New-York tribune., 1920-03-17
Five Socialists
Give 8 Reasons
Against Custer
Defense, in 12O-Page Brief,
Denies Party Has Secret
Ends and Challenges
Authority of Assembly
Prosecution Files To-day
Cuvillier Warns Sweet Of
the Danger in 'Straddling'
ON Wet and Dry Issue
From. a star Corespondsnt

Seymour Stedman and other members
Of counsel for the five ousted Socialist
Assemblymen filed their brief to-day
with the Assembly Judiciary Commit
tee. The brief is 1870 pages in length.
The first ninety-five pages deal with
evidence and cite eight propositions
deduced therefrom by counsel for the
defense. The remainder enlarges upon
the contention of the Socialists that the
judiciary Committee and the Assembly
are without jurisdiction except to test
the qualifications Of ousted men.
The eight propositions are:
l. That the control Of the Socialist
party over its members elected to
public Office, far from being i'm
proper, is q method of fulfilling it's
responsibility as a political party
under our system of government.
2. That the Socialist party has no
secret ends; that it has no secrets;
that it has no mechanism for secrecy.
Sympathy With Russia
S. That the revolution which So
cialism proposes is neither subver-
sion of order nor a destruction Of
government.
4. That it seeks to accomplish it's
ends, not by forced or unlawful
means, but through the will Of q
convinced majority.
s. That it sympathizes with the
efforts of the Russian people to
maintain their government, but that
it does nos advocate the introduction
Of similar government in the
United States.
6. That international socialism,
both in theory and practice, is con-
sistent with the duties Of national
citizenship and the ideal of patriot
ism.
Z. That the Socialist party during
the war was true to it's conception
Of the welfare Of the American
people.
8. That the Assemblymen took their
oaths of Office in good faith and are
under no obligation inconsistent
with their fulfillment.
Tomorrow Attorney General Charles
d. Newton and his associates in the
prosecution will file their brief. I'm
mediately thereafter, Assem- yman
Louis M. Martin, chairman of the COM
mittee, will ask that the committee be
excused from further attendance at the
ANiAy AooClHDly SCSSlUIS III OrQcC tn0t
the members Of the committee NAV
devote their entire time to digesting
the evidence.
Will Sit in "Seclusion''
The committee, Chairman Martin
announced, would sit in some secluded
suite of rooms in hotel "far from the
Capitol so as not to be disturbed"
Chairman Martin expects that the
m tfon IL
its findings to the Assembly not later
than Monday or Tuesday of next week,
1t is doubtful, however, if a final YER
dict will be reached before early in
April.
Meanwhile Speaker Sweet, who claims
to have at least eighty-two votes to
eSpel all five Socialists, regardless of
what the committee reports, is threat
ened with loss of some of these
votes because of his straddling in the
"wet" and "dry" fight.
Il want it to be known" said AS
sem blyman Louis A. Cueillier, one of
the Iammany members of the judiciary
Committee and hitherto one of Speaker :
sweets most ardent advocates, tha,
speaker Sweet Will lose many votes to
oust the Socialists i he attempts any
double-crosslng of the vast majority
liberal law interpreting the Eighteenth
Amendment. And | am going to call
on him tomorrow to inform him of
this"
When Speaker Sweet heard Of AS
semllab,lyman Cuvillier's threat he said
This is question Of Americanism,
and l am not going to be party to
any trading of votes on this ques
ton"
The brief of the Socialists said that
the proceedings was one "for which
there is neither precedent nor ex-
cuse." 1t continues:
ITO unseat these Socialists will not
prevent return to the normal condi-
tion of an actual free and democratic
republic. enduring political differences
and trusting the common sense of the
mass Of its people, but it will leave an
ugly stain on our democracy"
Invisible Empire "Humbug''
At the outset the brief called atten-
tion to the appointment of the special
committee of the Bar Association to
appear before the Assembly or the Ju-