Evening Star Newspaper, July 11, 1935, Page 3

SENATORS ATTACK GOLD CLAUSE BILL Cummings Upholds View Legislation Is Vital, but Committee Hostile. By the Associated Press. Attorney General Cummings ran Into hostile comment today in advo- cating Senate committee approval of the administration bill to close the gaps left by the Supreme Court gold- clause decision. Suggestions of “repudiation” and “broken promises” were made by half a dozen committee members, includ- ing two former Treasury Secretaries— Senators Glass, Democrat, of Virginia, and McAdoo, Democrat, of California. The Attorney General smilingly up- held the question involved on grounds the monetary policy was “in the pub- lic interest.” The proposed legislation would close the courts to damage suits from hold- ers of Government gold-clause obliga- tions. Franklin W. Fort, Newark banker, told a House committee, meanwhile, that the legislation would “shake the United States’ credit.” It would, he said, delegate executive branch of the Government an absolute power to interpret the laws of Congress relating to its bonds, with- out supervision or control, save through impeachment.” A former Republican member of Congress, Fort also headed the Fed- eral Home loan Bank Board under former President Hoover. i Loi)bv i (Continued Prom First Page.) R the holding company bill, the Senator said “This course of action is my an- swer to any statement or ‘uggesuom I have been influenced in my action.” Mr. Brewster, to my knowledge, never sought to influence me,” he declared. Corcoran denied again that there was any trade in his telling Brewster it would be “helpful” if he talked to White regarding the bill when the| legislation was in the Senate. Pressed by Lehlbach. he said he might have mentioned the advis- ability of White's not voting on the question. Previously he had testified it was Brewster who first proposed seeing White, and that Chairman | Wheeler of the Senate Interstate | Commerce Committee thought it would be all right for Corcoran to ac- cept Brewster's’ offer to help with ‘White. Telephone Calls Paid For. Lehlbach also questioned Corcoran | closely about two telephone calls to Brewster, one from the Maine Repre- sentative's office and an earlier one | from the office of Chairman Rayburn | of the House Interstate Commerce | Committee. Corcoran explained he paid for the one from Rayburn's office and that the other would be on Brewster’s bill. “I have found it takes so damn long to get reimbursement around here for anything from the Government that it is better to pay for a phone call myself,” he said. Representative Cooper, of Ohio, a member of the House In- terstate Commerce Committee op- posed to the abolition clause, testified he saw Corcoran in the Speaker's lobby the day the bill came up in the House. He said Corcoran and two other young men were putting up a chart in the lobby. which Rayburn used in his floor speech. Power Lobbyists Present. Cooper told Representative Cox, Democrat, of Georgia, there was no question that power company repre- sentatives were around the House dur- ing consideration of the bill, “but they weren't in the Speaker’s lobby.” Chairman O’Connor said all mem- bers were being asked to supply the names of any lobbyists they saw around, so the committee could in- vestigate. White testified to two conversations with Brewster, one over the telephone Jjust before the Senate vote on the Dieterich, Democrat, of Illinois, mo- tion to eliminaie the aboliticn pro- vision, After some preliminary words, White said, Brewster askcd how he was going to vote. “I indicated my purpose was to support it (the emendment),” White said. “T said I could not run away from it, “He said that :f that was my at- titude it would be very disappointing to those for whom be spoke. 1 asked him who that was, and he said Cor- coran, who had been helptul on Maine projects. “I told him to tell Corcoran, ‘Noth- ing doing.’ Told to Watch Clock, He Said. Describing the meeting in Sfatuary Hall at the Capitol, attended by Cor- coran, Brewster and himself, Gruening sai “When I came into Statuary Hall, Corcoran said: ‘Brewster is trying to duck this vote. You watch that clock. He will be too late to make a speech.’” When Brewster arrived, Gruening SPECIAL NOTICES. ON_SATURDAY. JULY 27, at Eichberg's Auction. R st il and repairs Nash will_sell for storage coach, motor No. 313310: Chevrolet coach. motor No. 7569 1409 17th _st_n.w. !DOE . ROCK FILL IN CHEVY CHASE. ID G-y free for hauling away Call Cleve- ang ‘WANTED—RETURN LOADS FROM KNOX- ville Tenn.: 'Pittsburgh, Pa.; . Y. and Springfield, Mass. moving. SMITH'S ANSFER STORAGE CO.. 1313 You st. n.w. Phone North_3343. DAILY TRIPS MOVING LOADS AND PART loads to and from Balto, Phila. and New York. Frequent trips to other Eastern cities 1896, THE DAV Dependaple Servlce Since IDSON TRAN: & STORAGE Dhione_Decatur: 2500, SP’!KHAL RETURN-LOAD RATES ON FULL and part loads to all points within 1.000 miles; padded vans; guaranteed service. Loul moving_also. Phone Nltinnll 1460. NAT. DEL. ASSOC. N. Y. ave. REPAIRING. Mantels—Tiling—Fireplaces ELLETT 1108 9th st Nw. National 8731 Reduced Rates to Pacific Coast in our “pool carload” via water from Baltimore, for household goods, luggage, ete. Motor Van Moving, return load rates to and from ter- ritory East of Mississippi. Security Storage Company a safe depository for 45 years at 1140 15th St. (District 40-40.), “to the | Republican, | layed by an automobile accident. “I said: ‘Ralph, I don't see how vou can fail to go through with this | tence. | After further conversation. he quoted Cochran as saying: “I have got to speak with brutal frankness and say that, as far as I/ am concerned. if you are going to run out like this, if your political po- | port, how can we trust you to carry |through your commitments on Quoddy?” “Brewster said. ‘T the matter clarified Enters House to Vote Against. Gruening said he walked away, urging Brewster to support the death sentence, but that he entered the House to vote against it. The hearings not long afterward were adjourned, probably until next | week, when activities of utilities offi- | cials likely will be investigated. Chairman O'Conner said it ap- peared the Brewster-Corcoran angle had been cleared up. He added that definite plans had not been made and that he would call a meeting when | ready. President Roosevelt talked today | with Senator Dieterich, leader of the m glad to have | Senate break against the abolition clause in the utility holding company | regulation bill. llinois Senator Silent. Declining to discuss details, the Ilii- nois Senator described the conversa- | ters.” | Speaker Byrns conferred with Jos- |eph J. Sinnott, House doorkeeper, mitted to the Speaker’s lobby, just off | the House floor, and instructed him to stiffen enforcement of rules against admission of outsiders. Persons not regularly entitled to enter that lobby may do so only upon the order of the Speaker. Asked whether he would have granted Cor- coran permission to enter while the | House was in session, Speaker Byrns vehemently replied: “I would not; neither Corcoran nor anybody else who had no right to be there.” Just before the House voted its | $50,000 for the investigation into lob- | bying for and against the utilities bill | yesterday, Representative Rankin, | Democrat, questioned the fitness of Chairman O'Connor to conduct the inquiry. He suggested O’Connor was out of sympathy with the proposal for mandatory abolition of certain utilities holding companies. House members, in a display of confidence in O’Connor, gave him a standing ovation. Full Inquiry Promised. With his colleagues cheering and applauding, O'Connor walked to the well of the House and said: “We're going into the power lobby. We're going farther and deeper than the gentleman from Mississippi or any other self-appointed champion of the people. “We want to see how much money was spent on entertainment or other- wise. The people are entitled to know.” Corcoran was on the stand for t{wo hours yesterday, denying again and again that he had told Representative Brewster that he would stop work on the Passamaquoddy power project in Maine if Brewster voted against the administration on the utilities bill. Brewster, who called Corcoran a liar Tuesday, sat nearby, saying nothing. Trade With Russia Drops. Austria’s trade with Russia has shown a marked decline this year. Here are three of the principal administration of the Virgin Islands. ‘He said, ‘It isn't clear to me how T | can properly support the death sen- | tion as relating to “purely local mat- | about the fact that Corcoran was ad- | THE