FOUR THE MICHIGAN DAILY ill Congress Supersede Michigan s Rights aw. By GENE SCHROEDER Associated Press Staff Writer DETROIT - Will Michigan's civil rights laws, among the strongest in the nation,be wiped off the books by Congress? In the view of some legal au- thorities, the answer may be "yes" if the proposed federal civil rights bill remains in its present form. The federal proposal-now in the House rules committee - might be interpreted by the courts as preempting the entire field of civil rights, taking it out of the hands of individual states, they contend.' Other observers, however, say this is hogwash, and the measure would do no such thing. They point out that the proposal spe- cifically declares in more than one section that state laws shall remain in effect when they do not clash with the federal statute. Final answers to the question probably would not come until after a "shakedown period" of court tests lasting many months. But as far as Michigan is con- cerned, the federal government is a "Johnny-come-lately" in the field. The first civil rights act in Michigan was adopted in 1885. The Wolverine state already has laws in effect which in some re- spects are stronger than the com- promise bill yet to be debated on the floor of Congress. These in- clude some statutes in the fields of public accommodations and fair employment. Key subjects covered by the proposed federal law are public accommodations, fair employ- ment, voting rights, and deseg- 63 years we have served a gentile regation of public education and clientele." other public facilities. The following year, the attor- In Statutes ney general ruled that if a court Most of these matters already determined that a golf club was have been incorporated in Mich- operating as a public facility ad- igan statutes or the state's new mitting only members of the Cau- constitution. casion race, the golf course would Other subjects covered by the be subject to the provisions of the pending Congressional measure Michigan Civil Rights Law. include permanent extension of It also was pointed out that the United States Civil Rights the court could suspend or re- Commission, (with its scope ex- voke the club's liquor or other panded to include vote fraud), licenses where discrimination is relations service, authorization practiced. of the United States attorney In the fair employment field, general to institute civil proceed- the Congressional bill proposes ings to protect against the depri- Equal Opportunity Commission, vation of rights, and provision for which would fulfill a function review of an order remanding a similar to what Michigan's Fair civil rights case from a federal Employment Practices Commission court back to a state court. (FEPC) has been doing for In the field of public accommo- years. dations, the bill would outlaw The federal law would give the racial discrimination in a long new commission the authority to and specific list of places serving go into federal district court to the public, basing the federal gov- get a cease-and-desist order if an ernment's authority to intervene investigation indicates a com- on its power to regulate inter- plaint is justified. state commerce. The Michigan FEPC-charged Prohibit Bias with responsibility to investigate But where the federal bill would and hold hearings-had au- prohibit discrimination in most thority to issue cease-and-desist hotels and lodging-houses, eating orders on its own, with the case places, and centers of entertain- landing in court only on appeal. ment and spectator sports, it The Michigan Fair Employ- would not apply to barber shops, Practices law spells out in metic- beauty parlors, retail stores, bowl- ulous detail-some 3500 words- ing alleys and other places of rec- how the state guarantees as a reation, unless they serve food. civil right the opportunity to ob- Michigan law specifically pro- tai employment "without dis- hibits discrimination in all these crimination because of race, col- fields. or, religion, national origin or In addition, anyone found ancestry." guilty of violating the state law The FEPC is now only a mem- is subject to not less than 15 days ory in Michigan, however. in jail and a possible $100 fine. FEPC Merged The offended party also can file Atty. Gen. Frank Kelley has a civil suit for triple damages. ruled that on Jan. 1, Michigan's Civil Suits newly-created Civil Rights Com- Under the federal proposal, mission will assume full author- the law would be enforced only ity in the fields of employment, by civil suits for an injunction, education, housing and public ac- and neither criminal penalties commodations-putting the FEPC nor the recovery of money dam- out of business. ages is involved. Kelley says the commission has The Michigan statute defines authority to enforce civil rights the scope of the coverage: to purchase, mortgage, lease or "All persons within the juris- rent private housing, and that the' diction of this state shall be en- Legislature is without authority titled to full and equal accom- to abrogate or limit the commis- modations, advantages, facilities sion's power and privileges of inns, hotels, Some legislators refuse to take motels, government housing, res- Kelley's word for it, however, and taurants, eating houses, barber have introduced legislation to lim- shops, billiard parlors, stores, it the Commission's power to pro- public conveyances on land and mulgate rules. water, theatres, motion picture Kelley says if any such proposal houses, public educational insti- is enacted he will move to have tutions, in elevators, on escala- it struck down by the courts. tors, in all methods of air trans- Court Case portation and all other places of Gov. George Romney believes public accommodation, amuse- the whole question probably will ment, and recreation, sulject only go to court for final settlement to the conditions and limitations in