The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-12-22
Should Not Believe Those Who Say They Were
 Bribed
|MR. FRAZIER DOES NOT
 AGREE WITH COMMITTEE
Is Not Guilty of Bribery But Oth- CTS Are and Hence Election
 Was Illegal

Washington, December 21.-senator Bur
 rows, chairman of the committee on privileges and elections, today presented 1 to the senate the report of the investiga- l ton of bribery made in connection with William Lorimer. senator from Illinois.
 The conclusion reached by the commit
 tee was as follows:'
 | That in their opinion the title of Mir. | Lorimer to a seat in the Senate has not been shown to be invalid by the use or
 employment of corrupt methods or prac- l tices."
 l Charges that four members of the Illi- nois legislature were bribed and that | three other members paid bribes. are ig-
 nored by the committee. The report de-
 clares that those who confessed receiving bribes should not be believed and that the votes of those who were charged with paying bribes should be counted. In re- lation to the charges that there was a corruption fund used in the Illinois leg islature and it was disbursed by one Rob- ert E. Wilson, the report says there is
 no evidence that it was used for the benefit of Mir Lorimer. The committee I suggests that any investigation of any | such funds should be made by authori- l ties of the state of Illinois.
 The report as presented was not signed | by members of the committee, though 1t did not appear there was any minority. What Bribery Is | Under the head of bribery" the com mittee says
 l "In a number of cases that have been | hafo ha 0f tba I t has been held that to invalidate the
 election of senator on account of brib- cry 1t must be made to appear, either '1. That the person elected participated l in one or more acts of bribery or at | tempted bribery, or sanctioned or encour- | aged the same, or.
 '.2. That by bribery or corrupt practices enough votes were obtained for him to change the result of the election" | Testimony was quoted by the report | to show that at the outset of the in- vestigaton counsel for the Chicago Trib-
 une (who conducted the inquiry against Senator Lorimer) announced that he did not expect to connect Senator Lorimer
 with any acts of bribery.
 Attention is directed to the denial made by Senator Lorimer in the open Senate | of any act of bribery his part in connection with his election and to his demand for an investigation. In that con-
 nection the report quotes the resolution
 after which the following is set forth: Ut should be further stated that there was no testimony offered during the | investigation which would tend in the
 remotest degree to duplicate Senator Lorimer in any personal act of bribery CT attempted bribery or corrupt prac- | tices of any nature"
 The report says that the investiga- ton was chiefly directed to the claim that several members of the legisa- tdre were bribed to vote for MT. Tor inner. and whether If these charges were established, "a sufficient number were bribed to vote for Senator Lori mer to render his election to that of fee invalid"
 Analysed Witnesses The committee says tflat it took into account the demeanor of witnesses while testifying, their apparent candor or want of candor and other indicia of the truth or falsity of the stories they were telling. The report says: -Four members of the general as- sembly which elected MT. Lorimer tes- tified to receiving money as a consid- eration for their votes The members who thus confessed their own infamy were Charles A. White, Michael Link, H. J. c. Beckemeyer and Daniel W. Holtslaw."
 | The report goes on to name Charles A. White, member of the lower house | of the Illinois legislature as the chief | of those self-accusers and the one on whose testimony the whole fabric of
 the accusation largely depends" and
 accuses him directly of corruption throughout his legislative career. ic Sta ha Ia a ta
 have conceived the plan of claiming l to have been bribed in connection with | the senatorial election basis for extorting money from Senator Lori ,ner"
 The conclusion in regard to the tes- .imony of White Is as follows: Tt may be said that after seeing. observing and hearing this witness it was the opinion of a majority of the | committee that no credence ought to ,e given to any part of his testimony tending to establish the fact of | bribery"
 | The report quotes the testimony of Link, Beckemeyer and Holtslaw and comments thereon in part as follows: Bribery Charges Dismissed After careful examination and | consideration of all the evidence sub rlitted the committee is of the opinion | that, even though 1t be conceded that l the four members of the Illinois gen. eral assembly before referred to re- ceived money in consideration for their votes for MT. Lorimer, there are no l facts or circumstances from which It l could be legally inferred that any other l member or members of the said gen- | eral assembly were bribed to vote for 1 MT. Lorimer
 l .The majority for Senator Loriner in the joint assembly of the two houses of tho general assembly of the state of | ,linois was 14. Unless, therefore sufficient number of these votes were obtain by corrupt means to deprive 1 him of this majority, MT. I.orimer has | q good title to the seat he occupies | in the senate. If it were admitted that .four other members of the general as- 1 sembly who voted for MT. Lormcr