The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1913-02-19
HEARING ON
 LOBBY BILL
(Continued from Page 1.) MIR. WILSON'S REMARKS.

 make that a crime in Connecticut which has always been illegal in this country, and which is a crime in many of the States of this Union and soon is to be a, crime in many more of them.
 In advocating this bill I call no names. I dig up, dead am will ing that the dead past shall bury it's dead. Evil things familiar1zed by GUS tom. come to be tolerated and fin ally to be deemed indispensable. The lobby in Connecticut has been high road to political prom otion. The em- ployers of the lobby have been The fountain of honor.
 The system has brought us much evil It has corrupted our laws, m jured our industry, robbed our c1tlzens and made our government sonerlneS an object of contempt.
 The disgracefu1 scenes of recent leg islatures are too familiar to us all. Eation now proceeding in the senate is known to us. I will not consider it. 'T1s but the sign that shows the cancer that eats the body Of the state.
 I am glad to address committee composed all of lawyers. and of 1aW- yers some of whom are, or have been which I shan present will not be un- familiar And you must have gT1eV- ed. and do now grieve as you perceive those Of your cloth who frequent the Iobby and practice the unprofessiona! arts of ''secret personal solicitation upon the members of this Assembly;
 To refresh your rsconse5eoRs +5s code of ethics adopted by the American Bar Asso- citation, which provides, '"Thalt a law yer openly and in his true cnaracser l fore legislative or other bodies, gardfng proposed Legislation and m advocacy of claims before oePer. e-..a ments of government, upon the same Drfnciples of ethics which Justify his aupearance before courts; but 1t Is un- confessional for a. lawyer so engaged 10 conceal his attorneyship, or to en1- r1lov secret personal solicitations, or 70 use means other than those addresseo to the reason and understanding ro
 And if, perchance, my learned friends, any of you should make contract to lobby by secret persona ner forbidden by your ethics, the courts would hold, and have frnme- moriaIly held, that you could not re- cover, under such an agreement, your pay for the service, for the reason that your contract. would be agalnsr public policy.
 Statee has taken the view, on more than one occasion, that contracts 10 lobby are against public poIlcy, as, to wit, when Alexander J.. MarsnaH brought suit for $50,OO@ for Ioboy1nng, through the Virginia Leg1slaIure' right Of way for the Baltimore a ana will be found in Towards Reports,
 In Powers vs. Skinner, s4 vt, zT4, saIe of personal influence is void
 Tn Sweeney ve. Mcleod. 15 Or S3o, 1t was held that a contract Tor Iopoy
 7And in Mills vs. Mf1ls, s5 Barber. 474. if was held that a contract otherwise correct, but which furnishes tempIa- lion to use improper means. is void
 And in Frost vs BeImont,-A11en, 1e2 it was declared improper that either party to bill shall be permit r-af fT4dlH
 I might multiply instances almost
 The bfYi which I havo antroduced to the General Assembly ana oVV11 Mnicn 1o,1s 1s rnittee, is based upon the proV1sions i of your own code of ethics IL IS Of the courts that secret influences, and secret personal solicitation, ana conceaIment of agency and interest in procuring legislation, are wrong and Il1rtful to society.
 -lThe bill permits proper practice pc fore ffe General Assembly, just as the rule Of your code does.
 It forbfds improper practice Just as
 sTha xsrivate. or "secret personal so- 1icitation of members or t1e legr5ra ri1aa but only to those who receive pay TOT their services
 Proper appearance of legislative agents ig provided and consists or reEistration prior to appearance De fore committees The right to ao- dress members of the General Assem- Div by written arguments or briefs. or statements, or by the constitutional r1efhode of petition, remonstrance ana address are given.
 kfshe employer of a, legislative agent is required to report certain facts, in cludiny the name of the agent and the measure for which he is to appear Tsorporatfon the amount of cOnpensa- tion paid to the agent must be re- ported Legislative agents are for Roidden to go upon the floor of either house. The reasons are obvious. The presence of lobbyists among the mem bers of the General Assembly In ses- sion has provoked too many olsgracea Sa reminded of them-
 Now this bill is not drastic bill Generally speaking, however, it is fairly representative of the type of legislation that Is finding favor in the effort to get rid of the lobby evil:
 '-Section 421z, Chapter 62, Compliesa1 "a any person. whether directly interest ed. or not, in any measure pending before. or thereafter to be introduced into either branch of the legislature In this state shall at any place within the state, in any manner privately at tempt to influence the vote or any member of the legislature during hls term of office concerning such meas 14re he shall be deemed guilty Of lob bying; provided, that nothing in this section shall be construed to prevent any person not employed for a vaLlu- aFlIe consideration from attempting to influence by use of briefs, or written or printed arguments, any member of fFa IegfsIature" Otherwise the Okla 11ona bill is very similar to my bill, members of the lobby are by it's terms excluded from the floor of either house.
 The Nebraska law, Chap. 4S Section IT Statutes of Nebraska, 1911, MT. Bryan's state, provides
 ssIt shall be unlawful for any agent, attorney or emplOye of any person, corDorafion or association, or for any person employed for pecunfary con sideration, to act as legislative agent or lobbyist for any person, corpora tion or association of whatever char acter to attempt personally or direct 1v or by any means to influence any member of the legislature to support
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