Richard M. Nixon, the Republican Presidential candidate, has resigned from the Baltusrol Golf Club in Springfield, N.J., which has been accused of barring Jews and Negroes from membership, it was revealed yesterday. But the reason given by Mr. Nixon for his action, which occurred last August, had nothing to do with the club’s allegedly discriminatory policies, nor was Baltusrol the only club from which Mr. Nixon has resigned.
The candidate’s press aide, Paul Costello, disclosed a form letter written Aug. 8 to clubs in which Mr. Nixon held membership in which the latter said, “In view of my nomination by the Republican Party for the Presidency of the United States, I believe it appropriate that I dissociate myself from all organizations and activities not related to the commitment I have accepted for the foregoing nomination.” The letter was posted on the Baltusrol bulletin board. Carl J. Jehlen, the club’s manager said the board of directors had accepted Mr. Nixon’s resignation at a meeting last Tuesday but declined further comment.
Mr. Nixon came under fire for his membership in Baltusrol last July after attending a Republican Party function there during his campaign for the nomination. He said, in a statement at the time, “I have not followed a practice of joining clubs because they have restrictions or of leaving clubs because of them.” He added, “I attempt to work from within to change those policies, rather than from the outside.” Following that statement, the American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey requested Mr. Nixon to recommend 10 Negroes and 10 Jews for membership in the club. There was no subsequent comment by the candidate on that request.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
