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Show WASHINGTON An effective coalition of Republicans Republi-cans and Southern Democrats believes it scored a notable victory in bringing about the defeat in the House of a proposal pro-posal to convert expanded unemployment compensation payments into a dole. This coalition, frequently holding a balance of power back in the Truman Administration, gave the present House Democratic leadership one of its worst beatings In recent years. Conservatives hope that the coalition co-alition will continue to be ef fectlve. In the past it has been a bulwark of strength against radical ra-dical New-Fair Deal legislative proposals. While the victory was outstanding, out-standing, it nevertheless was in the nature of a negative triumph. tri-umph. The coalition members were delighted to defeat the dole, but it must be said that at least some of them were not at all happy with the compromise measure mea-sure which the House approved. 'They think, however, that It was the best solution permitted by the politics of the situation and they point out that politics' was very much In evidence both during and before the House vote. The battle now shifts to the Senate wliere a determined effort ef-fort has been promised to obta'n approval of the measure rejected by the House. The outlook Is not yet clear. In the House the coalition obtained ob-tained approval, by a 223 to 165 vote, of any unemployment compensation com-pensation amendment offered as a substitute for the dole proposal propos-al advocated by the Democratic Democra-tic leadership. Then, as amended, ihe bill was passed by the House by the overwhelming over-whelming vote of 370 to 17. Under the measure the Federal Feder-al Government would, In effect, offer to lend funds to the states for the purpose of extending the duration of payments of state un-ployment un-ployment benefits. The extension, In each Individual Indi-vidual case, would amount to 50 per cent of the benefits for which I the Individuals had previously I been eligible. There Is no element of com-' pulsion on the states to borrow, the money. It merely authorizes a Federal loan. Repayment .villi be expected. j Funds would be available on- ly to persons who had been covered cov-ered by the unemployment compensation com-pensation program. I Members of the coalition point out that legally the bill adds almost nothing to present law. A state now can pay benefits for whatever period has been authorized auth-orized by its legislature. If the state runs out of money It can borrow funds now from the Federal Fed-eral Government. Actually, it is contended, the only thing that the House bill a'Ms is authority for a state to borrow the money before its needs It a situation not likely to be regarded realistically as an emergency. j However, from the standpoint of political expediency, the effect cf the House bill likely would be to bring heavy pressure upon Gove.nors to call special sessions j of state legislatures and then. In turn, to bring perhaps irresistible pressure upon members of the state legislatures to extend thei duration of benefits. The question then would arise as to whether the extension of benefits voted by state legislatures legisla-tures would be temporary or permanent. per-manent. History affords few illustrations il-lustrations of government benefits bene-fits that are permited to be temporary. tem-porary. The Democratic bill provided for outright Federal gifts to the states to pay an additional 16 weeks of benefits to those who had exhausted their state benefit bene-fit rights. It also provided for paying the arne benefits to persons out of work even though they had not been covered by the unemployment unemploy-ment compensation system. Objection to this part of the proposal was put graphically by Rep. Smith (D-Va), chairman of the House Rules Committee. He called it "pure, unadulterated, U7.iA5u.3Cu, urmiiiucu emu unabashed un-abashed socialism." Rep. Smith also pointed out that the proposed legislation "carefully refrains from any needs test. "It does not make any differ-, ence whether you need the mon- ey or not," he explained. "It Is going to be dished out to you if you asked for It and you are unemployed." un-employed." Those eligible for unemployment unemploy-ment payments, Rep. Smith said, would include: ( Retired millionaires, thousands of retired people In the armed services "drawing their generous retirement pay, retired civil service ser-vice employees who receive retirement re-tirement pay, retired (either voluntarily vol-untarily or Involuntarily) members mem-bers of Congress, and unemployed unemploy-ed men with wealthy wives. |