SATURDAY. MARCH 27. 1954
Committee Asks
Fund Reduction
In Housing Bill
WASHINGTON, March 26 (iP) President Dwight D. Eisen
hower's public housing program received a heavy blow today from
the Republican-dominated House Appropriations Committee.
The committee recommended—and the House usually follows
its recommendations—that the President's request for 140,000 units
during the next four .years be
scaled down to 35,000 units and be
sawed off completely 'after two
years.
Cease Fire
Plea Denied
By Vietminh
HANOI, Indochina, March 26
(4)—The French high command
said tonight it had appealed in
vain to the •Vietininh for a brief
cease fire to permit planes to use
the air strip at Dien Bien Phu for
evacuation of the wounded.
Despite repeated pleas, the high
command added, the Communist
led rebels continued shelling the,
strip. The French said that they
were able to remove some of their
wounded by helicopters and
transport planes which managed
to land and take off despite the
shelling.
Today French patrols jabbed
wearily •at the rebel besiegers of
the northwest Indochina plains
fortress. The French said they
killed 15 rebels in driving a Viet
minh company out of an aban
doned village four miles south of
the, fortress' center.
Air attacks were maintained on
rebel positions in the hills around
Dien Bien Phu, but there were
mounting indications the struggle
for the fortress might be long and
bitter.
Despite firebomb and high ex
plosive attacks the Vietminh were
digging long ,networks of wind
ing trenches and foxholes all
around the oval-shaped plain of
Dien Bien Phu. Many were within
200 yards of the barbed wire bar
ricades guarding the entrance into
the fortress.
The French were counting on
their firepower—most of it Amer
i.can-supplied--to repel mass at
tacks.
Ike Authorizes
Metal Stockpile
WASHINGTON, March 26 (2EP)--
President 'Eisenhower today au
thorized a further stockpile build
up, primarily by purchases of do
mestic metals, to protect the na
tion from possible loss of produc
tion in case of Soviet attack
against the United States.
The action was expected to
prove a boon to the . hard-pressed
Western mining industry, and was
hailed by Congress members from
the mountain mining states.
The White House instructed the
Office of Defense Mobilization to
review present -‘
tives, and estimated that it will
result in addit .onai government
buying of 35 to 40 metals and min
erals.
Lead and zinc will be among
the metals acquired, informed of
ficials said.
NLRB Asks NY Waterfront Vote
NEW YORK, March 26 (JP)—A
National Labor Relations Board
examiner today recommended a
brand new bargaining election on
New York's strife-torn, strike-rid
den waterfront.
Examiner Arthur Leff accused
the striking International Long
shoremen's A s. s n . (Ind.) of fo
menting violence and knifings at
the polling places in an election
last December between the • ILA
and AFL dock union.
Leff recommended the election
results—which gave the ILA an
apparent victory—be thrown out
and a new election held as soon
as possible. •
It' was a sharp blow to the bad
ly battered ILA, which w a s
thrown out of the AFL six months
ago for harboring , racketeers. _ It
gave new hope to a rival AFL
dock union of the same name that
That is the number for which
the government already - has corn
mitted itself and made binding
contracts, the, committee noted.
Fight Threatened
Democrats threatened a floor
fight when the bill comes up in
the House next week, but there
seemed little likelihood that they
would be able to pick up many
of the pieces.
In a message to Congress on
Jan. 25, Eisenhower asked that
the present public housing pro
gram be continued "at a reason
able revel. Specifically he re
quested approval of a four-year
construction program at the rate
of 35,000 units a year.
New Units Limited
The Appropriations Committee
put a limit of 20,000 on the num
ber of new units that may be
started in the coming fiscal year,
beginning July 1, and called for
winding up the entire program
in the following year with 15,-
000 additional units. • •
Rep. John Phillips, (R.-Calif.),
chairman of the subcommittee
that drafted the bill, said the
public, housing program started
back in the Democratic admini
strations has not worked out
satisfactorily.
Phillips Cites Cases
"In many instances," he said,
"the people for whom these
housese were intended haven't
been able to occupy them. In
some cases, political qualifica
tions, rather than economic quali
fications, appear to have been the
yardstick."
