The potters herald. [volume] (East Liverpool, Ohio) 1899-1982, 1950-11-02
House Lobby Committee To
Recommend Change In Law

Washington (LPA)-Let lobby
lists keep on lobbying, but brint
them out into the open. That's thu
burden of the Interim Report Of
the House Select Committee or
Lobbying Activities, which held ex
haustive and sometimes dramatic
hearings last spring and summer
on lobby techniques and practices
To this end, the committee maj.
ority said it would recommend
changes in the Regulation of Lob
bying Act to eliminate the misun'
derstandings and misconstructions
which have hampered its operation
The act was passed in 1916, and the
lobby probers had amply opportun-
ity to study its weaknesses as re-
vealed over a four-year period.
In view of the explosive quality
of the material unearthed by the
committee in 10 months of research
and hearings, the interim report is
a remarkably restrained document,
in which all points are blunted
Nevertheless, only the four-man
Democratic majority of the COM
mittee signed the report. The
three-man Republican minority re-
fused, reserving the right to sub
nit a minority opinion.
Democratic members are Frank
Buchanan, chairman, of Pennsyl-
vania, Henderson Lanham of Geor-
gia, Carl Albert of Oklahoma, and
Clyde Doyle of California. Repub-
licans are Clarence Brown of Ohio,
Charlie Halleck of Indiana and
Joseph O'Hara of Minnesota. Dur
ing open hearings, Brown and Hal
leck spent most of their time be-
laboring liberal witnesses and pro-
tecting reactionaries. In general,
liberal witnesses cooperated will
ingly with the probers.
The Democratic majority leveled
their heaviest fire at Congressman
who permit lobbies to use their free
postage privilege indiscriminately.
Principal target of this criticism
was Rep. Ralph Gwinn, Republican
reactionary from New York's rich
Westchester County. However,
Gwinn's name was not mentioned
in this connection. Testimony be-
fore the committee had revealed
that Gwinn allowed his postage
frank" to be used on upward of
100000 pieces of mail sent out
by the Committee for Constitution
al Government, top anti-labor, anti
Fair Deal lobby headed by Edward
A. Rumely. The cog used franks
of other Congressman for another
100000 pieces.
Said the majority report: "1t is
unlawful for Congressman or Gov
ernment officials to lend the frank
or permit its use by any commit
tee, organization or association.
. Furthermore the criminal
code provides for fine Of $500 in
the case of any person who makes
use of any official envelope to
avoid the payment of postage :
Yet the Committee for Constitu-
tional Government obtains mass
distribution of various materials
through the use Of congressional
franks. . :"
1t is useful and entirely pro-
per" for member of Congress to
use his frank on material sent to
his own constituents, the lobby
probers concluded. However, by
letting lobby groups use their
franks indiscriminately some mem
bers have failed to abide by this
or any comparable standard" and
have, in effect, granted certain
groups a "veiled subsidy" the
probers declared.
The Committee for Constitution
al Government came in for pretty
thorough going over despite the re-
ports tone of restraint. Presum-
ably il was the majority attitude
toward the Cog which the COP
minority disliked about the report