2306 MIDWEST Tilinois: P. W. Cahill, State director, Tli- nois Public Aid Commission, 160 North La Salle Street, Chicago, Il. Indiana: R H. Schweitzer, department of public welfare, 141 South Meridian Street, Indlanapolis, Ind. Iowa: C. W. Bangs, supervisor, department of public instruction, Des Moines, Iowa. Michigan: R. J. Budd, department of ad- ministration, 415 State Office Building, Lansing, Mich. Minnesota: A. R. Taylor, community school-lunch program division, 307-308 State Capitol, St Paul, Minn. Missouri: Handled by medical welfare Office, O. FP. Beyer. Nebraska: O. F. Beyer, area supervisor, 623 South Wabash, Chicago, Il. Ohio: Carl Graves, department of public welfare, 1115 Atlas Building, 8 East Long Street, Columbus, Ohlo. Wisconsin: G, W. Gunderson, State de- partment of public instruction, 147 North State Capitol, Madison, Wis. SOUTHWEST Kansas: Frank Long and E S Eachran, State department of social welfare, 801 Har- rison Street, Topeka, Kans Oklahoma: Jay Lee, administrator, State board public welfare, State Capitol, OKkla- homa City, Okla. EXTENSION OF REMARKS Mr. STOCKMAN asked and was given permission to extend his remarks in the Recorp and include an article, FEPC LEGISLATION Mr. FELLOWS. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to extend my re- marks at this point 1n the Recorp. The SPEAKER Is there objection the request of the gentleman from Maine? There was no objection. Mr. FELLOWS. Mr _ Speaker, the Federal Fair Employment Practice Act makes the right to employment without discrimination a Federal right. Makes it an unlawful employment practice: First, for an employer of more than 50 persons to discriminate in employment, because of race, religion, color, national origin, or ancestry, or to obtain assist- ance in hiring from sources discriminat- ing for such reasons; second, for a labor union of 50 or more members, on the same grounds to discriminate or to limit, segregate, or classify membership in any way which would adversely affect em- Ployees or applicants for employment; and, third, for an employer or a labor union to discharge, expel, or otherwise discriminate against any person because he has opposed an unlawful practice or has filed a charge, testified, participated, or assisted in any proceeding under this act. Establishes a Fair Employment Prac- tice Commission of five members, ap- pointed by the President with the con- sent of the Senate, to investigate, con- ciliate, and adjudicate complaints of such unfair employment practices, to order their cessation and appropriate affirmative action, including hiring or reinstatement of employees with or with- out back pay. The Commission may pe- tition circuit courts of appeals to en- force certain orders, and so forth, and parties aggrieved by orders of the Com- mission may obtain review. CONGRESSIONAL RECORD—HOUSE Laws, as we in a civilized society are familiar with them, are designed to pro- mote a constructive end, to further the ends of our society and civilization. Be- fore any proposition becomes garbed in the regal cloak of law, it must be deter- mined whether or not such a proposition is likely to attain those objectives for which it is designed. The intention and probable effects of a given Jaw are exclu- sive features in themselves, and to the extent that the probable effects diverge from the desired objectives, to that ex- tent is a proposed law rendered unde- sirable. Let us at this point examine the cur- rent and controversial proposal, FEPC, relevant to intention and probable ef- fects By so doing we can arrive at a conclusion as to whether or not that Particular bill should remain a proposal, or should, instead, become incorporated into our laws; whether or not the plan has merit; whether or not it is just a vain attempt. The prime intent of the FEPC is to eliminate discrimination on the part of employers in the process of hiring em- ployees. Now that the intent is known, let us look at the means to be employed to effect the desired end. Then we will see the proposal in full perspective. In order to effect the desired objec- tives, the act provides that there be es- tablished a Fair Employment Practice Commission of five members appointed by the President with the consent of the Senate, to investigate, conciliate, and adjudicate complaints of unfair-em- ployment practices, to order their cessa-~ tion and appropriate affirmative action, including hiring or reinstatement of em- ployees with or without back pay. The Commission may petition circuit courts of appeals to enforce certain orders, and so forth, and parties aggrieved by orders of the Commission may obtain review. The intent and the means are now es- tablished. It is evident that the Federal Government intends—through its agent, the FEPC—to attain its objective of fair- employment policy by forcing the em- ployer, via threat of prosecution, to com- ply with the established provisions of the act. Now, we might ask, what would be some of the probable effects of such a Government-sponsored program? For one thing, it is highly probable that an cmployer who is interviewing two prospective employees, one a minority representative with Hmited ability, the other a majority representative with considerable ability, would, because of fear of prosecution by the Government for unfair-cemployment practices, hire the minority representative instead of the majority representative; he would hire the inefficient instead of the efficient. It takes little imagination to visualize the detrimental effect on our whole econ- omy if such a procedure were to be car~ ried on in large scale. Production would be curtailed and efficiency would be dis- couraged. The direct result would be the elimination of marginal firms, in- creased unemployment, and reduced sup~ plies Of available goods. Such a condi- tion is more than a possibility—it 1s a FEBRUARY 23 probability, and it deserves consideration as such. Too, relative to the economic, it is highly probable that such a plan might prove detrimental to investment, the backbone of our economy. Many em- ployers would, owing to the curbing of their power to hire whom they desire, refrain from expanding their businesses, Others would, rather than be regulated by some powerful agent of control, dis- continue their business pursuits and de- rive psychological and monetary reward in other quarters. Then there would be others, potential investors in nature, who because of the control measure would develop a considerable degree of skepti- cism and refuse to invest their moncy so badly needed by the economy. Hcre again there would be reduced employ- ment and reduced supplies of available goods, two prime requisites for a dynamic economy. In such a plan there is also the likeli- hood that the employer is apt to become conscious of something of which he had not before been conscious. Here we would find that some employers who had never entertained any concepts of dis- crimination in hiring employees would, because of the force measure rebel against it and resort to subtle means to evade its provisions. In this instance we would find the paradoxical situation where the plan was creating the very thing it ostensibly purports to destroy. This is an undesirable end. The plan, too, has a certain lopsided fairness about it that would not, in all probability, produce a very desirable re- sult. There is not, for instance, any compensatory feature for the employer's willfully submitting to the provisions of the plan. He receives no guaranty that he will get an efficient performance from those minority elements which he has been forced to hire. In fact, the only guaranty he receives is a negative one, that being that those whom he has been forced to hire would be able to protect their inefficiency through the protecting features of the plan. If this is fairness, it is a one-sided fairness that breeds no good for either the individuals concerned or the economy at large. And for those who claim that the employer has the right of reference to the court, it can be said that he would, in all probability, find it more advantageous to tolerate the inefficiency than to resort to expensive legal proceedings which would probably net him no satisfaction nor any benefits. Here again such a result would prove as detrimental to the economy as it would to relationships between the employer and minority groups. The plan, too, has qualities about it that suggest another probable step to- ward complete regimentation. Personal liberties sacrificed on the altar of Gov- ernment control mean another step closer to the undesirable goal of total- itarianism, and close scrutiny at the degree of control now exercised by the Government will reveal with startling clarity that one or two more steps in this direction could well prove catastroe phic to an American way of life. Tak- ing a well-earned and deserved liberty from one element of the society and
1950 granting {t to another element in ac- cordance with the arbitrary dictates of a strong central power upsets the bal- ance of a society. It is little more than & process of taking away from one ele- ment a power which has been wielded with some degree of reasonableness, and giving this power to an element whose power to wield it has proved question- able. In short, there is not sufficient evidence to prove that the minority groups warrant such power, and there is the real danger that they would abuse rather than use that which has been so generously tendered them by a pater- nalistic Government. Likewise, because of the nature of the plan, there is the real danger that po- litical greed and graft would be given an opportunity to thrive. It is highly probable that there would be consider- able collaboration between corrupt pol- iticlans and unprincipled employers to the detriment of the very group for which the plan has been designed. Realizing the administrative features that would be required to prosecute such a program, it is quite easy to see that there would be an abundance of fertile ground in which corruption of all sorts might quickly take root. Then, too, relevant to the workings of the plan, it seems highly improbable that the courts would be able to, with any reasonable degree of accuracy, deter- mine when an employer was guilty of turning down an employee because he Was a member of a minority group. The courts would find themselves engaged in the exhausting task of weighing and de- termining the relative efficiency of appli- cants for a given job. The aid of tech- nicians and experts would be required if the court’s decision were to be a “fair” one. And even then the decision so ren- dered would not be infallible or just, be- cause there would be such imponderabies as the psychological and physical health of the individuals concerned at the time of job application which could not be accurately measured or determined. Such a program would be one that de- manded of the court too much of the un- reasonable. Too, there is the real probability that the FEPC program might well disrupt what progress has already been made in relationships between minority and ma- jority groups. Even in the South, where the minority group has long been a vital issue, progress has been and is con- tinuing to be made; there is no doubt that, in time, a satisfactory solution for all concerned will be arrived at. Of course it is true that it takes time and that the process seems slow in finding a solution for this problem. But on the other hand it must be realized that learning is a slow process and that habits formed and concepts realized can suc- cumb to only the onslaughts of time and education. And, too, once we have learned by understanding, we do not easily forget, for our learning becomes so deeply ingrained in us that it becomes a part of us, It is easy to see that FEPC might, by its very nature, tend to de- stroy that progress which has to date been made, relative to majority and mi- nority groups. CONGRESSIONAL RECORD—HOUSE All of my previous references have been probabilities, but as a final measure I would like to point out the fact that the FEPC proposal would, if it were law, destroy and violate the sanctity of con- tract. It would automatically destroy that prime right of contract which men have for long enjoyed, rightfully and deservedly. Where previously the right of contract had been controlled by law, it would now be destroyed by law, and any existing contracts subsequent to such an act of the Government would be in effect pseudo rather than intrinsic contracts; they would be little more than the expression of dictates by a strong central power with little or no emphasis on the individual to the contract. The surrendering of such a right in one area quite naturally leads to the surrendering of the same right in other areas, and the direct result would be one where the only existing entity qualified to make a contract would be the Government. It might be well to mention that Russia has a similar arrangement, and it goes without saying that once having become a little like her, it will be easy to become a lot like her. And in due course of time we would find such stringent meas- ures as the 5-year plans, State regula- tion, and stereotyped functions super- imposed upon the policy of destruction of the right to contract. We as a coun- try will be adopting policies and pro- grams upon which we have spent billions of dollars and considerable effort to curb and destroy. It is, in fact, just about time that we, as Americans, begin to indulge in a little consistent thinking andacting. And if we do not start today, tomorrow may well be too late. Our review then proves that the plan, the Fair Employment Practice Act will not, in measures of probability, attain those objectives for which it was osten- sibly designed. It is evident that it will, in fact, do little more than make some- thing malignant out of something now benign. In fact the evidence against its merits is so strong that there is a sug- gestion that the proclaimed intent is not the real intent. There is something about the Fair Employment Practice Act that strongly hints that it is a device concocted as a political instrument, and is designed to win votes at the expense of creating chaos in an already turmoiled society. In fact, in considering the. na- ture of the probable results, one could not be justifiably condemned if he were to label the act as something devised by elements without to destroy rather than ameliorate that which is within, It is my strong conviction that no pro- posal worthy of being called law should court the probability of promoting such drastic ends. Because of this, I firmly believe that the Fair Employment Prac- tice Act and all of its counterparts should be forever barred from donning the princely raiment of law. EXTENSION OF REMARES Mr. BCRIVNER asked and was given permission to extend his remarks in the Recorp and include an editorial on George Washington. Mr. LOVRE asked and was given per- mission to extend his remarks in the 2307 Recorp in two instances, in each to in- clude extraneous matter. Mr. WILLIAM L, PFEIFFER asked and was given permission to extend his re- marks in the Recorp and include an edi- trial from the Buffalo News. IMPORTS FROM RUSSIA Mr. MACK of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to extend my remarks at this point in the RECORD. The SPEAKER. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from Washington? There was no objection. Mt. MACK of Washington. Mr. Speaker, the Russians have opened a new offensive. This time it Is directed not against Greece, not against Finland or Poland and not against China. It fs almed at American business, American labor, and American employment. I say this because I am relhably in- formed that within recent weeks the Russians have dumped 69,000 cases of canned Russian crab meat, valued at about $3,000,000, into American seaports. Unless the State Department and other departments take steps immediately to halt this dumping of Russian canned crab onto the American market, our Atlantic and Pacific coast crabbing in- dustry with its millions of dollars of in- vestments and its thousands of workers, faces extinction. American fishermen and American cannery workers cannot compete with the slave labor of Russia and none of us should expect them to. During the 12-year period between 1927 and 1939, according to the Fish and Wildlife Service, the Japanese had an average annual crab pack of 445,102 cases, Of that average annual pack, 55 percent, or about 250,000 cases, was shipped. into the United States. This supplied 85 percent of the AMerican Mar- ket for canned crab. Under postwar agreements entered into by us with Russia, the Russians were given control and jurisdiction over the Asiatic crab fishing waters, formerly fished by the Japanese crab fishing fleets, The Russians can, and no doubt will, henceforth pack half a million cases of canned crab annually. Obviously, it is their intention to dump this Russian canned crab onto the American market. By doing so they will accomplish a two- fold purpose. They will obtain 20,000,- 000 to 30,000,000 American dollars and at the same time they will be destroying an American industry and force its thou- sands of fishermen and cannery work- ers into unemployment. It seems un- thinkable that the State Department complacently should sit idly by and per- mit this calamity to happen to one of our great fishing industries. EXTENSION OF REMARKS Mr. REED of Illinois asked and was given permission to extend his remarks in the Recorp and include a newspaper editorial. THE COAL SITUATION Mr. DONDERO. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to address the House for 1 minute.
2308 The SPEAKER. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from Michigan? There was no objection. Mr. DONDERO. Mr. Speaker, for the second time in this session of the Con- gress I have called attention to the shortage of coal in the State of Michi- gan. We are now having a blizzard in Michigan with almost zero weather. As far back as October, I telegraphed the President regarding the shortage of coal in our State; to date the situation has not been alleviated. Iam receiving from two to three telegrams a day, from dif- ferent cities in my congressional dis- trict, to the effect that they are without coal or will be within 48 hours. In some cases there is a threat that schools will be closed because of the shortage of fuel. For that reason I can- not urge the President too strongly to act and act immediately in order to save our people from suffering and in order to keep our schools and hospitals open and operating. The SPEAKER. The time of the gen- tleman from Michigan has expired. EXTENSION OF REMARKS Mr. BOGGS of Delaware asked and was given permission to extend his re- marks in the Recorp and include a res- olution of the Delaware State Dental Society. Mr. LEONARD W. HALL asked and was given permission to extend his re- marks in the Recokp and include a letter. Mr. JENISON asked and was given permission to extend his remarks in the Record and include an editorial. Mr. HARVEY asked and was given per- mission to extend his remarks in the Appendix of the Recorp in three in- stances, in two to include letters con- cerning excise taxes, and in another to include an editorial. Mr. HESELTON asked and was given permission to extend his remarks in the Appendix of the Recorp. Mr. FORD asked and was given per- mission to extend his remarks in the Recorp and include a telegram. Mr. VAN ZANDT asked and was given permission to extend his remarks in the Appendix of the Recorp. POTATOES Mr. HESELTON. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend my remarks. The SPEAKER. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from Mas- sachusetts {Mr. HESELTON] ? There was no objection. Mr. HESELTON. Mr. Speaker, I suppose this might be called the final report on “project potatoes.” I am glad to read a telegram which I have received from a young man who worked on this project, an employee of Station WHAI of Greenfield, Mass., who has carried through to the finish, I believe I am correct in saying that he was a former Air Force man. The telegram reads as follows: Mission accomplished 10:55 a. m. Five tons potatoes crossed town line into Green- feld. Greenfield plan in action, Letter will Olow. CONGRESSIONAL RECORD—HOUSE Iam now including a further list of the names and addresses of area offices of the food-distribution-programs branch, and also of certain offices in the State of New York. This supplements other such data sub- mitted Monday and today: AREA OFFICES OF FOOD-DISTRIBUTION-PROGRAMS BRANCH Atlanta, 449 West Peachtree Street NE; Florida, Georgia, North Carolinu, South Caro- lina, Virginia, Tennessee, Mississippi, Ken- tucky, Alabama. Chicago, 623 South Wabash Avenue: Illt- nois, Ohio, Indiana, Iowa, South Duakota, FEBRUARY 23 North Dakota, Michigan, Missouri, Minnesota, Nebraska, Wisconsin. Dallas, 101 Norman Bullding: Kansas, Arkansas, Louisiana, Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Colorado. New York, 641 Washington Street: Maine, Dolaware, New Hampshire, Vermont, West Virginia, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Penn- sylvania, New Jersey, New York, Maryland, District of Columb! , Massachusetts. San Francisco, 830 Van Ness Avenue: Mon- tanre Wyoming, Nevada, California, Arizona, Washington, Idaho, Oregon, Utah Honolulu, T. H., 418 Dillingham Building: Hawail. San Juan, Puerto Rico, P O box 43849: Puerto Rico and Virgin Islands. New York distributing agents, commodity distribution program Address Namne of distributing agency Title Courty Chester A, Halman, director, | Director.._.2-2...- 90 Church St, New | Nassau, New York City, Orange, Put- New York City area office York 7,N ¥ nun, Suffolk, Westchester, Reck- for marketing Bernard F Fitzpatrick, Al- bany County Do PLW Walter J Bensley, Broome County ). PW Commissioner... Deputy commis- sioner City Hall, Albany 7, NY Caunty home, TBing- hampton, NY. land Albany Broome, Cayuga, Chemung, Chenango, Cortland, Delaware, Jefferson, Mud- ison, Onondage, Oswego, Otsego, St. Lawrence, Schuyler, Tioga, 'Tomp- kins i. E. Robinson, Cattaraugus | Commissioner__... Macehins, N. Y_....--.} Allecany, Chautauqua, Steuben, Wyo- County DLP W. ming. Albert H Hunt, Frie County | Assistant parchas- | 134 West Kale St., | Eile purchasing department, ing agent Batalo, NY. 7 Allen F, Lockwood, Fort Ann | Superintendent...} Fort Ann, N Y_....-.| Clinton, Columbia, Dutchess, Essex, Contral School Franklin, Fulton, Qreene, Hamilton, Montgomery, Jensselaci, Saratoga, Schenectady, Schoharie, Sullivan, Jesse B. Hannan, Monroe County D) P George T) Wilhams, Onefda County D PW. Milton FE, Switzer, Niagara County D PW Nortr.— Rockland and Seneca Counties still pending, The SPEAKER. The time of the gen- tleman from Massachusetts has expired. LEGISLATIVE ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF THE EIGHTY-FIRST CONGRESS Mr. TABER. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to proceed for 1 min- ute, and to revise and extend my re- marks, The SPEAKER, Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from New York? There was no objection. Mr. TABER. Mr. Speaker, I hold in my hand the current calendar. The back page indicates that only one bill has been passed up to date, and that an urgent deficiency bill. So that there may be no confusion about it, I checked the record of the Eightieth Congress, which the President continues to belabor, At that time they had already passed the inde- pendent offices appropriation bill, a large bill; the civil functions bill; an urgent deficiency bill; and a major bill, the in- come-tax reduction bill. By March 15 we had passed eight of the major appro- priation bills. Now the House Appropri- ations Committee has not completed hearings on the one bill which we are told will be taken up by March 15. Think of it. The Congress has been in session almost 2 months and the Senate has not passed a single bill worthy of mention on the calendar. The House has only passed a deficiency appropriation bill in addi- tion to the bill passed today. It is a dis- graceful record, and proves the complete inability of the Democratic leadership to operate the Governmen} effectively. 1460 South Rochester, NY -----| Room 54, Courthouse, Utiea, NY Box 457, Lockport, NY. Ulster, Watren, Washington Livingston, Monroc, Ontario, Wayne, Yates (Senecn County pending.) Herkimer, Lewis, Oneida. Ave, Genesee, Niagara, Orleans. The SPEAKER. The time of the gen- tleman from New York has expired. MONUMENT ERECTED TO MEMORY OF CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS Mr. KEEFE. Mr. Speaker, I ask unan- imous consent to address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend my remarks. The SPEAKER. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from Wis- consin? There was no objection. Mr. KEEFE. Mr. Speaker, I was im- pressed by the remarks of the distin- guished gentleman from Florida who called attention to the lack of acrimony and passion in the debates in connection with the FEPC bill. In that connection may I say that on a recent visit to Arlington Cemctery I took occasion to minutely inspect a beau- tiful monument erected there to the memory of some Confederate soldiers who are buried in Arlington Cemetery. I obeserved that that monument was erected by the Daughters of the Confed- eracy. I was so impressed that I read the inscription upon that monument. Many Members of Congress have asked me to placeitin the Recorp. It isa beau- tiful expression that ought to enter the hearts of all people who believe in tolerance. This is the inscription on that monu- ment: Not for fame or reward, not for place or for rank, not lured by ambition or goaded by necessity, but in simple obedience to duty, as they understood it, these men suffered all, sacrificed all, dared all and died.
