Evening star., 1946-07-24

of one William Lorimer, duly elected
Senator from Illinois, on charges
Of political corruption. Mr.. Lorimer
was machine boss, but, strangely
enough, an honest man, personally
1t was alleged and proven-at least
to the satisfaction of most of his
colleagues-that he had bought
his seat. So, though there was
overwhelming testimony as to the
purity of his personal character
they threw him out by very close
vote.
That was in the days before the
direct primary when Senators were
elected by the State Legislatures
and not by the people. The injus-
tice in Mr.. Lorimer's case was that
there were in the body which elected
him several other Senators just as
guilty of buying their seats as he
and some of these were hyprocrites
enough to vote against him.
May Case of Interest.
Though in number of instances,
upon recommendation of its Elec-
tions Committee, the House has un-
seated member who had taken his
seat, duly elected on the face of
the returns, this action has not
been because of any allegations of
either personal or political corrup-
ton. On the contrary, in practically
all these contested election cases,
the recommendation of the partisan
majority of the Elections Committee
has been sustained by the partisan
majority of the House and the cleo
ton has been recognized as a parti-
san act. The House, itself, has
seemed to acknowledge this in sew
eral cases by paying the salary of
the man it refused to seat as well
as to the man it seated.
All of which makes it interesting
to discuss the question of what, if
anything, the House will do in the
case of Representative Andrew Jack
son May of Kentucky, who has been
exposed by the Mead Committee
as engaged in some exceedingly
shady transactions with the ex-
ceedingly unsavory Carson broth
ers. The exposures make it clear to
most unbiased men that Mr.. May
Is not fit to be member of the
House, and they make 1t especially
clear that he is unfit to be chairman
of the powerful and important Mill
tary Affairs Committee, which posi-
ton he seems to have shamefully
abused.
Expected to Do Nothing.
Wholly aside from his connec-
tions with the Garssons, the type
of man Mr.. May is was recently
shown when in the Conference
Committee he voted the proxy of
Representative Andrews of New
York, which had been left In his
hands, against the drafting of the
18-year- -olders instead of In favor
as Mr.. Andrews wished. And when
Mr.. Andrews, by cable from the
Bikini test area, reaf1rmed his
wish, Mr.. May would not let the
proxy be used at all. Despite all
this, however, in the Judgment of
those in best position to know, the
answer to the question of what will
the House do about Mr. May is
nothing.
The reasons for inaction in this
case. just as the reasons for action
in the many instances in which the
House has unseated members, are
rooted in partisanship and politics
In the case of Mr.. May there is the
additional reason that Congress is
about to adjourn and he, along with
all the other members, must come
up for reelection in his district this
fall. But even If this were not So
even if the session were Just be-
ginning and the election two years
off-the odds all are the House
would do nothing about Mr. May,
whose defense of himself has been
widely characterized as unconvinc-
ing and almost irrelevant and whose
reluctance to appear before the
committee counts heavily against
him.
Recalls Curley Case.
Already, this Congress this year
has established a precedent for
doing nothing in a case such as Mr.
Mays when very much earlier in
its life it did nothing in the case
of Representative James Curley of
Massachusetts, who was indicted
and convicted by jury on a Grim
inal charge And while members of
the House are now saying there is
no use doing anything about Mr.
May because his constituents will
retire him in the coming election,
that is by no means sure. 1t Is GER
tainly possible that he will be re-
elected.