Rockwell Kent Backs Cleveland the MILITANT PUBLISHED WEEKLY IN THE INTERESTS OF THE WORKING PEOPLE Socialist Parley Vol. X X II — No. 47 « ^ ¡ ¡ ^ 2 2 2 NEW YORK, N. Y., MONDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 1958 PricB 10c NOV. 16 — Enthusiasm and mounting support from across the country has greeted the call for a National Housing Bias Conference of American Socialists to convene in Cleve- land, Nov. 28-30. ♦ - Arms Hotel, Carnegie at E. 107 Hits 27 Million A list of additional sponsors St., Cleveland, Ohio. The Commission on Race for the conference was an­ PROPOSED AGENDA and Housing, a private re­ Dixiecrats to Keep nounced today by Eric Rein­ The proposed agenda of the search organization, reported thaler, conference secretary. conference calls for an informal on Nov. 9 that 27 million They include: Rockwell Kent, reception Friday night at the Americans are not free to James Aronson, Scott Nearing, Tudor Arms and the convening live in neighborhoods of their Dr. Annette T. Rubinstein, of the conference Saturday choice because of race, color Terry Pettus, Carl Haessler, morning promptly at 9 A.M., or ethnic reasons. Of these, Reuben Borough, Dr. A. J. with the first session devoted to 18.7 million are nonwhite Lewis, Herbert Rosenfeld, Mil- Key Congress Posts “electoral activity and the ad­ (95% of them Negro), 5 m il­ ton Zaslow, Martin Hall, Carl vancing of labor’s independent lion Jews, 2.5 million of Mexi­ Feingold and Leo Gallagher. political action.” This w ill be can ancestry and 800,000 Registration and checking in followed by a panel discussion Puerto Ricans. The report Face a Long, Cold Winter of delegates w ill take place all on the issue of peace and a pointed out that federal day Friday, Nov. 28, at con­ Northern Democrats session on civil rights and civil housing policies that permit ference headquarters, Tudor liberties. discrimination have led to Saturday evening there will increasing segregation in pub­ be a buffet supper followed by lic housing. The Commission Accepting Leadership Featured Speaker a public session of the confer­ was composed of business ence with Harvey O’Connor, executives from the North Vincent Hallinan. John T. Mc­ and the South. Its research Of Johnson, Rayburn Manus, Joseph P. King and was financed by the Fund for Annette T. Rubinstein as par­ the Republic. What may be realistically expected from the incom­ ticipants in the program, plus folk singer Earl Robinson. ing overwhelmingly Democratic Congress is revealed b y The wind-up session Sunday two items. (1) Immediately following election day the morning w ill be devoted to the SocialistVote stock market took off like a4---------------------------------------------------- question of “Where Do We Go sky rocket. The Wall Street From Here?” boom is so spectacular that it Democratic Whip The Conference Committee Reported in has become front-page news and assures that "a ll sessions of the even the President of the Slock conference w ill be organized to Exchange is calling for re­ guarantee maximum discussion straint. (2) AFL-CIO President and participation by those al- Five States George Meany’s public state­ | tending." "Socialists of all ten­ ments deliberately minimize The socialist vote in 1958 if dencies who are considering at­ labor's role in bringing about slow in being reported. Social­ tending the conference are the Democratic sweep. ist campaign committees in the urged to make advance regis­ The precise line and tone that various states are still trying to trations if at all possible." pry their vote from their re­ the Democratic 86th Congress There is an urgent need for spective election boards. In will adopt cannot yet be de­ financial help to defray the Minnesota and Pennsylvania termined because the jockeying cost of the conference. Send there is indications of modest between its disparate elements registrations (with $2 registra­ increases over 1956. —labor-backed liberals, big city John. T. McManus. General tion fee) and contributions to: But it was not only to the machines and Southern racists Manager of the National Eric J. Reinthaler, Conference vote that socialist campaigners —has not yet resulted in a com­ Guardian, will speak at the Sec’y, 177 East 316th St„ W il- looked for the measure of their promise or deal. N ational Conference of lowick, Ohio. achievements this year. It was The South is still firmly in American Socialists when it The call to the Conference also to the scope of their cam­ There are still long lines at the New York unemployment offices despite the business up­ the saddle through its chair­ meets in Cleveland Nov. 28. (Continued on Page 2) paigning as measured by turn. Any reduction in the number drawing unemployment