Evening star., 1924-02-21
BY FREDERIC WILLIAM VILE.

One Of the ghosts of another hectic
era in Washington fitted unobtru-
| sively through the Capital the other
day-William Lorimer of Illinois.
who was expelled from tho United
States Senate in July. 1912. He is
now an industrial magnate in the
| oil land of Colombia. Not for: twelve
years has the one-time all-powerful
! republican boss of the Prairie state
made an appearance in the Capital
What brought him here is not known.
He did not frequent his old-time po-
litical haunts, though a Chicago con-
gressman, democrat, received a call
from him. Most Of the Illinois dele
| cation will learn for tire first time
from this dispatch that Billy" Lor-
| liner revisited the banks, of the Po-
tomac at a moment almost as highly
charged with excitement as in the
days he was battling for political
life.
Ever since his troubles, which in
cluded the failure of his bank. Lori
mer has been trying to recoup his
fortunes through variety of indus
trial ventures. He is now at the
head of the Colombia 4 Amcrica Syn
citdtt, WHICH Is Sdiu to ne DdCkcu bS
millions of dollars in capital. and to
have an absolutely inside track on
| conce ssions in Colombia. Although
1rorimsr is SiXty-three years old, he
is plugging away on his South Amer
lean ventures with the energy of
youth.
In Pink OF Health.
His health is restored and western
friends who have seen and talked
hiyr,S he iS in haf al b., N
he has in years. Lorimer slipped into
the United States quietly and unan-
nounced about Christmastime. In the
interval he has been in New York.
Chicago. st. Louis, Pittsburgh and
, Washington, in connection with the
affairs of his Colombia America Syn
dicate. Lorimers present plans are
to return to South America in April,
when he will proceed to carry out a
vast transcontinental railroad prof
ect. extending from Bogota to Carta-
gena, on the Caribbean sea. The last
time the former senator revisited
the United States was when he came
to have an operation on his eyes
Threatened blindness was averted,
and his eyeSight, like his general con-
, dition. is pronounced better than it
has been for long time.
BILLY" LorimerS activities in Co
lombia date back roughly to the Pc
riod, three years ago, when the SEN
ing administration, ratified the Co
Iombian treaty. During the prevail
ing oil excitement in Washington
there have been proposals that spe-
cial committee of the Senate should
be appointed to investigate the his
tory of the Colombian pact. 1t was
mainly due to Albert s. Falls lntlu-
ence that the treaty was rushed 10
passage in the spring of 1921.
Letter OF Fall Recalled.
In a letter dated March u, 1921.
Mr.. Fail, who had just become Sec
retary of the Interior, wrote to Sen
ator Lodge, as chairman of the for
eign relations committee of the SEN
ate. as follows:
II can only say that have. through
request of the State Department., in
connection with oil negotiations and
the decision of the Supreme Court of
Colombia, thereupon, been in close
contact with representatives of Co
lombio in this country, and through
certain personal repre- sc natives, in
close contact with officials. of the
Colombian government and promi-
nent citizens in Bogota and other por-
tionS of Colombia"
In presenting this letter to the
Senate. Senator Lodge voluntarily
vouched for 'the patriotism and far
Sightedness' of Albert E. Fall. Fall
and Lorimer were colleagues in the
Senate for only a few months. Fall
took his seat in March, 1872, and four
months later I-orimer was unseated.
There is no Indication that anything