Evening star., 1935-08-09
Tells Radio Audience "You
Will Pay Bill" in Increased
Utility Rates.

Public VIII Pay Bill.
Predicting the lobby against the
utility holding company bill, which
has occupied the full attention of the
committee, will be known as the
"$5 100000 lobby" Black assured his
listeners that you will pay the bill"
in increases in the rates for gas and
electricity.
Contrary to tradition, against the
public morals and hostile to good gov
ernment, the lobby has reached such
a position of power" the Senator con-
cluded that it threatens government
itself. Its size, its power. its capacity
for evil, its greed, its trickery, decep-
ton and fraud condemn it to the
death it deserves. You. the people of
the United States, will not permit it
TO destroy you. You will destroy it."
One of the high lights of the Sen
ators speech was his reading of tele-
gram which he said was sent to an
undisclosed person by H. c. Hopson,
who is being sought by congressional
investigators as the dominant figure
in the Associated Gas g. Electric Sys-
tenn.
The telegram follows:
July /. 1885.
"Have Just talked with vice presi-
dent of Standard Gas & Electric Co
and he advises that they are in the
fight to finish. They are much en-
couraged and believe there is posi-
bility we may prevent any opportunity
to afflx the threatened veto. We have
more opportunity now to defeat the
whole measure than many believed
were the chances of our defeating
merely the death sentence when it was
first announced to- be an essential
part of the must program.
H HoPsoN.
Text of Address.
The text of Senator Blacks address
follows.
1t is not only the right, but it is
the duty of every patriotic citizen
who loves his country, to give his hon.
est and unSelflSh judgment on public
questions to his representatives. Leg
islators welcome and need such sin
cere and honestly informed opinions.
Such opinions are of real value and
genuine aid in bringing about fair
and wholesome laws. The constitu-
tional right of petition preserves, and
always will preserve, this privilege.
There is no constitutional right to
lobby. There is no right on the part
of any greedy or predatory interest to
use money taken from the pockets of
the citizen to mislead him and thus
enlist his aid in enabling the same
greedy and predatory interest to take
still more money out of the pocket Of
the same unsuspecting citizen. There
is no constitutional right on the part
of any Sordid and powerful group to
present its views behind a mask con-
cealing the identity of the group.
These money-maddened men behind
the mask have no right to send their
hired men out into the streets, into
the places of business, into the homes
and into the churches, to perusade or
to frighten citizens into giving blanket
authority to have their names signed
to kilograms and letters, to be later
manufactured by high-powered. high
priced publicity agents, and sent at
company expense to the citizens
representatives in Washington, in
such way and manner as to deliber-
ately deceive those representatives.
There is no constitutional right for
the same group to seek out the init
mate social friends of Senators and
Representatives, their close political
associates and campaign managers,
and hire them from the four corners
of the United States, to make intimate
personal appeals and to frighten them
as to the political consequences should
they vote contrary to the wishes and
the financial aggrandizement of the
men behind the mask.
Other Activities to Be Probed.
While the Special Senate Lobby
Investigating Committee, consisting
of myself, and Senators Minton,
Schwellenbach, Frazier and Gibson,
will 20 into other lobby activities, the
committee during the last three weeks
has gathered evidence in connection
with the Wheeler-Rayburn holding
company bill. I shall discuss some of
that evidence with you tonight.
On July 18th, Mr.. Philip Gadsden,
representing a large group of utility
holding companies throughout the
Nation, testified before the committee.
His group had spacious Offices in the
Mayf1ower Hotel in Washington for
many months. It was headquarters
for this group, and to these head
quarters, there flocked power company
agents from over the Nation. The
expenses reported by this committee
were a little more than 100000 of
which S150,000 went to two firms of
the hundreds of lawyers whose services
were used by companies in connection
with this bill. This 100000 was but
o small part Of the money expended
against this bill. Most of the expenses
have come from the individual COM
panies themselves, and have been
charged up to operating expenses of
the various local power company
units. You who listen to me can rest
assured that a part of the expenses
of the campaign against this bill has
most likely been charged to operating
expenses of the company supplying
the electricity for the light in your
room at this very moment. In other
words, you will pay the bill.
Spending 100000 Admitted.
One holding company system, serv-
ing electricity to the people in 26
States, has admitted spending $500, ,000
up to date. Some of you, of course,
will pay for that. All the companies
income is derived from you who buy
its product. Evidence now available
to the committee, which evidence is
wholly inadequate to give complete
picture of expenses, shows expenditures
to defeat the bill of approximately
Sl,500,000. If we succeed in getting
anything like the true facts of all
expenses, I predict that the power
lobby in this matter will be known as
the Five Million Dollar Lobby"
How has the money been spent?