1950 The SPEAKER. The time of the gen- tleman from Wisconsin has expired. THE FEPC BILL Mr. SHELLEY. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to extend my re- marks at this point in the Recorp. The SPEAKER. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from California? There was no objection. Mr. SHELLEY. Mr. Speaker, this House today had the opportunity to per- form an outstanding service to the cause of the democratic liberties upon which this great country was founded. Unfor- tunately, the action finally taken in en- acting the amended version of the Fair Employment Practice Act paid only lip Service to those liberties. This is a course of action long familiar and well suited to those responsible for substitut- ing the so-called McConnell amendment to the Powell bill. But it is a course of action which cannot but arouse feel- ings of bitterest disappointment in those of us who, as I have, have spent their lives in the struggle to eliminate the inequalities of opportunity which, despite our 174 years of existence as a nation devoted to the ideals of democracy, still confront large segments of our population, The Republican proponents of the emasculated substitute version of the original Fair Employment Practices Act proposed by Mr. Powell claim that the Commission set up by their measure will provide a medium through which a great educational job can be accomplished. To circulate this claim as the feeling of this House will be but to perpetuate a fraud upon the country as a whole, and may lull into a false sense of accomplish- ment those who have some sense of the existence of the problem of discrimina- tion but no real realization of the urgent nature of the need for effective curative measures of a positive kind. Those of us who proposed and fought for a real FEPC, myself among others, have effec- tively refuted this claim. We pointed out that even our basic educational sys- tem requires so-called compulsive fea- tures demanding school attendance by children of school age. To say that a voluntary educational program such as that set up by the McConnell amend- ments will provide an effective substi- tute for the enforcement features of the Powell bill is at best a well meant delu- sion, and at worst a deliberate device to perpetuate the chains of near slavery which still bind so many of our people. The Fair Employment Practices Act, as now constituted, is all froth and no substance. It lacks the teeth necessary to provide that substance. However, in view of the practical impossibility of forcing any other more effective measure through the Congress at this time, many friends of FEPC, myself among them, have felt it incumbent upon themselves to vote for the act, weak though it may be. It has one valid claim to support in that it does place this House on record as at least establishing the principle of Federal Government taking some steps to deal with the problem of racial dis- crimination, CONGRESSIONAL RECORD—HOUSE It ts my confirmed and studied belief Mr, Speaker, that if and when the pres- ently enacted Fair Employment Prac» tice Act does become law its inherent weaknesses will render it innocuous and almost completely ineffective. This re- sult may serve the ends of those who have So bitterly opposed effective action by this House, but it cannot and will not be allowed to stand as the final word upon the problem of racial discrimina- tion with all its attendant evils. The great mass of freedom-loving people who have watched our action today will re- member what we failed to do here. The Recozp stands for all to read. Those who read carefully will know that the Members of this House who voted to sub- stitute the McConnell amendment for the text of the Powell bill as reported to the House either do not understand the problem, are blind to the existence of a problem, do not understand how to solve it, or do not want it solved. “By their votes ye shall know them.” EXTENSION OF REMARKS Mr. WHITE of Idaho asked and was given permission to extend his remarks in the Appendix of the Recorp and in- clude extracts from printed statements. Mr. BARING asked and was given permission to extend his own remarks in the Appendix of the Recorp. HOW THE UNHOLY ALLIANCE AND COALI- TION OF REPUBLICANS AND DIXIECRATS DISREGARDED THE ADMONITION, AD- VICE, AND CHALLENGE OF GEORGE WASHINGTON IN’ HIS' FAREWELL ADDRESS, AND IGNORED LINCOLN'S WORDS OF WISDOM Mr. SABATH. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend my remarks. The SPEAKER, Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from Ili- nois? There was no objection. Mr.SABATH. Mr. Speaker, yesterday the Nation and the House observed George Washington’s birthday, but only for a short time. The House not only disregarded Washington’s admonition and advice as contained in his Farewell Message, the Constitution and the Decla- ration of Independence, but it failed to remember Abraham Lincoln's words of wisdom when he said: You can fool some of the people some of the time, and some of the people all of the time, but you cannot fool all of the people all of the time. Several times during the debate on the civil-rights bill, Jefferson’s words in the Declaration of Independence were called to the attention of the Membership, that is wherein he stated: We hold these truths to he self-evident that all men are created equal. Thomas Jefferson repeatedly appealed to the people and the Congress for their undivided support of the Constitution, His insistence on the inclusion of the Bill of Rights in the Constitution is a matter of history. Has all of our great history been forgotten? To me, Mr. Speaker, yesterday’s per- formance surely did not add to the dig- 2309 nity and decorunt of this great body nor comply with the wishes of the aforemen- tioned great Americans. The action of the Republicans and the southern Dem- ocrats after more than 16 continuous hours in session, to bring about the emasculation and abortion of the FEPC bill—known as the civil-rights bill—by mesns of dilatory and filibustering tac- tics, succeeded in doing indirectly what they would not dare to do directly, namely, passing a real FEPC bill. Yes- terday’s performance was nothing new to me, Mr. Speaker, as I received the run-around in the Seventy-ninth Con- gress and again in the first session of the Eighty-first Congress, as well as during the first 6 weeks of the present session. I was frequently assured by members of the Rules Committee, as its chairman, that favorable action would be taken on granting a rule for the civil-rights bill on many occasions, but when the true test came, the Republicans, under one pretense or another, failed to vote to grant a rule so that orderly proceedings could be had on this worth-while meas- ure. As I said on the floor yesterday, nearly every church, labor, liberal, fra- ternal, social, and humanitarian organ- ization urged and pleaded for the enact- ment of a real FEPC bill. If the Republican Party and the Re- publican members think that they have fooled the American people by voting for the McConnell subterfuge and mon- strosity of an FEPC bill, then they are badly mistaken, for I again wish to call your attention to Lincoln’s pearls of wisdom when he said: You can fool some of the people some of the time, and some of the people all of the time, but you cannot fool all of the people all of the time. I believe they will find that Lincoln’s words are absolutely true, because, re- gardless of their manipulations, they cannot hide or conceal! from the Ameri- can people the fact that they were against civil-rights legislation from its very inception. The Republican Party promised and assured the American people that they would vote for a real FEPC measure. The Republican Party in its national con- vention went on record in unmistaken- able terms, to wit: One of the basic principles of this Repub- lic ts the equality of all individuals in their right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of hap- Ppiness. This principle is enunciated tn the Declaration of Independence and embodied in the Constitution of the United States; it was vindicated on the field of battle and be- came the corneratone of this Republic. The right of equal opportunity to work and to advance in life should never be limited in any individual because of race, religion, color, or country or origin. We favor the enact- ment and just enforcement of such Federal legislation as may be necessary to maintain this right at all times in every part of this Republic. Since that time, various Members, yes, most of the Members, during their elec- tion campaigns promised the people of this great country that they would carry out their pledge in fact, and not in name only, and vote accordingly in favor of a real FEPC bill. The Republican Party failed to keep its word to the people as
2310 demonstrated by 11 roH calls on yester- day, each one lasting some 40 minutes, in an effort to delay, if not cease further consideration of the civil-rights bill be- fore the House. Oh, yes; they finally voted for the makeshift, meaningless, skeleton of a bill that in no way carries out the original intent and purposes be- hind the bill. Witness the many amend- ments that they agreed to. The original committee bill, known as the Lesinski bill, in no uncertain terms would have provided for the elimination of discrimi- nation in employment on account of race, color, religion, or national origin, and it would have provided for the enforcement of same. But instead, they preferred to favor a bill which had no teeth what- soever, and lacked all semblance of any enforcement provisions. The Republicans shrewdly and con- nivingly maneuvered all of us who hon- estly and truly favored a fair employ- ment practice bill into a position wherein we were obliged to vote for the McCon- nell bill in the hope that the Senate will substitute the real Lesinski bill in its stead. Of course, being familiar with the other body’s activities, as I am, I do not now entertain the great hope that the American people can expect favora- ble action thereon in the Senate, and in fact, the same coalition of Republicans and Dixiecrats that exists in the House may or may not succeed in the other body in ignoring the principles outlined in the Declaration of Independence as well as in the Democratic and Republican plat- forms. Mr. Speaker, during the long debate on this bill I heard many fears expressed as to the serious effect that this bill wall have, but, Mr. Speaker, in the years gone by I have heard these same fears and unjust criticisms expressed by the very gentlemen who always oppose liberal legislation whenever we consider liberal and humane legislation, the last being the amendments to the Fair Labor Standards Act wherein the minimum wage level was justly raised. None of these fears ever materialized, and on the contrary they were proved ill-founded. The real facts are that the country as a whole has benefited tremendously by the Hberal and humane legislation that was enacted during the last 18 years and which lifted the country from chaos and the throes of a Republican depression to the greatest prosperity our Nation ever enjoyed. I cannot help but recollect the words of our late revered and loved President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who said: “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” Mr. Speaker, in view of the multitude of telegrams and letters that I received this morning from many sections of the country and from outstanding individ- uals and organizations resenting and condemning the failure on the part of the House to act on a real civil rights bill, I fervently hope the error of yesterday will be rectifled by the other body. THE RECORD OF THE EIGHTY-FIRST CONGRESS Mr. RABAUT. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend my remarks. CONGRESSIONAL RECORD—HOUSE The SPEAKER. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from Mich- igan? There was no objection, Mr. RABAUT. Mr. Speaker, as a member of the Committee on Appropria- tions I would feel remiss in my duty if I did not take the floor to clarify the re- marks of the gentleman from New York CMr. Taser]. The gentleman from New York has just said that we had passed no bills in this House so far this year and referred to many appropriation bills that had been passed by the EHightieth Congress up to this date. We are proceeding this year in the Committee on Appropriations under a new system, namely an omnibus appro- priation bill. The various subcommit- tees have been in regular and almost continuous session, and the consistency of the labor of the appropriation group is well known to every Member of Con- gress. Under the new plan we will not report individual bills out as we did pre- viously. The gentleman from New York knows that very well, so it is just a mat- ter of a change in the system that ac- counts for the absence of appropriation bills on the floor up to this date. These bills will come forth this year in the form of chapters in one omnibus appropriation bill. Then the fact will be revealed to the country that Congress is striving to the best of its ability to keep expenditures within the limit of the anticipated revenue of the Treasury. The Nation refers to this, and refers to it correctly, as balancing the budget. The SPEAKER. The time of the gen- tleman from Michigan has expired. SETTLEMENT OF INTERNATIONAL CLAIMS Mr. KEE. Mr. Speaker, I ask unani- mous consent to take from the Speaker's desk the bill (H. R. 4406) to provide for the settlement of certain claims of the Government of the United States on its own behalf and on behalf of American nationals against foreign governments, with Senate amendments, disagree to the Senate amendments and ask for a conference. The Clerk read the title of the bill. The SPEAKER. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from West Virginia? [After a pause.) The Chair hears none and appoints the following conferees: Messrs. KEE, RICHARDS, RIBI- coFF, Eaton, and Vorys. APPOINTMENT OF CHAIRMAN OF COMMITTEE Mr, MILLS. Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the gentleman from North Carolina {Mr. DovcHTON] I submit the following privileged resolution (H. Res, 488) and ask for its immediate consideration. The Clerk read as follows: Resolved, That Enward J. Hart, of New Jer- sey, be, and he jis hereby, elected chairman of the standing committee of the House of Representatives on Merchant Marine and Fisheries, The resolution was agreed to. COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS Mr, CANFIELD. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to address the House for 1 minute. FEBRUARY 23 The SPEAKER. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from New Jersey? There was no objection. Mr. CANFIELD. Mr. Speaker, in view of the remarks made by the gentleman from Michigan, a member of the Com- mittee on Appropriations, I wish to make a statement. Asa member of that com- mittee I would be remiss if I did not say to the House today that the full commit- tee has had only one meeting this year and that meeting lasted less than 15 minutes. We have never had full com- mittee consideration of the so-called one appropriation bill approach for all ex- penditures. It is true, of course, that the various subcommittees are diligently pursuing their labors, some having com- pleted the major portion of their year's work prior to House action on the final measure. EXTENSION OF REMARKS Mr. McCORMACK asked and was giv- en permission to extend his remarks in the REcorp and include an address made by President Truman yesterday. COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS Mr. McCORMACK. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent to address the House for 1 minute. The SPEAKER. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from Mas- sachusetts? There was no objection. Mr. McCORMACK. Mr. Spcaker, I do not want to get into an extended discus- sion today about the Committee on Ap- propriations except to make a few re- marks in reply to my good friend from New York [Mr. Taper! and his state- ment in reference to the Eightieth Con- gress. I can understand his position and why he is disturbed, but we Demo- crats view his disturbed state of mind with tolerance. The fact is that the country repudiated in a very clear way in November 1948, the Eightieth Congress. Now, Mr. Speaker, with reference to the Appropriations Committee, may I say that I do not know of any committee the members of which work harder than do the members of the Committee on Appropriations and the subcommittees thereof. They meet at 10 o’clock in the morning in very small rooms—I call some of them dungeons. They are there until 12 or 12:30, at which time they go out for a quick lunch. Then they re- convene and work all afternoon until 5:30, 6, or 6:30 in the evening. They start this routine in December and go through the various months until the ap- propriation bill is reported to the House. I want to publicly congratulate all of the members of the Committee on Ap- propriations without regard to party for the diligent manner in which they per- form their duties. I know of no more Jaborious task than being a member of the Committee on Appropriations. They deal with figures all day long. I know the arduous duties imposed upon them and I think it is only fitting and proper that the few remarks I have made calling attention to their devotion to duty and the long hours they put in should he made out of a sense of justice not only to the committee as such but to all mem-
1950 pert the committee without regard to party. The SPEAKER. The time of the gen- tleman from Massachusetts has expired. Under previous order of the House, the gentleman from Michigan [Mr. Horr- MAN] is recognized for 20 minutes. THE COAL SITUATION Mr. HOFFMAN of Michigan. Mr, Speaker, the power of the House to act when it desires was demonstrated yes- terday and this morning. The lack of inelination or courage on the part of the House to act when pressure groups are on the other side of the issue has been demonstrated over the months by our failure to do anything about a situa- tion which is developing in the coal in- dustry. Some people are asking why the miners and the mine owners are hav- ing trouble. My own opinion is that we have too many miners and too small a market for coal. The introduction of machinery has enabled miners to produce m perhaps 3 days a week all the coal that can be used in our country; hence the miners are beginning to find themselves without full-time jobs and, being human, they do not like the idea of making a quick, but perhaps unprofitable, change to some other occupation just as long as they can continue to get increases in pay, and they get $14 plus a day, and 30 cents a ton levied on all of the coal produced for pensions and other benefits, such as in- surance and sickness. They would be less than human if they did not try to ret the granting of first one demand, then another, all to their advantage. That situation, the excessive produc- tion of coal, a dwindling market with resulting unemployment, I think, is what has caused them to continue their efforts for more benefits, ever-higher wages. Over the years the people and the Con- gress have gone along. It took the Con- gress more than 10 years to get the first amendment to the old Wagner Act, to get through the Taft-Hartley Act, and always has the Congress, partly because the individual Members wanted to give the man who worked with his hands the advantage in a controversy, and partly because of political pressure, in- creased the power of the unions and of the union leaders, not only to bargain collectively, but the power of the leaders to oppress their own unten workers. There have been several instances of that recorded in the press in recent days. Perhaps the most familiar one is where the miner on strike, unable to get coal himself, wanted to install an oil or gas burner m his home. He was fired by the union from the union. That is just one of many instances, some of which have found their ways to the courts. I do not know what the situation with reference to the lack of coal is tn other States, but I do know in my own Btate of Michigan people are cold. I do not think they are beginning to get cold. They are cold now. I do know that in some communities in Michigan there is practically no coal on hand. Into my office this morning walked & gentleman from New York, prominent in civic affairs. He said that unless CONGRESSIONAL RECORD—HOUSE there was relief shortly they were going to be forced to close some of the public institutions in New York. If relief did not come within a few days—and I asked him how many, and he said, well, four or fivre—if they do not get coal there wil be suffering and perhaps deaths. And, worse than thaf, if possible he said, there will be a shut-down af some of the public utilities. He insisted you cannot heat the city by burning pavements or fire hydrants. I am not an alarmist. I have never been very badly frightened, although perhaps I should have been, about the atomic bomb or the hydrogen bomb; per- haps because those are things in the future, but I am worried about this coal situation. I realize that you cannot have coal in Virginia, or tn Indiana, Pennsylvania, or some other places, and if there comes what we call a cold snap, and the mereury drops down—and in some places in Michigan it has been 12 below zero, drops down overnight—lI realize that you cannot just twist the telephone dial, call up and get a load of coal. That coal may be in the fields of Indiana, it may be down in Pennsylvania, or down here in West Virginia, and you are not going to get it across the high- ways or the railroads by morning or before the fire goes out in house or fac- So, I do fear, I have a very acute fear, that our people will actually suffer. Possibly some of them will be frozen. Where does the responsibility rest? We cannot lay it on the President of the United States entirely. We—the Con- gress—are in part responsible. We have sat here year after year and we increased the powers of unions until they have a grip upon industry which enables them to impair the public health, safety, and welfare, our national security. What are we to do about it? I do not know whether John Lewis made the state- ment, but some of the labor leaders, United Mine Workers officials, made the statement that you cannot mine coal with bayonets or injunctions. I grant that. But, one thing those gentlemen forget is this, that you can use bayonets to keep the strikers and the goon squads from preventing men who want to work from working and mining coal. That is one thing that some of these United Mine officials have forgotten. They have for- gotten there are strip mines in this country. Another thing they have forgotten is the lesson that I get out of history. The Iesson has always been that violence begets violence, and that sooner or later, if these gentlemen contimue their vio- lenee, if these men keep on with their goon squad activities, they will be met inalikemanner. Unteawful violence has never won when it came in eontact with lawful violence. There fs no argument but that if people begin to suffer acutely from cold, if someone dies because he is frozen to death because of lack of coal, some folks are going down to mine coal, work strip mines, and if strikers are in the way, there will be a pitched battle, ané the goon squads will not get by un- scathed. Mr. EBERHARTER. Mr. Speaker, wil the gentleman yield? 