Evening star., 1952-03-08
Bitter Fight Grows
On Tax Bureau Plan;
|Mundf Sees Defeat
By Cecil Holland.

p1ttCA 0Cktdtc 1lSuG WaS snap.
ing up today over President Tru-
mans plan to reorganize the
scandal l-battered Revenue Bureau,
with Senator Mundt, Republican,
OF South Dakota predicting oppo-
nents Of the proposal will muster
the necessary 40 votes to kill it.
With q decisive vote scheduled
in the Senate next week, Mr.. Tru-
man provoked a furry Of COM
ment with a letter saying that the
issue would show whether Sena-
tors are more interested "in their
political patronage than in good
public service" and Gin using cor
ruption as a vehicle to attack the
administration. than they are in
actually taking steps to assure
clean Government"
Senator Mundt, one of the op-
ponents Of the reorganization plan,
called the Truman letter to Vice
President Barkley q ''brazen effort
to divert attention from conditions
OF graft" in the administration.
Others Not So Certain.
Other opponents of the plan
were not as certain as Senator
Mundt that 1t could be defeated
when the issue is taken up in the
Senate.
The law governing reorganiza-
ton measures requires a majority
|of the'full membership of the Sem
ate. or 40 votes, to reject a presi-
dental plan. One Senator said
privately that it would be possible
to obtain 81 votes against the plan
If all those opposed to it showed
up for the vote. But he pointed
out that it is difficult to get all
Senators in attendance and that
every absentee, in effect. was O
vote for the plan.
Senators Humphrey Of Mime
sofa and Moody Of Michigan, two
Democratic supporters Of the
Presidents plan, said the roll call
on the issue will tell who is will
ing to stand up and be counted
for the merit system and against
the patronage system"
For Civil Service Status.
The principal feature of the
Presidents reorganization propo-
sal would take the appointment
of collectors Of internal revenue
out of politics and place them
under civil service.
Chairman King Of the House
Ways and Means subcommittee
investigating tax scandals came tol
the Presidents aid in urging SEN
ate approval of the plan.
Mr.. King said he was post
poning a series of public hearings
from Monday to Thursday tol
give him time to do what he could
to arouse support for the re-
organization. He announced heI
would make q Nationwide radio
appeal for the plan at 11:15 pm.
Monday. The House already has
approved it.
Mr.. King predicted that mol
major legislation to improve con-
ditions within the Governments
tax collecting system would be
enacted this year If the Presi-
dents plan should be defeated.
Several reorganization bills are
pending in both the Senate and
House.
Truman's View Of Vote.
Mr.. Truman. in his letter. said
that the Senate vote will show
who it is that is just talking about
corruption and who it is that
really wants to do something
about It,"
He noted that five Of the six
Republican members of the Gov
Operations Committee,
formerly known as the Senate
Expenditures Committee, voted
against the reorganization pro-
posal.
These five Senators-like many
Of their Republican colleagues
have made a great cry about
cleaning up any graft and corrup-
ton in the Government" Mr..
Truman added.
II think it is fair to ask wheth-
er they really want to do some-
thing to assure clean, efficient
Government or whether all their
talk is pure politics"
Call Letter Insulting.
One Of the Senators referred to
was Senator Mundt. Another was
Senator Nixon, Republican, Of
California, who said the Presi-
dents letter was so insulting it
was likely to have the opposite
effect from the one intended"
Mr.. Truman also pointed out
that seven Senators on the Gov
Operations Committee, a /
majority Of the membership, were
listed as co-Sponsors Of bills intro
duced during the current session
to place revenue collectors under
civil service. Two Of these, SEN
ators Nixon and Schoeppel, Re-
publican, Of Kansas, voted in the
committee against the Presidents
plan.
Senator George, Democrat, Nof
Georgia charged on the Senate
floor yesterday that President
Truman by his letter was attempt
ing "to remove the issue Of corrup-
ton from the 1852 campaign"
Senator George introduced the