eithe case established by law and applicable In outlining the scope of the alike to all citizens and to all commission's function, the attor- citizens alike, with u niformney general says there is no ques- pricesDefinetion but that the new constitution empowers that body to conduct These sweeping Michigan pro- investigations, hold hearings and visions have been further defined issue final orders upon its own in a series of attorney general's motion when the public interest opinions. demands. An unpublished opinion in 1939 "It is equally clear," he said, held that proprietors could not "that the commission has been maintain two separate price lists commanded by the people to serve for the purpose of discriminating the cause of elimination of dis- against prospective patrons be- crimination in the fields of em- cause of race, creed or color. ployment, education, housing and In 1956, the Michigan Tourist public accommodations because of Council was warned not to dis- religion, race, color or national tribute calendars advertising a origin and to advance equal op- resort farm which claimed "for I portunities therein through the fostering of educational programs, studies and reports. Little Effect That section of the proposed federal law dealing with voting rights is expected to have little effect on Michigan. The provi- sion concerns guarantees of the right to vote without discrimina- tion and is aimed chiefly at southern states where so-called literacy tests have been used to keep Negroes from the polls. Michigan has no such tests. The federal law would require that such tests be given in writ- ing, with a sixth-grade education being considered proof of literacy for registration. Legal authorities in Michigan say there have been virtually no complaints along this line in re- cent years. Aimed at South Another key provision in the federal bill-desegregation of pub- lic education-also is aimed chief- ly at southern states where there has been foot-dragging on school integration. It also would authorize the United States district attorney to file suits seeking school integra- tion where he considers that such action would help the orderly achievement of desegregation. No Effect Again, Michigan would not be expected to be substantially af- fected by this provision. Michigan statutes now declare that no separate school or de- partment shall be kept from any person or persons on account of race or color. State laws against discrimina- tion touch on numerous specifics not included in the bill pending in Congress. There also are sev- eral administrative rules and reg- ulations and declarations of poli- cy. Jury Service Included are such matters as jury service, life insurance sales, public assistance and the rights of Indians to sue and be sued. Michigan's public policy on civil rights is spelled out in more than 10,000 words in statutes, attorney general's opinions and the consti- tution. For example, it is a crime in Michigan to: -Make any distinction or dis- crimination between white and colored persons as to life insur- ance premiums or rates, with vio- lators being subject to up to a year in prison and a $500 fine. -Discriminate in the rendering of public welfare assistance. -Disqualify any citizen from grand or petit jury service be- cause of race, creed or color. Domestic Service Newspaper ads are subject to a 1956 attorney general's opinion which said that an ad for a "Christian baby sitter" would be publishable so long as they are sought for domestic service, which in the statutes. But an advertisement by a pro- spective employer of eight or more persons would violate the law if it specified "colored" as a prefer- ence or requirement. In this case, it was pointed out, the desire to employ a colored cook might be related to a bona "THE MANAGEMENT reserves the right to refuse admission to anyone," reads the sign. Michigan's new state laws in the area of public accommodations are considered stronger than parallel provi- sions in legislation now before Congress. fide occupational qualification.' The ruling was that in doubtful cases, the newspaper has the re- sponsibility to determine whether the statute is applicable. The attorney general also said that an employer covered by the Fair Employment Practices Act may not advertise for an employe of his own stated race, nationality or creed simply for the purpose of promoting harmony among em- ployes. Michigan's civil rights laws are based on the Declaration of Rights in the old state Constitution. Of this, the state supreme court has said, "Here the people have erected their safeguards, not only against tyranny and brutality, but against the oppression of tem- porary majorities and the rapa- cious demands of government, it- self. "Here are found words that are beyond words, principles for which men have died and reckoned not the cost." Michigan's new constitution, in an expanded Declaration of Rights article, says that no person shall be denied the equal protection of the laws. And it adds: "Nor shall any person be denied the enjoyment of his civil or poli- tical rights or be discriminated against in the exercise thereof be- cause of religion, race, creed or national origin." PROPOSAL BEFORE UN: Urges World Treaty on Bias A WOMAN axed her young son walk down a road built by the Peace Corps in Tanganyika. Peace Corps To Inaugurate New Program for Juniors Collegiate Press Service effort on our part to increase the NEW YORK-Sargent Shriver, quality of Peace Corps training director of the Peace Corps, has programs by encouraging juniors announced a new Senior Year to start training while they are Program which will enable college still in college." juniors to enroll for special sum- "The main advantage," he not- mer training prior to graduation. ed, "is that the applicants can It will get under way this plan for eventual Peace Corps spring when 500 to 700 college