Evening star., 1936-04-21
RED RIDER ACTION
DELAYED AS D. c.
DAY IS CANCELLED
Speaker Orders House Path
Cleared for "MuSt" =
Legislation.
TAX MEASURE DEBATE
TO OPEN THURSDAY
Byrns Says Time Is Left for Sis.
son Measure Later-Later
Sessions Set.
BY JAMES E, CHINN,

D1 JhMES Es Cu1NNs
House consideration of the Sisson
bill providing for outright repeal of
the red rider" to the 1896 District
appropriation act, today faced an un-
expected and indefinite delay.
The final District day" Of the
month, next Monday-the date orig
inally set aside for the "red rider"
repealer-has been Cancelled as a re-
suit Of plans of House leaders to push
through must" national legislation
in time for Senate action before June
/. the tentative goal for adjournment
of Congress.
Speaker Byrns himself took respon-
sibility for calling off the District
day" He said he did not want any
thing to interfere with movement
through the House Of the administra-
tons tax legislation and the Navy
and deficiency appropriation bills. De-
bate on the tax bill Is scheduled to
start Thursday and is expected to
continue until next Tuesday.
Says Square Deal Given.
II have been very kind to Chair
man Norton of the District Commit
tee," said Byrns. II think I have
given District legislation square deal.
In fact, have gone out Of my way
to prevent interference with District
bills on District day. And I intend
to be just as fair as possible with the
District in the future, but the House
simply must expedite action on the
tax bill, and the District must lose a
day."
Byrns pointed out that after the
tax bill and the two big supply meas
ures are out of the way there will be
sufficient time for consideration of
the "red rider" repeater before ad-
journment of Congress
Decks Cleared for Bill.
Once before the Sisson bill had been
threatened with delay in the House
due to a prolonged filibuster against
the Ellenbogen rent control measure
Mrs. Norton, however, succeeded in
breaking the filibuster with special
rule, and final disposition of the rent
control bill gave the Sisson measure
q preferred status next Monday.
The delay now confronting the bill
came as distinct shock to its au-
thor. Representative Sisson, Democrat,
Of New York, as well as Representa-
tive Kennedy, Democrat, of Mary
land, who, as chairman Of the Sub
committee on Education of the Dis
trict Committee, was prepared to aid
Chairman Norton of the full commit
tee in fighting for its passage.
Filibuster Fight Mapped.
Kennedy, incidentally, spent several
hours yesterday conferring with House
members in sympathy with Sisson's
bill, endeavoring to work out a plan
to prevent f1libuster against it, SINH
lar to that which blocked action on
the rent control measure for three
consecutive District days" In view
of the unexpected delay. it may be
necessary to seek special rule to
assure House consideration of the
measure before adjournment.
Cancellation of the final District
day" in April leaves only two more
District days" before June. The first
is May IL and the other May Is. If
the House does not finish with the
three bills labeled as ''must''-the tax
and two appropriation measures-by
May IL the red rider" repeater can
not be called up. without a special
rule. until May q, which would vir-
tually kill its chances of passage at
this session of Congress if the June
adjournment plans are carried out.
This would leave the ban on any in
struction about communism in effect
for at least several months of the
next school year.
Mrs. Norton last night denounced
the red rider" as IAN insult to every
patriotic school teacher In Washing
ton" In a broadcast over the Colum-
bia network. She went on the air to
answer a recent radio address by Rep
resentative Blanton, Democrat, of
Texas, who sponsored the rider" I"
Incidentally, she condemned the Texan
for branding the Ellenbogen rent con-
troll bill as "communiStic."
Mrs. Norton declared that descrip-
ton of the bill insulted her inteli-
gence, since she presented it to the
House, pointing out that her whole
life had been built on faith in God
and religion. The only solution to
such controversies as the one raging
over the red rider" she declared, is
for the people of the District to have