Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-09-22
by WILLIAM HARD.

IA VAA1AhKsA khhASDs
The case Of Mr.. w. B. Shearer,
charged with operating o lobby" on
behalf Of certain shipbuilding COM
panies ct the Geneva Naval Confer
ence In 1927. is now not only providing
the Senate naval affairs committee and
the whole Of Warrington with q GEN.
trail theme Of talk and controversy, but
also Is directing attention to the more
general topic Of the livelihood Of that
considerable proportion Of the WASH
ington population which earns its living
by lobbying" and "propagandizing."
The total population OF Washington
has increased immensely faster than
can be explained by any actual en-
largement OF the Government itself.
Somewhat jocularly, but also some
what seriously. It is widely maintained
that this otherwise mysterious growth
Of o vast and embattled array Of gen.
tlemen representing interests" and
causes" before the various executive
departments of the Government anc
before Congress and Its committees.
There are two views taken Of the
activities Of these gentlemen. One Is
the view which Is often expressed by
certain bureau chiefs and by certain
members Of the House Of Representa-
tives and Of the Senate, who say:
Let these gentlemen stay at home.
Let them give up their houses ana
apartments in Washington and return
to the towns whence they came. We
know what we are doing and we can
do It without their help"
The other view is one that is main
tanned BY many business men and by
many associations Of reformerS and
anti-reformers. who say:
Congress and the executive depart
mentS now insist on dealing with
almost every phase Of business ana
with almost every phase Of uplift or
alleged uplift. We certainly have the
right to inform and to petition Con-
gresS and the executive departments
before our businesses are destroyed and
before legislation for improving or de-
inhabitants Of this country Is adopted
or rejected. The only way in which
We can exercise this right Of petition
effectively in these days is by keeping
representatives in washington, and we
intend to do so.''
An almost perfect concrete illustra-
ton Of the whole matter can be seen
here at this time in the so-called sugar
In the mouths Of some Of our states
men the sugar lobby Is one vast con-
certed effort by "the sugar interest" to
sway our Government against "the pub
lie interest"
In fact, the sugar lobby" consists Of
several separate conflicting sugar In
tereSts," which between them represent
virtually every conceivable attitude to-
ward "the public interest" and the ma
tional welfare. The information which
between them they pour out upon the
Congress and upon the press amounts
In the end to completely balanced en-
cyclopedia Of all sugar knowledge. :.
States Sugar Association, which con-
sists principally Of sugar concerns
which own sugar properties In Cuba.
It speaks continuously in Washington
through the scholarly statistictan MT.
Lester johnson. 1t contends that q
raising Of the duty on sugar will be .
serious blow to the sugar consumers OF
the United States. It contends also at
times, through some OF its members,
that the raising Of the duty on sugar
will be o serious blow to the sugar pro-
ducers Of Cuba. It stands out rs the
champion Of Cuban producers and OF
UNITED states housewives. It's stats.
tics come to be Of great value to Dem.
ocratic statesmen and to Republican in
surgent statesmen who are aSsailing
the Republican proposed sugar duty IN
crease.
Then there is the United States Beet
Sugar Association, which speaks through
the highly learned expert, Mr.. Harry
A, Austin. It contends that Cuba has
been running the sugar prices and the
sugar growers Of the world by unneces-
sarily and excessively increasing It's
sugar output. It points with disgust and
the Cubans in swelling their output
from some four million tons last year
to eome Ave million tons this year. It
alleges that our domestic sugar growers
need and deserve protection against
Cuba's policy Of universal sugar rum.
It alleges, with statistics, that our do
mestic sugar growers. If given protec.
ton Of q truly protective sort. VIII
speedily produce so much sugar that
the big American supply Of 1t Will IN
itself keep the American price down
further statistics, that o low duty on
surnr has often failed to prevent the
price Of sugar from going up, and that
4 high duty on sugar, has often failed
to prevent the price Of sugar from 60
IND down II claims, with still further
stSkistics, that its object Is not the
naaintenarce Of an excessive price Tor
SUGAR, but merely the preservation OF
American producers from q Cuban In
yasion, held likely to result ultimately
In the development OF almost no price
at all.
Just as the statistics Of the United
States sugar Association are valuable
to Democratic and insurgent Repub-
iican statesmen, so the statistics OF the
united States Beet Sugar Association
are valuable to statesmen Of the regu.
lar Republican school. Certainly, II
these two associations should retire rom
fac field. the arguments used on both
sides Of the senatorial struggle on SUI
car would, be much less informative.
Then there is the Hawaiian Sugar
Planters Association, which Is repre-.
sented here regularly by Mr.. n. D.