"You Are Crooked, Sirs"

Congressmen were behind in their work. Nevertheless, on the floor of the House they spent most of last week moping through an old argument over the OIC bill for the spread of U.S. culture and ideals (TIME, April 14). On the floor, Senators spent their time in tedious debate over the Bulwinkle-Reed bill, which would exempt railroads from antitrust regulations. That is, the Senators who were there did. Attendance was seldom above 15; one day, the only audience Alabama's John Sparkman had was Maine's tired old Wallace White.

From Top to Bottom. But the Bulwinkle-Reed debate produced one distraction. It came from New Hampshire's peppery Charles W. Tobey, an opponent of the bill, who indignantly reported an encounter he had had with three railroad lobbyists in the Senate dining room. Said Senator Tobey: "I walked to their table, and said 'My compliments to you, gentlemen.' I said, 'I understand you called me a son of a bitch, and consigned me to hell. . . .' I said, 'You are crooked, sirs, from top to bottom. . . .' I walked away."

Congressmen labored more effectively in committee rooms. One accomplishment was an agreement by House-Senate conferees on a bill to continue rent control until March 1, 1948--with qualifications. The bill would permit rent boosts of 15% over present ceilings, provided the landlord 1) gets a tenant's "voluntary" consent and 2) gives him a lease running through 1948. It would remove restrictions on commercial building (except for amusement and recreational facilities).

Bucket Brigade. The House Appropriations Committee reported out its ninth bill covering 33 independent Government offices. The report sizzled. "Almost nowhere in the Government is there any semblance of cost accounting. . . . Billions of dollars have been spent which can never be properly accounted for. . . ." The committee recommended giving the 33 offices a total of $8,168 million--$330 million less than they had asked for.

In the doldrums of a warm June week, G.O.P. leaders made one decision. They would not adjourn Congress sine die on July 31. Instead they would recess until next January, with the provision that Congress could be recalled by either the majority or minority leadership. Republicans felt they could not leave the country in sole charge of Harry Truman. They wanted to be ready to rush up like a bucket brigade any time next fall if fire broke out.

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