ERECTING A MEMORIAL TO THE MEMORY OF JULY 14, 1949.-Ordered to be printed Mrs. NORTON, from the Committee on House Administration, submitted the following REPORT [To accompany H. J. Res. 295] The Committee on House Administration, to whom was referred the joint resolution (H. J. Res. 295) entitled "A joint resolution to erect a memorial to the memory of Mohandas K. Gandhi", having considered the same, report favorably thereon without amendment and recommend that the joint resolution do pass. EXPLANATION OF THE BILL Your committee has held several hearings, and has conducted numerous discussions on this resolution to memorialize Gandhi. It was introduced originally early in 1948, shortly after the great Indian leader was assassinated. Mr. Celler reintroduced it in the Eighty-first Congress, in the form of a simple House resolution. All hearings and correspondence on the measure were directed toward House Resolution 460 (80th Cong.) and House Resolution 13 (81st Cong.). Letters came in from scholars, authors, historians, and various celebrated people, all urging favorable consideration. Hon. C. W. Bishop, then chairman of the Library Subcommittee, called hearings for April 5, 1948, at which Mr. Celler made his representation in person, and was supported by other Members of the House, including Hon. Karl Mundt and Hon. James Fulton. Mr. J. J. Singh, president of the India League of America, also presented a statement in person, and the Department of State was represented by Raymond Hare, then Chief of the Division of South Asian Affairs. Subsequent hearings were held by Hon. Ken Regan, subcommittee chairman, on June 22, 1949, when most of the above people returned, plus official expression from the Commission of Fine Arts, delivered 1st Session No. 1054 ERECTING A MEMORIAL TO THE MEMORY OF JULY 14, 1949.-Ordered to be printed Mrs. NORTON, from the Committee on House Administration, submitted the following The Committee on House Administration, to whom was referred the joint resolution (H. J. Res. 295) entitled "A joint resolution to erect a memorial to the memory of Mohandas K. Gandhi”, having considered the same, report favorably thereon without amendment and recommend that the joint resolution do pass. EXPLANATION OF THE BILL Your committee has held several hearings, and has conducted numerous discussions on this resolution to memorialize Gandhi. It was introduced originally early in 1948, shortly after the great Indian leader was assassinated. Mr. Celler reintroduced it in the Eighty-first Congress, in the form of a simple House resolution. All hearings and correspondence on the measure were directed toward House Resolution 460 (80th Cong.) and House Resolution 13 (81st Cong.). Letters came in from scholars, authors, historians, and various celebrated people, all urging favorable consideration. Hon. C. W. Bishop, then chairman of the Library Subcommittee, called hearings for April 5, 1948, at which Mr. Celler made his representation in person, and was supported by other Members of the House, including Hon. Karl Mundt and Hon. James Fulton. Mr. J. J. Singh, president of the India League of America, also presented a statement in person, and the Department of State was represented by Raymond Hare, then Chief of the Division of South Asian Affairs. Subsequent hearings were held by Hon. Ken Regan, subcommittee chairman, on June 22, 1949, when most of the above people returned, plus official expression from the Commission of Fine Arts, delivered by one of the Commissioners, Frederick V. Murphy. He was accompanied by H. P. Caemmerer, secretary to the Commission. Certain changes were made in the resolution as it then was composed, and these were incorporated in an entirely new bill, House Joint Resolution 295, which is the bill now reported out by your com mittee. The Commission of Fine Arts, the National Capital Park and Planning Commission, and the Department of State, are all in favor of the enactment of the proposed legislation. The report from the Secretary of State on the Gandhi memorial resolution is as follows: Hon. KEN REGAN, Chairman, Library Subcommittee, House of Representatives. JUNE 30, 1949. MY DEAR MR. REGAN: I have received your letter of June 27, 1949, requesting my views on the merits of House Resolution 13 (now H. J. Res. 295) of the Eighty-first Congress, a resolution to erect a monument to the memory of Mohandas K. Gandhi. This resolution represents a constructive and appropriate approach to the commemoration of a great man of peace whose impact upon history as stated in the resolution is indeed undeniable. The erection of a suitable monument to Mohandas K. Gandhi in the National Capital of the United States paid for by individual subscriptions would make a definite contribution to the genuine friendliness which already exists between the people of the United States and the people of India. Sincerely yours, DEAN ACHESON. |