Investigation

"At last," said observers in Washington last week, "the Democrats seem to have got on the trail of a real issue." In a way it came about quite casually.

Senator Joseph T. Robinson of Arkansas, the Democratic leader, in introducing a resolution for an investigation of the Tariff Commission had made some remarks in Congress, saying that the Tariff Commission had been "packed" by President Coolidge, that to the seats on the Commission which are reserved for Democrats he had named high-tariff advocates who were only nominal Democrats.

One of the Democrats on the Commission, Henry H. Glassie of the District of Columbia, wrote to Senator Robinson protesting: "Any statement that I am a nominal Democrat or an advocate of high protective tariff rates is not true." He went on to say that the minutes of the Commission would clear him of the charge: "It needs only a word from Congress to make these minutes accessible to all.... In justice not only to myself but to other members of the Commission, an immediate and thorough investigation should be made."

The appropriate committee to undertake the investigation was the Senate Finance Committee headed by Senator Smoot of Utah. Senator Smoot expressed himself as willing to have Mr. Robinson's resolution for an investigation by the Finance Committee adopted. In fact Senator Smoot at once presented a resolution, which was adopted, calling on the Tariff Commission for its minutes from 1922 to 1926.

Two days later Senator Robinson called up his resolution for the actual investigation. Then things began to happen. Senator King of Utah, Mr. Smoot's Democratic colleague, proposed that the investigation should be taken out of the hands of the Finance Committee with its regular Republican majority and should be given to a special committee of five composed of two regular Republicans, one Progressive Republican and two Democrats. This arrangement, with one Progressive and two Democrats, would give the committee an unsympathetic majority which would change the complexion of the inquiry. Senator Bingham on behalf of the regular Republicans protested, saying that there was no official determination of who are Progressive Republicans. Senator Robinson retorted: "There is not the slightest difficulty about that. If the Senator from Connecticut thinks the Chair has not sufficient intelligence to determine who are Progressive Republicans, I would be willing to furnish a list."

When the question came to a vote the King proposal was adopted, 49 to 21, by a coalition of Democrats and Progressive Republicans.

A second amendment was proposed by Senator Norris of Nebraska. He charged that the President had exerted pressure on the Tariff Commissioners; that in the case of David J. Lewis, who was appointed from Maryland, President Coolidge had demanded his resignation in advance so as to be able to oust him if he voted against the President's wishes. Senator Norris also spoke of onetime Commissioner Culbertson, now Minister to Roumania: "Culbertson had on the one hand a threat held out against him that he was perhaps going to be removed from office because it was claimed that he had violated the law. On the other hand were various positions dangling in his face with no other purpose, I believe, than to influence his official action on the Tariff Commission. He finally did accept an appointment. It has always been a question in my mind whether he did not yield to temptation."

By vote of 38 to 30 Senator Norris got inserted in the resolution a sentence ordering: "The committee shall also investigate the appointments of members of said commission and report to the Senate whether any attempt has been made to influence the official action of members of said commission by any official of the government or other person or persons, and if so, what were the means or methods so used."

By this time the resolution had become a far more dangerous thing to the Republicans than the original resolution to which Senator Smoot had agreed. But the temper of the Senate was apparent from the votes on the King and the Norris amendments, and the Republicans allowed the resolution to be passed viva voce.

The next important matter was the appointing of the investigating committee. This the resolution had placed in the hands of the Vice President. It was considered a ticklish problem and it was freely predicted that Mr. Dawes would seek advice from the regular Republicans. He did not. The next day he announced his selection: Regular Republicans, Wadsworth of New York and Reed of Pennsylvania; Progressive Republican," LaFollette of Wisconsin; Democrats, Robinson of Arkansas and Bruce of Maryland. The two regular Republicans are considered among the abler young Republicans. LaFollette is indubitably Progressive; in fact he is the only Republican in the Senate who officially describes himself as such. Senator Joseph T. Robinson is the Democratic leader. Senator Bruce is a Democrat, but what might be called an independent Conservative Democrat. He has frequently voted with the Republicans and against the Democrats on such questions as taxation, the investigation of the Aluminum Co. of America, etc. However, he had declared himself for a thorough investigation of the Tariff Commission.

It is noteworthy that with the exception of Mr. Robinson the committeemen are all young men or new Senators. The famed Democratic fighting investigators, Walsh and Wheeler, and others such as Reed of Missouri are absent. The most radical of the group is young LaFollette, but he is young and inexperienced in such investigations. On the whole it does not seem to be a committee of great talkers, sensational debaters or bitter prosecutors.