Evening star., 1938-06-17
LOBBY PROBERS
DENIED $12,9)D
Burke Charges Committee
Planned Investigation
of u. S. Press.


The Senate Lobby Committee,
which Senator Burke of Nebraska last
night charged was planning an in
vestigation Of the press Of the country.
will have to get along without addi-
tional funds this summer.
A resolution authorizing l2,500
from the contingent funds Of the Sem
ate died as a result Of filibuster, in
which Senator Burke had the assist
ance Of Senator Clark of Missouri.
Senator Holt of West Virginia and
several others.
Senator Minton of Indiana, chair
man Of the lobby committee. undis-
mayed, shouted the last word.
AN investigation Of the newspapers
might 60 on anyway, We still have
the funds to do it," he said.
Senator Burke, when the resolution
authorizing additional funds for the
lobby committee was called up, took
the floor and held 1t until Senator
Barkley asked him to yield so that
he could move the adoption of the
concurrent resolution for the ad-
journment of Congress.
Resolution ID Killed.
When he yielded, the lobby COM
mittee resolution was dead.
But Senator Byrnes Of South Caro-
lima, chairman of the Committee on
Audit and Control, who defended the
resolution, announced that he would
offer a proposal for additional funds
for the lobby committee when Con-
gress convenes again.
Senator Burke suggested that the
country probably could get along in
the interim without an objective
survey" of the newspapers. 1t was
at that point Senator Minton shouted
his defiance and said he might 60
ahead with the survey anyway.
When the effort was made to bring
the resolution before the Senate, Sena-
tor Burke announced he would talk
all night, If necessary, to prevent its
adoption. He ventured the opinion
that the members Of the Senate would
not. at the final stage of the session,
listen to q proposal to furnish funds
out Of the Treasury to carry on an
investigation Of the newspa pers of the
country.
Recalls Minton Bill.
Senator Schwellenbach of Washing
ton. a member of the Lobby Commit
tee, said that the committee had never
said 1T would make such an investi-
CATION. Senator Burke replied that
Senator Minton had made a speech
in the Senate not long ago in
which he charged that q deliberate
attempt was being made to keep in
ignorance the readers as to what was
really going on" Mr.. Burke added
that Senator Minton at the same time
introduced a bill which would have
imposed heavy penalty for any
newspaper which published in its col
umns anything which 1t knew or
probably ought to have known was
not strictly in accordance with the
truth as it might ultimately be de-
termined."
Senator Burke insisted that it would
have been impossible for any news
paper in the country to have pub
lished Minton's speech II such a law
had been in effect.
In the course Of that speech" said
Senator Burke, the Senator from In
diana declared that the press of the
country had consistently refused to
give any space to anything favorable
to the present administration and the
New Deal program and since every
paper in the country has done exactly
the contrary to what the Senator de-
clared to be fact, If the Senator's
bill had been a law no newspaper
would have dared to publish what he
had to say, because by so doing they
would have laid the foundation for
prosecution and punishment"
Quoted the Senator.
Senator Burke said the newspa pers
had carried a statement to the effect
that the Lobby Committee desired to
make an investigation OF the press,
and quoted Senator Minton to that
effect.
Senator Clark called attention to
the fact articles reporting that the
Lobby Committee intended to make
such an investigation had been pub
lished all over the country 4 few weeks
ago. and had quoted Senator Minton
to that effect.
ANY suggestion that the Senate
Is starting out to investigate trans
gressions of the liberty Of the press
in this country will be one of the
most dangerous things that ever
happened in this country" he said.
An Objective Plea.
Senator Minton took up the de-
bate:
When asked by some newspaper
man what the Lobby Committee was
going to do" he said, Il suggested
that it had been suggested to me by
Senator Tydings of Maryland that
II might carry on this objective study
OF the newspapers. I never said that
the Lobby Committee had any such
plan. 1 never said that the Lobby
Committee was going to pursue any
such course. I said that was one
OF the things it might do, and that
thought it was a very good sug-
gestion which the Senator from Mary
land had made"
Senator Minton said that the news
paper man had asked If he would
investigate just those newspapers op-
posed to the administration.
Il said Certainly not" he con-
tinued
Referring to the furor which his
proposed bill 10 penalize newspapers
for printing statements that were not
true. Senator Minton said:
In order to test out the good faith
OF the so-called free press of the
country, I suggested little bill which
would make it q crime for q news
paper deliberately to lie, discovered
Tor the first time in my life that it is
necessary in the running of q news
paper to be able deliberately to lie"
Senator Burke asked Senator Min
ton what was the difference between
an objective study of the fairness of
| the editorial DOlicv Of revsna mare and