Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-08-01
CONCERNED REMSEN BOARD
Alleged to Have Said It Was Form
ed in Manufacturers Interest.
NEWSPAPER MANS TESTIMONY
Department Oficial Questioned as to
Experts Fees-Dr. Wiley Re-
tains Henry E. Davis.

ing Department OF Agriculture expend
itures and the general charges against
Dr. Wiley in connection with employment
of scientists nearly went to pieces today
over the question whether Secretary Of
Agriculture Wilson should be placed on
the Remsen pure food referee board.
Chairman Moss called to the stand H.
P. Willis. a newspaper correspondent.
who had quoted Secretary Wilson last
spring to the effect that the Remsen ref
cree board was organized for the purpose
of conserving the interests OF the manu-
facturers
The republican members of the COM
mittee. led by Representatives Higgins
Of Connecticut and Sloan OF Nebraska.
objected. They declared that the Sec
retarys motives were not part Of an
investigation of general expenditures
and that the official stenographer
should be called If any quotations of
the Secretary's statements at public
hearing were to be made.
The Willis statement finally was al
lowed to go in, along with a demand
from Mr.. Higgins that the official ste
nographer's records be procured. The
committee tried to find out how much
is paid to expert witnesses by the gov
ernment
Mr. Moss wanted to know IL DR.. Boos
Of Boston Is being paid $65 a day by the
government as an expert witness In
in the department A. Zappone, inan-
cial officer of the Department of Agri-
culture, said the government often
paid much higher per diem fees to ex-
perts, but that they were not sub1ect
to the same restrictions as scientific
employees of the Department OF Agrt-
culture.
DR.. Wiley Engages Counsel.
Additional evidence of the fact that DR..
Wiley intends to put up hard fight
against those who are trying to get him
out of the government service and render
him powerless to continue his efforts for
the rigid enforcement of the food and
drug act is afforded by the the fact that
he has employed Henry E. Davis OF the
local bar as his personal counsel. Mr..
Davis was present al the session or the
committee today, and followed the pro-
ceedings with the closest attention. Or.
Wiley, not having been summoned by the
committee for this morning, was not on
hand. but attended as usual to his duties
at the Agricultural Department
Attorney General Wickersham, Mr.
Zappone, Mr. Willis and Solicitor Earl Of
the Department of Commerce and Labor
were the only witnesses heard today. The
Attorney General was asked to identify
a memorandum, presumably that pre-
pared in the Department of. Justice and
on which an opinion referred to, holding
the Remsen board to be illegal, was
Al % do
scribed by Chairman Moss. The Attorney
General took the memorandum away with
him to make comparison which, he said,
was necessary before he could identify it.
Then Mr.. Zappone took the stand, and
the committee questioned him in great de-
tail as to the manner in which the men,
bers of the Remsen board were paid.
Had Received $25 Daily.
1t appears from Mr.. Zapponne's testi-
1nony that prior to May /. 1900. the mem
bcrs of the Remsen board were paid SO
a day for actual work done, but, the At
torney General having held this method
Of payment to be illegal, on the date
mentioned the members were transferred
to the annual roll at $1,000 a year each.
The committee seemed interested in the
fact that this change in the manner OF
compensating the Remsen experts cost
the government considerably additional
sum Of money.
Mr.. Zapponne was asked how the sum
of 5000 year was arrived at, and
explained that this was the maximum
sum received by any member OF the
Remsen board in a year. Consequently
all of the members were placed on the
two-t ousand-dollars-a-year basis, al
though all save one had earned less than
this previously, and one had been paid
only $765 for his services for twelve
month under the twenty-five-dollars-a ~
rate.
Representative Floyd OF Arkansas want
ed, to know il the members of the ..em-
sen board had been giving their entire
time to their duties in connection with
the department since they had been put
on the annual roll, but Mr. Zapponne said
he was not familiar with their duties.
Employment of DR.. Rusby.
Then the committee took up the en-
ployment OF DR.. Rusby by DR.. Wiley
the proposition on which the effort to get
rid of the chief Of the bureau OF chem
know how much DR.. Rusby was to re-
ceive.
"At the rate of s1.eoo year." Mr. Zap
pone replied.
Are the vouchers in that case paid in
the same manner as the vouchers OF the
Remsen board members?' Mr.. Floyd
asked
yes" Mr.. Zappone replied. except in
the Rusby case the vouchers are ap-
proved by DIR. Wiley. instead OF by the
referee Of the Remsen board and the
Secretary of Agriculture"
How much has been paid to DR.. Rus
by to date?" asked Mr.. Floyd.
Just S2Ol." MIR. Zapponne- answered.
'.The rest of the vouchers have been
held up by order of the Secretary of
Agriculture" He said that there was
between $500 and $500 due DR.. Rusby
at the present time that was being held
up in this manner.
Chairman Moss wanted to know IL any
experts in the bureau Of chemistry now
were being paid as high as $50 day for
their services.
.'Not unless he should be called as a
witness at a trial." Mr.. Zapponne an
swered. He added that some experts
had been paid even more than $50 day,
and recollected that one had received
81 GOO for attendance Of several days at a
trial. He explained that this was done
under the ruling that such experts were
NOT employees Of the department, but were
hired by contract, and that this did not
come within the scope OF the objection
to the per diem rate. They were simply
given a hxed sum for the Job, he said.
this compensation always being arranged
In advance.
Pure Beer Inquiry.
Chairman Moss referred to the pure
beer hearing now In progress at the
CONTINUED on Second Page)