Senator Lea then followed with a point of order to the effect that the Jones resolution was not responsive to the resolution of the senate authorizing the investigation in that the committee was only instructed to investigate and report whether corrupt methods and practices had been used in the election of Lorimer. Senator Dillingham promptly ruled this out of order; Lea appealed from the decision; Jones moved to lay Lea’s appeal on the table, and this was done by a vote of four to three, Kern, Kenyon and Lea voting against the tabling of Lea’s appeal.
Kern’s substitute motion was then defeated by the usual vote of five to three and by the same vote the Jones resolution was adopted.
This, however, was not sufficiently vindicative of the blond boss, and Senator Jones moved a resolution denying the existence of any proof indicative of the existence of a “jackpot” fund in the legislature that elected Lorimer “other than the statements of White, Beckemeyer, Link and Holslaw that they were paid money after the election.” Senator Kern moved to amend by adding after the word “Holslaw” the words “and certain circumstances corroborating said statements.” The Kern amendment was defeated by the usual vote of five to three.
Senator Kern next introduced the following resolution:
“That in the opinion of this committee there was a fund distributed in the city of St. Louis to certain members of the Illinois legislature who had voted for William Lorimer and also that Senator Broderick paid to Senator Holslaw in the city of Chicago money on two occasions.”
This was met at once by Senator Johnston with the amendment that if money was paid out at Chicago or any other city it was not to vote for Lorimer. After some discussion Senator Lea offered a substitute for Kern’s resolution, which the latter accepted, to the effect that on certain specified dates certain specified men distributed money to members of the Illinois legislature at St. Louis. The evidence had been overwhelmingly convincing on this point, but the resolution failed to secure votes other than those of Kern, Kenyon and Lea. Other resolutions followed completely and rather aggressively exonerating both Edward Hines and Lorimer, and the line of cleavage on the committee was unmistakably made.
The committee having taken its stand the three anti-Lorimer senators were insistent upon an early report to the senate. Night after night Kern, Kenyon and Lea met to go over the evidence with a view to the preparation of the minority report. Acting upon the theory that if they could show from the evidence that votes had been purchased for Lorimer their position would be vindicated and unassailable, they agreed to brush aside all reference to much of the evidence and to concentrate on the essentials and to make their report both brief and vigorous. Expressing a vigorous dissent from the proposed white washing of Hines by the majority, expressing confidence in the truth of the testimony of Funk and Burgess, they briefly analyzed the evidence of a number of the witnesses, and concluded:
“Believing that the confession of the members of the legislature, strengthened by corroborating circumstances and by other evidence relating to the members of the legislature who did not confess, establish conclusively not only that at least ten members were purchased for the purpose of electing William Lorimer to the senate, but that the record reeks and teems with evidence of a general scheme of corruption, we have no hesitancy in stating that the investigation establishes beyond contradiction that the election of William Lorimer was obtained by corrupt means and was therefore invalid, and we submit the following resolution:
“Resolved, That corrupt methods and practices were employed in the election of William Lorimer to the senate of the United States from the state of Illinois, and that his election was therefore invalid.
“William S. Kenyon.
“John W. Kern.
“Luke Lea.”