 It's time for the Lawn Jean Chronoscope, a television journal of the important issues of the hour brought to you every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, a presentation of the Lawn Jean Wittner Watch Company, maker of Lawn Jean, the world's most honored watch, and Wittner, distinguished companion to the world-honored Lawn Jean. Good evening. This is Frank Knight. May I introduce our co-editors for this edition of the Lawn Jean Chronoscope? Larry Lisser from the CBS television news staff and Kenneth Crawford, National Affairs Editor of Newsweek magazine. Our distinguished guest for this evening is the Honorable Herman Talmadge, Governor of Georgia. Governor Talmadge, the economic situation, I guess, is just about the most important subjects in the country these days. I'd like to ask you, how is business down in Georgia? Well, on the whole it's held up remarkably well, Larry, but farm prices, as you know, have been going down for approximately 18 months. Georgia, with all of its great industrial expansion, is still largely an agricultural state. Now, farmers aren't far and too well at the moment. They're concerned because the farm prices have been going down about 18 months. Everything they buy has either been going up or remaining at a high level. Although they have been caught in a price squeeze, it's concerned them a great deal. Governor, President Eisenhower apparently was quite popular in your state in the last election. Has the economic slump affected that? Well, the president was relatively popular, Ken, but you must remember that Georgia gave the Democratic Party and the Democratic nominee, Governor Stevenson, the greatest percentage-wise majority of any state in the Union. The relatively large vote that President Eisenhower pulled in Georgia was due largely to his personal popularity, the respect and the confidence that people had in President Eisenhower. And second, there was good many of them in Georgia, dissatisfied with President Truman. Now, I would not think that the Republican Party in Georgia is anything like his popular as President Eisenhower. And if the elections for Congress were held at the present time, Republican candidates in Georgia would not pull half as many votes as President Eisenhower pulled in the last presidential election. Well, Governor, who do you Georgia Democrats feel as the head of the Democratic Party now? Is it Governor Adley Stevenson? Well, of course, we recognize we recognize Governor Adley Stevenson as the titular head of the Democratic Party since it was he who carried the Democratic standard in the last presidential election, 1952. But Georgians looked to their United States senators, their congressmen and to their Democratic governor to form policy in our state rather than to the titular head of the national Democratic Party. Would you think that Senator Russell's name would be presented again at the next Democratic convention as it was at the last? I don't know whether it will be presented again or not. I presume that fact would be determined by Senator Russell's wishes. If he desires to do so, certainly Georgians will support him as loyally in the next Democratic convention as they have in the last two. Well, Governor, who do you Democrats feel controls the Democratic Party now, the industrial north or the more conservative south? Well, I wouldn't say that either element entirely controls it. Now, prior to the last day or two of the last convention, when they were passing the so-called Moody Resolution, the Democratic convention in 52, it was pretty apparent that the left wing elements of the industrial east were in the ascendancy of the party at that particular time. But before that Democratic convention adjourned, reason had reasserted itself somewhat, and some of those who had rammed through some of those stringent restrictions had to eat crow, and the Southerners and the Conservatives were in the ascendancy of the party and regained control prior to its adjournment. Well, speaking about that civil rights platform, the Supreme Court is due to make a decision pretty soon, Sarah, on the segregation in the schools. Now, how do you, Georgian, think that decision is going to go? Well, anticipating what the Supreme Court will do, all you can do, Larry, is follow legal precedents that have existed for a great number of years. Now, we know that the Supreme Court of the United States for the last 88 years has been making decisions relative to segregation in the common schools. Those decisions have all been the same. They've been written by Justice Brandeis, Chief Justice Hughes, William Howard Taft, Justice Stone, all of the legal giants of American jurisprudence. Without exception, they have held that the matter of segregation in the common schools of our state is a matter that addresses itself to each state and not to the federal government. Nowhere in the federal constitution is the word schools or education or anything of that kind mentioned. Constitution hasn't changed. The laws have not changed. Sometimes the political complexion of a court does change. Sometimes it may be swayed by political pressures or sometimes by sociological opinions. But if they follow the law, as all lawyers understand it, they will uphold the present method which is separate but equal schools and each state themselves may determine whether they want to maintain and preserve segregation or whether they want to change. Governor, assuming, however, that this decision does go against you, what plans have you? Well, we haven't made any particular plans as yet because we don't know what the decision will be, but we have tried to be forearmed. The General Assembly of Georgia authorized a study commission at its last session of the General Assembly that's composed of approximately 21 ladies and gentlemen of which I am chairman. A good many of the constitutional officers of the state government are ex-official members