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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 12, 1961)
o 0 o o o O 4 yflbjfc' V1AIL THIBUNE, MEDFORD, ORE, to Stalemate in Somerville Is Currently Under Consideration (Kdltor's note: In recent months a new "crisis point" In southern race relations has arisen at Som erville, Tenn., a small town near Memphis. The Issue Is the exercise by Negroes of the right to register and vote In a rural srea where a Negro In a voting booth has been a rarity for generations. Negroes say that because they sought to exercise their voting rights, they are being evicted from tenant farms and subjected to economic boycott and pres sure. Whites say the changing economic pattern of the com munity and the area Is respon sible. The federal government has stepped in, and a court bar against evictions because of voting Is in effect. But the stale mate continues. A veteran UI'I writer, who has covered south ern racial developments and con lllcts for many years, reports from the scene in the following dispatch.) By AL KUETTNER . United Press International Somerville, Tenn. - OIPD -One day last month a bale o heavy, drab canvas was de livered to a Negro -owned farm on the highway between Somerville and Moscow, Tenn, A small group o Negro men spread out the canvas, sharpened stakes from sap lings hewn in nearby woods, and soon erected a tent -about 10 by 14 feet. That was the beginning of what rapidly is becoming the most highly publicized cam paign yet on behalf of full voting rights for Negroes In the South. It has led to claims of wholesale economic boycott against Negroes who broke the old local custom by register ing to vote and charges that Negroes have been evicted from jobs on white -owned farms for voting. It has resulted in widely publicized "relief" drives, caravans of clothing and food stuffs and one "relief airlift1 from Chicago. It is just about Impossible to separate fact from fiction. Forced To Leave Ostensibly, o c c u pants of the tents are Negro farm fami lies forced to leave farm ten ant houses because they regis tered to vote. The outward facts are these: There are 13 tents now, occupied by about 80 Negroes, most of whom are children. Only four or five families are representee!, and virtually all of them came off three farms. Reporters dubbed it "Tent City" but Negroes call It "Freedom Village." Press Conferences John McFerren, local Ne gro leader, and Chicago school teacher James Forman run the village on a system that Includes two press con ferences daily - one In the morning to catch the after noon newspaper deadlines and one in the afternoon to catch the morning papers. No re porters are admitted without press cards, and none may question the tent dwellers too freely. Federal District Judge Mar ion Boyd at Memphis, 41 miles to the west, said he -would be gin Jan. 16 deciding "one by one" whether 700 Negroes are being evicted by white land owners because they register ed to vote. ...... -'i; . : - ' (2. i hi , t vf -y . .ir,iSj -. 1 r- -., ..i INSTALL TENT Unidentified Negroes put up a tent in "Freedom Village" in Somerville, Tenn., a small farming town. Thirteen tents are now on the site. Occupants are J-s.... Negro fumilies who say they were required to leave tenant houses after they registered to vote. (UPI Telephoto) Sporadic violence and van dalism have raised the danger signal for law enforcement officers. One Negro has been wounded in the arm - shot by unknown parties who sped past in a car. The tent in which the Negro said he was sleeping is only 75 feet from the road. scores of while persons have been brought into fed cral court to answer affidavits from Negroes who charged they were evicted for votlnR, The NAACP telegraphed President Eisenhower: "Now that the crops arc in. hundreds of the people arc being driven from the lands, White Arguments The white leadership argues that: 1. Changes in the farm economy (mechanization) and transition from one crop agri culture; have deceased Ihc need for farm labor. 2. There is no greater In crease in tenants leaving farms this year than In recent years. 3. No one has been legally evicted from a farm - actual ly a technical point because most tenant contracts a r made and broken orally. It Is (rue that no legal eviction steps have been taken bv th courts, however, showing thn no Negroes actually have re sisted being made to leave. 