Evening star., 1946-12-30
g. 0. P. Ignores
On Committees
Membership Session
Today to Go Ahead
Despite Delay Plea
By J. A. O'Leory


lenge from Senator Tobey, Re-
publican, of New Hampshire,
party leaders went ahead today
with plans to have the Repub-
lican conference tackle commit
tee assignments without waiting
for Congress to convene.
While the Republican Steering
Committee, headed by Senator Taft
of Ohio was in closed session this
Senator Tobey declared
that party rules forbid any action
on committee assignments until aft
er the Eightieth Congress meets
Friday.
When the Steering Committee
broke up an hour later, Senator Taft
announced it had drawn up an
agenda for this afternoons meeting
of the entire Republican Senate
membership. which calls among
other things for the immediate ap-
pointment of a Committee on Com
mittees.
Senator Taft told reporters he had
no doubt of the authority of the
Republican conference to proceed
without waiting for the session to
open Friday.
To Nominate Chairmen.
The Steering Committee also an.
nounced that the conference this
afternoon will be asked to nominate
candidates for the following posts,
subject to election by the Senate:
A president pro tempore, expected
to be Senator Vandenberg of Michi-
gan.
A Republican floor leader, expected
to be Senator White of Maine
A Republican whip, with indica-
tions that Senator Wherry of Ne
braska will continue in that post.
A Senate sergeant at arms, for
which there are expected to be sew
eral candidates.
A floor secretary for the majority.
In addition to the committee on
committees, the conference will be
asked to create a patronage COM
mittee of five to handle the ap-
pointment of policemen, elevator
operators and other jobs at the
Senate end of the Capitol. Since the
Republicans have been out of power
for IA years, they have not needed a
patronage committee.
No Comment on Lodge.
Assuming the new committee on
committees is named this afternoon.
despite the Tobey protest, it will
meet without delay to go over the
assignments already tentatively rec
commended by the old committee.
Likewise, the new Steering Com
nittee to be named this afternoon
will meet, probably tomorrow, to
consider a course of action the Re-
publicans should follow looking to
the custer of Senator Bilbo, Demo-
crat, of Mississippi.
Senator Taft answered mo COM
ment" when asked about a proposal
Of Senator Tobey to have the Repub-
licans give Senator Lodge of Massa-
.chusetts the same seniority rights
he would have possessed if he had
not gone into military service. If
this Tobey motion should carry, it
might upset the entire tentative
slate of committee assignments,
since it would give Senator Lodge
higher rank for Craftsmanship.
Rules Cited by Tobey.
Senator Tobey previously had
questioned the right of the old
Committee on Committees to draw
up a tentative slate of assignments,
but today he carried his case fur
Gher.
The present Republican leaders
have insisted that they are merely
making recommendations to be
passed on by a new Committee on
Committees. Senator Tobey brushed
this argument aside with the COM
ment:
ANY child of adolescence who
doesn't know these recommended
tions will gather the force of a
SNOWFALL is just kidding himself"
Senator Tobey said the American
people just got through fighting q
war against Capitalization OF power
and he did not want to see his
party begin its new era of control
by following that trend.
The New Hampshire Senator
pulled out the written rules adopted
by the Republican conference in
1914 to support his claim that q
new Committee on Committees can
he appointed by the chairman of the
conference only after the new Con-
gress has assembled.
The old leaders have put Senator
Tobey down tentatively to be chair
man of the Banking Committee,
but he continued today to with
hold any expression of preference
until the new committee is created.
Several Disputes Unsettled.
Although Republican leaders gen.
orally diSclaimed the likelihood Of
any open break in party ranks over
the organization of the new Senate,
several other intra- party disputes
were still unresolved as today's
meeting approached.
Senator Reed, Republican, of
Kansas is making a fight to pre-
vent Senator White from becoming
chairman of the Interstate and
Foreign Commerce Committee as
well as majority floor leader. Sem
ator Reed is contender for the
interstate commerce post.
When the showdown comes In
1See CONGRESS- A-65