The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-06-03
ATTORNEY GENERAL
 ANU bONN|WELL IN FIERY WORD BATTLE
Misuse of Power to Let Down Liquor Bars and Character Assassination
 Feature Charges
By Associated Press


 Washington, D. C., June A fiery cross-table clash between Attorney Gen. eral Palmer and Eugene C. Bonniwell of
 Philadelphia. bristling with direct charges of the misuse of federal power
 to let down the liquor bars during the
 Pennsylvania presidential primaries on the one hand and of attempted "charac- ter assassination on the other marked Senate investigation today of pre-con- .ention campaign expenditures. The Attorney General appeared un- expectedly in the committee room during the luncheon recess after Mir Bonniwell had launched a broadside of charges including a sweeping assertion that the whole Palmer campaign in Pennsylvania had been a "ghastly and debasing deg radiation of law" MT. Bonniwell was re- called to the stand to finish his testl- mony and MT Palmer. the first candl- date for a presidential nomination to ap- pear at the inquiry, took a seat across the table from the witness, who 1t was brought out was political enemy ot long standing. News of the impending verbal clash before the committee spread rapidly and the hearing room soon was crowded.
 When MT Bonniwell concluded. MT, Palmer replied opening his statement with the charge that MT. Bonniwell had employed character assassination methods against him In Pennsylvania for years, and concluding 1t with the asser- ton that in Pennsylvania Judge Bon niwels word is not evidence of fact EDGE QUITS COMMITTEE l Echoes of the clash had hardly died away before a new element was injected l into the comniittee's deliberations with the flat refusal of Senator Edge, repub- l lican. New Jersey, to attend further ses- I sions In announcing that he had notl- l fled the chairman of the full committee | and the subcommittee of his decision, I the senator said he believed approXl-
 mate figures on all pre-convention eX- 1 penditures had been obtained and that
 further inquiry would result only in the
 airing of charges. counter-charges, in- timations and nsinuatons. He added l that no federal law had been broken, as | there was no federal presidential primary | law to break.
 l Before Mir. Palmer appeared in the committee room, the committee had ln~ auired into the activities of the Plumb | Plan League. made further efforts to
 run down a presidential campaign for w, 1 G. McAdoo and had heard two officials l of oil companies who had been mentioned l in previous testimony as possible large
 contributors to political campaigns | Edward Heating, manager of the | ElufllD ldH lttdS uNNltil eh tAiS lce'e7 te l had taken no part in any pre-eonventior political activity, had not contributed any money and did not plan to partiei- pate in the convention struggles. He added. however, that it did seek to de- feat members of Congress who voted for
 the transportation act.
 MRS. FUNK TESTIFIES
 Mrs. Antoinette Funk of Illinois, ac- tive in Liberty Loan drives and later | fer the democratic national committee declared positively that no campaign 1 for obtaining the democratic presiden- ] tial nomination for MT. McAdoo direct
 CT indirect, existed, much to her re
 sret'
 | H. F. Sinclair. New York of the oil 1 'Continued on Page Fourteeno