Vel Phillips Papers (Correspondence, Box 6)

[Mailing Envelope] Alderman Vel Phillips City Hall, Milwaukee, Wisconsin

cc: Mr. Tony Weitzerl, co/ Chicago Daily News, Chicago, Illinois

cc: John C. Richling, Jr., Disable Amer. Veterans Veterans Administration, Milwaukee, Wisconsin

cc: Alderman Vel Phillips, Common Council, City Hall, Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Resale Shop 1866 North 12th Street, Milwaukee, Wisconsin

January 31, 1960

cc: Miss Grace Kelly, 2534 N. Prospect Ave., Milwaukee, Wisconsin

cc: House Veterans Affairs Committee House of Representatives, Washington, D. C.

Editor, Milwaukee Journal, Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Dear sir:

I have read the very wise comments made by Mr. Ben Barking, at the recent B'nai B'rith Awards and wholeheartedly concurred with him that human rights are indivisible and when evil is done to one it is done to all. Of course, it is. Consequently, it is the duty of every decent person to help destroy evil of every kind and description wherever it may exist, on a strictly fair, impartial and intelligent basis. This, so far, certainly has not been done. For example, I repeatedly have requested restriction of the filthy falsehoods contained in the rotten and ridiculous report that had been made by Negro detective Dewey Russ in connection with the utterly unprovoked attack that had been made on my sick person, some time ago, at a Goodwill store, while I was there with my wife, with whom the trouble had started, and who also had witnessed the incident from beginning to end. As a witness Mrs. Evans had told Russ exactly what I had told him. In his false, malicious and misleading report, however, he mentioned my name only and then in a highly degrading and discreditable manner. In his phony report he had asserted that the incident did not happen the way I said it had happened and that I was "only trying to make trouble." This was a deliberate and downright lie and he knew it. He had absolutely no right or reason to discredit me the entirely blameless victim of this vicious attack. He was 100% per cent wrong, self-evidently wrong. He had knowingly and wittingly wronged me and deserved to be discharged from the police force. However, I'm not seeking revenge, only a retraction of his rotten and ridiculous report. If I accepted this asinine report, I'd abase myself, I'd be denying the evidence of my senses as well as my wife's who had witnessed the incident, which had involved the BOTH of us, and, naturally both of our names should have been reflected in the report. My attacker, for no reason at all, hit me hard and chopping blow on the back of the neck which, of course, but for the grace of God might have killed me and this cannot be taken lightly or minimized just because he belonged to the "minority race." Oh, no. I have been thrice attacked for nothing by the Negroes, and this sort of thing is getting to be a little tiresome. I'm getting awfully tired of being slapped around by stupid jerks. The whole trouble, of course, is the fact that human rights are strong for the blacks and weak for we white people, who have been attacked and physically abused by them. If the races were reversed then needless to say, it would be an entirely different story. Then it would be called "race hatred" or "prejudice." It all depends on whose ox has been gored.

Dewey Russ who used his badge instead of his brains had exercised extremely poor judgment. His deed was exceedingly dumb for a detective. He compounded the misery and ought to hang his head in shame. It was a terrible thing to do to anybody much less to a totally disabled veteran. But, then, of course, we, too, have our share of crooked and "cukey" cops who consider themselves real clever, and cry when they get caught. Anyway, after I had continued to complain about this glaringly gross wrong and injustice fellow officer of Russ', including a police lieutenant named Wehlen made several personal calls on me, commanded me to cease complaining (or else) as well as made cutting comments about MY sanity! Well, they had better question their OWN. They had used the "mental monkeyshines" in attempts to silence me. They had learned that many years ago I had suffered a "nervous breakdown" and had the nitwitted notion they could use it as a club over my head. Naturally, even if I were a cretin, I'd still have the right to complain about any wrong or injustice, I'd still have certain inalienable rights. The local cops have got a lot to learn. Don't talk about the Chicago cops or to make any comparisons for we too, on a smaller scale, have the same kind of cops here. Chicago is bound to have more for it is a much larger city. So, your paper has made a very poor comparison. Then, too, a lot of it is covered up. However, I'm not trying to impugn the intergrity of all our cops for we do have some honest ones here.

Getting back to the Jews. These wonderful people have helped tremendously to build up this country. They are brainy and brilliant people and I myself would be proud to be one of them. My best buddy while I was in the service was a Jew boy, named Louie Cohen, whom I loved like a brother. Well, to make a long story short, there are black bigots as well as white bigots. By no means do blacks "love" all of we white folks. If they did then they wouldn't insult us, abuse us or, call us nasty sex names, etc. Not once has Vel Phillips expressed a bit of sympathy with our plight or bothered to send us a little "I'm sorry" note. There's your "brotherhood" for you. It is a bundle of baloney.

Incidentally, Negro "wolf pack" gangs are preying on women shoppers in Chicago in the Woodlawn area. Their ages run from 10 to mid-teenage. They loiter around supermarkets posing as delivery boys. Police officials have described the situation as ALARMING. They say these young thugs have been causing many harrowing experiences for older women and housewives. So, please inform Chief Johnson that the young Negroes do such things whether the weather is "hot" or "cold." Also ask him whether he knows any more good gags like the "hot weather" joke for Negro delinquency and crime during the summer in Milwaukee. What a "cukey" excuse for crime and delinquency! Everything the Negroes pull off is excused on this or that pretext, of course, including the "poor housing" alibi.

