New-York tribune., 1920-04-01

-nss..s~s-~a..-.s..as.ns As.~.s,.-n...as.n.
homSs :. Cosgrove. Of Staten Island,
sinsis.ed On explaining has vote on
minor notion. the Speaker shrieked for
the sergeant-at-arms.
SergeaNt~at-Arms, eanuted the
speaker
Mr.. Speaker" shouted back Cos
grove.
Serge the Speaker
kept on shouting. The sergeant-at-
arms was rot IN the ChAmocr, and
Cosgrove finally resumed his seat
!. Sweets friends on the Republican
side sought ways Of punishing Majority
Leader Adler for his refusal 10 line NO
with Sweet and oust all five. They
started to round a majority OF the ll0
Republicans 70 force Adler to resign
as leader, but this was finally stifed
ny cooler heads.
Equally bitter were Sweets friends
At Assemblyman Theodore Roosevelt
for his declining TO help save Sweets
face. Roosevelt made vigorous speech
urging the reseatins of all five So
: cialists. declaring that to unseat them
would be a crime against representa-
ave government
Majority Leader Adler, however, did
not go all the way. tie declared that
Waldman, Claessens and Solomon
be unseated. but that Orr and De Witt
should be returned to their seats
Minority Leader Charles D. Donohue
slso spoke for the reseating of all fvs
ren. Leading Republicans from New
York City-William W. Pellett, Joseph
. Steinbcrg, Theodore Stitt and William
, c. Amos attacked the custer
~ On the Democratic side J. Fairfax
Mclaughlin, William S. Evans, Maurice
Bloch and other leaders Joined with
F. Donohue III attacking The custer as un-
constitutional and violating the funda-
mental principles of American govern
ment
Roosevelt, for whose support the
: Sweet faction has been angling since
= the beginning of the session. made a
bitter attack or the custer.
Eve have before us to-day question
which necessitates The very gravcst
decision. one on which rests the very
principles of elective assemblies" he
said.
An elective assembly is the sole
Judge OF the qualifications of its mem
bers. II may. at its own discretion, ex-
pol any one for whatever cause it may
see mt. Equally 1t may refuse to eX-
pei any member though that member
may have committed crimes ten times
cQTnizahle by the law.
This power of the Assembly is final
There is no appeal from it, AS this
power is subject to no external con-
troll, 1t is doubly necessary to exercise
II only with scF-control, because the
greater the power the more dangerous
the abuse.
The question before us divides itself
logically IN two aspects, the expulsion
OF the Socialist party as psrty or the
expulsion of certain Socialist members
AS individuals.
THE former of these. the expulsion
Of the Socialist party, is by far the
most grave The latter is merely the
individual judgment of each and every
one of US on the question of the evil
dence on certain individuals.
"To expel the Socialist party from
our Assembly we must condemn it as
a conspiracy. If we so expel if we
must in all logic set about expelling
all Socialists from every Office that
they hold in this state, and to bring
the expulsion TO its logical conclusion,
as the right to vote in general entails
the right to hold Office. we must Olsen
franchise every dues paying member Of
the Socialist party.
Two Principal Charges
against the party there has been
urged as perhaps the two principal
charges Ca) disloyal action during the
war, and b) actions or designs with
the intent of cverthrowing our present
government by force.
with regard to the first of these,
that of disloyalty to our government,
the record shows that during the last
crisis neither the party nor most of its
members approved of the war or any
war. They confined their activities,
however. to protesting against the war
and 20 refrainlng from giving volun-
tary help to its prosecution.
IN no case does the record show
that they violated or urged the viola
tion of any law put forward by the
country for the effective prosecution of
the war.
With regard to the second charge,
: that OF planning the overthrow of the
: government by force, in no part of the
: record do | consider this to have been
:. proved.
!. at has been definitely proved in the
!. investigation that minors and aliens
; are members of the Socialist party and
may influence its policy and sit as
members OF its controlling committees.
This is a most unsavory fact, but
= should we cXpcl the party on thls ac-
;. count? Again, no. It is something we
!. should correct by legislation.
!. I've abhor the party principles. We
!, must not let this influence US to com
]. NIT crime against representative
: government. We have established no
( case against the Socialist party. We
must rot expel these men simply be-
! cause they are members OF the Social
st party
1.-The second. but less important,
feature that comes up before US is the
question Of the fitness of those men
IS individuals Against two Of them,
orr and De Witt, no case has been
urged other than that they are mem
oers Of the Socialist party. On the
otner three, Waldman, Claessens and
|; solomon, there is testimony as to Ger
{ tain speeches and acts. These show
no overt action, but again come under
the category that tends TO prove a
state Of mind. do not believe we
snould expel on our belief Of state
|, Of mind.
! "In urging this verdict of non
proven we must have it clearly under
!. stood that We IN way indorse or be-