Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-12-25
Politics at Large
By C. Could Lincoln.

The Senate lobby investigating COM
mittee, ostensibly designed to protect
the innocent Senate from the wiles of
the lobby octopus-if an octopus has
wiles-is being used as political
organization. This, however, does not
occasion surprise. From the time the
lobby committee was constituted and
began work there was little doubt of
the use to which the investigation
would be put. First, 1t was evident,
the lobby committee was to be used to
hammer the Hawley-Smoot tariff bill.
The Democrats have been particularly
anxious to have the tariff an issue in
the coming congressional campaign.
There are some Of the insurgent Re-
publicans from the West-those who
joined the Democratic coalition-who
also are counting on the tariff as an
issue. AS the majority of the lobby
committee Is made up of Democrats
and insurgent Republicans, it can be
no surprise, therefore, that the in
vestigating committee should be used
to call attention to the evils Of the
tariff bill.
But now, apparently, the lobby COM
mittee Is to be used to smear as far
as possible the President of the United
States. Because an attorney employed
by the Cuban sugar interests hap
pens to be a personal friend of the
President and also to have acted as
attorney for Mr.. Hoover in drawing up
a lease for MIR. Hoover's house, and
because one Of the heads of the sugar
lobby said that this attorney was hired
because of his supposed influence with
Mr.. Hoover to work on the sugar tariff,
an effort is now being made to sew
Mr.. Hoover up with the sugar lobby
lists. The lobby committee, headed by
Senator Caraway of Arkansas, Demo-
crat, has made no charge so far that
the President has been involved. But
now it is intimated that the commit
tee would be willing to receive from an
Official source, presumably President
Hoover, diSavoWal of any connection
with the sugar lobby, which, after all,
has been only insinuated and not
charged. The committee has made no
suggestion that it will summon Mr..
Hoover to appear before it, it is true.
But anti-administration agencies put
forward the word that the committee
would be glad to hear from the PreSi-
dent. Further, Representative John
Garner of Texas, the Democratic leader
of the House, and the Democratic ma
tional committee, through its publicity
bureau, insist that the President should
come forward and say that he has
X n X
The general impression about the
country, judging from editorial COM
ment, IS that an effort to involve MI.
Hoover is ridiculous. 1t is looked upon
merely as a political move and dis
carded as such. The New York Times,
editorially, has been particularly I'M
kind in its comment. 1t referred to the
demand of Mr.. Garner that President
Hoover issue a. denial to the "tale OF
the saccharine romanticist," and also to
the statement by Garner that If al
Smith had been elected President and
was in the White House and such re-
ports had gained publicity, impeach-
ment proceedings would have been dis
cussed In the House Of Representatives
before now.
with all respect to Mr.. Garner"
said the Times, with whose sorrows
when the hounds Of print are on states
mems traces it Is easy to sympathize,
this suggestion of impeachment is multi
tudinously q Mulch Only the spell
ing Of Artemus befits q notion so
ludicrous and groteSque. Suppose the
liberal Lakinese talk were Bible truth
and not the airy imagination 1t was
shown to be when the salesman was
called upon to verify his promises. What
would the President have been trying
to do2 To influence tariff legislation.
When did it become high crime and
miSdemeanor for q President to try to
influence legislation? How many Presi-
dents have not tried, in various man
nerS, to influence Congress in particular
legislation, by much stronger and more
concrete means than advice to Congress
a. an SnrN nf
X X X X
The latest report from Massachu-
sets, where senatorial nomination
has become a fair target for any Re-
publican who wishes to enter the race,
is that former President Calvin Cool
idge has informed Republican leaders
in the State definitely that he would
not run for the Senate. The report
does not say whether he said he did
not choose" to run for the Senate, but
that he would not run. That's that, If
the report be true. However, there has
been distinct belief among the former
Presidents old friends that he would
not consent to run for the Senate, so
the report does not come as a surprise.
The surprise would be found only in
the event of Mr.. Coolidge's entering the
senatorial primary. There were a great
many Of the former Presidents friends,
however, who were intensely surprised
when he issued his famous statement
in the Black Hills of South Dakota,
saying he did not choose to run for
President In 1928.
~ Il +
Will the Democratic executive COM
mittee of Alabama be able to stand out
against the pressure which is being
brought to bear on it to rescind the
stand it took when it declared that
Democrats who voted against Smith
or opposed him in the presidential cam
paign may vote in the Democratic pri-
maries next August, but may not be
candidates for nominations in those
primaries? Senator Hugo Black, the
colleague of Senator "Tom" Helm, who
has been denied the right to enter the
primary as o candidate for renomina-
ton for the Senate, has issued state
ment insisting that the committee ex-
ceeded its authority when 1t sought to
set up q class of persons who could
vote IN the Democratic primary, but
who could not offer themselves as can
didates. The law Of the State, Senator
Black said, does not permit the COM
mittee to do any such thing. Further
more, the attorney general Of the State
and his assistants have been set to work
to ferret out the legality or lack of le-
gality Of the act of the committee.
terly inconsistent to say that a man
may vote in q primary and yet not
stand for election in that primary.
Most Of the members Of the House from
Alabama feel, as does Senator Black,
that the committee should have taken
no such action. II the committees de-
ctsion stands, the fur will fly in the