The Birmingham age-herald., 1922-04-11
PRESS ASSOCIATION. RETRAC.TS STORY OF. VIRTUAL BRIBERY"
Neither Gray Silver Nor Any Other Farm Bureau Feder- alton Officials Appears
 Before Committee
By HUGH ". ROBERTS Washington Bureau, The AKe-HeraId,

wv DhNhubon buil0tuEs
 Washington, April 10.-(Special.) Gen. R. E. Steiner was exonerated today by the House committee on military affairs of having attempted to alienate the American Farm Bu- reau federation from it's support of the Henry Ford offer for Muscle Shoals.
 Charges to such effect had been preferred by Gray Silver, Washing ton representative of the federation, who alleged that General Steiner, acting for the Alabama Power com pany. had held out intimations that the federation by following his sug- gestion could gain possession of s2,5oo. .0oo.
 General Steiner denounced such charges as Ties out of the whole cloth" and infamous" He explained that instead of his conversation with the Alabama representative of the federation, Roy c. Bishop, having been surreptitious. it was open and in the presence of witnesses, and that the same suggestion had been made by him and Richard M. Hobbie of Montgomery In public speeches before the Rotary club of Mont gomery.
 Reads Bishop Interview.
  mittee an interview given the press by Bishop, in which 1t was stated that Bishop had never entertained an Idea that Steiner had been actu- ated by Improper motives. Mir Hob- bic, before the committee, bore out the statement of Steiner, and lsaer filed an affidavit giving a complete history of the entire controversy
 Before the appearance of Steiner. the committee held an executive ses- sion and reached conclusion that the charges were not of enough signifi- canoe to warrant Q general investi- gation. It limited Steiner, as result, to a rebuttal of five minutes. The general was exceedingly vigorous in his denunciation of the Silver charges, and his statement made a distinct impression. He was asked, if he was employed as counsel by the Alabama Power company, when ho had his conversation with Bishop. and answered in the negative.
 Following his statement he was given authority to put anything in the record he desired. Chairman Kahn declared that he was not at all im- pressed by the Silver charges, and during the afternoon other members of the committee assured General Steiner that he had been completely exonerated in the opinion of the com- mittee.
 United Press Apoiogizes
 The strongest evidence of exonera- tion, however. was furnished by the United Press, which through the man ager of it's New York office, who came to Washington for the purpose, assured General Steiner that 1t had been imposed upon. Complete retrac- tion was offered and accepted.
 The manager prepared the story
 of exoneration, submitted it to
 Steiner for approval, put it on
 the wire with directions that it
 be published prominently by
 newspapers which had printed the
 original matter.
 Before the committee, tray oliVer made no appearance. Neither did any other official of the Harm Bureau federation, or any representative of MT. Ford.
 Underwood First Witness
 Senator Underwood was the first witness before the Senate committee on agriculture. He ardently espous- ed the offer of Ford and declared that 1t would be crime were this session of Congress to be adjourned without the enactment legislation putting that offer into effect. He de- clined to be led into the discussion of "side issues' such as the cost the would be put to in ac- cepting the Ford offer, or the Gorgas property on which the Alabama Power company has an option. He contended simply that for fertilizer purposes, for the farmers of the coun- try, the Ford offer was better than any other which pended, and declared that civilization could make progress only by the repletion of the soil.
 Senator Norris. in offering his Dill for government operation of Muscle Shoals, declared that that bill would not deter him in seeking an amend ment to the army appropriation Dill providing $750o.o0o for the comple- tion of the next lap in Wilson dam.
 The idea obtains that this proposed