The Waterbury Democrat., 1938-05-20

Equally prominent politically and also active as a lobbyist was Major John Buckley, until late in the 1887 session a member of the Liquor Con- trol Commission. During the 1885 and 1887 sessions of the General As sembly Major Buckley received be- tween $2O,O00 and $25 ,000 for lobby ing services, the major portion of which he retained himself after hav- ing made distributions of relatively small amounts to Harry E. Macken- zie and certain others. All of these distributions were in cash. Buckley received approximately $l5,000 from 8 Small Loan Society for lobbying services in connection with the Small Loan bills alone, pending be- fore the 1885 and 1887 sessions of the General Assembly. It was in connection with these bills that Ma jor Buckley appeared before certain committees of the General Assembly in violations of Section 6286 of the Connecticut General Statutes, which specifically provides that no salaried commissioner of the state shall ap- pear for or in behalf of, or in op- position to any measure pending be- fore the General Assembly or any committee thereof.
 Code of Ethics
 In connection with the activities of the attorney lobbyists, Sections 26 and 34 of the Canons of Profess sional Ethics of the American Bar Association are significant. They read as follows:
 "26. PROFESSIONAL ADVOCACY
 OTHER THAN BEFORE COURTS.
 "A Lawyer openly, and in his
 true character, may render pro-
 fessional services before legislative or other bodies. regarding rrc-
 posed legislation and in advocacy of claims before departments of
 government, upon the same prin-
 ciples of ethics which justify his appearance before the Court; but
 it is unprOfessional for lawyer
 so engaged to conceal his attor-
 neyship. or to employ secret per-
 sonal solicitations, or to use means
 other than those addressed to the
 reason and understanding, to in fiuence actiOn." "34. DIVISION OF FEES
 ''No division of fees for legal services Is proper, except with an-
 other lawyer, based upon divi- sion of service or responsibility"
 The substance of Section 26 of the American Bar Association Canons 1 appears in Section 29 of the Code of Ethics of the Connec- ticut Bar as set forth in the Prac- tice Book, Section 29, Page IT.
 It is obvious that some of the law yers whose activities have been in have flagrantly violated these fundamental principles of pro fessional ethics.
 Open to Censure
 There are many political leaders and active lobbyists, some of whom | have been interrogated by this Grand Jury, whose conduct is open | to the severest censure but who, be- cause their conduct is not now pun ishable as crime, are not named i herein.
 Whether through tradition or be- | cause of some defect in the practical operation of representative govern ment, all apparent evil attending | each session of the General Assem- bly, has been the operations of the paid lobbyist who, concealing his financial interest in the passage or defeat of legislation, secures the end for which he is employed through | the exertion of his political influ- ence. Many such lobbyists hold po- sitions of power and trust within ! their party. This duplicity of so- called political leaders of both major parties in concealing their financial interest in the passage or defeat of legislation from the members of the General Assembly merits the strong est possible condemnation. Equally | reprehensible is the concealment | from his employer of the distribu- ton of . portion of his fee for the Of securing the influence of another or others. In practically every case, apparently. the secret