The Shocking Details of the Infamous Gesell
Report (excerpt)
Congressional Record – House, August 8,
1963, 14616
[A long diatribe against the liberal press for failing to report on
"the detailed record of all the Communist-front affiliations of members
of the racist NAACP," and the communist infiltration of "the
race-mixing movement" has been deleted here. The Gesell Report required
military officers to oppose discrimination in the areas surrounding military
bases.]
Mr. [Joe] Waggoner [D-Louisiana].
…
It was not for a lack of space that the Post did not mention the Gesell
report this morning. They managed to find space in their editorial column for
a lengthy editorial pleading the cause of homosexuals in the Capitol.
A subcommittee of the House is considering legislation today which will
prohibit members of the Mattachine Society from soliciting funds for their
organization. The Mattachine Society is an organization dedicated to the
advancement of homosexuals.
The Washington Post pleads with its readers to protect the rights of these
homosexuals and help understand them.
This, I suggest, is a queer attitude for a supposedly influential newspaper
to take.
Ever since I came to Washington as a Member of this body, I have heard the
Post referred to as the Com-Post by members of the press, by Members of both
Houses and by the public at large.
Webster defines "compost" as a fertilizing mixture composed of
peat, leaf mold, manure, and lime, mingled and decomposed.
For the edification of my colleagues, I include herewith the pleadings of
the Post for us to protect the rights of the homosexuals in Washington.
Imagine, if you can, the kind of editorial mind which considered this more
important than our debate yesterday on the Gesell report.
[The Washington Post editorial was reprinted following these comments.]
Additional Information on Rep. Joe Waggonner
Rep. Joe Waggonner was arrested in Washington, D.C., 1976, for
soliciting a policewoman posing as a prostitute.
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