Evening star., 1949-04-20

Fight Centers on Votes
Now in Doubtful Gloss;
Result Sure to Be Close
By David Laurence
Rarely II ever In the recent his
tory Of Congress has q recess Of
Congress been as important TO
legislation as the present "vaca-
ton"
Long before the House Of Rep
resentatives arranged its own re-
cess. members of the labor union
strategy boards planned to carry
on a most intensive campaign
back home to influence the COM
ing vote on labor management
legislation.
The contest is very close. Sec
retary of Labor Tobin, who at first
predicted that the so-called ad-
ministration bill would be adopted
by the House. has now given out
the figures on which he bases his
prediction. It turns out that he
comedies there are only 200 sure
votes out of 435 for the admins
tration bill, but he thinks that
about 40 are wavering and many
of these will swing over to the
administration side.
Drive Centers on Doubtful.
The opposing factions are in
deed lined up about as the Secre-
tary Of Labor sizes up the situa-
ton but there are distinct diff
ferences of opinion as to what the
other so-called doubtful votes will
do. Fl
Obviously the drive in the dis
tricts back home is centered on
the relatively small number Of
members who are in the doubtful
class. AL sorts Of pressure are be-
ing applied. Before the Congress
men went away the air was full of
rumors about promises of patron
age to the wavering ones. Possible
Federal works projects which
haven't been up for years were
busted of and dangled before the
members whose votes are needed.
The other side-the Republicans
and the Southern Democrats-are
standing firmly. with the excep-
ton Of about 20 Republicans who
are believed to be on the fence.
Some of these are doubtless being
promised AFL or CIO support at
the polls in the November, 1850,
elections. Considerable use is being
made Of election statistics tending
to show how the labor vote helped
elect or defeat members of Con-
gress on their record on labor
legislation.
When the House members come
back the lobbying will continue.
President Truman never says a
word about lobbying when it is
being done by labor unions. He
facetiously claims that this Is in
the peoples interest. Somehow or
other the philosophy that the end
1ustifies the means when the OBJ
3ective Is benevolent has taken
hold far more in official Washing
ton In recent years than at any
other time In the last half CEN
tury.
Can Dispense Favors.
The fact that the Federal Gov
ernment can, dispense favors
through its huge spending pro-
gram makes the old patronage
system when a few United States
marshals or postmasters were the
rewards for voting right" in Re-
publican days now seem like
peanuts.
The chances are the vote will
be very close and that the parlia-
mentary maneuvers on the Wood
bill which is being pressed as a
substitute for the administration
billt will have much to do with
the way the whole thing winds up.
1t is eminently proper for mem
bers Of Congress to hear in their
home districts arguments for or
against pending legislation. It
would be gratifying If the whole
matter were merely one of debate
on the merits of such legislation.
But 1t does look as If minority
groups able to mobilize union
members as voters are threaten
ing to inflict punishment at the
polls II members Of Congress do
not obey the dictation of Hobbies.
It is getting more and more diff
cult for. members to vote their
convictions and yet be reelected.
The reason for this is. of course,
the indifference Of a majority of
the voters to what goes on in their
district-and many voters do not
know even the names of their
Representatives in Congress, let
alone their attitudes and votes on
pending legislation. II the ma
jority is to rule, some better meth
DDS of communication between
Government and the governed will
have to be devised and better
methods of stimulating the inter-
est of otherwise Indifferent voters.
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