Evening star., 1895-03-08
he Will Have to Answer a Charge
of Criminal Libel.
LEGAL DOCUMENT SENT TO new YORK
Proceedings Against the Editor and
the Publisher Of the Sun.
COMMENT ON THE CASE

The grand jury yesterday returheu an
Indictment for criminal libel against Chas.
A. Dana. editor, and William M. Lahan,
publisher, of the New York Sun.
The Indictment was presented to Judge
Cole at o'clock yesterday afternoon by
the foreman Of the grand jury. 1t Is
long paper, and charges Messrs. Dana and
Laffan with criminally lbeling Mr.. Frank
B. Noyes, treasurer Of The Evening Star
Newspaper Company of this city, and one
of the board of directors and Of the execu-
tive committee of the Associated Press.
The Indictment, as returned, contains
three counts. and sets up the circumstances
and motives leading up to them.
1t describes the organizations Of the
Associated Press, of the United Press and
of the Sun Newspaper Company, and In
order to show the animus of the subse-
Quent acts, touches on the rivalry OF the
two press associations, and states that
Mr. Noyes is Associated Press director.
while Mr.. Dana Is the president and Mr..
Laffan the vice president OF the United
Press. The first count Is very compre-
hensive 1t states that on February Y
last the New York Sun published an edt-
torial, from which the following is an ex-
tract:
1.-THE corporation (meaning the Associat-
ed Press is organized under the Illinois
state law, and the provisions OF that
statute respecting the personal liability OF
directors are not amusing. We commend
careful study of them to the unfortunate
newspaper managers who have been roped
in. They may see their way to making
such thoroughly dishonest director as
F. b. Noyes of Washington. for instance.
refund to them tho amount of the extra
assessments out Of which they have been
buncoed."
The Indictment, after stating that the
foregoing libel was circulated In New York
Messrs. Dana and Laffan sent 800 copies
of the paper to Washington. and thereby
published the libel in Washington. The
two accused are charged with full knowi-
edge of what appears in the editorial col
umns Of their paper and with responsible
tty fer the same.
The second count refers particularly to
the publication of the libel in Washing
ton. The third count Is general in terms.
accusing Dana and Laffan of composing
and publishing criminal libel without
cumstances Of the charge. The first count
is the most specific and gives the grava-
men of the charges on which the grand
jury acted. Besides the foregoing there are
is the usual formal and severe language
of the law in specifying an allegation of
crime.
Papers Sent to New York.
After the Indictment had been formally
recorded bench warrant was issued for
the arrest of the indicted parties. That
warrant, Of course, cannot be served out
fed copy of the Indictment and warrant
was last night carried to New York by
an attache of District Attorney Birney's
Office. This step was taken in order to
secure the arrest of Dana and Laffan in
New York and to compel their attendance
here when wanted.
The Supreme Court of the District, in
which the indictment was found, Is a
United States court. and to a United States
commissioner the certified copy of the in
dictment will be presented, together with
cbpy Of the bench warrant. II satisfied
himself Of the regularity of the documents,
and that they set out the commission Of an
offense against the United States laws,
the commissioner will issue warrants for
the arrest of the indicted parties. That
DONE the commissioner can accept bail
for their appearance here, or, If they re-
fuse to give bail, he can send the case be-
fore the United States judge in New York,
who also has power to pass upon the valid
ity of tho indictment or Its sufficiency. If
the latter should find the proceedings to
be regular. he would then issue warrant
Of removal, directing that the defendants
be removed to this city, to here answer the
indictments. The judge could, Of course.
accept bail for their appearance here.
OF course. the indicted parties may, by
writ of habeas corpus, contest the validity
or sufiiciency of the Indictment, and that
would require the attorney for the United
States at New York to successfully defend
the indictment. District Attorney Birney
sent on last night list of authorities in
support of the Indictment. Mr.. Birney ex-
poets the defendant to make a determined
and stubborn fight against appearing here,
but Is confident that the Indictment will be
sustained and the attendance OF Messrs.
Dana and Laffan in court here, when want
ed, secured.
Discussing the Legal Points.
Naturally the indictment Of Messrs.
Dana and Laffan has caused much COM
ment in New York. A dispatch from this
city In the New York World today says:
There is little doubt here that Mr.. Dana
will make strong fight In New York
against being brought here. There Is also
little doubt among good lawyers that If
such fight Is made 1t will be unsuccess-
full. 1t Is true that Mr.. Dana has twice
been indicted for criminal offenses in the
District of Columbia under the same Sec
ton of the Revised Statutes under which
he has now been indicted. In both of the
former cases he successfully resisted the
authority Of the federal government to
bring him here for trial. On one occasion
he was charged with criminal libel by Boss
Shepherd, and on another with contempt
of court. In the first case the information
was lodged in a Police Court which had no
jury, and, therefore. was held in New
York to have no jurisdiction to try him.
In the other case 1t was held that the sec
tion of the Revised Statutes under which
he was indicted did not apply to the courts
of the District of Columbia. Congress- by
a declaratory act. has specifically made
that particular section apply to the courts
VI tue blStT.Ct IL Is, IhtTtlOTo, COuAucAl-
ly believed that If Mr.. Dana relies on his
old plea again he will find that it will not
serve him.
"There seems to be no dispute among
lawyers here that If Mr.. Dana has per-
petrated a libel he committed 1t in the
District of Columbia. through the sale of
the Sun within its borders. This District
is solely under the Jurisdiction of the
federal courts, and, therefore, the libel Is
regarded as an offense against the United
States. The only possible quibble which
can be made is how much of municipal
law was continued in the District of Co.
lumbia when 1t was ceded by Maryland to
the federal government. That section SO
of the judiciary act of 17S9 was brought
over from Maryland, and is, therefore,
state law. and cannot be used against Mr..
Dana. who. not having been in the District
of Columbia, cannot be brought here as a
fugitive from justice. is the only argument
used by lawyers tonight who tried to argue
from his standpoint. but these lawyers
knock this argument over by showing that
section 1014 Of the Revised Statutes repeats
section 33 OF the judiciary act. and that an
act Of Congress in 1874 declared that the
provisions of section 1914 and by inference
of section 80 of the judiciary act were