Mr. Smith Goes To Washington Page #42

CHAIRMAN:

What proposition?

ALLEN:

Why--a deal for those two hundred

acres. 'Course, at the time, I didn't

know about his appointment to the

Senate--or anything like that--

A SENATOR:

Did he say what he wanted those two

hundred acres for?

ALLEN:

No. He wouldn't tell me at the time.

He just made me this proposition.

Said he had a great chance to sell

that land for about five hundred an

acre. If I'd deed it to him for six

months, he'd try to turn it over and

split what he got for it. I had

nothing to lose. I'd be glad to sell

for twenty-five an acre. So we set

it up like this. I deeded him the

land--and *he gave me* a contract

guaranteeing me half what he got if

he made the sale. Sounded kinda fishy

at the time--and when I heard about

his camp bill I knew there was some

dirty business going on and I went

right to Governor Hopper with the

whole story--

CHAIRMAN:

Have you got that contract, Mr. Allen?

ALLEN:

(going into his pocket)

You don't think that land would be

in his name if I didn't have, do

you?

Now Hubert Hopper is on the stand--perspired and anxious.

HUBERT:

--frankly, gentlemen--the morning

Mr. Kenneth Allen burst into my office

bringing proof that Jefferson Smith

had bought that land--well, frankly,

I--I was dumbfounded! Jefferson Smith--

of all people! *Never* was a chief

executive so--so *betrayed* in his

child like trust in man! To think

that--

CHAIRMAN:

(interrupting wearily)

Pardon me, Governor. We're interested

in certain facts at the moment. What

did you do when Mr. Allen brought

this matter to your attention?

HUBERT:

I consulted at once with the Head of

the Department of Records--Arthur

Kim.

Now Arthur Kim is on the witness stand--a smooth, shifty,

careful guy.

CHAIRMAN:

Mr. Kim--do you remember recording

this deed?

KIM:

(with copy of the

deed in his hands)

Yes, on the date set forth here, Mr.

Kenneth Allen came before me to record

this deed--setting over these two

hundred acres in the name of Jefferson

Smith--

A SENATOR:

Let me understand. Mr. Smith did

*not* appear before you?

KIM:

No, sir. That is not required by our

state law--

Now Senator Paine is talking to the Committee with apparent

difficulty--and reluctance.

PAINE:

This is a very painful duty for me.

This boy is the son of my very best

friend. I sponsored him in the Senate.

I helped him frame his Bill and the

day he presented it I went over to

congratulate him but I pointed out

that a dam was already going up on

the very site he had chosen for his

camp. There are hundreds of equally

good camp sites nearby and so I

suggested he choose another. He became

furious. He said, "Move the dam." I

was amazed at his violent reaction.

I couldn't understand it, until the

evidence came to me that he owned

those very two hundred acres and, as

you have heard, had carefully made

plans to make an enormous profit out

of the nickels and dimes scraped

together by the boys of this country.

Faced with that and regardless of my

personal feelings for the boy, my

sense of duty told me that his

expulsion from the Senate was the

only possible answer.

Then Jeff is on the stand--grim, determined, while the

chairman holds the deed and contract.

CHAIRMAN:

(strongly)

--what possible explanation can you

offer for this charge being--as you

say--"trumped up" against you!

JEFFERSON:

(firmly)

It was done to stop me from talking

about a section of the Appropriations

Bill!

CHAIRMAN:

It was?

JEFFERSON:

Yes! This was how I could be put out

of the Senate and out of the way!

They even *promised* me that if I--

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