2311 Mr. HOFFMAN of Michigan. I yield to the gentleman from Pennsylvania. Mr. EBERHARTER. The gentleman is speaking with respect to the Govern- ment’s controlling the actions of the in- dividual workers. The thought that strikes me fs that if the Government steps into that field, why should it not step into the field of finance and busi- ness and contro! business also? That would be regimentation, it would be ab- solute control of all business transactions and all business activities, as well es labor activities. It ts all right for the gentte- man to advocate that the Government say to the tndividual worker, “Now, you must go to work,” but—— Mr. HOFFMAN of Michigan. No, I do not say that. Do not quote me as saying that. I agree with the gentleman. The Government, in my opinion, cannot force—I am not talking about the legal end of it now, by injunction—I do not contend that the Government can or that it should force the gentleman ar me to accept any particular task, except per- haps in time of war. The gentleman mistakes me entirely. My theory is that if you want to strtke or I want to strike and quit work, that is your privilege, that is my privilege. Just stay on strike as long as you want to. But do not do as the unions {nsist, prevent the other man from going to work when he wants to work, especially in an industry the slackening of which will endanger the public health, safety, and welfare. That is my position. I agree with the gen.leman on the other points. If the gentleman wants to control things, if he wants a socialized government, if he wants a communistic government, if he wants the Government to control busi- ness and industry and Iabor, if he can get the majority of the people to accept that there is nothing I can do about it. I will object to ft, I will contend against it as [ong as I can, and then if you get it and I do not like it, I will move away if there is any place left for me to go, where I may be free. Mr. ERERHARTER. I am sure the gentleman does not want to impute to me by indirection or insinuation that I am for a socialized government. The gentleman’s mention of that leaves that impression. I am not for a socialized government or anything like that. Iam very much against #. But whenever you try to regulate unions, necessarily you must also regulate business, in order to be fair. Mr. HOPPMAN of Michigan. We do. We have antitrust laws, we have all sorts of lews regulating business. Mr. EBERHARTER, I am afraid the gentleman is stepping in the wrong di- rection whenever he wants to regulate union organizations. Mecessarily it must follow that if you are going to regulate union organizations you are going to regulate business organizations, and therefore the gentleman is more for so~ ciaHaed govermment than I am. That is my contention. Mr. HOPPMAN of Michigan. That fs just nonsense. We are all regulated to a certain extent. I do not see how the gentleman figures it out at all that way, because as a matter of fact, and I know
2312 the gentleman knows it very well be- cause he is @ skillful and learned lawyer, the gentleman knows very well that busi- ness is regulated from the time a fellow hangs up his sign until he asks the court in bankruptcy to give him a discharge. The gentleman knows we have many, many laws about unfair practices in business, just as we have in industry. We have Jaws against monopoly in busi- ness, but we do not have any law against monopoly by or in labor. Mr. EBERHARTER. The gentleman said exactly what jis right. We have many statutes against unfair practices. The gentleman put that in himself and I agree with him. This Government is organized to prevent unfair practices. Mr. HOFFMAN of Michigan. That is true. Mr. EBERHARTER. That is regula- tion. We do not want to go too far in regulating union organizations. We do not want to go too far in regulating busi- ness organizations. But you use the word “unfair.” Mr. HOFFMAN of Michigan. Sure. Mr. EBERHARTER. That is why we are a Congress here and I am afraid you are going too far. Mr. HOFFMAN of Michigan. Well, maybe so, in exempting labor unions— strikers—from responsibility for vio- lence—from destruction of property. Mr. EBERHARTER. Iam afraid you are going too far in what you want to call fair and unfair. Mr. HOFFMAN of Michigan. If I go too far, it will be along the line of being conservative and it will be along the line of not spending too much and trying to keep a little in my own pocket or in the coffee pot in the shelf. It will be along the line of staying on my own side of the fence when I do not agree with my neighbor and not butting into his busi- ness and telling him how to run his business, but tending to my own busi- ness. The gentleman spoke of unfair regulations. The gentleman knows that in the Wagner Act there were provisions which prohibited unfair practices on the part of the employer and which defined such practices while there was not one single penalty which applied to a union or a union man—not one. You tell me of any law which unfairly restricts the right of a union or of a union employce— tell me one. Mr. EBERHARTER. The present statutes provide that a closed shop is not only unfair, but illegal. Mr. HOFFMAN of Michigan. No; it jis not. You can have a union-security shop. Mr. EBERHARTER. I am talking about a closed shop. Mr. HOFFMAN of Michigan. There is no difference except 30 days, and the gentleman knows it. Mr, EBERHARTER. I know there is a difference. Mr. HOFFMAN of Michigan, The dif- ference is 30 days. Mr. EBERHARTER. The gentleman knows there is a difference. Mr. HOFFMAN of Michigan. I can- not yield further. Mr. EBERHARTER. The gentleman knows there is a difference between the CONGRESSIONAL RECORD—HOUSE closed shop and the union shop. Of course, you know that. Mr, HOFFMAN of Michigan. and I will tell you what it is. Mr. Speaker, I do not yield further, until I tell you what the difference is. I hate to start an educational campaign here because I am not a licensed teacher. Anybody who knows what a closed shop is knows that a closed shop is where a man in the beginning must be in the union in order to get a job. Union secu- rity is a situation where a man is either in the union when he starts to work or within 30 days must get into the union or get out of his job. That is the difference. There is a 80-day difference between the two and that is all the difference there ever was, and that is what the difference is today. What I am talking about is unfairness of the situation where in connection with services upon which our public health and safety, and so on, depends, and an organization or man says that they do not want to and will not work and at the same time insists that no one else may work there. That is my point. You cannot get around the unfairness of that situation. By what right or by what logic do you say it fs unfair If I say that the miners in your country, if they do not want to dig coal, must step aside and let some- body else dig the coal which the people in the cities and on the farms must have if they are to cook their meals, if they are to avoid freezing to death. Is there anything unfair about that? Is there anything unfair in saying to Mr. Jones, ‘‘Mr. Jones, you do not want to work. Get out of the way so Mr. Smith can work.” There is nothing unfair in that. It is said any man has a right to work or not to work, as he chooses. I will agree— but no man has the right by violence to deprive another of the right to earn a livelihood. . Mr. EBERHARTER. Mr. Speaker, will the gentleman yield? Mr. HOFFMAN of Michigan. I decline to yield. Mr. EBERHARTER. Of course, you have the floor, and you have the right to refuse to yield. Mr. HOFFMAN of Michigan. You can get time. We must have an end to violence. I saw a piece in the paper. I do not know whether it is accurate or not. It may be just a rumor again. A group of women, the wives of miners, caught the son of a man who was operating a non- union mine and they put some 16 or 17 holes in him by shoving their hatpins in him. Of course, that is not typical. That is just one exceptional instance. But here is one you often find in the papers. Here is one which appeared in the papers on February 20. Mr. EBERHARTER. What paper? Mr, HOFFMAN of Michigan. I donot know. I do not have it; this is just a clipping. But it does not make any difference, even if it was not in the Chi- cago Tribune, and thank God for the Chicago Tribune, I know how you dis- like their policy and their news items, but I know how vou alwavs read them so Yes, No, no; FEBRUARY 23 as to know what is going on. It makes me think of a newsletter that I used to send out. A fellow sent the envelope back to me and wrote, “Do not send me any more of this trash.” I wrote him back and said, “Brother, I won't.” I told him he did not have to read it. He wrote, “You put it in the papers,” and said he did not like it. I said, “Why do you read it?”” He wrote me another let- ter, and we had a nice correspondence. He wrote, “I read what you write because I am wondering what you are up to.” Mr. FBERHARTER. Were they sub- sidized? Mr. HOFFMAN of Michigan. Mr. Speaker, I do not yield. May I have the protection of the Chair? Permit me to read: Goons INvADE Two MINES AND PISTOL= WHiIp ELEVEN BaRBBOURVILLE, Ky., February 20.—A gang of 100 armed hoodlums, apparently United Mine Workers, today attacked two coal come panies near here, beat up 11 persons, includ- ing UMW men employed by the two firms, and engaged in a vicious rampage of prop- erty destruction. Deputy Sheriff Eugene Knuckles eaid none of the gangsters was identified, and authori- ties have made no arrests Knuckles said they were believed to be miners from Har- Jan County, Ky. The terrorists first entered the property of the Kentucky-Jellicoe Coal Co., 6 miles south of Barbourville. The company operates a large mine, normally employing 300 UMW workers, but the mine has been closed re- cently by the UMW strike and only 5 maine tenance men were there this morning. BEATEN WITH PISTOLS The sheriff's office said the invaders, with- out pausing for any conversation, seized the UMW maintenance men and beat them with Pistol butts. The goons smashed all the windows in the mine Office, and swept through the interlor in a destructive fury, overturning and smashe ing furniture and Nttering the office with papers from ransacked files. Two automobiles owned by the mine em- ployees were virtually destroyed. All the windows in both cars smashed, the tires of one were slashed off, and the body of the other ripped to pieces by hoodlums swinging miners' picks. MOVE TO NEXT PLANT The mob next moved in on the Richland Coal Co, a coke plant on the outskirts of Barbourville. Douglas Noonan, one of the operators, said the leaders of the mob asked if the com- pany had @ contract with the UMW. Noo- nan said it did not, but that the plant was operating under the Taft-Hartley law, and with UMW employees. The terrorists brushed aside his explana- tion and began battering his head with pis- tol butts. Douglas Blair, cooperator of the coke plant, tried to rescue Noonan and re- ceived similar brutal treatment, as did four employees of the plant, One employee, Earl Martin, reported that & shot was fired at him as he ran from the mob. He was not hit, however. The mobsters gave the Richland Co. office the same treatment given the Kentucky- Jellicoe office, smashing furniture, tearing a telephone off the wall, and ransacking the files and scattering papers throughout the place. In the coke plant yard they over- turned all the trucks except one, which they ran up & ramp and dumped into the coal- sorting bins. Windows of all the trucks were broken.
1950 MAY CLOSE PLANT A representative of the Richland firm esti- mated the damage caused by the invaders would force closing of the plant for a “con- siderable time.” Both Blair and Noonan were treated at @ local hospital for severe bruises suffered when they were pistol whipped. After the two raids the mob joined a larger mob of some 600 at Pineville, 17 miles southeast of here, but no further acts of violence were reported. It is the usual characteristic story. I ask unanimous consent to extend my re- marks and put this in. Mr. EBERHARTER. Reserving the right to object, Mr. Speaker. Mr. HOFFMAN of Michigan. Here is an editorial. Mr. EBERHARTER. Speaker. Mr. HOFFMAN of Michigan. Here is an editorial from the Chicago Tribune. Mr. EBERHARTER. I object. Mr, HOFFMAN of Michigan. You ob- ject to what? What do you object to? Do you object to putting this in the Record? The SPEAKER pro tempore. The gentleman asked unanimous consent to insert the article in the Recorp and the gentleman from Pennsylvania objected. Mr. HOFFMAN of Michigan. All right. I will withdraw the request. I received that permission when I first rose. I have that permission now. Now, the gentleman, as I understand it, was appointed by the President to a Federal judgeship. I refer to this only because I want to call attention to the gentleman's legal Jearning, his ability and his familiarity with the rules of the House. Yet he stands on his feet like the—well, I will not say that. You know the miners quit work. I am supposed to have the floor but the gentleman in- sists on standing and talking. I just have to ask that the gentleman sit down, Mr. Speaker. I will make it short. Here is this editorial which I will in- Bert: I object, Mr. INSURRECTION Utility companies are ordering dim-outs. Bteel mills are shutting down blast furnaces, Many railroads are able to provide only skel- eton services. Coal for domestic heating 1s virtually unobtainable, and cold and sick- ness threaten millions of homes. John L, Lewis sits back and may even re- gard with arrogant pride the misery he has inflicted on the people of the United States. A Federal court has enjoined the strike. He has told the miners to go back to work. They have not done so. They think he did not in- tend the strike to end. He says, “You can't mine coal with in- junctions.” He says, “You can't mine coal with bayonets,” anticipating possible Federal seizure of the mines. He says, “The miners won't work without a contract,” and waits for the country to accept a contract contain- ing his terms and no other. These are all untruths. Mr. Lewis, in his own phrase, 18 lying by the clock. He is con- ducting an insurrection against the people of the United States. His miners, operating in goon armies hundreds strong, are engaged in that insurrection. When Lewis says that you can’t mine coal with injunctions, or bayo- nets, he is defying the country to do any- thing about his insurrection. When Lewis asserts that the miners are @Gisobeying his wishes in their refusal to re- turn to work, he disqualifies himself as their bargaining agent. If he and his union can- CONGRESSIONAL RECORD—HOUSE not control its members, any contract they negotiate is worthless, Experience shows, however, that he does control the miners and that he is contemp- tuous of the American people, their laws, and their courts. He thinks, and the miners think, that their lawless minority can set itself against all of the other people of the country and hold them for ransom. . The miners are committing economic trea- son against the United States, even though thelr rate of pay is now the highest paid in any large industry in the land. If the United Mine Workers Union makes it impos- sible for the United States to operate, the United States will surely find a way to oper- ate without a United Mine Workers Union. I could multiply that editorial a dozen times or 50 times. So you say, ‘Why talk about it? You do not have a rem- edy.” We heard our colleague the gen- tleman from South Dakota [Mr. Case] mention the fact that he had introduced a bill dealing with this situation. I will introduce one myself tomorrow. It is very, very simple. All it does is to pro- vide that when individuals or unions go on strike or cause a strike in an industry, which if it fails to function will, by that failure, endanger the public safety, health, and welfare, then those em- ployees who are endangering the public shall, after a certain specified time—be sent to jail? Oh, no. Made to work? Oh, no. Let them go on where they want like free Americans; but they should lose their rights and privileges, their special rights and privileges which we have given them as employees. They lose their status as employees. That is to say, if they make a free choice and they decide, as, for instance, in the public transit here, in the utilities which supply us with water and with electricity, if they have decided that they do not intend to work at all until their demands are met, then they cease to be employees. They cease to have the benefits of the Labor Rela- tions Act which we have passed, and of other laws, which give lubor special privi- leges; if they will not play the game— under the rules—then they are out of the picture. Now, what is wrong with that? They are either workers or employees, or else they are not. If they are not actually doing something, then they should not have these special benefits given men who work. So much for that subject. Mr. Speaker, now I wish to talk on another subject. WE SHOULD REMAIN LOYAL TO THE REPUBLIC Mr, Speaker, if we become a part of a world federation, we will lose our in- dividual liberty, our prosperity, our na- tional security. We will lose our individual liberty be- cause it is proposed that the inter- national organization will enact legisla- tion of world-wide application, imposing its civil-liberties program upon the citi- zens of all member nations. We will lose our prosperity because the world organization will levy upon our taxpayers the assessments which it deems necessary for its activities—a burden which our people cannot carry. We will lose our national security be- cause, by the contributions exacted, we will be impoverished, rendered unable 2313 to provide means of adequate defense. The right to declare or refrain from de- claring war will be taken from us—that authority vested in the international or- ganization. Repeated wars will destroy the most powerful of nations. On Thanksgiving Day, November 23, 1944, Winston Churchill, addressing a London audience in which were hun- dreds of American servicemen, said that Americans never had more justification for thanksgiving than on that day, and T quote: When we see that in 8 or 4 years the United States has, in sober fact, become the greatest military, naval, and air power in the world. Well might he have added that we were, in addition, the greatest productive nation in the world; the nation where the individual citizen enjoyed the great- est degree of individual liberty, of pros- perity, and of happiness. That was undoubtedly our world posi- tion at that time, and, except as that position has been weakened by ex- orbitant aid given to other nations, by legislation, and Executive order curtail- ing our individual freedom, it so remains. OBJECTIVES OF WORLD ORGANIZATION To end war, to establish peace, to give to individuals throughout the world the same opportunity, the same degree of freedom, which our citizens enjoy—all desirable objectives—it is now proposed that the United States of America for- sake its established form of government, surrender at least a part of its sover- eignty and join some world-wide organi- gation, sometimes called a United States of the World, sometimes referred to as Atlantic Union, as a United Nations of the World, sometimes designated as Union Now. However desirable the objectives of the proposed organization, however sincere and patriotic in thought and purpose be the intent of those who advocate our participation in such an organization— and their patriotism and sincerity is not questioned—the result, in my opinion, and that is all anyone can express, how- ever dogmatic may be his assertions— the result would be similar to the purpose of the Communists, who advocate the overthrow of our Government by force— the end of our existence as a nation of free people. It is matter of common knowledge that the Constitution has given to the individual citizen of the United States the greatest degree of individual liberty, of freedom of action, of equality of op- portunity, of material prosperity, enjoyed by anyone anywhere. Proof? One need but to compare the lot of our average citizen with the status of the average citizen in any other part of the world. If further evidence is needed, it 1s found in the desire of so many people of so many other nations to come to our Jand, subject themselves to our laws, obtain the benefits of our form of government. Until recently, except as the curtail- ment of the liberty of the individual citizen has been made necessary in order to protect all members of our society, man here may go his way free to act as he will.
