Evening star., 1938-08-18
HOUSE RULES UNIT
POWER AT STAKE
Committee Control Hinges
on Success of Attempt
to Defeat 0'Connor.
~ the Associated Press.

~ the Associated Press.
Administration control of the stra-
tegic House Rules Committee is at
stake in President Roosevelt's fight to
unseat Representative John O'Connor
of New York.
If Mr.. O'Connor is renominated and
reelected. domination of this COM
mittee-which determines the legisla-
ton to come before the House-may
pass into the hands of anti-adminis-
tration Congressman.
Mr.. O'Connor is chairman. Nine
other Democrats and four Republicans
are members. -Four of the Democrats
Representative SABBATH of Illinois,
Greenwood of Indiana, Harlan of Ohio
and Lewis of Colorado-are generally
considered Roosevelt supporters.
Four ers-Representatives Cox Of
Georgia, Smith of Virginia, Clark Of
North Carolina and Dies of Texas
bucked the President on the wage
hour bill. Some of them also have op-
posed various other administration
measures.
Driver Already Out.
The other Democratic member, Rep
resentative Driver of Arkansas. al
ready has been eliminated from the
picture. He lost his race for renomina-
ton to E. c. Gathings, after a cam
paign which politicians here said was
lacking in issues of national impor-
tance.
Representative Driver opposed the
wage-hour bill. Assuming the number
of Democratic committeeman remains
the same in the next session, his de-
feat will give the administration lead
ership in the House an opportunity to
put a New Deal supporter into his
place.
All other Democratic committeeman
have won their primary campaigns ex-
cept Representative O'Connor, Cox and
Lewis, who are yet to come up Tor
nomination. Representative Cox is op-
posed in the Georgia primary by w
J. Grove, an avowed New Dealer.
If all the Democratic members aside
from Mr.. Driver are renominated and
reelected, the balance Of power on
some issues might lie with the four
Republican committeeman.
Position Would Be Awkward.
Such a situation would place the
White House in highly disadvanta-
eeous position for pushing legislation
through Congress. The committee
demonstrated its strength in the last
Congress when it blocked for almost
a year House action on wage-hour
legislation.
1t was that fight which turned the
spotlight on the committees strategic
position and aroused the wrath ol
various labor leaders against commit
teemen who opposed the legislation
The first result was that John L. Lewis
the c. I. o. chief, said he would re-
taliate against those members. Sub
sequently labor's Non partisan League
"blacklisted" them and many other
Congressman who fought wage-houi
standards.
Mr.. OConnor was listed among the
supporters of the wage-hour' bill, but
his break with the administration came
when he led House opposition to the
Presidents Government reorganization
bill In his campaign this summer
he has made open appeal for Republic
an Endorsement.
Seniority Is Established Rule.
Committee chairmanships in the
1ly, la1, h,tt
there is some belief the administra-
ton might take an extraordinary
course if Mr.. O'Connor is reelected
It could ask House Democrats to vote
in caucus to remove the New
Yorker from the committee.
Meanwhile, Mr.. OConnor, the pug
nacious New York Irishman who got
q political tongue-lashing from Presi-
dent Roosevelt, arranged to answer
the Chief Executive in a Nationwide
radio speech tonight.
Friends here said they did not ex-
pect Mr.. O'Connor to pull any
punches" Neither did Mr.. Roosevelt
when he put the Representative and
Senator Millard E. Tydings of Mary
land on the administration purge
list alongside Senator Walter George
of Georgia.
Each of the three legislators has
opposed some of the Presidents pro-
posals; each has a primary fight on
his hands from a 100 per cent New
Dealer"
Mr. OConnor will speak from New
York at 7:45 pm. (E. S. T) &C
B. s..