Evening star., 1948-08-04
|G. 0. P. GivesUp
POLL Tax Fight;
|P|ans New Rules
Refuses to Accept
Compromise With
South on Amendment
By J. A. Oleoy

The Republicans surrendered
to the Southern Democrats today
in the fight to abolish poll taxes.
Meeting in party conference, the
| COP Senators decided to concen-
trate on rewriting Senate rules to
prevent fllibustering against the
civil rights program next January
instead of accepting the Southern
compromise constitutional amend
ment method of outlawing the poll
tax.
Both houses will go into high
gear at once in an effort to pass
limited imitation controls, new
housing bill and possibly iberalize
the rules governing admission Of
displaced persons from war zones
into the United States.
To Seek Adjournment Saturday.
Chairman Millikin of the Repub-
lican Conference Committee said an
effort would be made to adjourn the
special session Saturday night IF it
can be done in orderly fashion" In
any event, he predicted, the session
would be over early next week.
Having decided to let the South
erners have their way until next
year, the Republican leaders an
nounced they would adjourn the
Senate early this afternoon. Ad-
journment until tomorrow, instead
OF recessing, will sidetrack the pend
ing motion to take up the anti-poll
tax bill. The way then will be clear
to act not later than Friday on the
imitation control bill due to start in
the House today
Meanwhile, Senator Taft, Repub-
lican, of Ohio announced Repub-
lican leaders will be comforting this
afternoon with administration hous-
ing experts on details of new bill
to stimulate home building, the de-
tails of which still are unsettled.
Brooks to Study Rules Change.
There is no certainty of final
action on more liberal treatment Of
displaced persons, but Chairman
Millikin said if anything Is done it
probably will be limited to changing
the eligibility dates.
This change would meet President
Truman's complaint that the re-
Gently enacted law discriminates
against Jewish and Catholic refu-
gees. There were reports at the
Capitol several days ago that Gov.
Dewey, the Republican presidential
nominee, also favors this change in
the law.
Senator Brooks, Republican, Of
Illinois was named chairman of a
special committee to study Senate
rules during the recess to be ready
to present amendments when the
new Congress meets in January.
Under the present rules, Senator
Millikin said, 1t was deemed futile
to go ahead with the anti-poll tax
issue at this time"
To Use Fundamental Approach.
The only way the Southern DEM
ocratic filibuster could be broken
before the rules are changed. Sena-
tor Millikin explained, would be to
take the time to wear out all of the
pponents-at least 81 in number.
That would take weeks and weeks
he said.
1--WE decided on the fundamental
approach of putting first things
first" the Colorado Senator went
on. 1--WE are going to amend the
Senate rules to make cloture avail
able at every stage of Senate pro-
ceedings"
In the current fight the Republi-
can leaders failed in an effort to
invoke the old 1917 cloture rule.
because they were confronted with
precedents holding that cloture can
be applied only after a bill has
become the pending business Of the
Senate. Since last Thursday the
Southerners have prevented the poll
tax bill from becoming the pending
business by blocking the motion to
take it up.
Compromise Opposed.
In their party conference today
some Republicans favored the con-
stitutional amendment to outlaw
poll taxes as a voting requirement,
which the South indicated it would
not fight because it recognized the
right of the States to settle the is
sue. According to reliable reports,
(See CONGRESS PAGE A-Al