St. Paul recorder. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1934-2000, 1944-06-09
UncOvering
Washington
By Harry S. McAlpin
(White House Correspondent
NNPA)

Both Democrats and Republicans
are due to be exposed for the man.
ner in which FEPC has been getting
kicked around on Capitol Hill.
The inactivity of Rep. McCOr-
mack, Democratic majority leader
in the House, has given rise to the
charge that the administration has
not yet given it's blessings to the
FEPC appropriation, recently pass
ed by a narrow margin of A votes
in the House.
This view was further enhanced
when Mccormack was not seen vot-
ing on the measure as the Repre-
sentatives filed past the tellers in
the too close and dramatic votes
taken on Tarver's amendment to
strike the FEPC $5OO,OOO item
from the War Agencies Appropria-
ton bill.
If the administrations Leaders in
the Senate are as inactive and in
effective as Mccormack apparent
ly was in the notwithstanding
his service rendered in moving to
table the proposal to appeal a rul-
ing of the chair during the parlia-
mentary skirmish on FEPC before
debate began-then some weight
will be given what is now mere
speculation concerning the absence
of active administration support
for the measure.
A lot of people are questioning
the kind of advice the President
may be getting on this issue.
And the Republicans are in water
Just as hot on FEPC.
One Republican Congressman,
who prefers his name not be men
toned, told me he had tried to get
his colleagues to vote solidly gainst
the Tarver amendment because the
Southerners were just using the
Republicans to their own ends. He
said the Southern bloc votes for all
the New Deal measures, but when
ever they have some bill to Kill
for their own purposes, they seek
support of the Republicans. And,
he said, a lot of the Republicans
fall for it.
About As of them went for Tarv-
er's amendment, to the delight Of
Rankin Cd. of Miss.) who sat on
the Republican side of the House
during the FEPC debate with his
arm around Republican colleague.
But Republican Negro big-wigs
who weren't there to see it-are
spreading the claim that only 7
Republican Congressman vote d
against the FEPC.
It was the switch of about 20
Republican votes on the second tel
Ter count which changed the re-
suit from 141-1O3, defeating the
Tarver amendment by 1919.
How could 20 votes switch over if
only 7 were cast?
This shows how necessary and
desirable is a record vote on these
important issues, and why the eff
fort was made to keep out such a
record vote.
That is why the public must de-
mand a record vote in the Senate
when FEPC's appropriation comes
up there in the next few days. Let's
see WHO voted and HOWL!
Giving credit where credit is due,
however, these men spoke out in
favor of FEPC:
4 Republicans: LaFollette of
Indiana, Vorys of Ohio, Scott of
Pennsylvania, and Miller of Mis-
souri,.
z Democrats: Ludlow of Indiana,
Dawson of Illinois, Sadowski of
Michigan, Klein of New York, Ra-
baut of Michigan, Norton of New
Jersey, and Celler of New York.
And credit is due Scanlon Cd. of
Pa.) for the yeoman job he did of
holding his state delegation on the
floor to vote in a session which ran
past 7 o'clock. And Dingell Cd. of
Mich.), despite personal illness,
stayed on and lay on a lounge
during debate, in order to be there
to vote.