Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1913-08-06
MULHALL A L|AR,"
SAYS UNDERWOOD
Former Lobbyist for N. A. IA.
Denounced in Senate.
CALLS HIM A "BLAckMAILER"
Majority Leader Asserts Man Who
Takes Liberty With Name of Pub
lie Men Should BE Forced
to Prove Charges.

Washington, July 31.-Representa-
tive Underwood, Democratic leader of
the house, appeared before the house
lobby investigation committee Tues
day and charged that Col NJ NJ. Null
hall, the lobbyist, was a blackmailer.
The appearance of Underwood was an
event not on the program. He came
Unexpectedly.
At the night session Minority Lead
er James r. Mann and Speaker Champ
Clark also made most emphatic denials
Of Mulhalrs statement that Represen-
tatIve J. T. McDermott Of Chicago had
offered them the "Mulhall letters" for
use in the house of representatives
Investigation. Both insisted they
never heard of the letters until after
they we're sold for publication.
Mulhall enlivened the day by testi-
flying that Representative McDermott
had admitted to him that he had
signed MuIhalFs name to a check for
$3.50.
The letters themselves, however,
Durported to give much information
alleged to have been furnished Mulhall
by Mr.. Underwood, and the latter took
the stand to give the lie direct, and at
once, to Mulhall.
Il think" replied Chairman Under
wood, that it is in the interest of the
public that man who has taken liber-
ties with public men as this man has
should be contradicted.
81 regard a man of this kind as
biackmailer That man has never
been in the ways and means commit
tee room since have been chairman
OF the committee. He may have had
conversations with me, but when he
says he had an interview l want to
say that statement is a lie
Mr.. Underwood also said he did not
believe he ever had seen Mulhall be-
fore in his life.
Mulhall practically finished his iden-
ti1cation of letters he wrote and re-
ceived in the ten years he claims to
have been the lobbyist for the Nation
al Association of Manufacturers.
Mulhall's last day as an identif1er OF
letters proved the most, exciting OF
Ais4two weeks on the stand.
He swore that bad tried to get
Chairman Wilson of the labor commit
tee interested in the story he is now
telling and that Speaker Clark and Mi
nority Leader Mann Of the house had.
turned down an opportunity to conduct
an investigation of his activities. The
speaker and Mr.. Mann, he said. had
been approached on this subject by
Representative James T. McDermott OF
Illinois.
Neither Mr.. McDermott nor any
body else ever showed me the Mulhall
letters and papers, said Speaker
Clark in statement.
Neither Mr.. McDermott nor any
body else ever spoke to me about
them. never knew that Mulhall had
any letters or papers until | saw In
newspaper that he had setS them to q
New York paper"
He testified he also had offered his
correspondence to Samuel Gompers,
president of the American Federation
of Labor, and that Gompers had de-
clined
We're the letters or their substance
laid before Mr.. Wilson," asked Sena-
tor Walsh
Il gave Mr.. Wilson an understand
ing OF what l had" replied Mulhan.
Speaker Clark and Mr.. Mann, MuF
hall said, would not have the matter
come up
Did you have talk with either?
asked Senator Cummins.
No, sir"
Did you offer to sell them to Com
ners?"
NO. l offered to give them"
When the senate lobby investigat=
ing committee resumed its session on
Monday Senator Henry Cabot Lodge
OF Massachusetts took the stand and
gave the lie direct to the confession
made by Martin NJ. Mulhall. professed
former agent for the National Asso-
citation of Manufacturers.
Mulhall was taken off the stand
long enough to permit Senator Lodge
to put into the record his emphatic
denials of Mulhalrs testimony.