and I as chairman of the commission have appointed a number of outstanding leaders in all phases of activity in our state. We will study any decision of the Supreme Court and make recommendations to the General Assembly as to what course of action it should follow. And then in addition to that, the last session of the General Assembly submitted a constitutional amendment to the people of our state for their approval or rejection, which will enable the General Assembly in its discretion and in its wisdom to utilize tax funds for the payment of tuition fees to private institutions if that becomes necessary. Well, that is going to be a very difficult system to set up, I suppose. It's going to be very expensive, sir. Anything the Supreme Court does to thwart or change our present system of state control of our educational systems will be the most difficult thing that we in the southern states have had to approach or deal with since the war between states. It will affect something like 12 million school children in about 17 states in the District of Columbia now. It's a tremendous number. Actually, 17 states have mandatory segregation. Four states have permissive segregation, but at one time the overwhelming majority of the states in the union had segregation. Now the white people in the south and also the Negroes in the south won't it left alone just like it is. The legislators, white and colored, want to change. Governor, this means in effect that your state would set up a private school system. I don't think there's any doubt what my state would do so if they had to maintain segregation. We intend to maintain separate schools in Georgia one way or another come what may. A lot of people that aren't familiar with it don't realize how far reaching or deep-seated that is for both races, white and colored. Now about the nearest comparison that I can possibly think of at the moment. If the Supreme Court of the United States suddenly handed down a decision that you could no longer worship your God in these United States as you saw fit, you can imagine the consternation, the chaos, the turmoil, the excitement that that would create. Any decision to outlaw segregation in the common schools in the southern states would amount to about the same thing in our area. Well Governor, does that mean if you're going to may set up private schools and state funds that no matter how the decision goes the Negroes are going to benefit through better schools and more advanced education? Actually the Negroes are already benefiting through fine schools in Georgia. The last several years we've been building fine schools in the university system and in the common schools. We spend 53 cents out of every tax dollar collected in Georgia for public education. That is the highest percentage of any state in the union. The next highest percentage is our sister state of South Carolina that spends 48 cents out of every dollar for a common school education. We are in Georgia at the present time building 1036 new school buildings in every county and state for both white and colored students absolutely without any distinction whatsoever. It involves 12,000 new classrooms. It's the most gigantic construction program undertaken in the history of my state. Well Governor, I know the local custom and tradition are against racial mingling but how do you think this whole problem is going to be solved in the future? Well it'll have to be solved in the future just as it has been solved in the past by each state controlling state matters and the federal government handling federal problems and leaving local matters alone because if we had to set up a federal bureaucracy that tries to regulate the lives and social customs and feelings and one thing and another of all of its citizens it will mean our republican form of government as we know it today will be destroyed. The federal government next will be having thoughtful beliefs and people to go around and examine you to see if you have any prejudices against redheaded people or blue eyed people or freckle faced people and we find ourselves getting into the realm of the ridiculous when we try to deal with matters that aren't authorized by the federal constitution. Governor I'd like to ask you the final question something about the industrial situation in the south now there's a lot of factories are moving down there from the north and furthermore a lot of new factories are opening up there. Do you think this is going to give the south a lot more political power in the future? Well I wouldn't say necessarily political power Larry but it will mean far more economic ability for our own local citizens. We're proud of the industrial progress that we have made in my state. Last year Georgia received 270 new industries located in Georgia and the increased payrolls of those industries in one year long amount to between 40 and 50 millions of dollars. Now lots of those industries were developed by local people with local capital. We don't offer any inducements to any industries located in Georgia. We want them to become citizens help them develop our help us develop our state we offer them no advantages whatsoever we don't give to other Georgia citizens. Thank you very much Governor I'm proud to have you tonight. Thank you it's a pleasure to be with you. The opinions expressed on the Laund gene chronoscope were those of the speakers. The editorial board for this edition of the Laund gene chronoscope was Larry Lisser and Kenneth Crawford our distinguished guest was the honorable Herman Talmadge governor of Georgia. Another baseball season is here the major league teams begin their long grind toward a parent and a chance for the world series and this year again from opening game to world series Laund gene watches on the wrists of all national and American League umpires will officially time the baseball games. 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