The Mobridge news. [volume] (Mobridge, Walworth Co., S.D.) 190?-1917, 1912-07-19
L0R|MER UNSEATED.
ELECTION or ILLINOIS STATES.
MAN is DECLARED INVALID
BY SENATE DECISION.
WAS ONCE INDICATED
End Of Fight Comes After Six Days
of P%rotracted Debate-Many
Sensations In
Case.

WIZ
65 10 rs, the United States senator I'M
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
senate's 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,
P~oindexter, 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, G~uggenheim, Johnston, Jones,
Lippitt, 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 t~wenty-eight democrats.
In the two years that Senator Lori
mer's election has been under fire it
probably has furnished more sensa-
tons than any other case Of it's kind.
Mr.. Lorimere was elected by the Hi.
nois legislature on May q, 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 a not until nearly a
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 that
he had received $1,000 from Lee
ONeill 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 a
general corruption fund"
Then in rapid succession followed
a sensational series of confessions
by other members of the legislature.
These confessions, however. were later
modified or repudiated with the eXcep-
ton of Whites. The other men as
serted they had received the money
out VI a SChSidl lulu anu not III 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 unsustained 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 a committee
of its own to investigate and this
committee reported that Lorimer
would not have been elected without
bribery and corruption and the Hi
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 senator's not
voting. The quota OF senators was
90, with one vacancy in Colorado.