The Waterbury Democrat., 1946-07-19
by Drezv Pearson

American Congress Misguided and frequently wrong they may be- but most of them are honest
 Yet, it is a few bad apples in the Congressional barrel that poisons the reputation of the rest.
 That is why this column has urged that Con- gressmen register their business transactions their purchases the stock market, their specuations in rye silver and cotton and the chief clients of their law firms with the Securities and Exchange Commis son Wall Street is now required to register with the SEC. Every corporation is required to disclose its major salaries to the SEC Equally important is the need for legislators most of whom have nothing to hide to disclose their non-Government business connections.
 Had Congressman May registered with the SEC his connection with the mysterious Erie Basin bum- Der Company; had he registered the fact that he was president of the Greenbrier Manganese Mining Company at the time it was seeking war contract, then the public would have had chance to judge for itself whether it's interest Mays interest being served.
 But few Congressmen will move to require such registration. This columnst has talked to some of the Senate leaders about the problem Conscientious Senator Barkley of Kentucky would favor such move, but is an extremely busy man. So would Sen ator Austin of Vermont but he is leaving to join the United Nations.
 Only Senator so far willing to take the initiative in requiring his colleagues to put their economic ties record is Glen Taylor, cowboy Senator from Idaho When the Case Bill before Congress Taylor tackled on an amendment requiring Congressmen to disclose all stock market deals, commodity market operations, fees and business connections Taylor thought this should counterbalance the Case Bill requirement that labor unions make their financial statements public authored by Senator Byrd of Virginia.
 Whereupon Senator Byrd withdrew his amend ment, condition Taylor withdraw his. Much as Byrd wanted labor unions to disclose their financial transactions, he didn't want Senators to disclose theirs.
 Second big defect in our politico-Congression system is the power of committee charmen Rep. May as chairman of the Military Affairs Committee can pigeonhole or pass Army legislation. That was why Undersecretary of War Patterson trotted up to Mays office do favors for Erie Basin and why the brass hats literally jumped through hoops at Mays beck and call
 When this columniSt probing the cotton speculations of Senator Elmer Thomas of Oklahoma, the Agriculture Department asked to investigate the matter. They asked not Cnly by me but by hgh-up officials in other departments. Agriculture bureaucras however threw thelr hands in horror. Senator Thomas is chairman Of the Senate Commit tee Agriculture and strangle Agriculture De- partment legislation if he desires.
 So despite the fact that agricultural officials admitted they knew about the Oklahoma Senator's fragrant cotton specuati0ns and despite the fact that the Agriculture Department is charged by law with policing the commodities market officials refused to do anything about it.
 Under the present set-up n Congress the abil- ity of a committee chairman is not important. Nor his ethical standards his honesty Seniority is all that counts And long as member Of Con- greSS has been elected ahead of other colleagues of his committee he sit in the all-poWerful chair manShip riding rouehShod legislation badly needed by the executive branch of the Government unless the department heads kew-tow to him.