ustxtxb_obs_1959_12_11_50_00002-00000_000.pdf

The Week in Texas SOME LIBERALS, STENNIS BACK LYNDON AUSTIN Five liberals well known in the state, Mrs. Maury Maverick, Sr., ex-Rep. Maury Maverick, Jr., and Albert Pena of San Antonio, George Nokes of Waco, former senator and candidate for lieutenant governor, and Tom Moore, former district attorney of Waco and candidate for attorney general, have associated themselves with Johnson for president clubs. A Johnson for President club was announced in Bexar County with Reese L. Harrison, president of Friedrich Refrigerators, Inc., the chairman. Other members included the Mavericks, Sheriff Owen Kilday, Cong. Paul Kilday, Cty Cmsrs. Pena and A. J. Ploch, Cty. Democratic chairman James Knight, SDEC member John Peace, Valmo Bellinger and Archie Johnson of the Negro community, Rep. Franklin Spears, Robert Lee Bobbitt, former attorney general, and Spike Brenan, Gov. Daniel’s local campaign manager. In Waco, a McLennan County club was formed for Johnson. Nokes and Mrs. Elizabeth Estes of Lorena were named co-chairmen. Harlon Fentress, published of the Fentress newspapers, presided until the co-chairmen were elected. Others present included Cong. Bob Poage, Tom Moore, and Abner McCall, dean of Baylor law school and a statewide leader of “Freedom in Action.” McCall said he had been associated with conservatives, and extreme conservatives and extreme liberals might put up candidates against Johnson, “but Johnson best exemplifies both sides, and both could have confidence in him.” Johnson, meanwhile, toured Kansas, Iowa, and Missouri. In Hutchinson he called Eisenhower “this warm and friendly man” but said he is not the issue in 1960. In Wichita he spoke of the U.S. being second in the battle of brains. In Council Bluffs he advocated a push to outer space. In St. Louis he advocated his bill for FHA-type loans to college students. In Des Moines he advocated an economic general staff to direct a monetary counter-offensive against Russia, and at a news con In Tenaha, Texas, a 34-year old, $270-a-month assistant bank cashiersecretary of the First Baptist Church, president of the Businessmen’s Club, and head of the American Legion postadmitted he changed “the figures in the books” of First State Bank and embezzled $340,000, which he sunk into his unsuccessful construction company. “I just kept getting in deeper and deeper,” said Clifford Gary. The U. S. Bureau of the Cen sus estimated Dec. 6 that as of July 1, 1958, the population of Texas was 9,324,000. This was 1,613,000 more than in 1950. SOilman Michael Halbouty, concerned by business criticism of “partial conservation” of oil under state laws and a proposal for uniform federal proration, said in Houston the states must provide “total conservation . . . development, production, and handling of petroleum without preventable waste.” OThe rash of fires in East Texas-57 on a single day, Nov. 27were caused by the early frost and a dry-out of the dead vegetation, the Texas forest service said. Results: three deaths, half THE TEXAS OBSERVER Page 2 December 11, 1959 ference there he said he is not a candidate but “would not say I would not serve.” In Washington Sen. John C. Stennis, Mississippi Democrat, said Johnson has the “knowhow and drive and would do a fine job” and make a “very strong candidate.” In Mount Pleasant, Sen. Russell Long, Louisiana Democrat, said he is inclined to think Johnson will get the Democratic nomination and that he, Long, thinks Johnson is the logical choice. He quoted Sen. Harry Byrd that Johnson is “a moderate liberal.” Passing through Houston, Sen. Prescott Bush, Republican from Connecticut and chairman of the platform committee at the 1956 Republican national convention, told the Houston Chronicle that Lyndon Johnson is “too good for the DemocratsI don’t think they will nominate him . . . Lyndon is a very able man.” Battle Line, the GOP newslet He Didn’t Ask If He Could Ask Newsweek magazine for Dec. 7 reported, in “Washington Trends”: ” ‘Rigging’ en Capitol Hill “Here’s one unlooked for result of the television fix scandal: “All three networks are now taking a hard new look at one of their staple commodities the filmed interview with senators and congressmen. “While these shows may look spontaneous, they actually are rigged to this extent: Very few congressmen will go near the camera unless they are permitted to approve in advance the questions that will be asked. “One network has an unused film of a senator exploding at an interviewer who strayed from the prepared text. ” ‘I didn’t agree to answer that question,’ the senator roared. ‘Now get that camera out of here!’ “The senator? , None .other than Majority Leader Lyndon Johnson.” a million dollars in property losses. Most of the fires were started by careless trash burning. OA crack-down on illegal bot tle clubs generally, those operated for a profitwas announced ‘by Atty. Gen. Will Wilson and Liquor Board administrator Coke Stevenson, Jr. Wilson said it’s legal to have a club in which members buy their own liquor and the club sells them set-ups, or they pay a monthly amount into a liquor pool and are charged a uniform amount each month no matter how many drinks they have. Otherwiseespecially if the proprietor makes a profitit’s illegal. Stevenson said “we’re scared to death” of gambling in club back rooms though they haven’t found any of it. Stevenson said Houston has 150 to 300 clubs, Dallas 90 to 100, Fort Worth 18 to 25, Austin 10 to 12, Galveston “at least” 50, Corpus Christi 19. J. W. Edgar, state education commissioner, turned down Houston teacher Charles Strange’s appeal from his dismissal by the Houston school board after altercations with a student. Strange ter, said the 1959 “battle of the budget” was won by a united GOP minority and the President, “working with discerning Democrats,” ging with “rigged -statistics” that then, in Philadelphia, accusing the GOP of “cutting the people’s deams out of the budget.” Johnson himself conferred with Kentucky Democrats at the home of Gov.-elect Bert Combs and two dozen others, including ex-Sen. Earle Clements, who has resigned as chairman of the Democratic senatorial campaign committee to take a Kentucky state job and reportedly to work for Johnson for president. In Austin, Larry Blackmon of Mineral Wells and Jake Jacobsen, the state Democratic executive committee secretary, were named co-directors of the Texas Johnsonfor-President clubs. Labor on Texans U. S. labor’s analysis of the 1959 Congress agrees with ADA’sthat it failed to achieve major constructive resoults. The voting record for Texans, as reported earlier, gives Sen. Lyndon Johnson 10 good votes and one bad, Sen. Yarborough 11 good and one bad. Marked-down votes by the Texans were on the same one issuereforming the filibuster in the Senate. On the House side Labor ranked Texas c on gr es sin e n this way Beckworth, Ikard, Kilday, Patman, Thompson, and Thornberry 7-3, Thomas and Wright 6-4, Rutherford and Young 5-5, Poage 4-4, Rogers 3-7, Teague 3-6, Mahon 2-8, Burleson, Casey, Dowdy, Fisher, and Kilgore 1-9, and Alger 0-10. “The failure of the Congress to pass more major legislation to meet the needs of the people and of the nation is cause for regret,” said a legislative report from U. S. labor. With the President more vigorous and conservative, “time and again” the Congress failed to pass adequate programs “because . of the President’s opposition; other times, the Congress was balked by presidential vetoes.” “There is little to cheer about” in the Congress’ record, and “if said he was fired for his union organizing. Edgar held the only issue he could decide was whether the local board acted within its authority. After a final appeal to the State Board of Education, Strange could go to court. A Dallas civil appeals court upheld Texas Employment Cmsr. Robert F. Newman in his minority az’gument that workers laid off during vacation shutdowns are entitled to unemployment compensation whether they have vacation time coming or not. T.E.C.’s majority had held they had to have the time coming. OLester Gra ha m, regional AFL-CIO director in Texas, launched a campaign to get union members to donate an hour’s pay a month to the steelworkers for their national strike. OConrad Wirth, director of the Natl. Parks Service, is to survey Padre Island personally preparatory to testifying before a Senate subcommittee in Corpus Christi Dec. 14 on the establishment of a national ‘seashore area there. OHighlander editor Lyman Jones’s campaign for a new sewage system for Marble Falls carried, 314-175. “The people of Marble Falls are to be congratulated,” Jones wrote. plaform,” said ADA’s national head. “Senator Johnson lacked either the convictions of his words or the courage of his convictions.” Heading off the fight for “a workable anti-filibuster r u 1 e,” Johnson substituted “inconsequential” legislation “bounded by the limits of Southern tolerance.” If Johnson had gotten any closer to the Republicans, “he would have been on the other side of them,” but as it was, he