The potters herald. [volume] (East Liverpool, Ohio) 1899-1982, 1950-11-02

When Rumely appeared before the
committee and refused under sub
poena to identify his wealthy corp
crate hackers, it was Republicans
Halleck and Brown who defended
his stand. Later the Republicans
declined to approve contempt
citation against Rumely. However
the House finally voted Rumely in
contempt of Congress and the CCG
head now awaits trial in federal
court.
Rumely's refusal was based on
his insistence that his top corpor-
ate hackers were not contributors
to the Committee for Constitutions
al Government but were "purchas-
ers" of Cog literature for distri-
button to schools, coll e re 5,
churches, business groups and
others. The Cog was a publishing
house, he said, and a request for
the names of purchasers was vio-
lation of the First Amendment to
the Constitution. His claim was
wanting in substance" the lobby
investigators wrote in their report.
(The CCG's chief piece of litera-
ture this year is "The Road Ahead
by John T. Flynn, psychopathic
assault on the Fair Deal, the New
Deal, labor unions and the British
Labor Government. Corporations
or wealthy individuals are induced
to buy thousands of copies for mass
distribution.)
The Lobby Regulation Act re-
qures that the names of all contri-
butors of $500 or more to lobby
group be listed for public refer
ence. Rumely has gotten around
this; investigation showed, by limit
ing contributions" to $49O. Larger
checks are credited against book
sales. Nevertheless, the Buchanan
Committee learned who some of
his chief hackers have been by
questioning corporations and in
vestigating interlocking 20 b b y
groups. Among the CCG's support
ers: such companies as Armco
Steel ($29, 500 in three years in
cluding donations to Cog affili-
ate, Americas Future); Beech Air
craft; Celanese Corp; Cities Ser
vice Co.; Fruehauf Trailer Co.;
Montana Power Co.; Northern Pac-
ific Railway; Republic Steel and a
host of others.
Other organizations which were
found to be doing much the same
thing as the Committee for Consti-
tutional Government were the
Foundation for Economic Education
mot registered as a lobby and
Merwin X. Hart's National Econ
omic Council. Moreover, the Buch-
anan Committee found that these
organizations had many supporters
in common, that they exchanged
literature and that their executive
heads frequently consulted each
other. The Congressional group did
not question their right to distri-
butte literature expounding their
point of view or to attempt to in
fluence legislation by other means.
But it thought that the law should
be amended so that such lobbying
would be completely in the open,
instead of largely hidden as Rum
ely's activities have been.
Coming in for special treatment
by the other lobby probers was the
National Association of Real Es-
tate Boards and other members of
the "Real Estate Lobby" In their
efforts to eliminate rent control
and Kill public housing members of
the real estate lobby pioneered
many techniques aimed at the vot-
ers back home as much as at legis-
lators in Washington or state cap
itals. The investigation led to the
conclusion that this grass roots"
lobbying, designed to influence
Congress by changing public opin-
ion, was the great development in