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{{Infobox person

{{Infobox person

| name=Ned O'Neal Touchstone​<br>

| name=Ned O'Neal Touchstone​<br>

(Radical Right journalist and publisher from Louisiana)

(Radical Right journalist and publisher from Shreveport, Louisiana)

| birth_date=September 27, 1926​

| birth_date=September 27, 1926​

| birth_place=Florien, Sabine Parish<br>[[Louisiana]], [[United States|USA]]​

| birth_place=Florien, Sabine Parish<br>[[Louisiana]], [[United States|USA]]​

| death_place=Lake Palestine<br>near [[Tyler, Texas|Tyler]], Smith County<br>[[Texas]], USA ​

| death_place=Lake Palestine<br>near [[Tyler, Texas|Tyler]], Smith County<br>[[Texas]], USA ​

| resting_place=Hillcrest Memorial Park in [[Haughton, Louisiana|Haughton]], Louisiana ​

| resting_place=Hillcrest Memorial Park in Haughton, Louisiana ​

| death_date=July 16, 1988 (aged 61)​

| death_date=July 16, 1988 (aged 61)​

|nationality=[[United States|American]]​

|nationality=[[United States|American]]​

'''Ned O'Neal Touchstone''' (September 27, 1926 &ndash; July 26, 1988) was a [[Louisiana]] [[newspaper]] [[publisher]] active in the "Radical Right" during the 1960s.

'''Ned O'Neal Touchstone''' (September 27, 1926 &ndash; July 26, 1988) was a [[Louisiana]] [[newspaper]] [[publisher]] active in the "Radical Right" during the 1960s.

Born in [[village]] of Florien in Sabine Parish, he resided in the [[Shreveport]]-[[Bossier City]] metropolitan area for most of his life.<ref name=obit>Ned O. Touchstone obituary, 'The Shreveport Times,'' July 30, 1988.</ref>​  

Born in [[village]] of Florien in Sabine Parish, he resided in the [[Shreveport]]-[[Bossier City]] metropolitan area for most of his life.<ref name=obit>Ned O. Touchstone obituary, 'The Shreveport Times,'' July 30, 1988.</ref>​  

Touchstone was a descendant of Richard Touchstone (1657-1729), a [[New Jersey]] native who settled in [[Maryland]]. Another of his ancestors was Captain Benjamin Merrell (1731-1771) of Mercer County, New Jersey, who was [[Hanging|hanged]], drawn, and quartered in [[North Carolina]] in an early attack on the [[Great Britain|British]] crown.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tamu.edu/faculty/ccbn/dewitt/mckstorymerrell.htm|title=The Merrell Family|publisher=[[Texas A&M University]]|accessdate=March 24, 2017}}</ref> Other family members were pioneers in 1798 in the settlement of [[Mississippi]].​

Touchstone was a descendant of Richard Touchstone (1657-1729), a [[New Jersey]] native who settled in [[Maryland]]. Another of his ancestors was Captain Benjamin Merrell (1731-1771) of Mercer County, New Jersey, who was [[Hanging|hanged]], drawn, and quartered in [[North Carolina]] in an early attack on the [[Great Britain|British]] crown.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tamu.edu/faculty/ccbn/dewitt/mckstorymerrell.htm|title=The Merrell Family|publisher=[[Texas A&M University]]|accessdate=March 24, 2017}}</ref> Other family members were pioneers in 1798 in the settlement of [[Mississippi]].​

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Touchstone was a professional researcher and writer and owned and for a time and operated the largest retail book store in Shreveport. He was an avid reader and was known for his extensive vocabulary and for remembering and quoting large portions of published books and poetry. For eight years, he published in his print shop in Bossier City numerous weekly newspapers in Louisiana and [[Texas]], including the former ''Bossier Press'' and the ''Waskom Gazette'' in Waskom, in Harrison County in east Texas.<ref name=obit/>

