The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1930-05-31
Strangled in the Dark

When certain elements in congress can't defeat
reform in fair fight they try to strange 1t IN the
dark That is what they did Thursday-not once, but
twice The reforms killed for this session were the
Muscle Shoals and anti-injunction bills.
After a battle of many years, the Norris bill for
government operation of Muscle Shoals was passed
by congress, only to be killed by Coolidge with
pocket veto This spring the senate passed it again.
1t went to the house. where sidetracked by the
G. o. P. dictatorship
When that fact became scandal the house die
tators replaced the Norris measure with fake bill
that is one which they knew could not possibly pass
the senate or become law That bill, providing for
private lease of Muscle Shoals has been forced
through the house
The senate and house thus are deadlocked, and the
reform delayed until next year or later by the simple
expedient of preventing the house from acting the
Norris bill. which it already had passed once.
The same purpose was achieved by different ruse
in knocking out the antinunction BILL This legisla
ton has been actively before the senate judiciary
committee for years. Prolonged hearings and in
vestigatons have been devoted to it. All sides have
been heard and the bill written and rewritten
Month by month the opposition obtained delay.
Finally, public protest was focused on the issue by
the recent successful senate fight against confrma
ton of John j. Parker for the United States supreme
court.
Public pressure during the Parker fight became
so strong that the senate apoogistS for Parker
dared not defend the yellow dog injunction They
pleaded the falscious excG5e that he was bound by
judicial precedent
Most of them deplored such injunctons. Their
great argument that this generally admitted evil
of restricting the peaceful rights of labor organiza
ton should be corrected-not by the courts, but by
congress.
That is precisely what this bill seeks to do. 1t ap-
plies the principle urged only by both sides of the
senate in the Parker fight but also pledged by both
Republican and Democratic platforms.
So, obviously, there was no way to kill this re-
form in open fght-not at any rate, without lot of
senator's being smeared.
Thursday they found a way. The judiciary COM
mittee was ready to vote reporting out the long
delayed bill A poll showed tie, which could have
been broken under public pressure in favor of the BILL
But surprise vote taken to refer the bill to the
attorney-general That kills it for at least another
year.
It should be noted that the bills legal aspects had
been debated thoroughly and passed upon by the
abest lawyers and judges of the senate and that dur
ing the entire two years suggestion had been
made of the unusual course of sending it to the
encouragement
Senators Norris Boras Blaine and Ashurst did
their best but unable to prevent the trickery
The country, which was SC much aroused over this
same issue in the Parker case, win want to know and
remember the Names OF the senator's who have killed
the ahipstead ant-injunet.cn bin They are:
Dsneen CTl9, oillett Mass. Robinson tIndl.
stsiwsr tore). Waterman (Colo0. Hastings Del),
ovexnan IN. CO. and stephens gAiiss)