Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-01-25
NEBRASKA UTILITY
FIRMS UNDER FIRE
Witness Says He Was Told
of Contributions to Rail
Board Race.

BY the Associated Press
A statement that he had been told
that Nebraska utility companies had
contributed to the 1926 primary cam
paign of Thorne Browne, who unsuccess-
fully sought reelection to the State
Railway Commission was made in the
Federal Trade Commissions utilities
investigation today by Horace NJ. Davis
of Lincoln, Nebr.
Davis, after previous refusals to
answer, named F. E. Helvey, secretary
of the Insurance Federation of Nebras-
ka. as the man who gave him the
information. He identified Helyey only
upon the insistence of Commissioner
McCulloch, presiding, after questions by
Robert E. Healy, commission counsel,
were ignored.
Letter Is Introduced.
A letter of May 5. 1927. from Davis
20 John NJ Cadby. secretary of the Wis
consin Utilities Association, was intro
duced in reference to the Browne de-
feat.
Our people were particularly inter-
eSted in him." Davis wrote, and lost
UNNECESSARILY in his defeat. They
figured they owed him something
true enough. He is a judge. a philoso-
pher. methodical. studious. impelling in
personality opinionated and naturally
executive"
Healy wanted to know why Davis
wrote that the utility interests felt they
hn unit
ness said this was because they felt
Browne had been satisfactory to them
in dealing with matters which they had
before the railway commission.
Our company executives" Davis
letter continued have an unconscious
feeting that they want some Supermen
TO study Muscle Shoals, Boulder Dam
and other such big matters and tell the
executives what to think. so that they
will have more time to golf and play
hooky. Mr. Browne is the very boy to
do that for EN-. When Browne was
offered good place at Washington and
threatened to go our men engaged him
instanter. but without thinking just
what they would do with him. You
can see the logical result They look
upon him as a Judge and upon me as a
secretary. hired man. I cannot bring
myself to the point of working under
Browne will work with him-he and
I have been the best of personal friends
for 20 years-but can scarcely become
q clerk"
Letter Outlines Work.
Another letter introduced. written in
May, 1924, by Davis to A. Flor, Electric
Bond 81 Share Co., New York. outlined
the work being done by the Nebraska
utility information committee at that
time.
I'VE have had very high-class lee
ture course at the Nebraska University"
it said. with such men as Martin m
sull, Maj Forward, Dean Raymond of
Iowa State University, Carl Jackson, l..
o. Ripley and NJ. H. Aylesworth among
the speakers. We can't ring up receipts
in the cash register for such efforts.
but there are reasons to believe that
the profession is dignified by contact
between such authorities and university
people.
I'VE are very averse to brass band
methods and not a small part of our
success is due to personal contact with
such organizations as State bankers,
State Manufacturers Association, in
surance groups, good roads organiza-
lions, State Teacher Association and the
-.
More than that, we. undertake to keep
an eye open to happiness at the state
house and are measurably in touch
with developments in the political
organizations. We are knee deep in a
survey of the forthcoming legislators
and can venture something of an ap-
praisement of the issues to be met and
the temper of the body"
Davis testified that the utility COM
panies had financed the sending out
of a QUESTIONABLE by o. o. Buck, Sec
rotary of the Nebraska Press Associa-
ton, to newspaper. editors. One intro
duced into evidence was signed by
John Berney of the Bartlett 1ndepen-
dent, which answered an inquiry
whether public ownership of utilities
vas as profitable for newspapers as
private ownership in the negative.
Although his official connection with
the NJ e. L. A. in Nebraska has been
severed, Davis testified that he still re-
ceives an average of $3.50 a month in
connection with the preparation of
digeSts of State news for circulation in
its bulletin.
Holds Publicity Dropped.
Earlier in the hearing today Davis
declared his organization had ceased
distribution of pamphlets and publicity
releases last Spring.
Earlier in the investigation testimony
was given to show that the joint COM
mittee had played a major part in ac-
tivity against adoption of the Walsh
Senate resolution, which ordered the
present inquiry, and that much of this
was handled through publicity chan
nels. Testimony also was given that
more than 100000 had been spent in
connection with the work, some of it
going to widely known men who OPP
posed the resolution.
Davis said the joint committee still
issues bulletins periodically, but that
they are not sent to newspapers. He 1
testified that issuance of publicity mat
ter had tapered off gradually until it
was discontinued entirely last March or
April Negotiations are now under way,
however, he added, to get out publicity
releases about the commissions inves-
tigation.
Commissioner McCulloch inquired
whether these would relate only TO the
inquiry and the witness assentcd. He
said there was no thought of reviewing
the past and that the material would
be solely IN connection with future
hearings, when the financial phase. as
ordered by the Walsh resolution, is to