Evening star., 1938-01-28
THE POLITICAL
MILL
BY G. COULD LINCOLN.

politan areas Of the North and West, is
on the rocks. Of Senate debate. The
Democrats or the North and West in
Senate and House have sought in vain
for months to make Democrats of the
South take this measure. The southern
ers insist that 1t is merely an attack on
their section of the country, another at
tempt to break down States rights still
further, and any way, that 1t Is not
needed; that the South itself has done
a great deal to stamp out lynching.
X
When by vote of 81 to 81 the Senate
rejected yesterday motion to put
cloture on the Senate and break the
f1libuSter against the anti-lynching bill,
1t became evident that the anti-lynching
bill will not pass at this time-if 1t had
not been so before. The vote against the
cloture was indicative also of the fact
that there has been growing coldness
toward the measure in recent weeks.
Senators who have agreed, in some in
stances; to vote for the measure, very
clearly are not anxious to be compelled
to vote at all. Those who really believe
IN the anti-lynching bill and its principle
are discouraged, while those who are
oPPooSSA w ~ OIL JuDlldIlC.
1t has been Republican tradition to
support anti-lynching bills. Senator Nc
Nary of Oregon, the Republican leader,
insists now that all except one OF the
Republican Senators will vote for It, He
has In mind Senator Borah of Idaho. who
holds that the measure is unconstitu-
tional. There is at least one other Re-
publican-Hale of Maine-Who is ready
tn CT
AS matter of fact, since the Negro vote
in Northern and Western centers has
gone so strongly over to the Democratic
party In the last two or three elections,
congressional and presidential. there is
a feeling among Republicans that there
IS no good reason for cementing this
political alliance between their old-time
allies and the Democrats. That. they
figure it. is just what will happen If this
Wagner-Van Nuys anti-lynching bill
becomes law
During all this row over the anti
lynching bill the President has MAIN
tained an unbroken silence He has not
declared himself for the bill or against
1t. The thing has been engineered by
Democrats in Congress. If the bill should
finally pass. then the President will have
to give 1t his approval or veto 1t, or let
1t become law without his signature.
II he signs the bill. then a good many
Democrats IN the South will not regard
him as favorably as they have In the
past. II he vetoes the bill, the Negro
voters In the North and West will have
something to think about. should he
hn h
any sign OF approval or disapproval, he
Will be in worse case yet, with both sides
looking askance. Some Republicans at
one time thought it would be good
thing to have the bill laid on the White
House doorstep. They may still think So
Meanwhile Walter White, secretary of
the National Association for the Ad-
vancement Of Colored People who has
been working hard for the passage of
the antl-lynch bill, IS disguised with the
refusal OF the Senate to adopt cloture
and SO end the filibuster. He says so in
statement issued when the cloture
motion was defeated. Neither political
party he says, can take any rest or
comfort over the failure to establish
cloture on the anti-lynching bill debate.
The fight for this legislation will 20 on
and will go on with new vigor. But the
American people must realize that the
inability Of the progressive forces to end
the fillbuster on the anti-lypching bill
oy cloture Is encouragement to reaction
aries to tllibuster to death all progressive
legislation. In the shadow of this break
down OF the Democratic process before
this shameful filibuster turks the threat
OF authoritarian government"
x
Some Of the progresSives in the Senate
obviously voted against the cloture reso-
lutlon-particularly those from the South
and there are considerable number of
them. Also Senator Norris of Nebraska,
Senator Wheeler of Montana and Sen.
ator Lundeen of Minnesota were among
the opponents of the cloture motion. The
division, therefore, was not entirely along
conservative and progressive lines. It
is true, however, that number of Demo-
Gratis who voted against the President
when the battle over the bill to increase
the number Of Supreme Court justices
was before the Senate last year. voted
yesterday against cloture. New divisions
IN the Senate are in the making, it is
clear. and it is also quite clear that other
legislation is likely to meet with more
and more trouble.
This anti-lynching bill is proving as
great a pest for the present Democratic
leader of the Senate, Senator Barkley
OF Kentucky, as did the court bill for
the late Senator Robinson of Arkansas.
The court bill, however, was the enter
ing wedge in a Democratic Senate that
had performed miracles for the admin
lstration in the first three years of Presi-
dent Roosevelts administration. It
broke the solidarity of the party and its
organization. The way has been paved
for opposition to other administration
measures-and a number are to come.
There Is threat to the tax revision bill,
which does not suit q number of the
democrats. The reorganization bill will
have hard going in any event, SO far As
the Senate is concerned.
Z 4
President Roosevelt's attack on wage
reductions, delivered at his press con-
ference Tuesday, may have q consider
able political effect. He has ranged him.
self again on the side Of labor, which is
resisting wage cuts. If wage cuts do not
materialize to any great extent, he will
be given credit f.. having halted them.
II on the other hand wage cuts are made
widely, the President will be In a posi-
ton to roast" the employers and call
for the support of the workers.
Just what the President has in mind
Tor the Government to do, in the event
wages are cut by industry and purchas-
ing power diminished, he has not dis
closed. He said, however, that the Gov
ernment would have to consider other