Northern Wisconsin advertiser. [volume] (Wabeno, Wis.) 1898-1925, 1911-01-20


committee. The report Of the major
ity of the committee was the kind of
a report which the system senators
desired. 1t would never have been
presented if it was not believed that
1t would be adopted before the holt
day recess.
Lormer Report Obnoxious.
The recess gave time for study and
reflection upon the evidence Every
one who has studied THAI evidence
and approached it with an unbiased
mind has reached the conclusion that
there is no justification for the re-
port. President Taft let 1t be under
stood that the administration could
not stand for the adoption of the re-
port. The attitude of the president
made few of the old liners see the
error of their ways and they let
Aldrtch know they could not vote to
sustain the committee
Senator Beverage concluded his
study of the testimony and prepared
a minority report That report went
to greater length in it's conclusions
than did the summing up of the tesu-
mony made by Senator Frazier. II
was not content with stating that
there was bribery in the Illinois legis-
lature, but 1t went to the extent of
saying that the evidence warrants
the conclusion that Senator Lorimer
had knowledge of what was doing in
the legislature. This Is further than
any other member of the committee,
or Senator Owen in his analysis
OF the testimony, went. Senator Bev-
eridge in his report represented the
views of the Progressive senators.
Senator Borah and Senator La Fol.
lette, who have studied the evidence,
are convinced that the facts disclosed
in the evidence warrant this conclu-
sion and that, instead of making
away from information every time II
was on the trail of real evidence.
Argument for Direct Election.
From appearances the Lorimer re-
port cannot be adopted in the senate.
1t Is certain If vote can be had upon
Lorimer seat vacant a majority of the
senate will go on record to vacate the
seat. A motion to expel will not carry,
because such a motion requires a two
thirds vote and it is not possible to
get such a number of senators to SO
record themselves.
The Lorimer controversy Is loaded
with great consequences. Nothing
which has come up in the senate in re-
cent years furnished the Progressives
with such a powerful argument for
the direct election Of senators. Sen
ator Aldrich is credited with a desire
to have the matter referred back to
the committee. From the reactiOnary
viewpoint a great mistake was made
in ever letting it get out Of the COM
nittee.
The Progressives will join Senator
Burrows in a fight against recommtt-
ment. They will join Senator Bever-
idge in an effort to have the Lorimer
seat declared vacant. In this they
will not have the support of all the
Democrats, but they will be joined by
a number of Republicans not in any
sense Progressives.
The longer the LOrimer discussion
continues the better the Progressives
will like it, not only for its campaign
influence upon the country but be-
cause it will serve good purpose in
the senate The Gallinger ship sub
sidy bill is the unfinished business. 1t
will be fought by the Progressives. So
long as the senate Is discussing Lori
mers case it will not have time TO
take up ship subsidy.
Norris Proposes Two Changes.
While the senate has the center Of
the stage with the big issue, the house
Progressives are preparing for the
fight which they must make in order
to nail down the victory won in the
last session. Uncle Joe and his or
ganization have monopolized calender
Wednesday and suspension day by
ridiculous rulings, one being that
when a bill is taken up it must be
read at length Mr.. Norris of Nebras-
ka proposes that the rule be changed
so as to permit of reading a bill by
title.
More important is the other change
proposed by Norris, which is to the
effect that there shall be no executive
sessions of any committee of the
house and that a record be kept and
published of the proceedings of all
committee meetings. This cuts deep
into the systems hold upon legisla-
ton. The executive session of COM
mittees is the cloak which enables
the putting over of deals by which
the public is kept out of its rig:ts.
1t will be two or three weeks before
the fight will come upon these amend
ments to the rules, but it is the inten-
ton to force the fight and make the
rules as nearly right as possible at this
session. The votes upon this Norris
resolution will give another opportun-
ity to separate the sheep from the
goats in the Democratic as we'll as the
Republican membership.
When You Get Discouraged.
~. .h;s axDarimaDt rha very next