Law v. Mayor and City Council of Baltimore

• Decision Date: 18 June 1948
• Docket Number: Civ. A. No. 3837.
• Citation: 78 F. Supp. 346
• Parties: LAW v. MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL OF BALTIMORE et al.
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Maryland

78 F. Supp. 346

LAW v. MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL OF BALTIMORE et al.

Civ. A. No. 3837.

District Court, D. Maryland.

June 18, 1948.

Charles H. Houston and Joseph C. Waddy, both of Washington, D. C., and W. A. C. Hughes, Jr., of Baltimore, Md., for plaintiff.

Thomas N. Biddoson, City Sol., and Allen A. Davis, Asst. City Sol., both of Baltimore, Md., for defendant.

CHESNUT, District Judge.

The plaintiff in this case sues for enforcement of civil rights arising from the 14th Amendment which provides that no State shall deny to any person the equal protection of the laws. The plaintiff is an experienced Negro golfer who complains that he and others of his color have not been accorded equal facilities with white persons for the pastime of golf. The answer of the City of Baltimore maintains that, in accordance with the general Maryland policy of segregation of the races, it has provided one municipal golf course exclusively for the use of Negroes which, it is said, considering the much smaller number of that race playing golf than the number of white golfers, affords substantially equal facilities to the Negroes. From the evidence in the case I make the following findings of fact.

Baltimore City maintains four public golf courses under the general charge of the Board of Recreation and Parks. Three of these golf courses are reserved for the use of white persons exclusive of Negroes, and the fourth is reserved exclusively for the use of Negroes. On August 26, 1947, the plaintiff formally applied to the Board for permission to play on one or more of the golf courses reserved for white persons. He had a hearing and on a consideration of the matter the Board by a majority vote denied his application on October 31, 1947. This suit resulted.

The three courses reserved for white persons are Mt. Pleasant Golf Course situated partly in Baltimore City and partly in Baltimore County in the general vicinity of the Herring Run Valley in the northeastern section of the City, and still in a predominantly undeveloped district. It is an 18-hole course of modern construction with attractive surrounding landscape, occupying about 140 acres of ground and of more than 6000 yards in length for the whole course. Another 18-hole golf course maintained by the City is in Clifton Park, a tract of several hundred acres originally constituting the country estate of Johns Hopkins, and situated on the Harford Road about a mile north of North Avenue which, many years ago, was the northern boundary of the City. The golf course constitutes a part of a typical large City Park. Still another 18-hole golf course is known as Hillsdale in Forest Park in the northwestern part of the City and in a general suburban district. The fourth golf course, the one reserved for Negroes, is in Carroll Park. It is only a 9-hole course situated in the southwestern part of the City in a general commercial and industrial area.

A very similar case was considered by the Maryland State Courts in 1942, Durkee v. Murphy, 181 Md. 259, 29 A.2d 253, 255. In that case a Negro golfer brought a mandamus suit to require the Board of Park Commissioners to permit him to play on any of the three City golf courses reserved for white persons. Under an instruction given by the trial judge, the jury in effect by their verdict found there was a substantial inequality in accommodation in Carroll Park for the Negro players. On appeal the judgment was reversed for errors in procedure. In the opinion it was stated that for constitutional purposes, golf should not be treated as a mere incident of recreational facilities, but a facility in itself from which Negroes cannot be excluded without having other substantially equal provision made for them. It was, however, further pointed out that it was lawful and proper, in view of the general Maryland policy of segregation for the Board to provide separate golf courses for Negroes and white persons, but if so the facilities for the colored race must be substantially equal to those afforded other classes.

When this case was tried in 1942 it appears quite clearly that the Carroll Park course did not afford facilities for golfers substantially equal to any of the three other City courses. It was described in the opinion of the Court of Appeals as follows: "The Carroll Park course, one of nine holes, covers a smaller acreage than the other courses, has shorter fairways, has sand greens which are not so well constructed as those on well-known courses elsewhere, has metal discs marking the holes rather than flags, has no accommodations for washing balls, and has no golf professional present. There was evidence on behalf of the City, however, that professionals are not employed by it anywhere, and are present on other city courses, where there are more players, only of their own initiative, to profit by fees that players are willing to pay for their services. The club house at Carroll Park is not a subject of any complaint. The other City courses are of eighteen holes each, with turf greens, and longer fairways. They have two alternating tees for each hole, whereas the Carroll Park course has one. It was testified for the City, further, that of the rounds played on the four courses 90 per cent. are by white players, 10 by Negro players, and that if the Negroes are to be taken as playing two rounds on the nine hole course, they number about 5 per cent. of all players; and the longer courses were provided with a view to accommodating the greater number of players."

The result of the litigation in the case was that the Board apparently recognized the inadequacy of the Carroll Park golf course and, after what appears to have been an informal understanding with the Association of Colored Golfers who frequently used Carroll Park, the Board agreed that substantial improvement would be made in the course and that until this was done Negro players would be permitted to use one or more of the other City courses. This practice was followed for two years during the rebuilding of the Carroll Park course. From a preponderance of the evidence in this case I find that it has been very materially improved as a 9-hole course with good turf in the fairways, fairly well laid out as to the construction of the 9 holes with well kept and adequate putting greens, and with no congestion of the number of players who use the course. It also, as the photographs in evidence will show, has an adequate club house with accommodations for the two sexes. But owing to the comparatively small number of players, the patronage is not sufficient to attract a professional golf instructor. The other City courses have such a golf professional but, while appointed by the Board, his compensation comes entirely from the patronage of those who use the courses. Separately considered, Carroll Park is now a reasonably good 9-hole course but it is situated in an unattractive part of the City for a golf course, being bordered by an active industrial branch of the B. and O. Railroad and surrounded by commerce and industry rather than in a suburban or country district. It has little attraction from the landscape point of view. The land, while not completely level, has a comparatively uniform terrain and does not present the attractive varied conditions of ground or landscaping which exist to a much greater extent in the other municipal courses.

The evidence further shows that of the 4,000 or more golf courses in the United States about half are only nine-hole courses; but there is no evidence, with respect to municipal courses alone, how many are 9-hole courses and how many 18-hole courses; nor is there any evidence with respect to any other municipality where Negroes are limited to a smaller and less attractive course than is provided for other classes of citizens. In this case the City justifies the present situation largely on the ground of the general Maryland policy of segregation of the races and also on the ground that, considering the comparatively small number of colored players, the facilities of Carroll Park must fairly be considered adequate for Negro golfers.

I find also that the Board has in good faith carried out its informal understanding with certain Negro golf players following the Maryland case just mentioned; but it does not appear that the...