Touchstone was a professional researcher and writer and owned and for a time operated the largest retail book store in Shreveport. He was an avid reader and was known for his extensive vocabulary and for remembering and quoting large portions of published books and poetry. For eight years, he published in his print shop in Bossier City numerous weekly newspapers in Louisiana and [[Texas]], including the former ''Bossier Press'' and the ''Waskom Gazette'' in Waskom, in Harrison County in east Texas.<ref name=obit/>

Before owning and operating his newspapers, he worked during the 1950s on Capitol Hill as an administrative assistant for five years for [[Democratic Party|Democratic]] [[U.S. Representative]] Thomas Overton Brooks (1897-1961) of Louisiana's 4th congressional district. Touchstone researched and authored the bill to construct the Veteran's Hospital in Shreveport, which is named for Representative Brooks. As a legislative aide, Touchstone claimed to have encountered several [[Puerto Rico|Puerto Rican]] nationalists who were running down the steps of the Capitol. This small group of armed radicals had assaulted several congressmen and wounded two in the arm.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/28/insider/1954-in-harms-way-on-capitol-hill.html|title=Five Congressmen Shot in House by 3 Puerto Rican Nationalists; Bullets Spray from Gallery|publisher=''[[The New York Times]]''|date=March 2, 1954| accessdate=August 24, 2019}}</ref>

Before owning and operating his newspapers, he worked during the 1950s on Capitol Hill as an administrative assistant for five years for [[Democratic Party|Democratic]] [[U.S. Representative]] Thomas Overton Brooks (1897-1961) of Louisiana's 4th congressional district. Touchstone researched and authored the bill to construct the Veteran's Hospital in Shreveport, which is named for Representative Brooks. As a legislative aide, Touchstone claimed to have encountered several [[Puerto Rico|Puerto Rican]] nationalists who were running down the steps of the Capitol. This small group of armed radicals had assaulted several congressmen and wounded two in the arm.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/28/insider/1954-in-harms-way-on-capitol-hill.html|title=Five Congressmen Shot in House by 3 Puerto Rican Nationalists; Bullets Spray from Gallery|publisher=''[[The New York Times]]''|date=March 2, 1954| accessdate=August 24, 2019}}</ref>

Another legislative aide on Brooks' staff was [[Billy McCormack]], later the pastor of the University Worship Center in Shreveport and a founding director and vice president of the [[Christian Coalition]].<ref name=mccormack>[[Billy McCormack]] Mission Group.com, June 10, 2012; no longer on-line.</ref>​

Another legislative aide on Brooks' staff was [[Billy McCormack]], later the pastor of the University Worship Center in Shreveport and a founding director and vice president of the [[Christian Coalition]].<ref name=mccormack>[[Billy McCormack]] Mission Group.com, June 10, 2012; no longer on-line.</ref>​

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In 1962, Touchstone became the editor of ''The Councilor," the official publication of the White Citizens' Council, of which his mailing list included a worldwide readership of more than 106,000 but a paid circulation of 18,000. The Citizens Council was formed in the middle 1950s to oppose the [[civil rights movement]] in the South. Led in Louisiana by [[William Rainach]], the council was composed of avowed [[Segregation|segregationists]] who sought to exert financial pressures on civil rights supporters. The greater part of the members were medium to lower-income whites who were staunch supporters of what was commonly called "the southern way of life."  The Citizens' Council grew in numbers until the [[Civil Rights Act of 1964]] was signed into law by [[President of the United States|U.S. President]] [[Lyndon B. Johnson]], a frequent target of Touchstone's editorials, along with Johnson's intra-party rival, [[United States Attorney General]] [[Robert F. Kennedy]], subsequently a U.S. senator from [[New York]] for fewer than four years.<ref name=thecouncilor>{{cite web|url=http://faculty.ferris.edu/ISAR/Institut/cca/touchstone_cca.htm|title=Ned Touchstone: The Citizens Councils and The Councilor|publisher=Institute for the Study of Academic Racism|date=1983|accessdate=March 25, 2017}}</ref>​ In December 1963, a confidential informant (NO 1223-R) identified Touchstone as a member of the Original Knights of the [[Ku Klux Klan]]. The informant further revealed that the KKK had "documented proof" that President Johnson early in his political career joined the KKK, much as his friend [[Robert Byrd]] did in [[West Virginia]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://madworldnews.com/trump-democratic-president-kkk/|title=Trump Reveals Which Democratic President Was Also KKK Member, Liberals in Meltdown Mode|date=October 30, 2017|publisher=Madworldnews.com|accessdate=August 25, 2019}}</ref>

