Arizona Tribune

FORKED TONGUES

There is a fallacy in the thinking of most men who aspire to an elective office in this country today. Myriads of words are placed in the newspapers, read over the air-waves and placed in brochures and pamphlets. Hundreds of personal appearances are made by the troops of men cajoling you and me to vote for them. The best way to hear what an office seeker has to say is to hear him in a small gathering, far from the bright radio or television lights or any microphones. On Friday, September 9, 1960, the Democratic gubernatorial nominee, Lee Ackerman, appeared before members and guests of the Maricopa County branch of a national Negro businessmen's organization. He spoke at length about establishing a human relations board if he were elected. He handed me a copy of a draft of a bill that would establish a human relations commission. I read a portion of it aloud to the luncheon group and he read the remainder of a many paged draft that must have been laboriously drawn up by several lawyers. It was so long and filled with legalistic phrasings that I mentioned such a bill would be difficult to be understood by the legislators and that I doubted its passage. As previously reported in the September 16th issue of this newspaper Lee Ackerman made the statement concerning Paul Robeson. I have trained myself to listen carefully to speakers so that I may present accurate accounts and weigh their words. After wide coverage of the Robeson remark, Joe Pyne invited me to appear on his KUPD radio program. I appeared and related the incident to Joe's audience. The next day a statement was issued by some of the luncheon guests that Governor Paul V. Fannin had done nothing about human relations during his term in office. A group of Negro ministers also issued a statement that Gov. Fannin was trying to use racial tactics by mentioning the Ackerman allusion to Paul Robeson.

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FORKED TONGUES

I reiterate that Ackerman made the statement concerning Robeson. If those luncheon guests who issued that statement were so incensed at Fannin's failures on human relations--why did they have to wait until so late in his administration to speak out?

Where have they been and what have they been thinking about since he took office nearly two years ago?

Political office aspirants should remember that not all listeners turn deaf ears to their words. They should make it a rule to not deliver racially slanted talks or group slanted talks.

I am a man first, an American second and thirdly a newspaper publisher and editor.

I resent some politicians attempts to bare their so-called souls behind closed doors with a segregated or special interest audience. They are indeed, according to an Indian phrase, "Speaking with forked tongues."