The Ypsilanti daily press. (Ypsilanti, Mich.) 1928-1962, 1941-12-06

rent outburst by
suing to collect his fees from in
terests for which he claims TO have
obtained government contracts.
Out-of-town business visitors In
the capital undoubtedly do need
guides to steer 'em about among
the multiplicity Of newly created
agencies and it's legitimate
enough service, which has attained
plenty Of proportions. Lobbying,
however, involves fixing" Some
sort Of influence Is supposed to be
exerted by the lobbyist in behalf Of
his client, and his functions to ex-
ert the right kind Of It upon the
correct oficials. II may be politi-
cal, 1t may be social and conceiv-
ably 1t could be financial.
A peculiar feature of the latest
quiz, and Of all those which have
preceded 1t, Is that the investiga-
tors invariably proceed upon the
assumption that It's the lobbyist
who's the villain. No attentions
paid to the officials, II any, whom
he influences. The whole theory Is
that lobbying is the evil to be
probed, not being successfully lob
bied.
Small business has an acute In
terest In the pending inquiry, and
30 has organized labor.
Little industrialists, who can
adapt their plants to defensive and
lease-lending production, naturally
want contracts, to assure EN- Of
priority supplies Of raw materials,
to keep 'em in operation.
Blgwigs Better obbyists
The government also wants to
keep 'em going. instead Of having
'em shut down and throw their
workers out Of employment. Furth-
ermore their collective outputs
desired, always provided that they
are adaptable. There's an evident
official tendency. though, to let
contracts to the biggest kind OF
companies. The peewees' version
Is that this Is because the masto-
dons out-lobby 'em. being able to
pay for expensive talent at 1t.
The official account Is that It's
more convenient to deal with mon
ster industry at single swipe.
rather than In detail, with q lot Of
picayune manufacturers. But the
scheme, It's explained, is to have
the wholesale contractor take care
Of as much Of his order as his
plants equal to. and sub-order the
rest from the little fellows.
For one thing. the big boys don't
sub-order as generally as is de-
sired. They prefer to keep their
business for themselves. even II
they're slow with deliveries.
Some of 'em do sub order,
though. But how. ask the peewees.
do they do it? Why. the peewees
answer themselves, an elephantine
concern gets a huge contract from
Uncle Sam at a nrst rate profit
and then sub-orders from bunch
Of peewees, at a second or third
rate profit to the peewee outfit, and
scoops the difference into its own
Golfers. The peewees have to stand
for 1t or they don't get their sub
contracts. can't get priorities for
raw materials, as defensive pro-
ducers, and consequently can't
keep going.
Organized labor's complaint Is
that it's fiim-fammed by the sub
contracting process.
WY Labor objects
The unions as we all know. want
governmental contracting done
only with closed shop companies.
and offlcialdom. to appease 'em,
sticks to that rule, not 100 per
cent, but pretty strictly.
Yes, but, say union spokesman.
a whale Of an industry. operating
on d closed shop basis, gets con-
tract, and then sub-contracts with
swarm Of open shop little crit
ters-open shoppiness being the es-