Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1949-01-02
Issue Will Test
COP. Coalition
With Southerners
RENT CONTROL, HOUSING get
? priority pending congress study
of imitation. Page Az.
By J. A. O'Leory

BY }. A. " Leory
House Democrats voted, 176 to
48, last night to curb the powers
of the Rules Committee-a move
designed to clear the tracks for
the program President Truman
will send to the 81St Congress.
This set the stage for a showdown
on the issue as soon as the new
Democratic controlled Congress con-
venes tomorrow The entire House
will vote on the proposal and this
will provide an immediate test OF
strength to find out whether coall-
ton of Republicans and Southern
Democrats will be able to side
track legislation in 1949, as it has
in the past.
Although a motion to adjourn
ended the four-hour Democratic
caucus last night before the future
of the committee on Un-Amerlcan
Activities was raised, Representative
Walter of Pennsylvania. caucus
chairman. predicted at least two
moves relating to the makeup and
future functioning of that commit
tee will be made in the House to-
morrow.
Message Slated Wednesday.
President Truman will give this
81st Congress the first glimpse Of
what he wants it to do in his State
of-the-Union message Wednesday,
followed some days later by his
budget proposals. A third message
on the economic problems of the
day will follow in the early days of
the session.
Repeal of the Hartley labor
law, broader social security cover
age, tax revision, imitation controls
and continued foreign aid are ex-
pected to be among the major is
sues Mr.. Truman will present to this
Congress. which brings the Demo-
Gratis back into control at the Capt.
toll after two years of divided man.
agement between Democratic ad-
ministration and Republican-con-
trolled Congress.
AS the curtain rises on the new
session the Democrats have ma
jority of 81 in the House and II
in the Senate. Nevertheless, by de-
Gliding last night to go to bat on
a vital change in procedure, admin
istration leaders recognized that
their mathematical majority might
be ineffective unless an easier means
was found to get legislation to the
floor.
Rayburn Is Nominated.
Before plunging into the rules
fight yesterday, the House Demo-
Gratis carried out advance predic-
tions by nominating Representative
Rayburn of Texas for Speaker and
Representative Mccormack of Mas
sachusetts for majority floor leader
posts they held in the Democratic
Seventy-ninth Congress.
The proposed new process for pre-
venting the Rules Committee from
sidetracking a bill on its way to the
floor after a regular committee has
approved it was offered by Mr.. Nc
Cormack, and differs from the vari-
Gus advance suggestions discussed
last week.
1t provides that if the Rules group
fails to act within 81 calendar days,
or reports adversely to the House,
the chairman of the committee
which handled the bill originally
could move in the House to have
the subject taken up, and a major
ity of those present and voting at
the time would decide the issue.
AS the rules now stand there is
a way of forcing bill out of the
Rules Committee, but it requires
a majority of the entire member
ship of the House-218-to sign
their names to a discharge petit
ton, which is not always an easy
task to accomplish.
Faces Republican Battle.
The new rule would make it much
simpler. The chairman of the COM
mittee in charge of any major con-
troversial bill being delayed in the
Rules Committee could be recog-
niZed by the Speaker to bring the
situation to the attention CT the
House, without a signed petition,
and let a majority decide whether
the bill should be taken up by the
House. AS long as quorum was
present. a majority of those voting
would be sufficient.
The new rule, however, faces its
biggest hurdle in the House tomor-
row. The Republicans undoubtedly
will welcome the opportunity to
stage a battle over the rules on
opening day.
There are I'll Republicans in the
new House, and If all of them join
with the 43 Democrats who opposed
the new rule in their party caucus
last night, the coalition would have
219-one more than a majority of
the entire House.
Administration forces, however,
are. counting on two factors to
help them win. First, that the
Republicans will not vote solidly;
second, that all Of the 48 Democrats
who opposed the change in party
caucus will not continue to hold
out against the leadership on the
floor tomorrow.
80 Fail to Vote in Carcus.
There is another unknown guam
tity. Thirty-eight Democrats did
not vote in the party caucus last
night, and how they divide on the
question could be decisive.
Representative Walter told re-
porters 1t is his judgment as chair
man of the caucus that the vote
in favor of the new rule is binding
on all Democrats who took part in
the caucus, because it carried by
more than two-thirds.
Representative Smith Of Virginia
q veteran member of the Rules
(see CONGRESS, Page A-3J
Rodio Programs, Page C-S
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