South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1916-10-17
Kern S Record in
Senate ReUeaLsHs
Power to Lead
(By Horace III. Herr i'm the Indiana
FOrum)

of the republican party and of the
enemies Of the wage earners toward
the candidacy OF sen. Kern has be-
come so fiagrantly false through the
deliberate dissemination Of the
basest falsehoods in the effort 10 dis
credit him that the average man OF
ordinary intelligence is becoming
nauseated The evident plan Of the
same politicians is to persistently in
sist that the leader of the senate
throughout the administration Of
Woodrow Wilson is a man OF no po-
tentiality in Washington. In view of
the record which anyone can read
this is so utterly assinine that it de-
feats its purpose
The barefaced facts are that no
man who has represented Indiana in
the senate since the time of VOor-
hees has ever attained the COM
handing position now held by Sen.
Kern. SO true is that that il is
matter of common comment over
the country that this rise 70 leader
ship after two years in the senate is
without precedent. Compared with
his record the records of Fairbanks,
Hemenway and even Beverage are
commonplace.
The moment Sen. Kern entered
the senate he was placed on the
finance committee, which is the goal
toward which ambitious statesmen
strive. Ii is seldom that any man
ever attains this honor during a first
term. In addition 10 this honor on
the part of his party co-workers he
was signally honOred by being
placed Immediately on the steering
committee of nine members which
has charge of the determination of
the party program. This alone
makes assinine if not worse the silly
chatter of his political enemies.
IL.
During the first regular session of
congress after he entered the senate
that body determined upon the re-
opening of the Lorimer case. While
the reaction ries were opposed TO
the interference of the divine right
of the lumber trust and the other
interests 10 buy seats in the senate
for the right men" few of them
had the temerity TO stand forth in
open opposition TO the demand Of
the decent element of the nation.
The fight turned in consequence up
on the selection of the committee TO
conduct the investigation. Three
plans were proposed. One contem-
plated the selection by the senate of
a subcommittee of the committee
on privileges and elections; another
suggested the selection of a sub
committee by the full committee;
while Sen. La Toilette proposed the
selection of a committee entirely in
dependent OF the committee on
privileges and elections, which was
named in the La Toilette resolution.
OF all the members of the senate
Just one single man was in mind Of
every one for a place on the COM
mittee-and that was Kern. He
was a member of the regular COM
mittee He was named on the pro-
posed subcommittee of the full
committee. He was named by Sen.
La Toilette in his resolution. This
alone demonstrates the idiOtic if not
venal suggestion Of his political
enemies.
His work on the committee which
finally made the investigation at
tracted national attention. He took
the lead in the fight against Lori
mer. He conducted the crOSs-eX-
animation of witnesses. lie was
the principal adviser in the determ-
ination of the policy of the senators
who felt that common decency de-
manded that Lorimer should go. He
was selected on the part of the
minority of the committee TO de-
liver TIE argument in favor of ex-
pulsion. When he concluded his
three-day speech. which papers like
the Chicago Tribune carried in full,
il was decided that no further
speeches on that side need be made.
The result was the ousting of Lori
mer-and Kerr was the man who
led the fight.
When the democrats secured