Evening star., 1954-09-28
The Political Mill
Path Ahead Appears.
Dark for Mccarthy
Democrats Likely to Stond
SoIidIy in Favor Of Censure

Democrats Likely to Stond
SoIidIy in Favor Of Censure
By Gould Lincoln
For better or for worse. the voters
and the members of the Senate are
now on notice that a proposal to CEN
sure Senator Joe Mccarthy for conduct
unbecoming q United States Senator,
backed by bipartisan select commit
tee Of the Senate. will go before the
whole Senate when it reassembles here
November 8. 1t will be up to the Senate
then to reach its own verdict. Its COM
mittee. appointed to sift the charges
against the Wisconsin Senator. has al
ready returned its verdict.
While it may be unfair to Senator Nc
Carthy to determine the issue before
he has had an opportunity to present
his own defense to the Senate, the path
ahead looks dark for him. Six Sena-
tors. three Republicans and three DEM
ocrats. have unanimously recommended
that cenSure resolution, directed
against Senator Mccarthy. should be
adopted by the Senate. AS of today,
the count stands to against Sena-
tor Mccarthy, but obviously he has
friends in the Senate who will vote
against cenSure. How many remains
to be seen. 1t Is rarely that the Senate
turns down unanimous report Of one
OF its committees. The special COM
mittee did hear the Mccarthy defense.
as presented by the Wisconsin Senator
himself when he appeared before the
committee with counsel, and voted
against him. There are 80 Senators in
addition to the six members of the
select committee and Senator Mccarthy
himself. Some of them may declare
themselves on this Mccarthy censure
report without delay. but the prospects
are that many of the Senators will
Withhold their judgments until they have
sat as court to hear the arguments
presented for and against Senator Nc
Carthy-and properly so.
Decision Wise.
The wisdom Of postponing action on
the Mccarthy censure committee re-
port until after election, November 2,
becomes even more apparent in view
of the report itself. now made public.
To have compelled Senators to return
to Washington in the midst of their
campaigns for re-election-and to re-
main here perhaps two or three weeks
would have been manifestly unfair.
Further, Senators up for reelection
would have been subject to extreme
pressure to vote either for Senator Nc
Carthy or against him. For there are
many voters who believe firmly in SEN
ator Mccarthy and his crusade against
Communists in Government, and many
voters who deteSt the Wisconsin Senator
because of his investigatory methods.
With the election out of the way, and
the Senate vote far less weighted with
politics. a more honest verdict of the
Senate may be had. There were Demo-
cratic Senators as well as Republican
whose chances of election next month
might well have depended on how they
stood on Mccarthy censure as proposed
by the committee.
AS practical matter. however, the
postponement may have made Senator
McCarthy's fight against censure more
difficult. The Democrats, who nearly
equal the Republicans in number in the
Senate-with the election out of the
way-may line up almost solidly for
Mccarthy censure. If they do, it is
easy to figure the adoption of a censure
resolution which will be supported by
a number of Republican Senators.
Several Problems.
The Senate. when it meets, will tangle
with the issue of So-called Mccarthy
ism" on the one hand, and on the other,
with Senate precedent, and the estab-
liShment of new precedentS. The burden
of the select committees report runs
along three lines: That Senator Nc
Carthy should be censured for ignoring
the requests of the Senate Privileges
and Elections subcommittee that he ap-
pear before it and answer questions
relating to his financial affairs and his
activities in the Maryland senatorial
campaign of 1852: that he should be
cenSured for his verbal attacks on Sem
ator Hendrickson of New Jersey,
member Of that subcommittee, and
finally for his treatment of Gen Ralph
w. Zwicker. when the general appeared
before the Mccarthy investigating COM
mittee. 1t will be argued. and correctly,
that other Senators have declined to
appear before Senate investigating COM
mittees to answer questions about their
personal affairs. It will be argued that
other Senators have severely criticized
their colleagues in the Senate, and that
Senators, as members of Senate in
veStigating committees, have brow
beaten witnesses, excoriated them to
degrees equal to Senator McCarthy's
treatment of Gen, Zwicker. Why, it will
be asked. were not these other Senators
cenSured. and why now pick out Senator
Mccarthy for such treatment?
For the select committee, headed by
Senator Watkins, Republican, of Utah,
and whose vice chairman was Senator
johnson. Democrat, of Colorado, it must
be said the committee has done work.
man-like job on Senator Mccarthy and
his actions. The report gives Senator
Mccarthy the benefit of the doubt in
one Of the most serious charges brought
against him-that of encouraging the
millions of Government workers. off,
cials and armed services personnel to
bring him information. even if the doc
umentS were marked confidential and
were classified. and does not recommend
cenSure on this count The committee