The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1913-06-18
THOUSANDS SPENT
TO MOLD OPINION
Activities, Complicated and
Winding, Include Col
ored" Interviews in Dailies
of Middle West, Dicker in
Chicago Newspaper Bonds
and an Attempt to Talk
Through Associated Press

=. WASHINGTON. June 1.-THE trail Of
-the lobby" the senate has been fol-
lowing more than two weeks led today
into the private files of the men in
sharge of the Washington offices of the
United States beet sugar industry, the
leading instruments of the campaign
against free sugar. and from originals
p: Of letters and kilograms and what pur-
ported to be copies of others developed
testimony Of what appeared to be an
attempt at a far reaching campaign
TO create public sentiment against free
sugar through the columns of indi-
yidua1 newspapers and the facilities of
press associa tions.
1t was a trail so long. so eompli-
Gated. and so winding that. after more
than two hours of patient effort, the
sommjttee had succeeded in reading
into. its record only a small part of
the mass. OF correspondence, which
senators believed had produced the
most sensational evidence yet de-
,'veloped
GETS COPIES OF LETTERS
:. BY subpoena duces tecum the com
mittee got possession of copies of let
Iers and telegrams of Clarence c. Ham
lin, "a Colorado Springs, Colo. news
paper owner. and beet sugar man, in
charge of the washington Offices OF
: tie American beet sugar association,
tvo years ago. The papers included
:. what purported to be carbon copies of
letters, unsigned. but furnished as gen
.:uinc By Harry A. Austin, clerk in the
:. Offices of Truman G. Palmer represent
stive of the United States beet sugar
!: Industry. The Industry succeeded the
:: Associa tion'' about two years ago, and
:. Palmer succeeded Hamlin in charge.
:. While the committee was after the
.pi. liza te papers, Palmer, after confer
ence with Senator Clark Of Wyoming,
Hamlin's uncle. was wiring Hamlin
urging him to get lawyer to repre-
sent his interests The committee had
knowledge of that and hurried the let
'sers into the record without regard to
sequence. More than 20 had been read
when adjournment was taken tonight.
ACTIVE FIGURE IN CAMPAIGN
Those read into the record were di-
:.rected to managers Of beet sugar COM
panies. officers of the American Beet
: sugar association, and friends of Ham
lin. indicating that Hamlin at the time
Of their writing was an active figure
in a campaign to organize support for
the protection of the beet sugar in
dustry and obtain publicity against
/. tariff reduction.
Some told of Hamlin travelling to
. large cities, giving out interviews; 9TH
that he was trying to circulate mat
Ter in defense of a sugar duty through
newspapers, the Associated Press and
other channels to Offset what he be-
9ieved misleading statements put out
bv sugar refners. The text indicated
that his attempts at publicity had not
ALWAYS been as successful az he had
hoped. other letters referred to a plan
launched by Hamlin to have the large
beet sugar companies take over $4,000
IN bonds noated by the Chicago Inter
ocean.
Other letters. disclosed attempts to
interest big railroad systems in the
: anti-free sugar campaign and to have
professors Of agricultural colleges ap-
pear before committees of congress
with arguments favorable to the beet
sugar men.
DISSATISFIED WITH EFFORTS
None of the letters disclosed that the
railroads had been interested or that
The great eews agencies had been ex-
tensively used or that the Inter Ocean
bonds had been bought. Letters intro
dnced did show that the sugar men
had been dissatisfied with their efforts
il get interviews" carried by the AS
sociated Press.
Austin and a sergeant at arms OF
the senate brought big box of the
.telegrams and letters to the commit
Nee room this afternoon The COM
iaittee. suspended the examination OF
witnesses. and Chairman overman SEN
ators Reed and walsh began reading
them into the record.
TWO kilograms were exchanged be
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