Box 17, Folder 14, Document 39

For 96 Years The South’s Standard Newspaper

RALPH McGILL, Publisher

‘ Established June 16, 1868
my Issued daily except New Year's, July 4, Labor Day,
. Vhanksgwing ana Cnrstmas. Second-class postaze paid at
» So the Atlanta Constitution (morning), and Th
an ons ion (morning Atlant.

: Rema Gane, and eaten, Copal ‘ae

lay), pu an! ews-

d paver, Inc,, 10 Forsyth St., Atlanta, Georgia.

‘Page 4

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Sen. Richard B: Russell’s original op-
position to the President's civil rights bill
belabored the proposed cure—legislation
—but ignored the ill—existence of Negro
grievances,

In a television interview he has now
stated that he is “well aware that we're
living in a social revolution.” It seems to
us this'a step forward by him toward the
higher ground of recognizing that a prob-
lem exists.

The other half of the question still

| remains, however; What to do about the
‘ problem?
; The opponents of the President's bill
tin Congress will not have a strong argu~
‘ment if—though they recognize existence
‘of the national problem he is trying to
‘cope with—they avoid any responsibility
'of their own for helping solve it.

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‘opposition to the bill is based on just
such an avoidance of responsibility, emp-
tying the arguments to a large extent.
The implication is that eyen though a
problem is conceded to exist, the South-
erner in Congress is willing to block the
President's effort to do something about
it While in turn offering the alternative
of doing nothing about it.

It seems to us this position is 180
degrees opposed and 100 per cent weak-
er than the position taken by the Board
of the Atlanta Chamber of Commerce in
ifs own resolution opposing passage of

‘e President’s bill.

| THE ATLANTA CONSTITUTION
"
!

: Much of the Southern congressional

1
ot

EUGENE PATTERSON, Editor

Home-delivered subscription rates: Morning and Sun-
day, or evening and Sunday, i rees 50c. Morning or eye-
ning daily only, 1 week, 30e. ning, evening and Sunday
C3 issues), 1 week, 80c. Subeeentiet prices by mail on

request. Single copies: Daily, 5c; Sunday, 20c, plus 3%
sales tax ‘on sales and deliveries made within the state

of Georgia.

FRIDAY, JULY 19, 1963

There Are Right and Wrong Reasons
‘For Opposing the Civil Rights Bill

‘The Chamber opposition is based

neither on denying that a problem exists
nor upon the alternative of doing nothing
about solving it. On. the contrary, the
Chamber couples its opposition to the
legislation with a specific and forthright
alternative solution—voluntary progress
instead of compelled progress.
Like Sen. “Russell, the Chamber
Board found the public accommodations
portion of the bill to be “particularly ob-
jectionable’’ because it would bring in-
trusion of fur'ther federal regulation into
private property.

But unlike Sen. Russell, the Cham-

-ber Board reiterated an alternative to the

legislation; it appealed “to all businesses
soliciting business from the general pub-
lic to do so without regard to race, color
or creed,” solving voluntarily a problem
whose solution it does not want to see
federally compelled.

Atlanta itself is an example of a city
that does not need the President's pro-
posed law because it is recognizing the
problem and solving it voluntarily. This,
it seems to us, is the right reason for op-
posing the public accommodations bill,

If the Southern opposition to the bill
in Congress would move up to this posi-
tion which has already been taken at
home, then it seems to us the arguments
would be greatly strengthened, the soliu-
tion of racial problems would be consid-
erably advanced, and the dignity and
reputation of the South would be better
served,

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