Evening star., 1940-05-08
Hatch Bill Victory
Seen Despite Cry
OF Dictatorship
Summers Denounces
Measure as Leading
To 'Hitlerion' Methods
~ the Associated Press.

~ the Associated Press.
A victory for the Hatch anti
politics bill In the House judiciary
Committee was predicted today by
its hackers. despite the contention Of
Chairman Summers that the meas
ure foreshadowed Hitlerian meth
DDS.
Representative Summers took the
House floor late yesterday to be-
labor the legislation as Infamous
and an instrument for concentrat-
ing undue power in the hands Of
"a temporary God Almighty up here
In Washington"
The 65-year-old Texan opened
up after the Judiciary Committee,
reversing a previous decision to
shelve the bill, voted, IA to II, to
revive it as q live committee issue.
The legislation would bar political
activities by State employees paid in
part by Federal funds.
Pleads for States Rights.
Mr.. Summers, who did not vote on
reconsidering the measure, called it
an assumption of power that ought
to be left in the States"
Il do not believe" he shouted to
the House, that you can preserve
q free government unless you have a
responsible people. and you cannot
preserve q responsible people un-
less you keep them in responsible
ity.
II have tried to figure it the way
God Almighty handles the people,
and that is the way think He does. -
His criticism Immediately drew
counter-fire from Representative
Hill, Democrat, of Washington.
HE talks about dictatorships, +"
Mr.. Hill said, heatedly. "Yet he says
you cannot consider this bill!
who Is this gentleman who lee
tured us this afternoon? He comes
from a State where in 1896 only
26 per cent Of the adult voters
voted!"
The floor dispute Notwithstanding,
hackers Of the bill expressed belief
that favorable committee action was
In the of1ng. The committee meets
again tomorrow.
There was, however, a hint Of
something else in the wind. A few
committee members were talking
about sending the bill back to .
subcommittee for rewriting.
Victory Claims Disputed.
Representative Creal, Democrat,
of Kentucky disputed the interpre-
tation Of others on the committee
that yesterdays vote presaged the
lineup on final approval.
aAll 1t MEANS" Mr.. Creal said, "is
that we are right back where we
started from when we first began
consideration Of the bin"
Representative Dempsey said that
he would not Withdraw his petition
to discharge the committee Of re-
sponsibility for the bill and thus
bring it directly before the House.
He added, however, that he doubted
whether there would be as many
additional signers to the petition as
there would have been had the COM
mittee refused further consideration
Of the bill The signatures now
number 122 Of the required 21S.
According to q transcript Of the
record. Representative Summers had
said in referring to the petition:
''You ought to be ashamed Of
yourself, every man that wrote his
name on this mess Of stun.
you have slandered your people,
saying that they cannot govern
themselves and preserve the purity
Of elections in their own respective
districts.
III you do not have the decency
to quit, they ought to kick you out.
Oh, I do not mean that. am sort
Of mad. They have tort of been
tromping On me-"