Montana labor news., 1945-03-29
Wins TRIBUTES AS
SENATE TURNS
DOWN NOMINATION

WASHINGTON - FP) - Although
Aubrey williams went down in defeat
when the tories in the U. S. Senate
ganged up to prevent his confirmation
as Rural Electrification Administrator
he had tributes paid him that are sell
dom accorded liberals in the capital.
Joining in lauding Williams as an
American patriot We're Senators Lister
Hill DALAI, Claude Pepper D-Fla),
Burton K. wheeler D-Mont), George
Aiken R-vt) and Glen Taylor D
Idaho.
AS the Democratic whip, Hill, swung
all his big @oratorical guns into action
and. admitting that the Senate would
defeat williams, commented that with
all its power the Senate cannot take
away the glory and fine record Williams
has attained. whatever the decision
may be in this matter, the record will
stand because Aubrey Williams entire
life and all his service t~estifies that he
is and has been a humanitarian, that
he was a valiant and brave soldier and
that he has served his government in
peace as well as in war
The young freshman senator from
Idaho. Taylor, rose to defend Williams
and sale: "A tide is moving here in his
tory and we cannot stand against it.
The peoples of the world have seen that
there is plenty for everyone. In this
country we have produced a great
abundance Of war materials for the puf-
pose of killing people and at the same
time we have fed u WI people at
home better Than they have ever been
fed before.
we have a higher standard Of living
than we have ever had before and we
have produced a great abundance of war
materials. The people know that to be
true. They viii not permit another
time to arrive such as the through
which we went in the recent past when
/ factories were closed down and people
were thrown out of work.
yet. Mr.. President, there are those
here in the u. S. Senate who would
attempt to dam the tide and hold it
back. 1t cannot be done. If we form
Ia solid phalanx and attempt to hold
back the tide we shall be overwhelmed.
England. at least, has had more sense
than to try to do that. She is sending
TO the san Francisco conference Gle
ment Atlee, a Socialist. Even the reac-
tionaries in England know you can't
stem the tide our course is the stuff
that leads TO dictatorship
Senator LaFollette said that although
the defeat of Williams is a foregone
conclusion" that he was disappointed
bv the nature of the attacks upon him.
oThis doctrine of convicting indiyid-
nails on their economic and political be
Hefs by association is a dangerous prac-
tice." The Wisconsin senator said he
regretted that williams will be rejected
by the Senate on flimsy evidence and
hoped that when his four sons get
back from the armed forces their faith
in the Senate will not be shaken by
this action"
Wheeler quoted a phrase from Writer
Max Eastman that we are now in the
twilight Of liberalism" and went on to
remark that those who call themselves
liberals and then denounce their OPP
ponents as fascists or communists are
not liberals"
This was echoed later by Hill when
he declared that when the opposition
wants to smear a man it can't attack on
the facts or his record, it calls him a
communist"
Senator Charles w. Tobey (R-N. H)
told his colleagues that the Senate agri-
cultural committee had permitted the
late great liberal, George W Norris to
be called a communist" He recalled
that he informed the committee, in
GLIDING williams leading opponent, Sen
ator Kenneth McKellar D-Tenn) that
if the charge was true I'D like to see a
,.o~, Of tbar, in the Senate"