2314 It is quite true that, in perhaps the last 10 or 15 years, the liberty and the freedom of action guaranteed by the Constitution have been materially im- paired by restrictive laws, sustained by the Supreme Court. Some of those laws, like the Wagner Act, curtailed the liberty of members of one group while giving special privileges and consideration to members of another group. Members of one group have had their incomes increased at the expense of members of another group whose property has been taken from them with- out just compensation. Nevertheless, on the whole, it is still true that, here in the United States of America, the average citizen enjoys a greater degree of personal freedom than elsewhere. Likewise, it is yet true that the average individual here enjoys a greater degree of prosperity than does the citizen of any other land. If the statement of Mr. Churchill made in 1944, that we were then the greatest military, naval, and air power in the world—and concededly we then were, and concededly we were then also the most productive nation in all the world— even though we have since fallen behind in military might—we still have—our people have—the ability, the resource- fulness, the courage, and the endurance, if they be not betrayed from within, to successfully defend our national integ- rity, protect our future from aggression from whatever source it may come. To doubt that is to doubt we still pos- sess the characteristics of our people which have made us great, to admit that, instead of having advanced, our people have retrograded; that we of today have less of courage, of ability, and determina- tion, than had our forefathers. No truer words were ever spoken than those uttered by Abraham Lincoln when, speaking at Springfield, Il]., of the dan- ger to our Republic, he said—and I quote: At what point then is the danger to be expected? I answer, if it ever reaches us, it must spring up among us. It cannot come from abroad. If destruction be our lot, we must ourselves be its author and finisher. As a nation of freemen, we must live through all time or die by suicide. THE PROPOSAL Stripped of deceptive and confusing language, the present proposals, naked, stand forth as a clear attempt to induce us to scrap our Constitution, surrender our sovereignty, our right to plot our course in world affairs—surrender our national independence, become a part— but only a minor part—of a world organization. Strange and unfortunate is it that there are those among us who have so little faith in the principles enunciated in the Constitution, in the capabilities of our people, in our resourcefulness, in our idealism, that they would surrender our sovereignty, haul down the Stars and Stripes, and cravenly seek protection un- der the banner of a federation of na- tions which deny equality, liberty of ac- tion, freedom of expression, to their own people; which have all too often, as shown by history, been quarrelsome and Wwar-secking. CONGRESSIONAL RECORD—HOUSE It matters not what be the name of the proposed world organization. The intent and purpose of those who advo- cate our becoming a member of such an organization is that we join with other nations in forming a new world- wide supergovernment. Of necessity it follows that that world government be supreme; that to it we and our people, in common with other nations and peoples, must owe allegiance to, yleld obedience to its rules, regula- tions and laws. In this proposed organization herein- after referred to as the United Nations of the World, we would be but one of several members. The other nations, if history be accurate, are intensely na- tionalistic, jealous of their rights, re- sentful of any invasion of their territory, antagonistic to any disagreement with the religious views of their people and frequently engage in war. The issues for which, in the past, they have fought, are those with which we have but little concern unless it be con- ceded that the United States of America intends to extend its power throughout the world. Had the proposals to form a world government advanced in 1941 and 1942 by Mr. Davis, by Mr. Streit, by Mr. Justice Roberts, and others, been carried out, we would today be a satellite of Russia. Keeping in mind the recent spread of communism, Russia's acquisition of ter- ritory and people, the ease with which her spies find sanctuary fn our State Department, in our economic life, and the gullibility, if not worse, of some of our public officlals, the present danger to our Republic comes not from the threat of armed invasion but, as Mr. Lincoln said—from within—from a lack of vigilance in guarding our liberty. Our Nation can, as he suggested, commit suicide. Many of us recognize the present pro- posal that we join some form of a world organization, whatever may be the ob- jective, the good intentions of those who advocate it, as an attempt to overthrow, or, perhaps more accurately, destroy our form of government. I do not know the exact terms of the proposed world federation of nations. I do not know what flag its armies, {ts police force, is to carry. I do have a flag purchased in New York in 1941, which it was then proposed should be the flag of the world govern- ment of which we should become a subject. The proposal then was, and the pro- posal now is, that we haul down the Stars and Stripes, masthead in its place an international flag. It is evident that inasmuch as we are to be but one member of the world fed- eration of nations, if we join, our free- dom of action will be destroyed. The World Court, or the World Mili- tary Staff, or the World Council, or whatever the governing body of the fed- erated nations may be called, will de- termine the amount of our contribution to the world organization to the fur- therance of its purposes. Associated as we have been with, aiding as we have, FEBRUARY 23 other nations which had, or claimed to have, less than we have, with the idea thoroughly established throughout the world that we are a rich people; that we have an obligation to contribute to the welfare of the rest of the world, it is evident that an overwhelming portion of the burden of maintaining the world government, of carrying out whatever purpose or program might be by it la- beled “humaaitarian,” would fall upon taxpayers of this Nation. That burden is beyond our ability to carry. We have already voluntarily impov- erished ourselves by our contributions of billions of dollars for foreign aid. Im- paired our national defense program. If we establish this world supergov- ernment, we no longer would be permit- ted to confine our contributions to those we wished to -nake, but being one of the family would be obligated not only to rehabilitate but to support all other members of our world family. Not only would the representatives of other nations tell our taxpayers how much they should contribute in dollars and material to the welfare of the world, but they would tell us when and where to fight. No longer would the Congress have the sole authority to declare war. The international organization would determine that issue. No longer would our Congress decide whether or when the youth of the land was to be drafted— the international organization would de- termine when and how many of our young men and women should be called. Those young men and women—and the women are now in the armed services— would be under the command of officers named by the international military staff. Yes, and if the proposals of the extrem- ists be adopted, the international organ- ization would write the laws, make the rules under which our people should live here in America. The proposal to form a superworld organization, a statement of its objec- tives, that is, the provision for the peace of the world, the good of all mankind, is most alluring. A consideration of what must inevi- tably happen to our freedom as indi- viduals, our independence as a nation, our national security, under such an or- ganization is appalling. The proposal is suicidal. The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman from Michigan has expired. The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Bu- CHANAN). Under the previous order of the House, the gentleman from Ala- bama [Mr. BoyKIn] is recognized for 40 minutes. FOR CONGRESS TO REDUCE DIRECT SALES TAXES ON CERTAIN ITEMS AND THEN MAKE UP THE DIFFERENCE BY IN- CREASING HIDDEN TAXES ON OTHERS IS A PALPABLE FRAUD ON THE TAXPAYERS Mr. BOYKIN. Mr. Speaker, in sub- stance this Congress has been asked to do away with the direct and visible taxes which the public now pays on certain luxury goods—jewelry, luggage, cos- metics, railroad tickets, and other serv- ces,
1950 At the same time request is made that we place an additional $200,000,000 annual tax upon the oil and the gas in- dustry of this United States, which tax, although hidden, will be paid indirectly by the people. Not alone is that administration re- quest economically and financially un- sound, but it asks for something which, if enacted into law, will seriously retard the development of new domestic sources of gas and oil now so sorely needed in these United States. This proposal to change the rate of de- pletion is diametrically opposed to all other administration-sponsored recom- mendations to reduce or entirely elimi- nate excise taxes on furs, transportation, amusements, and a host of other war- time tax measures. It is a double-dealing arrangement—a proposal that this Congress enact legis- lation “to rob Peter in order to pay Paul.” It is @ proposal to remove tax laws that were to be operative only in war- time, and that are now visible to the peo- ple. These were the taxes placed on telephones, railroad and theater tickets, cabarets, and other services and activi- ties, and in their stead to substitute a new hidden tax that the people will have to pay indirectly on the oi] and the gas that they use in heating their homes, or that they use in their automobiles, It will increase the cost of every article produced in the mines, mills, factories, and on the farms that use petroleum or any of its derivative products Moreover, the increased cost of main- taining the armed services of the Na- tion, which today use directly and in- directly hundreds of millions of gallons of various types of gasOline, lubricating oils, and gaseous fuels, will have to be met by increasing the appropriation that we in this Congress will have to make for our Army, Navy, and our Air Force. Mr. Speaker, hear me well on this. The proposed change in the rate of de- pletion on of] wells that has been his- torically used in the tax structure of our country since away back in the adminis- tration of Herbert Hoover might well mean that actually less revenue will be taken in by the Federal Treasury than it is now receiving because we will have legislated to kill the goose that lays the golden eggs. The proposed decrease in the deple- tion rate would so tend to retard gas and oil development in these United States that we in the future would be obliged to import even greater amounts of petroleum products than we do at present, and in that wise entirely dry up the sources of our domestic revenues obtained from the sale of our own do- mestically produced oil and gas. It would, moreover, be a death-dealing blow to the development of new and more extensive oil fields in these United States. It would add to the now-in- creasing unemployment of our peoples, and certainly entail a Joss to our own national economy which would out- shadow any additional tax revenue that might temporarily be collected by the Federal Government in the next 12 or 24 months, Second only to the defense of this Na- tion and the continuing efforts to pro- CONGRESSIONAL RECORD—HOUSE mote peace throughout the world is the problem of keeping our people gainfully employed. Mr. Speaker, I noted in the press on Wednesday last that unemployment in these United States is now markedly on the increase. The United States Bureau of the Census today reported that there are now 4,500,000 unemployed in these United States. Furthermore, they Pointed out that this figure had risen 1,000,000 between December and Janu- ary to a new postwar high of 4,500,000 persons on the rolls of the unemployed. Mr. Speaker, there is no proposal be- fore this Congress today so replete with danger to the Nation’s labor, agricul- tural, financial, and commercial econ- omy, as well as its defense, than is the question of retaining the historic rate of depletion established more than a quar- ter of a century ago on our national pro- duction of oil and gas. Neither is there one about which, in my opinion, there is a greater dearth of understanding on the part of a large cross section of the mem- bership of this House than there 1s on these rates of depletion. In addressing myself to the question of the current rate allowed, I am talking about something of which I should have a vast fund of knowledge gained in my business activities and experience during these past 40 years. Mr. Speaker, I do not wish in any sense to convey to my colleagues the im- pression that I regard myself as an ex- pert in this matter. I am not an oil man, neither am Ia gas man. I do not deal in these commodities. I am speaking, about oil and gas and the rate of depletion under which those industries have operated for a quarter of a century, as farmer and a Jumberman. I am speaking as one who realizes that every farm and every forest in these United States, yes, every highway, ceme- tery, river bottom, and last acre of land is potential oil-producing land, until some venturesome spirit has spent the money to actually drill that area and has ostensibly proven it to be otherwise. Mr. Speaker, even then you cannot be sure that if the operator had drilled just a few feet further away, or had drilled deeper into the very same hole, that he would have struck oil or gas in his operation. How clearly that fact was demonstrated in the State of Tcxas when governmental and even independ- ent geologists and geophysicists falla- ciously pronounced east Texas to be a nonproducing oil area. Mr. Speaker, I need not remind you, sir, that had it not been for the God- given faith of old Dad Joiner in the ability of east Texas land to produce oil, with a faith that was second only to his faith in God, he continued his drilling under the most dire of financial handi- caps. With a broken-down rig and an un- paid derrick crew, he brought in the first well in east Texas thereby proving and developing a field which will long stand as one of the greatest oil-produc- ing areas ever developed in the United States. Mr. Speaker, I wish I had the skill and the ability to evaluate for the benefit of my colleagues in this Congress Just how 2315 much of the victory that came to our country in World War II is directly traceable to the hundreds of millions of barrels of petroleum and the untold value of other petroleum products which east Texas contributed in the oiling and fueling of World War II. There is no well-informed Member of this body who would say that we could have even won that war had it not been for the tremendous supply of oil and other petroleum products that gushed forth from wells—brought in through the reinvestment of hundreds of millions of dollars of venture capital which would not have been available, had it not been for the rates of depletion enjoyed by the oil industry of that day and sunk back into developing the east Texas fields. Mr. Spenker, in the time that I have been allotted to address the House on this all-important subject, I am not go- ing to discuss at length just what bane- ful effects any change in the rate of depletion would have upon the State of Alabama. I do, however, hold in my hand a photostatic copy of an article written by Dr. Walter B. Jones, State geologist of the University of Alabama. The article Published in the January 1950 Oil Forum is entitled “Alabama's Promising Gas and Oil Possibilities.” Mr. Speaker, I am going to read a few excerpts from that article and I want every Member of this House to realize that what has been written with respect to Alabama oil and gas possibilities is true of every last State in this great Union of States. Dr. Walter B. Jones writes in purt as follows: Discovery of ofl in the Gilbertown field, Choctaw County, Ala., February 17, 1944, has brought about a geophysical and drilling pro- gram sufficient to indicate that Alabama is destined to become a major oil-producing State within the next few years Subsurface geology can now be interpreted And appraised with some measuie of confidence. More than one-half of the area ot the State is considered to be possible ol1 and gas terri- tory. Mr. Speaker, now note this well: Dr. Jones states that “more than one-half of the area of the State of Alabama is now considered to be possible oil] and gas territory.” For the sake of clarity and brevity he continues: This province is now considered to be the brightest prospect in the State, and includes the Gilbertown field. In 1945, the No. 1 Boykin well in the northern part of Mobile County, drilled to a depth of 7,500 feet, gave fairly conclusive proof that the area is a deep salt basin. In such basins, piercement salt domes might be expected. Therefore, we were not at all surprised when one was found a few months ago, near McIntosh, in Washington County. The salt core is 422 feet from the surface where it was en- countered in a single core hole. No further prospecting has been done, so the diameter of the salt body and whether or not oll and/or gas is in association, remains to be seen. Other salt domes may be expected in the province. The proven petroliferous Hatchetigbee anticline, in Choctaw County, and the Jack- son fault in southern Clarke County, both long known to geologists, are prominent sur- face features. Inasmuch as surface outcrops
2316 range from Eocene to recent in age, it is reasonable to assume that other structures exist, but are obscured by later sediments which do not permit the structures to show at the outcrops. Mr. Speaker, it is altogether beside the point that I have some Jand holdings in and near McIntosh in Washington County, Ala. The facts are that I took my own money, matched it with the money of others, and drilled Boykin well No. 1 in the northern part of Mobile County to a depth of 7,500 feet and brought in a dry hole. My associates and myself took our losses, but there is of] there, Mr. Speaker; it lies deep in the ground awaiting the day that other venturesome men with more new venture capital will drill and redrill until it gushes forth from out of bowels of the earth. As previously stated, I am a farmer and a lumberman and not an oilman. Alabama is an agricultural and a min- ing State; our people have little knowl- edge and even less experience in the de- velopment of oil and gas. What is true with respect to the inexperience of the people of the great State of Alabama is true with respect to experience of the peoples of these United States who live far fror the oil-bearing areas. It is to the oil operators in Pennsyl- vania, the oil and gas developers of West Virginia, Ohio, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi, that we in other States must look for the future ex- ploration and development of gaseous liquids and solid fuels with which to fire the boilers that power the ponderous presses of this Nation. It is to the fearless and intrepid oil- men who send their money, their geol- ogists, their leasemen in to take up leases on lands from farmers, and other land owners, and who follow up when the leas- ing is done, by th? investment of millions of dollars in geodetic, geologic, and other development work in order to develop the oil potentialities before moving in with more untold millions of dollars in rigs and in labor to drill their wells. Mr. Speaker, you and myself are of one mind in knowing that there is no finan- cial hazard in which a man takes greater risk than when investing his money than in the development of oil production. I remember having heard it said by some- one, sometime that “an of] man is usu- ally a man who is 1 foot away from a million dollars, or else, he is a man who is a million feet away from a single dollar.” Even while I am speaking, those daring men who finance and ride the derricks and the walking booms have taken leases on a two-hundred-thousand-acre tract in the State of North Carolina and are as of this very hour moving in and around their exploratory crews to make investigational studies of the surface as well as into the deep geology of that terrain. It will not be long before their tortional balances and seismiographs are set up, and the earth begin to vibrate under the explosions of tons of nitro- glycerine, set off in the never ending quest to determine on the scales of their most delicate instruments the presence of salt domes or other indications that CONGRESSIONAL RECORD—HOUSE look to or promise the “black gold” that they are ever and always seeking. Mr. Speaker, I need not tell you that these millions of dollars of venture capi- tal that have been and are currently being paid out for oil leases and develop- ment were not provided by the constitu- ents so ably represented by my good friends and colleagues, Congressman Bonner and Congressman Barpen, of the First and Third Districts of North Caro- lina. The burden of all moneys which are now being currently expended for leas- ing as well as actual development work looking to oil production in the many States outside of the regular oi] produc- ing territory is not the capital provided by local interests or local citizens. The depletion reserves established constitute a sort of a revolving fund for future exploration. They are largely the reinvestment of the funds that our major oil companies as well as the independent and “wildcat” oil men have recaptured in the wells which they have developed in the great Southwest. In their true American spirit they have left their home States, take this revolving fund, go else- where, and bring in more and greater reserves of oi] with which to support the oll economy of this Nation. Mr. Speaker, because of the fact that this problem is of vital interest to every Member of this Congress I here state that the proposed change in the tax rate applicable to depletion will have serious repercussions not alone upon the lives and the fortunes of the farmer lessors and the oil men and the drillers, but upon more than 10,000,000 other people living in every congressional district who now find gaintul employment in the refining processes, transportation, marketing, and selling of products of the petroleum industry, a major American industry which reached out into every village and hamlet of these United States. Not alone will it adversely affect those directly engaged in the industry but in- directly it will also affect the eleemosy- nary institutions as well as institutions of higher learning in our many States which are today in a large measure de- pendent upon and largely supported by funds derived by oil leases, bonuses, rentals, and rental renewals. I know that the University of Texas and other schools of higher learning as- sociated thereto own or are otherwise possessed of the fee in nearly 500,000 acres of land in that State. From these lands the regents of the State of Texas receive in the form of leases, bonuses, rentals, renewals, and royalties the ma- jor part of the income that supports these schools. The institutions of high- er learning associated thereto, not alone in Texas, but in other States have also accumulated sizable reserves from their petroleum interests. A large part of these funds are now invested in securi- ties, the proceeds of which are used to finance new oil developments, These are only in part the benefits de- rived from the present rate of depletion made applicable to oil and gas opera- tions. This rate now permits the ex- ploratory operations by developers re- quiring huge sums which are now being FEBRUARY 23 expended to develop the great resources of oil still to be discovered in our farm solls by the scientists concerned with ex- ploring and developing new lands for oil production. Mr. Speaker, not only during my offi- cial life here in Congress but prior there- to I have Jong encouraged our people to lease their lands to those furnishing the venture investment capital in order to develop the mineral and other re- sources in the soil of the State of Ala- bama. I did so because the money that has long been enjoyed by our people from oll leases, bonuses, rentals, and renewals has long afforded a tremendous amount of gainful employment to the people of my district and my State. The Alabama agriculturists, cattle and dairy men, orchardists, cotton and pea- nut planters, as well as those in other States of the Nation have been immeas- urably benefited by the enterprise of the native Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Kansas, Texas, and Oklahoma, as well as other oil men who have come into my State and Nkewise into practically all other States in the great Mississippi Val- ley Corn Belt. For these reasons it be- comes evident that our cotton, our live- stock economy, general agricultural and forest industry—deriving this supple- mental income from their Jands—find their entire economic life inseparably bound up with the oil economy and the historical rate of depletion that that in- dustry has enjoyed during this last quar- ter of a century. Mr. Speaker, I feel that if the Mem- bers of this House from the great Empire State of New York, those who sit in the body from the great metropolitan cities of Chicago, Detroit, and Boston could but induce a bunch of daring Texan-Okla- homan oil operators to go to work in their States—they would more than likely find plenty of oil in the subsoils, not only in the rural regions of the States but under the very asphalt pavements that cover thelr magnificent avenues, boulevards, streets, and drives. Mr. Speaker, there is no question but {f this adverse change is made with re- spect to the rate of depletion on oil, you are going to upset the economy of this Nation. As I am addressing this House I am reminded of a great speech delivered by our colleague, the able and gracious Frances P. Bouron, representing the Twenty-third District of Ohio. In that talk Mrs. Botton was addressing her- self to the problem of national health and certainly there is none in this House who has devoted more of his time or substance to the promotion of national health in the flelds of preventative as well as curative medicine as well as nurs- ing than has the distinguished Con- gresswoman from Ohio. In her talk, Mrs. Botton clearly and lucidly outlined the need of insuring the peoples of our Nation an adequacy of medical and nursing service under a vol- untary system and—by and with the ex- pansion of historically employed facil- ities and services. The remarkable thing about the speech was the point that Con- gresswoman Bo.ton made with respect to the drying up of the sources of in-
