Evening star., 1938-09-09
Says Attempts OF Make Mrs.
TouIson Goat of Race
Are Crying Shame.'
TYDINGS IS ATTACKED
AS MONOPOLIES' FRIEND
Senator Helps Trusts Keep Up
Prices, He Says, While Farmer
Gets a Tiny Share.
BY JAMES E. CHINN,
Star Staff Correspondent.


Toulson, postmistress of Salisbury,
Md, who the Senate Campaign Ex-
penditures Committee has charged
with violating Federal law by assist
ing him in his campaign on the East
ern Shore for the Democratic sena-
torial nomination.
Just what steps Mr.. Lewis will take
he did not reveal. He denounced as a
crying shame" however, the attempts
he said are being made to make Mrs
Toulson the goat" in his campaign.
If Mrs. Toulson has violated any
law in her efforts to support Presi-
dent Roosevelt and to assist me-" he
declared she must have done so un-
Intentionally. She is, perhaps. just
another Douglas (Wrong Way Corrl-
gan. Corrigan was not punished
severely for what he did. and I don't
know Of any reason for Furnishing
Mrs. Toulson'
Remaining in Baltimore to "6ght it
out" with Senator Tydings for this
city's AZ important votes in the Demo-
cratic convention that will follow Mon
days primary, New Dealer Lewis is
scheduled to make three campaign
speeches tonight in various sections of
the so-called Monumental City. He
made four speeches here last night.
which included a broadcast over a
network of stations that should have
spread his message over the entire
State of Maryland. These included:
WRC in Washington, WFBR in Balti-
more, WTBO in Cumberland. WEI
in Frederick and WSAL in Salisbury.
The. radio speech was the first of
little Davey's" four campaign maneu-
utes he had ''on the air" he attempted
to link Senator Tydings to monopoly
and big business.
He laid stress particularly on the
fact that the price of bread is now at
its highest level since 1922. although
the price Of -four is lower than at any
time since 1888, and said:
Now what is the reason? The rea
son is that four big baking companies
control one-half of all the bread sold
to the American housewife. They
dominate the industry. They control
the price Of this most vital of all foods
1t makes no difference If the price
drops on the farm. the big bakers keep
up the price in the city-in fact, they
even increase the price.
Now let us see what Mr. Tydings
has done, if anything, about this price
wedge between the farmer and the
consumer. do not need tell you that
his whole record in the Senate has
shown him to be solidly behind mo-
nopolistic interests, to be in favor OF
price fixing.
But further than that let us look
at his associates. Here we note in the
list of campaign contributors that
Charles Schmidt. head of the Schmidt
Baking Co.. is a substantial contribu-
tor. We also note that one of his
earliest contributors is James Piper
attorney for Ward bread one of the
four big firms which dominate the
baking industry. Mr.. Piper, inciden.
tally, is a Republican and one who
urges that Mr. Tydings get the support
of all Republicans. We also note on
the of contributors gift from the
International Milling Co., in Minneap-
oils. This is one of the largest COM
panies of its kind in the country, with
assets Of $27,o00,o0O. Naturally, it is
interested in keeping up the price OF
flour. not wheat, and it has sent
money all the way from Minneapolis
to help Millard Tydings back to the
Senate.
Il could also show you the various
interlocking directorates between the
Ward Baking Co. and Best Foods
owned in part by Mrs. Davies, mother
in-law of the Senator, but I think ]
have already demonstrated very clearly
that when it comes to a vital food
affecting both the man on the farm
and the housewife in the city. Millard
Tydings is with the big corporation
that would drive a wedge between
them"
Pointing out that rye is one of the
crops which Maryland farmers feed
to the distilleries of the State, Mr.
Lewis said he had figures showing that
the cost of producing a gallon oi
Whlsky-including the unusually low
price paid to the farmer"-is only
around 80 or 40 cents a gallon. This
together with the cost of aging at 10
cents year, he declared, brings the
cost of 4-year-old whisky to 10 or 80
cents gallon.
And yet" said Mr.. Lewis, that
whisky sell for $l2 gallon, which in
cludes revenue taxes. The cost is 80
cents a gallon, and even allowing $685.
for State and Federal taxes, the price
to the consumer of SIP a gallon is
outrageous. Here you have a faint
idea Of the wedge driven by the big
liquor companies between the man on
the farm and the man in the city.
How is this price kept up? It is
kept up through two things-first, the
great whisky ring, consisting of four
great distillers, Schenley, Seagrams
Hiram Walker and National Distillers,
which completely dominate the liquor
business in the United States, and Sec
ond, it is kept up through the Tydings
price-fi fixing bill.
That bill was one of the greatest
legislative gifts ever made to the liquor
industry. 1t was made under the guise
of helping the small retailer, but the
reason for that camouflage is that the
Tydings bill would not have had the
remotest chance Of getting through
Congress had people known the liquor
industry was behind it."
Mr.. Lewis then attempted to link
Senator Tydings with the liquor in
terests. He said the Senator's Law
firm has as clients the Frank L. Wight
Distilling Co., the Maryland Distilline
Association "and most important Of
ALL" the Calvert Liquor Co.