Advocate Register_1950-12-08

. ADVOCATE REGISTER {Designed to Read) Published by Oliver Smith News Agency {Established 1943 OLIVER E. SMITH, EDITOR Office 1453 N. Williams Ave.-EM. 7266 ATwater 2551, 3411 S. W. First Avenue, Portland 1, Oregon Free from Services of Any Special Interests The News As We See It. The Editorials Are Our Opinions IN MY OPINION Insurance Discrimination Ends in Oregon By Mrs. Elaine Berry About one week before the recent general election, a Negro Committee for the Reelection of Governor Douglas McKay, headed by Ulysses G. Plummer, announced in The Oregonian and the Negro Press t'h.at discrimination in writing of auto lia– bility insurance policies in the state of Oregon was to be a thing of the past. It was said that the major insurance com– panies had made written agreements with the Insurance Com– missioner, Robert Taylor, to discontinue this form of inequity. Although the announcement smacked of appeal to the Negro vote and it is contrary to most people's ideas of integration to set up committees of members of a minority group as such in political parties, it is an important gain here and for the whole country. The announcement has particular importance because it came about without special legislation. It is the result of the insur– ance commissioner using the powers of his office to enforce existing law without prejudice. In 1944, Congress waived its right to regulate this commodity under the Interstate Com– merce Act to the individual states; and in setting a precedent for enforcement of equal protection under state law regardless of race. Oregon has made a forward step in eliminating bias sh~mld other communities attempt a similar method of solving the problem. How was this acco~plished? To be facetious, one might say it was a product of bi-partisan political activity. In December, 1949 a Democratic news magazine carried an article criticizing the Republican state administration for allowing the practice of upgrading Negro insurance to continue. In January of this year, the same publication proposed the now accepted solution. These articles coupled with comment from the local press, Wayne Morse and others dufing an election year gave Mr. Plummer the leverage to dicker with his parties' officials in behalf of his favorite project. Last year at this time, he was advocating enactment of a law outlawing discrimination by the legislature. Now before the legislature has convened, Mr. Plummer has accomplished a major gain in race relations for the state. Others working in race relations can benefit from Oregon's example of competition between the political parties to make good in the field of Civil Rights. Real vitality could be in– fused into the national struggle for FEP and other legislation that failed to pass the 81st Congress by using the same technique. Dinah Washington IS THERE ANYONE FINER? Dinah Washington had nothing to do with the song, "Dinah." Is there anyone finer? We hardly think so. Here's to a modest girl who has met with plenty of success and it hasn't changed her one bit. She is one of the unique entertainers in show business and the unchallenged "Queen of the Juke Boxes." Dinah Washington has lead more Hit Parades than any artist in show business. She has been the top recording blues and ballad singer since the first part of 1949 and there are some who will tell you that Miss Washington will reign queen for the next ten years. She's really great! Dinah is the darling of the recording industry and disc jockeys from coast to coast. Newspapermen hail her as their choice when it comes to 'that pleasant interview.' So thrilled was Dinah with the way folks in every walk of life had treated her that on her last birthday she hired a hall in Philadelphia-where she was appearing when her natal fell-and had the city's leading caterers provide for a crowd of five hundred. Only three hundred actually showed up be– cause when the whispering campaign spread that "Dinah was giving a free-bie" they couldn't just believe it. Things like that just don't happen in real life, they assumed. Of course they were wrong. It actually happened. The affair was def– initely not a publicity stunt. Dinah was provoked when a newspaperman put out the story that it was intended as such. In fact she insisted upon a retraction-and got it. Is there anyone finer? You answer that. Kappa Alpha Psi will hold Public Presentation Sunday, Dec. 10 at Hughes Memorial Church 2809 N. E. Rodney at 4 P.M. * * * * * NAACP MONTHLY MEETING SUNDAY, DEC. 17th . at Williams Ave. Y. W. C. A., 4 p. m• Ed. NOTE: Mrs. E. W. Smith, retiring president, will write next guest ed'itorial for Advocate-Register. * * * * * SUBSCRIBE TO ADVOCATE-REGISTER $2.50 by Mail. Send in your subscription now 3411 S. W. First Ave.