The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1924-04-05
BIG LEADERS IN
BOTH PARTIES
FEAR OIL QUIZ
All Sprinkled With the
Same Oil Brush
BY LAURENCE TODD
STAR Correspondent Of Federated Pressl

WASHINGTON, April 4.--Altho
social and personal pressure of the
most insidious kind is being ex-
erted, especially from within the
Democratic ranks in congress, to
stop the investigation into the af-
fairs of the department of justice,
Chairman Brool1hart and Senator
Wheeler say they are going for
ward to its main object--the expos
ure of the throttling of the enforce
ment Of federal law by Daugherty
and his staff.
For even with the dismissal Of the
attorney general, the department
makes no change in its policy Of
indifference to the rights Of ordin-
airy people.
If they are to escape the deepest
suspicion of betrayal Of the millions
of voters who now applaud their
courage, the members Of this COM
mittee must take up the non-prose-
cution Of the so federal trade COM
mission complaints filed for prose-
cution within the past three years.
Kirby, Lumber Thief.
There IS, for instance, the great
lumber selling pool case, in which
the notorious j. H. Kirby of Texas,
rabid wartime patriot" and mil
lionaire profiteer, is the central fig
ure. Kirby has quit being a Burle-
son Democrat, and is now a Cool
fdge Republican. He recently is
sued a statement denouncing the
undertaking in Washington. Daugh-
erty has failed to prosecute Kirby
and his associates.
The name of Fred Upham, treas
urer of the Republican national
committee, is said to be involved
In the stopping of prosecution of
another Of the big cases which the
commission prepared for court ac-
ton at Daugherty's hands. In still
another instance, no less than
10000 letters, proving a nation
wide fraud, were turned over to the
department of justice by the COM
mission after many months of in
vestigation and study of evidence,
yet here again there has been par
alysis in the law enforcing arm of
the government.
Palmer Messed Up.
One of the underground argu-
nents capitalized by the democrats
men who are backing Oscar I'm
derwood or Ralston for the presi-
dency-to. bring Ashurst and Wheel
er, the democratic senators on the
committee, into line for a stoppage
Of the inquiry is the fact that for
mer Attorney General Palmer play
ed much the same game.
Palmer defed the laws not merely
in arresting the supposed radicals
in the labor movement. and in Sc
curing lawless injunctions against
strikers, and in instructing his spe-
cial agents that they must ignore
violations of the prohibition law,
but in handling the alien property
custodian's office, in delaying and
compromising the fight with the
meat packers, and in handing over
vast oil deposits to Standard Oil
under pretense of compromise of
suits by dummy claimants.
Alien property scandals are like
ly to break forth in this hearing,
anyhow. Miller of Delaware. the
alien property custodian at present,
is a former secretary of the Repub-
lican national congressional commit
tee, member of the Dupont fam
lily combination which secured from
Palmer's man Garvin the chemical
patents. Huge sums have been
paid by him to republican polite
ians of various states, as attorney
fees"-for which the aliens must
paw.
Finally, and fundamentally, there
is the strikebrealing record and
policy Of the department of justice
to be investigated. Chairman
Brookhart is willing to 60 thoroly
into this class prejudice attitude
shown by Palmer and Daugherty
and Burns. He considers it the
perfect fruit of the system of own
ership of the department. by and
for the big propertied interests cen
Ill