The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1913-07-29
DAYS
FOR LOBBY
ARE GONE
David Lamar's Testimony Before
Lobby Probe Makes Impression
in National Capital - Develop
ments of Investigation Put End
to Old Practises in Legislative
Procedure, 1t Is Believed.
BY Ernest @. Walker.

b (Mail Special to The Advertiser.)
WASHINGTON, July 14.-Many
surprise has come at the senate inves-
tigation of lobbies, but for novelty and
boldness nothing stands out as eonspic-
uously as the testimony of David Lam
ar. He was on the witness stand sew
eral times and made an impression that
will not soon pass. When the pro-
ceedings of the lobby nave faded, the
testimony of Lamar will be recalled by
the raconteurs in congressional cloak
rooms. Apparently he is to "get
away with his remarkable procedure
of impersonating, over the telephone,
men prominent in public life. How
ever, there are newspaper reports about
grand jury proceedings in New York
City.
Before Lamar was dismissed he pro.
fessed penitence. He said he had been
playing the Wall Street" game and
claimed 1t was necessary for one to do
that to cope with cunning people .who
range Wall Street precincts. He said
he was disgusted and ashamed and
would never do it again. Only his
|
impersonated over the telephone such
men as Representative A. Mitchell Pal
mer, saved those men from more or less
embarrassment. Probably no witness
who ever appeared at hearing in
Washington heard himself called more
hard names. "Liar'' was used in the
cross examination and Lamar admitted
having told things that were entirely
untrue. He justified it because he was
"playing the Wall Street game
Lewis Cass Ledyard, the lawyer, to
whom Lamar represented himself as
A. Mitchell Palmer, was most out
spoken in his opinion of such work as
Lamar attempted. 1.-THE Wolf of
Wall Street. was. even denounced by.
Edward Lauterbach, the lawyer whom,
he claimed, he was attempting to serve,
| p 1t almost goes without saying that
old heads hereafter will be very wary
IabOut telephone conversations with peo,
pie not well known to them. Probably
Senator Cummins bill to punish such
impersonations will not become law,
but whether it does or not any business
man of Importance, in New York at
least, who has telephone message
from member of congress, whom he
does not know, about important mat.
ters of business, will insist upon seeing
his man face to face. r5 ,.if .es.ri,,t
W Impersonated Hilles. JOSH
Lamar impersonated Mr.. Hilles, for
mer secretary to Mr.. Taft, when the
latter was President, and likewise Ma,
tional Chairman McCombs and the
amazing thing is that his telephone
conversations in their names were
given attention and consideration till
the trick was discovered Seemingly
no great harm came from Lamar, be.
cause his representations that it would
be to the interest of big New York
corporations to employ his friend Lau.
terbach to represent them at Washing
ton were ultimately not credited. The
incident brought number of promi-
nent men, like Speaker Clark and SEN
ator Stone, to testify, and thus regis
ter their denials for the sake of keep.
ing the record clear. In this Lamar
succeeded in stirring many public men
here profoundly, apart from Lamar
himself the most conspicuous, and also
the most denounced character in a
remarkable investigation.
In the lobby hunt, it has been week
of William Whitman, of Boston. Not
that Mr.. Whitman was witness all
the time. He spent a part of three
days upon the stand, but his testimony
was the leading feature and when it
was done the senate subcommittee on
judiciary had well disposed of one i'm
portant topic. That was the wool and
woolen lobbies, SO called, supposed to
have been a mighty influence upon tar.
i'll Legislators in years agone.
Halcyon Days Are Gone.
1t was demonstrated by divers wit.
nesses that there were halcyon days
when such as Mr.. Whitman could come
to Washington on tariff errands with
out fear of huntsmen. There were
friendly men in public life, even unto
chairmen of great committees and 9th
ers in high places, who were glad to see
the visitors, extract information from
them and accept advice as to what du.
j ties were reasonable for thriving indus
4 try. Those halcyon days are no more
and apparently will not return. For
whether Democrats stay in power or
Republicans displace them, it will be
long ere the suspicion planted in the
minds of people as to such friendly
exchanges will be displaced. Ii is as
to that as with lawyer members of sen.
ate and house taking cases from big
corporations. 1t was tolerated ten years
ago, but it is not tolerated now.
In the future Mr.. Whitman and other
manufacturers may come to Washing
ton for hearings on tariffs and have
their say, but party leaders will be
chary about taking them into the in
ner councils. Ii will be thus as TO all
representatives of big interests. Such
men will be kept at arms length, how.
] aNar inst uuu ri ,has.