Again, Heflin

Last year in New York City Phil Edwards, Negro captain of the New York University track team, married a white girl. Queried by a friend, Senator James Thomas ("Tom-Tom") Heflin of Alabama, who mortally hates and fears the Roman Pope, wrote a letter in which he said:

"Shame upon those in authority who will permit such a humiliating, disgraceful and dangerous thing to happen! Vhere are the white men of self-respect, of race pride? The great white race is the climax and crowning glory of God's creation. . . . The present disgusting and deplorable situation in New York State is not new under the modern Roman-Tammany system. Scores of Negroes in Harlem have been permitted to marry white wives with licenses granted by and with the hearty approval of the state and city government. . . ."

Last week, almost surreptitiously, Senator Heflin got permission to have this letter reprinted in the Appendix of the Congressional Record. That made it privileged, after which it could be cheaply reprinted by the government printing office and franked around the country without postage by Senator Heflin.

Next day when New York's Senator Royal S. Copeland spied the letter in the Record, he was indignant. He arose on the Senate floor to exclaim that what Senator Heflin had written was grossly offensive to the State of New York and its public officials and should, therefore, under the Senate rules, be expunged from the Record. Senator Heflin, his coat tails flapping, objected vigorously, demanded an investigation of the facts, and, furthermore, warned Senator Copeland that he might be lynched if he ever went South on a Presidential campaign. In his best mimic manner the Alabaman visualized the scene:

"They will ask 'Is he the fellow who tried to have Tom's letter expunged from the Record when he protested against the marriages of Negroes and Whites?' It will be said 'Yes, he's the same fellow.' 'Well,' they will say, 'We'll give it to him' "-- here Senator Heflin executed an encircling gesture with his hand as if tying a rope tight around his throat--" 'in the neck.' "

The letter remained in the Record while a committee of three Senators named by the Vice President pondered its offensiveness to New York.

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