Evening star., 1937-04-04
COURT PROPOSAL FACES
LONG ROAD In CONGRESS
Legislators For and Against Unknown,
But 1t Is Certain Majority
Favor Delay.

its committee onto the floor OF the
Senate. It may report it favorably
or unfavorably-there is much doubt
how the majority of the committee
stands. II majority favors it, it will
report the bill favorably; if a majority
is against it, it will report 1t unfavor-
ably. Whichever way it reports will
not have material weight on the floor
Of the Seante, But it will have mate
rial weight with the public. An unfa-
vorable report would advertise to the
public that majority of the COM
mittee, having listened to the hear
ings, opposes the measure.
Debate Then Follows.
After conclusion of the hearings and
report by the committee to the Senate
comes debate on the floor. That seems
certain to be long. 1t will be long for
perfectly legitimate reasons. Nearly
every Senator will wish to make a
speech explaining his position; on any
measure on which opinion is sharply
divided Congressman likes to give
his reasons for taking one side or the
other. A large number of Senators
will speak again and again. These are
the ones, on both sides, on whom the
burden of debate falls. There will be
statements and answers and rebuttals
and counter -rebuttals.
The debate will be prolonged for a
further reason. Already we know that
an exceptional number of alternatives
have been proposed to the original
measure. All these presumably will
be presented on the floor of the Sen
ate as amendemnts. On each there
will be debate and roll call This can
consume much time. 1t is what hap
pened in the League of Nations debate.
Nearly all Senators liked one varia-
ton or another better than they liked
the original measure. This abundance
of amendments was one reason the
League of Nations debate was pro-
longed until it was finally beaten. II
the opponents of Mr.. Roosevelts court
measure have leaders who are able in
parliamentary maneuvering they may
be able to repeat what happened about
Vic League Ol NdtlOHS.
Finally, at some point there will
be, in all proba bility, debate for the
direct purpose of delay. There are
Senators so deeply opposed to the
Presidents proposal that debate for
the purpose of delay will seem to
them legitimate strategy. In this
debate for the sake Of delay the op-
ponents will have quiet sympathy
from some of the advocates, for not
a few listed as advocates would pre-
fer to see the measure never come
to vote
Cloture May Be Asked.
At some point, after the debate
has seemed to enter the dilatory
stage, presumably the official Demo-
cratic leaders will ask for cloture.
Cloture would mean that fixed day
and hour would be set for the final
roll call, and that in the mean time
no Senator should speak more than
once and for only limited time
To get cloture the Democratic Sen
ate leaders will need to have two
thirds Of the Senate, 81 votes. In
other words, 33 Senators can prevent
cloture. Almost certainly the op-
ponents Of Mr. Roosevelts measure can
prevent cloture. There are more
than 80 Of them Besides, many
Senators who favor the Presidents
measure are opposed to cloture on
principle. Chairman Ashurst of the
Judiciary Committee, who is plotting
the measure for the President, has
said he will oppose cloture.
Assuming there is no cloture, the
debate may be long, indeed. After
attempt at cloture and defeat of it,
the subsequent debate would be
looked upon as fllibustering. That
would not frighten some of the more
earnest Senators opposing the bill
II there are Is or 20 willing to take
on themselves the fierce drudgery of
filibustering, they could, by co-opera-
ton, speaking in relays, keep the
measure before the Senate indefinitely.
1t is said that filibustering against
the bill would be unpopular But
filibustering has always been the refuge
OF deeply moved minority The late
Senator La Toilette, the elder, once
spoke for more than eighteen hours,
and other Senators have spoken for
longer.
The filibusterers might justify their
action on two grounds. The first
would be the simple wish to defeat the
measure. The second would be a
demand that so important an action
must not be taken by a Congress
elected when the measure was not
before the country and not expected
by the country. The f1libusterers
would say that they insist this measure
be not acted upon by the present
Congress; that it be held up and be
made the paramount issue in the
congressional elections of next year.
Such a position might get much public
support and justify a filibuster.
(Copyright, 1879