EVENING STAR, WASHINGTON, Representative Maury Maverick of Texas and Ben Cohen, brain truster, conferring during the lobby hearing today. said, he explained he had been de- sition in Maine is so delicate and you | must depend on power company sup- | Members of committee listening to the testimony. of Georgia, Smith of Vu'gmm snd It\\ls of Colorado D. C., THURSDAY, Scenes as Knowledge of Utility Coercion Was Denied Justice Ferdinand Pecora of New York and Ernest Gruening, direc- tor of insular possessions, discussing Left to right: the latter’'s testimony. Representatives McSwain of Alabama, Cox -—-Star Staff Photos. Gruening Tells BY G. Dr. unexpected thing when he voted against the “death sentence” clause in the public utility holding company bill; that Brewster's whole earlier course had been against the “power | interests.” plane if necescary, to speak and vote for the holding company bill; that he, Corcoran, had reached the conclusion that Brewster was a “double dealer” and about “to run out on us.” 3. That in the Statuary Hall con- ference, attended by himself, Cor- coran and Brewster. Corcoran had told Brewster he could no longer trust Brewster in connection with the Passamaquoddy Dam. Heard No “Threat.” Dr. Gruening, however, insisted in reply to a question that no “threat” o “promise” had been made in his presence by Corcoran to Brewster, re- lating to Brewster's vote on the hold- ing company bill. “Certainly not,” was the reply of | Dr. Gruenirg when this question was put to him. ‘While Dr. Gruening’s testimony was all to the effect that Brewster had seriously disappointed his friends by his eleventh-hour attitude on the holding company bill, there was, ! nevertheless, running through it a plain implication that Corcoran had been intensely active in seeking to have Brewster on hand to speak and vote for the “death sentence” clause in the holding company bill. That Senator White of Maine had Figures in Virgin Islands Row 1 figures in one of the most heated controversies Washington has known in some time—that developing out of the Senate Territories Committee’s investigation of Gov. Paul Pearson’ This picture, taken at a recent hear- ing, shows Pearson at the left, with Senator Tydings, chairman of the Investigating Committee, in the center, and Secretary Ickes at the right. —Ster Staff Photo. Probe of Brewster Incident 2. That Corcoran had telephoned | him, Gruening, to get Brewster back | to Washington from Maine, by air- | Power Lobby : t 4 GOULD LINCOLN. Ernest Gruening, friend of both Representative Brewster of | of many years' standing, spoke with | Maine and Thomas G. Corcoran, Reconstruction Finance Corp. attorney, and present at the now famous “Statuary Hall Conference” between the | two, testified today in the House lobby investigation: 1. That Brewster had done a to!all/.., | been importuned by Brewster, when the holding company bill was before | the Senate, not to vote against the “death sentence” clause was definitely | | stated by Semator White himself to | the committee today. Polictical Implication Denied. | | The Maine Senator took the stand | {and read a statement that bristled | with indignation, because it had been | suggested earlier in the lmestlgauon,‘ that Brewster had some political hold | over him and could “handle White.” During the course of his testimony | Senator White said: “I assume the committee is not in- terested in Maine politics generally nor in whether I am politically in- debted to Mr. Brewster or he to me, nor in the political influence, if any, which either of us has in our State.” Senator White told the committee that Corcoran had never himself ap- proached him in regard to the hold- ing company bill. But Senator White said that during the afternoon when the death-sentence clause was before { the Senate he had been called to the telephone in the Senate cloak room . by Brewster. “Mr. Brewster asked me how I in- tended to vote on the amendment then before us. (This was the Die- terich amendment killing the death clause.) I indicated my purpose to support it. Mr, Brewster asked if I felt that way about it, if I could not refrain from voting altogther. I re- plied that I could not run away from a vote of such importance. Attitude Held Disappointing. “Mr, Brewster then said, in sub- stance, that my attitude would be disappointing to those for whom he was speaking. I therefore immediately asked the direct question, ‘For whom are you speaking?’ Mr. Brewster re- plied ‘For Mr. Corcoran.’ He then said that Corcoran felt they had been pretty good to Maine, that they had given us Quoddy, and that Mr. Corcoran thought I ought to come through for them (meaning, as I understood, those in the administra- tion who had been friendly to Quoddy) ! on this utility bill. To this I replied, “Tell Corcoran there is nothing doing.’ This concluded the conversation.” Senator White concluded his tes- timony with the following statement: “If Mr. Brewster or any person has asserted control over my action on public matters, I deny the fact of such control and I resent the statement.” Both Brewster and Corcoran earlier in the inquiry testified regarding their attempt to influence Senator White tc refrain from voting against the “death sentence” clause. Corcoran has said that Brewster had volun- teered to deal with White on this matter, in conversation with Senator Wheeler, chairman of the Senate Interstate Commerce Committee. Brewster, who first brought the mat- ter to the attention of the committee, testified that he had been asked by Corcoran to suggest to White that he refrain from voting on the “death sentence” clause. Lehlbach Questions Corcoran. When the hearing opened today Corcoran was on the stand again. Representative Lehlbach of New Jer- sey, Republican member of the com- mittee, questioned him about the Brewster-White incident. “You asked Brewster to ask Senator hite not to vote,” said Represent- ative Lehlbach. Corcoran’s reply was that Brewster had come in and asked whether “we | | would like” to have him speak to Friend of .Spnator and R.F.C. Auornev Senator White. Says Latter Feared “Double Dealing” on Utilities V ote. The fact is apparent, however, that whoever originated the idea an effort | was made to get Senator White not | to vote on the “death sentence” clause. Speaks With Feeling. Dr. Gruening, a friend of Brewster | considerable feeling over the change | of attitude of Mr. Brewster on the holdmg company bill. He said tha |in the Statuary Hall conference he, | Gruening, had opened the conversa- tion urging Brewster to speak and| vote for the “death sentence” clause and he said that Brewster replied: “It isn't clear to me that I can pmperlv vote for the ‘death sentence.’ “1 said,” continued Gruening, am astounded.” Later in the conversation, Gruening said, Brewster had said “it had been my intention not to be present” to vote. Gruening said that he had urged Brewster to go ahead and vote; that it was his duty to his whole past record, that all his friends expected him to support the “death sentence,” and he added “youll be a man with- out a country.” Future Is Questioned. What the effect of all this testi- mony will be on Mr. Brewster's future political career in Maine remains to be seen. It is clear that Dr. Gruening is of the opinion that neither the liberals nor the conservatives will support him in the future. What is going to happen now to the Quoddy project which has been so intimately connected with this inves- tigation is & question. Representative Moran, Democrat, of Maine, told the committee today after he had in- sisted that Brewster had apparently been for the holding company bill from the start, that he had fears for the Quoddy project. Moran said that he considered what had happened at the injuiry an invitation to hostile power interests to bring suits now to halt the Quoddy project. — STATUE OF EAGLE ON HIGHWAY BLASTED Tennessee Dynamiting Occurs on Eve of Legion American- ization Rally. By the Associated Press. @ MONTEAGLE, Tenn., July 11.