Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1949-04-29
House Vote Is SOUGHT
On Labor Bill Today;
New Measure Offered
By Chris Mothisen

By Chris Mothisen
Making its way slowly through
o maze of amendments, the House
was heading for a showdown this
afternoon between the administra-
ton labor bill and a substitute Of
fered by a coalition of Republicans
and Southern Democrats bent on
salvaging most Of the Taft-Hart-
ley Act.
Administration leaders brought
the House into session at 10 am,
today-two hours earlier than
usual-in an effort to make subs.
stantia1 Roadway on the Taft
Hartley repeal issue before the
weekend recess. They decided.
however, to discard plans for q
Saturday session which had been
agreed on tentatively earlier.
With the coalition-supported
Wood bill already offered as a
substitute for the administrators
Lesinski bill, Representative Mar
cantonio, American Laborite. Of
New York. proposed today a new
substitute-repeal Of Taft Hartley
and re-enactment of the old
Wagner Act In full. He challenged
the Democratic leadership to ac-
cept this as the only adequate dis
charge Of campaign pledges and
declared:
Anything else Is confusing
surrender and indecent betrayal"
Lanham Opposes Wood Bill.
The first open opposition on the
floor to the Wood bill by South
ern Democrat came from Repre-
sentative Lanham, whose fellow
Georgian introduced the measure.
Mr.. Lanham said he was con-
WINGED the Taft-Hartley Act had
injured organized labor in the
South but added he would want
some changes in the Lesinski bill,
particularly to give the President
strong authority in Gripping"
strikes.
Admitting that he was lone Of
those terrible Southern Demo-
Gratis" Mr.. Lanham said:
I'm proud of the fact that I'm
a'Southern Democrat. but I'm also
an administration Democrat. and
I don't think the two positions
are irreconcilable."
Another Georgia Democrat,
Representative Cox. chided Rep
resentative Holifield, Democrat, of
California for a statement attribu-
ted to him that administration
Democrats would war" on the
Southerners If they persisted in
the coalition with the Republic
cans. Mr.. Holifield declared he
had made no such statement. and
MIR. Cox then apologized.
In attempting to line UP enough
votes to block substitution of the
Wood bill for their own. admin
istration leaders admitted pri-
vately they were hurt by Presi-
dent Truman's implied linking OF
party regularity on the labor is
sue and patronage.
Sees Test Of Loyalty.
Mr.. Truman. replying to a news
conference question yesterday,
said he certainly would consider
the voting on Taft-Hartley re-
peal one measure of party 10y
atty among Democrats.
Representatives Hebert Of Lou
isiana and Rankin of Mississippi,
both Democrats, called this. re-
spectively. "a patronage purchase
tag on votes" and IAN attempt to
browbeat Congress"
House Majority Leader McCor-
mack rejoined angrily. that South
erners who deserted Mr. Truman
for the Southern banner in the
last election were sitting with
Democrats 'by tolerance" only
and had no claim to favors.
Lesinski bill hackers said the
fiareup damaged their efforts to
lure some Southern Democrats
away from the coalition.
Still Predict Victory.
They insisted, however, they still
will have enough votes to defeat
the bill sponsored by Representa-
tive Wood, Democrat, Of Georgia.
This measure would repeal Taft
Hartley, but then re-enact most
Of it.
The bill introduced by Chair
man Lesinski of the House Labor
Committee would replace the
present labor law with modi-
fication Of the Wagner Act.
n.s~~I@.