Evening star., 1950-05-07
Southeners Prepared
For Long Senate Fight
On FEPC Legislation
By J. A. O'Leor

The curtain goes up in the
Senate tomorrow on the peren-
nial civil rights battle, while the
House begins its final week OF
debate on the 1924 billion omni-
bus appropriation bill.
In short Saturday session, the
House made little headway on
the omnibus money measure. II
added $2.5 million to the Mari
time Commission merchant ma
rine training program, but re-
jected a move to add $50 million
to the $875.8 million Veterans
Administration fund for hospital
care
Sitting as committee Of the
whole, the House finished reading
and tentatively approved the rest
of the budgets Independent Offices
section, which amounts to $8,634,-
100000, most of it for the Veterans
Administration. When the remain
ing chapters of the budget measure
have been read, the House will
take final vote.
Showdown Delay Likely.
While the Senate was in recess
yesterday, Southern Democrats
were getting ready to start talking
at noon tomorrow against the ad-
ministration's Fair Employment
Practices bill, with friends of the
bill recognizing they will not be
able to pass it unless they can
muster the 81 votes required to
invoke the new anti-f1libuster rule.
A showdown on invoking the
cloture rule may not come for
ten days or two weeks, because of
other privileged matters that are
likely to intervene.
First will come an effort, start
ing Wednesday or Thursday, to
block President Truman's proposed
reorganization of the National
Labor Relations Board, and this
may be followed by similar mo-
tions to take up resolutions relat-
ing to some of the Presidents
20 other reorganization orders
These resolutions have a spe-
cial priority under the law, be-
cause the reorganization orders
go into effect automatically May
"a, go days after being presented
to Congress, unless disapproved by
one branch before that time.
Two Plans Opposed.
A motion to take up a reorgan-
ization plan must be voted on
without debate, and, once taken
up, a plan may be debated for 10
hours. There are two such reso-
lutions on the Senate docket now,
and six more may be acted on by
the Senate Expenditures Commit
tee Tuesday.
There is strong opposition to
the NLRB reorganization order,
and a majority is expected to vote
to take it up. 1t involves the row
over the Taft-Hartley Law, be-
cause it would abolish the indepen-
dent Office of general counsel, set
up by that law. and transfers his
functions to the board.
There also is substantial oppo-
sition to the order placing the in
dependent Controller of the Cur
rency Office under the Secretary
of the Treasury, and this also may
be taken up in the Senate. But
whether a majority of the Senate
would vote to sidetrack FEPC
temporarily for long list of other
reorganization orders is proble-
matical.
Basing Point May Come Up.
Southerners also are counting
on the conference report being
called up on the controversial bill
to legalize the basing point price
system. Conference reports also
have a privileged status, but sup
porters of FEPC may be able to
muster majority against raising
the basing point issue until the
civil rights battle Is over.
Meanwhile, some Southern Sem
ators who are Chairmen of COM
mittees made plans for a slow
down on legislation under their
jurisdiction while the FEPC bill
is before the Senate.
Senator Johnston, Democrat, of
South Carolina. Chairman Of the
Post Office and Civil Service Com
mittee, announced he has called
off all hearings on the Postal Rate
bill and other legislation in that
committee after Tuesday because
the FEPC bill will be before the
Senate.
Ga Needed for ClOture.
Earlier, Senator Maybank, Dem.
ocrat, of South Carolina, whose
Banking Committee has charge o1
extending rent control. had indi'
Gated that as long as FEPC is be-
fore the Senate he would not b.
able to hold meetings on con.
troversial" subjects.
While these committee delayI