The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-07-17
Startling Facts Laid Before
Lobby Investigating Com
mittee by Mulhall
NEARLY 400 LETTERS
ARE IDENTIFIED
Witness Tells of Effort to Make the
National Association of Manufac-
turers Controlling Factor in
Campaigns for Congress

1
National Association of Manps a.
the controlling factor in cam o X,su
Congress, to defeat legslationlln Wash
ington. Its members did not approI. to
get the ears of men who were ruhuing
presidential booms and to land a mem
Der of the association in the cabinet of
President. We're laid before the SEN
ate lobby investigating committee today.
Martin NJ. Muhall, self-styled lobbyist
for the association, swore to the authen-
ticity of-nearly 400 letters which told of
these plans and brought in the names
OF such men as former Presidents Roose-
Welt and Taft, the late Vice President
Sherman, former Speaker Cannon. former
Senators Aldrich, Hemenway, Foraker
and others. Arthur l. Vorys. Ohio man
ager of the Taft campaign in 1908 and
| Frank II. Hitchcock, one time chairman
of the republican national committee and
Postmaster General in Mr.. Tafts cabinet.
Fund to Oppose Legislation
Mulhall testified, too. that the National
Council for Industrial Defense, an organi-
of Manufacturers, had raised between
s5Oo,0oo. and 100000 year to be used in
| opposing legislation its members did not
like. He said this information came from
a collector for the council and that he
had no personal knowledge of it except
that he had been paid for political work
/ from such a fund.
| Mulhall showed the strain he has been
under for four days during the after
noon session and the committee took him
from the stand for half hour and lis
tened TO testimony by j. p. Bird. general
manager of the manufacturers assoeia-
| tion, and treasurer of the Industrial De-
Tense council. Bird brought half car
| load of books and papers with him to
Washington and turned them over to the
| committee. He refused to say who had
contributed to the fund of the council
but he will be examined at length later
4 and the committee win undertake TO make
him tell what manufacturers contributed
| and what amounts they gave.
| Along with the information that Bird
had half a carload of data to submit
| the committee heard that f. c. Schwedt-
man of St Louis, secretary to the late
James w. VanCleave, the president of the
\ National Association of Manufacturers
| had about 10000 letters bearing on the
associations work. Schwedtman was in
| constant communication with Mulhall
according to the latter's evidence
| The committee was greatly interested
| in letter which Mulhall swore he wrote
| to Schwedtman April 2 1908. IL told of a
conversation Mulhall had in Washington
with former Representative Watson of
Indiana, in which the latter described a
;wo-hour interview at the White House
! between Mr.. Roosevelt and himself
| In part the letter read
| He tWatson) said he was invited
to the White House at $3.50 d. m and
was with the President until 1l;30 n.
m The President wished him to call
so they could go over the legislative
programme for the balance of this ses-
sion. the President knowing that he
represented Speaker Cannon and the
other leaders of the House and SEN
ate. He stated that the main rea-
son of the call was that Speaker Can
non, Vice President Fairbanks and
several others wanted to find out how
the President stood in relation to a
third term. He stated that there were
four things the President wished. First,
| that Congress would stay in session
until May 8 to meet governors of the
| dlneren states coming to Washington
| on that day. Second. to amend the
sherman law. Third, to have Congress
vote for four battleships. Fourth to
pass child's labor law for the District
of Columbia, which would be a model
law for the states in general.
Impossible to Pass Bills
Mr. Watson says ne told the Pres
ident that it was impossible for him to
! get through this Congress two of those
| bills First. that Congress would only
vote for two battleships Second, that
| Congress would not amend the Sher-
man law The President wanted to
II rf4r II
| almost the entire manufacturing in
| terests of the country We're against it.
rhe President wished to know If
| Mr.. Watson knew or had met Mr.. Van
l'Cleve.
Mr.. Watson told him he knew Mr.
Van Cleve well and other leaders in
| touch with Mr.. Van Cleaye and that
Mr.. Van Cleave was a splendid fell
low. He talked along these lines with
| the President and finally the Presi-
dent did not press to have the Sher-
man bill passed at this session OF Con-
gress.
| "He then stated that they nassau p
| the child labor law and Mr. Watson
asked the President who would dra W
this model bill. The President replied
! that he would have his LABOR commits
sioner, Mr.. Neill, draw it. the President
explaining that he merely wished this
bill to be an academic bill for the
states"
The letter closed with a reference
to Mr.. Watson's account of his ef-
/ forts to draw Mr.. Roosevelt out on the
question of a third term
Schwedtman told Mulhall in a let
ter early in 1908, 'it is really a nitv
that we cannot get you to Congress
or to the Senate right away. You oupht
to he there. Each day teaches us how
to do things better and just another
year of this harmonious cooperation
will put us in shape where nobody
lean beat US
The letter was dated April l.
Martin M. Mulhall brought the story of
his lobbying activities for the National
4 Association of Manufacturers up to 1908
before the Senate committee today and
Testified about the work of the associa-
ton in promoting tariff commission
'The association wanted Miles and
ISchwedtman on 1t and wanted to control
1t themselves" Muhall testified
| He did not explain who Miles wos.
Schwedtn,an was secretary to esitasefis
VanCleave of the association.
James A. Emory. counsel for the manu-