1950 come that have long supported the med- ical fraternity of these United States by the establishment of medical and sur- gical research foundations, laboratories, schools, trusts, and other centers of learning. Quoting her source of information, she pointed out how in the last 10 years, 1939 to 1949, the total amount that was bestowed and expended by existing foundations was in the round sum of $2,500,000, and that in the 10 years prior thereto it had been in the sum of $65,- 000,000. Mr. Speaker, now note this well. This sum of $67,500,000 was the total that had been expended in the 20 years sub- sequent to the increase in the gift, inher- itance, transfer, and high-income tax rates that were made applicable by this Congress to the income of our people in the last 20 years. The Congresswoman pointed out, how- ever, that prior to the imposition of these latter-day taxes and the great in- creases in the rates of income, inherit- ance, gift, and other taxes, that in the 20-year period prior thereto, the pro- digious sum of $1,163,000,000, or more than $1,100,000,000 had been given as gifts, grants, and in trust for medical and surgical and other researches and foundations. From these figures, the destructive power of taxation becomes evident at least insofar as national health, pre- ventive medicine, and medical research are concerned. With these sources of private bequests dried up by the enact- ment of national tax legislation, is it any wonder, I ask, that we now hear a clamor on the floor of the House to enact new tax laws that will cost billions in order to afford people an adequacy of preven- tive medical service and national health that never before in history had to be paid for out of the Federal Treasury and by tax money collected from the people themselves. What a parody upon realism that we who but in recent years have voted bil- lions of dollars for the welfare and health of foreign peoples, just a few short weeks ago put on an amateur vaudeville show in which many in this House participated, myself included, in order to help raise a mere $100,000 heart fund for medical research in heart and other coronary diseases. It is because of the foregoing that I make dire prediction that if the day ever dawns that this House takes affirmative action on the bill to decrease the exist- ing rate of depletion on oil and gas wells that we will in 24 months there- after be faced with a proposal for the Federal Government to appropriate funds in order to do the exploratory work on bringing in oil and gas with tax- payers’ money rather than to continue oil and gas development by the use of private capital and by people who know how, in the manner historically followed, and in the American way. Even as I speak, the Federal Treasury has been tapped and already more than $5,000,000 has been appropriated in order to do research into the development of oil from shale in order to increase the proven reserves of our Oil supplies. KCVI-—146 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD—HOUSE Mr. Speaker, I am persuaded that if any downward revision is made in pres- ent depletion rates, the Congress in the next decade will be compelled to ap- propriate many times the increased rev- enues if we are to continue to provide an adequate amount of oil for this Nation to oil itself for peace as well as for war. Instead of decreasing the rate of de- pletion, I am personally persuaded to the belief that this Congress in behalf of our national oil economy, should increase the amount from its present 2712 percent to & more equitable one of 3314 percent as has been urged upon the Ways and Means Committee of the House. I think it is high time that we should lift the heavy hand of the Federal Gov- ernment from off the shoulders and the backs of those who in private industry and through private initiative have long continued to serve this country plenti- fully with an adequate supply of liquid and gaseous fuels that have become as necessary to the American way of life as the very air we breathe. SPECIAL ORDER The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the previous order of the House, the gentlewoman from Massachusetts [Mrs. Rocers] is recognized for 8 minutes. (Mrs, Roaers of Massachusetts asked and was given permission to revise and extend her remarks and include a bill she has introduced relating to psycholog- ical warfare and to include other mat- ters.) THE COAL SHORTAGE Mrs, ROGERS of Massachusetts. Mr. Speaker, I rise to state that Massachu- setts also is suffering from a shortage of coal. Massachusetts is going on ration- ing. Shortage of coal means illness, I do not know what is in the bill introduced by the gentleman from South Dakota (Mr. Case], but I think it is vital that the Congress do something so that the production of coal and other things can continue when an emergency exists. There will be a great deal of illness, a great deal of suffering if some action is not taken. I know in talking with a lady who was having a great deal of difficulty in getting coal the lady told me: “I had rather be warm than have food.” It is a great pity that you cannot burn pota- toes, for there is such a tremendous sur- plus of potatoes in the country today; it is really scandalous. Some of them are being used for food, but unbelievable quantities are being destroyed. Why can we not in the future have a stock pile of coal so that when the need faces us the stock pile can be drawn upon and suffer- ing prevented? VETERANS’ HOSPITALS Mrs. ROGERS of Massachusetts. Mr. Speaker, the gentleman from Mississipp! (Mr. RANKIN! has asked today if the Speaker is likely to recognize him on Monday to call up the hospital construc- tion bill which provides for the con- struction of facilities to provide 16,000 additional beds for the veterans of the war. I wish to remind the leadership of the House, the Speaker, and others, that the money has already been authorized and appropriated by the Committee on 2317, Appropriations for the construction of these hospitals and provide these beds that are needed, so it will not be an added cost to the Government. The Treasury and Budget ought not to object to it. This expanded program will mean a lot to men suffering from mental illness, especially men who went through the last World War. Frequently a few weeks’ treatment in a properly equipped hospital will restore these men to mental health. Congress authorized this con- struction a long time ago; the money has already been appropriated. It should be proceeded with. Mr. NICHOLSON. Mr. Speaker, will the gentlewoman yield? Mrs. ROGERS of Massachusetts. I yield. Mr. NICHOLSON. Will the gentle- woman tell the Members something about the Cushing Hospital in Boston where we have, so they say, something like 300 or 400 extra beds that cannot be used because the local authorities say the buildings do not meet fire law re- quirements? Mrs. ROGERS of Massachusetts, That is true. The Veterans’ Administra- tion is very careful in their construction to see that the fire laws are adequately complied with. There was a fire at Walter Reed Hospital at the close of the First World War in one of the psyco- pathic wards which was of temporary construction; it was very difficult to get mental patients out. There was quite a fire in one of the veterans’ hospitals. Then in Boston, for some reason or other, they say they are going to close the Wal- tham Hospital, borrowed by the Army, a very much needed facility, and one which I understand meets all fire law require- ments. It seems to me there has been a well-directed drive on to give the veterans less hospitalization, less care than they have been getting, and it is extremely unfair. PSYCHOLOGICAL WARFARE Mrs. ROGERS of Massachusetts. Mr, Speaker, I wish to refer to the resolution I introduced last October, which is as follows: House Resolution 374 Resolved, That there is hereby created a select committee to be composed of seven Members of the House of Representatives to be appointed by the Speaker, one of whom he shall designate as chairman. Any vacancy occurring in the membership of the com- mittee shall be filled in the same manner in which the original appointment was made. The committee is authorized and directed to conduct a full and complete investigation and study for the purpose of ascertaining the means by which the national interest may best be protected and served in time of peace by the conduct of international information services and in time of war or threat of war by a civilian psychological warfare agency. The committee shall report to the House (or to the Clerk of the House if the House is not in session) as soon as practicable dur- ing the present Congress the results of its investigation and study, together with such recommendations as it deems advisable. For the purpose of carrying out this reso- lution the committee, or any subcommittee thereof, is authorized by the committee to hold hearings, is authorized to sit and act during the present Congress at such times and places within the United States, whether
2318 the House {s in session, has recessed, or has adjourned, to hold such hearings, and to re- quire, by subpena or otherwise, the attend- ance and testimony of such witnesses and the production of such books, records, Cor respondence, memoranda, papers, and docue ments, as it deems necessary. Subpenas may be issued under the signature of the chair- man of the committee or any member of the committee designated by him, and may be served by any person designated by such chairman or member. Mr. Speaker, I am introducing an- other bill which is more far reaching. I feel that the Voice of America, which is the only voice over the radio sent out from the United States, is really not efficient. The staff has very small quar- ters in New York instead of in Wash- ington. I suggest that we have a Radio Washington, as they have a Radio Mos- cow or a Radio Rome or a Radio Paris. CBS in London is really Radio London. I would like also to suggest that the people in this country be informed what is being said to the people of other countries. ‘Today Americans do not know what the Voice of America is say- ing, because they speak in a foreign lan- guage and it is not broadcast in this country. So we, in this country, do not know what the State Department is saying about us to the people of foreign countries. The people of America are entitled to know what is being said about the United States to foreign countries. The personnel of any radio station which has the semblance of a Govern- ment broadcasting station which broad- casts to foreign nations should be very carefully screened. I should like very much to have an investigation made of what is now being done through the Voice of America. With the hydrogen bomb and the atomic bomb we should do more than ever before—everything to bring about peace through psychological and other methods. I would like very much to have Presi- dent Truman and Mr. Stalin meet in some neutral country, meet-alone first. While we must not relax in our military preparedness, we should do everything we can insofar as nonmilitary prepared- ness is concerned also. The United States craves peace and friendly rela- tions with all nations whenever possible, Mr. CANFIELD, Mr. Speaker, will the gentlewoman yield? Mrs. ROGERS of Massachusetts. I yield to the gentleman from New Jersey. Mr. CANFIELD. The gentlewoman may recall that I first made that very same suggestion on the floor of the House on November 25, 1947, after I returned from a congressional tour of Europe, at which time I saw the then cold war growing hot. I made that suggestion, but it was not well received at that time by some Members of the House. I am glad to know that many of our national leaders, including the gentlewoman from Massachusetts, think it worth while to hold such a meeting on the highest level. Anyone who knows anything about Mr. Stalin or the Russian mind knows that those people have a tendency not to rec- ognize the low-level approach. I desire to commend the gentlewoman from Mas- sachusetts for her very timely thought today. CONGRESSIONAL RECORD—HOUSE Mrs. ROGERS of Massachusetts. I should be extremely glad to work with anyone along that line. Mr. NICHOLSON. Mr. Speaker, will the gentlewoman yield? Mrs. ROGERS of Massachusetts. I yleld to the gentleman from Massa- chusetts. Mr. NICHOLSON. I want to congrat- ulate the gentlewoman for the remarks she has just made. It is high time that somebody in this country sit down with somebody over there so that we can have some peace. The gentlewoman is to be congratulated, Mrs. ROGERS of Massachusetts. We all want peace. Every Member wants peace. Ivery well remember the psycho- logical warfare that was conducted dur- ing the war by Admiral Zacharias, of the United States Navy, which was consid- ered so successful that even if the atomic bomb had not been used Japan would have capitulated. The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentlewoman from Massa- chusetts has expired. Under previous order of the House, the gentleman from Montana [Mr. Mans- FIELD] is recognized for 30 minutes. STATEHOOD FOR ALASKA AND HAWAII Mr. MANSFIELD. Mr. Speaker, I am delighted that the majority leader the gentleman from Massachusetts [Mr. Mc- Cormack] has just announced that state- hood bills for Hawaii and Alaska will come up next week. Without intending to minimize the very important role which Hawaii plays in our national defense I wish to point out here that the comparative roles of Alaska and Hawali have been reversed since the end of the last war. During World War II Hawaii was our main bas- tion of defense, the base from which we could operate, first, to defend our own shores along the Pacific, and, then, to wage the ultimately successful counter- offensive. At this time Alaska was not at all unimportant but played a secondary role to the Hawaiian Islands. You will remember that we spent millions of dol- lars in defense and development meas- ures both to hold Alaska and to recapture those three Aleutian Islands which were the only portions of the North American continent to feel the impact of foreign invasion. But we spent even more to de- fend the already developed Hawaiian Is- lands and to use them as a base of op- erations. I submit that these positions have been entirely reversed in the light of postwar developments. Hawaii is still vitally im- portant. Without this base our naval operations and our control of the Pacific Ocean would be in serious jeopardy. But upon Alaska depends primarily our de- fense of the continental United States. Actual invasion or damaging air raids upon our important cities are possibil- ities which would be all too likely if we do not fortify and develop Alaska. Air striking power, combined with the atom bomb, the hydrogen bomb, and the vul- nerable situation of our industrial cities, have rendered us open to the approach of an enemy over the Arctic and sub- Arctic regions, perhaps in the initial FEBRUARY 23 stages of the conflict. Therefore, we should consider every way in which we can improve the defense facilities of Alaska. I contend that the most fun- damental way to effect general improve- ment in such defense, is to grant state- hood to Alaska. OTHER REASONS FOR STATEHOOD IMPORTANT BUP SECONDARY There are, of course, many other good reasons why Americans should favorably consider statehood for Alaska. Such an act would be consistent with our long- professed ideals of self-rule, it would confer the advantages of citizenship upon people who legally are already American citizens and who, for the most part, originally came from the continental United States. Statehood for Alaska would demonstrate to the peoples of the Pacific that we are in that portion of the globe; and that we do extend the principles of government and conduct about which we do so much preaching. The act would in this way have a pro- found and beneficial effect upon those areas of the world which are at this time concerned about a choice of economic and political systems. All these things and more, statehood for Alaska would do. THE PRIMARY REASON FOR STATEHOOD IS OUR OWN DEFENSE But why is it to our interest in the continental United State that statehood for Alaska be granted as soon as possible? Because only through statehood can Alaska be developed to the point that 1t can support economically the subsidiary measures of the defense mechanism which is necessary in this areca for the protection of the whole United States. Only through statehood can Alaska de- velop the conditions necessary for sound logistics to supply our defense bastions. The saying that “in union there is strength” is not so trite as to be without meaning. The very nature of union is such that common advantage is derived. It would be a mistake for those of us here inthe States to consider only the advantages we can give to Alaska out of our beneficence. There are mutual ad- vantages to be gained, and not the least of these is that the security of Alaska, dependent largely on statehood, is vital to the security of the entire Nation. ALASKA: THE STRATEGIC BRIDGEHEAD TO AND FROM THE EURASIAN CONTINENT There is only one nation in the world strong enough to fight a major war against us today. It is only with that nation, and with her satellites, that we have any basic conflict. From this fact emerges a new importance for Alaska. Alaska is the bridge between the conti- nental United States and the Soviet Union. A glance at a polar projection map of the world, or an azimuthal equidistant chart, will show graphically the practical juxtaposition of Alaska with Soviet Siberia. It is only a short air distance over the Arctic regions and an even shorter distance across the Bering Straits. Indeed, at one point only 3 miles of water and at another only 54 miles of water separate Alaska from the Soviet Union, and, at several points along a goodly distance, the shoreline of
1950 Asia is visible to the naked eye from this United States Territory. Mere proximity, however, is not the real clue to the importance of Alaska in our defense planning. We must ex- amine its utility potential both to us and to our possible enemies, on the land, sea, and air, It is reasonably clear that large-scale land operations in the far nothern area would be limited Human beings can survive in spite of the rigidity of the climate and weapons can stand it and still operate, but most of the energy of troops would be devoted to the task of living and very little would be left over for effective operation. However, 1f our defenses are at any time inadequate, as they seem to be now, a surprise attack by a small number of troops could cap- ture all, or strategic parts of this region by rather simple invasion tactics involv- ing paratroop or landing operations across the Bering Sea or even, perhaps, the Arctic, and once occupied, Alaska could become an important base of air and naval operation against us. Only superior defense forces backed by a large and alert population can effectively thwait this danger. Naval operations in the northern re- gions would not be impossible Admiral Richard E. Byrd is authority for the statement that “invasion of North Amer- ica could be made by way of the Arctic Ocean. It is not a cold area. Weather over the Arctic is far better than over the North Atlantic and the North Pacific. This Nation has four ships that would without difficulty reach the Arctic Pole, and it would not be a problem to build ships that would take convoys of ships through the Arctic Ocean.” The Navy found in its “Operation Frostbite’ of 1946, that, with minor changes, all United States warships can operate, in far northern latitudes. If the United States warships can so operate, I submit that the Russian Navy can also traverse these regions. But it is in consideration of air strat- egy that the value of Alaska really shows forth. Suppose, for an awful moment, that our defenses of Alaska did fail and that a full-scale war is upon us. What would be the possible effect upon our war potential? If the enemy were to capture Alaska they would have a most excellent base for the saturation bombing of our Pacific seaboard and our industrial Mid- west. Air Force representatives have publicly stated that the Russians have a type of plane, and in great numbers, which can easily make a bombing mis- sion of 4,400 miles round trip. It is not unreasonable to assume that even greater distances will be achieved soon. With this in mind it is somewhat of a jolt to realize that from Fairbanks, Alaska, it is only 1,855 miles by air to Helena, Mont.; that it is only 2,480 miles by air to Minneapolis, Minn. With longer range bombers a certainty, one could fly from Point Barrow, Alaska—the northernmost settlement—to the Great Lakes region as well as to Los Angeles or San Diego, Calif. Truly, in that type of warfare which car threaten the destruction of our industrial complex and inflict untold damage upon our innocent civilians and CONGRESSIONAL RECORD—HOUSE their property, Alaska is a very impor- tant door. But let us drop this dismal assumption of a lost Alaska. Even without the oc- cupation of Alaska it might be possible for enemy bombing raids to come in any future war directly over the Arctic re- gions. To be sure such missions would be hazardous, but so, indeed, was our famous Doolittle raid over Tokyo in the early part of World War II. And air raids over the Arctic, even 1f kept at a nuisance level, on the main industrial complex of the North American Conti- nent might result in pressure to keep forces at home in such strength as to handicap our war effort elsewhere. Such injudicious deployment of strength could turn the tide of war against us. Radar screens and interception facili- ties radiating from Alaska would be our best assurance against such devastating raids That the Air Force is concerned with the rapid construction of such fa- cilities is made clear by the recent an- nouncement by Gen. Hoyt S. Vanden- berg that the Air Force has canceled or reduced other approved projects to the extent of $50,000,000 from its regular 1950 appropriations to speed completion of the first phase of a radar system for the United States and Alaska. Nearly two-thirds of this amount is going to the Alaskan portion of the project. Itis only in Alaska that the United States can erect such installations for use in the Polar regions upon her own soi] It is only in the Polar regions that inter- ception, or general alarm for later inter- ception, can save our citics from disas- trous, or perhaps fatal, bombing. COMPARISON OF ACTIVITY IN SOVIET SIBERIA AND ALASKA The Russians are apparently very much aware of the strategic importance of the northern areas To be sure, the Soviet Union is not advertising all that it is doing in Soviet Siberia, but Governor Gruening of Alaska has pointed out that in the region roughly corresponding to Alaska, which includes about 600,000 square miles and extends up to about 500 miles west of the Bering Strait, the Russians are not stagnant. There seems reason to believe that close to 5,000,000 people are now in this area. The Rus- sians have established a system of high- ways and communication. Every 100 mules there are agricultural experiment stations which seem to be closely tied up with the mulitary establishments. The Soviets have pushed the borders of agriculture farther north than has ever before been possible by experiment- ing with new types of grain and crops, and by integrating agriculture with min- ing, industry, and military establish- ments. There are rcports of Russian airfields on islands off the coast of Si- beria across from Alaska, and there are rumors of Russian submarines in the area. By contrast to all this flourishing ac- tivity on the part of the Russians, our own defense facilities would appear rather inadequate. It would be detri- mental to our security to examine figures giving our present strength and position in Alaska. But we can simply look at 2319 what we donot have. Governor Gruen- ing warned Congress on January 17, in testimony before the House Appropria- tions subcommittee, that Alaska is now so weak that Russia could take it tomor- row with 1 or 2 parachute divisions com- ing across the Bering Straits. He also pointed out that once the Russians occupied Alaska it would be difficult to get them out. Various observers have noted that installation after instal- Jation has been abandoned by the United States military forces. The temporary bulldings and facilities erected during the war quickly go to ruin in the harsh climate of the outer regions, and cannot be reclaimed. William L. Worden has quoted one important military planner as saying: We must pour millions of dollars into Alaska now to prepare a reasonable defense, or else blow up the bases, destroy the air- flelds, and tear out the communications in order to deny them toanyenemy. And then go home The need for urgency in the strength- ening of our defenses in this vital region has been implicit in all the foregoing dis- cussion, but it bears reemphasis. The temptation for aggression might well be too great if we do not keep all of our defenses in good condition. And, as I have pointed out, Alaska is not the least of these defenses. CONSIDERATION OF THE PROBLEMS OF ALASKAN DEVELOPMENT There are, however, certain very large and important problems to be considered if our defense is to be made adequate, It is in the consideration of these prob- lems that the need for granting state- hood to Alaska will become immediately apparent. It is necessary that Alaska be developed economically and agriculturally if it is to be integrated with the huge defense forces needed. Such development can only come after statehood is granted. This has been borne out in many ex- amples in the history of the present 48 States. That there exist in Alaska those re- sources which can be developed there is no doubt. What, then, is needed to de- velop these resources and how does this need tie up to the needs of defense? TRANSPORTATION Transportation and supply routes are at once apparent as necessities for both civilian population growth and for the military. Let us examine what Alaska has in this regard and how and why statehood would help. One of the reasons that living costs are so high in Alaska is because of the ship- ping problem. There are two steamship lines with a viselike grip on shipping, to and from Alaska. These two noncom- petitive companies are owned by the same Seattle family. Possibly because the same family operates a salmon brok- erage, cannery supplies enjoy a shipping rate only about half as expensive as general cargo, such as food and clothing. The only competition to this shipping monopoly, which could be so disastrous in time of war, exists in the vessels of three Canadian lines. However, the
