ustxtxb_obs_1963_11_01_50_00016-00000_000.pdf

Charlotte Kraft, 12 Knollwood, Morristown, N.J. \(This is fundamentally a Texas publication; it is the fact that the Southern problem is very real in East Texas, in some of our cities, and in our politics that gives us an intimate, personal concern with the South. We will run stories from the South every time we have good ones; we would welcome more circulation from the South; we can visualize occasions when we might publish all-Southern issues. We would like to hear from other readers on this general The Henchmen Have The Power “Lyndon and the Griffins” [Obs. Oct. 4] is far the best thing I have read on Johnson and sets out my thoughts on the subject to perfection. I have watched Lyndon “operate” through Fort Worth, Dallas, and San Antonio conventions in other years. . . . My back has always been ‘stiff.’ I like my politics according to the written law. I’ve sat in precinct and county conventions in Collin Countyhave seen my side win by the number of votesbut the henchmen of LBJ have the power and gig us out of it every time. Virginia L. Ragsdale, Box 732, San Andreas, Cal. At Least We’re Necessary Because of the small print, long windedness, and few photographs in the Observer non-renewal was contemplated. But HECK; how could I do without the “history of the income tax,” “PASO persists,” and the realities, satire, and humor a la “How to Go First Class” and “Memorialization” [Obs. Oct. 18]. Here’s $5 to keep the otherwise unpub 16 The Texas Observer lished news of Texas a-comin’ and disseminated. Sidney Craft, 4418 Buena Vista, Dallas 5, Tex. Some Facts Are Needed In a very well-taken article [“An Appalling Waste,” Obs. Aug. 25], Jacques Wilson pointed out that the inept Texas educational system wastes the talents of many Mexican-Americans. After citing figures taken from the federal 1960 census, Mr. Wilson notes that “. . . the Texas Education Agency does not collect or evaluate annually such elementary statistics as the number of Mexican-American drop-outs by grade.” Mr. Wilson is right. But he does not go far enough. The inept Texas educational system wastes the talents of children of all colors and races. Any figures that might reveal the waste are withheld: ItemThe percentage of college freshmen fail-outs broken down by high school of origin is a measure of a high school’s effectiveness. The T.E.A. does not compile this data. ItemPercentage of teacher turnover by school and school district is a measure of effectiveness of school management. The T.E.A. does not compile this data. ItemThe T.E.A. does not audit the “non-budget” portion of school district expenditures. In Port Arthur, “non-budget” expenditures are double the amount spent under the budget. Lack of an outside audit leaves a door open to irregularities. ItemThe T.E.A. cooperates with school districts in concealing information. Despite many efforts last year, I never learned when T.E.A. accreditation people had inspected or planned to inspect Port Arthur schools. Samuel Schiffer, 3700 Franklin Ave., Groves, Tex. September 15, 1963 Four children died today. The news had scarcely stilled the room When in the crush of violence six children were gone. Four were in song, eyes lifted up in hope, and two were warring against hate. I thought that cheeks were for smoothing and eyes for innocence; That children came to name the flowers and to laugh into the sky. How wonderful, I thought, that each is different; How many forms can man’s love create. But there are men who hate color and rage against it to destroy. Better to scream defiance at the sky until vastness overcomes man’s cry, And he weeps to learn what most men see That blue is a lovely color and becomes the sky. Must men go blind and shut out light before children can be free?. Or will more light free tortured minds so all men may see That children are a lovely color and become mankind. Anita Roberts, Fort Worth Texans Chose to Humiliate I first met Jim Crow on a beautiful Sunday morning more than 25 years ago. I was riding in a Houston city bus with many double seats vacant and many others occupied by only one person. At one of the stops, a group of young Negro girls boarded the bus. I was surprised when they walked past the empty seats and huddled on the few seats and very small floor space in the rear. Quite by chance, I glanced up at a sign in the front of the bus. After reading the phrase, “prohibited by state law,” I knew I was seeing the evil Jim Crow face to face. Filled with anger and shame, I turned my face toward the window. As the bus sped on, I saw streams of people pouring from several splendid church buildings. I wondered if they ever had paused to connect the meaning of the inspiring words of their religious faith with the words of the sign hanging in the busthe ugly words of hate for their neighbor whose skin was darker. Born and educated in the North, I had learned that the lofty words, “with liberty and justice for all,” in the pledge of allegiance to the flag of our country meant little to many. I had seen discrimination and injustice against groups and individuals because of their nationality, religion, and economic status; but never had I encountered these evils authorized by law…. White voters of every state had a choice. Texans had chosen to humiliate human beings. Today, opponents of the public accommodations section of the proposed civil rights legislation base their protest on infringement of property rights. The bus on ,which I was riding so long ago in Houston was private property. But a state law prevented the owners from seating the young Negro girls in the vacant seats. They had paid the same fare as I and the other passengers. Why is one side of the coin a violation of property rights and the other, the morally and spiritually wrong side, not as much a violation? .. . The pages of history prove that the white race is not the only guilty party in the centuries old record of man’s injustice to man. . . . But today, the white race is on stage. The audience outnumbers the actors nearly three to one. In hostile mood, the audience forgets the many, many good performances. Is this now the hour for our country, with its multiracial, multinational, and multireligious population, to be the star of a world premiere? Eileen Tisdale, 914 W. Mulberry, Apt, 2, San Antonio 1, Tex. We, very thoroughly enjoy the Texas Observer; wouldn’t discard a single copy. We appreciate your standing firm on your convictions; it takes a great deal of courage to speak up for causes that are unpopular to many in power.Mr. and Mrs. Henry Labaj, Route 1, Granger, Tex. I like your paper, but don’t care for the strong language you use at times.Mrs. W. D. Wood, Highlands, Tex.