The Sunday tatler and Jersey City express. (Jersey City, N.J.) 1883-1886, 1885-04-19
A NEWS FAKEHs FATE.


HOW y JOURNAL news M8AUK0ctWEef
Came TO be Indicted for Libel.
The Hon. "Patsy" Clarke is one of the
local staff of the Evening Journal The
district that he beats up for Journal items
is all that certain tract of land lying North
of the North Hudson County Railway
Elevator, and comprising the villages of
Weehawken, Union Hill, New Durham,
West Hoboken. 1t requires boundless
imagination to cover SO large a territory,
and Patsy Clarke's Imagination is bound
less. It was he who dreamed the story of
the trance sleeping beauty of New Durham,
for whom tired and deceived newspaper
men hunted fruitlessly for three or four
days. One day last week, he had no news
to fill his hole in the Journal with, and he
sat down at his desk in the Office and be-
held prize-fght at Weehawken. He
dashed off vivid description of the battle,
and it appeared in the Joasrrdl, to be copied
with faithful accuracy into the World of
the next day. Prosecutor Winfield saw the
story, saw the names of real live residents
of Weehawken reported as those of men
who participated in or witnessed the fight;
knew that they had violated the laws of
the State, and set to work at once to have
bu0u lHulCtoO. he SuulluOu6u bu6lU W dU-
pear before the Grand Jury. There was a
possibility that they might not care to give
themselves and each other away, and that
to save themselves, they might deny that
they knew anything about it. This avenue
of escape was closed up by the summoning
of the Hon. Patsey Clarke down also as
witness. Mr.. Winfield knew that they
knew that the Hon. Patsey knew they had
been there; for had he not said it in the
journal? just as Mr. Winfield thought
they might do, they denied on the Big Book
that they knew anything about it. They
had not seen it; had not heard of it; and
would never have known they had been at
it, if they hadn't seen the story in the
Journal. Mr.. Winfield marched Mr.. Clarke
triumphantly into the grand jury room
Their denials could count for nothing
against the testimony of this witness who
knew they were at the scene Of the en-
counter. The book was held out to him
and he was sworn.
ssThere wasn't word of truth in that
story" were the words with which he
startled the august body and upset Mr.
Winfeld's composure. s'Fact is, gentle
men, I was pushed for copy, and invented
the story. The names of real live residents
of Weehawken were put in it to make it
appear genuine and locally interesting"
The grand jurors were dumfounded. So
was the Prosecutor. The majesty of the
law had been invoked to avenge myth.
It never would do to have Justice fooled in
that way, and the wise mon put their heads
together in wise consultation, as to what
they should do. 1t was concluded that the
Hon, Patsey Clarke in falsely declaring that
Weehawken had been the scene of prize
fight had ibeled Weehawken. and that the
Hon. Patsey Clarke in falsely saying that
certain named citizens of Weehawken had
participated in prize-fght, had libeled
each one of the named citizens. so Q bill
was found for the libel in Weehawken,
and on each of the named citizens. Mr..
Clarke learned of the indictments and tried
to square things with the grand jury by
making public retraction In the journal
of Friday.