—A 6-foot statue of an American eagle, placed beside the highway here, was blown up by a charge of dynamite early today. The dynamiting occurred on the eve of an Americanization rally by the Tennessee Department of the Ameri- can Legion here tomorrow, but Legion officials said they knew of no con- nection between the blast and the meeting. The statue was a metal cast of an eagle mounted on a pedestal of con- crete and rock. Turn your old trinkets, jewelry and watches into MONEY at— A.Xahn Jnc. Arthur J. Sundlun, Pres. 43 YEARS at 935 F STREET, JULY 11, 1935. INTERIOR STRIKE PEAGE HOPED FOR U. S. Engineer Optimistic After Parley With Op- posing Sides. Hope for early settlement of dif- ferences between members of the Building Trade Union and the In- dustrial Power Equipment Co. of Bal- timore, which have halted work on air conditioning and installation of new elevators in the Interior Depart- ment Building, was expressed today by John L. Nagle, senior National Park Service engineer, after a two- hour conference of spokesmen for both sides. Representatives of the union, the contractors and the Federal Govern- ment will meet later at a round-table conference in an effort to reach a solution. The Pederal Government led the disputing parties together this morn- ing under chairmanship of Commis- sioner Howard T. Colvin of the Con- ciliation Service of the Department of Labor, and avenues of approach were discussed, Nagle explained. “It looks as if the difficulty will be ironed out,” he said. The strike, which has been on since Monday, occurred when the Indus- trial Power Equipment Co. allegedly brought non-union men on the job. Officials of a number of the trades unions and the contractor have the matter between them, Nagle declared, now that the Government has brought them together. Each side has certain propositions under advisement and will come to- gether later in an effort to reach a mutual agreement. Commissioner Colvin, Nagle, and others interested declined to reveal just exactly what terms are being considered. Present at today's conference were Capt. R. E. York, Assistant Engineer Commissioner of the District; Nagle, W. B. Weathers, president of the In- custrial Equipment Co., and his as- tociate, F. M. Meredith; Arthur L. Schoenthal of the Washington Build- ing Trades Council; J. M. Botts of the Steamfitters Union; John A. Locher, secretary of the Washington Building Trades Council; C. F. Preller, business agent of Electrical Workers Union, No. 26, and Oliver G. Taylor, in charge of engineering work for the National Park Service. Ickes Hil.«; Lobby In Advocating Interior Measure Secretary Tells Senate Committee Desire for Enlarged Service. By the Associated Press. Legislation to transform the Interior Department into an enlarged Depart- ment of Conservation and Works was | advocated by Secretary Ickes today with the assertion that every time such a step is proposed, “The most | active lobby in connection with the | United States Government” gets under way. primarily in the Forest Service. Ickes was testifying before the Sen- ate Public Lands Committee, conduct- ing hearings on the bill by Senator Lewis, Democrat, of Illinois, to pro- vide for the transformed department. Immediately afterward, F. A. Silcox, chief of the Forestry Service of the | Agriculture Department, testified that | the bill constituted a “popular fallacy” | and that it would be likely to lead to great conflict in administration of the Government’s broad conservation ac- | tivities. | In making his “lobby” charge Ickes said an Idaho member of the Forest Service recently sent out form letters requesting that Senators and Fepresentatives be asked to oppose the bill. He asserted “the ghost of former Secretary Fall is raised” whenever such legislation is discussed. By im- had been made “to create a feeling of some kindred spirit between the present Secretary and Mr. Fall” “I resented it,” the Secretary added Opposing concentration of conser- vation activities in the Agriculture Department, Ickes said if that were done they would have to be “carved out again, just as the Agriculture De- partment was carved out of the In- terior Department years ago.” Silcox told the committee Secretary declared “we might just as well estab- lish a Department of Prosperity.” e Finland Aids Farmers. Finland has been aiding its farmers by granting premiums on exported animal foodstuffs. Before Selling Investigate the Prices We Pay for OLD GOLD AND SILVER Jewelry ot lvery desmptlun. brlflle- rotieea ut "the Cash prices Dald by us. (Licensed by U. 8. Govt.) SHAH & SHAH 921 F St. N.W. Phone NA. 5543--We Will Call WHERE TO DINE. TITIISSS IS Friday Special S to 7:30 DEVILED CRAB or VEAL CHOF. G getables. Pot: Vasttarsceich, B Beverage and Dessert. 