Letter from Weston S. Newton to President Harry S. Truman, with Attached Newspaper Clipping

grade L 802 - 12th St. S. W. Roanoke, Virginia August 2, 1948 Dear Harry, I am Mr. Average Voter of the South, and expecially Virginia. We voted the party straight, through thick and thin except for Mr. Al Smithe This time the exception will be - Mr. Harry Truman. We regret very much to take this step, but find upon examination, that you have forced us to take this course. We are wholeheartedly in favor of the objective of your Civil Rights objectives but disagree strenuously with your methods. We regret that you find it necessary to stake the continuance in power of the Democratic Party on the Civil Rights issue. We regret that you choose to gamble with the hard won privileges and rights of the Common Man gained since 1932. Mr. Truman, frankly speaking, if you do not retrench to some extent on the Civil Rights Issue you will not have the support of the South in the coming election. It would be a tough fight with the support of the "Solid South" The enclosed editorial, in my opinion, expresses the majority opinion of both races in the South. Please read it, if you have not already done so, and give it some serious consideration. Very truly your/s Weston S. *Newton