Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1959-08-02
Tactical Switch Is Drafted
By Backers Of Home Rule
Action Planned
To Bypass
Hostile Group

A tactical switch may be
made this week by House back
ers Of pending District home
rule legislation.
Representative Udall, Demo-
crat Of Arizona, said yesterday
leaders Of the effort to bypass
the hostile House Committee
will meet probably tomorrow to
consider a move to conciliate
Opposition.
The move, first limited pub
licly yesterday, would involve
dropping a pending discharge
petition for a new one permit
ting longer debate.
Mr.. Udall said no decision on
1.-THE tactical change has yet
been made by legislators steer
ling the suffrage effort. The
Arizonan and other home-rule
advocates said some question
had been raised among propo-
nentS about the debate matter,
however, and that a more lib
eral debate move might prove
advisable tactically.
An aide to Rep. Mueller.
Democrat of New York, said
the Congressman notified his
Office that the discharge petit.
ton definitely will not be with
drawn by him. Rep. Mueller.
who is out of town this week.
end, said the story that it
would be withdrawn is being
circulated by opponents Of
home rule.
Debate Limit Opposed
A subcommittee of the Dis
trict Committee is scheduled
to continue hearings on the
home rule question at 10 am.
tomorrow. The fact that the
hearings are in progress has
been cited by some suffrage
opponents in their criticism Of
The discharge move.
Some House members last
week objected strongly to the
terms of a pending resolution
which would limit debate on
the home rule understanding
the matter actually gets to the
floor-to one hour.
Mr.. Udall, one of four legis-
latorS serving as a steering"
committee for home rule adj
vocates, said he felt the tactics
employed so far were perfectly
, justified" but he added:
1--WE moved a little bit too
fast"
IS Signatures
, Substituting more liberal de-
! bate-Such as an eight-hour
. limit in place of the one-hour
one-might prove advanta-
, geous, however, Mr.. Udall said.
, He added that it would test
the good faith of the District
Committee leadership by Civ.
ing Representative Mcmillan.
Democrat of South Carolina,
committee chairman an oppor-
tunity to come up with a home
rule compromise the commit
tee would support.
Suffrage advocates so far
have collected IS of the needed
2l9 signatures on petition to
discharge the District unit
from control of the legislation
and carry the issue directly to
the House floor.
The one-hour debate provisd
was at first accepted by some
home rule opponents as con.
siderably more favorable than
the 20 minutes that would be
available under routine proce-
dures. But opponents in the
last few days sharply changed
their tune.
I'VE were perfectly justified
in following the precedent Of
the last three successful dis
charge petitions which were
put through the House by the
postal workers for pay raise
! legislation" Mr.. Udall asserted.
, Some of the critics of the pres
ent procedure went along with
the postal moves, he added.
Mclaughlin Takes Hand
Meanwhile, Commissioner
Robert E. Mclaughlin last night
publicly supported the dis
charge move with a plea to the
public to urge House members
personally to sign the petition.
Mr.. Mclaughlin said the leg
iSlation has a chance to clear
the House. At the same time.
however, a source close to Sem
ate home rule advocates sug-
gested that the matter may run
into complications in that
chamber, which has already
approved a home rule bill.
The Senate bill and the
measure being pushed in the
House are not the same. There
Is not much time left to iron
out differences before the close
Of this session, the Senate
source noted.
Some Senators, moreover,
supported the Senate bill in
expectation of repetition Of
House inaction, the source said.
These Senators in some cases
are not really favorable to
home rule and might become
a stumbling block, it was Sug-
gested.
Mr.. Mclaughlin blamed ra-
cial discrimination and the
fear of influential citizens that
they would lose performance
in managing community af-
fairs for opposition to home
rule.
House Speaker Rayburn will
play a vital role in the fate
of the pending bill, he said.
He declared that if Mr.. Ray
lh,,,.,, ,,,o,,ld COW tbot tho hiIf