The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-01-01
JOHNSTON DEFENDS
 LOR|MEP REPORT Committee Not Biased By
 Politics
 WERE TWO QUESTIONS Decided First That Lorimer Did Not Bribe and Second That No One Did Sufficient to Influence
 His Election 
WERE TWO QUESTIONS

statement in defense of the action of the sub committee that investigated the bribery charges against Senator Lor inner of Illinois was given out here today by Senator Joseph r. Johnston of Alabama, who is recuperating from slight illness:
 The subcommittee appointed to hear the evidence in the Lorimer case was composed of four republican and three democratic senators. Had any one of the members been inclined to be influenced by political bias, the con ditions did not warrant any such &C., ton for the legislature outgoing and incoming was safely republican, in1 surfing that party a senator, whatever action might be had.
 But two questions were to be in vestigated:
 First, whether Senator Lorimer him. self had engaged in bribery or any corrupt practices to secure his cleo ton, or knew of or sanctioned any such acts. If so. the sub committee were unanimous in agreement that he should be unseated.
 All lHe ueIIlDeTS Ol lue COIlIllltee were unanimous in their conclusions that testimony failed to show the fact that Senator Lorimer was himself gull ty of bribery or any corrupt practices, or that he sanctioned, or was cognizant of the fact That bribery or any cor rupt practices. were being used by oth- CTS to influence votes for him.
 "The only other question was wheth- CT the proof showed that enough votes of the members of the legislature vot- ing for Senator Lorimer were bribed or influenced by corrupt practices or promises so that, deducting such votes from the total cast for him, his vote would fall below that required by the constitution to elect.
 Upon this point all of the sub-com- mttee were of the opinion that the proof failed to show that he was not elect ed, except one, Senator Frazier, whose conclusion was that four members of the legislature were paid money for voting for Senator Lorimer, or in con sequence of having voted for him. that one state senator and three representa- tives admitted under oath that they were paid money and the senator was satisfied that such payments were as bribe. Or in consequence of having voted for Senator Lorimer, that these four self-confessed bribe-t takers impli- cate three other members who voted for Senator Lorimer as the persons who bribed them; that If these seven votes were eliminated from Senator Lorimers vote he received less than majority of the votes cast.
 "We think the senator erred in his conclusions even if we accept his fnd- ings of facts.
 "A qourum of each house was pres ent and the vote cast when Senator Lorimer was elected was. for Stringer and Hopkins together, 94 votes; for Lorimer, 108. If seven corrupt votes were cast for Senator Lorimer and ex- cluded from his vote, then it would stand Lorimer 101, all others 94. In order to defeat Lorimer the whole seven votes must be added to the votes cast for Stringer and Hopkins. The confessed bribe-takers were Represen- tatives White, Beckemeyer and Link and Senator Holstlaw. If their con- tradicted admissions or confessions are to be accepted as true there is no req
  should not be.
 "Beckemeyer, Link and Holtsaw each testified that they voted for Lorimer as a choice between republicans, Stringer (democrat) having no chance of election, and that they did so vote for Lorimer without any reward or promise of reward, that they subsequently, received the money which had never been promised. We, therefore, are unable to find any testi- ta cbo that they would have voted for either Stringer or Hopkins and were induced corruptly to vote for Lorimer The sen- ator also decides that the Broderick vote should be counted for Stringer or Hop kins when Broderick not only denied un- der oath that he had bribed Holtslaw, or had paid him any money, but that he himself was anxious to v0te for Lorimer for personal reasons.
 "O'Neil Brown and Wilson, the other alleged bribe s.givers, denied under oath that they had paid any money to the three confessed bribe takers, or had even received or been promised any money themselves to vote for lorimer, but swore that they had voluntarily voted for him that three alleged bribers and three al- legged bribe takers denied that they would have voted as the senator counts them in his conclusion
 ''Even if these seven men, including White. should be excluded from the count, Lorimer was elected, for that would have left him 101 votes against total of 9l for Stringer and Hopkins.
 Browne was indicted for his connec- tion with this bribery and acquitted and reelected to the legislature after the trial.
 "The full committee on privileges and elections consists of 12 members, seven of these composed the subcommittee.