benefits is due, in large part, manships of most of Congress's amounts of radio and TV time, to the jobless exhausting their benefit right. In September 383,000 ran out of regular or ex­ powerful standing committees, num ber of union meetings at tended unemployment insurance payments. though the increased numbers Speaker of the House Sam which they spoke, size of audi­ of Northern Democrats may Rayburn of Texas will con­ Best Week for Fund; ences at street meetings, and to force a little shortening of the tinue to direct the House a greater interest in socialist stirrups. These Northerners (in­ Democrats when the 86th ideas they saw manifested this cluding an increased number of Congress convenes in January. year. Socialist Political Action liberal Republicans) are pub­ Banquet Nets S700 SOCIALIST VOTE licly committed to some action big wrangles now going on in In New York Stale, on on civil rights. the back room between North­ the basis of unofficial returns By George Lavan R ULE 22 ern Democrats and Congress’s from 48 of 62 counties, the In­ In Light of '58 Elections It is hard to see how they tv/o plantation overseers from dependent-Socialists now have Texas — Senate boss Lyndon The best, week so far — that is what the statistics of - An Editorial ■ can avoid changing Senate Rule the M ilitant’s 30th Anniversary Fund show on this score- over 41,000 votes fo r Corliss La- 22 which permits the filibuster. Johnson and House boss Sara mont, candidate for U.S. Sen­ Rayburn. board. The sum of $1,935 in checks, money orders and cash Barring an open sell-out as in ate, and nearly 27.000 for John United socialist electoral activity was great difficulties. These difficulties prob­ dropped into the fund’s coffers out of letters from near and tested in the 1958 elections, principally in 1955, in which Senators Humph­ Congressional criticism of the T. McManus, candidate for Gov­ ably prevented the ISP from reaching the rey, Douglas et al should have cold-war w ill not be basic and far, from individuals and groups. Out of one envelope fluttered ernor. New York State. How did it fare? What 50,000 mark and permanent ballot status a donation of 56 cents worth of air mail stamps. learned a lesson, or a rotten apparently much less than some In Minnesota, where the So­ conclusions are to be drawn about its that the party aimed for. The most im­ "compromise” which the South­ thought likely. The tip-off was The other big news this week is that Militant supporters cialist Workers Party ran W il­ validity? Has it realistic prospects for portant of these handicaps were the man­ erners are now seeking, the Democratic chief Johnson's ap­ in Oakland have already crossed the finish line and intend to liam Curran for the U.S. Sen­ 1960? euvers employed by Secretary of State filibuster should be abolished pearance in the UN for the ad­ keep going. Oakland zoomed from 18th place on the score- ate, the final SWP vote was Carmine De Sapio to keep the ISP off the at the beginning of this Con­ ministration. There he backed board last week to a lofty 105%. Not satisfied, they simultan­ 5,407. The Socialist Labor Party We believe that the tryout was a suc­ gress fo r the prom ised votes to the hilt State Dept, opposi­ eously asked us to change their quota from the previous $300 ballot. The ISP defeated the Tammany polled 10,858. cess and that serious consideration should are there in sufficient number. tion to the Soviet proposal of to $340 (those people just don’t care how much clerical work In Chicago’s Second Con­ boss in an unprecedented victory. But it be given to broadening united socialist To make a “record” on which banning military use of outer they make for us in this office). gressional District, Rev. Joseph was achieved only ten days before Nov. 4. to garner workers’ votes in the space. Johnson w ill next go to After considerable discussion pro and con, we decided P. King, United Socialist can­ electoral activity on a nationwide basis That left the ISP ten days in which to 1960 Presidential elections, the Mexico for Dulles to confer to accede to Oakland's somewhat unorthodox request. Such a didate, received 925 votes in the looking toward a united socialist ticket in campaign. The turnout under those cir­ Northern Democrats are expect­ with President Lopez Mateos. precedent, of course, gives us no choice but to grant the same face of a sweep of landslide I960. ed to propose more social legis­ As for the cold-war arms build­ favor to all others requesting it. But please — a little re­ proportions for the Democratic cumstances — and in face of opposition lation. How much of this is to up, the disposition of most straint! Just consider the extra clerical work, to say nothing incumbent, Barrett O’Hara.