Moneywise, the c om mitt ee
slashed $6.1 million from the
President's $77 million public
housing request for the coming
year. For slum clearance and ur
ban redevelopment, however, it
approved the , full $39 million
requested. '
Slum Clearance
The committee commented that
slum clearance is the only justi
fication for the program. For the
Housing and Home Finance Agen
cy, which handles all the hotising
and slum clearance programs, the
committee recommended $112,-
568,500, a cut of $6,331,500 from
Eisenhower's request.
The funds for public housing
were part of a $5,566,118,763 bill
financing a score of federal agen
cies and independent offices for
the coming year. The total is
$363,604,837 less than the Presi
dent sought, and $375,168,400 be
low the amount received by the
same agencies this year.
Rocket Plant Approved
WASHINGTON, March 26 (W)
The House Appropriations Com
mittee today allowed all but $120,-
000 of the 2 1 / 2 million dollars bud
geted by President Eisenhower to
build a new rocket engine plant
at Cleveland.
it may yet win control of 24,000
New York longshoremen.
The ILA, meanwhile, regained
some ground in ,efforts to extend
the 22 -day New York strike to the
rest of the East Coast. Other ports
refused to stage sympathy strikes,
but Boston and Baltimore went
part way by refusing to handle
any more of the ships diverted
from the New York waterfront.
The ILA also gained support
from 4000 tugboat crewmen in
New York Harbor, whom they
asked to honor longshoremen's
picket lines.
The ILA sent out a picket boat
to intercept tugs in the harbor.
Hovering above the union launch
was a police helicopter, to see
that there was no coercion.
Two tugs bringing the liner Em
press of Scotland into Pier 95
dropped her in midstream as the
flfft- uArLY COLLEGIAN. STATE COLLEGE PENNSYLVANIA
Gunmen Rescue Pals
From County Prison
ROCHESTER, N.Y., March
26 (JP) The promise of a
stake in a prison-plotted $60,-
000 holdup inspired two gun
men to spring two of their pals
from the Monroe County Peni
tentiary, Detec t.i v e Capt.
Charles F. Austin said today.
Police said the men, armed
with pistols, - walked into the
penitentiary, bound and gagged
two guards, and then stole a
guard's car to , make a getaway.
ke's 1 nsurance Plan
Attacked by Co f C
WASHINGTON, March 26 (W )—President Eisenhower's proposal
to put limited government support behind private health insurance
plans was attacked today by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which
said it could lead to "soCialized medicine."
Edwin T. Faulkner, a Lincoln, Neb., insurance man who spoke
for the chamber, said the eventual
effect of any such legislation
probably would be "to defeat the
President's desire to see volun
tary insurance expand and to
maintain a free medical profes
sion,"
Faulkner testified before the
House Commerce Committee.
Another witness William S. Mc-
Nary, chairman of government
relations for the American Hos
pital Assn., favored the adminis
tration's plan and praised its
objectives.
In a special message to Con
gress Jan. 18, Eisenhower pro
posed creation of a 25 million
dollar fund to help private in
surance companies protect Amer
ican families against the "catas
trophe" "of prolonged major ill
nesses.
The President suggested the
money be used to reinsure the
private. plans against "the special
additional risks" of exparfaing
benefits to their members.
Eisenhower has said he is op
posed to socialized medicine.
But Faulkner, president of the
Woodmen Accident Co. and' a
leader in health insurance trade
associations, testified the ultimate
end "could well be socialized
medicine Under a compulsory
health insurance plan."
McNary suggested that an ad
visory council of private medical
leaders be given more power in
writing regulations for
,policies
which would be reinsured under
the administration plan.
He also proposed more liberal
provisions for advertising insur
ance policies that would have 'gov
ernment 'reinsurance.
Committee Rejects
Labor Bill Change
WASHINGTON, March 26 (IP)
—The House Labor Committee
today rejected by a tie vote a
proposal to • relax the restrictions
the Taft-Hartley Act puts on em
ployers with regard to talking to
workers about unionism at the
work site.
Chairman Samuel McConnell
(R.-Pa.) 'said the charge, spon
sored by Rep. Graham Ax Barden
(D.-N.C.), failed of adoption by a
13-13 tally. The committee's sen
ior Democrat wanted to relieve
employers of the obligation to
give unions equal time in which
to ans w e r management argu
ments.
picket boat , came' alongside. Strik
ers on the pier shouted:.
"Let Dewey dock the ship. We'll
tie up the whole country."
