Evening star., 1950-02-02
The Political Mil ..~-.
Major 6. 0. P. Victory
Won by Lodge Over Taft
II Republican Senators Held in Line
By Leader of Young Turks
By Gould Lincoln

Dy UON1 Lincoln
Henry Cabot Lodge jr., Of Massachu-
setts. leader of the Young Turks" among
the Republicans of the Senate, scored O
major victory when the upper house, by
vote of 81 to o. yesterday adopted his
resolution proposing an amendment to the
Constitution eliminating the Electoral Col-
lege for the choice of Presidents and Vice
Presidents.
The victory to be sure, was achieved with
the aid of the huge majority of Democratic
Senators. Nevertheless, Mr.. Lodge was able
to hold in line II other Republican Senators
for his proposed amendment, notwithstand-
ing the combined opposition of Senator Taft
Of Ohio, chairman of the Republican Policy
Committee; Senator Wherry of Nebraska,
Republican floor leader, and Senator Milli-
kin of Colorado. chairman of the Repub-
lican Conference of the Senate.
Backing Senator Taft and the others were
20 Republican Senators-nnaking the Re-
publican vote on the Lodge amendment Is
for and % against it.
Lodge Failed Before.
At the opening of the 81st Congress,
soon after the disastrous 1948 campaign,
Senator Lodge and several of the other
members of the liberal Republican group in
the Senate. insisted the time had come to
revarnp the G. o. P. leadership. Mr.. Lodge
might have sought the Republican floor
leadership-which former Senator White of
Maine had relinquished and which Senator
Wherry of Nebraska claimed-but he elected
to make bid for the bigger prize, the
Craftsmanship of the Republican Policy Com
mittee, against Senator Taft. Mr.. Lodge
failed. He received only dozen votes in
the Republican caucus, and Mr.. Taft was
overwhelmingly reelected chairman of that
committee. In his fight for the adoption OF
the proposed amendment to the Constitu-
tion, Senator Lodge had the determined
opposition of Senator Taft-and consider
able acrimony developed on the floor during
the final debate.
Mr.. Lodge had another major success,
back in the 8oth Congress, when he, with
Representative Clarence Brown, Republican,
OF Ohio, sponsored the resolution which
created the Hoover Commission on the re-
organization of the Executive departments
and agencies of the Federal Government.
The commission set up under that reSolu-
ton, headed by former President Herbert
Hoover, is already responsible for saving the
American taxpayers something like a billion
dollars due to reorganization recommended
by that commission, and is expected to save
the people and the Government still more
billions when the rest of its proposals are
made effective.
Reform Long Sought. ,
The Lodge amendment. which was off,
cially sponsored by several other Republican
and Democratic senator's proposes that the
States shall retain their respective electoral
votes-for President and Vice-President-
but that these electoral votes shall be di-
vided proportionally between, or among, the
candidates for those offices according to the
popular vote cast for each candidate. In
other words, the voters will vote directly for
President and Vice-President, instead Of for
presidential and vice-presidential electors"
who have made up the Electoral College
which in turn cast its votes for President
and Vice-President An amendment offered
by Senator Lucas of Illinois, Democrat, and
accepted by Mr., Lodge, provides that to be
elected, candidate must have at least 40
per cent of the total electoral vote of the
states: If no candidate has 40 per cent, then
the election goes into a joint session Of
Senate and House. ....
For years the clamor has come up to get
rid of the Electoral College. But until Sena-
tor Lodge on the House side, and RepreSen-
tative Gossett of Texas, Democrat, on the
House side, made determined effort in the
Both Congress for this reform, nothing was
accomplished. The proposed amendment was
favorably reported in that Congress to both
houses, but did not reach vote. The
amendment has been reported favorably in
the House, and is on the calendar awaiting
action. -.. s.. y
Resistance by Senator Taft and other
Republicans was based in part on their be-
lief that if the amendment were adopted
Republican victory in a national election
would be tremendously difficult, largely due
to the overwhelming Democratic popular
vote in the States of the South. The big vote
cast for the amendment by Democratic Sem
ators seems to bear out this theory. Mr..
Lodge, however insists that if his amendment
is adopted, the two party system will develop
In the South and that in the long rum the
Republican Party will benefit. 'e-.