Evening star., 1935-07-06
GENERAL LOBBYING
PROBE SOUGHT IN
SENATE BY CLARK
All Attempts to Influence
Legislation Would Be
Investigated.
HOUSE TO C0NFINE
QUIZ TO UTILITIES BILL
Upper Branch Has More Power
to Get Facts, Missouri Law.
maker Declares.
BY the Associated Press.

BY tne Associated Press.
A move was in progress today to
make a Senate investigation of lobby
ing the most sweeping inquiry Of its
kind ever conducted on Capitol Hill.
Senator Clark, Democrat. of Mis-
souri,. said he would seek to broaden
a prospective inquiry into activities
for and against the utilities bill.
Under the Clark plan the workings
of all lobbies seeking to affect legis-
lation, from far-flung organizations
Of national importance to little one
man outfits. would be Investigated.
The Senate Interstate Commerce
Committee already has approved a
$l50,000 inquiry into lobbying on the
utilities measure The Senate has
yet to act
Even without the Clark amendment,
which he will offer Monday, the Sen
ate investigators would be armed with
more powers than House inquiry
which will start next week. The
Senate committee, besides having
s150,000 to spend, would have the
power of subpoena, which the House
Rules Committee, the other investi-
eating body, would not.
Points to Other Lobbies.
Clark said there was no reason to
confine the Senate inquiry to lobby
ing about utilities alone.
There are lobbies on other bills.
including the ship subsidy that are
just as active" he said
It's all right. of course. for the
House to confine its investigation to
the utility bill. They are investigat-
ing specific charges that Tom Cor
coran (R. F. C. attorney attempted
TO influence the vote of Representa-
tive Brewster. Republican. of Maine.
But the Senate is not so restricted:
I think if We are going to spend
sl50,000 on an investigation, it ought
to be comprehensive and include
lobbying on all legislation, both sides
of the question"
The prospective Senate inquiry
brought clash yesterday. Repre-
sentative Blanton. Democrat, of Texas.
though saying he favored an inquiry,
held it was futile to spend as much
as S150o00 to investigate something
We already know about" Supporting
the proposed sl5O.o00 appropria ton.
Representative Rankin, Democrat, Of
Mississippi, accused power interests of
most outrageous saturnalia of
propaganda"
Wheeler Fights for Bill.
Senator Wheeler. Democrat. OF
Montana, leader in the Roosevelt
administration drive for a utility
bill containing death sentence" for
unnecessary" holding companies, con-
tinued his efforts to save that provi-
sion, which the House struck out in
revolt against administration desires.
He reiterated that it was "incon-
ceivable" that the Senate would con-
cur on Monday with the House amend
ment striking out the death" clause.
He also said the House made many
other changes which in my judgment
whitfield away and destroyed the ef-
fects of the bill"
Meanwhile. with the two inveStiga-
tions pending. legislators noted a
marked decrease in efforts to sway
votes on the amendments to the Ten
neSsee Valley Authority act. Critics
of the T. v. A. have been predicting
that President Roosevelt will be given
another setback by House passage of
a bill the administration opposes. in
stead of markedly different measure
already approved by the Senate. The
House takes up the matter Monday.