Evening star., 1947-03-16

The Gentleman from Indiana" is
on the job-and quite a job he is
doing.
Most youthful majority leader OF
the House to be chosen by either
the Republicans or Democrats in
many years is Representative Charles
A. Halleck, Hoosier. For the first
time in 16 years the Republicans
have a majority in that body.
Furthermore, the Republicans in
Congress are distinctly ION trial"
and much may depend upon the
record they make when the time
comes to elect a President next year.
Mr.. Halleck in action has been an
eye-opener to some of his colleagues
during the two and a half months
the Eightieth Congress has been in
session. Admittedly, he has grown
with responsibility. Before his elec-
ton as majority leader, Charlie"
Halleck was known as fighting
debater, a strong partisan, with a
distinct flair for politics. He had
been chairman of the Republican
Congressional Committee-the COM
mittee which looks after the cam
paigning to elect Republican mem
bers of the House, and it was while
he was chairman that the Repub-
licans won control of the Efesent
Congress. In measure, his friends
argued, he was entitled, for the work
he had done, to advancement to the
office of majority leader.
Co-operates With Speaker.
When Speaker Martin recognizes
the Gentleman from Indiana"-as
he does nearly every day the House
is in session-it is Mr. Halleck's duty
to announce the legislative program,
to set wheels rolling, or take part
in the debate. In the House organ
ization, if it is to be successful, there
must be the closest kind Of CO.
operation between the Speaker-who
still has great power, notwithstand-
ing the rules adopted at the time
of the dethronement of the last
House GEAR" the late Uncle Joe"
Cannon. That is the kind of CO.
operation which exists between
Speaker Martin and his chief lieu
tenant on the floor. They have been
good friends in the past, when
Martin was minority leader of the
House. So the play in the House
today is from Martin to Halleck,
and from Halleck to Martin, with
the other key figures in the Repub-
lican House organization doing their
full share. Among them are the
Republican whip, Leslie c. Arends
of Illinois; the chairman Of the
Rules Committee, Leo E. Allen, also
of Illinois: the chairman of the
Appropriations Committee, John
Taber of New York; the chairman
of the Ways and Means Committee,
Harold Knutson of Minnesota; the
chairman of the Judiciary Com
mittee, Earl C. Michener,, and on
down the line of the chairmanships
of the important standing COM
mittees of the House.
The ''play" in the House by the
Republican team has been marked
with success-so far. On every
test vote the Republicans, under the
Martin -Halleck leadership, have
demonstrated great party solidarity.
This was true when the first meas
ure to carry out party pledges came
before the House-the proposed
amendment to the Constitution lin
iting a President to two terms. 1t
was true when the House voted on
the proposed Legislative budget" -
as opposed the Truman Budget
and fixed a figure $4,000, ,000, 900 be-
low that OF the President. Halleck
lost only one Republican vote on
that roll call. The Republicans
stood together. too, on the portal
|to-portal" pay bill-which they had
promised to put through Congress
during the 1916 champaign. And