By the Flank

Everyone assumed that the special, temporary Dies committee and the 78th Congress would expire together. But crafty John Rankin, champion of white supremacy and Southern womanhood, foe of civil liberties, thought otherwise.

Shrewd Parliamentarian Rankin moved softly and surely. Several weeks before Congress convened he let it be known that he would try to reconstitute the committee. House leaders, sure that they could block the move by burying the resolution in the Rules Committee, paid little attention. Rankin beat them with a flanking attack never before used in Congress.

He introduced his amendment 20 minutes after he had notified the leadership, ran it up for a shotgun vote.

Enough Republicans (137) joined the Democrats (70) to overpower the opposition (150 Democrats, 34 Republicans, two minority members). Final vote: 207-to-186.

After the voting a score of members complained that they wanted to vote against the amendment but could not afford to stand up and be counted. Their reason: so many of their constituents believed in the value of Dies's committee.

After the Fact. House leaders moved quickly to pick up the pieces. To keep Rankin from exercising the balance of power, if he should be placed on the committee, the membership was fixed at six Democrats, three Republicans. Rankin was scarcely expected to seek the chairmanship. To do so he would have to give up his chairmanship of the Committee on Veterans' Legislation. The rest was up to the House, which would control the committee's membership and its funds.

Congress now had a new kind of permanent investigating committee. In irresponsible hands it could, as it often had under Martin Dies, become a threat to civil liberties, by using the authority and prestige of Congress for unscrupulous or bigoted ends. In Jasper, Tex., where he heard about the coup, Martin Dies, Congressman no longer, beamed.

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