Evening star., 1962-04-22
BY ]. A. O'LEARY
Star Staff Writer

IlG SGdS6 Is SCJ Ill Vic OSlldlG
for the start of another civil
rights battle this week over
literacy tests for voters, with
the odds apparently against
passage Of the bill this year.
Lined up on one side is a BIZ
partisan group of liberals who
will try to broaden the literacy
bill to cover a wide variety of
other civil rights.
On the other side is deter
mined group of Southerners,
organized into teams to keep
the debate going in the hope of
preventing any new Federal
controls over what they regard
as States rights.
The Southerners have dem
onstrated before that when they
split up into three teams, each
assigned to hold the floor for
a day, as they are doing for
this fight. they can keep the de-
bate going for weeks. Each
team consists of five or six sem
ators. The teams not on duty
can rest for their turn.
May Invoke Cloture Rule
Senator Douglas, Democrat
of Illinois, one of the leadins
advocates of the literacy bill
! and a comprehensive program
! of other civil rights amend
: ments, recognized yesterda!
that the chance for passage O.
a bill this year depends or
whether the Senate is willing tt
invoke its cloture rule, under
which two-thirdS may limit de-
bate.
Senator Clifford Case, Re-
publican of New Jersey. another
member Of the bi = partisan
liberal group, said that "if there
is a filibuster, and there may
be, after a reasonable period
cloture should be invoked"
The leaders have not indi-
Gated how long they will let
the d e b a tie continue before
filing the petition which would
bring an automatic vote on
cloture.
Reports are that they will
try after two weeks. Informed
sources say that, as of now,
the required two-thirds is not
in sight to curb debate, and
the outlook is not bright that
! it could be obtained after two
weeks.
ClOture Seldom a Success
The cloture rule has sue
ceeded in shutting off debate
only in 4 of the "a times
| it has been tried since it was
incorporated in the rules in
1917. OF the "a cloture votes,
9 have dealt with civil rights
and none has succeeded.
The last time it was tried
in September, 1861, on an ef-
fort to write a more effective
anti-filibuster rule-it failed to
muster even a majority. The
vote on that occasion was 81
43. with 81 needed for two
thirds. II 100 Senator's are
present, it takes 81 to curb
debate.
Senator Hill, Democrat of
Alabama, announced last night
the Southern team of which he
is captain will launch the de-
bate against the literacy bill
Tuesday.
Senator Hill called the bill a
Bobby Kennedy founding" on
the doorstep of Congress, a ref
erence to the backing which
the Attorney General has given
the measure.
Racial Discrimination
The bill seeks to prevent use
of literacy examinations as a
device to discriminate against
Negroes or other groups of
prospective voters. 1t provides
that if a State gives a perform
ance test, it must accept a |
sixth-grade education as evi-
dence of literacy.
The Attorney General has
contended that the bill does not
fix voter qualifications, and
that it would not prohibit a
State from making the third or
the eighth grade a standard,
provided it was applied equally
to all applicants.
THE Federal Attorney Cen
eral apparently has decided .
that the judicial processes long
established in the United States
are not suitable" said Senator
Hill. He wants to violate the
Constitution and he asks us to
join in doing so. Congress is be-
ing asked to adopt this Bobby
Kennedy founding and give it
respectability.
Under the guise of prevent
ing unlawful interference with
the right to vote, those who