2320 Jones Act of 1920 expressly forbids the use of Canadian vessels to haul freight or passengers between Alaska and any point in the continental United States. The entire development of Alaska has been hampered and even crippied by the conditions created by the Jones Act, This would not have been the case had Alaska been a State. The Supreme Court of the United States has ruled that this act would be unconstitutional if Alaska were a State. Moreover, it is probable that the Jones Act would not have existed if Alaska had had sena- torial representation and votes in the Coneress in 1920. Only Territories can be so discriminated against; and only Alaska, of all the Territories, suffers from such a specific exemption from the use of Canadian services. In time of war or national emergency it would be too late to institute cufficient supply haulage. It must be done now by allowing free competition and healthier and more effi- cient growth to take place in the shipping facilities. Now what about the famous Alcan Highway which was built as a means of supplying Alaska under the impetus of the last World War? Since the war there has been very little done to im- prove the highway. To be sure the Congress has recently voted appropria- tions, but this road still remains in a condition that will not support military traffic. And what is worse, it is the only overland means of transportation and communication with Alaska. Recently a railroad to Alaska on a route some- where near the coast has been proposed. This proposal has received some support, but Alaska has not the proper repre- sentation in Congr-ss to press the point. Internally there are very few high- ways in Alaska and these are not of the type which can serve adequately as mili- tary highways. If Alaska were a State she would be eligible for grants-in-aid from the Federal Government as are all of the States, and would be able to tax her own wealth in order to build a system of highways compatible with the Amer- ican idea of what such roads should be and with military necessity. The Air Force and the Army are at present interested in rehabilitating the antiquated roadbed and facilities of the Alaska Railroad. Millions of dollars have been appropriated for this task. But unless the civilian economy is in- tegrated to the newly developed poten- tial of the railroad, and this can only be done under statehood, there will be in- sufficient cargo to make the line worth operating and it will lapse into obsoles- cence whenever the military forces are reduced for a few years. This is not a way to long-term economy, nor is it calculated to keep our defense potential at a security level. HOUSING It is of vital importance that our de- fense installations be bolstered by a large reservoir of trained civilian workers for maintenance, services, and all of the many jobs which are normally given to civilians. It is imperative that the mili- tary installations be based upon a sub- stantial civilian population and a good solid economy. ‘These things are im- CONGRESSIONAL RECORD—HOUSE possible as long as the housing situation remains as critical in Alaska as it 1s today. Not only do civilians pay more for totally inadequate housing, if they can find it, than their incomes warrant, but members of the armed forces and their families are in a state of extremely poor morale because they face the same housing shortage. For several years now various observers have been telling us about the shacks in which our mili- tary personnel live in Alaska and at the Great Falls (Mont.) Air Base—the door from the States to the Territory. Re- cently these observers were backed up by no less a group than the touring joint chiefs of staff who called the hous- ing situation atrocious and sent Secre- tary of Defense Johnson a telegram which he termed the strongest message he had ever received. This very winter there are wives and children of enlisted men and officers living, at temperatures which sometimes drop to 60° below zero, in wooden shacks without any plumbing facilities; and for this they pay rents in excess of $100. It is diffi- cult to recruit men into an army which has to put up with such conditions in peacetime, it {s even more difficult to get men to reenlist after they have served in Alaska and have tried to Keep their family together. And these sol- diers and these civilians are dependent upon the Congress for any relief. I submit that 1f Alaska had the proper representation in Congress which she would have under statehood, and if the Legislature of Alaska could tax and plan with a view to relieving the housing sit- uation in Alaska, which she could do If she were a State, these deplorable condi- tions could be relieved, and more of the s0 necessary population could be attracted and more reenlistments of the personnel already trained for defense in Alaska would be had. SUPPLIES AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF RESOURCES We have already discussed the supply problem as it relates to transportation, but there is another aspect which de- serves mention here. There are many things which Alaska could rupply her- self were she sufficiently developed. Al- most all kinds of hearty vegetables and berries and some grains can be raised in Alaska. Potatoes are a standard crop and grow in abundance. Dairies have been most successful as a principal farm activity. But agriculture is hindered be- cause of transportation and because Alaska, as a Territory, cannot make the vast public-land holdings available to settlers. The fishing and hunting in- dustries are already well known. Gold mining, too, is an activity long ascribed to Alaska. Other mineral resources, such as mercury, antimony, tin, coal, copper, iron, lead, platinum, and oil, are known to exist, but await the coming of capital, labor, and transportation which statehood will afford. ‘Timber, which exists on a vast scale, can neither be exported in quantity nor used effectively on the spot to ease the housing shortage until more transportation becomes avail- able. Timber suitable for a pulp-and- paper industry is sufficient to make Alaska the newsprint capital of the world and supply work for 85,000 people. The FEBRUARY 238 vast potential of hydroelectric power Is almost watouched. Alaska can supply our defense forces with much of their needed food supplies and even matériel if her resources are developed in the way that only a larger population can develop them. It is obvious that improved trans- portation facilities and better housing conditions—both of which wait upon the conditions of statehood—would open the way for increased settlement. This pop- ulation would itself be less dependent than the present smaller one on im- ported supplies because the resources of Alaska are still in an undeveloped con- dition awaiting manpower and invest- ment—just as was the case with many of our present Western States at the time of their admission to the Union. All these things together will form the basis for the practical development of Alaska as an important defense area—a portal of the Nation. With an economy 50 geared to defense and with the shipping Janes carrying more supplies and maté- rie] and land transportation opened up, the potential of Alaska would grow even greater, STATEHOOD All of these benefits of development and growth will come with statehood. It must be further remembered that when Alaska becomes a State, Federal projects and Federal aid now being furn- ished will not be cut off. On the con- trary, in those areas tn which the grant- ing of Federal aid will benefit national security and the economy of the whole Nation, Alaska’s Senators and Represent- atives will be in a position to point out the need, to exercise their voting privi- leges and otherwise exert the pressures normally exerted by Members of Con- gress. Ir addition to this, however, there will be the funds which the State of Alaska gan achieve by the additional, al- beit normal, taxation powers now denied here as 9, Territory. Further, it is pos- sible that by careful husbanding an ef- ficient State organizations will be able to divert existing funds into channels where they might do even more good in the development of Alaska. And we must emphasize the point that whatever helps Alaska, will, in the long run, help the security of the whole United States. Economic development and defense are inseparable. At present as a Territory Alaska is op- erating under an antiquated Organic Act which was passed in 1912, and has not been substantially revised since. Under this act the territorial legislature may not authorize bonded indebtedness or create any debt. It may not alter, amend, repeal, or modify the fish and game laws passed by Congress. The amount of general property taxes which may be levied is fixed by Congress. And Alaska has no voting representation in the House and no representation at all in the Senate. The effect of this situa- tion is to create absentee exploitation from such places as Seattle; corporations located there can exploit the resources of Alaska, not even using Alaskan labur, and very nearly tax free. No wonder Alaska fails to develop her own resources and cannot attract the population s0 necessary to our defense plans. No won-
1950 der Alaska is unable to supply adequate housing for those civil and military de- fense personnel so sorely needed. No wonder Alaska cannot cope with her problem of public health; and tubercu- losis, closely related to the housing prob- lem, is much more prevalent there than in the States. STATEHOOD A NONPARTISAN GOAL The question of statehood for Alaska is not a party issue. The people of Alaska have voted in referendum for statehood. Both political parties in the Territory have as planks in their plat- forms the advocacy of statehood. The governors of the Western States were unanimous in resolving that Alaska should be admitted to the Union as a State. The issue is what I have just pointed out. Do we or do we not want Alaska to develop as a sister State to the point that our own security becomes better assured? I think the statement by the late Gen. H. H. (Hap) Arnold might well be our own answer to this question. General Arnold said: Upon Alaska our future may well rest, What, then, would be better; what would insure a greater provision for our future than to recognize that most important area and make it a State, equal to our other 48 States? LEAVE OF ABSENCE By unanimous consent leave of ab- sence was granted to Mr. GoupEN, for an indefinite period, on account of death in his family. SENATE BILL REFERRED A concurrent resolution of the Scnate of the following title was taken from the Speaker’s table and, under the rule, re- ferred as follows: S Con Res.71. Concurrent Resolution to print for the use of the Committce on Labor and Public Welfare additional copies of the hearings on the National Health Program, 1949, the Committee on House Administra- tion. ADJOURNMENT Mr. BURKE. Mr. Speaker, I move that the House do now adjourn. The motion was agreed to; accordingly (at 2 o’clock and 30 minutes p. m.), un- der its previous order, the House ad- journed until Monday, February 27, 1950, at 12 o’clock noon. EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATIONS, ETC. Under clause 2 of rule XXIV, executive communications were taken from the Speaker’s table and referred as follows: 1256. A letter from the Under Secretary of the Navy, relative to the transfer of a plane personnel boat, or craft of similar type, by the Department of the Navy to Lake County, Calif., a subdivision of the State of Cali- fornia, for use in rescue operations and in other functions of the county; to the Com- mittee on Armed Services. 1257. A letter from the Administrator, Federal Security Agency, transmitting the annual report of the Public Health Service, Federal Security Agency, for the fiscal year 1949, to the Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce. 1268. A letter from the Secretary of De- fense, transmitting a draft of proposed legis- lation entitled ‘‘A bill to protect the national security of the United States by permitting the summary suspension of employment of civilian officers and employees of various de- CONGRESSIONAL RECORD—HOUSE partments and agencies of the Government, and for other purposes”; to the Committee on Post Office and Civil Service. 1259. A letter from the Postmaster Gen- eral, transmitting a draft of proposed leyisla- tion entitled “A bill relating to the forward- ing and return of second-, third-, and fourth-class mail, the collection of postage due at the time of delivery, and for other purposes”; to the Committee on Post Office and Civil Service. 1260. A letter from the Attorney General, transmitting a letter relative to the case of Heather Mary Bccko or Heather Mary Gill, A-6555471 CR 23403, and requesting that it be withdrawn from those before the Con- gress and returned to the jurisdiction of the Department of Justice; to the Committee on the Judiciary. 1261. A letter from the Attorney General, transmitting a letter relative to the case of Fanny Sara Moritz or Fannie Sarah Moritz, A-3465033 CR 26740, and requesting that it be withdrawn from those before the Congress and returned to the jurisdiction of the Department of Justice; to the Committee on the Judiciary. REPORTS OF COMMITTEES ON PUBLIC BILLS AND RESOLUTIONS Under clause 2 of rule XIII, reports of committees were delivered to the Clerk for printing and reference to the proper calendar, as follows: Mr SPENCE: Committee on Banking and Currency. H R 7402. A bill to assist cooper- ative and other nonprofit corporations in the production of housing for moderate-income families, to amend the National Housing Act, as amended, and for other purposes, without amendment (Rept No 1686). Referred to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union. PUBLIC BILLS AND RESOLUTIONS Under clause 3 of rule XXII, public bills and resolutions were introduced and severally referred as follows: By Mr CASE of South Dakota: H.R. 7417. A bill to declare an emergency and to create the National Coal Emergency Act of 1950; to the Committee on Education and Labor. Mr. BOGGS of Delaware. H.R. 7418. A bill to increase the amount of the deduction allowed for tncome-tax purposes with respect to medical and dental expenses; to the Committee on Ways and Means. By Mr, MURRAY of Tennessee: H.R. 7419. A bill to amend the act entitled “An act to authorize the Postmaster General to impoge demurrage charges on undelivered collect-on-delivery parcels,” approved May 23, 1930, as amended (39 U. S. C. 246c); to the Committee on Post Office and Civil Service. H.R. 7420. A bill relating to the renewal of contracts for the carrying of mail on star routes; to the Committee on Post Office and Civil Service. By Mr. SHAFER: H.R. 7421, A bill authorizing the Secre- tary of the Army to convey certain land in Michigan to the State of Michigan for use in National Guard training; to the Com- mittee on Armed Services. By Mr. WHEELER: H.R. 7422, A bill to assure that expendi- tures under the Servicemen’s Readjustment Act, as amended, for education and training yleld a proper return both to the veteran and to the Nation as a whole, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, By Mr. HOBBS: H.R. 7423, A bill to provide for trials of and Judgments upon the issue of good be- 2321 havior in the case of certain judges, as an alternative to impeachment: to the Commit- tee on the Judiciary. By Mr. REGAN: H.R. 7424, A bill to provide for the estab- lishment of a veterans’ hospital in west Texas; to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs. By Mr. WIER: H.R. 7425. A bill to amend Public Law No, 846, Seventy-fourth Congress (8. 3055), an act to provide conditions for the purchase of supplies and the making of contracts by the United States, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Education and Labor, H.R. 7426. A bill to amend the act ap- proved March 8, 1981, relating to the rate of wages for laborers and mechanics em- ployed by contractors and subcontractors on public buildings, to extend coverage to archi- tects, technical engineers, draftsmen, and technicians; to the Committee on Education and Labor. By Mr. LOVRE: H. J. Res. 422. Joint resolution designating the perlod beginning May 1 and ending May 7 of each year as National Correct Posture Week; to the Committee on the Judiciary. By Mr. CANNON: H. J. Res. 423, Joint resolution authorizing the Federal Trade Commission to make a study and investigation of the production, transportation, refining, and distribution of petroleum products; to the Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce. PRIVATE BILLS AND RESOLUTIONS Under clause 1 of rule XXII, private bills and resolutions were introduced and severally referred as follows: By Mr DOYLE. H R 7427. A bill for the relief of Mrs June Noda Loman: to the Committee on the Judi- ciary By Mr LOVRE: H R. 7428 A bill to admit Mrs Erna Tvedt to the Untted States for permanent resi- dence; to the Committee on the Judictary. PETITIONS, ETC. Under clause 1 of rule XXII, petitions and papers were laid on the Clerk’s desk and referred as follows: 1903. By Mr. HAGEN: Resolutions adopted by the American College of Allergists in opposition to any form of compulsory health insurance or any system of political medi- cine designed for national bureaucratic con- trol; to the Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce. 1904. Also, resolutions adopted by the Fairfax-Andover Social Club, of Crookston, Minn, in opposition to Government control of health services; to the Committee on In- terstate and Foreign Commerce 1905. By Mr SHAFER: Letter and reso- lution of the National Federation of Post Office Clerks, protesting Post Office Depart- ment regulations governing duties of mall handlers, to the Committee on Post Office and Civil Service. 1906. By the SPEAKER: Petition of J. C. Michael and others, Orlando, Fla., requesting passage of House bills 2135 and 2136, known as the Townsend plan; to the Committee on Ways and Means. 1907. Also, petition of Maurice H. Thatcher, Society of Mayflower Descendants, Washing- ton, D. C., opposing any form of world gov- ernment such as proposed by resolutions pending before the Congress; to the Com- mittee on Foreign Affairs. 1908. Also, petition of W. Dudley Gunn, Gulf States Marine Fishertes Commission, New Orleans, La., favoring the passage of Senate bill 1545, by Senator McCarran; to the Committee on the Judiciary.
2322 SENATE Fripay, Fepruary 24, 1950 (Legislative day of Wednesday, February 22, 1950) The Senate met at 12 o'clock merid- fan, on the expiration of the recess. The Chaplain, Rev. Frederick Brown Harris, D. D., offered the following prayer: Our Father God, as we bow at this high altar of the national life, preserve us from praying with our lips only, and not with our hearts and minds. We come in an anxious hour of human des- tiny, solemnized by the tangled tragedy in which all human life is caught. Help us in these trying days to rise above all that is base and small and to work to- gether in glad and eager harmony for the honor, the safety, and welfare of our Nation and of all the peoples of this stricken earth who unite with us in mu- tual good will, determined to open the gates of a new Hfe to all mankind. We ask it in the dear Redeemer’s name. Amen. THE JOURNAL On request of Mr. Lucas, and by unan- imous consent, the reading of the Jour- nal of the proceedings of Thursday, February 23, 1950, was dispensed with. MESSAGES FROM THE PRESIDENT Messages in writing from the Presi- dent of the United States submitting nominations were communicated to the Senate by Mr. Miller, one of his secre- taries, CALL OF THE ROLL Mr. LUCAS. I suggest the absence of a quorum. The VICE PRESIDENT. The Secre- tary will call the roll. The roll was called, and the following Senators answered to their names: Aiken Hin Martin Benton Hoey Maybank Brewster Holland Miulikin Bricker Humphrey Morse Butler Hunt Mundt Cain Ives Murray Capehart Jenner Myers Chapman Johnson, Colo. Neely Chavez Johnson, Tex. O'’Conor Connally Johnston, 8. C. Robertson Cordon Kefauver Russell Darby Kem Saltonstall Donnell Kerr Schoeppel Downey Kilgore Smith, Maine Dworshok Knowland Smith, N. J. Bastiand Langer Sparkman Ecton Leahy Stennis Ellender Lehman Taft Ferguson Lodge Taylor Flanders Long Thomas, Okla. Prear Lucas Thomas, Utah Pulbright McCarran Thye George McCarthy Tobey Gillette McClellan Tydings Green McFarland Watkins Gurney McKellar Wherry Hayden McMahon Wiley Hendrickson Magnuson Williams Hickenlouper Malone Withers Mr. MYERS. I announce that the Senator from New Mexico (Mr. Anprr- son}, the Senator from Illinois (Mr. Dovetas], the Senator from North Caro- Mina [Mr. Granam}, the Senator from Wyoming [Mr. O’ManHonsy], and the CONGRESSIONAL RECORD—SENATE Senator from Florida [Mr. Pepprr] are absent on public business. The Senator from Virginia [Mr. Byrp] is absent because of iliness in his family. Mr. SALTONSTALL. Iannounce that the Senator from New Hampshire [Mr. BripGES] and the Senator from North Dakota [Mr. Younc] are absent by leave of the Senate. The Senator from Michigan VANDENBERG] is necessarily absent. The VICE PRESIDENT. A quorum ts present. LEAVES OF ABSENCE Mr. THYE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that I and several other Senators may be absent from the sessions of the Senate next week. I make the request so that I and other members of a subcommittee of the Sen- ate Committee on Agriculture and For- estry may be permitted to visit Mexico in connection with the foot-and-mouth- disease-eradication program being con- ducted in Mexico by the United States Government. Those who, as at present I understand, intend to make the trip, are the Senator from Florida [Mr. Hot- LanD], the Senator from Iowa [Mr. Gu- LETTE], the Senator from Missouri [Mr. Kem], the Senator from Iowa [Mr Hick- ENLOOPER], and I. We are members of the Senate Committee on Agriculture and Forestry. The VICE PRESIDENT. Without ob- jection, it is so ordered. Mr. GILLETTE. Mr. President, for the purpose of participating in the work of the subcommittee alluded to by the distinguished senior Senator from Min- nesota, I ask unanimous consent to be excused from attending all meetings of the Senate during the coming week. The VICE PRESIDENT. Without ob- jection, the request is granted. Mr. HOLLAND. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to be absent from the sessions of the Senate next week. I am a member of the subcommittee of the Committee on Agriculture and Forestry, headed by the senior Senator from Min- nesota [Mr. THye], which will make a trip to Mexico, as announced by the Sen- ator from Minnesota. The VICE PRESIDENT. Without ob- jection, the request is granted. COMMITTEE MEETING DURING SENATE SESSION On request of Mr. Lucas, and by unanimous consent, the Committee on Foreign Relations was authorized to meet his afternoon during the session of the nate. (Mr. NOTICE OF HEARING Mr, MAGNUSON. Mr. President, I wish to give notice of hearing on the nomination of a very distinguished Mem- ber of the House of Representatives, Ev- GENE WORLEY, of Texas, to be an associate judge of the United States Court of Customs and Patent Appeals. On behalf of the Committee on the Ju- dictary, and in accordance with the rules of the committee, I desire to give notice that a publio hearing has been scheduled for Friday, March 3, 1980, at 10 a. m., in room 424, Senate Office Building, upon the nomination of Ever: FEBRUARY 24 Worry, of Texas, to be an associate judge of the United States Court of Cus- toms end Patent Appeals, vice Hon. Charles 8S. Hatfield, deceased. At the in- dicated time and place all persons inter- ested in the nomination may make such representations as may be pertinent. The subcommittee consists of the Sena- tor from Washington (Mr. Maenuson], chairman, the Senator from Mississippi {Mr. EastLanp]}, and the Senator from Wisconsin [Mr, WILEY}. TRANSACTION OF ROUTINE BUSINESS Mr. LUCAS. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that Senators may be permitted to submit petitions and memorials, introduce bills and joint res- olutions, and present routine matters for the Rescorp, without debate. The VICE PRESIDENT. Without ob- jection, it is so ordered. DISPOSITION OF EXECUTIVE PAPERS The VICE PRESIDENT laid before the Senate a letter from the Acting Archi- vist of the United States, transmitting, pursuant to law, a list of papers and doc- uments on the files of several depart- ments and agencies of the Government which are not needed in the conduct of business and have no permanent value or historica)] interest, and requesting ac- tion looking to their disposition, which, with the accompanying papers, was re- ferred to a Joint Select Committee on the Disposition of Papers in the Execu- tive Departments. The VICE PRESIDENT appointed Mr. Jounston of South Carolina and Mr. LANGER members of the committee on the part of the Senate. PETITION The VICE PRESIDENT laid before the Senate a letter in the nature of a peti- tion from the Pennsylvania lodge, Fra- ternal Order of Police, of Harrisburg, Pa., signed by John D. Coleman, record- ing secretary, relating to the internal security of the United States, which was referred to the Committee on the Judi- ciary. PROTEST AGAINST COLUMBIA VALLEY ADMINISTRATION LEGISLATION Mr. WILEY. Mr. President, I have in my hand a letter from the conservation chairman of the Wisconsin Garden Club Federation opposing the Columbia Val- ley Administration bill, S. 1645. The chairman, Mrs. Alfred Kieckhefer, has presented four important reasons for op- position to the CVA bill, which ts now pending before the Senate Public Works Committee. I have heard from many other con- servation organizations in Wisconsin which are also deeply concerned about this bill. I, for one, certainly share their apprehension over granting more Federal authority to a three-man board or a five-man board or any other sma] group of individuals who would be vested with practically life and death authority over an entire regton of our Nation. I ask unanimous consent that the text of the letter from the Wisconsin Garden Club Federation be appropriately re- ferred and printed at this point in the body of the Rxcorp.
