Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1935-10-18
|S.E. c. RULES HELD
| CONGRESS INSULT
Right of Petition Declared
Impaired by License
CompuIsion.
BY DAVID LAWRENCE.

AH HI In w 1s62NSGs
New rules just set forth by the
Securities and Exchange Commission,
which probably win be a model for
other agencies of the Government in
reference to so-called lobbying, made
it a part of the registration state
ment of all utility companies that
they must not only make list Of all
persons who come to Warrington to
appear before governmental agencies
and Congress, too, but must disclose
in their reports the subject matter and
exact nature of their activities.
It Is to be noted that, unless q util-
ity company complies with these rules,
1t is not considered to be registered
properly, and, unless 1t Is registered,
it incurs all the penalties Of the law,
including the right to use the mails.
More important than the alleged
curb on the lobbyists Is the principle
involved. For 1t is implied that men,
bers Of the Senate and House are
not capable of resisting the wiles Of
lobbyists or that they perhaps are too
susceptible to the entertainment or
other sums spent in their behalf and
that the S. E. G. must needs protect
the Congressman against themselves
Constitution Grants Rights.
There's provision in the Consti-
tuition of the United States which
says Congress shall make no law
abridging the right of citizens to petit
ton their Government for q redress
of grievances. American businesses
are composed of citizens and they, too,
possess the same constitutional right
of petition as the farmers who
march" on Washington, or the vet
Grams, or the labor unions or any
other group.
Nobody in the Government would
dare to make rules requiring that
the labor groups must disclose what
they do with the funds gathered
from dues for legislative purposes, /"
and it is doubtful whether any gov
ernmental agency would incur the
wrath of the veterans organizations
by demanding q similar accounting
from them.
The fact is the demand for such
accounting does not proceed from any
real effort to find out about the ex-
penses incurred, but to discourage
the exercise of the right Of petition
altogether.
In Germany and Italy, where
fascism holds sway, the suppression
of the right of petition has been found
necessary in order to prevent any
opposition from crystallizing. Like
wise, in respect to much of the
New Deal legislation, there has arisen
an effort to prevent criticism from
being spread by one citizen to his
fellow citizen, and in the case of bust
ness, notwithstanding the fact that
the stockholders vote overwhelmingly,
as they did in recent instance, to
have the officers of the company
protect their investment by spending
whatever funds seemed necessary to
carry the case to the court Of public
opinion and to the eyes Of the legis-
tors themselves.
Puts Barriers on Appeal.
There can be little doubt that
the rules Of the S. EE. c. with respect
to so-called lobbyists are in plain
violation of the constitutional right
of petition, because the purpose Is
to put barriers in the path of those
who would approach Congress to OBJ
tain redress. II investors in COM
panies, whose life savings are af-
fected, are prevented by intimidation
and restriction from presenting their
case to Congress, then in due time
the right Of petition will become a
dead letter along with freedom of
speech.
In a sense, the S. E. c. is merely
carrying out the vague language Of
the law as passed by Congress at the
last session. But 1t is easy to see how
the provision IN question can work
an injustice. Assume. for instance,
that a matter arises which demands
immediate attention in Washington.
If the president of the company wants
to 60 to the National Capital, he can
do so only If he has previously filed "a
statement of the subject matter Of
his employment" If by chance he
wants to send some other executive,
and that individual has not procured
a license, he must confine his activity
only to those registered.
To put it another way, license has
to be taken out with the permission
Of the S. E. c. giving the employees of
a utility company the privilege .of
talking to Representative or Sena.
tor or any other Government official
about the relations between that COM
pany or industry and the Govern
ment. Thus Is the right of petition
made subject to license and this
can be revoked at will If the state
ment Of subject matter" is not to
the satisfaction of the executive
agency In question, namely the Secur-
tiles and Exchange Commission.
(Copyright. 1880