fell “into a punchless clinch with the administration,” Beer declared. Dallas Leaders For LBJ Named DALLAS No references were made by Johnson leaders or the daily press to the “commitee of 1,000” for Johnson for President as Robert Clark, Dallas attorney, named seven businessmen co-chairmen of the Dallas County Lyndon Johnson for president clubs. They are Karl Hoblitzelle, Stanley Marcus, George S. McGhee, S. J. Hay, Bert Fields, W. H. Pierce, and Earl Hayes. Clark said the organization will actively solicit and welcome the help of all loyal Democrats. The co-chairmen said the purpose of the group is to “actively promote support of” Johnson for “nomination and election to the presidency.” “The formation of the clubs,” they said, “is predicated on an allout, all the way program to assure Sen. Johnson the support of Dallas County Democrats in the state May conventions as well as the November general election.” Joe Bailey Humphreys and the late Dan Patton, Jr., loyalist leaders, several weeks ago warned Democrats not to join the clubs unless the leaders promised to support the Democratic nominees, whoever they might be, in the general election. Cordye Hall, loyalist precinct organizer in Dallas, charged, with reference to the co-chairmen, that only McGhee “might have supported Stevenson in 1956. Stanley Marcus and others are known to have worked for Eisenhower for President. S. J. Hay, a former precinct chairman, has been loyal to Ed Drake . . . W. H. Pierce signed a full page ad for Bruce Alger in 1958.” LAND SOLD that the Sears bid was the high bid. All this took about five minutes. The city council then accepted the bid and approved a long resolution, prepared in advance of the auction, authorizing the Sale of the tract to Sears, Roebuck. The resolution said the $800,000 Sears bid “is bound to be a fair price for this land.” Opponents of the sale have maintained the land would increase in value if it were held. Sears spokesmen said they will build a regional shopping center on the land and lease out space to other commercial tenants. One speaker said it will be “the finMayor Miller reviewed the promise of the city council to spend all the $800,000 on parks and recreation improvements. Advocates of the city keeping the land had proposed its use as a park or for other public purposes. City Mgr. W. T. Williams said the acreage sold was “not suitable for park purposes.” “We thank all of you for coming out,” Mayor Miller said as the crowd began leaving. “I’rh sorry there’s not any other bidder.” it is to go down in history as the progressive, enlightened, publicinterest body that the elections of 1958 seemed to promise, then the 86th Congress Must earn its reputation in 1960,” said AFL-CIO. Why did the Congress of 1959 fail to live up to labor’s hopes? Because, said Labor, of three gress,” including the filibuster in “Government by veto . . . The use of the veto, and frequently the mere threat of the veto, has led to retreat after retreat. There has been too much ‘accommodation’ to the President’s wishes and too little concern for the public welfare.” AFL-CIO’s congressional analysis leaves aside direct discussion of Sen. Johnson except for civil rights. Johnson made the motion to kill a motion to consider the Senate rules and won, 60-36. AFL-CIO selected this as the test vote on Senate filibusters. “Following this vote, Senator Johnson and Senator Dirksen to permit two-thirds of those voting, instead of two-thirds of the whole Senate, to close debate. The change, though in the right direction, was minor,” remarks U. S. labor’s analysis. Johnson’s civil rights billto extend the life of the civil rights commission, provide federal powers in bombing cases, and establish a federal service to conciliate civil rights disputeswas “weak, lacking increased authority for the attorney general,” compared to a bill labor favored, said the analysis. Apart from the filibuster votes, Johnson and Yarborough were credited, on labor’s tabulations, with good votes on housing funds of $2.75 billion;. statehood for Hawaii; $400 million for depressed areas; refusal to allow state courts to handle labor cases not handled by NRLB; removal of special tax credit on 4 percent of dividend income; TVA self-financing bill; re-establishment of GI Bill for repassage of housing bill over presidential veto; extension of civil rights commission. On extending the federal temporary unemployment compensation bill, Yarborough went one-up on Johnson in labor’s tabulation because Johnson was absent on the vote.