Letter from Francis Biddle to Democratic National Convention Delegates

3 Francis Biddle AMERICANS FOR DEMOCRATIC ACTION National Chairman Stanley Gewirtz Chairman, Executive Committee 1341 Connecticut Avenue, N. W., Washington 6, D. C. ADA Mrs. Sadie T. M. Alexander June 20, 1952 Hugo Ernst DEcatur 7754 A. J. Hayes Hubert H. Humphrey Dear Delegate: 299-B Reginald H. Zalles National Executive Secretary W. T. Kennedy Herbert H. Lehman Reinhold Niebuhr As a delegate to the Democratic National Convention James G. Patton you will be called upon to make decisions affecting Joseph L. Rauh, Jr. Walter P. Reuther not only the future of the Democratic Party, but al- Franklin D. Roosevelt, Jr. so the security of the free world. Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr. Vice-Chairmen President Truman recently said at the annual conven- Marvin Rosenberg tion of Americans for Democratic Action: "Never, Treasurer never, throw away a winning program." The President Frank W. McCulloch meant that the Democratic Party can win, again this Secretary, National Board year, as it has won every presidential election in National Board en the last twenty years, by continuing to support Joseph A. Beirne liberal candidates and liberal issues. Yale Bernstein L.S. Buckmaster James B. Carey Americans for Democratic Action, as an organization Walter Carrington Joseph S. Clark, Jr. of independent liberal voters, calls upon delegates A. Powell Davies to the Democratic National Convention to nominate Helen Gahagan Douglas James E. Doyle forward-looking candidates, and to adopt a platform David Dubinsky which, in foreign affairs, accepts the responsibili- John M. Eklund Eugene M. Feinblatt ties of American leadership in the new world; and Lewis A. Freeman, Jr. domestically offers a humane and liberal platform. Hal J. Gibbons David Ginsburg Harry Girvetz Above all, there should be no compromise on the civil William V. Goldberg rights issue -- an issue which in the eyes of the Robert A. Gordon Mortimer Hays world is the test of the sincerity of our devotion Donald Hayworth to the cause of freedom. The civil rights plank, Sidney Hollander, Sr. Campbell C. Johnson adopted four years ago at the Democratic Convention, Harry Lee constitutes the minimum acceptable to those who Leo A. Lerner Marx Lewis demand simple justice for all our citizens. Retreat James Loeb, Jr. here would be fatal. The Democratic Party should Stanley H. Lowell take the lead in calling for the end of filibuster Louis Lubin B. F. McLaurin in the Senate, the device by which the desire of the William Muehl Robert R. Nathan American people for civil rights has been thwarted. Ancil H. Payne We urge your support for a platform plank giving the George S. Pfaus Senate power to end filibusters by majority vote. Gifford Phillips Paul L. Phillips Jean Pilcher The margin of victory in 1952 will depend on the Irving J. Rosenbloom Mrs. Arthur G. Rotch great decisive body of independent voters. Their John L. Saltonstall, Jr. enthusiastic support, that has carried the Democratic Alired L. Scanlan Mrs. Gertrude W. Scheft Party to victory since 1932, will come only if the Harry Schwartz candidates and the platform of the Democratic Party Theodore P. Sherris Mrs. Marion Silverstone are uncompromising in their devotion to the liberal- L. M. C. Smith ism of the New and Fair Deals. We urge your support Otto L. Spaeth Monroe M. Sweetland for this kind of a forward-looking platform. Mrs. Betty Taymor Robert Trentlyon Louis J. Walinsky Sincerely yours Clyde R. Watford Ben Wechsler Francis Biddle James A. Wechsler A. L. Zwerdling Francis Biddle 4662 National Chairman Violet M. Gunther John H. F. Hoving Political Secretary Director, Public Relations David C. Williams John J. Gunther Olga Tabaka Director, Research and Education Legislative Representative Office Manager