Cavagan Anti Lynch Bill article appeared Jan 20.  Which year does it
appear in the Times Picayune?

---

Request for Question Clarification by juggler-ga on 28 Feb 2003 13:53 PST

Would an estimate be acceptable? I have determined the year(s) when
that particular anti-lynch bill was most newsworthy. Would that
information be acceptable?

---

Clarification of Question by mick28-ga on 28 Feb 2003 14:58 PST

The date was Jan 10, not 20th as I previously stated.  There was also
an article on that same page about the Spanish Civil War which I know
was between 1936 and 1939.  I am actually looking for a picture of a
group of people on the other side of that article, therefore, I was
trying to pinpoint the date by the article.  My late father-in-law is
in that picture and it appeared to be a political rally of some sort. 
Martin Behrman was elected mayor in 1925 (my father-in-law was a clerk
in his office)so that may be the year or Robert Maestri was elected in
1936 which could be another posibility.  Please look in those two
years, Jan 10, 1925 and Jan 10, 1936.

---

Request for Question Clarification by juggler-ga on 28 Feb 2003 15:11 PST

The 1925 date is not possible because the Congressman who sponsored
that particular anti-lynch bill did not take office until 1929.

1936 is possible, but my research indicates that a slightly later date
is also possible.

Could you provide any details from the article about the Spanish Civil
War? Are any particular events or battles mentioned?

---

Clarification of Question by mick28-ga on 28 Feb 2003 19:52 PST

The only other information I have (a relative is relaying the info to
me) is the following:
Washington - Jan 10 U.P.  House by vote of ? to 121 passed Cavagan
Anti Lynch Bill and was sent to Senate.  (Page is torn so some parts
missing)

About the Spanish American War - British Steamer bombed in North Sea. 
Captain lost.
That is all the information I can supply to you regarding the articles
(picture on other side) from the New Orleans Times Picayune newspaper.
 Maybe the article was some other month in 1936 or it was in 1937.

Hello.

Thanks for the additional information.

After considering the available information, I have come to conclusion
that the likely date of your article is January 10, 1938.

The "Cavagan Anti-Lynch Bill" was actually H.R. 1507 sponsored by
Representative Joseph A. Gavagan of New York City. The name is Gavagan
(with a G).  Rep. Gavagan served from 1929 to 1943.

The fact that the Spanish Civil War (July 1936 - April 1939) was
happening  limits the possible dates of your article to January 1937,
January 1938, or January 1939.

Gavagan's anti-lynching bill (H.R. 1507) was passed by the U.S. House
of Representatives in April 1937, but the bill was not debated in the
Senate until January 1938. In fact, the Gavagan Bill was the subject
of a fierce debate (and filibuster) in the U.S. Senate for during the
whole month of January 1938. In all likelihood, the introduction of
the bill in the Senate and the debate that begain on January 6, 1938,
are probably the actions and events to which your January 10 article
refers.


Sources:

Congressman Joseph Gavagan:
"Gavagan, Joseph Andrew (1892-1968) -- also known as Joseph A. Gavagan
-- of New York, New York County, N.Y. ... U.S. Representative from New
York 21st District, 1929-43"
Source: politicalgraveyard.com
http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/gatewood-gayheart.html

Spanish Civil War date references, see:
THE MAIN EVENTS OF THE SPANISH CIVIL WAR
http://www.users.dircon.co.uk/~warden/scw/scwevent.htm

HR 1507 (Gavagan Anti-Lynching Bill):

"Roll call 20 in the 75th House, April 7, 1937... 
A majority of House members had signed a discharge petition for H.R.
1507 (the Gavagan bill), another anti-lynching measure... "
Source: "Party Loyalty and Committee Leadership in the House,
1921-40," hosted by UC Davis:
http://psclasses.ucdavis.edu/sala/conference/sala-mcbrady-003.doc 

"Congress of the United States of America. Congressional Record:
Volume 83-Part 1.Washington, D.C.: GPO, 1938...
...the anti-lynching bill, (H.R. 1507), that had been passed by the
House of Representatives. It documents debate over passage of the bill
that took place in the Senate from January 6 to January 27. It also
contains the text of the took place in the Senate from January 6 to
January 27. It also contains the text of thefilibuster by Southern
Senators and the failed cloture vote."
Source: "The Campaign Against Lynching," hosted by Uky.edu:
http://www.uky.edu/~dolph/HIS316/projects/brianbib.pdf

"In 1938, Senators Wagner and Frederick Van Nuys presented the bill to
the Senate.  After a six week filibuster by southern senators and two
failed attempts at cloture by the bill's supporters, the Senate buried
the Gavagan Bill (Zangrando 113)."
Source: "The Shame of America :The Anti-Lynching Movement from
1915-1940
and The Politics of Mob Murder" hosted by Oak Park and River Forest
High School:
http://oprfhs.org/division/history/interpretations/2002interp/Lilly,Nicholas2.doc

search strategy:
"anti lynching bill"
gavagan
"h r 1507"

I hope this helps. If you require any additional information, please
use the "request clarification" feature. Thanks.

---

Clarification of Answer by juggler-ga on 28 Feb 2003 22:24 PST

Sorry for that typo. It should have been:

"...and the debate that began on January 6, 1938..."

Thank you so much for the research and sources you provided.  I can
now go to the Public Library and look at the 35mm film with the date
you provided and hopefully the picture I am look for is on the back
page of the article.

Thank you for the tip.

And good luck at the library!  Hopefully, the picture will be in the
January 10, 1938 issue. If it doesn't work out, you might also take a
look at the January 10, 1940. I've found some references to a
"Wagner-Gagavan" anti-lynching bill in 1940.
See the reference to "the Wagner-Gavagan bill of 1940" on ghg.net:
http://www.ghg.net/hollaway/civil/civil25.htm

The Spanish Civil War was over before 1940, though, so my first
instinct is to think that the 1940 date is not possible. Still, if the
1938 issue doesn't pan out, the January 10, 1940 issue might be worth
investigating.

Thanks again.
-juggler