1950 There being no objection, the letter was referred to the Committee on Pub- lic Works, and ordered to be printed in the Recorp, as follows: WISCONSIN GARDEN CLUB FEDERATION, Milwaukee, Wis., February 20, 1950. Hon. ALEXANDER WILEY, Senate Office Butlding, Washington, D.C. Dear SENATOR WILEY: As the conservation chairman of the Wisconsin Garden Clubs, I am writing you about bill 8. 1645 which is to come up shortly before Congress. We have a total of over 100 clubs with a membership of well over 3,000. Our primary interest in the bill is the threat to all the conservation projects already undertaken in that region as well as those about to be begun. We also are troubled by the way the authority is handled. We object to this bill on the fol- lowing grounds: 1. The sacrifice of natural resources to water power. 2. Confiscation of more Indian lands. 8. Destruction of natural waterways. 4 The entire set-up, giving a three-man board such absolute authority, undermining all State and local control. It will be to the best interests of all of us, if you and your colleagues will vigorously oppose this bill. Yours very truly, ALLISON MORE KIFCKHEFER. Mrs. Alfred Kieckheter. REPORTS OF COMMITTEES The foilowing reports of committees were submitted: By Mr. HUNT, from the Committee on the District of Columbia, H R. 4393 A bill to amend the Life In- surance Act of the District of Columbia; without amendment (Rept. No. 1283); and H.R 4594. A bill to amend sections 10, 11, and 12 of chapter V of the act of June 19, 1934, as amended, entitled ‘‘An act to regu- late the business of life insurance in the District of Columbia”; without amendment (Rept. No 1284). By Mr. MAGNUSON, from the Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce S 2113. A bill to amend the Interstate Commerce Act, as amended, to Clarify the status of freight forwarders and their rela- tionship with motor common carricrs; with amendments (Rept. No. 1285). AMENDMENT OF NATIONAL HOUSING ACT—ADDITIONAL AMENDMENT RE- PORTED Mr. MAYBANK, from the Committee on Banking and Currency, reported an additional amendment in the nature of a substitute to the bill (S. 2246) to amend the National Housing Act, as amended, and for other purposes, and submitted a report (No. 1286) thereon. EXECUTIVE MESSAGES REFERRED As in executive session, The VICE PRESIDENT laid before the Senate messages from the President of the United States submitting sundry nominations, which were referred to the appropriate committees. (For nominations this day received, see the end of Senate proceedings. ) EXECUTIVE REPORT OF A COMMITTEE As in executive session, The following favorable report of a nomination was submitted: By Mr. McCARRAN, from the Committee on the Judiciary: Stanford C, Stiles, of Texas, to be United States marshal for the eastern district of Texas. CONGRESSIONAL RECORD—SENATE BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS INTRODUCED Bills and joint resolutions were intro- duced, read the first time, and, by unani-« mous consent, the second time, and re- ferred as follows: By Mr. KNOWLAND: § 3107. A bill for the relief of Boleslaw H. Drobinski, his wife, Marjorie, and his daughter, Janina; to the Committee on the Judiciary. By Mr. McCARRAN: S 3108. A bill to provide for payment of an annuity to widows of judges; to the Com- mittee on the Judiciary. (Mr. THYE for himself, Mr. Doua.as, Mr. Fercuson, Mr. HumpHrey, Mr, LanoeEr, Mr. WILEY, and Mr. Youne introduced Senate bill 3109, to aid the development and mainte- nance of American-flag shipping on the Great Lakes, and for other purposes, which was referred to the Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce, and appears under a separate heading ) By Mr. THOMAS of Oklahoma: 8.3110. A bill relating to the conveyance of certain property in Shawnee, Okla, by quitclaim deed, to Alfred F. Hunter; to the Committee on Banking and Currency § 3111 A bill to provide for the leasing of the lands and real estate of members of the Osage Tribe of Indians in Oklahoma who do not have certificates of competency, and for other purposes; and S 3112 A bill to provide for the convey- ance to William Sandmann of certain real property in Coal County, Okla.; to the Com- mittee on Interior and Insular Affairs. S 3113 (by request). A bill to amend the International Wheat Agreement Act of 1049, to the Committee on Agriculture and Forestry. By Mr. HUMPHREY: 8.3114. A bill for the relief of Zakia Antaky Ackad, and 8.3115. A bill for the relief of Nellie A. Ridings, to the Committee on the Judiciary. (Mr HUMPHREY also introduced Senate bill 3116, providing for the repeal of section 601, title VI, of the Revenue Act of 1941, per- taining to the Committee To Investigate Fed- cral Expenditwes, and for other purposes, which was referred to the Committee on Ex- penditures in the Executive Departments, and appears under a separate hending.) By Mr. JOHNSTON of South Carolina (by request) : § 3117. A bill to amend the act entitled “An act to authorize the Postmaster General to impose demurrage charges on undelivered collect-on-delivery parcels,’ approved May 23, 1930, as amended (39 U. S. C. 246c); and 8.3118. A bill relating to the forwarding and return of second-, third-, and fourth- class mail, the collection of postage due at the time of delivery, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Post Office and Civil Service. By Mr. MAGNUSON: 8 3119. A bill to amend Public Law No. 846, Seventy-fourth Congress (S 3055), an act to provide conditions for the purchase of supplies and the making of contracts by the United States, and for other purposes; and S 3120. A bill to amend the act approved March 8, 1931, relating to the rate of wages for laborers and mechanics employed by con- tractors and subcontractors on public build- ings, to extend coverage to architects, tech- nical engineers, draftsmen, and technicians; to the Committee on Labor and Public Wel- fare. (Mr. KEM introduced Senate bill 3121, for the relief of Mario Juan Blas Besso-Pianetto, which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and appears under a separate heading.) By Mr. HAYDEN: 8.3122. A bill to authorize the Secretary of the Navy to convey to the Goodyear Aircraft Corp., Akron, Ohio, an easement for sewer 2323 purposes tn, over, and across certain Govern- ment-owned lands situated in Maricopa County, Ariz.; to the Committee on Armed Bervices. By Mr. JOHNSON of Colorado (by re- quest) : 8.3123. A bill to amend section 5 of the act of February 26, 1944, entitled “An act to give effect to the Provisional Fur Seal Agree- ment of 1942 between the United States of America and Canada; to protect the fur seals of the Pribilof Islands; and for other pur- poses; to the Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce. By Mr. WATKINS: 8.3124. A bill to amend section 35 of the Mineral Leasing Act of 1920, as amended, with respect to distribution of proceeds of mineral leases on unsurveyed public lands; to the Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs. (Mr. WHERRY introduced Senate Joint Resolution 154, to amend the National Hous- ing Act, as amended, with respect to mort- Gage insurance under section 608 of such act, which was referred to the Committee on Banking and Currency, and appears under a separate heading ) By Mr. LUCAS: 8. J. Res. 155. Joint resolution establishing & commission to select a site and design for @® memorial commemorating the contribu- tions of Americans of all faiths and ethnic origins to victory in World War II; to the Committee on Rules and Administration. DEVELOPMENT OF SHIPPING ON THE GREAT LAKES Mr. THYE. Mr. President, on behalf of the Senator from Illinois (Mr. Douc- tas), the Senator from Michigan (Mr. Frrcuson), the Senator from Minnesota (Mr. Humpnurey), the senior Senator from North Dakota (Mr. LANGER), the Senator from Wisconsin (Mr. WILEY), the junior Senator from North Dakota (Mr. Youna), I introduce for appro- priate reference a bill to aid the de- velopment and maintenance of American-flag shipping on the Great Lakes, which is intended to help meet the need for reviving the package freight facilities on the Great Lakes. Develop- ment of these facilities, which have been curtailed as a result of the diversion of Great Lakes ships during the war is meeting the immediate national require- ments of our war effort, is of the greatest importance to the commercial develop- ment and economic well-being of the entire Great Lakes region. For that reason, I wish to add that I shall welcome the support of other Senators from those States who may wish to join as cospon- sors of this legislation. I introduced a similar bill a year ago, and it is before the Committee on Inter- state and Foreign Commerce at the present time. I feel that the bill I now introduce is an improvement over the bill introduced a year ago. The bill (S. 3109) to aid the develop- ment and maintenance of American-flag shipping on the Great Lakes, and for other purposes, introduced by Mr. THYE and other senators, was received, read twice by its title, and referred to the Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce. MARIO JUAN BLAS BESSO-PIANETTO Mr. KEM. Mr. President, I introduce for appropriate reference a bill, and I ask unanimous consent that I may make a short explanation of it.
2324 The VICE PRESIDENT. Is there ob- jection to the request of the Senator from Missouri? The Chair hears none, and the Senator may proceed. Mr. KEM. Mr. President, because the courts have ruled they are without juris- diction to review the matter, I am intro- ducing a bill to stay deportation pro- cecdings against Dr. Mario Juan Blas Besso-Pianetto, an outstanding surgeon of St. Louis, Mo. According to his associates, Dr. Pia- netto, a native of Argentina, is a skilled thoracic surgeon, and his deportation will be a Joss to the medical profession in the St. Louis area. They say Dr. Pianetto’s absence will be felt particu- larly by many who are suffering from tuberculosis. At the present time, Dr. Pianetto is resident physician at Koch Hospital, the St. Louis tuberculosis sani- tarium; he is surgeon instructor at St. Louis University and consulting surgeon at the State psychiatric hospital, in St. Louis. His friends and patients believe that Dr. Planetto’s present difficulties, which will end in his deportation unless the Congress intervenes, are due to a mistake made by a draft-board clerk during the war. It is contended that a draft-board clerk at a time when she was under pres- sure in her work, gave him the wrong form to fill out; and that Dr. Pianetto at that time. not understanding English too well, filled out the form handed to him without question. The form which he was given to fill out, and which he did fill out, did not correctly describe his status at that time. It is contended by the immigration su- thorities that the error was grievous enouch that the Government had no al- ternative save to deport him in the ab- sence of congressional action. Attached to the form which he signed there ap- peared a statement to the effect that in signing it, he would forever be debarred from becoming a citizen of the United States. The immigration authorities state that as an alien disqualified to be- come a citizen he is ineligible to remain in this country. The form which he was given was Form 301, which was for registration of resi- dent aliens. He should have been given, and should have filled out, Form 302, for registration of nonresident aliens, since he was an exchange student on temporary stay in this country. There seems to be no question about that, but the Immigration and Naturalization Service claims they have no alterna- tive except to proceed under the state- ment which he did sign. Their position in this respect seems to be sound. The form Dr. Pianetto should have signed, Form 302, does not contain the statement concerning ineligibility for citizenship. The United States district courts in St. Louis and in Washington, D. C., have ruled they have no jurisdiction to re- view the case. Therefore, Dr. Pianetto’s only recourse is to Congress, The case was brought to my attention recently when I was in St. Louis, by some of Dr, Pianetto’s patients and friends. Some of the leading physicians and sur- geons in St. Louis are interested in the CONGRESSIONAL RECORD—SENATE effort to save Dr. Pianetto from deporta- tion. They contend that his deportation will be a serfous loss to the medical pro- fession. Meantime, the St. Louis Star-Times, an outstanding newspaper in my State, has become interested in the case. I am in- formed by Harry Wohl, of its Washing- ton bureau, that they have succeeded in locating the draft-board clerk who is al- leged to have given Dr. Pianetto the wrong form to fill out. The clerk has admitted the probability of error. I want to make it clear that in Intro- ducing this bill, I am not importuning the Congress to permit an alien who should be deported to remain in this country. Neither am I asking that the consequences of executing Form 301 be waived if Dr. Pianetto executed that form knowing of its contents and the resulting effects. But if this man, a po- tential benefactor of the sick, is subject to deportation through the error of a representative of the Government, then I hope that Congress will right the wrong and permit him to remain in this coun- try. In 1946 Dr. Pianetto went to Canada, applied for a permanent visa, and re- entered the United States to apply for citizenship. Then came the warrant for arrest, based on the draft form which, it is convended, he mistakenly filled out. I am not one who advocates breaking down our immigration barriers, or who is opposed to the deportation of unde- sirable aliens. I have no desire to assist anyone who has consciously dodged the draft. I ask that an investigation be made by the Senate Committee on the Judiciary. If the facts are proven to be as alleged by Dr. Pianetto, I believe the Congress should pass a bill to permit this accomplished surgeon to remain in the United States. The bill (S. 3121) for the relief of Mario Juan Blas Besso-Pianetto, intro- duced by Mr. Kem, was received, read twice by its title, and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. AMENDMENT OF DISPLACED PERSONS ACT—AMENDMENTS Mr. HUNT submitted amendments in- tended to be proposed by him to the amendment in the nature of a substitute submitted by Mr. Kricore (for himself and other Senators) to the bill (H. R. 4567) to amend the Displaced Persons Act of 1948, which were ordered to lie on the table and to be printed. Mr. HUMPHREY § submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by him to House bill 4567, supra, which was ordered to He on the table and to be printed. Mr. HUMPHREY also_ submitted amendments intended to be proposed by him to the amendment of the com- mittee to House bill 4567, supra, which were ordered to lie on the table and to be printed. Mr. HUMPHREY also submitted amendments intended to be proposed by him to the amendment in the nature of a substitute submitted by Mr. Kiz- GorE (for himself and other Senators) to House bill 4567, supra, which were ordered to lie on the table and to be printed. FEBRUARY 24 COTTON AND PEANUT ACREAGE ALLOT- MENTS—AMENDMENT Mr, ELLENDER (for himself, Mr. Hot- LAND, Mr. Lucas, and Mr, Robertson) submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by them, jointly, to the joint resolution (H. J. Res. 398) relating to cotton and peanut acreage allotments and marketing quotas under the Agri- cultural Adjustment Act of 1938, as amended, which was ordered to lie on the table and to be printed. STORY OF ALEXANDER HAMILTON AS TOLD BY SENATOR VANDENBERG [Mr. MARTIN asked and obtained leave to have printed in the Recorp an article en- titled “Story of Alexander Hamilton as Told by Senator ARTHUR H. VANDENBERG,” pub- lished in the February issue of the maga- gine Sons of the American Revolution, which appears in the Appendix.] FANTASTIC LUSTRON CASE—EDITORIAL FROM THE PITTSBURGH (PA.) PRESS [Mr. MARTIN asked and obtained leave to have printed in the Rzecorp an editorial en-~- titled “Fantastic Lustron Case,” published in the Pittsburgh (Pa.) Press of recent date, which appears in the Appendix.] LINCOLN DAY ADDRESS BY SENATOR THYE {Mr. THYE asked and obtained leave to have printed in the Recorp a Lincoln Day address delivered by him at Sacramento, Calif.. on February 10, 1950, which appears in the Appendix.] STALIN'S STOOGES LEFT IMPRINT ON AMERICAN POLICY—EDITORIAL FROM THE SATURDAY EVENING POST [Mr. THYE asked and obtained leave to have printed in the Recorp an editorial en- titled “Stalin’s Stooges Left Imprint on American Policy,” published in the February 25, 1950, issue of the Saturday Evening Post, which appears in the Appendix.} LIBERTY IN CRISIS—ADDRESS BY SENATOR LEHMAN [Mr. LEHMAN asked and obtained leave to have printed in the Recorp an address en~ titled ‘Liberty in Crisis,” delivered by him at the thirtieth anniversary dinner of the American Civil Libertes Union in New York City on February 22, 1950, which appears in the Appendix. COSTS OF ELECTION IN THE UNITED STATES AND GREAT BRITAIN—ARTICLE BY GOULD LINCOLN [Mr. BREWSTER asked and obtained leave to have printed in the Recogp an article re- garding election costs in the United States and in England, by Gould Lincoln, from the Evening Star of February 23, 1950, which appears in the Appendix.] THE SOUL SEARCHERS FIND NO ANSWER— ARTICLE FROM LIFE MAGAZINE (Mr. KEFAUVER asked and obtained leave to have printed in the Rrcorp an article en- ‘titled ‘‘The Soul Searchers Find No Answer,” published in the current issue of Life maga- zine, which appears in the Appendix.]} THE INDIANA STATE BANNER—REMARKS BY MRS. ROYAL EASON INGERSOLL [Mr. CAPEHART asked and obtained leave to have printed in the Recorp a paper en- titled “The Indiana State Banner,” read by Mrs. Royal Eason Ingersoll, designated rep- resentative of Mrs. Roscoe C. O'Byrne, presi«- dent general, Daughters of the American Rev- olution, at the Indiana State Society of Wash- ington celebration of the sesquicentennial of Indiana Territory (1800-1950) on February 19, 1950, which appears in the Appendix.]
