Milford chronicle., 1948-03-26
By WestbTOOk PegIer
Released by WNU Features

Released by WNU Features
EOR ANY BEARING that it NAV
= have on the speculation Of Sen.
Elmer Thomas Of Oklahoma, a DEM
ocrat, of course, / offer information.
Thomas has defied his colleague.
Sen. Homer Ferguson Of MICHIGAN.
to investigate" his gambling IN
commodities. This form of trade
was condemned by President Tru.
man as a factor contributing to the
cost Of food and he seemed TO think
it a conscienceless business until he
learned that the vice had claimed
victims in his own political and So
cial household. When a statesman
on the senate committee on agricul-
ture CANDLES on agricultural prod.
ucts he has an advantage compar-
able to that Of a cardplayed who
brings his own deck and knows how
to read the backs.
Senator Thomas based his re.
fusal to testify on his congress
siOnal immunity" and there has
been a show of unreasonable
courtesy toward him.
There is no Immunity" which ex-
cuses any member of congress from
giving testimony in a congressional
inquiry and this fellow is no more
entitled to special consideration
than the 10 Hollywood witnesses
who are up for contempt and face
a year in prison.
ON IMMUNITY, THE CON.
STITUTION SAYS MEMBERS
OF THE SENATE AND
HOUSE "shall, in all cases, ex-
cept treason, felony and breach
of the peace, be privileged from
arrest during their attendance
at the session of their respec-
tive houses and going to and
returning from the same; and
for any speech or debate in
either house they shall. not be
questioned in any other place"
Thomas for any
RGteS thing so the first
No Nobody has
Immunity threatened to
pinch Senator
part of this passage on immunities
does not apply. Nobody is trying to
question him about anything he said
in Congress so that immunity is
not involved. .
If Senator Ferguson and the rest
Of them let Thomas get away with
this, their position will be that
senator's are above the same laws
that have been invoked in recent
weeks to punish the same sort Of
refusal by other suspected persons.
Last October when the house
committee on un-American activi.
ties was hearing a lot of executives
Of the movie industry, a woman
telephoned the committees chief in
vestigator, Robert STRIPPING, to say
that Senator Thomas of Oklahoma
desired that a cOnsiderate reception
be given to one Morris Rosner who
would soon call. Rosner did call,
introduced himself as Mickey Ros-
ner, and said he represented Louis
B. Mayer, summoned as a witness.
Mayer desired to be excused
because his brother was graVely
i'll and because, furthermore, he
had no information that could
not as readily be given By
others in his employ.
The committee was made suspi-
ciOus by Rosner's manners and
therefore investigated him and got
a report which caused the members
to turn down Mayors request,
Mayors testimony was not vital and
If he had sent a more suitable rep
resentative he probably would have
been excused. With that Hollywood
genius for seeking out the most in-
appropriate person for the Job in
hand, however, Mayer had picked an
underworld character with an F.B.I.
record who had chiseled into the
Lindburgh kidnapping inquiry.
I thought it
FROM strange that Sem
tOF ator Thomas, q
Lobbyist country senator,
should be so
chummy with this fellow and I still
thought so after I got a tip that for
seven or eight years Rosner had
made Thomas office a sort Of hang
out, a nice front for a lobbyist and
fixer in Washington. Ht was re-
puted to enjoy the confidence and
esteem of Senator Thomas and
judging by the fact that Thomas
"sent him in" with the committee on
un-American activities, and for
other reasons, would think he did.
During the hearings on the Wool
Products Labelling act in 1899, Ros-
ner showed up as the Washington
lobbyist Of the National Association
of Wool Manufacturers, who were
against it. He had been hired 81
New York and sent to Washington
where the sign on his door read
Washington Office, National Asso-
citation Of Wool Manufacturers.
Morris Rossner, Manager"
ROsner showed up at sew.
eral of the hearings, sometimes
distributing "press releases"
and he buttOnhOled statesmen,
telling. them that he was a very
big wool fellow and that this
law would harm the wool IN.
dustry generally. His influence,
if any, was enhanced by the fact
that he was in and out of the
office of Senator Thomas,
member of the committee An