River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1913-08-07
WASHINGTON LETTER
FROM JAMES A. FnEAR, MEMBER OF
CONGRESS-, 10Th DISTRICT

L.
Committee that he impersonated
Speaker Clark, Congressman Pal
mer and other members during con-
conversations with Wall Street
magnates over the telephone,
il bacame apparent he was
playing both sides of the
game for personal ends. AL
though Lamar treated it as a
huge joke, a federal grand jury
has indicted him for impersonat-
ing Members of Congress in his
effort to fraudulently work up
on the credulity of business
men.
A lie travels faster than the truth,
which is one reason why Senators
Nelson, Clapp, Lodge and Cummins,
Republicans in the Senate, and
several House Members including
Congressman Sherley, McDermott
and Underwood, Democratic leaders,
have all voluntarily appeared before
the lobby investigating committee
declaring in nearly every case that
they had never met Mulhall, the
lobbist, and disputing his testimony
given before the committee, to
the contrary. Confronted by re-
cord proof that he was
mistaken in other matters, he re-
tracted before the committee,
when he discovered his error.
That he attempted to influence
legislation, paid one of the House
pages for information, tried TO elect
certain Congressman and defeat
others, with the knowledge or advice
of self constituted officers of
the manufacturers association
is probable; but it is doubt
full, from his own testimony,
if he ever influenced legislation or
political selections.
LaFollette, Lenroot, Nelson,
Morse and Cooper were Wisconsin
men marked for defeat by
Speaker Cannon and this as
sociation, according to Mulhall,
but it requires no gift of
genius to discover what was patent
to everybody, nor could higher
praise have been given the
men named than this distinction by
Mulhall. 1t is doubtful if
the powerful railway lobby
or other representative of
special interests at Washington
in years past, ever took Null
hall into thier confidence, and
in giving him free rein, the
Senate Committee has discounted
in the public m n d, the
influence p o e by such
men compared with their own
estimate of them selves. What
ever outcome, the character of the
investigation and general effect is
wholesome.
After many weeks of secret
caucusing the currency bill is
yet in the hands of the Dem
ocratic members of the House
Committee. Through effort to es-
cape the influence of Wall Street the
present bill goes to the OPP
posite extreme.
A proposed Federal Board with
extraordinarily large powers is
provided, composed of the Secre-
tary of the Treasury, Secretary of
Agriculture, c m p t . ! of
the Currency and four other
members to be appointed by the
President. In other words the
bill authorizes the President to
appoint all members of board
which will control Reserve banks
having aggregate capital of
$50,000,000 and banking power
estimated at ten billion dollars.
Power is given the board to sus-
pe1d operations of any Federal
Reserve bank; TO appoint receiver
for any such bank; to remove bank
officers; to admit any state bank in
its discretion; to control note is
sues and to perform other impor-
tant duties in supervising the 1000
national banks of the country.
Probably any board would try and act
with caution but political board.
parcelled out among favorites of his
own party by president, does not
inspire special confidence in hnan-
cial circles, for obvious reasons.
Leading opponents of Democratic
faith radically differ on the tariff
question. The President has been
hrm IN his demand for free wool
and sugar, basing his action on party
pledges contained in the Democrat
ic platform adopted at Baltimore,
One of the most cons picuous
members of the platform
committee was Senator Newlands.
~,,t,11 for -, a,,xy x,aore 49,