New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1920-04-16
Urge Thompson
To Retract His
Drunk Charges
Sweets Friends Trying to
Induce Senator to With
draw His Accusations
Against Assembymen
Act on the Issue To-day
Secret Service and School
Censorship Measures Are
Against Assemblymen
From. a Staff Correspondent

FROM q NtUU Correspondent
ALBANY, April i5.-Desperate ef.
forts are being made by friends OF
Speaker Sweet and Mark A. DAILY, the
Buffalo lobbyist. to induce Senator
George F. Thompson TO retract his
charges that some members OF the AS
sembly were drunk the night they GUST
ed the Socialist Assemblymen. The soft
pedal is being put on all criticism OF
Daily, and as deterrent to others who
would emulate the example OF Thomp-
son it is being whispered about the
capital that if he does not retract his
charges he will be expelled.
One who volunteered to support
Thompsons charges that DAILY brought
liquor into the capital informed Thomp-
son that at least $4,000 was spent for
intoxicAnts for the Assemblymen on the
night of the Socialist custer. Members
of the Assembly have also volunteered
to testify for Thompson if there is an
investigation.
while Assemblyman Steinbcrg wao
speaking on the night of the oustcr,
said member of the Assembly who
stands ready to testify to the scenes on
the floor of the House, zone Of the AS
semblymen who had been drinking was
taken in an unconscious condition from
the floor. This, instead of horrifying
some of the Assemblymen, only caused
them to laugh and to shout at Stein
berg that his speech had knocked out
the Assemblyman."
Regrets Drinking of Members
Said another Assemblyman:
at is regrettable that members per-
mtted themselves to drink to excess on
such an occasion, not only in violation
of law, but in defiance of good taste.
But, bad as the drinking was, | think
that worse things than drinking hap
pened."
While Senator Thompson did not see
any Of the scenes which he declared
occurred, another prominent Repuo-
lican Senator was present when the
vote was being taken. and has criti-
cized the Assembly for what took place
on that night. This Senator was one
of Thompson's principal informants.
The Senate will take up the Assem-
bly's request to cXpunge Thompson's
charges from the records tomorrow.
debate on the Lusk bills. which sets
censorship over all private schools and
institutions of learning, all teachers
excepting those in "well recognized re-
ligious Schools and a third measure
creating a secret service system in the
Attorney Generals Office.
Two. Of these bills were passed to-
|
crowd tried to shout down those who
spoke against the bills. The bills
adopted by the Assembly were the Sc
cret service and the school censorship
measures.
While Assemblyman Joseph Stein
berg, Republican, of New York, was
speaking, Assemblyman Louis A.
Cuvillicr, Sweets chief Tammany as
sistant, hurled an unprintablc taunt.
%ho >f !, ;o,H ~
said Steinberg at reflects the spirit
Of Bismarck. l, is the spirit of the
party which passed the alien and sedl-
tion laws in John Adams's day, and
which persisted as result of it's reac-
tionalism. | sat here yesterday and
heard this House solemnly assure itself
that it was sober on the night it
ousted the Socialists. Why did nit not
do the right thing and sec if Senator
Tompscn's charge were true ~
Assemblyman William S. Evans, Dem
ocrat, of the Bronx, who also attacked
the bills, eventually was silenced by
the Sweet followers.
While Evans was denouncing the bills
and those who we're behind them, who
are the same men who backed the So
cialist custer. Assembyman George
Jesse, of New York, another Sweet lieu
tenant, said:
Believes Bills Unconstitutional
'"Does the gentleman mean to say
that those who voted to GUST the So
calsts did not vote according to their
conscience 2"
"Their consciences," retorted Evans
"were SO much distorted by hatred and
passion that they did not have any con-
science left"
Another interruption, this time from
the Speakers rostrum, which was oc-
cupied by Asscmblyman George r.
Fearon, of Syracuse, caused Evans to
quit in disgust, after he charged that
yesterday he had tried eight times to
get the floor, only to have Speaker
Sweet fail to recognize him.
Minority Leader Charles Donohue
voted against the bills, declaring that
the exemption in the school censorship
bill was thrown in as q bait to catch
certain votes, without which, he said,
the bills would be killed.
at is this sort of legi slation which is
making Socialists" said Donohue
Majority Leader Adler, although he
voted for the bills, declared that he
believed the bill censorng schools was
unconstitutional and ineffective.