Truman Challenges GOP; Calls Special Congress

Northern Advocate, 16 July 1948, Page 4

Truman Challenges GOP; Calls Special Congress

WASHINGTON, Thu. (noon). —President Truman today formally called a special session of Congress for July 26. Accepting the Democratic Party’s nomination for the Presidency •at the Democratic national convention m Philadelphia, Mr Truman announced that he would call the special session to enable the Republican Congress to prove its sincerity and back up its own convention promises.

Mississippi, formally called for a meet- i ing of Southern Democrats- at Bir-j mingham, Alabama, to be held on Sat- j urday to nominate a candidate for the. Presidency in opposition to Mr Tru- j man. j He issued his call shortly after the J Mississippi delegation and half of the ■ Alabama delegates had walked out of. the convention. The walk-out followed the adoption j of the civil rights plank in the party’s j programme in spite of Southern oppo- | sition. The platform as finally approved ■ calls in unmistakable terms for Fed- j eral legislation to outlaw the poll tax. : lynching and all other forms of racial discrimination. j It pledges the Democratic Party to; fight for the repeal of the Taft-Hartley Labour Act—which the Democrats, themselves helped to push through i Congress in spite of Mr Truman's veto. The platform also includes recom-1 mendations for the removal of the; Palestine arms embargo and action to j “curb Republican inflation.” The platform pledges the party to a j minimum wage throughout the country. of 75 cents an hour, a strong foreign policy and firm oppbsition to Com-j munism. 1

“Public interest” and an “extraordinary occasion” require the special session.

The proclamation gave no indication of the agenda but Mr Truman, in his nomination acceptance address, said lie would ask Congress to act on anti-inflation and housing legislation within 15 days of convening, and also pass the civil rights legislation. It was the first call for a special session issued in a Presidential-elec-tion year since before the Civil War.. Mr Truman’s action has made it clear that he has decided to stake his chances for re-election on the hope of convincing the country that the Republican Congress has fallen down on its job. The Democratic Party has nominated Senator Alben Barkley (Kentucky) for the viee-Presidency). Mr Truman received 947 i votes and his Opponent Senator Richard Russell (Georgia) 263.

A jubilant demonstration followed the voting on the nomination at the party’s convention in Philadelphia but a split among the delegates frorii Southern States soon became evident.

This split was further emphasised when Governor Fielding Wright, of