The potters herald. [volume] (East Liverpool, Ohio) 1899-1982, 1949-04-28

ssoIu HVuOC sI6Hl
Seen For Public
Housing Measure
Washington LPA)-Labor lead
ers will appear in support of the
Senate-approved public housing bill
this week, as the measure faces it.
toughest battle Of the session. Al
last year, the House is expected t.
stall on the measure, urgentl,
needed to begin slum-clearance il
city and rural areas alike.
/ Urgency of the problem was un
derlined in Capitol Hill in fna
days of the debate, when support
ers of public housing on both sides
of the Senate took their colleague;
on quick visits to the shocking
novels where 10 to IL people are
crowded into one-room "apart.
ments" within the shadow of the
Capitol dome. The same conditions
prevail in every major city in the
nation, Sen. Hubert Humphrey ID
Minn.) pointed out. Humphrey
former mayor of Minneapolis, in
serted in the debate statements
from go mayors pleading for quick
action on the public housing bill.
More than a dozen amendments
proposed by Senators John Bricker
Or, Ohio) and Harry Cain Or,
Wash forced week-Iong debate on
the bill. On the final day, the Sen
ate was held in session for nearly
IL hours while it debated and voted
down, one after another, the Brick
er-Cair proposals. All of them were
played up by the Natl Association
of Home-Builders and the other
parts of the real estate lobby as
being more important than the
final vote on the measure.
Closest fight came on the Brick
er-Cain maneuver intended to split
the Democratic vote by forcing a
policy of non-segregation in every
public housing unit built under the
law. Sen. Paul Douglas Cd, Ill.)
fought the amendment on behalf
of the supporters of public housing,
making it clear that he was per-
sonally opposed to segregation
and would vote to set up the Dis
trict of Columbia housing units on
a non-segregated basis-but insist
ing that the amendment "would in
evitably kill the whole bill ITSELF"
"The Senator from Ohio has
made no secret of his attitude to-
ward the bill. He is opposed to it, :"
Douglas said. "We have the choice
of voting for the Bricker amend
ment prohibiting segregation in
public housing everywhere and
thereby killing the whole program,
or voting it down, enabling the act
to be passed, the slums to be clear
ed, and the $4,000 dwellings to be
constructed, and then let the local
tiles themselves decide this ques-
tion of segregation"
Douglas did not spare his south
ern Democratic colleagues. At one
point he turned to Sen. Russell
Long Cd, La.) and said, 81 think
the pain of being a black man in
the United States of America is
very great. So l do not think the
Senator from Louisiana should ex-
cuse the southern position on that
point by saying that Negroes want |
to be segregated" He added, later,
Il want to say to my southern
friends that if we decline to make
political capital of this issue, they
should not be so unyielding on civil
rights. Give a little on your side"
Sen. Wayne Morse Or, Ore.) and ]
Glen Taylor CD, Idaho), the latter
he candidate for vice president on
5he Wallace ticket, both stood up
% support Douglas stand. Vote on
he Bricker amendment was 32 for,
l6 against.
On the final vote, which was an
overwhelming 81 to 13, only two
southern Democrats joined the IL
Republicans in opposing the bill.
The die-hard opponents of public
lousing were: Republicans-Brick-
r (Ohio), Butler (Nebr.), Cain
Wash.), Gordon (Ore.), Ecton
Mont.), Gurney (S.D), Knowland
Calif.), Millikin (Colo), Mundt
SD, Wherry (Nebr.), and Will
ans (Del.); Democrats-McClel- i
an (Ark.) and Robertson (Va.). /
ABSENT, but in pairs" where they |
yould have opposed the bill if
hey'd been present, were: Repub-
cans-Kem (Mo.); Democrats
'yrd (Va.), O'Conor (Md), Tyd- |
lgs (Md.). In addition, Sen. Reed |
ID Konn ,,-.. .