The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1894-03-03
a CAMPAIGN LIBEL.

plCJuulSS tut people against II16 Ol0eI.
Often they are without foundation in
truth. Sometimes they are positively
libellous, but not being taken up and
their authors prosecuted. they pass
current as the truth, though in some
instances they are positively absurd.
One of the tales that were told to in
jure the cause of Cleveland in the
campaign Of 1892. was that large sum
Of money was raised in England to aid
in his election. The New York Mail
and Express which, though very
pious paper, is and was extremely par
tisan, so much so that it would pub
fish gross falsehoods in aid Of the Re
publican party, went so far as to state
that New York wooden importer who
had gone to Europe on business, was
with other friends Of Grover Cleveland
attempting to ger money from English
men, to be used in buying votes at the
presidential election Also that the
gentleman had raised a corruption
fund in England for that purpose And
these words were used: THE London
head of a large New York firm of cloth
jobbers is reported as the leader of this
movement to get together and send to
America nearly half a million of Brit
ish gold with which to push the course
Of the anti-tanff Democracy
This was SO generally taken to mean
Mr.. Edward H. Van Ingen, that three
papers came out with headlines such
as British gold for Cleveland-cor-
ruption Fund of Half Million, E. M.
Van Ingen at the Head This was COP
led into papers in other cities. The
gentleman named is suing the Mail and
Express for nbel-damages S25, 1000, and
the facts appear to be these:
Mr.. Van Ingen is a member of a
woollen importing firm at No. 100 Fifth
Avenue, New York. In the fall of 1892
ne was in England attending to the
business of his house as has been his
custom for years. On Saturday, No
vember 5, 1892, he was visited by a. man
who said he was German bottle-man-
ufacturer of Dusseldorf whose business
had been hart by the Mckinley bill;
he had heard, so he claimed, that Mr..
Van Ingen was raising fund to help
elect Mr.. Cleveland and he was anx-
ious to contribute to it. Mr. Van In
gen refused to have anything to do
with him, as he was too busy a man to
bother with elections in America. This
German, it was learned, was a Baron
Won Seidlitz, news gatherer for Dal-
ziels agency, and by this means the
libel came to be published in the Mail
and Express. -
Mr.. Van Ingen recovered two hun
bred guineas from the Dalziels in Lon
don and written apology, dictated by
the Lord Chief Justice, who in fixing
the amount-the costs being $4,000
said:
IF I We're to go to a jury for such
a libel as this, totally unprovoked, and
calculated TO do very grievous injury,
should expect to receive a very large
sum indeed; but as these defendants
have claimed that they know nothing
of this and that it was a reporter who
did it, and they want to right the
wrong, | don't think it right fer me to
name such a sum as | would expect to
get"
In pressing the present suit Mr.. Van
Ingen expresses his intention of pro-
ceeding until the last newspaper has
paid for the luxury of hbelling him
ard the last hbeller has apologized.'
In examination he denied most posi-
lively the story about raising money
in England for the election of Cleve-
land, and in cross-examination he said
that his interest in tariff reform did
not arise from a hope that reform
would aid his own business directly,
but from the belief that reform would
bring business prosperity to the coun-
try at large and thus benefit him indi-
rectly.
The proceedings show thae the whole
story about money being raised in
England for election purposes in this
country was a sheer fabrication. 1t was
ccncocted for campaign purposes. Such
deception ought to be punished. 1t is
strange that stories of that character
will be believed, and stranger that they
influence the casting Of votes. In the
case we have briefly explained the
falsehood amounted to direct libel, and
the probability is that it will cost those
publishers dear who aided in it's dis
ination.