Evening star., 1944-06-09
Coalition Seen Doomed
By COP Labor Vote
Results May Be Far-Reachins
As Result of Party Failure
By David Laurence

By David Laurence
Within the last "a hours the Repub- /.
hcan party in the House made ar Inn
portant decision. It was overshadowed
by the war news and hence attracted
very little attention. The results, how
ever, may be far-reaching.
The Republicans had chance to
maintain coalition with the Southern
Democrats and compel the House to
vote on various amendments to the
pending Wage and Price Control Act
amendments that are designed to re-
quire court review for War Labor Board
orders and also to prohibit mainte-
nance e-of-membershtp decrees.
Although the House Rules Commit. I
tee. by coalition Of Democrats and Re-
publicans, had recommended to the
House that the Wage and Price Control
Act be opened to amendment from the
floor under special rule. the House
Republicans joined with the Democrats
to vote down such q rule. This re-
markable performance, which was de-
nounced by Southern Democrats as hy-
pocrisy, means that for all practical
purposes the chance for legislation re-
strictive of the War Labor Board or
banning maintenance of membership
contracts is lost for this session of Con-
gress.
The defense by Republican leaders
was that the labor legislation should
not be tackled on to the Price Control
~
is the first time the Republicans have
appeared solicitious about the use of
the parliamentary method of attaching
amendments to current bills on SUBJ
jects that are not really related to the
bill.
Powerful Lever.
The practice, however, has long been
a powerful lever in the hands Of the
minority, especially since the majority
party has the veto power through the
Executive. Congress has again and again
put legislation on extraneous subjects in
a piece OF legislation. Thus, the Smith
Connally Act contains amendments to
the Federal Corrupt Practices Law.
1t is surprising to find the Republicans
arguing that the amendments relating
to the War Labor Boards activities
were not "germane" to legislation that
relates to wage stabilization-a function
exercised by the War Labor Board itself
with respect to practically all employees
earning less than $1,000 year.
The excuse that the proposals were
not "germane" is not taken seriously by
the Southern Democrats, who argue
that the real truth is the Republicans
became fearful of the CIO Political
Action Committee and the labor union
vote. Certainly there was much talk in
the cloakrooms Of Capitol Hill that the
Republicans did not wish to get messed
up in a controversy with labor unions
on the eve of an election.
But the worst feature OF the Re-
publican behavior is that no record vote
was taken on the proposed rule which
majority of the House Rules Com
mittee had favored. Thus it Is irnpos-
sible to know just which Republicans
had recorded themselves along with
New Deal Democrats in killing the rule
proposed by the House Rules Com
mittee. A. 6 ~
Their Defense. @sa II
In defense of the action OF the Re-
publican leaders, it is argued that at
taching the amendments on the War
Labor Board would not have meant
anything because the Senate would not
have passed them, or that the President
might have vetoed them. This is in
contrast to the attitude In minority
parties before, which have been content
to make a record OF their convictions
and principles, leaving it to the country
to decide at the polls whether minority
should be transformed into majority.
The Republican party is soon to 90
on the stump to tell the country that
the Democrats have taken away i'm
portant rights of the people. The Mont
gomery Ward case, for example, win be
used as an issue, but the Democrats can
now point to the action of the Re-
publican party. When it had an oppor-
tunity to insist upon legislation COM
pelling court review of War Labor Board
orders and prohibiting the maintenance
of-membership clause in union contracts
under Government compulsion, the Re-
publicans, although possessing nearly
half the membership of the House and
assured Of the support of sufficient
number OF Southern Democrats to make
a majority, refused to stand up against
the pressure groups that have been
supporting the New Deal.
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