The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1912-07-12
LOR|MER DEFENDS
TITLE To SEAT
IN SENATE
Makes Bitter Attack On His
Political Enemies
THEY COUL ONT CONTROL HIM
Corporate interests and Newspapers
Sought to Punish the White
Knight from Illinois

Washington, July 11.-For the sec
ond time in IS months William Lori
mer took the floor in the Senate 10
dav TO defend his title to a seat in
that body as the junior senator from
Illinois. For three hours he invelghed
against his newspaper and polltlcal
enemies: dissected the Influences
that had been eXerted against him;
and dealt with the attitude OF Presl-
dent Taft and Col Roosevelt toward
him and his assistants in Illinois poll
tics
The Senate did not force him to
conclusion of his speech. His EN-
phatic denial OF the denunciation of
his opponents weakened him physi-
cally and at $3.50 o'clock in the after
noon the Senate took a recess until
10 tomorrow morning. when Mr.. Lori
mer will resume. II is expected that
he will end his speech in few hours
tomorrow and that before the end OF
the session the Senate will take ITS
final vote upon Senator Luke Lea S
resolution of expulsion.
Before Mr.. Lorimer had spoken an
hour the galleries had filled to over
flowing: the Senate floor was well
filed with members giving close at.
tention to him and around the walls
of the Senate stood scores OF mem
bers of the House. From a position
at the rear of the chamber in the
middle aisle. he delivered his speech
with dramatic gesture. and in voice
that frequently rose in flights of pas
sion that carried far through the cap
itol corridors
Contrasted to the picturesque APP
peal of February, 1911, when Senator
I.orimer stated in detail the circum'
stances which he claimed had in
huenced the votes of SO democrats
for him in the Illinois Legislature, his
speech today was an attack rather
than defense He scarcely touched
upon the charges of bribery in the II
linois Legislature while he held the
floor
Chicago newspaper owners and pub
lie officers like Gov. Denen, States
Attorney Wayman and others who
have been active in the prosecution
of the Lorimer case in Illinois, were
the chief objects Of his shafts; and
he sought to show that back of the
| prosecution was a conspiracy OF
newspaper and corporate forces TO
punish him because he could not be
controlled"
At the close of the afternoon, he
furnished a sensation by introducing
affidavits made by delegates to the
recent republican convention at Chi
cage to the effect that they had been
offered money to vote in support of
| the Roosevelt forces in the conven-
ton. The names attached to the affi-
davits were those of southern dele
gates. These aflidavits came after
Mr. Lorimer had dealt in detail with
the letter of President Taft to Col
Roosevelt made public with the In.
ternational Harvester company cor
respondent during the pre-convention
campaign In his letter, President
Taft had stated his desire to see Mr.
Lorimer ousted from the Senate.
Senator Lorimer declared he did
not seek to prove anything in his own
case by the affidavits; but that he
wanted to "show the hypocrisy run
ming rampant through the country
Col Roosevelt's friends, he declared,
would have secured his nomination, If
possible by corrupt use of money;
while Col Roosevelt himself was de
claring he would destroy every polit
ical corruptionist."