Evening star., 1936-03-28
FIGHT ON RULING
PARTY RESTRICTED
Bill Would Put Lobby Stigma
on Those Who Espoused
Other Theories.
BY DAVID LAWRENCE.

ment' and hence violation of the
Constitution will probably not be de-
termined until some lawsuit arises
to test it, but meanwhile the restric-
ton will probably work out so that
a party in power will be able the
more easily to perpetuate itself.
BY the terms of bill supposedly
aimed at lobbying, the House Of Rep
resentatives has just put drastic re-
straints on those who are in opposition
to legislative policies while exempting
the officials who lobby for the executive
branch of the Government from any
such inhibitions.
The mere requirement that paid
lobbyist shall register and file his
expenses has been given almost uni
versal assent, but when the numerous
officials of the executive departments
and agencies who have vested in
tereSt in continuing their jobs at
public expense approach members of
the legislative body or its committees
in behalf of any money appropriations,
there is no requirement in the pro-
posed law that their activities be
made public.
Two Types of Lobby.
There are. of course. two kinds Of
organizations and interests which
lobby" for or against legislation in
Observation-Disclosures which are seek
ing special privilege or appropriations
for their own benefit and organiza-
tions which may be devoted to hu-
manitarian causes, like the abolition
of child labor, the prevention of war
or the Improvement of the public
health or education.
Under the proposed law which has
just passed the House, these two types
are treated alike. Doubtless their paid
representatives would not object to
registration but what they may find
disturbing is that if any such paid
representative happens Ito cause to
be published any articles or editorials"
in any papers, periodicals, magazines
or other publications" the names of
such papers or publications must be
filed every three months with the
clerk OF the House of Representatives
and the secretary of the Senate.
Heretofore members of the press
have treated paid lobbyists and volun-
teer or amateur lobbyists more or
less on the same footing. But now
since the implication of the above
quoted clause is that the paid lobby
ist has improperly influenced a pub
Ication, the tendency will be to shun
the paid lobbyist as one would leper
Mass Appeal Curtailed.
This will tend to diminish the op-
portunities of many worthy organi-
cations to contact the members of
the press or periodicals. 1t may ma
terially curtail the opportunities Of
those who have causes to advocate In
presenting their case to newspapers
or magazines and in effect would
abridge their opportunities to organize
their fellow citizens to petition Con-
gress for redress of grievances. For
the right of petition was never in
tended to be construed as applying to
an individual citizen only. Obviously
citizen acting by himself can never
influence the passage or defeat of
legislation but when he joins with
others through organizations devoted
to a particular cause he has an op-
portunity to see that the right of
petition is effectively exercised.
Now, officials in the executive
agencies and departments may ap-
proach the press and magazines and
cause articles and editorials to be
published without anybody being COM
PEELED to disclose such information.
Thus, in several New Deal agencies
officials who are called special as
slstants" are engaged in calling on
editors of newspapers or magazines to
secure the publication of articles
friendly to the New Deal Many hun
oreds of thousands of words are sent
daily out of Washington by Govern
ment propaganda agencies, the money
for the preparation of such articles
being paid for out of taxpayers money.
Yet any person who attempted to or
ganize an opposition to such use of
public funds would find himself held
up to scorn as paid lobbyist" If
he organized an association for such
purpose, and were he to furnish news
to press associations or articles to
magazines he might find the latter
paid" lobbyists are probably going
to be treated when the new bill be-
comes law.
Attorney Status Not Clear.
It is not clear whether attorneys
In Washington who give advice to
companies which in turn send repre-
sentatives here to defeat or help
enact legislation or whether attorneys
who confer with members of Con-
gress will have to be registered as
paid lobbyists.
The Senate which passed last May
the bill sponsored by Senator Black
went further than the House in re-
quiring that all persons be registered
who seek to influence not only legis-
latlve action but also any action by
any executive agency or department
on almost any matter of governmental
policy. This means that the vast
number Of persons who annually came
to Washington on business will be
violating the letter of the law If they
do not make known what their ex-
penses were in coming and going and
while they were here. In many in
stances this will be more of nuisance
than anything else, for the amounts
involved in such trip or the disclosure
Of the information will be relatively
unimportant. If such persons, how
ever, talk to the press and do not
file the fact that they had something
to dc with articles that were caused
to be published, they might be open
TO prosecution and upon conviction
the payment of fine or imprison-
nent.
Less than 100 members of the House,
probably about a third Of the men,
bership, were present when legisla-
tion involving fundamental principles
Of constitutional right was passed.
But no roll call was taken on final
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