The Evening Star (October 4, 1946)
U.S. probes report of ban on G.I. voters
By the Associated Press
Assistant Attorney General Lamar Caudle said today the Justice Department is “looking into” a complaint that “thousands” of G.I. students at the University of Illinois have been denied the right to register for the general election.
Mr. Caudle, head of the Criminal Division, told a reporter the complaint alleged that between 8,000 and 9,000 veterans are affected.
He added: “I have directed United States Attorney William W. Hart of the Eastern District of Illinois to look into this situation immediately and thoroughly.”
Mr. Caudle refused to say who filed the complaint or how the students are alleged to have been prevented from registering.
In Danville, Illinois, the office of Prosecutor Hart said he was not expected there for three days. His assistant, Ray Foreman, was not immediately available for comment on the complaint.
Park Livingston, chairman of the university’s Board of Trustees, said in Chicago Mr. Caudle’s announcement was news to him, but that he would look into it immediately.
The Republican State Committee chairman, Paul Rosenquist of Rockford, and the Democratic chairman, George D. Kells of Chicago, could not be reached.