4. The thing that Is hnp penlng now is standard for this time of year when farm crs renew contracts for th new crop year. 5. Only a few adults arc actually involved in the cur rent "Tent City" incident. persons. Most of the Negroes live along the rural roads. A great number occupy the lit tle tenant houses that dot the farms. A Rare Sight On election days, until re cently, only the white citizen ry turned out. At the Fayette county polls, an occasional Negro was a rare sight. In Haywood, a Negro voter had n't been seen since Recon struction days. Then came 1957 and the passage by Congress of the first Civil Rights Act. It con tained an inconspicuous little sentence - specifying that no one could be discriminated against for voting. In Fayette and Hayward counties, things began to happen. The Fayette County Civic and Welfare league sprang into existence. A similar group developed in Haywood, Their objective: campaign for registration of Negro voters. Strange Sight As the books opened later for registration, a strange sight occurred - long lines of Negro applicants. Today, an estimated 1,400 to 1,600 Ne groes in Fayette alone are qualified to vote. . Has the privilege cost them anything? That's where you get many answers on the road from Somerville to Moscow. On Somervillc's courthouse you read on a historical plaque that this district was once represented in the legislature by Davy Crockett, the pioneer made famous in song for his bear-hunting prowess. A near by highway markers says: "Moscow 13 miles. ' in surplus commodities to the Negroes. Htitchcns said both while and Negro leaders told him there was no need - yet - for emergency supplies. While McFerren talks, cus tomers come and go in the store, making small purchases trom limited stocks of staples and meats. The two gas pumps outside are idle. McFerren says that when the Negro voter registration campaign started, he was one of the first to be hit in an economic boycott. Negroes around here call it "the squeeze." McFerren says he now has to travel up to 75 miles to obtain supplies for his store and that it is Impossible to obtain gasoline. He claims that one gas truck which at tempted to deliver a sunnly to him was turned around by a deputy sheriff. Such stones are firmly denied by offi cials. The scores of Negroes who line up each day for supplies at McFerrcn's warehouse-are carefully checked by volun teers. A "clerk" stands at the warehouse entrance in front of piles of clothing and food packages. Get Supplios The attendant yells out 'District Three" and the dis trict chairman steps up with a list of those who are to gel supplies. Soon, Negoes trudge off down the road toward their tents a mile away, lug ging their bundles. You tell McFerren about the contention of the people downtown that voting regis- Soon, the houses thin out irMon by Negroes had little asked for FBI help in investi gating the recent shooting. The shooting occupies the main interest of the FBI and other authorities at present They are looking for the bul let, still missing, that made the flesh wound in the arm of Early B. Williams Jr. Williams pointed to the bed where he was sleeping, his head toward the entrance of his tent. "The bullet went through the mattress but this isn't the one," he said. "The FBI came after that one." Men Lie Awake Williams and his compan ions said that only the wo men and children sleep at the camp now during the night. The men lie awake or sit up talking and waiting for daylight. When dawn comes, they sleep. Williams said he has no plans for the future but will try to find another farm that will take him on as a tenant this year. He said he was asked to leave a farm where he and his family had lived for 10 years. He said that during his life he has lived on a number of farms, all in Fayette, going from one to the other as a tenant. County authorities say they have requests from other counties for more than 200 tenant families. The local weekly newspaper has pub lished numerous adver tisements asking for such help. There have been no lakers from Tent City, Somerville is a typical southern rural town whose economy Is governed by the crops produced on the rolling farms that begin a few hun dred yards from the city limits. Over the years, Negroes have been a vital part of the farm economy. Today Fayette county and Its ncigllbor, Hay wood county, have about three Negroes for every