employed to chop cotton, are paid 30 cents an hour and work 10 hours a day. Even tractor drivers are paid only 60 cents an nour. Those who are employed as sharecroppers suffer a worse fate. They are constantly in debt to their employers. They earn as little as $250 a year and no more than $600. They see their children begin work on the farms at 7 or 8 years of age. These children are destined for the same life of poverty and despair as their parents live, for they attend school for half a day and spend the other half working on the farm. This system is found in its vilest form on the plantation owned by Senator James Eastland in Sunflower County. Senator Eastland keeps the Negroes in line on his plantation through the use of ex-convicts who are released to him on parole.

We have been unable to change this cruel economic system because we have been denied any political voice in the State. J. P. Coleman as attorney general was successful in preventing any increase in the registration of Negro voters. Now, this man is being appointed to protect the rights of the people he so mercilessly kept down while in office.

We have long held our faith in democracy and we have only resorted to peaceful protests in the hope that the Federal judges would uphold our rights. This committee can do no greater injustice to the Negro citizens of Mississippi than to appoint this segregationist to the bench at the very moment when these Negro Mississippians are crying out for some relief, some escape from their lives of servitude.

Gentlemen, if you vote to confirm Coleman's appointment, you are voting for the continuation of the deprivation we suffer in Mississippi.

Senator EASTLAND. Gentlemen, this statement has brought me into this matter. At the end of the second paragraph

This system is found in its vilest form on the plantation owned by Senator James Eastland in Sunflower County. Senator Eastland keeps the Negroes in line on his plantation through the use of ex-convicts who are released to him on parole.

Now Senator Ervin has a statement from the chairman of the parole board.

Senator ERVIN. At 4 p.m., Monday, July 12, 1965, the clerk of the Committee on the Judiciary, Joseph A. Davis, spoke with Mr. Martin Fraley, chairman of the probation and parole board of the State of Mississippi.

Mr. Fraley in his telephone conversation stated that he and his department handle all clemency cases within the State of Mississippi. Mr. Fraley stated that there has never been any convict who was paroled to Senator Eastland; that Senator Eastland has never requested such; that Senator Eastland does not have any parolee in his custody; and that no member of the congressional delegation from the State of Mississippi has ever requested that a convict be paroled to any one of them.

Senator EASTLAND. I would like for the record to show this-this gentleman is not pertinent to this inquiry. The Eastland plantation normally works over 200 people. At different seasons of the year they employ more than that.

Now, I know of two instances, one, a party who worked with me for years and moved to Greenwood and was convicted of burglary and sent to the penitentiary. Several years ago I got a letter from him in which he told me that he could get out of the penitentiary if I would give him a job. I told the management of the property to give him a job. He is today on the plantation, he is not under parole.

I know of another instance 2 years ago where a party with relatives who live on the plantation came to me and asked me to give a job to a man who could get out on parole. We did that and he is not under parole. No person has ever been paroled to me and in fact I do not know how to get a person out on parole.

I want to comment again on the statement about tenants. I want to comment on the statement that they earn as little as $250 a year and no more than $600. Well now, right there I have two tenants one of them is an old man who has lived in the house in which he now lives, for 50 years. He lives on social security. He He is a

wants to work a few acres of land that I permit him to work. Idead loss to the operation.

The other tenant, and I notice in this statement, and I quote, "Not more than $600." The other tenant last year made over $9,000, lives in a house that is better than homes of most of the people in this room. It was a house that was occupied by a plantation manager at one time and in which my father had an apartment. It has gas heat, partly air conditioned, got two bathrooms and every

convenience.

Senator ERVIN. The subcommittee will hear from Senator Stennis, of Mississippi.

STATEMENT OF HON. JOHN C. STENNIS, A U.S. SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI

Senator STENNIS. Mr. Chairman, members of the subcommittee, it is a privilege to come here before this subcommittee. It is also a privilege to introduce and present to the committee the nominee.

I support this nomination-not because he is my friend-but because, being my friend, I have had the opportunity to learn and have learned that he is eminently qualified in every respect for this important office, and Mr. Chairman, I do speak of personal knowledge based on 30 years of continuous personal contact.

I am not only a supporter of his nomination; I was the first to recommend it to the President.

It is highly important that we make every effort to bring to the higher courts the finest and most qualified legal talent that is available. The qualifications and skills which are necessary to make an outstanding jurist cannot be attained overnight. They are the results of years of painstaking study, hard work both in and out of the courtroom, and an unswerving dedication to the sound legal principles of our system and the majesty of the law. Governor Coleman has also superior qualities of character, honor, and integrity and these qualifications in full measure are essential.

He will bring to the court a wealth of legal knowledge as well as vital and practical experience in all fields and arenas of legal conflict. As a trial lawyer he sharpened his legal skills and talents in the courtroom-the laboratory and finishing school for practicing lawyers. I think that we could use more men in our judicial system, Federal and State, who got the fundamentals of applied justice in the courtroom. He hammered out the foundation of his professional career and future on the anvil of hard and grinding experience in the trial courtroom before judges and juries as well as in a heavy office practice. Governor Coleman commenced his public career by being elected against difficult odds as district prosecuting attorney, then 25 years of age.

