Evening star., 1935-08-09
Lobby
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including Benjamin Cohen, P. w. A.
attorney, who assisted in drafting the
Senate version of the bill, were ex-
cluded from the conference.
Cohen spent the session sitting in
an adjoining room available for con-
.Sultation.
Maps New Hearings.
Meanwhile, after declaring that ul-
timately consumers of gas and elec-
tricity must bear the cost of a S5,000,-
GOO lobby against the utilities bill,
Chairman Black of the Senate Lobby
Committee mapped new hearings for
the future.
His prediction that the foes of the
bill eventually would be shown to have
spent $5,000000 was made in a radio
speech last night over The Washing
ton Evening Star Forum. CThe full
text of Senator Blacks address ap-
pears on page A-l2.)
1t was the latest of several develop
mentS in the utilities fight One was
letter produced yesterday in the
Federal Trade Commissions utilities
investigation. Dated March 81, 1881,
it was declared to have been sent
from B. c. Cobb, former chairman of
the Commonwealth & Southern Corp,
to Frank Kent, political writer for
the Baltimore Sun.
Propaganda of Politicians"
"I again say" it asserted, that most
of the talk about holding companies
and about the profits of utilities COM
panies is lot of hokum and a lot of
buncombe and is propaganda of poll
ticians like Norris, Pinchot and
Roosevelt for their own political
gain"
Meanwhile, the Senate Committee
laid plans to obtain testimony from
some of the Nations leading attorneys
soon as to their connection with
fights against the utilities bill and
other legislation.
Among the names placed on the
committees witness list were those of
John w. Davis, Democratic presidential
nominee in 1924; Newton D. Baker,
Secretary of War in Wilson's cabinet;
Henry L. Stimson, President Hoover's
Secretary of State, and James NJ
Beck, former Republican solicitor
general and Representative from
Pennsylvania.
Committee members said they wanted
to know how much power companies
paid these men in fees and the exact
nature of their activities and ascer-
tain, if possible, the line of demarca-
tion between legal practice and lob
bying.
S1,500,0O0 Spending Uncovered.
Already, Black said, his committee
had uncovered expenditures of ST. $780,
600 in the drive against the utilities
bill and its provision calling for man
datory abolition of unnecessary"
holding companies.
In his speech last night he asserted
that the lobby has reached such a
position of power that 1t threatens
the Government itself"
Addressing himself to consumers,
the Alabaman said:
THE books of your local company
will show these expenses as a part
of the cost of delivering electricity
to you"
Howard c. Hopson, dominant figure
in Associated Gas & Electric, is still
eluding the would-be subpoena servers
of the House Rules Committee, which
also is investigating lobbying for and
against the utilities bill.
The investigators of the Senate COM
mittee had given up the chase, ex-
pecting that in good time Hopson
would appear voluntarily. The sleuths
of the House, however, were still busy
running down various unproductive
tips that he might be found in nearby
localities.
Testimony by Hurley.
The attention of the Senate COM
mittee was directed to the legal pro-
fession's part in recent legislative bat