The citizen. (Frederick City, Md.) 1895-1923, 1913-07-18
WASHINGTON.
Legislative and Cen
eral Topics from
the Capital.

The lobby Investigations that are being
! made in Washington bv both the Senate
and the House of Representatives have
| stirred the country from one end 10 the
! other When President Wilson some
weeks ago declared that an insidious
| lobby was at work in Washington against
the Democratic tariff bill it was believed
that, while certain interests were fighting
the bill. such tactics as have been exposed
were not being reSorted to. The investi-
CATION so far las resulted i'll some start.
ling disclosures and il is believed they
will grow worse from day TO day. 1t is
reported that the investie has had a
tendency to drive a number of the lead
ing and most prominent lobbyists out Of
! Washington. They have become alarmed
over the situation and have left, but, if
their presence should be needed. they
will be brought before the proper COM
mltteeS. The lobby investigation has uu-
questionable considerably eased up the
fight against the Democratic tariff bill.
The exposures that have been made re-
garding past legislation and the ConneC-
ton of certain public men with them have
somewhat dampened the enthusiasm
with whi h some Republicans had plann-
ed to fight the Democratic tariff bill.
Many observers believe that the lobby in
vestigaton will result in the adoption of
the tariff bill without the fight that was
expected.
The Government could save $40 a ton
over present prices if it manufactured its
own armor in a plant capable of making
per year 10000 tons, or onehalf the
amount necessary for two baulcships
This is the statement made by Secretary
of the Navy Daniels in a report to Con
gress in response to a resolution asking
the SeCretarV'S views of the adviSabilitv
of establishing a Government armor plate
plant with a view to reducing the alleged
eXtortionate price of armor manufactured
by the Carnegie. Bethlehem and AIidvae
plants. The Secretary and other leading
officials of the department are strongly
favorable to the establishment of a Gov
erument armor-piate plant. and wide
spread sentiment iorit exists in Congress.
But Secretary Daniels withholds a def
u!te recommendation until the cost of
armor manufacture has been more thor
oughly investigated, and to this end ne
recommends that Congress create a com
mission with 1oWcr to examine the books
OF the plants where armor for the Coy
ernment is made.
President Wilson is sharing the fate of
humber American citizens. 1t is house
cleaning time at the White House and
he's being shifted around.
While he watches the slow wheels Of
tariff and currency go round Superin-
tendent +. +. Gillen and twenty assistants
are 5usily giving the executive mansion
a $40, 900 house cleaning That is the
amount which has been appropriated for
the job, and new furniture, new wall pa
pers and even new beds will all have to
come out of this amount
The principal changes will be made in
the bedrooms of the Misses Wilson,
where modern brass beds will replace the
mahogany horrors formerly installed, and
the dark papers will give way to more
cheerful blues, light greens and yellows.
Martin NJ. MulhaH, professed field
agent, strikebreaker, lobbyist and politi
cal worker for the National Association
of Manufacturers, continued his remark
able story before the Senate Lobby In
vestigating Committee.
Mulhal was on the stand for six hours.
In that time nearly 600 letters, telegrams
and scraps OF memoranda were identified
by him with hardly more than a glance.
He remembered apparently the first
names of members of Congress, of lesser
politicians, of labor leaders and under
lings, of secretaries to Congressman and
of all the men he had worked with through
a year of most active campaigning in
many parts of the country.
His performance seemed so remarka-
BILE 10 lawyers present that they sat all
through long day watching the witness
and listening closely TO the letters and
every word that the witness uttered in
the brief cross-examination that accom-
panied some of them.
President Wilson granted unconditional
pardonS to William +. kettenbaCh and
George II. Kester each sentenced to five
years Imprisonment for making false re-
ports to the Comptroller of the Currency
on the condition of the Lewiston. Idaho,
National Bank of which they were pres
ident and cashier respectively.
They were convicted April 4, 1911, but
have not served any of their sentences.
lhe proposal outlined by Secretary of
the Treasury McAdoo, amending the
Administration currency bill provision for
reiunding Federal per cent circulation
bonds by the issue OF 3 per cent bonds,
precipitated a heated discussion in the
conference of Democratic members Of the
House Banking and Currency Commit
tee. After three hours of argument the
conference adjourned with the McAdoo
proposal still pending.
The death sentence of Tony Milano,
convicted of the murder Of twelve-year-
old Harry +. Smith in Milano's cobbler
shop, two years ago was commuted by
President Wilson to life Imprisonment on
the ground that the condemned man was
insane at the time of the crime.
The large cities are to have commodi-
Gus parcel post terminals 10 facilitate the
handling OF bulky packages. Experts of
the Post Office Department have found
that the handling OF the larger parcels in
postal cars produce much confusion and
not little congestion, interfering mate.
rally with the work of railway mail
clerks.
Postmaster General Burleson will issue
soon an order covering this and other
important changes in the parcel post sys-
tenn.
One OF the changes will be the consoli-
dation OF the so and 100 miles zones,
known as Zones and 2" which will
double the radius within which local de-
livery" will obtain. A new rate will be
established for the enlarged local delivery
zone, which will be less than the present
| Zone rate, but possibly more than the
| Zone /, or 5o-mlle rate.
The proposed changes have been ap.
| proved by the Interstate Commerce Com
/ nc 49,