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Show LOBBY CHARGES l TO BE jNVESTIGATEB Affidavit From Washington Arouses Idaho Senate to Take Action. Special to The Tribune. BOISE, Idaho, Fefb. 16. The Idaho legislature today ordered an investigation investiga-tion into the charge that a lobby was maintained here by the Japanese Society of Idaho through E. M. Booth, a Twin Falls attorney, to bring about the defeat of the anti-alien bill, which passed the house ami was killed in the senate after the Japanese government protested Its passage through its ambassador at Washington. Wash-ington. The state affairs committee of the senate, of which Senator Perry W. Mitchell of Iewis county, president pro tern., is chairman, was instructed to forthwith Issue subpoenas to bring Booth and others who could throw light on the matter before it and to proceed to conduct con-duct an open hearing. The sheriff of Twin Falls was telegraphed to serve the . subpoena on Booth. j The senate has also issued subpoenas to Wilbur Craig, H. H. Rankin, E. H. 1 Hasbrouck and W. Winchell, all prominent promi-nent Idaho men, who filed affidavits with the state department at Washington alleging al-leging that Booth told that he had brought pressure to bear on the Japanese ambassador, with the result that that official of-ficial later registered his protest with the government against the passage of the anti-alien bill. Booth, they claim, asserted as-serted he was acting for and on behalf of Samuel Herrlck, a prominent Washington Wash-ington attorney. While the bill was pending before the legislature. Booth Is claimed to have kept in direct communication with Washington Washing-ton over the long-distance telephone, paying heavy telephone charges. While direct charges have not been made, a $10,000 attorney fee is claimed to be involved. in-volved. The affidavit further sets forth that the Japanese ambassador had no intention in-tention of taking any action in the matter mat-ter at the time until forced to do so by Booth; that he had no instructions from Tokio to act in the matter of protesting against the passage of the bill. The house of representatives passed the anti-alien bill on January 27 by unanl- ! mous vote. It was admitted on the floor that the purpose was to prevent Japanese Jap-anese from acquiring title to valuable sugar beet lands in eastern Idaho, where they were colonizing. After the bill reached the senate, the International crisis with Germany came on and a pro-J test was made at Washington by the Japanese ambassador against passage of the measure. This had the backing of administration officials and for fear of embarrassing the administration the bill was indefinitely postponed. It is to be reintroduced, claim legislators Interested In its passage. In the meantime the senate will probe into the charge of the alleged looby maintained to defeat It. The legislature found on convening today to-day that it had not legally passed the Portneuf county division bill Thursday, for at the time the vote was taken in the senate, reconsidering the vote by which the bill was killed and which "resulted afterwards in its passage, the bill was hi the hands of the house 3nd not before the senate. Lieutenant Governor Parker held, therefore, that the passage of the bill was null and void, following a heated debate. Senator Cummings will reintroduce rein-troduce the bill in the senate Saturday. It had previously passed the house. Among the bills introduced was a measure meas-ure extending the provisions of the nepotism act so as to include school, drainage and irrigation district employees; em-ployees; an antl-strlke measure, by Walker, making it a misdemeanor for two or more persons to conspire to quit work; and a bill, by Atherton, requiring requir-ing that the Bible be read In the public schools. The house pussed the I.ehrbas bill, making the pocatello national forest j a game preserve. A bill was introduced i to create the county of Clark out of Fre- I mont county. |