LEAFLET TELLS OF ASSEMBLY; CHIEF HOPES RALLY IN CAPE ISN'T HELD

Officials of the city of Cape Girardeau and Southeast Missouri State University expressed concern Thursday over distribution of leaflets promoting a "white pride" demonstration and Ku Klux Klan cross-burning.

"We sincerely hope that it doesn't happen," Police Chief Howard Boyd Jr. said of the announced demonstration.

The leaflets state that several Aryan organizations will hold a "demonstration" in front of Cape Girardeau City Hall at 3 p.m. on June 13, followed by a "cross-lighting" on private property.

City Manager J. Ronald Fischer said the demonstration is not sanctioned in any way by the city government. "We don't endorse or encourage anything like this," he said.

Art Wallhausen, assistant to the president at Southeast, said university officials are concerned about the situation. "It's not a healthy thing at all," said Wallhausen.

Boyd said a number of the leaflets have been circulated in the community since late January. Some of the leaflets have also appeared on the university campus.

Boyd said many of the leaflets are copies of the original fliers. The copies, he explained, were made by individuals who were concerned about the situation, as opposed to supporters.

He said that to the police department's knowledge there are no Aryan organizations in Cape Girardeau.

The initial distribution of leaflets was apparently the work of an 18-year-old Cape Girardeau man. The man apparently started out with about 50 leaflets, said Boyd, but only distributed about seven or eight of them.

Boyd said police officers learned of the situation through a relative of the man, who had reported a domestic problem last week.

The 18-year-old man had made several telephone calls to Aryan organizations in the past and received literature from such groups, Boyd said.

The announcement of the demonstration apparently grew out of such contacts, Boyd said.

He said police were informed of the situation after a leaflet was found at a local nursing home on Jan. 23.

Boyd then sent a letter to federal, state and county law enforcement agencies and the university's Department of Public Safety informing them about the matter.

The agencies notified included Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, the U.S. Justice Department, FBI, U.S. Marshal's Service in St. Louis, the Missouri attorney general's office, Cape Girardeau County Sheriff's Department and the county prosecuting attorney's office.

In the Jan. 24 letter, Boyd wrote: "The Cape Girardeau Police Department is considering this to be a serious threat against the peace and tranquility of our community. The police department will proceed with contingency plans as if the demonstration will in fact take place."

Boyd said in the letter that the Cape Girardeau police may call upon these other agencies for assistance "if this demonstration appears to come together."

Federal authorities have expressed doubt that the so-called demonstration will take place, the police chief said Thursday.

Boyd said the distribution of the literature, which denigrates Jews, blacks and homosexuals, is allowed under First Amendment rights.

"These people are exercising their constitutional rights," he said. But he added, "It's a real delicate issue."

He said he spoke to members of the university's football team Wednesday afternoon in an effort to address their concerns about such a demonstration.

"Everybody is concerned about this that knows about it," said Boyd.

Fischer said, "It is within the law and all we can do is see that no one's rights are violated."

The university's Wallhausen expressed strong criticism of the leaflets and the announced demonstration. "That kind of trash has no place on a university campus and we are appalled by it," he said.

"We would condemn it in the strongest possible terms. It's filth and it's not appropriate on a university campus.

"The activity itself is not appropriate for the United States of America. I would hope it doesn't come off," he said.