American

If Republican big shots like James Watt can collect $400,000 for a few phone calls to HUD, why shouldn't a member of the Republican Senatorial Inner Circle get a few thousand for lobbying top officials face to face? That may have been the reasoning of Larry R. Smith, a Harrisburg, Ill., free-lance writer who received an invitation from George Bush to join the circle and submitted a $1,000 membership fee.

In a follow-up letter from retired Senator Howard Baker, Smith was promised a chance to "talk one on one with some of the most important people in government" at Washington briefings last week.

Smith cited the letters when he offered to use his influence on behalf of at least four corporations, for fees ranging from $1,000 to $4,000. He did not mention that fully 50,000 people had been asked to join the circle in a fund- raising gimmick. After the Washington Post reported Smith's caper, the National Republican Senatorial Committee canceled his circle membership and returned his $1,000. This Mr. Smith did not go to Washington.