The guardian. [volume] (Boston, Mass.) 1901-1960, 1950-01-14

That resolution was spurred as
much by the inaction of Congress
on civil rights as it was by the
infamous action last winter
where the Senate first refused to
invoke cloture on filibuster
against a change in the rules,
and second, adopted new cloture
rule much worse than the old
one. The supporters of civil
rights were furious at this knife
thrust and their anger has not
cooled. The engineers Of this be-
trayal included both Democrats
and Republicans, with the Re
publican Minority Leader Sena-
tor Kenneth S. Wherry as chief
engineer.
Under the leadership of this
group the Senate did three
things: (a) it rejected ruling
by Vice-President Barley that
cloture could apply to a motion
to bring up measure as well
as to the measure itself; (b) it
passed a new rule which requires
that two-thirdS of the Senate
membership of --96 that is g.
vote for cloture before debate
could be limited; and (c) it voted
that debate never could be
limited in any fashion on mo-
ton to change the rules Of the
Senate.
I borrow from dime novel
language to describe this action
of last winter: it was a bastard
ly deed. The parliamentary
hocus-pocus was SO smooth and
was covered with so many words
which the public did not under
stand that it was weeks before
the full import of the maneuver
came home to the voter. Simply
stated this action of Wherry and
Company means that whereas
before, debate could be limited
by two-thirds of the Senators
present and voting - usually
about 55-now it is required that
: "a must vote for cloture. If,
ask you, it was most difficult tc
i get SIS votes for cloture, how car
: 81 be secured? Yet in the fac'
: OF this Senator Wherry declare
n that this is better rule thai
i the old one, and that civil right
. legislation can be passed unde
it. In this session Of Congress
we are going to ask him to prov
his statement.
Now. as bad as some of tn
Southerners are, and as much a
, they wanted this hanlstringinl
accomplished, they could never
have done it by themselves. They
had the help Of the Republican
Old Guard which in recent years
has worked hand-in-glove with
the Dixiecrats. So, while the
Democrats were and are in power,
and while some of them from
outside the South were guilty,
and while the Democratic party
as a whole must bear its share of
the blame, it must never be for
gotten that without the Dixie
Gratis Little Helper, Senator
| Wherry, and his Republican col
leagues, this rule, aimed directly
at choking off civil rights legis-
lation, would never have been
passed. The vote to overrule
Barley was 46 to Al, with %
Republicans joining % Demo-
Gratis in the act. That was the
crucial test vote. The men who
voted wrong are trying to cover
Up. but make no mistake about
it: if they voted against the
Barley ruling, they are not
friends of civil rights legislation.
Against this background the
nationwide Mobilization has been
under way. More than fifty ma
tlonal organizations are cooper
ating in the effort. They expect
to have not less than 1000 dele
gatesi n Washington Jan. IS,
delegates from twenty states,
many of them key political areas
such as Massachusetts, New Jer-
sey, New York, Pennsylvania,
Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Illinois,
Iowa, Missouri and California.
This campaign has put FEPC
the fair employment practice bill,
as the No. item. This has been
done for number Of reasons
First, it is the only civil rights
bill now out of committee in
both houses and ready for floor
action. 1t was reported favora-
bly, by a Senate committee and
reported without recommends
ton by House committee. 1t
is not necessary, therefore, to
work this bill through committee.
Il can be brought to the floor
early in the session--within the
e~4 4,.,1 xuao1re Carnnd fhp