New Britain herald., 1929-09-24
LOBBY

lCbDylng Tn COnBreSSlOnal ana Stale capitals already was a highly de- veloped science. there were murmurs against it, laws were passed, and it was hoped that they would mean the end of the pernicious practice.
 The states at that time suffered more especially from the railroad lobbies, and these were eliminated with the almost universal praC- tice of establishing public regulatory commissions. These commissions it was thought. would make it impos- sible for the railroads to influence future legislation.
 It was never thought that the railroads would have an influence with the regulatory commissions,
 The gentle art of lobbying. how ever, was not killed altogether. 1n- deed, Washington has become a hot bed of lobbying during the past few decades Two score organizations of power, influence and wealth main tain lobbying offices in Washington, although they do not use that name. The Hobbies exist there to watch the public interests-and more partiCu- larly their own interests.
 Occasionally a lobby overreaches itself and then there is an inVestiga- ton. The most recent lobby to fall afoul Of criticism has been that of the shipbuilding interests, who have been busy explaining the nature and extent of their efforts. With the revelation that $150.0O0 was spent upon this lobby in one gesSion of Congress public curiosity naturally has been greatly aroused. Interests able and willing to spend so much money must have a big axe to grind: that, at least, cannot help being the popular conception of the business. MT. Average Man, when he thinks thusly, is not far from being right.
 The immediate result of the s150.- 900 lobby referred to evidently was the passage of the Jones' White shipping act From the time the policy of selling ships to private in- terests began we have looked upon it with suspicion. the thought being uppermost that no private shipping interest would pay more than q slight percentage of a ships value. But this wasn't all that lay behind 1 the sl50.0OO lobby. A chief need of i the private shipping interests who wanted the government ships or 1 who were willing 10 establish pri- 1 vatc lines where none existed be- fore was to obtain fat government 1 mail contracts. 10 keep them run ming We have come 10 realize within ! the last few weeks that a ship line- som" ship without fat mail contracts would bo no ship line at 1 all. The interests were willing tO spend sl5O.0oo for lobbying to in- sur" getting the mail contracts by law. regardless Of whether there was any mall 10 haul over the briny deep.
 So th" lobby succeeded in getting
 fat mail contracts into the law. That
 ~os the object Of the White act Thr lobby succeeded because 1t
 was abl" 10 embark upon its enter
 pris" coupled 10 the pretonse it was
 advocating an American merchant
 marine What it actually did was 10
 aulhorizn the establishment of sub
 stdjzod American mail ships. to
 points among others where not much
 mail eyer is sent
 Senator lorah comes forward with
 q new idea, and that is to start an
 Investigation cf all lobbying in
 Washington. Ho would include
 propaganda machines, which are an
 integral part of the lobbying ma
 chimes. That is very much worth
 while. The more tn" senate inycsti-
 gates this subject the moro foolish Congress will look for falling for the . propaganda and tho lobbying.