Evening star., 1950-05-11
Taft Confident Of Vote!
To Kill Truman Plan
To Reorganize NLRB
By J. A. O'LeoY

Senator Taft. Republican. of
Ohio was confident today Of the
votes to kill President Truman's S
plan to reorganize the National
Labor Relations Board by abol-
ishing the independent office of
general counsel and transferring
the powers to the board itself.
From his special train in the
Northwest, President Truman sent
an eleventh-hour plea to the Sem
ate to approve his plan. saying
the present setup makes the
NLRB a o-headed freak"
However, when the Senate
voted, so to %. yesterday to lay
aside the civil rights program long
enough to take up the reorgani-
zation order, it indicated to OBJ
servers that Senator Taft had
enough support to block the plan.
Under the law, one branch OF
Congress has the power to veto
a presidential reorganization Or
der by a majority vote Of the
entire membership or 49 in the
Senate.
Called "UnwOrkable."
Senator Taft said he expects to
lose S of the so votes he had
yesterday to bring up the subject.
On the other hand, he expects
10 supporters who were absent
yesterday to be on hand today.
In a message to Vice President
Barkley, Mr.. Truman insisted that
personalities are not involved. He
argued that the independent
powers given to the general coun-
sci by the Taft Hartley labor law
have created an unavoidable" set
up.
Mr.. Truman charged that op-
ponents ARE more concerned with
politics than with the merits OF
the proposal"
At the same time. however,
Robert N. Denham. the NLRB
general counsel, called the Tru-
man order a flank attack" on the
Taft Hartley Act.
Meanwhile. the combination of
Republican and Southern Demo-
cratic votes which made it pos
sible to give the Labor Board
issue the right of way today in
dicated the difficulty the admins
tration will have in trying to get
the 64 votes it must pile up next
week to invoke the anti-filibuster-
ing Nlle and thereby force deci-
sion on the fair employment
practices bill.
Vote May Come Today.
The vote on the NLRB reor-
ganization may come before sun
down. Under the law, reorganiza-
ton orders take effect automati-
cally if not turned down by either
the House or Senate within go
days. To insure Congress a chance
to exercise this veto power, the
law limits debate on any one plan
to 10 hours.
The Taft forces were willing
yesterday to agree to cut the de-
bate down to three hours, but
when Majority Leader Lucas lost
his fight to keep the Senate work.
ing on the FEPC bill, he blocked
that agreement.
If this Is so important we had
better debate it 10 hours" said
Senator Lucas bitterly.
The most telling blow in Mr..
Truman's message to the Senate
was his reminder that year ago
Senator Taft himself offered to
eliminate the independent general
counsel, as one of the modifica-
tions he was willing to make in
the original Taft-Hartley Act. The
Senate passed revamped version
of the Taft-Hartley law at that
time. but it has been begged down
since in a House committee and is
expected to die there with the end
of the 81st Congress.
President Truman said nothing
has happened since last year to
change the need for correcting
the existing unsound administra-
tive organization of the Labor
Board"
Mr.. Denham has been q con-
troversial figure since the Taft
Hartley law replaced the Wagner
Act. The controversies have CEN
tered around the exercise of the
powers conferred on him by the
law to go into complaints OF
alleged, unfair labor practices.
In an article in the current