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Clo (! 7/r2J About Mrs. Murphy's Boar<ling House Atty. Gen. Robert Kennedy fa ces two prob· ]ems in promoting a Jaw against racial discrimination in public accommodations. One is to define the businesess ter which the Jaw would apply. The other is to get the bill passed in any form. The attorney general has made it clear that he does not want the law to apply to small places such as "Mrs. Mur phy's boarding house." Yet he objects to a dollar cut-off for affected businesses because it would not be right, and m ight not be constitutional, to tell large businesses they could not discriminate while small businesses could. Per haps he best solution is to leave Mrs. Murphy and the small business distinction out of it, and hinge- the application of the law on businesses "substantially" engaged in interstate commerce. That is what the administration originally proposed, and if the formula seems vague, at least it is one with which the courts have been able to deal in federa l regulations applying f, om everything from labor c ses to oleomargarine. In view of some of the Republican as well as Southern criticism of the proposal , this is the most controversial part of the admin istralion program. To Negroes it is one of the most important ; Roy Wilkins, executive secretary of the National Association for the Adva ncement of Colored P eople, says, " The public accommodations problem is the one that irritates Negroes from morning to night." Yet the Chicago convention of the NAACP , though commending tJhe Kennedy program , calls it " inadequate" and seeks, in addition, a national fair employment law and power for the attorney general to sue in behalf of all ci vil ·eQtQ ~I ·the rights. Desirable as these NAACP might be better adv-is 110~ to ntentrate its efforts on saving the public acco odations plan. To seek , Ijlfr 1,11ore 1fP.P.lnYii¥1,Congress could result in dumpingn ~ h!ll63•1!;1ghts program into Mrs. Murphy's cltcJwtl~:._sT. LOUIS P OST-DISP ATCH. SENATORS STUD NEW RIGHTS MOYE gists and other small merchants. "That's at least as much interf:rence with 'private property as restriction against ' racial discrimina tion," this Democrat said. " A retailer buys the product and then is told Continued From Page 1, Col. 2 how much he must sell it for." the floor bl mid-summer have been abandoned. co~iti :~ ~ : ~~fd t~: fort to repeal the 4, per cent credit on taxes that corporation stockholders pay on dividend income. A compromise version may P'.15S, although committee Republicans are unanimous!~ proposal Is a novel or ta~-re!l-c~Druggists But No Negroes and strongly -in fayor of ret aining use of the Constitution s "The difference is politics," Ing the e xistlng credit . commerce clause. he said. "These Senators have Find No Legal Novelty drn"ggists in their states but no This _ fee ling has been ex- Negroes." pressed particularly by Republl- The Commerce Committee wil cans. Legal experts say t here ls go Into Its third week of hearnothing to it as a mat ter of ings t his week on t he public constitutional law - Congress, accommodations section of the in its exercise of t he commerce Administration's omnibus civil power, has often gone as far as rights bill. Among the witnesses the Kennedy bill goes. Neverthe- wilt be more Southern Goverless, the feeling remains. nors. Those thinking about the The House Judiciary CommitTrade Commission Act as a tee will continue Its par'AUel basis for the new leglslat,lon hearings on all sections of the say that it would be difficult to legislation. A third set of heardenounce as a legal novelty a n ings will begin before the Sen' approach first used by Congress a te Judiciary Committee, on a ll I in 1914. but the public accommodations Of course, underlying policy section of the bill. objection, on the part of some The Senate Judiciary proceedWAk INGTON, J uly 14 - commerce, are hereby declared non-Southern Sena tors would ings should be Interesting be• doubtles1 remain, But at least cause of Southern dominance on Members of the Senate Com- unlawful." they would not be confused by that committee. The chairman ts merce Committee are consider- The approach being discussed legalistic arguments that the Senator James 0 , Eastland, ing a new approa ch to meet would start with tha t la nguage. Southern opponents of the bill Democrat of Mississippi. He has legal and political objections to Then Cong ress would specificalwould exploit, proponents of t)tls never let a civil rights bill out the Administration's civil rights ly define as one "unfa ir pracapproach say. of his committee, and no one It will be difficult to get sup- expects him to start now. bill. tice" the refusa l of any enterpor t to~ the ban on se_g rega tion Tax Talk wm Reswne The idea is to tie the measure prise in interstate commerce to in pubhc accommodations from s . . . to the language of long-existing sell its products or deal with a number of oon,1ervative North- Nevertheless, Adrmmstration statutes regulating business customers on account of race. erners, especially Middle West- wit nesses will have t_o go em Republicans. Their position through their paces agam . bepractices. This would indica te This would be an approach enis based on political and philo- fore t he full Senate Judiciary tha t Cong ress was fo llowing a tirely fam iliar to lawyers. The sophical views, no t legal a.rgu- membership. The fi rst witwell-established pa th in using courts have long since estabments. ness will be Attorney Gen~ral its power over commerce to end lished that a concerted refusal One Democratic supporter of Robert F. Kennedy. racial discrimina tion in commer- to deal is one of the "unfair the bill obae"ed today that some The other major Congressioncial establishments. pra tices" condemned by the Mlddle Western Republicans al activity of the week will ·b e who WOUid probably oppose it a resumption of tax delibera, One statute that committee Trade Commission Act and 0thof the so•called tions by the se Ways and staff members and Senators er antitrus t laws. lzation Bill. This the floor by ummer hav have in m ;,nd is the Federal The reason for tying the pub d allow naUonal Means Commttt Tra de Commission Act of 1914. lie accoanm ill to existg by manutac- There has b a recess o~ 1ld be Section 5 of t he act begins as ing statu ed goods. more than three weeks In thll g bill ta now be- Ways and Means group's efforti bas!~ a fo llows: fore tli,. .. ,..,.,.,._erce Committee. to write tax-reform and tax tra ion "Unfair methods of competi· ,concern t1i It has behtnd 1t strong lobbying reduction legislation. Earlie tion in commerce, and unfair or 8Upport, eepeclally from drur• predictions of & bill's reachin dece tive acts or practices in Continued on Page 16, Column 4, Studies Add},ting Language· of Existing Commerce Statutes- New Approach Aims{ t Meeting Legal Objections 1II ~!,16:32, 29 December 2017 (EST)-~~= '11 y{J,ttfe 1 I �