Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-01-25
REJECTS THE RUM0R
Senator Pawter on Executive
Interference With Congress.
DEFENDS LORIMER'S TITLE
Scouts Report That President Is Us.
ing influence Adversely.
DEN0UNCES METHODS USED
Scores Means Employed by District
Attorneys Office to Obtain Evil
dence as Abhorrent.
DENoUNCEs METHODS USED


mer's election, gave attention to the
Presidents reported attitude. 1t was the
first time that the Presidents interest in
the debate on the floor Of the Senate. His
speech was interpreted as hint to the
President to keep out.
Mentioning reports that President Taft
was using his personal, not his oficial,
influence against Mr.. Lorimer, Senator
Paynter remarked
the two kinds OF influence can be sep
arated or associated. Evidently. the
newspapers were trying to show that the
President was simply trying, by appeals
to unseat Mr.. Lorimer, but was not
threatening to separate senators from
official favors.
Il resent the imputation against the
President. have had an exalted opinion
OF his character, and have believed that
he has chosen wisely in many OF his
selections for judicial positions. He has
been judge and knows the rights and
liberties OF the people are only safe with
an honest and Independent judiciary. On
the day preceding his second inaugura-
tion. the lamented Mckinley said to me
that an honest and independent judiciary
was the sheet anchor of our liberties.
Powers Of Government Divided.
''The President is a great lawyer and
knows that the Constitution divides out
government into branches and that it was
intended that ono branch should not in
wade the province Of another. The Presi-
dent knows that tho Senate is made the
Judge Of the election Of its members;
therefore the Constitution denies to the
executive and judicial branches OF the
government the right to determine who is
entitled to seat in this body. Certainly
the President would not attempt to vio-
late the spirit. II not the letter Of the Con-
stitution. which he has promised to obey.
Surely he does not want to do that.
Think OF what spectacle would be
dent clothed with his great office, with
important Offices to be distributed among
his party friends. consequently with the
power to give or withhold them, en-
deavoring to control their judgment in a
matter OF purely judicial character.
For the President to do SO would be far
more harmful to the country than 1t
would be to permit an unworthy person
to remain a member of this body. What
horrible thought it is that the President
Went to his will on determining judicial
How cal.mitos and humiliating it
would be should he succeed. Such con-
mariner who would cast his compass and
chart to the sea and trust the pillows to
bring him safe to shore.
Effect Of a Precedent.
''rhink Of the effect of such course
and the demands that would be made on
him In the future in important cases that
are certain to arise. The Standard Oil
Company and the American Tobacco Com
pany's cases are now pending in the Su-
preme Court. 1t would be said to the
President, you advised the Senate what
to do with Mr. Lorimer. and as the
Standard Oil Company and the American
Tobacco Company are said to be great
trusts you should tell the Supreme Court
what its judgment should be in these
cases.
Il protest that it cannot be possible
that the President has used his exalted
position to the unworthy and unjuetifiable
purpose of making the judgment OF sena-
tors subservient to his will"
Calls It "Hysterical Crusade"
Senator Paynter referred to the public
demand, as voiced in newspapers, for the
unseating OF Mr.. Lorimer, as q 'hysteri-
cal crusade and urged that the Senate
stand against 1t.
IF the Senate should yield to the clam
orous demand of part Of the newspapers
OF the country and make Mr.. LOrimer a
victim of a hysterical crusade against
him." Mr.. Paynter said, then we have
entered, without chart or compass. upon
a sea Of trouble shOreless and bot
tomless. l am unwilling to make such
q voyage
II every man, woman and child in
Kentucky, the state he represents, were
convinced that he should vote against
I limo ln no1 1,n
do 1t. The question Is not a political one,
he maintained, but judicial one; and
he argued that a judicial determination
Of 1t led him to vote for Mr.. Lorimer
Senator Paynter devoted much tine to
a review Of the evidence and to the law
that has been held applicable to the
case. And as he discussed the alleged
confessions obtained from some of the
Illinois legislators, he took a fling at the
district attorneys Office connected with
stream OF justice was contaminated by
the district attorneys Office
Denounces Method Employed.
THE legitimate inference" he said,
lis that the district attorneys office
was to and did use all the power Of
the state of Illinois to obtain evidence
to support Whites story and convict
Mr.. Lorimer. The method that was
employed by the district attorneys Of
fee to obtain evidence for that purpose
Is abhorrent to a mind that believes
that confessions should be voluntarily
made and that confessions not SO made
are of little value as evidence. The
stream Of justice as II flowed through
the court in Chicago where Link, Beck
emeyer and Sheppard testified was con-
taminated by the district attorneys Of
flee. Without further comment on this
phase of the case, I submit that the
senators who have heard or read Links
and Shephards uncontradicted state
ments cannot and will not approve the
method by which the alleged confess
sions were obtained and that their evil
Dental character is infinitesimal. II not
worthless.
There Is not court in Christendom
with intelligence. honesty and courage
that could Be induced. dashed though 1t
might be by public clamor. to adtudge
that the parties named Drown. Wilson
and otherN had been proven guilty of
he declared.
Senator Paynter agreed with the view
taken by Senator Gamble couple of
days ago, in the counting Of tainted votes.
If the views of the minority are true
that eleven tainted votes were cast for
Mr. I.orimer. he commended. Mr.. Lorimer
still had majority of all of the good
votes cast in the election. Not only
should the eleven tainted votes be taken
away from the total cast for Mr.. Lori
mer but also from the total votes cast