The Washington herald., 1913-07-10
ATTEMPT MADE
TO GET farmers
Senate Lobby Inquiry Finds
Agriculturists' Organiza-
ton Was Deceived.
so TESTIFIED FARMERS
'Wof" Lamar's Absence Gives Com
mittee Restful Day-Mulhan
on Stand Monday.

How J. d. Bowen. surreptiously rep
resenting the Louisiana cane sugar in
terests, attempted to work the farmers
organization of the United States into
opposition to the Underwood bill, was
brought out in the testimony before the
Senate lobby investigation yesterday.
1. A. Smith, former president of the
Farmers Union OF Georgia, and II. H.
Mobley, president OF the Arkansas Farm
ers' Union. told of having been sum-
moned to a meeting in New Orleans by
Bowen, supposedly acting for the ma
tional organization, and, together with
five other State presidents. induced to
sign letters and kilograms to their Sen
ators, urging them to join Senators
Thornton and Ransdell of Louisiana in
fighting the Underwood bill
Sugar Rates Not Mentioned.
When they attended the meeting and
signed the letters and kilograms they
did il under the Misrepresentation that
the cotton schedule in the Underwood bill
would work havoc with prices of raw
cotton. Nothing was said to them of
the sugar schedule, and they did not
know that Bowen. a member of their
Texas organization, was working in the
interests of the Louisiana people Later.
when their eyes were opened. they wrote
their Senators to disregard the letters
and kilograms they had signed at
Bcwen's dictation.
The lobby committee spent the greater
part of the day in a fruitless examina-
ton Of William Whitman. a former pres
ident of the National Association of
Wool Manufacturers. and looked upon
as the most prominent wool manufac-
turer IN the country. Mr.. Whitman, who
owns or controls about six large woolen
and cotton mills in New England. has
been in attendance on every tariff ses-
sion since 1873. he told the committee
Little was adduced from his testimony
as far as showing how the wool inter
ests had worked to obtain the RICH rates
in the existing wool schedule.
Winthrop Marvin, secretary-treasurer
of the National Association of Woo
Manufacturers. today will take the stand
equipped with all the records and az
count books of the organization from
1895 TO the present day. From these
books the committee hopes to establish
tie fact that vast sums have been eS
pended by the association, though few
minutes examination of Mr.. Marvin ny
the committee yesterday did not give
room for any great degree OF optimism
on that score.
Present indications are that the COM
mittee will not be able to begin the il
vestigation of the Mulhall charges be-
fore next Saturday at the earliest, and
the probability is that it will be Mo-
day before the first witness, Mulhali,
will be summoned.
The committee was decidedly exas-
perated yesterday when Secretary Emery, |
of the National Association of Manufac- |
turers. demanded that former Senator |
Aldrich and "a number Of other forme- |
Senato and members of the House mel
toned by Mulhall, be sent for at once |
Mr.. Emery was informed that the COM |
,nittee was conducting the investigation |
and did not intend to clog the committee |
room with half hundred waiting wit |
Mulhalrs testimony just who it wished |
10 hear and in what order
Bowers Part Explained.
A good deal of interest was aroused |
and Mobley of how they almost had |
been trapped into throwing the entire |
strength of their organizations against !
tire Underwood bill The meeting which |
they attended. they said. also was at |
tended by State presidents. or their rep |
resentatives, from Texas, Oklahoma, |
Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. all |
cotton-growing States. Smith and Mob |
ley said that their expenses were paid |
by Bowen, whom, they thought repre-
scented the national organization at the |
meeting.
When the presidents reached the meet
ing they were told that some quick work
had to be done to save the cotton-grow-
ing industry. ana that their kilograms
were intended to delay matters until the
cotton growers could present their case