two while and grow smaller. Two and one-half miles distant, your road forks to the right. You stop at a spot where there is heavy traffic and a large con gregation of Negroes gathered around a store with two gas pumps out front. A sign over head reads "McFcrren's Gro cery." Over the door inside, a sign says: "Don't t ti tic politics in here unless you are a registered voter." Another, containing the pic lures of two children, says: "We are loo young lo regis ter. What s your excuse? Forefront of Drive John McFerren is a tense and intense Negro of 3(1 who has lived in the county all his life. He has been In the forefront of the voting drive. even before the civil rights law was adopted "I know this country like a book," McFerren said. "I know the white people and some of the best folks I know are white. And I know the Negroes. 1 know how they have been treated. I know the county is run by three or four white families. 1 know there is only one cure for what's wrong in this county and that's the ballot box." McFerron's words spill out fust. He is often interrupted by the jangling of a telephone Hint hangs on a wall In the front of the store. Callers ask for instructions or want to know when the next food shipment Is expected. Wait For Supplies Thai's what the crowd Is doing outside, waiting for sup plies. Food and other articles are trucked In from far-away points. Word came during the afternoon that a truck was leaving Chicago with equip ment including refrigerators. James W. Ilutclu-ns Jr., di rector ofr the distribution branch of the Agriculture de partment, visited the county lo determine whether the fed eral government should lend or nothing to do with their departure from the farms-the argument by whites that it was an economic situation and not discrimination. "Down In the county there is a farm with a creek run ning through it," McFerren answers. "Three fumilies on one side of the creek had lo move. They were registered to vote. On the oilier side, there were three families that didn't have to move. One of them was registered but didn't vote and the two others were not registered." "You tell me what that Is." At the Tout City down the road, blue smoke from num erous small fires curls over head. You hear the baying of hounds, the biting of an axe Into firewood and the laughter of young children who seem not to Know or care's what's going on. The earth under fool Is soft and gooey- rich farm land ground into paste by many feet. The tents, without lights and with only the damp earth for flooring, are heated by small wood burners. Kffnrts ait now being made to got sufficient wood lo build floors, and the local electric cooperative has been petition ed for electric service. The management of the co-op says the application will be treated Just like any oilier and that service will be pro vided If Hie applicant qual ifies. The Negoes will not lie allowed, however, to string extension lines into the tents because of danger of short circuiting the wires. Group of Visitors A fresh group of visitors has been added to the Tent City scenery In recent days, patient white men who watch and wait, talking with some one now and then. These are FBI agents, assigned to find out if the Justice Depart ment has a right lo enter the case on grounds of civil rights violin ions. Sheriff lOWoncr While Negroes are being interviewed, Scott Franklin, head of the Civic and Wel fare League, stands close by, coaching like an attorney. When Wyatt Williams was asked whether he farmed with machinery, he was al lowed to answer "with mules." But Franklin would not permit him to say how large an area he had farmed. The mechanization issue is a touchy subject with Frank lin who feels it is being used as an excuse by whiles. Negroes, particularly those in Tent City, are sharply dis couraged from expressing a viewpoint other than the line of the organization. Wyatt Williams' brother, for example, was stopped short when he tried to tell a reporter that if the tenants of Tent City were offered their old places back, they would be wise to take them and forget their present dilemma. White leaders can assemble mass of statistics to back up their contention that eco nomics has brought on the present situation. They insist it is just coincidental that the same Negroes who have registered very often are the ones who must leave the farms. They point out that the num ber