, nine salaried employees, seven housewives, two doctors, two labor union officials, and one minister.” Twenty-two states have groups similar to DOT, she said, and the national committee is not opposed to them. “I sit on the committee, and I know.” The state Democratic committee, she said, “is composed largely of Republicans. There’s no question about it.” She said she knows this because a majority of the committee “‘members would not support a party registration bill. “If they were Democrats they would favor a registration bill.” Why don’t they, she asked. “Because they want Republicans to come into our Democratic primaries. Can people who have not supported the presidential candidate of the party go out and get the work done? They do not.” “I am not interested in fighting Democrats but I do not believe that Republicans should continue to pose as Democrats,” she said. “They should join the Republican Party. They do not believe in the principles or ideals of the Democratic Party.” She said it is important that loyal Democrats control the 1958 state convention because the state committee named this year at the convention “will be in office when the May, 1960, state convention sends delegates to the national .convention.” “Don’t forget, also, that in 1952, Allan Shivers used the state committee to campaign for Eisenhowerand your present gov HOUSTON The Houston school board has rejected the recommendations of teachers and professional educators on geography and economics textbooks on account of statements in them construed as favorable to the United Nations or critical of “the free economy.” First one, then another teacherapproved economics text was rejected; four of the conservative trustees settled upon the book the teachers thought the worst of the five approved by the state, but they backed off from it when the teachers showed them it favored birth control and free trade; so finally the system’s old economics text was re-adopted. Mrs. Earl Maughmer, wife of a policeman, a Minutewoman, and speaker at local Citizens’ Council meetings, led a heavy attack, too, on two geography texts the textbook committee had recommended. Macmillan, which published one of them, bowed to her objections, cut out sentences and changed phrases, and the board last month adopted the expurgated version. Another illuminating episode occurred last month. The Houston chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution, of which acting Houston school superintendent G. C. Scarborough is a member, sponsors a contest in the schools on the U. S. Constitution and Bill of Rights. S.A.R. donated six reference books to the libraries of the schools. Four of them deal mainly with the Constitution and Bill of Rights, a fifth with the American system of government only; but the sixth, Democracy versus Communism, compares the U. S. and Russian systems of government. Scarbrough, upon request, he said, of the chairman of the essay Ronnie Dugger contest, wrote all high school principals ordering them to withdraw Democracy versus Communism from the libraries. Why? No oneScarborough or S.A.R. spokesmen would say. Miss Nelda Davis, supervisor of social studies in the schools, said of the book, “I think it is an objective treatment of the subject.” One of the book’s contributing editors is a past president of the National Council of Social Studies and a former secretary of a commission of the National Education Assn., both of which have come within the wide swatch of ideological wrath cut by the school board majority. The book contains quottions from both American and Russian leaders. The textbook trouble really began in 1949, when the conservatives were firmly in control. Then-trustee ‘Ewing Werlein, uncle of Presley Werlein, the leader of the conservative faction in Houston now, read this paragraph from Frank Magruder’s American Government: “The United States is called a capitalistic country, but it does not have pure capitalism. It has capitalism subject to increasing ernor, Republican Price Daniel, helped him!” Mrs. Randolph said in. he rprepared text. Mrs. Randolph said “the governor’s clique” in control of a subcommittee of SDEC on DOT’s code of ethics “have no intention of following the instructions of the SDEC” to report back on the code by March 1. “If they don’t want our code, why don’t they write a code? We’ll accept anything reasonable,” she said. She called Daniel’s plan to abolish precinct conventions “a diversionary tactic. governmental control as our manner of living becomes more complex. The country is capitalistic with strong socialistic and even communistic ‘ trends. The postal system, power projects, and progressive taxes are bits of Socialism; and public free education and old age, assistance are examples of Communism … to each according to his need.” This, said Werlein, was “false and dangerous.” Supt. Moreland said Magruder’s was a stateadopted book, but it was banned from the Houston schools. Mrs. Olon Rogers voted no, saying that she wanted to read the book and that the board members ought at least read the chapter in which the paragraph was found. Dr. Petersen, the minutes of Oct. 24, 1949, record, “said he thought it is high time somebody looked after our books.” As a result of the banning, Houston civics teachers had to try to teach without a textbook. In September, 1950, trying to correct this, J. 0. Webb, assistant superintendent for the high schools, recommended special purchases of three books for use in civics; but the recommendation was not adopted. Thus the textbookless course continued. Finally, five years after Magruder’s book was banned, Magruder’s book appeared in a revised version. At the September meeting of 1954, “Dr. Petersen stated that a few weeks ago Dr. Mooreland [then superintendent] called his attention to the fact that they were rather ‘seriously handicapped in the senior high schools because of the lack of a proper history.” He had been reading the revised Magruder, and “it was a very interesting thing that all the criticized areas in the original edition were clipped.” “He expressed himself,” the minutes record, “as ,being quite ready to confess that we couldn’t possibly find any fault with this new edition.” Trustee Garrett Tucker pointed mu t t that the situation in high school civics classes had been “lamentable; that they have had no textbook and, consequently, they have been able to do no studying. He thought that … to have the youngsters deprived of a book in which they can read the Constitution and read the setup of our government is a tragic situation.” The book was readopted; after five years, Houston school children could read a civics textbook again. `One Worldism’ Mrs. Rogers’s faction had won in 1954, but in the summer of 1956, with the segregation issue paramount in the speeches and the literature, the conservatives won a new 5-to-2 majority. At the March 25, 1957, meeting, Mrs. Maughmer had her day. Geography of the World, a Macmillan geography text by Packard and others, and Geohy and World Affairs, Rand McNally’s geography by Jones and Murphy, were recommended, by the system’s textbook experts