Evening star., 1922-02-04
URGES CONTINUING
. OF BUILDING PROBE
Untermyer Says Most In
portant Work Still
Unfinished.
Ry the AssOcia ted Press

BY the Associated Press.
NEW YORK. February 4.-Samuei
Untermyer, counsel to the Lockwood
legislative committee. issued a state
ment last night urging the public to
support continuance of the commit
tees investigation which, he de-
clared. was threatened by powerful
influences.
"If the people lave not sufficient
gratitude to the Lockwood committee
for the powerful enemies it has
made" he said. NOR enough Of the
instinct of self-preservation TO make
their voices penetrate TIE political
consciousness of the powers that be-
in no uncertain terms and instill the
fear OF a day of reckoning the COM
mittee Will come TO an end with its
most important and remedial and
constructive work undonc
The same maiign influences that
are able to destroy II in the very
zenith Of its usefulness will slaugh-
ter or SO masculate the remedial and
constructive legislation affecting the
life, nre and casualty insurance COM
panies as to render that branch of
tho inquiry worthless"
Cost to Unternyer Heavy.
Mr.. Untermyer said the work thus
far had cost him personally more
than 100000 in time and money, and
had been drain on his health. The
end OF the committee. he asserted
would be nothing short of disaster.
From the very first day took up
this work." he added. II have again
and again given wasnirs of just the
sort OF fight We would encounter il
our work proved really valuable, and
have never lost the fear that these
|. mighty forces of evil that work in
hA DO VI rd hat
and alert would prevail over the
public interest. The test has come
and we shall see which Of these forces
will prevail"
The interests that are bent upon
destroying the committee. the attor-
ter pretext than economy.
Their next cry" he continued, will
probably be business disturbance or
corporation batting or unfair meth
ods.' which has been the complaint
Of every man indicted and in prison
from Brindell to Hettrick. all the
way up and down the line.
"The splendidly equipped lohbies OF
the fire and casualty companies
whose monopolies are in peril, ard
of the Prudential and Mutual Life
Insurance companies-investiga
into whose investments and why they
prefer Wall street securities to real
. estate mortgages are still under way
of profteerinS landlords and IN
Vulnerable othe: powerful interests
ars on the job night and day. Their
lying propaganda bureaus are being
worked overtime to poison the minds
Of honest legislators, as they tried
to poison the public mind last year
in order to prevent the committee
from continuing"
Cites Foster Conviction.
Mr., Untermyer said the conviction
Yesterday of Robert Foster. head de-
tective of the structural steel COM
bination. for refusing to produce Ger.
tain reports, was q fair indication OF
the unfinished state of the invests
cation.
"Fhe structural steel crowd had
been the most defiant of all" he
added. II am sure the steel trust con-
siderz the committee an unnecessary
expense and an all-around nuisance
does the General Electric Company
and all the other Morgan monopoiies
that arc preying upon the public.
ut IL q hard combination to beat.
and I expect nothing but abuse for
having the temetrity to make the eff
fort, but IL the people want me badly
enough to make the fight, I shall
stand by until the last gun Of this
superb lobby has been fred. If they
don't want protection badly enough
to fight Hor it, ! am satisfied.
"There Is far greater reason today
for continuing the life Of the COM
nittee than there was for appointing
it, The extent OF the violence Of the
opposition accurately shows the nec-
essity Of extepsion:" :