Detroit evening times. (Detroit, Mich) 1921-1958, 1944-05-29
FULTON
LEWIS, .Jr.
Washington
Comment

" aAsVu 1--WE go ~. s.@C ~
part Of this article on the Sen.
Ate and House committees @
campaign expenditures, viii
appeared in Sundays paper, a.
closed how In the past both
Republican and ID m ocratis
members OF these Important
committees have ferreted out
Irregularities and corruption, To-
gardiess Of party affiliations.)
WASHINGTON. May 2s-Ths
w Senate o m mittee this
time, as usual, Is made I'D Of
five members-three Democrats,
two Republicans.
The Democrats are Theodore
Green of Rhode Island. James
Tunnel of Delaware and Tom
Stewart of Tennessee. Green
and Tunnel are renowned a.
unvarying party regulars and
100 per cent New Deal support
ers.
Tom Stewart is a little differ.
ent. He was the little Tennes.
see prosecuting attorney In the
famous Scopes monkey" trial
years ago in Tennessee. He's q
loyal Democrat, to be sure, but
he has not been a party puppet.
The two Republicans are
Homer Ferguson of Michigan
and Joe Ball OF Minnesota. IL
doesn't make quite 50 much diff.
erence about them; they're the
minority.
1t so happens, however. that
Homer Ferguson and Joe Ball
are both highly respected SEN
ators. They're not spit-ballers,
or hecklers, or obstructionists;
they vote with the administra-
ton when the merits Of legisla.
ton demand ii. and they fire.
quently jump the party fence.
Green is the chairman, and In
his hands lies the power to call
meetings or not to call them; n
accept or reject informati i,
that comes to the commkI
tee from the grass roots. In his
hands, to a large degree. Is the
power to guide the activities q
the committee.
ITO BE entirely fair, II still h
L very early in the election
season. The campaigns are just
beginning to develop. and the
bigs are just beginning to Do.
velop.
TIE be equally frank, however.
the Senate campaign investigat.
ing committee thus far has done
little, and has accomplished al
most nothing. II certainly has
shown no aggressive, crusading
intention to play the game a.
Senator Sheppard and Senator
Gillette and there committees
played 1t.
The two minority members
demanded. weeks ago. an In.
quiry into Sidney Hillman's po-
litical action committee OF the
CIO, TO determine whether II il
or is not a violation of the law.
Assistant Atty. Gen. Tom
Clark. who had conducted the
investigation OF the political
action committee for the depart
ment of justice. was called be-
fore the committee, and he
reported merely that he had
found no violation, up to that
time.
1t was dropped there. The
committee attorney, Chauncey
Holcombe, an ex-Democratie
politician in the Maryland legis-
lature, appointed TO the job Of
committee counsel by Senator
Green, presented no investiga-
tons of his own TO the commit
tee. Senator Green merely
announced that the committee
found nothing out of order
about the political action CO
mittee, and that was that. "
A FTER Sidney Hillman an
"A nounced in Chicago that his
political action committee had
adopted resolution openly sup
porting the fourth term. Sena-
tor Ball moved that the case
be reopened; he wanted the de-
partment of justice called on to
bring its investigation up 10
date. and he wanted Sidney
Hillman called in to give &C
count of the committees expen-
ditures, receipts and activities
to date.
Only two other members of
the committee were present
that day-Senators Green and
Tunnel. They voted no, Senator
Ball voted yes and the political
action committee still goes
uninvestigated.