Sen. Theodore Bilbo today joined his Southern colleagues filibustering against the FEPC bill, and charged in a speech on the Senate floor that the measure would force employers to establish a “Jewish quota” when hiring workers.
Calling the FEPC bill “an unholy thing” and “violation of constitutional rights,” Bilbo cited a Southern factory owner who was forced, Bilbo charged, to dismiss “Gentile” employees in order to keep Negro and Jewish employees.
Bilbo said he said he used the term “Jewish-Americans” because “Jews sometimes object to being called a nationality.” Declaring there is one Jew in the United States to every twenty-eight members of other races, he declared the FEPC would cause retail store owners to hire Jews according to this proportion.
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