While he was district attorney and also engaged at the same time in private civil practice, he appeared in court many times in the circuit court where I was circuit judge. I saw him rapidly develop

as one of the most effective and outstanding trial lawyers I have ever known. In fact, he is now one of the best in the South.

Later, I observed him while he served as a circuit judge. He is quick to grasp the fundamental legal questions involved in any given set of facts, and equally adept in supplying a sound and proper legal analysis and remedy. This natural and highly developed trait, plus his vast and varied experience in the legal profession and in governmental affairs, is a reason why I say he is an outstanding lawyer and will make an excellent judge.

After serving as district attorney, Governor Coleman was elected judge of the circuit court, a court of record and of unlimited jurisdiction. He went from the trial court to membership on the State supreme court, from whence he was soon called by the then Governor of the State to be attorney general. He was then elected to a full term to this office, where his services were outstanding.

Then, in 1955, I saw him win the Governor's race in an unusually strong field. He filled that office with distinction during a most difficult 4-year term, January 1956 to January 1960.

Governor Coleman is far more than a mere practitioner of the law and a former officeholder. He is a devout believer in the law. It is part of his personal philosophy that the courts are the fundamental instruments of a free and democratic people, and that law and order is the indispensable guarantee of a civilized society. He will take that philosophy with him if confirmed for the high office to which he has been nominated. He has all the attributes of intelligence, ability, and experience which are the marks of an outstanding jurist.

Furthermore, he is a man of personal courage. Moreover, he has to a high degree that natural quality of fairness and impartially which is essential in the making of a splendid judicial officer.

I believe he should be and that he will be confirmed by this subcommittee, the full committee, and by the U.S. Senate, and that his career on the bench will be outstanding and of the highest order.

Gentlemen, as I say, it is a privilege to commend as well as present to you Governor Coleman.

Mr. Chairman, may I ask unanimous consent that there be put in the record at this point a statement on behalf of Governor Coleman by Mr. Sherwood W. Wise, former president of the State bar association. Senator ERWIN. That will be printed in the record.

I would also like to insert in the record at this point at the request of Congressman Thomas Abernethy, of Mississippi, a statement favoring the confirmation of the nominee of the post for which he has been appointed and also authorized by Congressman Abernethy the statement of why this endorsement is stated in the first person, that it has been approved and adopted by all the Mississippi Representatives in the House.

These two statements will be made a part of the record at this point. (The statements referred to follow :)

STATEMENT OF REPRESENTATIVE THOMAS G. ABERNETHY

Mr. Chairman and members of this distinguished committee, it is a privilege and great pleasure to appear in support of the nomination of my friend and constituent, the Honorable James Plemon Coleman, of Ackerman, Miss., to serve as a member of the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit, and to urge his confirmation.

By training, experience, and the living of an exemplary life, Judge Coleman is eminently qualified to serve in the high and honorable position for which he has been nominated by our President.

Judge Coleman, one of the most able men I have ever known, was born of humble parentage in a small home in rural Choctaw County, Miss. Early in life and while assisting his father in producing the crops on the family's little farm, he developed characteristics of greatness and a burning ambition to live a life of service in behalf of his fellow man. As a publi servant and also as a lawyer and just plain citizen, he has been and is now a great success.

Judge Coleman's father, a humble but worthy man, supported his family from the limited production of his small, hilly farm. The proceeds from such were inadequate to defray the expenses of a higher education for young Coleman; however, he managed it on his own.

Back in the early days of the great depression, Judge Coleman, being without funds, first made himself a bit famous by offering to pay his tuition on entering the University of Mississippi with a load of potatoes which he had trucked from the family farm a hundred miles away. The authorities at the university took him in and allowed him to bear his expenses by sweeping floors and waiting on tables. The then Governor of the State, the Honorable Mike Conner, soon came to hear of young Coleman. Observing in him characteristics of greatness, the Governor called Coleman to his office at the State capitol and provided him with further assistance which, of course, Coleman repaid later in life.

In the spring of 1934 Coleman took leave of his college education to manage the campaign of his hometown candidate, the Honorable A. L. Ford, for the U.S. House of Representatives. Attaining victory, Coleman was brought to Washington by the newly elected Congressman as his congressional secretary. Coleman served in this capacity for 4 years during which time he made the acquaintance and close friendship of another congressional secretary who is now the President of these United States. Coleman's associates, the other congressional secretaries, who had organized themselves into a group they entitled "The Little Congress", elected Coleman as their "Speaker."

While serving as a congressional secretary, he completed his education and was awarded a degree in law from George Washington University. A few years ago the university, in recognition of Judge Coleman's outstanding career, conferred upon him the honorary degree of doctor of laws.

