The Waterbury Democrat., 1936-03-13


 measure known as the Wheeler Rayburn Public Utility Holding Company Control Bill was up for consideration. It contained a pro- vision that after Q specified date holding companies of Q certain type must cease to exist. That provision was immediately nick named by the interests effected "the death sentence" and as Q re- suit of the description Q tide of sympathy for the innocent, harm- less holding companies began to swell. But some of the organiza- tions headed for the death house could not let well enough alone. They proceeded to increase the tide to flood proportions by arti- f1cial means. CongressT1aen and senators were deluged with tele- grams protesting against the passage of the Wheeler -Rayburn legislation and demanding that the recipients vote against it,--or else. Telegrar1ls appeared under congressional doorways, through congressional windows, Up con- gressional dumh-waiters, in con- gressional beds, and in congress sional soup. Prepaid messages of indignation and threat through congressional keyho1es, down c0rl- gressional necks, and up congress sional pants legs. It looked as if the country had gone telegram mad over night and If something was not done about 1t Washington would be buried like Herculaneuf1l and Pompeii under an unceasing flow of yellow and blue telegraph forms. Then 1t developed that the names signed to the messages had been picked at random from tele- phone books, city directories, and cemetery records. And that the owners of the names had never sent them. It also developed that the panicky utilities had gone off the deep end and paid for the dis patches. The development not only calmed the rising tide of sympathy but blew up gale of hi- dignation all over the country. A committee was set up to inves- tigate the habits and practices of holding company and other lob- bies. Senator Black of Georgia was made the chairman and he proceeded to investigate with vim and vigor. The investigation is still on and because of its acc tivities the Democratic chairman has become Destroyer Number One of the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution according to the Republican press and the afore- mentioned articulata Republican representatives in the Congress.
 Hare and Hounds.
 In following the devious trail of the lobby against the Wheeler Rayburn bill, Senator Blacks committee wound up, among other places, in the Western Union Telegraph Company's office in Chicago. There 1t grabbed copies of telegrams, and proceeded to give them the once-over. The papers were taken upon proper subpoena issued by the commit tee and there was no terrific ob- lection until the Investigating agents got the smell of hundred dollars worth of messages (sent collect by way of no harm), to Winston, Strawn & Shaw, Q firm of Windy City lawyers by Jouett Shouse, front for the duPont Lib- erty League. Senator Black want ed to look ct the messages deliv-. cred to the attorneys but the law firm, whose best known member, MT. Strawn, is Q past president Of the United States Chamber Of Commerce, went to the bat at once. The Western Union secured a temporary injunction to keep the telegrarns out of Senator Blacks clutches and Mir. Strawn's office also asked for another in- junction to keep the law firms telegraphic files safe from the itl- vestigating committees suspicious eye. What the outcome of the scrap may be cannot be foretold but whatever 1t is the ordinary layman will be unable to find any violation of the Fourth Amend- Inent involved.
 Something Smelly.
 The raising of a constitutional issue under the circumstances must impress any intelligent per- son as a red herring drawn across the trail to send Senator Blacks hounds of on @ false scent. 1T there is nothing discriminating in the telegrams sent by the front for the duPont Liberty League, which could not possibly be inter- ested in the holding company legislation being as 1t is a purely political organization, what objec- ton could Mir. Shouse or the past president of the U. s. Chamber of Commerce, MT. Strawn, have to handing them over to Senator Blacks committee? The plea of respect for the confidential rela- tions between lawyer and client in this instance is so much tripe. Every phase of the campaign against the passage of the utility holding company control measure smells to high heaven and the deeper the Investigators dig the more foul the odor grows. The ef- fort of interested parties to ham, per the Black committee at every turn of the dirty road in its search for the truth is a proof that where there is already so much sunk there must be magotty putres- cence creating 1t. One need not be an expert in the intricacies or the law to know that the Fourth Amendment still remains in the Constitution iinviolated. So far aS