Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-09-22
WAKEMAN CALLED
TO EXPLAIN MOTIVE
IN HIRING SHEARER
Continued From First Page)

to know just what Mr.. Hunter meant
when he said that Shearer had car
ried out the obligation you assumed to-
ward u.s." Senator Allen Of Kansas. q
member of the investigating committee,
has repeatedly read the language Of
this letter into the record Of the hear.
ings and called upon witnesses to exc
plain it.
Notwithstanding the termination of
the employment of Shearer by Hunters
letter. it has been developed Mt the in
vestigation that Shearer received more
money from the shipbuilding coinps MES
after December, 1927. and, indeed. that
he was paid up to and including jan
suary, 1929, receiving, It Is said, some
ST. 900 in that interval His employ
ment. it is true, had nothing to do with
the Geneva naval conference, but had
to do with lobbying for merchant ma
rine legislation.
The greater part Of the money ex-
pended in this merchant marine VEN
ture was put forward by the New York
Shipbuilding Co., which backed the
Transoceanic Corporation in its effort
to land contracts with the Government
looking to the construction of four great
liners, designed to cross the Atlantic in
four DAYS. The Bethlehem Co., how
ever, contributed $4,000 to help defray
the expenses. when President Bardo OF
the New York Shipbuilding Co. solicited
q contribution.
Grace Ignorant Of Lobbying Fund.
Mr.. Grace, testifying yesterday in re-
gard to this contribution, insisted ne
"did not know anything about expendi-
lures for influencing legislation" He
said that Mr.. Bardo had explained that
his company had put more than $lOO.OOO
in this development" and that II the
plan for the TranSoceanic went through.
the Bethlehem company doubtless would
get q contract to build one Of these
great ships. In other words. 1t would
bring business to the Bethlehem COM
pany.
Part of the money which went into
the development" found its way into
Shearer's pocket for writing articles
for newspapers, making speeches. etc.,
1t was testified.
Both the witnesses for the Bethlehem
corporations, Mr.. Schwab and Mr..
Grace, insisted they were friends OF
naval limitation. The presumption.
from their testimony, Is that the policy
Of their corporation has been utterly
opposed to mingling in AFFAIRS OF the
Army or the Navy. Mr Shearer: IL Is
held, was sent to Geneva "unwisely,
but merely as an observer. The mistake
the corporations made. apparently, was
in not sending an observer TO Geneva
to observe what Mr.. Shearer waS~dolng.
The testimony thus far given has in
dicated that the shipbuilding ofnciais
paid no attention to the activities OF
Mr.. Shearer after he got abroad, nor
to the reports he submitted. Mr.. Bardo
has referred to them as bunk" Mem
bers Of the investigating committee are
clearly having dificulty stomaching the
idea that. after paying Shearer $4,000
to represent the shipbuilding corpora
lions at Geneva, ofiicials Of these COM
NAMES should give no attention to his
activities or to his reports. Questions
put to the witnesses time and again
show the committeeman unable to COM
prehend such course.
Interested In Limitation Trend"
Another part of the testimony by the
shipbuilding officials which has puzzled
committee members is to the effect that
the companies were interested In tine
trend" Of the naval limitation confer
ence and not In its outcome. TIE wit
nesses insist that they wanted TO know
what was going to happen, for business
reasons, but they were not interested IN
having the conference fail.
Senator Allen has insisted at the
nearing LnaG LneTe SHALL Uc OAASAS.A
tiation between the expenditures by the
shipbuilding companies for lobbying IN
the interest Of q greater merchant
marine and the expenditures fer rep
resentativ at the Geneva Naval Limi-
tation Conference. He stated at yester-
days hearing that he considered the
latter a much graver and more serious
matter.
The use Of money for lobbying by the
shipbuilding companies for legislation
which would provide business for them
Is more or less on all fours with o lobby
for O sugar tariff or any other tariff.
But the use of money to influence an
international conference in opposition
to the policy of the American Govern
ment, Senator Allen insists, Is very
different matter.
Mr. Shearer's testimony, after 1t Is all
in. NAV nave the effect of bringing the
committee to recall to the stand ON
Gals of the shiphuilding companies:
Because the committee has seen mt to
put of taking Mr.. Sheafer's testimony
until after the shipbuildins ofiicials anc
other witnesses have been heard does
not mean IL will not follow up all the
leads that he may give them when he
k~ir gfa