service. They might then revise juniors who have applied for the their senior year curriculum to Peace Corps will be invited to a reflect their interest in a particu- six-week summer training pro- lar kind of Peace Corps assign- gram. ment. They will be able to acquire After summer training, the stu- an increased foreign language fa- dents will return to their colleges cility. to complete their senior year. Other Advantages They will continue their foreign "Further they will be able to language and area studies on an devote their summers to a career- individual basis and will receive related purpose at no cost, while assignments in the spring of their possibly obtaining extra college senior year. credits. The additional lead time More Training will give the Peace Corps a bet- After college graduation in ter opportunity to line up over- June 1965, they will undergo an- seas assignments appropriate to other period of Peace Corps train- the individual skills and aptitudes ing (four to eight weeks) before of the applicants." going overseas. The program will be expanded "The Senior Year Program," in 1965 if it fulfills current ex- Shriver said, "represents a major pectations. UNITED NATIONS W - A United States expert on the United Nations subcommission to eliminate discrimination has pro- posed a sweeping international treaty to outlaw segregation, hate groups and discrimination in pub- lic accommodations based on race or color. The proposals were advanced by Morris B. Abram, Atlanta-born New York lawyer who has been the United States expert on the subcommission for the last three years. The 14-nation subcommission met for a two weeks session to draft treaties on elimination of racial and of religious discrimina- tion, in line with a recent General Assembly recommendation. Not Official Members of the subcommission serve as individual experts nom- inated by their governments, not as government representatives. Abram proposed eight articles for the treaty in definitive lan- guage and said a ninth-aimed at hate groups-would be added after he works out more exact language. His proposals went beyond the official United States position on public accommondations in the past. Some American lawmakers should be excluded from provi- sions for opening places in public use to all, regardless of race or color. Bound to Legislate Under Abram's draft, govern- ments adhering to the treaty would have to adopt legislation to give equal facility to all in places of public use. During the recent General As- sembly, the United States held out against a provision in a UN draft declaration on racial dis- crimination. The provision called for gov- ernment action against individ- uals or groups that preached ha- tred on racial grounds in terms that caused or was likely to cause violence. Nazi-type and anti-Ne- gro groups were the targets for those who sought the clause. Clash of Rights United States delegates argued that taking action against those inciting to violence might inter- fere with constitutional rights to free speech. But they finally yield-, ed, noting only a reservation to a clause in the declaration whose broad language assailed those whose incitement threatened viol- ence. Under Abram's proposal to curb hate groups any such incitement would be punishable by legisla- tion, and government funds must be withheld from any such in- citers. Galbraith Asks All-Out War On 100 Pockets of Poverty have argued that small prises such as boarding enter- houses 1 -I Since 1883 It's IA Since 1883 flR S University Bookstore for the WASHINGTON - A massive educational attack on the 100 worst pockets of poverty has been advocated by Prof. John Ken- neth Galbraith of Harvard Uni- versity. Prof. Galbraith, author of the book "The Affluent Society," said "poverty can be made to dis- appear, but not by economy drivesror stepping up theegrowth rate any more than it will be ac- complished by' incantation or ritualistic washing of the feet," the Washington Post reported. What is needed, Prof. Galbraith declared, is an all-out public ef- fort to concentrate on raising ed- ucational levels across the nation. This would assist in eradicating poverty as, "To the best of knowledge there is no place in the world where well-educated people are really poor." He proposed that the federal government should select the 100 most poverty-stricken areas in the nation, provide them with first rate schools and staff the teachers "in the manner of the Peace Corps." Those who fear federal control of education are "amply protect- ed because the educational effort would not affect them. "Federal aid to edIucation is feared by those who live in suburbs that could easily forego this dcanger, and by people whose children are in private schools," he continued. Prof. Galbraith was critical of those who have seized upon tax reduction as an excuse for cur- tailing public services. ". . . Tax reduction that. affects public ser- vices has a double effect in com- forting. the comfortable and afflicting the poor," he said. "To pretend that public ser- vices are of equal benefit to peo- ple of all income, and hence that there is equality of sacrifice in curtailment, is to work a fraud on the poorest of our people," Prof. Galbraith concluded'. Best in BOOKS and SUPPLIES-servng Michigan Students Since 1883 Thousands of Michigan Men and Women have found our dependable and courteous service combined with the friendly atmosphere of a "real bookstore" the answer to their book and supply needs. New and Used TEXTBOOKS and SUPPLIES FOR ALL UNIVERSITY COURSES 3 good reasons why we' re now sell ing precision portables "Yes ... we're proud to announce our appointment as an authorized Olympia Portable Typewriter Dealer ...and here's why: 1. Features... Olympia Portables come fully-equipped with the finest and most worthwhile typing aids. 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