Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1920-04-03
FIVE SOC|A[|STSOF
NY, ASSEMBLY ARE
EXPELLED BY VOTE

ALBANY, n. Y, April he nNe
suspended Socialist members of the
New York assembly were expelled
today on charges of disloyalty fol-
lowing an all-night debate.
Individual vote on expulsion was
taken on each member.
The five Socialists are: August
Claessens, Louis Waldman, Charles
Solomon, Samuel A. Dewitt and Sam
uel Orr.
lieutenant Colonel Theodore
Roosevelt led the fight for reseat-
ing them. One of the two women
members, Miss Margaret L. Smith,
spoke in favor of expulsion. Speaker
Sweet also took the floor to urge
ousting of the Socialists.
Owing to the fact that the men
were expelled after midnight on
March 81, there can be no special
elections to fill their seats in the
assembly unless an extraordinary
session of the legislature Is to be
convened.
Voting on the question of eXpelling
the Socialist members was begun at
9:3S a. m. today. Louis Waldman, the
NOIGu Oll, was OApSAASN' AN
vote was lis to IS.
August Claessens was expelled.
The vote was 116 to %.
Charles Solomon also was expelled.
The vote was 116 to 26.
Samuel A. Dewitt and Samuel Orr
were expelled. The vote in DeWitt's
case was 1O4 to 40, and in Orr's ia
to 40.
By it's action the assembly estab-
lished a precedent altogether unique
in legislative history in the United
States, as never before has an entire
party delegation been elected from
any legislative body.
Party lines disappeared in the vot-
ing. The Democrmatic minority,
which was supposed to be pretty we'll
united in favor of reseating the So
cialists, polled a majority of one
vote in favor of expelling VALID
man, Claessens and Solomon, the
Democratic vote on these men be-
ing eighteen for unseating and seven
teen for restoring them to their
former legislative status. Twenty
one Democrats voted to reseat De-
Witt and Orr. while fourteen favored
their expulsion.
The Republicans, by a Lewiston of
90 to II, voted to unseat Waldman,
CIaessens and Solomon, and on the
DeWitt-Orr votes they stood 80 to
30.
When the assembly adjourned, after
the seats of all five Socialists had
been declared vacant, it had been in
continuous session twenty-three
hours and forty minutes.
The final chapter lacked the thrills
that many of the spectators had
expected Speaker Thaddeus c..
Sweet closed the debate at 1886 a.
M, and within two minutes the call
ing of the roll had been begun in
the case of Louis Waldman. Under
the rules, no member is allowed to
explain his vote when voting on
resolution; virtually every member
was in his seat, and as result the
five roll calls were run off in record
| breaking time.
Some assemblym en- who had voted
to unseat Waldman, Claessens and
Solomon cast their ballots in favor of
reseating Dewitt on the ground that
the evidence had not incriminated
Dewitt and Orr beyond establishing
their adherence to the doctrines and
platforms of the Socialist party. Ma
! iority Leader Simon L. Adler shared
| this opinion.
The debate lasted about twenty
hours, and more than forty members
participated. The chamber was
| crowded with spectators from the
time the assembly convened at 1880
a. M yesterday until long after
midnight. Many of the visitors re-
NAMED throughout the night and
heard the assembly record it's YER
dict.