Evening star., 1939-07-29
House Democrats
Pledge Support, but
No Votes 10 President
Caucus Adopts Measure
Fuvorine Program, With
Specific References Cut
BY the Associated Press.

By the Associated Press.
House Democrats were on record
today as looking upon the broad So
cial program of President Roosevelt
with support and devotion" but
decidedly not on record as ready to
translate this attitude into votes for
specific legislation now pending.
Meeting in causus last night, 191
of the 258 Democrats expressed their
support and devotion" in a reso-
luton adopted after major revision
and occasionally acid debate.
The measure was proposed by
Representative Gavagan, Democrat.
of New York and called originally
for party approval of the Presi-
dents lending and housing bills,
botn of which are the subjects of
a spirited controversy.
Representative Woodrum, Demo-
crat, of Virginia. leading member
Of the House economy bloc, asked
that Mr.. Gavagan strike out the
references in question. He agreed
to do SO and thereby apparently
headed off a heated conflict in the
caucus.
The caucus was forced to assemble
by a group of the partys more mill
tant New Deal members. Their OBJ
jective in demanding the meeting
was to obtain action which would
bind the party to vote for the bills
in question.
A General Thing.
When this project was abandoned,
with Representative Gavagans ac-
ceptance of Mr. Woodrum's amend
ment, the resolution became one
calling for support of Roosevelt OBJ
jectives generally and was accepted
unanimously.
In its final form it said the Demo-
cratic leadership had been ham
pered by Republican reactionaries,
noted that the President had rec
commended legislation to Congress
and attacked the Republicans as
responsible for the depression which
began in 1929.
| N1CSOl ACIIl.
ocrat, of Massachusetts,, the chair
man of the caucus, said that refer
ences to specific legislation were
deleted on the argument, made by
Mr.. Woodrum, that the lending bill
was then before the Senate, and it
was therefore impossible to tell in
what form it would reach the House.
All was harmony throughout the
evening, he said, adding that this
spirit was not disrupted even when
Representative Cox, Democrat, of
Georgia, aggressive anti-New Dealer,
addressed the caucus. He called Mr..
Cox's address "a speech of unity in
harmony with the occasion"
One .Discordant Note.
Speaker Bankhead, Democrat, of
Alabama, also spoke, stressing the
thought that the Democratic party
is "the national party" with the
Republican party sectional" af-
fair.
One discordant note was said to
have been injected by an unnamed
Southern member, who brought up
the subject of the anti-lynching bill
in the course of Mr.. Gavagan's S
speech. Mr.. Gavagan is the author
of an anti-lynching bill.
The full text of the resolution
adopted was as follows:
Whereas, During the present
session of the Seventy-sixth Con-
gress the leadership of the Demo-
cratic party has been handicapped
by a carping, critical reactionary
Republican party, totally bereft OF
a constructive program, and
Whereas, Responsibility for legis-
lative action rests with the Demo
cratic party and should not and
cannot be avoided or delayed with
(See CAUCUS, Page ABB