Minneapolis spokesman. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1934-2000, 1945-06-15
Ringling Bros.
Congress Vie for
First Place
(By Washington Correspondent

! (By Washington Correspondent
WASHINGTON, D. c. (NNPA)
The Ringing Bros Barnum &
Bailey Circus was in Washington
last week. Its clown acts and
trained seals, its jugglers and
aerialists had stiff competition
from the Congress of the United
States, however.
Up on Capitol Hill, the perform
ance was built around the issue of
fair employment practices. Pleas
for adherence to democratic prin-
ciples were trotted out dressed in
Hitlerian finery which made them
unacceptable.
Colmer of Mississippi, his thatch
of red hair and his Mississippi
scowl betting his role, accused
the supporters of FEPC of at
tempting to Illustrate democracy.
He is one Of the principal char
acters in the Rules Committee
drama portraying how effectively
a handful of obstreperous men can
defeat the will of the majority.
The Republicans kept doing a
trapeze act, swinging all over the
place, calling attention to the fact
that the Rules Committee has eight
Democratic members and only four
Republicans. But it was the insist
ence of some of the Republicans
that the sixth opposition vote to
FEPC be present (which would
make a tie and prevent reporting
a favorable rule) which has kept
the measure bottled up in the Rules
Committee during the past two
weeks.
A panoramic scene of excitement
and confusion was staged when
Rep. Marcantonio (ALP of N. ",
announced that he would raise a
point of order against every item
in the War Agencies Bill which
like FEPC had no legislative au-
thority. This was given as the rea-
son for emitting the FEPC budget
request from the bill. Immediate
ly the Rules Committee members
got their heads together, rushed
to their committee room, found
they could get a quorum with no
difficulty at all, voted without the
presence of Rep. Slaughter of Mis-
souri, whose absence has been used
as a reason for not voting on a
rule for FEPC, and voted a rule
outlawing points of order against
the items included in the War
Agencies Appropriation Bill. The
Ringing Bros. manager would
have signed every one of them to
a contract had he been able to see
the performance.
Lacking a wild animal scene,
Rep. Frank Chef of Kentucky
tried to stage a brawl with Mar
cantonio as the victim when heated
words about FEPC began flying
about. The Sergeant at Arms de-
cided that the audience, admitted
free, did not deserve this added at
traction.
There were "teaser" acts. The
Rules Committee would meet and
threaten to vote on a rule for
FEPC. Then Smith of Virginia
would move adjournment and walk
out without waiting for a vote.
Like trained seals, the majority of
the committee would follow him
out. Then another meeting would
be scheduled and only six members
at a time would remain in the room,
thus defeating a quorum. Others
would march in, take a count, and
walk right out again. Finally, the
meeting would adjourn without
taking a vote on FEPC, and sud
/ denly several Republicans would
rush up as though they were
breathlessly trying to get in be-
fore the meeting adjourned and
thus make up a quorum. Nobody
seemed fooled, however.
1t was a good SHOW" and it was
free-except for the taxes you pay
to feed and house the performers.
But it was staged in the wrong
locale. Il should have been in the