Yes, indeed, they have "whupped" me three times for no reason at all other than the savage delight they had derived from it. Nice people! Mrs. Phillips sure can be proud of them!

Very truly yours, Frank Evans Frank Evans

cc: Mr. Carl Hansen, 3103 S. Austin Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Mrs. Phillips: you stand a good chance of getting "whupped" in the coming election, we sure hope so. F.E.

cc: Mr. Ben Barkin, 4643 N. Wildwood Ave., Milwaukee, Wis.

Ald. Vel Phillips, Common Council, City Hall, Milwaukee, Wis.

1866 North 12th Street, Milwaukee, Wisconsin

February 16, 1960

cc: Veteran's Administrator, Veteran's Administration, Washington .D.C.

Executive Director, Goodwill Industries, 2102 W. Pierce St. .Milwaukee. Wis.

cc: John G. Richling, Jr., Disabled American Veterans Veterans Administration, Milwaukee, Wisconsin

-Copy-

Dear Mrs. Griggs:

Telling the truth about anything such as the subjects I have been writing about, can, in this miserable town, get one into trouble. I found that out when the cops had tried using 'mental' tricks on me after I had continued to complain about the rotten and ridiculous report that had been made by Negro detective Dewey Russ on the Goodwill store incident, which had involved both me and Mrs. Evans but he completely omitted thin fact, and incorporated only my name, in a highly discrediting manner, in his stupid, stumbling and bumbling report wherein he ignored the true facts and used his own personal ingredients. His report was false, malicious and misleading. He had neglected to mention the fact that Mrs. Evans with whom the trouble, in the first place, had started was a witness as well as a participant that she, too, took part in the incident and had told him exactly what I myself had told Dewey Russ. In his report, Russ had asserted that the incident did not happen the way I said it had happened and that I was "only trying to make trouble." Very well. Then what about Mrs. Evans didn't the incident happen the way she told Russ it had happened and was Mrs. Evans, too, "only trying to make trouble?" I'd like to see him wiggle out of that. I'd like to see his brother officers who had been making personal calls on me and making cutting remarks about my sanity explain the fact that Mrs. Evans' name as a witness as well as a "partaker" had not appeared in the asinine report. They had tried to bluff, bully, browbeat and intimidate me with the "mental monkeyshines." They evidently had considers themselves real cute and clever. To make a long story short Mrs. Evans name also belonged in the report. The information she gave Russ should have been included in it. You, of course, know this as well as I do. In stating falsely that the incident did not happen the way I said it had happened Russ evidently had used this to minimize the injury to my neck by one of his people. My attacker, as you already know, had hit me with all his might, on the back of the neck and knocked me to the floor at the Goodwill store. Mrs. Evans as well as a colored female clerk had seen the whole thing from the beginning to end. The clerk, however, lied to the cops about it, and what's more her lies were so patent that even a child could see through them. However, lieutenant, Wehlen of the police department told me that Dewey Russ in his false and foolish report had merely expressed his "opinion." Since when did the opinion of a detective constitute evidence?

Lieutenant Wehlen may be a "big wheel" but he, too, has a lot to learn about the law.

He, too, ought to know that evidence does not depend on the "opinion" of a detective but is derived from information obtained from the witness or witnesses. Russ, needless to say was 100 per cent wrong but of course, policemen protect policeman.

I'm not a bit afraid of the cops or their "mental monkeyshines" so they had better get it out of their heads once and for all. My only offense was that I had been at the Goodwill store with Mrs. Evans. Nothing, no amount of bluffing, browbeating or bullying can alter that fact a bit, nor can it change the fact that my wife had been one of my witnesses as well as a participant in the incident but Russ had knowingly and wittingly omitted from his dimwitted report.

Meanwhile, Mrs. Evans and I need all the physical and mental rest we can possibly get. We are both completely exhausted, thanks to the "cullud citizens," and their great "leaders."

We sorely need a new alderman to replace Mrs. Phillips, in this ward. We need an alderman who will respect the rights of all constituents, white and colored alike.

Incidentally, I still think Chief Johnson's "hot weather" excuse for Negro delinquency and crime last summer stinks! As a IA year old kid on a battleship while in the navy the tropical sun burned the skin off my back. yet, I had never transgressed naval conduct of courtesy, simply because I was basically decent and bright.

Dimwits here had been designated as "disoriented." They were plain dumb and lacking in decency rather than disoriented. The whole trouble was between their ears. As I previously had stated I had never before seen such strange and peculiar personalities, which even a psychiatrist couldn't plumb.

Whenever I'm slapped around by stupid jerks "minority race" er no, no "cukey" cops nor anybody else is going to silence me about it. Furthermore I want no more personal police calls in attempts to intimidate me for telling the truth about a woefully ignorant police report. They're not horsing around with some backwoods idiot.

This is the type of "hick town" where whenever an innocent person is stabbed in the back... the "authorities" charge the victim with carrying a "concealed weapon." It's just an overgrown hick town, with a keystone police force. The Mayor, too, is a real "modest" guy. Some one now wanted him to run for president of the United States... but, of course, he turned it down!

We ourselves are voting Republican. The Democrats are strong on Negro human rights and weak on the human rights of we White folks no matter how flagrantly our rights have been violated by the Negroes. For our next Mayor Mr. Bowman we believe is our best bet.

City Hall, too, has been very inconsiderate and insensitive in these matter. Very truly yours Frank Evans Frank Evans cc: Editor Milwaukee Sentinel