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"It was not made for that purpose," Mr. Burke smiled, ". . . but there is no merit in emulating the ostrich. ... I don't intend to be deterred from bringing out in the open every influence that will be brought to bear." "Bring it out then," roared Mr. O'Mahoney. "Don't hint at it. Who was the man?" With difficulty order was restored, but the quarrel broke out again after the hear ing, for the benefit of spectators who had not yet departed. Similar charges of Administration pressure were made by Senator Burton K. Wheeler of Montana :
"Evidence of the Attorney General's strategy on this issue is revealed by the activity of the hired help he sends daily to the Capitol with instructions to be conveyed to members of the Senate Judiciary Committee."
The press assumed that the Attorney General's "hired help was his Assistant Attorney General Joseph B. Keenan, who has been acting as the President's lobbyist. One who did openly name Mr. Keenan was the Senate's recalcitrant "baby" mem ber, Rush Holt, who said, "For 14 months I was not even consulted about appoint ments in my State. I got nothing, not even a janitor. Immediately after the President submitted his Court proposal I was called by a high official . . . Judge Keenan of the Department of Justice. He very generously wanted to know if I was interested in suggesting some one for a Federal judge in West Virginia. ... He did not say T am going to give you a judge for your vote.' I hope he did not think I was that dumb, but I knew what he meant and he knew I knew."
The U. S. Senate was wrarming up for the best scrap in a decade.