of Negro voters who live in Tent City can almost be counted on the fingers of two hands, whereas there are, by the Negroes' own es timate, approximately 1,600 of their number registered. There is ample evidence that the agriculture pattern of this section has undergone radical change that would cause a sharp shrinkage in the tenant population. The 1959 farm census tak en by the U.S. Department of Agriculture shows 2,346 farm tenants in the county as com pared to 3,003 five years ago. Farm mechanization and the introduction of beef cat tle to former cotton land have been major factors in the transition to a new kind of agriculture. In the past two years, 65 cotton pickers have been sold in the county. One of these machines picks five bales of cotton a day, a job that would require the services of 48 workers. An implement dealer said another big factor has been the use of bigger machines than ever before. By using four-row planters, for example, one farm family can do the work of four who use smaller two-row planters. Articles Filed In Salem by Mortuary Ashland-Arlicles of incor poration were filed this week in Salem for Litwiller Fu neral Home Inc., Ashland, signed by Mr. and Mrs. C. M. Litwiller and their son, Gene R. Litwiller. The firm lias previously been a partnership, Litwiller said today. He explained thai with the change, Bill Drew, who lias been employed there since 1948.' now has part ownership in the business. Litwiller added that he and his wife have retained a con trolling interest in the stock. K. O Pallat Former Local Man Receives Promotion A former Medford man has been appointed manager of the Seattle branch of Parke, Davis and company, accord ing lo an announcement by Graydon L. Walker, Parke Davis vice president. The m a n is William F. Balman, a graduate of St. Mary's High school, who was a salesman with the firm in the Medford arrt. Bauman, who joined the company in 1948, previously was field manager in Los An geles for Pioke-Davls. He is a brother o( Holx-rl 11. Bau man. 311 King ia) . Mij'ford Farmer Aubrey Parks har vested 60 bales of cotton and other products with one help er in 30 days. He said it would have taken seven men 60 days to do it with smaller equipment. New chemical weed killers also have cut down on the need for farm labor, particu larly the chopping of cotton Newest equipment contains a wheel that lays down 8 chemical film when the cot ton seed is planted. The cot Ion plant will poke through It but the weeds will not. Fayette county In recent years has introduced herds of the Black Angus strain of beef cattle and from s county with no beef produc tion not many years ago Fay ette is now first in Tennessee. Fayette's population drop ped from 27.535 in 1950 to 24,414 in 19(UI. The county's cotton allotment is half what it was in 1950-from 80.000 lo 40,000 acres. "We just hope it will wear Itself out before somebody else gets hurt," a white busi nessman said, adding that "this sure is giving our coun ty a bad name. Business leaders express the wish that "something could be done" to bring about an atmosphere of good will which could lead to a solu tion. But no one wants to risk Hie consequences. "Don't quote me because it would ruin my businciw. but 1 think the Nearoat and whites ought to H ti-ywther on this thing, one rAiaittt- man said. "It's the law that Negroes can vote and we might v well ,jot t(otjg with it." ( o Fill Your Freezer and SAVE! At Your . . . OREGON FOOD ST MIX or MATCH TI Broccol Beans Brussels Sprouts Baby Lima Onion Rings Cauliflower YOUR CHOICE $11 00 BEST BUY IN TOWN Peas Cut Corn Mixed Vegetables Peas & Carrots Leaf Spinach Green Beans, French Cut French Fries Hash Browns Corn Pkgs. ft DELICIOUS CHET'S DINNERS Chicken Turkey BEEF, Or VEAL Swiss Steak Ham .Roast Beef STEAKS ONLY EACH Package of iffkf I Four 3-oz. El I I Steaks SAVE! KUBLA KHAN" CHINESE FOODS! DINNERS Shrimp, Spare Ribs or Sukiyaki . 59 u CHOW MEIN Pork or Chicken pkg. 39' FRIED RICE Chicken or Pork Sweet & Sour SPARE RIBS Chef's Frozen MEAT PIES 4rorT ajixjn.yjju muMi pkg. 39 I pkg. 55 WES-PAK pi PEAS 1 0'pkg. FLAV-R-PAC ORANGE JUICE S'jjOO 12-ox. tins "SHRIMP AHOY" BREADED SHRIMP C 10-oz. yiy "GORTON'S" FISH STICKS C 10-oz. ilO "SUPER MARKET" 10-oz. pkgs. J j We RESERVE THE RIGHT TO LIMIT QUANTITIES OliMMiM MEDFORD 13th mi Central MEDFORD STORE OPEN TILL 10 P.M. a ASHLAND 1475 Siskiyou Blvd. o G o o o o 00 O
