The Northwest Enterprise

Government Immorality Stems From Prejudice, Walter White Says

WASHINGTON Deterioration in governmental morals and ethics stems, in part, from the nation's long continuing disregard for the rights of the Negro, Walter White, executive secretary of the NAACP, testified recently before the Senate Committee on Labor and Public Welfare at a hearing on the creation of a Commission on Ethics in Government.

"Racial and religious prejudice," White said, "has done as much to destroy the moral fibre of our government as any other factor. It had its roots in human slavery and the resultant disregard for human personality and dignity. It has caused the prostitution of religion, science and the democratic process itself. It has been the blight on the democratic process throughout the history of the United States."

Citing the record of denial of constitutional rights, the NAACP executive charged that "the present coalition in the Congress of reactionary southern Democrats and Republicans is an inevitable consequence of such violation of morals and ethics. The present stalemate in Congress with respect to civil rights, the continuation of the archaic Senate rule to protect filibusters . . . the refusal of the Congress to enact the legislation re-

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Government Immorality
Stems From Prejudice

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commended by the President's Committee on Civil Rights has brought about such moral decay in government that today few dare challenge the dictatorial rule of the coalition so far as human rights are concerned."

White expressed the opinion that "so far as morals and ethics are concerned, our government today is unfortunately and tragically at its lowest ebb." Rarely in the South, he said, do United States district attorneys "give full and complete honor to their oath on the matter of protecting colored citizens against injustice."

"When a United States District attorney fails to investigate and prosecute on his own initiative individuals who openly and flagrantly violate the civil rights of our citizens, he is guilty of unethical conduct," the NAACP leader charged. He added: Unless the forces of decency erase the color line in legitimate activities, a great part of our citizenry will question the sincerity of those who say they favor

high ethical standards in government.