Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1956-07-22

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Federal dam at Hells Canyon, con-
firmed Solicitor General Simon
Sobeloff's nomination to a Circuit
Court judgeship and voted on
foreign aid bill amendments.
The House paused in the end-of-
session furry to toss around pre-
doomed civil rights bill. The Rep
reSentatives spent five days talking
about it and then decided to wait
until tomorrow to vote.
Though the measure is still Sc
curely locked in the Senate Judici-
airy Committee, with Chairman
James o. Eastland of Mississippi
holding the key, the House managed
to work itself into quite lather
over civil rights as political issue.
The measure, H. r. 627, would
guarantee freedom from economic
pressures, or pressures against vot-
ing, because of race, color, religion
OF national origin. 1t also would
provide another assistant attorney
general to watch over civil rights
and would set up a commission APP
pointed by the President to investi-
gate any charge that a person is
being deprived or about to be de-
prived of his rights.
From the beginning, it was OBJ
viouS that the House, as it had
previously, would pass the bill. A
coalition of Northern Democrats
and almost all Republicans guar
anteed that.
The SouthernerS, however, were
not worried. Their motto was I'm
Eastland We Trust" So, showmen
that they are. they leavened the
debate with jokes. sarcasm and
luSty cheers. In their delaying
tactics. they drew literally from the
Holy Bible, mythology. American
history, English history, French
history, the writings and speeches
of Hitler. Mussolini, Marx, Lenin
and Stain, Mother Goose and
Aesop. They paraded before the
House. much to the enjoyment of
members on both sides of the aisle,
Romeo and Juliet, Charles III,
Alice in Wonderland, the Founding
Fathers, the late Abraham Lincoln,
the wives of the men at Valley
Forge. carpetbaggerS. the Okies and
cheap Japanese textile imports"
Parliamentary maneuvering, at
which the Southerners have no
peers. provided most of the delays.
On Thursday, the House began BUSH
ness with demand by Representa-
tive James Davis, Democrat of
Georgia, that the previous days
journal be read in its entirety, which
would require hours. Two quorum
calls and an hour later, truce was
made and the reading of Wednes-
days prose was passed over.
Torrent Of Amendments
Then came a torrent of proposed
amendmentS-a few of them offered
in sincerity, but most of them just
for the fun of it. To race, creed,
color or national origin" was added
sex" with several silver haired
gentlemen supporting this particu-
lar amendment with testimony that
they were for SEX" The amends
ment passed. Not so successful
was an amendment that would have
added age" Representative Edith
Green, Democrat of Oregon, wanted
to know if that would apply to her
l4-year-old son who, she said,
sometimes complains of economic
pressures from his family. Its spon-
Sor, Representative John Dowdy.
Democrat of Texas, said it would
apply.
Representative T. James Tumul-
ty, Democrat of New Jersey, who
weighs $40 pounds. suggested that
"size," as we'll as age and sex be
added to the wording. My wife"
he said, has to get a scooter in
order to press my shirts l
got up to go out of the ball park
last week and / was in another
woman's lap"
Somebody else said men ought to
be included, for "all men are dis
eliminated against"
Representative Martin Dies, Tex
as Democrat, who was first chair
man of the fFee-swinging Un-Amer-
lean Activities Committee, appealed
ION behalf of all other liberals"
for an amendment which would
provide a set of rules binding the
proposed commission to fair play"
More Serious Note
Sometimes, the play was serious.
and the galleries were again treated
to familiar Southern litanies sung
in soft, R-less accents. For in
stance. Representative Mendel Riv-
ers of South Carolina:
Make no mistake about it, this
legislation is against our people
However, we will find a way, and
you will see to that. My land is
accustomed to abuse. My people
have been the whipping boys for
many years. You may read your
glory in the eyes of Russia, but you
are reading your death warrant in
the eyes and in the hearts of my
countrymen."
At one point, hackers Of the bill
were taken by surprise when one of
their number, Representative Will
liam Miller, Republican Of New
York. arose to say that he had
changed his mind. that he had be-
come convinced it was an unwise
bill. Southerners gave him a stand
ing ovation Republican Leader
Joseph Martin angrily ran to the
well Of the House to file an answer
and a warning. II want to tell
the Republicans in this House if
they follow the Southern democ-
racy in the defeat of this bill, they
will seriously regret it," he shouted.
Mr.. Dies sarcastically asked Mr..
Martin If he had meant to inject
politics into the issue.
Everybody seemed to be having
whale Of q time. But when the
House recessed for the week end,
you still could not find a member
on either side of the question who