1734 N St. N.W. GARDEN 1341 Conn. Ave. ‘Enjoy bubbling beverages and your favorite foods at this gay outdoor gathering spot. Luncheon—45c to 55¢ Dinner—75¢, $1.00 _Open 12 Noon to 12 P.M. plication, Ickes continued, an effort | Wallace was opposed to the bill and | ESHRG S LGHTS TR Street lllumination to Be Installed at Once at Cost of $2,000. Special Dispatch to The Star. LEESBURG. Va., July 11.—The contract for installation of improved lighting facilities on Market street, one of Leesburg's principal business sections, kas been let to the General Electric Co., F. L. McFarland, chair- man of the Citizens' Committee co- operating with Town Council in the project, voday announced. Work will start at once, McFarland said. The estimated cost of the project is $2,000. The project was authorized by coun- cil two weeks ago, an ftem of $2,000 having been set up in the 1936 bud- get to take care of the cost. Plans call for the iastallation of 15 orna- mental lights along the street, from the eastern end of the court lawn t4 the Presbyterian Church. McFarland said it was expected the work would be completed within sii weeks. The Virginia Public Servict Co., owning poles along the street, and the Chesapeake & Potomac Tele- phone Co., with wire connections in the area, today were preparing to facilitate the vork. All of Shark Used. Every part of a shark is being utilized in a London factory, the skin becoming leather, the head pro- viding glue, the bones being ground down as a fertilizer, the organs yield- ing oil, and even its teeth being used by jewelers. %@%@?@ / / FE¥ Glass Mocks “Birth Control for Bees” in A.A.A. Amendment By the Assoclated Press. Peppery Senator Glass, Demo- crat, of Virginia, protested in the Senate yesterday he did not want to be sent to jail “because I can’t control the activities of my queen bee.” “We have had an intense cru- sade for birth control among human beings without success,” Glass drawled, “but I note we now propose to confer on the Secretary of Agriculture the right to bring birth control among bees.” Glass was referring to the farm adjustment act amend- ment. As his colleagues laughed, he asked “how the Secretary of Agriculture proposes to control the queen bees.” Senator Bankhead, Democrat, of Alabama, stanch friend of crop control, retorted that the bee sec- tion of the bill applied only to bee marketing. Glass said he hoped Secretary Wallace would be the “handler of these bees.” WAGNER BILL TEST SEEN IN MILWAUKEE Cudahy Company Refuses to Rec- ognize Meat Cutters’ Union as Bargaining Agency. By the Associated Press. MILWAUKEE, July 11.—A test of | the new Wagner labor relations law was expected today by N. S. Clark, | Regional Labor Board director, fol- | lowing refusal of the Cudahy Bros. Co. here to recognize a meat cut- ters’ union as sole bargaining agent for its workers. A formal complaint, charging fail- ure to grant it the rights guaranteed under the act was filed by Meat Cut- ters’ Union Nc. 222, an A. F. of L. affiliate, with the Regional Labor Board. The complaint followed receipt of a letter to the union from George A Billings, Cudahy vice president, say- ing that the meat packers could not in justice to employes who voted against representation by the umonl grant the union exclusive bargaining | rights, thereby in effect coercing in a high-handed manner those men who would remain outside the A. F. of L. | union's representation. i Whether the Wagner law is validly applicable in this case is doubted, the | letter said, in view of the Supreme Court’s recent decision rendering N. | R. A. ineffective. The question of the Wagner act's | validity doubtless will be tested soon, the company said. A THOMPSON'S Buittomitk After a fast game under a broiling July sun—cool off with an ice cold glass of Thompson’s Creamy Butter- milk. 1t's nature’s own re- cipe for Summer pep—for athlete, indoor worker— everybody. Leave Extra Order Card in empty bottle. 14 DOOMED MEN TO GET | HEARING FOR CLEMENCY By the Associated Press. OKLAHOMA CITY, July 11.—Four- teen condemned men in death row at the Oklahoma Penitentiary will be ! given an opportunity to plead per- sonally for clemency before the Par- don and Parole Board next week. i Gov. E. W. Marland has indicated | he will attend the hearing, which | will be the first of its kind in Okla- | homa. “We'll give them a chance to tell | us their own stories,” said Fred Cun- ningham, attorney for the board. 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