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- to deliver an oration proclaiming that “if the Northern busy- Yer Ne AdMnistrauion to identify itself with a diluted ‘bill even ‘before this Birmingham atrocity. It seems inconceivable now. | Surely all the dimensions of the behind-the-scénes ‘struggle have. been altered by these shattering blows to the whole do¢trine _ of non-violence, and to the face of America. . —— 5 . - Regardless of what happens taday or tomorrow In‘ Birming-’- . ham, the battle of Washington has been decisively altered, The Justice Dept.'s decision. to send such top clvil rights ; trouble-shooters as Burke Marshall tg the scene reflecis the Administration’s awareness of national gravity as well as the human horror of these killings fWrhe initial announcement merely gaid the FBI was being -“called-in” at once, but: someoge must have quickly recognized the inadequacy. of that. jnove. The .real question, as one ponders the latest communtques from Birmingham, is not whether the Administration can any | | - longer contemplate some tidy compromise om’ civil rights legie-. © Fron 4 jJation supplemented by isolated. acts of, intervention. It is. to the t whether even its effective advocacy of a strong bill will be the Ind sufficient to sustain the authority of the Negro leaders who have jumpin bravely clung to the course of non-violence in the face of so It’ much. brutal provocation. — - . of firy The Kennedy Administration, in. its first (phase, underesti- ie mated the passion and meaning of the equal rights’ revolution. sf ° Mr. Kennedy has confessed that his own sense of timine changed Mr. Kenne ly has confessed that his own sense of timing changed + when the dogs were unleashed in Birmingham; up till that mo- ment he had obviously hoped to avoid any Congressional battle. This slaughter of children in Birmingham is far more mon- ‘ strous than anything that happened before.. It renders adacemic g a \ 4 any argument as to whether the Administration can avoid a *+ upyl. major confrontation on Capitol Hill in the coming civil rights co test. Once again events have dictated that the President rise to ‘er Au: an occasion not because any clause of any b‘ll riight have saved '9" «1, ‘389. these chikiren, but because_there can no longer be any ambiguity in weue § about where the Federal government stands. oe oa Aq Jaa In the context of this Birmingham tragedy some of the UR seapdst detailed arguments over specific provisions of the “public accom- I2€" sf modations” bill become as vulgar as they are irrelevant. Shall we ‘ih seriously quibble over whether these slain little girls should have been permitted to enter public swimming pools? : It was Harry Truman’s misfortune, on the eve of this disaster, - A bodies stay at home and clean up their.own backyards, the rest of the country will obey its laws" and to berate “these young- sters who are running around the country trying to institute mob” 8™" rule.” I trust Mr. Truman hates himself this morning. But C there are many others whose insensitivity to the. depth of this conflict appears equally conspicious as funeral services are pre- is =; pared for these children of Birmingham. — . are The calamity has happened. it is itretrievable and unfor- we3 fetiable, In the face of these murders, orly the President can pla speak for the country's conscience—and not merely by words snr’ of gentine laments but:by full, dedicated comm tment in'a legis- —"y Jative as well as moral sense. His. 1863 is hen§ wtd‘nae. 7 7 Oe, big: