In Washington –
Soldier-vote conferee list shows 5 and 5
Three federal ballot backers placed on Senate lineup
Washington (UP) –
The Senate today unanimously agreed to a compromise slate of conferees on soldier-vote legislation after anti-administration forces protested proposed selections which would have been four to one for a federal ballot measure.
The compromise slate included three Senators who voted for the federal ballot plan in the numerous Senate tests of the last two weeks and two who voted for a state ballot plan.
The compromise slate finally agreed upon after almost an hour of floor wrangling included Senators Warren R. Austin (R-VT), Hugh A. Butler (R-NE), Tom Connally (D-TX), Theodore F. Green (D-RI) and Carl A. Hatch (D-NM).
Senators Green, Hatch and Austin voted for the federal ballot in the Senate tests, and Senators Connally and Butler against it.
They will meet with five House conferees in an effort to settle differences between House and Senate versions of soldier-vote legislation.
Three House conferees are states’ rights proponents – Reps. John E. Rankin (D-MS), Karl M. LeCompte (R-IA) and Harris Ellsworth (R-OR). The other two – Chairman Eugene Worley (D-TX) of the House Elections Committee and Rep. Herbert C. Bonner (D-NC) – are federal ballot backers. In the conferees lineup, this shows five on each side of the question.