In 1962, Touchstone became the editor of ''The Councilor," the official publication of the White Citizens' Council, of which his mailing list included a worldwide readership of more than 106,000 but a paid circulation of 18,000. The Citizens Council was formed in the middle 1950s to oppose the [[civil rights movement]] in the South. Led in Louisiana by [[William Rainach]], the council was composed of avowed [[Segregation|segregationists]] who sought to exert financial pressures on civil rights supporters. The greater part of the members were medium to lower-income whites who were staunch supporters of what was commonly called "the southern way of life."  The Citizens' Council grew in numbers until the [[Civil Rights Act of 1964]] was signed into law by [[President of the United States|U.S. President]] [[Lyndon B. Johnson]], a frequent target of Touchstone's editorials, along with Johnson's intra-party rival, [[United States Attorney General]] [[Robert F. Kennedy]], subsequently a U.S. senator from [[New York]] for fewer than four years.<ref name=thecouncilor>{{cite web|url=http://faculty.ferris.edu/ISAR/Institut/cca/touchstone_cca.htm|title=Ned Touchstone: The Citizens Councils and The Councilor|publisher=Institute for the Study of Academic Racism|date=1983|accessdate=March 25, 2017}}</ref>​ In December 1963, a confidential informant (NO 1223-R) identified Touchstone as a member of the Original Knights of the [[Ku Klux Klan]]. The informant further revealed that the KKK had "documented proof" that President Johnson early in his political career joined the KKK, much as his friend [[Robert Byrd]] did in [[West Virginia]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://madworldnews.com/trump-democratic-president-kkk/|title=Trump Reveals Which Democratic President Was Also KKK Member, Liberals in Meltdown Mode|date=October 30, 2017|publisher=Madworldnews.com|accessdate=August 25, 2019}}</ref>

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Citizens' Council founder [[William Rainach]] accused Ned Touchstone and Courtney F. Smith, Jr. (1925-2013),<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/shreveporttimes/obituary.aspx?n=courtney-f-smith&pid=166702791|title=Courtney Smith's obituary|publisher=''The Shreveport Times''|date=August 31, 2013|accessdate=August 25, 2019}}</ref> an official of the Shreveport Citizens Council, of grandstanding for public attention. Touchstone replied that Rainach, who ran third in the 1959 Democratic primary for governor, was known for "inaction." Additionally, the council fought over Rainach’s support for the unsuccessful Republican candidate, [[Charlton Lyons]], over Democrat [[John J. McKeithen]], in the Louisiana gubernatorial general election held on March 3, 1964. The council also quarreled over the direction of ''The Councilor.'' As a result, Touchstone and Smith were removed from the Citizens’ Council of Louisiana’s board of directors. Touchstone and Smith, however, continued the publication of ''The Councilor'' into the late 1960s and early 1970s. Increasingly, ''The Councilor'' stressed race, [[anti-Semitism]], and an assortment of conspiracy theories.<ref name=ejas>{{cite web|url=https://journals.openedition.org/ejas/14437|title=Citizens' Councils, Conservatism and White Supremacy in Louisiana, 1964-1972|author=Rebecca Bruckmann|publisher=''European Journal of American Studies" in journals.openedition.org|accessdate=August 24, 2019}}</ref>

