St. Paul recorder. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1934-2000, 1951-10-12

defenders of the filibuSter.
The filibuster in the Unite
executive secretary of the Ma
tional Association for the Ad-
vancement of Colored People,
charged at the opening session of
the hearings, provided the model
for Soviet obstructionism in the
Security Council of the United
Nations and other international
gatherings.
To avert these tactics at the
Japanese Peace Treaty Confer
ence in San Francisco, the Ameri-
can and British delegations, drew
up rules of procedure to impose
cloture precisely as Senators
Morse, Lehman, Wherry, Lodge,
Humphrey and others propose, in
these resolutions, TO do in the
Senate. Imagine how vulnerable
the United States will be
throughout the world, if our ma
ton imposes cloture on Russia at
San Francisco and refuses to do
so to obstructionists in the
United States Senate"
Free Speech" Not The Issue
The issue, the NAACP leader
continued, is not free speech" "
but whether the country can af-
ford to tolerate 1.-The most ex-
pensive speech in the history of
America as far as preservation of
the democratic process is concern
ed. We challenge any logical per-
son to differentiate between
Gromyko and Eastland on this is
sue of the filibuster."
Senator Herbert Lehman,
sponsor of one of the four resolu-
tons to curb filibusters and a
member of the NAACP board of
directors, opened the hearings
with an attack upon the present
cloture rule, which requires "a
affirmative votes to shut off de-
bate in the Senate.
in my considered judgement"
the senator said, Rule %, 1.-THE
cloture rule) in its present form is
contrary to the spirit of the Con-
stitution, to the principles of
parliamentary procedure, to the
essence of democratic govern
ment, and to the best interests of
the Senate and of the United
States"
This rule, he asserted. is the
ill-conceived offspring of a
mesalliance between the op-
ponents of civil rights legislation
and those who wanted to pay pas
sing lip-service to it. So civil
rights legislation is very much a
part of the picture. I will state
frankly that should Rule % be
amended along the lines of my
proposal, my first motion would
be a motion to take up civil rights
legislation"
Constitutional Issue Raised
Senator Humphrey Joined the
attack on the constitutional is
sue and reviewed the history of
the filibuster since 1917, when the
first cloture rule was adopted.
From that date until the present,
81 attempts have been made to
invoke cloture, of which only four
succeeded. Never has an attempt
to invoke cloture on a civil rights
measure succeeded.
A brief supporting the pro-
position that Rule % violates the
Constitution of the United States
was submitted by Walter Reu-
ther. president of the United
Automobile Workers, CLIO. and an
NAACP board member Asked by
Senator William Benton, who pre-
sided at the hearings, how he
would proceed to stop filibuster-
ing, the labor leader advanced a
bold new tactic based upon the
contention that every two years
the Senate becomes an entirely
new body empowered to set up its
own rules of procedure. The ira
dition that the Senate continuing
body, bound by the rules of pre-
ceding sessions, is folklore" Mr..
Reuther said.
New Tactic Proposed
Upon converting in January fol-
lowing an election, a senator
could rise and propose new set
of rules, contending that the old
rules were no longer valid; where
upon, the presiding officer would
be required to rule on whether or
not the motion was in order. An
appeal from the chairs ruling
would have to be decided by ma
iority vote only and without pro-
Ionged debate. Under such condi-
tons, he maintained, those who
wanted to change Rule % would
be able to do so by majority vote.
Mr.. Reuther further suggested
that in the midst of the session,
the constitutionalty Of Rule %
could be challenged from the
floor. thus forcing the chair to
make a ruling from which appeal