Music: Jim Crow Concert Hall

One of the greatest concert singers of this generation is Marian Anderson, Philadelphia-born Negro contralto. Since she skyrocketed to fame in Salzburg four years ago, the music-lovers and critics of the world's musical capitals have counted it a privilege to hear her sing. Last week it looked as though music-lovers in provincial Washington, D.C. might be denied this privilege. Reason: Washington's only large concert auditorium, Constitution Hall, is owned by the Daughters of the American Revolution, who are so proud they won't eat mush—much less let a Negro sing from their stage.

Last January, when Contralto Anderson's manager tried to book Constitution...