1950 ACHESON LOGIC—COMMENT BY REV. JAMES M. GILLIS (Mr. CAPEHART asked and obtained leave to have printed in the Recorp a column of comment entitled ‘Acheson Logic,” by Rev. James M. Gillis, CSP, published in the Witness, of Dubuque, Iowa, for February 16, 1950, which appears in the Appendix.] OLD ORDER PASSETH—LETTER TO THE EDITOR OF THE CINCINNATI IN- QUIRER [Mr CAPEHART asked and obtained leave to have printed in the Recorp a letter entitled “The Old Order Pusseth,” written by Ed Wim- mer to the editor, and published in the Cin- cinnati Inquirer of January 22, 1950, which appears in the Appendix.] BANKRUPTCY RESULTS IN _ DICTA- TORSHIP—ARTICLE BY HASSIL E. SCHENCK [Mr CAPEHART asked and obtained leave to have printed in the Rrcorp an article en- titled “Bankruptcy Results in Dictatorship,” written by Hassil E. Schenck, president, Indl- ana Farm Bureau, Inc., and published in the Hoosier Farmer, February 1950 edition, which appears in the Appendix.] BYRD JOINS GOP ATTACK ON TRUMAN— ARTICLE BY EDWARD T FOLLIARD {Mr. CAPEHART asked and obtained leave to have printed in the Recorp an article en- titled ‘‘Byrp Joins GOP Attack on Truman,” written by Edward T. Folliard, and published in the Washington Post of February 18, 1950, which appears in the Appendix | INTO STALIN'S VESTIBULE—ARTICLE BY “HEPTISAX” [Mr. CAPEHART asked and obtained leave to have printed in the Recorp an article en- titled “Into Stalin’s Vestibule” written by “Heptisax” and published in the New York Herald Tribune of January 9, 1950, which appears in the Appendix ] THE SAME OLD ANSWER—EDITORIAL FROM THE PALLADIUM-ITEM, OF RICH- MOND, IND. [Mr. CAPEHART asked and obtained leave to have printed in the Recorp an editorial entitled “The Same Old Answer,” published in the Palladium-Item, of Richmond, Ind, February 22, 1950, which appears in the Appendix | I SPEAK FOR DEMOCRACY-—CONTEST PAPER BY ROBERT SHANKS {Mr. CAPEHART asked and obtained leave to have printed in the Rreconrp the original script of a contest paper entitled “I Speak for Democracy,” by Robert Shanks, of Lebanon, Ind, written in October 1949, which appears in the Appendix } APPRAISAL OF MILITARY DEFENSES OF THE UNITED STATES—EDITORIAL FROM LIFE MAGAZINE |Mr. KEFAUVER asked and obtained leave to have printed in the Recorp an editorial entitled ‘The Elemental Facts of 1950,” pub- lished in the current issue of Life magazine, which appears in the Appendix. } COMMUNISTS IN GOVERNMENT EMPLOY- MENT—ARTICLE BY JERRY KLUTTZ (Mr JOHNSTON of South Carolina asked and obtained leave to have printed in the Recorp an article relating to Communists in Government employment, by Jerry Kluttz, from the Washington Post of February 19, which appears in the Appendix. ] THE DEFENSE BUDGET—ARTICLE BY DAVID LAWRENCE [Mr. RUSSELL asked and obtained leave to have printed in the Recorp an article re- lating to the defense budgct, by David Law- CONGRESSIONAL RECORD—SENATE rence, from the New York Herald Tribune of February 24, 1950, which appears in the Appendix. ] MISSOURI RIVER BASIN DEVELOPMENT— STATEMENT BY GOV. VAL PETERSON [Mr. BUTLER asked and obtained leave to have printed in the Rrcorp a statement relat- ing to the Missouri! River Basin development, made by Gov. Val Peterson, of Nebraska, be- fore the War Department Civil Functions Subcommittee of the Senate Committee on Appropriations, on February 23, 1950, which appears in the Appendix | I SPEAK FOR DEMOCRACY--ESSAY CON- TEST—ESSAYS BY MARIE JESAKOW, W C. BEATLY, AND LAWRENCE J MEL- LON, JR {Mr. MYERS asked and obtained leave to have printed in the Rrcorp the three winning essays in the I Speak for Democracy essay contest among the high-school students of Philadelphia, which appear in the Appendix ] INCREASE IN NUMBER OF EXAMINERS IN CHIEF IN PATENT OFFICE The VICE PRESIDENT laid before the Senate the amendments of the House of Representatives to the bill (S 2328) to increase the number of examiners in chief in the Patent Office, and for other purposes, which were to strike out all after the enacting clause and insert: That section 482 of the Revised Statutes (36 U 8 C 7) is amended by adding the fol- lowing paragraph: “The Commissioner, when in his discretion considered necessary to maintain the work of the board of appeals current, may desig- nate any examiner of the primary examiner grade or higher, having the requisite ability, to serve as examiner in chief for periods not exceeding 6 months each, and any examiner so designated shall be qualified to act as a member of the board of appeals. Not more than one primary examiner shall be among the members of the board of appeals hearing an appeal.” And to amend the title so as to read: “An act to amend section 482 of the Re- vised Statutes relating to the Board of Appeals in the United States Patent Office.” Mr. WILEY. I move that the Senate concur in the amendments of the House. The motion was agreed to. PROPOSED HOUSING LEGISLATION Mr. MAYBANK. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent to read a letter from the Housing and Home Finance Agency, and to comment briefly upon it. The VICE PRESIDENT. Is there ob- jection? The Chair hears none, and the Senator may proceed. Mr. MAYBANK. Mr. President, I wish to say that last evening the Committee on Banking and Currency voted to report a housing bill by a vote of 9 to 4. Certain members of the committee reserved the right to file minority views, and others reserved the right to file individual statements or amendments. The amendment, which js a substitute for a bill now on the calendar, will be filed later today, but the report on it will not be filed until the members of the committee have had an opportunity to file whatever minority views they desire to present. The Senator from Ohio [Mr. Bricker] will file the minority views, and some of the other members of the committee may also file individual statements. In the meantime Congress 2325 is confronted with the fact that section 608 of the old law will expire March the first, together with other authoriza- tions for mortgage insurance. Last October 5, in the Senate, there was some dissatisfaction, I might say, on the part of some Members of the Senate, as well as by various organiza- tions, when we failed to act on per- manent legislation, but instead passed a joint resolution extending the housing program until March 1 of this year. The bill I shall file today is the bill we shall report Monday as a substitute for the bill then pending on the calendar. I stated at that time that when Con- gress met again this year we would im- mediately take up the housing legisla- tion, and that I hoped for once and all we would settle the many differences. The Committee on Banking and Currency realizes it is its duty to report a bill and to submit a majority report, as well as to allow the opportunity for the submis- sion of minority views. We realize that, after all, the committee is a creature of the Senate. Thus I shall file the amend- ment to the bill on behalf of the com- mittce today and the report on Monday. In the meantime there is great con- fusion among contractors, insurance companies, banks, and other lending in- stitutions throughout the United States, because section 608 will expire on the first of March, and it is doubtful whether we can within 2 days pass the bill which is to be reported. I share that doubt; I do not believe we can. In the past when section 608 has expired there were likewise periods of no existing au- thorizations and no insurance guaran- ties until Congress acted. Usually it has taken 2 or 3 weeks to get action on the matter of renewal but the sec- tion has always been renewed. Now businessmen, insurance com- panies, contractors, and all others in- terested in housing fear that because of the new bill, which does not extend section 608 but substitutes for it a re- vised section 207, they might have to file all over again. I wish now to read a letter which brings that matter before the Senate. Mr. LUCAS. Mr. President, will the Senator yield? Mr. MAYBANK. I yield. Mr. LUCAS. Mr. President, the Sen- ator from Illinois, the majority leader, has been conscious of the fact that there would be a deadline with respect to sec- tion 608. Mr. MAYBANK. The Senator is cor- rect. Mr. LUCAS. I talked with the distin- guished chairman of the Committee on Banking and Currency about that dead- line. It is my understanding that the Senator from South Carolina has con- ferred with the Housing Administrator with respect to what would happen in the event section 608 should expire with- out further action being taken, and I understand the Senator from South Carolina has a letter explaining that matter, which he desires to read to the Senate. Mr. MAYBANK. That is what I wish to do, so that banks, insurance com- panies, contractors, and others inter- ested may know exactly what the law
2326 will be after the Congress passes the bill to be reported. Mr. WHERRY. Mr. President, will there be an opportunity, under the order of business, to ask a question, if the let- ter is to be read? Mr. MAYBANK. I shall be very pleased to answer any question. Mr. WHERRY. I thank the Senator. Mr. MAYBANK. I merely desire to make it clear to the Senator from Ne- braska that last October 5, when this matter was before the Senate, and the expiration date was fixed at March 1, I stated that as chairman of the Bank- ing and Currency Committee we would act on a housing bill and we could de- cide once and for all what we would do about these housing problems. I shall now read the letter, so that there may be no misunderstanding as to the present situation. Mr. Foley, the Administrator of the Housing and Home Finance Agency, after I had a conference with him yes- terday and again this morning, ad- dressed a letter to me as to what the Housing and Home Finance Agency will do under the bill which will be reported to the Senate on Monday. He says in the letter: Dear Sewator Maysank As you know, the authority of the Federal Housing Adminis- tiation to insure mortgages on large-scale rental projects under the emergency 608 pro- gram expires on March 1. As has always been the case when the expiration date for any FHA-insuring authority is approaching, an unusually large number of applications are filed with the FHA offices in order to beat the deadline. Mr. President, that has occurred every time we approached an expiration date. This situation has again prevailed in con- nection with the approaching exptration of section 608 This has been the case, not- withstanding the fact that this agency has repeatedly indicated that no extension of sec~- tion 608 would be recommended. I think 1t would be a matter of interest to you to know that because of the large volume of applications being received by FHA field offices and the accompanying pressure to process section 608 cases before the March 1 expiration date, instructions were issued to all field offices under date of January 23 re- iterating the FHA policy of quality rather than quantity processing In addition, field offices were instructed to notify all mortga- Bees submitting section 608 applications that if the case was processed to the point where cost estimating was completed but no com- mitment was made prior to the expiration date, the fees would not be returned. Of course, if cases are not processed to the point where the fees are earned, the fees will be returned to the sponsor. Mr. President, this {is one of the ques- tions which is of much concern today to all the contractors, architects, and engi- neers throughout the country. The last paragraph of the letter is the most important of all: The FHA field offices were also instructed to notify sponsors that in any case where section 608 applications were processed but not committed prior to the March 1 expira- tion date, the sponsor would have the option of converting to a section 207 application and being credited with the examination fees paid. While no new application is necessary in order to convert to a section 207 applica- tion, insurance could not be issued unless all of the requirements of section 207 were met, CONGRESSIONAL RECORD—SENATE For the benefit of Senators who are not on the Committee on Banking and Cur- rency, the main difference, as I under- stand it, between section 608 and section 207 in the new bill which I filed today, ts that section 608 provided a guaranty on loans up to 90 percent of the cost of a project. Section 207 provides for guar- anty of 90 percent on the first $7,000 value of the project and 60 percent on any additional value up to $10,000. The maximum is $8,100, to be allowed on a project which has an average of four and one-half rooms. The maximum otherwise would be $7,200. Mr. President, when the committee amended section 207, it in effect extended section 608 but on a less liberal loan basis. There will still be a 90-percent loan on anything up to $7,000; but when the value of the project exceeds $7,000, there is not to be a 90-percent loan, unless the project provides what your committee considers adequate space for the average family, not one room and efficiency units as are provided in so many of the 608 projects being built throughout the United States. Mr. WHERRY Mr. President, will the Senator yield? The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Hunt in the chair). Does the Senator from South Carolina yield to the Senator from Nebraska? Mr. MAYBANK. I yield. Mr. WHERRY. Let me ask the dis- tinguished Senator from South Carolina, who has so ably presented the features of the new section, which I understood him to say would constitute section 207. Mr. MAYBANK. It is section 207 of the clean bill which the Banking and Currency Committee ordered to be re- ported in place of the bill now on the calendar. It has, in addition, title 1 and title 2; title 3, which is quite contro- versial: title 4, covering direct grants to veterans: and title 5, covering school and university housing loans. Section 608 has, in effect, been transferred to the new section 207. Mr. WHERRY. I understand that It is hoped by the distinguished Senator from South Carolina that the proposed section 207 will be written into law, when the measure covering it comes before the Senate. Mr. MAYBANK. That is correct. I hope it will be. Let me say it authorizes $1,750,000,000 for title 2, which includes section 207. Mr. WHERRY. Mr. President, will the Senator from South Carolina yield further? Mr. MAYBANK. I yield. Mr. WHERRY. First, in attempting to lay a foundation for a question I should like to ask, let me say that the conditions under section 207 are different from those under section 608, as I understand, in the respect that under section 608, if I cor- rectly recall, the insurance guaranty was 90 percent up to $9,000 per unit. Mr. MAYBANK. ‘The Senator is correct. Mr. WHERRY. I now understand that under section 207 the proposal is that the guaranty applies up to $7,000. FEBRUARY 24 Mr. MAYBANK. Yes; and 60 percent for the difference between $7,000 and $10,000. Mr. WHERRY. I am not sure that those conditions can be met or will be met or should be met by contractors who already have filed applications, and some of whose applications were placed on file as early as November 1949, according to some of the letters I have received. So I am asking the distinguished Sen- ator from South Carolina this question: In the case of contractors who have made a great outlay of funds or to anyone else who has done so, in making application under section 608, if the applications have alrcady been filed—I am not asking the Senator to extend beyond March 1 the deadline under which applications mizht be made under section 608 in the future—since there has been a bottle- neck, and the applications could not be processed, although through no fault of those who made the applications, does not the Senator think 1t would be only fair that there should be an amendment to section 207 or else a special resolution, or something of the sort, to provide re- lhef for those whose applications are on file and have been on file, and yet have not been processed, but through no fault of their own? Mr. MAYBANK. Mr. President, I al- ways regret exceedingly that I cannot give a direct “Yes” or “No” answer to a question. However, the situation is that yesterday the President released an ad- ditional $300,000,000 to take care of a large number of applications which had been filed; and also I must remind the Senator that the FHA notified in plenty of time all those who were interestcd that they could give no assurance that all the applications received could be processed. My information is that at the present rate applications, by March 1, will amount to between $1,000,090,000 and $1,500,000.000. Yesterday we revised the authorization in the bill downward; we reduced from $6,000,000,000 to $3,600,000,000 the au- thorizations and insurance, because of the testimony of representatives of the Federal Reserve Board that otherwise the bill would be inflationary. We did all we thought necessary to remove any inflationary features that may have ex- istcd in the bill, The Senator has asked me a direct question. I can see his point, of course; but I would not say that it would be right to act or to grant all the applications, they would run, perhaps, into the hun- dreds of thousands in number. Iam ad- vised that the applicants have been noti- fied that they were taking a risk in fil- ing them. The President has used all the money authorized by Congress last year for this purpose. Mr. WHERRY. Mr. President, will the Senator further yield? Mr, MAYBANK. I yield. Mr. WHERRY. I am perfectly will- ing to leave the date of notification the way it is, and I am not asking that any of the applications be granted. Certain- ly they should stand the test, just as all other applications should. Y agree that the inflationary aspect of the matter should be given every consid-
1950 eration. I am not asking at all that the date be extended. But inasmuch as the conditions under section 207 are different from those under section 608, I ask the distinguished Senator whether it is not fair that applicants who had made their applications as far back as November 1949, should at least have opportunity to have their applications processed. Of course, they can be turned down if they do not comply. Mr. MAYBANK. I could not differ with the Senator from Nebraska if all the applications had been on file since No- vember 1. But what the agency is con- fronted with is applications running up to the hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars, probably beyond a billion dol- lars, which have just been filed because of the deadline of March 1. But I agree as to applications which were filed in November. Mr. WHERRY. Mr. President, I do not wish to state the exact date after which applications shall be turned down or rejected. I have hoped that the Sen- ator would handle this matter before the bill comes up on the floor. If he can do so, I shall be very glad. Under the circumstances, I think the only thing for me to do is to offer an amendment to be considered when the bill covering section 207 is brought up. I hope the Senator from South Caro- lina will be able to assure us that sec- tion 207 will accomplish the desired purpuse. If it does not, it seems to me the only thing to do is to wait and to de- bate the issue when the bill is consid- ered. But I humbly submit to the distin- guished Senator from South Carolina, who I know has done a great deal of work on this matter—and of course I know it is a difficult task—that it seems to me the applications which have been made un- der section 608, but have never been processed because of the bottleneck in getting to the applications, at least should be considered. If they can com- ply under section 207, that will be satis- factory with me. If they cannot comply, that likewise will be satisfactory. But it seems to Me they should at least be considered and the applicants who made them should be given an opportunity to have their applications examined under section 608, because it is no fault of theirs that their applications have not been handled before now. If they made the offer in good faith and if they filed the contract in good faith, certainly their applications at least should be processed. If the application docs not meet with the approval of the Federal Housing Author- ity, certainly it should be turned down. I am not asking the distinguished Sen- ator to extend beyond March 1 the date up to which applications may be filed. But it seems to me it is only justice, in the case of those who have made a great outlay in filing their applications, that they should at least be given an opportu- nity to have their applications processed. I should like to have the distinguished Senator from South Carolina go along with that idea, because I know he has done so much work on this matter, I should like to have had his complete as- surance, of course. I do not wish to take up any further time now, however. CONGRESSIONAL RECORD—SENATE Mr. MAYBANK. Mr. President, I should like to say to the distinguished Senator from Nebraska that no one has a greater regard for him than I have, and of course we have worked together on many housing projects. But the Hous- ing and Home Finance Agency, through the FHA, notified these persons in Jan- uary. I may say that on February 1, in an attempt to try to beat the deadline of March 1, there were applications in the amount of $800,000,000 under section 608; and my information is that by March 1 the amount will be $1,500,000,000. As chairman of the committee, I cer- tainly do not want to approve anything that will Jead to any further inflation. But if the Senator submitted such a reso- lution, I would be only too glad to hold hearings on it. Of course, I know there are two sides to this question. I believe we can work out something which will be fair to those who have filed applications, as well as fair to those who have the responsibility for this tremend- ous amount of authorizations and insur- ance guaranties. Mr. WHERRY. Mr. President, that is perfectly satisfactory with the Senator from Nebraska. As to the applications which have been jammed in yesterday and the day before, I completely agree with the Senator from South Carolina. I am not certain what the cut-off date should be. So I think I shall introduce a joint resolution, and hope that it will be re- ferred to the Banking and Currency Committee, and that it will be regarded there with favor, so that some cut-off date can be established, and also so that applications which were filed back in November can receive some considera- tion. I think that will be the best thing to do, so far as housing is concerned; and I hope the matter will be handled in the next few days. (Mr. WHERRY subsequently intro- duced the joint resolution (S. J. Res. 154) to amend the National Housing Act, as amended, with respect to mortgage in- surance under section 608 of such act, which was received, read twice by its title, and referred to the Committee on Banking and Currency.) Mr. MAYBANK. I assure the Senator that, as he knows, we shall certainly be happy to have hearings and shall cer- tainly look into the matter. When I say that applications in the amount of $800,- 000,000 were rushed in on February 1, and a great deal more are on file today, I know the Senator will agree that the subject does deserve careful considera- tion. There is always an attempt to beat the deadline by those who desire to undertake projects. Mr. WHERRY. That 1s right. Mr. MAYBANK. It is done by those who desire to have the Government guarantee the insurance or theloan. In substance, their profit is also guaran- teed, Mr. LONG. Mr. President, will the Senator yield? Mr. MAYBANK., I yleld to the Sena- tor from Louisiana. Mr.LONG. Iam sure the Senator will . agiee with me that the evidence we have 2327, been getting before the Committee on Banking and Currency is to the effect that under section 608 the Government is frequently lending more to the con- tractors than is required to build the housing projects; and that in many cases section 608 projects are being built with Government-guaranteed loans substan- tially exceeding the actual cost of con- structing the project, and that, in large measure, is what has been responsible for the large flow of loan applications, Furthermore, the Committee on Bank- ing and Currency last year recommended that the guaranty be reduced from 90 percent to 80 percent, recognizing the fact that many of the loans represented no actual equity in the investment at all on the part of the person who would own the properties and that they were very high-rent properties, which, in many cases, are now standing vacant because the rents are so high, Mr. MAYBANK. I must agree with the distinguished Senator from Louisi- ana that most of the section 608 loans do not benefit the poor people of the United States. Mr. LONG. As a matter of fact, in my section of the Nation many housing units are standing idle today because of the high rents demanded. Otherwise, people would be in housing they could not afford. They cannot pay the high rents required by a program of this kind. Mr. MAYBANK. After we heard the evidence of Mr. McCabe, of the Federal Reserve Board, and after there had been pointed out the dangers of inflation, in connection with titles 1 and 2 and 3, I hesitate to say to my good friend from Nebraska that I shall be willing to make any yes-or-no statement concerning a matter which involves $1,500,000,000, but I think those who have filed their appli- cations have a right to be heard. Mr. WHERRY. Mr. President, will the Senator yield? Mr. MAYBANK. I yield. Mr. LONG. I should like to ask the Senator one further question. Does the Senator from South Carolina feel that any kind of loan, in connection with which there is no equity investment, and where the amount of the loan actually exceeds the cost to the contractor or to the person owning the property, is sound and in the interest of the Government to guarantee? Mr. MAYBANK. Mr. President, I cer- tainly do not, and for that reason the committee amended title III to require a 5-percent stock subscription, plus an ad- ditional 5 percent over a period of years, in order that the Government might have a 10-percent equity under title ITI, plus the one-quarter of 1 percent reserve for losses, all of which will liquidate the loans in approximately 36 years, if I re- member correctly. Mr. GILLETTE and Mr. WHERRY ad- dressed the Chair. The PRESIDING OFFICER. Does the Senator from South Carolina yield, and, if so, to whom? Mr. MAYBANK. I promised to yield to the Senator from Nebraska. Mr. WHERRY. The _ distinguished Senator from South Carolina certainly