The Augusta Courier

CORE Is Called War Department That Sows Discord And Lawlessness

Senator James O. Eastland, of Mississippi, has branded the so-called "freedom rides" as part of a Communist scheme.

He claims that the movement is masterminded and directed by the Congress of Racial Equality and some of the agitators in that movement are dangerous Communists.

This organization is the war department of those who sell hate, collect donations and sow the seeds of discord in this country. Since its inception, its creed has been lawlessness and its tactics have followed the pattern set by Communist agitators the world over . . ."

said Eastland.

The War Department

Here's what Senator Eastland said in his speech:

The agents provocateurs who have descended upon the Southern States in the name of "peace riders" were sent for the sole purpose of stirring up discord, strife and violence. "Peace riders' is a revered Communist term, an old Communist technique. The movement was masterminded and directed by an organization known as the Congress of Racial Equality, called CORE.

This organization is the war department of those who sell hate, collect donations and sow the seeds of discord in this country. Since its inception, its creed has been lawlessness and its tactics have followed the pattern set by Communist agitators the world over . . . .

The "Freedom Ride planned by CORE and commenced in Washington on May 4 was the master effort of this organization. I have been informed that it was devised deliberately as a prelude to various high-level meetings in Europe, as a propaganda method to embarrass the Government of the United States in the handling of international affairs. Certainly those participating in the ride have been guilty of such prac-

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CORE Is Called War Department That Sows Discord And Lawlessness
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tices of embarrassment, many times, in the past.

Journey of Violence

Long before the bus reached Alabama, certain members thereon were involved in instances of violence.

The Washington "Evening Star" of Monday, May 15, 1961, reports that, at Rock Hill, S. C., two men were beaten. and that one of them was Albert Bigelow, 55, the former Navy captain who ran afoul of the law when he attempted to sail a ketch into the Pacific Ocean Lucifer Testing area, in 1958, to protest the nuclear-bomb test.

The same news story reports that, a day later, at Winnsboro, S. C., one Thomas, a Howard University student. and James Peck, 47, of New York City. were charged with trespassing when they attempted to eat at a roadside restaurant.

Strange as it may seem, this selfsame Peck was also aboard the ketch in the Pacific Ocean when it ran afoul of the law attempting to sail into the nuclear-testing area in 1958.

Peck First Hero

Peck was the first "hero" of the "Freedom Ride." He came back from Birmingham parading the bandages and stitches received in the altercation that took place at the bus station

It must be admitted that this is the closest that Peck ever came to "warfare" of any kind. According to a recent news story in the New York "Herald Tribune,"

in World War II, when Peck was called up in the draft, he declared himself a conscientious objector. Unlike most objectors at that time, he would not become a medic, nor would he agree to take part in other noncombat activities connected with the military. As a result, he spent three years in the federal prison at Danbury, Conn. . . .

In my judgment, this man is a Communist agitator and organizer of the most dangerous kind.