Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1917-05-01
Expelled From the Senate

Last 1nuTSudy IH0IS WClC S9Alt q
ordinary proceedings in our state SEN
ate, at Madson-that of expelling
member for being guilty of contempt,
disorderly behavior and conduct un-
becoming a senator"
The record of the Raguse case, as
reported to the senate and adopted in
the form of resolutions, follows
Whereas, At the evening session of
the Wisconsin state senate on April
"a, 1917, Senator Frank Raguse, sena-
tor from the Eighth senatorial district
of Wisconsin, made certain remarks
from written memoranda then before
him, some of which were quoted in the
senate journal and some of which were
not made matters of record, to the fol-
lowing effect:
a. | would like to inquire from the
senator from the Fourth what he
meant the other day when this resolu-
ton referring to the joint resolution
SIS providing for the printing and dis
tribution. of the message of President
Wilson urging a declaration of war
against Germany was being discussed
when he would spend $1,000,000 for
patriotism. Did he mean that he would
blow up another Maine? AS | under
stand it, the Maine was blown up from
the inside for the purpose of creating
socalled patriotism
at seems that patriotism can only
be created in two ways-by the de-
struction of property or the destruc
ton of lives. | had brother in the
Spanish-American war that came back
with fever and l remember that after
the war the president tmeaning Will
liam Mckinley was walking up and
down on velvet carpets in his palace,
surrounded by silks and satins, while
some poor fellow who had lost his
| leg in that war was out in the woods
cutting down tree to make himself
| a wooden leg. 1t is no wonder that
you do not have any patriotism. 1t
| seems even the blowing up of the Lusi-
| tania did not even make the people pa
| triotic
How can man have any patriot
| ism when he has no land, for | claim
a man who does not own land has no
country, and / am one of those who
don't own land. Eighty-five per cent
of the people in this country have no
| land, and what we ought to do to make
patriotism is to find some way to get
4
passing resolutions like this
| "'And that during said incident 9TH
! er remarks of like tenor and character
were made by the said senator in re-
ply to interrogations addressed to him
by the senator from the Second and the
senator from the Thirty-first; and
Whereas, The said senator from the
| Eighth district stated at the close of
said incident: If it is your wish that
| retract my statement, I shall do so,
thereupon on the twenty-sixth day of
| April, at 2 o'clock p. m, the entire
| membership of the said senate met in
the senate parlor in informal caucus
and presented to the said senator from
the Eight district a form of written
| retraction, copy of which is hereto at
| tached, marked exhibit A. and made
a part hereof, and requested him to
sign the same in retraction, satisfac-
| ton and reparation of the affront to
| the state, the federal government and
| citizens of the United States; and
| Whereas, The said senator from the
| Eighth, Frank Raguse, thereupon will
| fully and deliberately persisted in the
| contamacious conduct which had char
| acterized the statements made by him
in the open senate as aforesaid, and
stated that because of his affiliations,
to-wit, with the socialist party, he was
not at liberty to sign said statement,
| but presented and offered to sign a Ger
tain other statement, which was in eff
| feet practical repetition in part of
some or said statements, and wholly
unsatisfactory to said senators as a re-
traction or apology.
Whereas, The members of the SEN
ate thereupon called his attention to
| the TACT that this was noAa party, but
personal matter, and Nluested him
to state as to whether or not he made
his statements above quoted at the di-
| rection of his party. Thereupon, on
| motion, the presiding officer of said
informal meeting, Henry Huber, sena-
tor from the Twenty-sixth district of
Wisconsin, appointed Timothy Burke,
president pro TEN of the senate: A. H.
Wilkinson, William n. Bray, Charles M.
Mulberger and Roy P. Wilcox, a COM
| m1ttee to draft suitable resolutions.
looking to the formal retraction of
| said statements by Raguse or to his
expulsion from the Wisconsin senate.
Now therefore, be it
heSolVed further, That in the event
that the said senator, Frank Raguse.
fail or neglect to sign and file said re-
traction in accordance with this reso
luton, there is hereby appointed
committee consisting of Timothy
Burke, A. H. Wilkinson, William M.
Bray, Charles NJ. Mulberger and Roy
z. Wilcox, who are hereby authorized
and directed forthwith to prepare and
present to this body a resolution for
| the expulsion of said senator, Frank
Raguse, from membership in the state
senate of Wisconsin"
Raguse refused to retract and reso-
lutlons for expulsion were passed, all
members present voting for expulsion,
excepting three socialists, to which
party Raguse belongs, voted against
| expulsion.