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Show UNSEATING THE SOCIALISTS.' The Now York legislature by substantial sub-stantial majorities has ousted the five Socialist members on the ground that they belong to a party which Is disloyal. dis-loyal. In denying seats to the New York legislature has established a precedent. pre-cedent. Never beforo has a state. legislature leg-islature expelled an entire delegation which has been legally elected by the people. The unseating of thc-fivo is not a de-teat de-teat for the Socialist party. It virtually vir-tually is a victory. Had the Socialists ! been permitted to retain their seats without all the fuss made about their rlleged unfitness, nobody would have heard of the five.. They were too small a majority to influence legislation in the slightest in Albany. But the attack delivered upon the Socialists has brought strong men and influential newspapers to their sido in Ihe controversy. The Socialists can thank Speaker Sweet for his ouster proceedings for lliis notion brought such men as Charles E. Hughes and tho members of the Now York Bar association as-sociation to their defense. It also gained such powerful newspapers as the Now York World as their friends. The question as to whether tho Socialist So-cialist party stands for good or evjl is not tho big issue in the case at hand. The New York legislature has decided against representative government. If the Albany precedent Is established, then Republican control of n legislature legisla-ture may mean tho ousting of the Democrats and the legislature controlled con-trolled by Democrats may oust Republicans. Repub-licans. If the New York legislature was without suspicion that it is controlled by interests inimical to (he best interests inter-ests of the people there might be greater great-er cause for alarm over the verdict. But the women voters' organization of New York has shown that all is not light within the walls of the legislative legisla-tive halls. So i is likely that the ver-diet ver-diet of the New York legislators is not. the verdict of a free group of lawmakers, lawmak-ers, but the verdict is a group to which many strings are attached. |