The Waterbury Democrat., 1935-08-20

A good mixer. You have to pc pret' koing to dislike all lobbyists.
 TO understand the Social Lobby. bear In mind that:
 The lobbyist seeks to extend his locial and political contacts as high Ns he can go. Some lobbyists are Nn the White House guest list and sven entertain members of the Roosevelt family, to saying nothing if the very highest officials, in their Aomes.
 This makes very impressive seading in the local society col nmns (which unquestionably are ihe most sycophantic in the United ntates).
 Grateful and Gullible
 MT. and Mrs. Congressman Cor Bureau Chief) or both are likely So find themselves getting along inst beautifully with MT. or Mrs. f,obbyist-dining at the Lobbyist home or cocktailing and meeting various more important" persons they might otherwise have been unable to meet.
 Even if the special Washington influences didn't figure, the ordi- nary man here might be in much tha same class as the late J. B. Sheridan, "power trust" propa- randist, placed another group or men when he reported to ms hosses: eve have been doing some grand work among country editors Most of them are Gods fools' grateful for a little drink or small favor of any kind"
 In case you'd like a dash of sex in this story, l can report aslue from all the hearsay one gets, cer- tain instances wherein earnest young public servants have sup posed they were having honest-to- goodness love affairs with girls who. as matter of fact, were wangling officials secrets to be wired to New York or Chicago.
 They All Get It
 If there's any official who in the last two years hasn't been phoneu by q lobbyist whom he may or may not have met - and asked out to lunch or dinner, or to an ex- elusive country club, don't know who 1t is. Anyone below the rank of cabinet member is likely to be invited out so the lobbyist may give hifA "good advice" tell him how lone and how we'll he has known his guests boss and show that the lobbyist knows all the inside stuh there is to know in Washington.
 1ometimes the lobbyist knows more about affairs in the guests departTent than the guest himself knowsAand that's rather effective.
 The average congressman nets about $5,000 a year, political ex- penses and obligations deducted and S5,0OO is also a "good" salary in the executive branch. These men are up against lobbyists with the superior facilities attaching to incomes of from $15,000 to $1O0,- OO0--and sometimes more.
 An oil magnate once tried Gin vain) to get oil Administrator Ickcs off to his lodge in the woods. A lobbyist for certain food industry telephoned a dinner invi- tation to Secretary Wallace on six different days before he gave up. Not long ago the wife and daughter of sugar lobbyist pro- ceeded to call on the wife of nearly every important AAA person, leav- ing invitations to dinner-none of which were accepted because an official order went out secretly tell anc all hands to decline. If these approaches had been accept ed. I probably wouldn't know about them.
 ,- Irresistible Technique
 But consider the case of Arthur Mullen, sometimes regarded as < the hardest boiled big-time lobby ist of the day, who gave 2 party for Senator Burke of Nebraska. A throbbing society editor started her account of 1t thus: Tt seems that every member of the New Deal was there, with senators and representatives, executives in the various departments of the gov- ernment, notables from out of town and a very fine representa- ton from smart residential circles here.''
 Secretary Ickes has fought lob byists more conspicuously than any. other big official. But did Lobbyist J. Bruce Kremer give a big cocktail party in honor of Ickes,, daughter-in-law? And was - - - -