Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-10-13
LOBBYING INQUIRY
TO GET UNDER WAY
IN SENATE TUESDAY
Shearer Investigation to Be
Resumed Some Time Early
Next Week.
SIMILAR SESSIONS HAVE
BEEN CONDUCTED IN PAST
Additional Witnesses Scheduled to
Be Called in Arms Farley
Activities.
BY G. GOULD LINCOLN.

BY G. GOULD LINCOLN.
The Capital is about to be engulfed
in another wave of investigations.
The Senate lobby inquiry starts Tues
day and promises to hold the center of
the stage. It will probe first charges
that an army of lobbyists have been
working here to influence rate making
in the pending tariff bill. Eventually,
however, this inquiry is to broaden out
and to cover the activities of every
brand of lobbyist in Washington.
The Shearer investigation, with
Senate committee sitting charges that
three American shipbuilding companies
hired William B. Shearer to break up
or rather down, the Geneva naval lin1i-
tatfon conference in 1927, is of until
next week at least Senator Shortridge
chairman, announced yesterday. The
Shearer inquiry was halted more than
week ago because the members of
the committee believed it would be un-
wise to continue with it while Prime
Minister Ramsay Macdonald of Great
Britain was here discussing naval lin1i-
tations with President Hoover and the
plans for the conference which Is to be
held in London next January.
May Call Shearer.
Frank B. Kellogg, former Secretary
of State, may be called as a witness
before the Shearer committee, Senator
Shortridge said. During his examina-
ton by the committee Shearer said he
had been told by one of the shipbuild-
ing company officials that Kellogg had
called officials of the Bethlehem Cor
poration ''on the carpet" and practi-
cally made them give Shearer his walk
ing papers"
The Shearer committee also is ex-
pected to call back to the stand Clinton
L. Bardo, president of the New York
Shipbuilding Co, and ask about mem
orandum now in evidence of meeting
between himself and Shearer in which
Bardo claimed that Shearer had
threatened violence to one of the of
ficiais Of the Bethlehem Shipbuilding
Corporation.
Rear Admiral J. 7. Reeves. u. s. N,
whom Drew Pearson, a newspaper cor
respondent, testified he had heard ex-
press hope that the Geneva conference
would not succeed also may be recalled
for cross examination Admiral Reeves
testified in direct statement to the
committee that he had never enter
tanned or expressed such a hope.
Probe Secret Document.
When the Shesrer hearing halted
more than a week ago, the committee
was questioning Shearer about an al
legged secret document, said to have
been written by Sir William Wiseman,
former head of the British secret serv-
ice in this country and at present con-
nected with Kuhn. Loeb & Co. in
New York. Sir william Wiseman will
be called, in all probability. if the COM
mittee goes ahead with this phase Of
the inquiry. and also Judge Summers
of Los Angeles from whom Shearer says
he got the document, and naval of1cers
to whom Shearer showed the document
and who had copies made of it.
The witnesses who have been sum-
moned to appear in the lobby investiga-
ton are six in number and include
Chairman Thomas o. Marvin OF the
United States Tariff Commission and
Edgard B. Broussard, also member
of that commission; William Burgess
of MorriStown, Pa, former member OF
the commission and Frederick L. Koch,
pottery expert for the commission.
The attention of the investigating
committee, headed by Senator Cara
way of Arkansas, will be directed first
made to influence the Tariff Comnlis-
sion in fixing a valuation basis for
pottery. Mr.. Burgess is now charged
with being a lobbyist for the pottery
interests. Koch, according to reports,
will be questioned regarding alleged
efforts of pottery interests to have him
removed from his present ONCE. be-
cause he did not meet their views In
the evidence which he gave members
of the House ways and means commit
tee when the tariff hearings were on.
Will Take Up Sugar.
After the committee has delved into
the so-called pottery lobby. 1t plans to
dig into the activities of the sugar m
tereStS. These have been very active
on both sides of the question. whether
the sugar duties should be raised or
lowered H NJ Austin of the United
States Beet Sugar Co. and H. G. Lakin,
president of the Cuba Co. of New York,
are the first of the sugar witnesses
called. Literally the members of Con-
greSs and the newspaper of1ces Of the
country have been flooded with litera-
ture and statements about the sugar
duties.
The lobby investigation was ordered
by the Senate after Senator Caraway
had offered resolution calling for 1t.
II is to be made by subcommittee of
the judiciary committee. just as SINH
lar investigation was made in the early
days of the Wilson administration. Be-
sides Senator Caraway, the Subconmit-
tee members are Senators Borah of
Idaho, Walsh of Montana. Robinson
of Indiana and Blaine of Wisconsin.
The lobbyist is a familiar animal In
Washington, as he is in State capitals
and in capitals OF other nations. Old
Noah Webster defined a lobbyist as "a
person, not a member, who tries to in
fiuence the votes of members of legis-
lative body" The term lobbyist has
taken on sinister meaning because
so often those who have sought to in
fiuence votes in legislative body have
undertaken to do so secretly and in a
corrupt manner. 1t is clear that q
lobby may be maintained in the In
terests of the finest causes, of legisla-
tion for the betterment of the people.
1t is the improper lobby, conducted in
q corrupt and secret manner, which at
tracts the widest attention, and for
which the Senate committee Is now
seeking.
Lobby is Years Ago.
Soon after the late President Wood
row Wilson entered the White House,
Is years ago, and the Democratic Con-
gress was engaged in rewriting the tariff
law. the charge was made by the Presi-
dent himself that IAN inSidious lobby
was at work in Washington, seeking to
influence this legislation"
About the same time the New York
World and the Chicago Tribune pub
lished sensational charges that the Ma
tiona1 Association of Manufac turerx
had conducted lobby here that snaeIled