The Wilson times. [volume] (Wilson, N.C.) 1896-19??, 1911-02-24

REPLIES
DENIES In FOUR HOUR SPEECH
CHARGES OF BRIBERY. STORY
FILLED WITH INTEREST
HE MAY BE RSEATED

Washington, Feb. 23.-William Lori
mer. of Illinois, yesterday in person
made his defense against the charge
that his election to the Senate of the
United States was accomplished by
the bribery and corruption of the
Legislature of the State of Illinois.
His defense was a general and en-
phatic denial, delivered with more
than ordinary eloquence and fervor.
There was no vote yesterday Imme-
diately upon the conclusion of Lori
mer's speech the Senate went into
executive session on the Japanese
treaty. and the answer to the Lorimer
speech, which Senator Beveridge was
prepared to make, went over until
today. Nobody knows when vote
will be reached.
With almost every Senator in his
seat, and in the presence of a great
crowd of members of the House of
Representatives on the Senate floor
and of spectators in the densely pack
ed galleries, he made a speech of
four hours duration, and even his
bitterest opponents admitted that It
was a very able, we'll sustained and
Of dramatic utterance.
Some of those who heard the
speech and who have been in and
| about the Senate for many years,
said that there never had been any
| thing just like it.
A Human Interest Story.
Mr.. Lorimer's speech was distinctly
human interest story" More than
once there were evidences that the
| speech was moving some of his hear
ers to tears.
What effect, if any, the speech will
| have upon the vote in the Senate IL
| IS. of course, impossible to say. The
| general impression about the Capitol
last night was that Mr. Lorimer and
his friends have safely pledged ihe
votes with which to defeat the reso-
tuition which would declare his seat
vacant and that if the matter comes
to a vote the result will be a Lorimer
| victory.
it is not impossible that Lorimer's
opponents may be able to prevent the
matter coming 20 a vote at all before
| adjournment. 1t was said that this
was in fact the plan which the anti
I4orimer people would try to carry
Out
During the more than four hours
that Mr.. I4orimer occupied the floor
he reviewed practically all the
charges which have been made
against himself.
He took up in turn the approbious
inferences drawn from his intimacy
with Speaker Surtleff and Lee O'Neill
Browne. his attendance upon the ses-
sions of the Illinois legislature and
MS presence Ill OuuTllSH IOOUuS, ule
dertaking to show that in each in
stance his course had been natural
and in the line of the performances
of other public men under like cir
cumstances.
He explained his Democratic sup
port on the grounds of long standing
personal friendships for himself and
of antipathy for Senator Hopkins, who
was his principal antagonist in the
Senatorial contest.
| In the former connection he related
more than one story going to show at
tachments running over many years.
This portion Of the address appealed
strongly to the feelings of Senators,
but when Senator Crawford intimated
that the Illinois Senator was making
a bid for sympathy he resented the
imputation and turned the question to
his own advantage by declaring that
his only purpose was to set before
| the Senate the truth. 1t was not a
matter of sympathy, he said, but OF
right and wrong.