Evening star., 1953-06-25
Administration Backs
Speed on Refugees
Bill, KnowIand Says
By J. A. o'Leoy

DSsaV lNssVWuUhuO OOYS
By }. A. oLeoY
Acting Senate Majority Lead
er Knowland of California said
today the bill to admit 240, 900
refugees to the United States in
the next two years is on the ad-
miniStration list of measures to
be passed before Congress ad-
journS.
He made the statement as the
Judiciary immigration subcom-
mittee met in closed session to
get information on how refugee
applicants could be screened as
a safeguard against subverSives.
simultaneously, Ch airman n
LANCER of the Judiciary Com
mittee announced he will call
the full committee to meet within
the next few days to reconsider
a decision reached Monday to put
off pending business in the COM
mittee until July 2.
LANCER Backs Measure.
Senator LANCER said only 10
of the Is committee members
were present when the post
ponement measure was adopted.
He is calling the new meeting at
the request of Senators who
were absent.
The North Dakotan said he
favors the immigration bill and
joined in predicting it would be
taken up at this session.
Chairman Watkins of the
immigration subcommittee made
it clear he is trying to expedite
the bill as much as possible. He
said he would hold another
closed hearing tomorrow on the
security angle.
The Monday resolution, post
poning action on the refugee
legislation, was offered by Sem
ator McCarran, Democrat, of
Nevada. Supporters Of the i'm
migration bill contend the reso-
luton was part Of a pattern of
delay they ascribe to opponents
of the measure. Efforts to reach
Senator McCarran for comment
were unsuccessful.
McCarran Seeks Delay.
Sources in a position to know
said Mondays closed session of
the Judiciary Committee. pre-
viously unreported, brought this
sequence of events:
Senator McCarran offered a
resolution providing that no
meetings or hearings should be
held by the full committee or
any of its ubcommittees until
on or after July 2.
Senator Willis Smith, Demo-.
crat, of North Carolina pro-
posed, and Senator McCarran
agreed, that this be amended to
except hearings where subpoenas
have already been issued and
the matter is not controversial.
The resolution was adopted in
this form.
Senator LANCER promptly an
nounced that in view of the
committees action he was or
dering that no voucher be paid
for the attendance of any wit
ness or for the transcript of any
hearings prior to July 2.
Some committee members then
said they had not understood
that the resolution would bar
the holding of hearings and
urged that it be reconsidered. BY
that time. however. Senator
McCarran and two others had
left and a quorum no longer was
present for the transaction of
any business.
Tempers were still frayed when
the meeting broke up. Senator
LANCER. in an action little noted
at the time, went to the Senate
and announced that pursuant to
the order of the committee" he
was postponing until July 2
hearings that had been schedules
for the next day on a batch of
nominations.
Resolution in DiSDute.
Senator Watkins, while con-
f1rming some of the details OBJ
tained from other sources, said
there still is a dispute as to the
effect of the resolution adopted
by the judiciary committee. He
maintained the Smith amend
ment permitted hearings previ-
ously set to be held.
Senator Kefauver, Democrat,
of Tennessee, confirmed that he
and Senator Hennings, Demo-
crat, of Missouri, were among the
six judiciary committee mem
bers who voted for the McCarran
motion. Both are members of the
immigration Subcommittee and
are regarded as favorable to the
immigration bill.
Senator Kefauver said it was
his impression that the resolu-
tion applied only to votes being
taken, not to hearings being held
by the committe or its sub
committees.
The bill Gen. Eisenhower
sought would permit the immi-
grafton of 100000 refugees, above
normal quotas, in the next two
years. He has advocated it as
a humanitarian gesture.