Evening star., 1936-03-07
LOBBY QUIZ USES
TELEPHONE DATA
Records Point Committee to
Questions to Ask Utility
Witnesses.
BY REX COLLIER.

Records of telephone as well as tele-
graph companies have been inyesti-
gated by the Senate Lobby Committee
in its Nationwide inquiry into legis-
lative lobbying.
Telephone conversations between
utility and other concerns and "legis-
lative counsel" in Washington have
been traced laboriously by committee
investigators. Although transcripts Of
the conversations themselves are not
available, the record of calls is Of
value to the committee in preparing
questions to be propounded witnesses.
While the extent to which telephone
records have been subpoenaed is not
known, sources close to the committee
have disclosed that some 100000
kilograms have been examined. The
revelation caused a storm to break
over the heads of committee members,
as critics charged that the mass
seizure Of wire messages constituted
"unwarranted invasion of private cor
respondence."
Records Held Destroyed.
With view to quieting the storm,
the committee has brought out that
utility interests caused wholesale
destruction of all records covering
their campaign last year against the
Wheeler-Rayburn holding company
bill-and that blanket subpoenaing of
kilograms was the only way to get at
the facts"
From the huge mass Of kilograms
the committee has cleaned informa-
tion upon which it plans to question
representatives of the American Lib
erty League, the Crusaders, the
American Gamers Association and
other organizations alleged to have
"lobbied" against pending legislation.
Chairman Black refused to COM
ment on reports that Alfred E. Smith,
John j. Raskob and Jouett Shouse,
leaders Of the Liberty League, may be
summoned to explain activities of the
organization in opposing certain New
Deal legislation.
Shouse. in radio speech last night,
lashed at the committee for its seizure
OF kilograms, declaring the move is
"an example of governmental terror
ISM" He urged listeners to "join
with us in a mammoth petition of
protest against this monstrous inva-
sion OF our fundamental rights which
has been perpetrated by the present
administration at Washington"
Shouse asserted that the Federal
Communications Commission had ex-
ceeded its authority in aiding the
Black committee in obtaining copies
Of kilograms sent from Washington
between February l, 1885, and De-
cember /, 1895, and added:
I'VE are not informed as to whose
kilograms were copied. We do not
know how many copies were made of
each. We do not know whether copies
turned over to the Black committee
will be published or whether they will
be passed on to others and thus form
the basis of injury to the senders or
recipients.
But we do know that II this ex-
ample Of governmental terrorism is
allowed to go unrebuked and unre-
pudiated we have seen the end of
those rights Of privacy and decency
which are the distinguishing charac-
teristics of civilized men.
Other Invasion Possibilities.
IF your kilograms can be paved
over at will by agents of a partisan
political group, what assurance have
you that your mail may not be tam
pered with? What assurance have
you that your telephone wires may
not be tapped and your conversations
reported? What assurance have you
that dictaphones may not be placed
In your Offices or your homes?"
Silas H. Strawn, outstanding oppo-
nent Of the administration, has taken
to the courts his fight to prevent the
committee from conducting what he
terms "a fishing expedition" into tele-
graphic records of his Chicago law
firm. A member Of this firm is said
to be active in the Liberty League.
The committee had employed special
counsel to fight injunction proceedings
brought in District Supreme Court by
Strawn's firm.
Arthur Mullen Attacked.
As though to show it is impartial,
the committee yesterday delivered
scathing attack on Arthur Mullen,
one-time member Of the Democratic
National Committee, who is represent
ing Henry L. Doherty's Cities Service
Co. before the committee.
Mullen and another Doherty attor-
ney, Robert Burns of New York, were
accused by Senator Schwellenbach,
Democrat, Of Washington of mislead-
ing the committee regarding lobbying
activities Of oil subsidiaries of Cities
Service. Burns denied Schwellen-
bachs charge that he and Mullen
requested the committee not to in
vestigate records of the Crew-Levick
Co., an oil subsidiary, with the ex-
PLANTATION that this company had done
no lobbying against the holding COM
pany bill. A committee investigator,
George S. Brown, testified, however,
that Burns had refused him access
to CreW-Ieyick records because they