Detroit evening times. (Detroit, Mich) 1921-1958, 1943-05-11
Mere Clerk
Be- ats Clique
In R. Street
As Silver Lobbyist He
Sits With Senators
BY PAUL MALLON

tracts.
The well-known names OF a lot
Of officials who broke his bread
in a house he rented on Mil
lionaireS' Row (R street, North
weSt have been handed about
freely.
The trouble behind the story
apparently is that the congress
sional investigators have been
unable TO find that this partic-
ular laviSh-spending lobbyist got
many war contracts. or I'M
deserved ones-of which there
must have been many if the law
OF averages prevailed during
awards of these historic billions
of war dollars.
MORE successful lobbying is
WI generally accomplished IN a
different way. If Congress is
really hot and bothered on. the
subject. it can look into the
Senate's own special silver COM
mittee and there II Will find a
silver lobbyist employed as its
deputy clerk. He hired no big
house. He moved into the sena-
tors own office building where
he occupies room 433-A.
The gentleman's name Is
James A. White, and when he is
not clerking for the special silver
committee, he is employed by
the Rocky Mountain Metals
Foundation, with headquarters
in the Barr Building here.
At a meeting OF the Subcom-
mittee of the Senate banking
and currency committee (the
Maloney committed he sat by
the side of the silver bloc leader,
Senator McCarran CD of Me-
vada and McCarran introduced
one of his letters into the record.
The bill before the committee
proposed that the treasury sell
some of its silver hidden away
i'm the ground at West Point TO
industries for war purposes. II
would not change the silver act
or weaken the silver program.
THE treasury wants the bill to
Il contain a provision allowing
il TO sell this silver at not less
than so cents an ounce, but the
silver bloc wants the bill to
specify II cents an ounce-2l
cents more. The silver boys do
not want the government 10 sell
silver at less than the subsidy
price which they imposed upon
the treasury in their law Of July
&, 1889.
The matter Of Mr.. Whites
employment came up at that
hearing. Senator Danaher CR)
of Connecticut asked the con-
SpicuouS Mr.. White at McCar-
rams side three questions:
Whether he was on the Senate
pay roll; whether he was direc-
tor of the Rocky Mountain
Foundation; and who sup
ported the metals foundation.
His answers were:
He was only a deputy clerk
without pay in the Senate en-
ploy as an assistant to the clerk
OF the Senate silver inveStigat-
ing committee; that he was
director of the metals founda-
ton, and that the foundation is
supported by mining companies
interested in silver.
The moral is that you do not
need to hold thousand-dollar din
nerS for official social butterflies
in Washington 10 do the most
important kind of lobbying here
that gets things done your way.
DEPUBLICANS are getting a
~ little perturbed at the fire.
quency with which Mr.. Roose-
Welt is mentioning the fact that
he is commander-in-chief of the
army and navy. He made a
point of it in his broadcast with
President Camacho Of Mexico.
He mentioned it again in his
radio talk on the coal strike.
The politicos have therefrom
developed the idea that the
President may run for fourth
term, not as president, but in his
auxiliary capacity as head OF
the armed forces.
In past history presidential
leadership over the army and
navy has been largely technical,
legal and unimportant. The ac-
tual command Of both branches
of the service was IN cargo OF
technicianS.
in this war, Mr.. Roosevelt.
however. has eXerted more than
usual influence in strategy and
managership of military move
mentS.
COMMON political assumption
" everywhere seems 10 be that
il the war is on, Mr. Roosevelt
necessarily would be reelected
IN accordance with the above
strategy This calls for an adj
vance appraisal Of public senti-
ment a ycar-and-a-half hence,
which IS somewhat illogical.
II we have not won the war
by November, 1914, or do not
have victory al hand. public SEN
timcnt is likely 20 be anything
but favorable 10 the parties who
have been conducting the war
that far
II seems Just as easy 10 sup
pose that Impatience and resent