Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-10-24

getting lower tariff duties on certain
Kinds of fish. He said he was partlcu-
larlv asked to report upon the actlvltles
in washington of Edward A. cooley,
representing the MASSACHUSETTS, Flstlrs
Association, who was here trying 10 seC
fish duties increased. o.,
Meisnest referred to Cooley as a palo
lobbyist" eo,o+or
Caravan AREN'T YOU paid, too?"
Meisnest said that he received sal
arv from his company and then aooeo:
Il have told Mr.. Cooley to his race tnat
If he stuck to the truth he Woulo noI
have a leg to stand on" ~ .
what did he tell you?" asked Sena-
WI After Considerable feinting the wit
ness said that Cooley had called nun
virtual lar" and that ne hao RepAAeu'
,"you are one yourself
Figures Are Promised.
Renlving to questions by Senator
pohinson. the witness said his company
owned the National Fish Co and tne
Maritime Fish Co. of CANADA ana
promised to furnish the commltIes IaUst
with figures showing the quantity OF
fish imported by his company l[oiii
Canada. IT,. ,,,o,,,l,ere
of the subcommittee tried without sue
cess to make MeiSnest ADMIT ne waS
Iohbvict The witness said he had been
emnioved as a fish expert by the IaTn1
Commission prior to going TO WORK aot
the Atlantic Coast Fisheries 20. !asS
Spring. When he came to WasmLieeo nr
during the Summer to work lot lo"eA
dulles he said that he. went to see q. j.:
Evanson. assistant to the president OF
the Connecticut Manufacturers Associa-
ton who was employed by Senator
Rinpham of Connecticut as his Secre-
tary' His purpose in calling on cyan
con he said. was to submit information
which would block the efforts OF Cooley
tn oct tariff rates on fish increased. he
said he saw Senator Bingham only once
for a few minutes. .,...,
Senator Caraway asked the WlCilesS
whether he did not leave the employ
ment of the Government and mme-
diatelv use the information he had OBJ
tanned while working for the TarH
Commission in the interest Of his new
Il don't think that is a fair state
ment," replied Mr.. Meisnest.
Denies Violating Law.
Closely questioned further the witness
said he presumed he did use some III
ment'S employ, but insisted tnat he olo
not violate any law.
"Au the time you were on the tariff
commission were you not looking lot
a place on the outsider" asked Senator
Robinson.
II was always looking for chance
to better myself" said Meisnest.
The witness said he had talked with
Eyanson because they were both con-
Z 1rVl1 ON n
sisted that he met EyanSon for the tlrst
time when he called at Senator BiEg-
1am's'ofice during the Summer, having
never heard of him before. After the
finance committee had increased the
duty on certain fish, he told OF going
to see Eyanson and submitting infor-
nation to him in an effort to prove
that the duty should be lowered again.
He said the duty was lowered later on.
Meisnest told of interviewing various
Senators, and when members OF the sub
committe wanted to know what ne Colo
them he replied:
1T never tried to influence the mind
of any Senator. never could make up
the mind of any Senator"
IT think you underestimate your
powers" said Senator Robinson.
Expenses Unlimited.
When the witness again insisted that
he did not consider himself a lobbyist"
Senator Robinson drew from him a
statement that he received a salary OF
5000 a year and unlimited expenses
while in Washington.
"You could spend money where you
thought it would do the most good,
couldn't you?" asked Senator Robinson.
II never" the witness started to
reply.
Senator Robinson interrupted him to
ask what his expenses were while he
was in Washington this Summer and
Fall. He said that he lived at the May
flower Hotel, and that he thought he
spent about SIS day.
Didn't you say while you were work.
ing for the Tariff Commission that
you could build up case on either side
of the tariff question:" asked Senator
Robinson.
II never said that" replied Meisnest.
"a former witness quoted you as say
ing that" said Senator Robinson. WAS
he wrong?"
Anybody who said that was wrong. -
| insisted Meisnest.