In 1939, Coleman was elected district attorney of his home district and was thereafter reelected. This was followed by his election to serve as judge of the circuit court of the State's fifth judicial district, and, thereafter, was reelected without opposition. He was then appointed to the State supreme bench and later to the office of State attorney general. To the attorney general's office, he won reelection without opposition. In 1955 he surprised the most expert of political experts by being elected Governor of the State over four able and worthy opponents.

Judge Coleman is a man of character and of faith in God. I have never heard of him being charged with or suspected of an unscrupulous act. He is a devout member of the Baptist Church, maintaining membership in the small rural church of his early youth and in which he can be found worshipping on every Sabbath Day.

Ineligible to succeed himself as Governor, he retired therefrom after 4 years of a successful administration. It was conceded that he had made the State one of its finest chief executives. However, the people of his home county (Choctaw County) would not allow him to completely retire from public service. So, they elected him to the State House of Representatives, in which capacity he served during the 4 years immediately following his term as Governor.

But during these 4 years and until this day he has been primarily engaged in the private practice of law with extraordinary and unusual success.

In 1963 he was persuaded to try again for the office of Governor. Although the effort failed, he was in the runoff primary and made a most creditable race. During the campaign no attack was made upon his conduct, character or ability, and very little upon his achievements as a public official. He was confronted with the almost impossible obstacle of an unwritten law in the State that no man shall serve more than once as Governor. Only in two instances in all of the State's history has anyone been able to break this unwritten barrier.

The loss in this political campaign was the only loss in Judge Coleman's illustrious and successful career. Actually it was not a "loss." Had he been elected, he would have served at a tremendous financial sacrifice. His law practice was then and is now quite extensive. It carries him from one end of the State to the other as well as to other States over the country.

He is an active member of the American Bar Association, as well as his local and State bar associations. A number of years ago he was made a fellow of the American Bar Association. In recognition of his ability and unusual skill as a trial lawyer, he has been made and is now a member of the American Academy of Trial Lawyers.

In this statement I have made considerable reference to Judge Coleman's political career. While I have never regarded a political career as one that particularly qualifies an individual for service as a judge of a court of law, it should be noted that almost all of Judge Coleman's political service has been in direct contact with the law-as district attorney, as judge of his State circuit court, as judge of the State supreme court and as attorney general of the State. And may I point out that he served with great distinction as a member of the judiciary of my State. Furthermore, he is regarded as one of the leading attorneys of our State and of the Nation. In general his knowledge of and experience in interpreting and applying the law make him one of the best-qualified nominees ever offered for service on the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

Recognized as a man of honor and integrity, of good character and high morals, of fairness and sound judgment, and of appropriate experience, temperament and ability, I heartily endorse the President's nomination of the Honorable James Plemon Coleman and strongly urge this committee to recommend his confirmation. Respectfully submitted.

THOMAS G. ABERNETHY,

Member, U.S. House of Representatives,
First District of Mississippi.

STATEMENT ON BEHALF OF Gov. J. P. COLEMAN

My name is Sherwood W. Wise. I am 54 years of age, and a native Mississippian. I received the A.B. and LL.B. degrees from Washington and Lee University, the latter in 1934. I am the senior member of the law firm of Wise, Smith & Carter, of Jackson, and am a former president of the Hinds County Bar Association and of the Mississippi State Bar. I am a member of the American Bar Association, and of its Committee on Civil Rights and Racial Unrest. I am presently a director of the Jackson Chamber of Commerce, a trustee of the State department of archives and history; senior warden of St. Andrew's Episcopal Church.

I appear here today to testify in support of the appointment of Gov. James Plemon Coleman to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.

Although you have heard from others who are more intimately acquainted than I with the details of Governor Coleman's career, I know of my own personal knowledge that he served with distinction as district attorney and as circuit judge of the Fifth Judicial District of Mississippi. At an early age he served for a time on the Mississippi Supreme Court, was later elected attorney general, and then Governor of our State.

As a practicing lawyer and as an interested citizen, I closely observed him in his official acts as Governor. He was an agressive leader. He never followed the crowd just to please it, nor was he ever intimidated. He never lost sight of the good of the whole people. He proved himself to be a man of conviction, of integrity, and of courage. He had an enviable record of accomplishment, and his administration left the State in excellent condition. In my opinion, he was one of the finest Governors we have ever had.

I have since observed him as a lawyer in private practice. He is a skillful craftsman, a worthy adversary, and an honorable practitioner.

In both private and public life, he constantly draws on a wealth of knowledge and wisdom, which is based on painstaking development of a great talent. He is a man who has grown over the years with every experience, and I predict that he will continue to grow in stature and in service as long as he lives.

From these observations, I have drawn some very definite conclusions which I hope will be helpful to this committee.

Governor Coleman is an astute student of humanity. In order to successfully practice law, serve in judicial offices and engage in politics, he necessarily was required to know and understand the interests, aspirations and qualities of human beings. He appreciates the individual American, and values his worth. He is zealous in guarding the rights of every person whose fortunes become a part of his responsibility. He is truly a man of good will.

Governor Coleman is a student of history. He recognizes and appreciates those qualities of government which have made this country great, and which make it