Evening star., 1948-12-18
The Political Mil
Barriers to Hosty Action
On Bills Agoin,Under Fire
House Rules Unit and Senate Cloturs
Face Fight in New Congress
By Gould Lincoln


Two stumbling blocks to hasty-and perhaps
ill-considered-action, one in the House and
the other in the Senate, are again the subject
of attack as the so-called inundated" Eighty
first Congress is about to come into being In
the House it is the Rules Committee which Is
scored as the villain of the piece; In the Sen.
ate 1t is the rule of unlimited debate-and a
cloture rule requiring two-thirds vote to bring
debate to conclusion.
Such attacks are not new, and they invari-
ably arise when really controversial issues
for example, the Presidents civil rights pro-
gram or repeal of the Taft Hartley labor law
are pressed hard Majority rule is the god of
the average legislator, when he happens to be
in the majority. The rights of minorities are
overlooked.
Representative Eberharter, Democrat, Of
Pennsylvania has taken the lead in shooting
at the House Rules Committee. He wants the
powers OF that committee curtailed, since it
Is the committee to which members go-in.
cluding committee chairmen-to get special
rules making legislation in. order His plant is
that the Rules Committee can and does bottle
up legislation. merely by declining to report it
out with rule for consideration.
Morse Hits "Filibusters"
On the Senate side of the Capitol, Senator
Morse OF Oregon, progressive Republican, is de-
manding that something be done to prevent
any future "flibusters" in the upper house.
Only, he contends, by establishing firm ma jor.
ity rule able at all times to bring an end to
debate, will it be possible to put through the
civil rights, antisegregation bills which Presi.
dent Truman, and many members of Congress.
have promised the colored voters to write into
law.
Conservative Democrats have not delayed
their reply to Representative Eberharter on the
subject of the Rules Committee. Representa-.
tive Howard Smith of Virginia, a member of
that much-diScussed committee sent q letter
to every member of the new House-including
Mr.. Eberharter-in which he fatty denied Rep.
resentative Eberharters charge that "a few
men sitting on the Rules Committee effectively"
are able to thwart the will of the majority Of
the House.
Representative Smith pointed out that under
the discharge rule, any member of the House, If
he can get petition signed by majority of
the House, can force a measure before that
body-and nothing the Rules Committee can do
can stop 1t. This, Mr.. Smith contended Is true
majority rule. This discharge rule was adopted
during the first year of the Roosevelt admins
tration, to lberalize the House rules and to
posal that any one member, on a privileged
motion, be permitted to bring UP and compel
the other 434 members of the House to vote
on the. consideration of bill they might op-
pose would in reality be minority rule of the
most vicious sort"
Looks Like Good Fight.
This looks like good fght-with Represent
atlve Eberharter on one side and Representa-.
fhnr ;e S.,k
tnat the Rules Committee has frequently pre.
vented, or disastrously DELAYED, consideration
OF legislation by the House 1t made trouble for
the late President Franklin D. Roosevelt in his
latter years, and more recently for President
truman, who had pet measures he desired tn
put through the House. It happened that con-
SerVatlVe Democrats from the South in the
committee banded together with Republican
members to cut down these measures
with the new Democratic controlled House
taxing over In January, unless the senioritv
rule Is violated, there will be still enough con.
serVatlVe Democrats on the Rules Committee
acting with the Republicans, to cause trouble.
This might tempt the Democratic leadership "a
tamper with the House rules, but probably ths
safer way, for the leadership, would be for IL
10 back purge" of the committee, There
Will be plenty of times in the future when the
leadership will have to rely on a strong Rules
Committee to back it up.
The Republicans, before Congress adjourned.
pledged themselves to do something about thu
civil rights measures. Mr. Morse now wants
the Senate to amend its rules. Such an amend.
ment as he proposes, however might cause a,
long struggle in the Senate as a fight to
overcome filibuster against the civil rights
Dllis. When Charles G. Dawes took oath of
once as Vice President in the Coolidge admin
lstraton, ne made bitter attack on the rules
and that was the last heard of it. The rules
have continued the same.