Gov. Thomas E. Dewey sup
ported AFL• charges of intimida
tibn by. the ILA.
The 26,000-ton liner, back from
a South American cruise, was un
able to dock by her self because
of high winds: So she went back
out to quarantine to, anchor over
night. Her passengers remained
stranded aboard, and friends wait
ed in vain to greet them on th
dock.
The waterfront was generally
quiet during the day. The New
York - New Jersey Waterfront
Commission reported 3854 men
were at work on 39 ships through 7
out the harbor. As on other days;
this represented a modest increase
of about 142 longshoremen return
ing to work.
Movie Will Reveal
H-bomb Explosion
WASHINGTON, March 26 (M—The American people will get
their first look April 7 at a hitherto secret movie of a hydrogen ex-
plosion
They may see a mile-wide island disappear in a glaring ball of
fire and a:cloud of debris mushrooming twice as high as those pro
duced by the "old-fashioned" A-bomb.
Indochina
To Receive
U.S. Planes
WASHINGTON, March 26 (R l )
The United States announced to
day it would send 25 more 826
fighter-bombers, together with
ammunition and other defense
supplies, to Indochina to bolster
French Union forces now holding
off a powerful Communist offen
sive_
The planes will be loaned tem
porarily to French Air Force units
to help maintain a round-the-clock
aerial bombardment on Red divi
sions threatening the vital strong
hold of Dien Bien Phu in north
west Indochina.
The Defense Department dis
closed the supply reinforcement
plan -as Gen. Paul Ely, chairman
of the French Joint Chiefs of
Staff, wound up a six-day visit
with top military leaders here.
On Capitol Hill, Sen. Monroney
(D-Okla.) said the action was to
be expected.
"As long as we limit our aid
to supplies, and not men, it's all
right to keep funneling it in
there," he said.
• Monroney noted that "half of
our foreign military aid is going
to Indochina already." He said
dollar aid to France for equip
ment to fight the Indochina war
apparently is not being translated
into planes and other war ma
teriel fast enough.
The emergency move reflected
the American government's de
termination to prevent a Commun
ist victory at Dien Bien Phu and
consequent strengthening of Rus
sia's and Communist China's bar- I
gaining position at the April 26
Korea and Indochina peace con- I
ference in , Geneva.
"NEW FACES"
in Cinema Scope
with EARTHA KITT
ALAN LADD
SHELLEY WINTERS
"SASKATCHEWAN"
. .
LEO GORCEY
and
BOWERY BOYS
in
"PRIVATE EYES"
President Eisenhower has au
thorized the release of a 28-min
ute motion picture of the blast set
off in the Pacific in November,
1952, when this country's scien
tists began major firing tests of
H-bomb weapons.
No official description of this
explosion has been released so far,
but letters sent home by some of
the men in the task force at that
time told of the disintegration of
the island and of the huge cloud
column.
Meantime, the House Appropri
ations Committee today approved
a fund ,of $1,189,000,000 for the
atomic Weapons, plus the program
to adapt atomic power to peace
ful. purposes.
Tile sum is $132,179,000 greater
than the Atomic Energy Commis
sion appropriations for the present
fiscal year, ending June ,30, 1954,
but is $152,039,000 less than the
AEC had originally asked. Rep.
John Phillips (R-Calif.) explained
that the AEC had withdrawn re
quests for $238,000,000 for con
struction because it found it
would have • sufficient money on
hand for that work.
Some• sections of, the film de
picting the 1952 hydrogen blast
have been cut out by the censors
in the interests of national se
curity. What remains, however,
will be made available by the
Civil Defense Administration to
newsreels and television networks
for showings starting at 6 p.m.
EST April 7.
A series of "still" photographs
taken from the movie are being
released to newspapers and maga
zines for use at the same time the
film is shown.
The President authorized re
lease of the 1952 film after con
sultation with the National Se
curity Council, which he heads.
Stassen to Attend
Red Trade Talks
WASHINGTON, March 26 VP)
—Foreign aid chief Harold E.
Stassen is going to London today
to discuss Iron Curtain trade
policies with British and French
representatives.
There have been several sug
gestions by British officials re
cently for increasing trade be
tween Russia and the Western
Allies. An announcement by Stas
sen's office said he will hold an
"exchange of. views" with the
British and French "on- policy
concerning , trade with the Soviet
Union and the Soviet satellites
in eastern Europe."
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