Southern Hospitality

One of the State Department's most persistent domestic headaches is the housing of African envoys in Washington--a city that is Southern by temperament as well as by geography. Last week the problem was very nearly solved, as six Washington real estate men, prodded by President Kennedy, offered to drop color bars in their luxury-apartment buildings. The six: Builders Morris Cafritz, Frank Luchs, Norman and Leo Bernstein, Mark Winkler and Louis Richman. African diplomats, said Norman Bernstein, would be wel come at three of his "restricted"' apartment complexes: Kew Gardens in Georgetown, Cathedral Mansions on Connecticut Avenue, and Connecticut Gardens in northwest Washington.

Satisfied that foreign diplomats would have far less house-hunting trouble from now on, Protocol Chief Angier Biddle Duke admitted that there was still much to be done for Washington's own Negroes. Said he: "You shouldn't have to have a passport to get a decent place to live.'' Added a hopeful N.A.A.C.P. spokesman: "Ironic as it may be, if things open up for dark-skinned people from Africa, the American Negro is bound to benefit."

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