River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1912-07-18
SEN. LOR|MER IS
UNSEATED 55-28
ELECTION OF ILLINOIS STATES
MAN is DECLARED INVALID
BY SENATE DECISION.
WAS ONCE INDICATED
End of Fight Comes After Six Days
of Protracted Debate-Many
Sensations In
Case.
Washington,

Washington, BY a vote of
55 to %, the United States senator un-
seated William Lorimer, the junior
senator from Illinois, and declared his
title to his seat invalid.
The end of the long fight to GUST the
senator came after six days of pro-
tracted debate in which Senator Lori
mer himself had occupied the floor for
three sessions, making an impassioned
defense of his election.
The final vote was upon the resolu
ton offered by Luke Lea, senator
from Tennessee, declaring the Lori
mer election by the Illinois legisla.
ture in 1909 invalid The adoption of
the Lea resolution carried with it the
senates verdict that corrupt meth.
DDS and practices were employed in
the election of William Lorimer,"
making his election invalid.
The senators voting to unseat Lori.
mer were: Asherst, Bacon, Borah,
Bourne, Briggs, Bristow, Brown, Bry.
an, Burton, Chamberlain, Clapp,
Clarke of Arkansas, Crowford, Cullom,
Cummins, Curtis, Dixon, Fall, Gardner,
Gore, Gronna, Hitchcock, Johnson
Kenyon, Kern, La Toilette, Lea, Lodge
Martin, MARITIME, Meyers, Nelson, New
lands, O'Gorman, Overman, Page
Poindexter, Pomerene, Rayner, Reed
Root, Sanders, Shively, Simmons
Smith of Arizona, Smith of Georgia
Smith, of Michigan, Smith of South
Carolina, Stone, Sutherland, Swanson
Townsend, Watson, Williams, Works.
Those voting for Lorimer were:
Bailey, Bradley, Brandegee, Burnham
Catron, Clark of Wyoming, Crane, Dill
lingham, Fletcher Foster, Gallinger
Gamble, Guggenheim, Johnston, Jones
L,ppitt, McCumber, Oliver, Paynter
Penrose, Perkins, Richardson, Smith
OF Maryland, Smoot, Stephenson
Thornton, Tillman, Wetmore.
OF the senators voting against Lori
mer, tWenty-seven were republicans
and twenty-eight democrats.
In the two years that Senator Lori
mer's election has been under fire il
probably has furnished more sensa
lions than any other case of it's kind
Mr.. Lorimere was elected by the Hi
nois legislature on May 81, 1909, after
a prolonged deadlock in which the
names of more than one hundred can
didates, democrats and republicans
had been presented unsuccessfully
However, it was not until nearly
year later that the validity of his cleo
ton was challenged when the now ia
nous confession" of Charles A
White, a member of the Illinois legis
lature, was published, charging thai
he had received $1,000 from Lee
O'Neill Brown. democratic leader OF
the Illinois house of representatives in
return for his vote for Senator Lori
mer and also 5000 as a share of
general corruption fund"
Then in rapid succession followed
a sensational series of confessions
by other members of the legislature
These confessions, however were latel
modified or repudiated with the excep
ton of Whites. The other men as
serted they had received the money
out of a general fund and not in re
turn for their Lorimer votes, and, in
same cases, charged intimidation by
Cook county authorities to wiring the
confessions from them.
Lee O'Neill Browne was charged
with distributing "Lorimer Money
but was acquitted by a jury and other
indictments were quashed. Charges
of jury bribing in the Browne case
were unsustaineds in court.
A committee of the United States
senate reported that the charges OF
corruption were not proved and held
Senator Lorimer's title to his seat
valid. Immediately afterward the
Illinois senate appointed committee
of its own to investigate and this
committee reported that Lorimer
would not have been elected without
bribery and corruption and the ILL
nois senate by a vote OF 80 to 10 in
dorSed that view.
In the meantime Mr.. Lorimer was
indicated in the United States sen
ate, 46 to 40, with five senators not
voting. The quota of senators was
80, with one vacancy in Colorado