The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1921-02-08
PROPAGAND|ST ACTIVITY
HAS AROUSED CONGRESS
REGULATION OF EVIL BY IL
CENSE BEING CONSIDERED
AS CURB TO MENACE.
MANY OBSTACLES in WAY

IV1CIllDCAS "a DObAA ASG ASAoN~'S
es Must Combat at Least Forty-tlve
Organizations Intrenched in WASH
ington. Some Interests Represented.
A great army of lobbyists and prop
agandists has invaded Washington, d.
c. The hotels are crowded with rep
resentatives of various interests, and
the corridors of the capitol and the
committee rooms of senator's and rep
resentatives are jammed with propa-
gandists, all bent upon putting some
thing over" either before the close of
the present session of congress or dur
ing the next meeting of that body to
be called together soon after the in
auguration Of President-elect Harding.
Many Lobbies at Work.
1t has been estimated that there are
As separate lobbies at work in the ma
tional capitol. Conditions are reported
to be so bad that several senators be-
lieve there should be a federal law to
regulate their activities, and that the
representatives of the American peo-,
pie should be permitted to carry on
their work without being pestered by
these special representatives OF big and
| little interests.
After the senate lobby committee
completed its inquiry several years
ago into the activities of the propa-
gandists in Washington there was talk
of enacting a law which would regu--
late the activities of the lobbyists and
compel them to obtain license. But
nothing ever came of the movement.
However, conditions at the present
time are reported to be so bad that
another effort to remove the lobby is
considered likely.
First and foremost among the most
powerful Hobbies intrenched in Wash
| ington are representatives OF the Anti
Saloon League of America; the Inter
national reform bureau, which has
launched crusade to make the Unit
ed States a sinless nation; the farm
ers' organizations, bent upon the pass
age of an emergency tariff to afford
them relief from present low prices
for their commodities, and the COM
bination of womens organizations.
Interest in Tariff Bill.
A powerful lobby is also at work at
the present liliIC dSd iAiN PAOPOSAA
to have the government own and
operate the Muscle Shoals nitrate
plant in Alabama. Another lobby is
the Women's Peace Society, whose
representatives are actively engaged in
protesting against the heavy expendi-
lures for maintaining an army, al
though congress has just decided to
limit the army to 175,000 men, The
board of temperance of the Metho-
dist Episcopal church has .propagan-
da machine at work urging reform
measures among the members OF con-
gress.
Now that both the senate finance
committee and the house ways and
means committee have begun hearings
on the new republican tariff bill ev-
cry industry affected in the slightest
degree by any change in the rates has
one or more representatives on hand
in Washington actively engaged i'll
spreading propaganda among the con-
gressmen who will be called upon to
frame the new tariff legislation.
lust now the favorite brand of lob
byist is the lawyer from the home dis
trict who is interested in some par
ticular tariff legislation.
Lobbyists Play Politics.
The lobby game in Washington has
gone far beyond the crude lobby days
of old, when money at least is sup
posed to have figured in the propagan-
da that influenced action by congress.
Politics, little more, is said to be the
real power behind the modern lobby
ist
The prohibition and moral lobbyists
operate in this way almost exclusively.
They maintain themselves in the cap
ital as secretaries or general counsels
of their organizations, going when
they think the time is ripe to the sem
ate and house and calling on members.