Evening star., 1953-04-26
Talk, Talk, Talk


Talk, Talk, Talk
The Senate listened to the same
old arguments on the same sub
Observation-Disclosures it had lis
tened to for four weeks. If it
wasn't a filibuster, 1t was difficult
to distinguish from the real thing.
The bill at hand would give the
coastal States ownership of ada
cent underSea lands, supposedly
lands rich with oil. The admins
tration and about three-fourths of
the Senators approve the bill. The
minority, led by the liberal" bloc
Of Democrats, believes the Federal
Government should control the
offShore areas.
The liberals realize they do not
have the votes to stop the bill, but
they keep talking day after day
with the announced purpose of
delaying final action until the Ma
tion can be aroused over the "giVe-
away" of the undersea areas. They
claim their action does not con-
stitute a fllibuSter, because they
plan eventually to bring the bill
to vote. A filibuster, they add,
is designed to avoid a vote.
Still DiIotory
But the action by the liberals
still was an attempt by a minority
to thwart the will of the majority
by dilatory tactics.
In a test vote last week, the lib
erals rallied 21 supporters, includ-
ing three Republicans. Their
opposition totaled 81 Senators. The
vote was on a motion to interrupt
debate with other legislation, q
move that would have given the
liberals a needed rest and more
delay.
On Friday, President Eisenhower
half apologetically asked the liber-
ais to help get Congress back on
the legislative track.
II hesitate to express an opinion
on legislative procedure" the Pres
ident said. "But I am deeply con-
cerned with the delay of the entire
administration program In the
Senate of the United States"
Senator Anderson, Democrat, Of
New Mexico to whom the President
addressed his remarks in letter
form, was not impressed. A good
letter, he Said-but not good
enough to make him change his
mind about the tidelands talk
'athon.
Meanwhile, the legislative mill
continued to grind, oh, so slowly.
Here is a sample (from the Con-
gressional Record of last Wednes-
day. of the mills grist-a colloquy
between Majority Leader Taft of
Ohio and Democrat Humphrey Of
Minnesota:
Nj. TAFT. Mr.. President. will the seuo-
tor yield?
Nj. HUMPHREY. ! yield.
Mr.. TAFT. The hour Of o'clock hos
arrived. How long does the Senotor feel
thot he wishes to continue this EVENING"
Mr. HUMPHREY. The Senator from
Minnesota would prefer not to continue
ony longer this evening. ! moy soy TO the
mojority Ieoder thot should like to CO.
operote with him by continuing tomorrow
morning. I shoII feel in good shope at II
o'clock tomorrow morning and sholI COOP
erote TO the fullest with him in limiting my
remarks.
Mr.. TAFT. Would the Senotor be pre-
pared to limit the length Of time he would
speok tomorrow, il he were authorized to
continue?
M. HUMPHREY. Yes.
Mr.. TAFT. Would an hour or on hour
ond holf be q reasonable time?
Mr. HUMPHREY. Would the Senotov
from Ohio be Wiling
M. TAFT. might suggest TO the
Senotor thot ! hove been informed by the
PorIiomentorion thot the Senotor is mok-
ing his third speech. ! hove not rosed
thot question, nor do intend to roise it.
merely wished to coll attention to my
lenieney os evidenced by my not mokins
point Of order.
Mr.. HUMPHREY. No one will testify
la kA
condor Of the mojority Ieoder thon will the
Senator from Minnesota.
The question whether the debate
on tidelands was filibuster be-
came moot at 6:04 am. yesterday,
when Senator Morse, Oregon In
dependent, set a new record for
continuous yakking. The 45-year-
old mark of Wisconsin's "Fightin'
Bob" La Toilette 18 hours %
minutes) fell at that moment.
Morse ratified on, finally giving up
the forensic ghost at 11:40 am
"a hours 26 minutes after he
started.
The leadership Of the Senate
was not licked. Senator Taft put
the upper house on 48-hour week
until the matter Of tidelands
finally is settled. There remain
enough amendments and scheduled
speeches to keep debate going
through the week.
Appropriations