Civic Organizations, Boston Papers Endorse Negro Folksinger's Appeal

The case of Jackie Washington, the 24-year-old folksinger who claims he was brutally beaten by two Boston policemen Dec. 3, has become a cause celebre of major proportions in the past few days.

Washington was convicted of assault and battery last Tuesday against one of the officers who arrested him for "being abroad in the nighttime" and fined $10, but has appealed the ruling. A date for a jury trial in Superior Court has not yet been set.

Complains to Commissioner

The day after his conviction, the singer lodged a complaint with Police Commissioner Edmund L. McNamara and petitioned the newly created Boston Police Review Board to hold public hearing on the case. Washington's complaint charged that Officers Robert X. Harvey and John Dailey arrested him illegally, broke his nose, and dislocated his ankle.

McNamara, in a statement issued Saturday, promised a full-scale investigation into the facts of the case, and an open hearing will be scheduled as soon as the investigation is completed. Washington's charges will be the first to be heard by the Police Review Board, which was established last month at the request of Atty. Gen. Edward J. McCormack, Jr., to act on citizens, complaints against police personnel.

Since the case involves questions of individual rights, race (Washington is a Negro), and police brutality, many civic organizations have taken an interest in it. The Congress o. Racial Equality (CORE) has provided Washington with free counsel.

In addition, CORE, the American Jewish Congress and the NAACP have established a "J a c k i e Washington Fund" to pay court expenses. Among the other groups which have expressed interest in the Fund, though they have not yet affiliated with it, are the American Veterans Committee, the Catholic Interracial Council, the United Packinghouse Workers Union, the Unitarian-Universalist Service Committee and the Jewish Labor Committee.

Press Sympathetic

The Boston press has also taken a sympathetic attitude toward Washington's side of the issue. The Globe, the Herald and the Traveler all published editorials last week stressing the importance of the upcoming hearing in eliminating police b r u t a l i t y. The Globe's editorial said that the case presents an opportunity to improve the city's dismal racial situation.

Edward J. Barshak, the singer's attorney, said yesterday that he does not plan to introduce the race issue into the case. But the question of whether Negroes are treated differently from whites by the police is bound to be an underlying factor.