Detroit evening times. (Detroit, Mich) 1921-1958, 1944-03-09
NEWS
BEHIND
The News
-BYPaul
MaIIon

~ y
WASHINGTON, March 90.
" Henry should have written
the story of the soldier vote bill
1t is even funnier than that,
because here are the elements
OF a deeper intrigue made more
farcial every day hy the particle
pants who are acting as If no
one else was aware of their
motives.
They are all great big brave
men fighting for their very
lives. TO let every soldier vote.
The thing started when
couple OF Democratic politicians
(SenatorS Green and Lucas re-
allied the en6rmity of the sol
der vote possibilities and intro
duced a hill last June % TO coll
leCt these votes in a special way
which spottie cra1ie their side
10 get the most advantage.
TlE Republicans. or most Of
Il them, Immediately diScov-
cred the ruSe and undertook To
break Il up, fostering rhe states
rights idea of southern Demo
Gratis. which would enable The
governors OF states tmOStiy Re-
publican outside The solid SOUTH
10 direct the collection.
ShAmefacedly after exposure,
Green and Lucas introduced d
substitute Oct. II, which modI-
fed somewhat the more out
rageouS and obvious legal pro-
visions they had written for the
kidnapping, but did not change
their intent.
The House passed a states
rights bill, and, on Dec. 3, the
Senate substituted for it the
EaStland = Mcclellan bill both
ConfuSedly volved in legal
verbiage, none of which would
be interesting to YOU. except
that the words added up TO the
fight outlined aboNe.a
ON Feb. s, the Senate recon
Sidered and decided 10 pass a
second bill. even more comph-
Gated, three days after the
House had reconsidered (Feb.
y and passed a substitute Of its
own states rights bill.
DUT dizzier than the Congress
- a. q Whole, was the SubSe-
Quent conferences of the Senate
and House committees which
were appointed 10 reconcile the
differences. They held exactly
il meetings. sQuabbling over
words. and three or four times
both sides came out so confused
they Thought they had won.
Finally. last Saturday, thew
reached what they crossed their
hearts and SwOre was an honest
to-gOodneSs solution by vote of
seven 10 two, but on Monday,
they went back at it again and
changed it,
By the time tins gets into
print, they may have changed it
a few more times. IF they do,
explanations and conclusions
will be no more possible than
now.
I INELY of-stage cue music
IL for the farce was furnished
BY the Go political action COM
mlttee. II issued frequent state
ments. all couched in an out
ragged tone, posing as valiant
and ardent defenders If the
soldierS-as did all other par
tlclpantS.
But the Go political action
committee went little further
than the others in its assumed
righteousness, beat ing its
breast with the dictionary IN
Inc contention that no one else
was honest.
OF course, no one was sup
posed 10 know that the Go
political action committee was
devised by the left-wing labor
~ n
fiuence both on Congress and
The electorate ms year.
Apparently, they think that
if the ballot can be collected
federally by the administration,
the soldiers will vote for them.
Thinking that way. they GER
tainly must have something up
their sleeve in the way OF con-
trolling or counting the vote,
because 1t is quite apparent
that the soldiers as a whole
seem suspicious Of left wing la
Dor, TO put 1t mildly.
4 IL the soldiers who have
~ spoken thus far two
called on John LewiS--remem-
ber?) seem 10 feel that labor
has taken the ma ior profits Of
this war and gone on strikes
10 get profits, while the sol
dierS have been required 10
fight for a comparatively minor
wage AT the front, offering their
lives. Frankly, L would think
that the Go is a third kid
naper who would be glad TO
give the urchin up if il could.
matter -eEfset-net even
o. Henry could do full justice
to the situation because, after
all his Skinf1intS had some low