Citizens' Council founder [[William Rainach]] accused Ned Touchstone and Courtney F. Smith, Jr. (1925-2013),<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/shreveporttimes/obituary.aspx?n=courtney-f-smith&pid=166702791|title=Courtney Smith's obituary|publisher=''The Shreveport Times''|date=August 31, 2013|accessdate=August 25, 2019}}</ref> an official of the Shreveport Citizens Council, of grandstanding for public attention. Touchstone replied that Rainach, who ran third in the 1959 Democratic primary for governor, was known for "inaction." Additionally, the council fought over Rainach’s support for the unsuccessful Republican candidate, [[Charlton Lyons]], over Democrat [[John J. McKeithen]], in the Louisiana gubernatorial general election held on March 3, 1964. The council also quarreled over the direction of ''The Councilor.'' As a result, Touchstone and Smith were removed from the Citizens’ Council of Louisiana’s board of directors. Touchstone and Smith, however, continued the publication of ''The Councilor'' into the late 1960s and early 1970s. Increasingly, ''The Councilor'' stressed race, [[anti-Semitism]], and an assortment of conspiracy theories.<ref name=ejas>{{cite web|url=https://journals.openedition.org/ejas/14437|title=Citizens' Councils, Conservatism and White Supremacy in Louisiana, 1964-1972|author=Rebecca Bruckmann|publisher=''European Journal of American Studies" in journals.openedition.org|accessdate=August 24, 2019}}</ref>

Touchstone was also affiliated with ''The American Mercury,'' the former magazine of [[H. L. Mencken]] and George Jean Nathan (1882-1958), which fell under the control of anti-Semites in the 1960s. Touchstone was listed as a contributing editor of ''The American Mercury'' and for a time took over management of the publication. He appeared in the masthead as the "financial editor" before the publication closed in 1981. He held a seat on the board of Willis Allison Carto's Liberty Lobby, another anti-Semitic group which operated from 1958 to 2001. Touchstone called Carto (1926-2015) "one of the greatest living Americans."<ref name=thecouncilor/>​

Touchstone was also affiliated with the ''[[American Mercury]],'' the former magazine of [[H. L. Mencken]] and George Jean Nathan (1882-1958), which fell under the control of anti-Semites in the 1960s. Touchstone was listed as a contributing editor of ''The American Mercury'' and for a time took over management of the publication. He appeared in the masthead as the "financial editor" before the publication closed in 1981. He held a seat on the board of Willis Allison Carto's Liberty Lobby, another anti-Semitic group which operated from 1958 to 2001. Touchstone called Carto (1926-2015) "one of the greatest living Americans."<ref name=thecouncilor/>​

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==Opposing racial integration and globalism==​

==Opposing racial integration and globalism==​

Touchstone was a first cousin of former Louisiana state Senator Danny Roy Moore, a [[civil engineer]] and land surveyor who resides in Arcadia in Bienville Parish. Moore represented Claiborne and Bienville parishes for a single term from 1964 to 1968. Moore's mother, Capitola Touchstone Moore (1902–2002), a native of Perry County, Mississippi, and an older sister of Sam Touchstone, is interred at Arlington Cemetery in Homer, where she had lived for much of her life. <ref>{{cite web|url=https://findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=Moore&GSfn=Capitola&GSbyrel=all&GSdyrel=all&GSob=n&GRid=133990037&df=all&|title=Capitola Touchstone Moore|publisher=Findagrave.com|accessdate=March 24, 2017}}</ref>​

Touchstone was a first cousin of former Louisiana state Senator Danny Roy Moore, a [[civil engineer]] and land surveyor who resides in Arcadia in Bienville Parish. Moore represented Claiborne and Bienville parishes for a single term from 1964 to 1968. Moore's mother, Capitola Touchstone Moore (1902–2002), a native of Perry County, Mississippi, and an older sister of Sam Touchstone, is interred at Arlington Cemetery in Homer, where she had lived for much of her life. <ref>{{cite web|url=https://findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=Moore&GSfn=Capitola&GSbyrel=all&GSdyrel=all&GSob=n&GRid=133990037&df=all&|title=Capitola Touchstone Moore|publisher=Findagrave.com|accessdate=March 24, 2017}}</ref>​

 

==References==​

==References==

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