Daily Arizona silver belt., 1910-04-17
h The Halls of Congress
: BY TAV.
Special Washington Correspondence


 WASHINGTON, D. G. April 16.-Whethel money has been spent to create public sentiment in favor of the Taft Humphrey $5000,00O shil subsidy bill, or whether money has been spent tc create sentiment against the measure, promises to develop out of the investigation now in pro gress before a special committee of the house o1 which Representative J. " Ocott of New York City is chairman.
 Testimony taken so far has brought out the fact that large sums of money have been spent by the Merchant Marine League of the United States to create pro-subsidy sentiment. It has not developed so far that any money has beer spent at any place at any time Tn opposition tc ship subsidy legislation.
 The specific sources of the money spent in the campaign for a ship subsidy have not yet beer revealed. Harvey D. Boulder eX-president oi the Merchant Marine League testified that wher the organization was formed he signed note for 5000 in order that the league might gc ahead with its work, and that he had been in formed recently that the note had been paid Asked who paid the 5000, Mir. Goulder said he presumed that the treasurer of the league paic it. An attempt will be made to learn from other witnesses the exact sources from which the treasurer received this amount.
 The use to which the Merchant Marine league put it's funds was to attack members of con gress known to be opposed to ship subsidy legis laton. In the cases of Representative Halvol Steenerson of Minnesota and Representative Gustave Kustermann of Wisconsin the league used its funds to send thousands of letters newspapers and magazines in their districts These publications contained articles so worded as to lead the reader to believe that members of congress opposing a ship subsidy were in the pay of foreign ship owners. The publications averred the presence in Washington of power. ful lobby backed by foreign shipping inter, ests," for which charge there has not as yet de veloped the least foundation.
 While no evidence has been produced up to this time to show the existence of lobby such as Steenerson and Kustermann have been charged with co cooperating with, the fact has al ready been established that at least one eX-mem- Der of congress has been cooperating with the Merchant Marine league in the interest of legis- lation which will bring about the payment of ap- proximately $5,000,000 of the peoples money annually to few private ship owners.
 James T. McCleary, eX-representative of con gress from Minnesota, who spends his time in Washington, and who is regarded by Repre- sentative Steenerson and other members of con gress as lobbyist for ship subsidy admitted on the witness stand that he had received between $600 and $1 ,000 from the Merchant Marine league, but insisted that he had accepted the money only in the light of reimbursement of eX- pense he was put to in travelling about the coun- try at the request of the league to make pro-ship subsidy speeches.
 ''You have been attending the sessions of the house of representatives? asked Representa- tive Steenerson of McCleary.
 ''I have been there occasionally
 "You have claimed the floor as an eX-mem- ber?"
 ''I certainly have"
 Later in the cross examination Mr. Steener- son asked: "During this time that you have re- ceived payment from the Merchant Marine league and have had access to the floor of the house of representatives, have you not also dis cussed ship subsidy, this legislation you are so strongly interested in?"
 "When member of congress asked me a question:" replied the former representative, 'T have, to the best of my ability, answered it, wherever I happened to be-"
 "The Arizona delegate again shows that he is strenuous WOrker' says the Prescott