The San Francisco call., 1913-08-17
SHAVE $1,000 CHARGE
i DOWN TO BARE $500
/. H. McMichael Sticks to
His Sensational Adrnis-
sions-Adnits He Is Re-
ceiving a Salary From
Newspaper to Write His
Memoirs of Twenty Years
as a National House Page

1CAIlOlIS . VI WCllty- Cdl ,
as a National House Page
. WASHINGTON. lkug. 16.-The house
lobby investigators centered their at
tention today on the statement OF l. H.
SfcMichael. one time chief page of the
house, that Representative James T.
McDermott OF Chicago. had received
about $500 for efforts TO defeat bill
affecting local pawnbrokers and loan
sharks" After more than FIVE hours
of hard work the committee was not
much nearer a definite conclusion about
the $500 than It was when McMichael
made his first statement
The one time. chief of the house pages
reiterated today his testimony that
McDermott told him that he got about
$500 in the loan shark matter. and
stuck to his story under severe cross
examination of James s. Easily Smith,
attorney for McDermott
The former Washington pawnbrokers
who quit business when thfs bill be-
came law gave the committee no def
mite Information to connect MeDerDott
with any such fund or to disclose that
the pawnbrokers ever raised any such
amount for any purpose.
Abraham Bernstein. one of the bro
kerss said he contributed to a fund TO
he ,sSa5 - ad,-.rc;,,.~ H. r.-,,r,,an+S cf
himself and his fellows He showed
q lack OF memory about many details
concerning the raising Of the money
and was subjected to a long and sharp
fire of direct examination in which
every member of the committee who
was present took part Pinned down
time after time; however. Bernstein de-
MED that the brokers ever raised more
than $3.50 and swore that it was used
to pay attorneys to represent them be-
fore officials here and in publicity
work
TOOK NO RECEIPT
3 lie was asked to help he swore. by
George D. Horning. another local pawn
broker, who. according to McMiehael,
made the arrangement with McDermott
TO. work against the bill He said he
gave two checks to Horning amounting
TO- about $500. He took no receipt.
did not know how the money was used,
but presumed it went to the attorneys
McDermott he said. he had known for
about year.
He CHorning) and. Ike" Heiden-
heimer, another broker, interested in
the bills defeat, he said, called at Nc
Dermotts office on Capitol hill once
bat he didn't know the year. and he
wasn't sure whether Mcpermott was in
at the time or who was there He was
sure al first he hadn't paid any money
TO Horning in 1911. when McMichael
s&ore the deal was made. but after
continued questioning agreed he wasn't
entirely certain about the matter.
Bernstein's failure to remember de.
tails finally became so frequent that at
almost every question of the inquisitor
he got laugh from his colleagues, but
no informtiop. from the witness Bern
stein denied that $500 was raised to
defeat legislation.
ANSWERS CAUSE LAUGHTER.
Thirty five hundred dollars never de-
feated legislation" he said You might
defeat ii with $4,000 or $4,000
When the laughter subsided Bernstein
admitted he didn't know how he could
defeat legislation with even that
amount. He denied he ever talked with
MeDermott about legislation except in
a casual way.
Bernstein couldn't fix the time when
Horning first came to him and sug-
gested they must do something to de-
feat the loan shark bill. He said Horn
ing. Heidenheimer and he talked about
the matter frequently, nut he could not
give details of these conversations
We didn't do anything rash.' he adj
nitted frequently.
Bernstein denied he had talked with
Iorning or Heidenheimer about the tes-
timony he was to give the committee
Emmanuel Steinem, the second former
pawnbroker, said he contributed moth
ing to the fund to defeat the bill, al
though approached by the trio who did
put UP the money.
i told Horning I would contribute il
thu bill passed with the pawnbrokers
excluded from its terms he said.
You were willing to go in on a sort
of insurance basis" suggested Repre-
sentative Ferris.
Yes. sir"
Questioned more fully about why he
Eamssns.ad an na~a CoVrr.w