The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1895-03-08

Washington, March THE grand
jury Of the supreme court for the Dis
trict Of Columbia has returned an In
dictment for criminal libel against
Charles a. Dana. editor. and William
M. Latin, publisher. Of the New York
Sun.
The Presentment was formally made
to Judge Cole. presiding. by the fora-
man of the jury today.
It is a formidable document OF many
pages, setting forth the malicious mo-
tiyes Of Messrs. Dana and Latin in
criminally lbelling Frank B Noyes,
proprietor Of the Washington Evening
Star, and one of the board OF directors
and Of the executive committee of the
Associated Press.
The district supreme court is q Uni
ted States court, and according to the
procedure of such courts District At
torney Birney will transmit certified
copy of the indictment to the district
attorney for the southern district Of
New York. located in New York City.
It will be submitted to a United States
commissioner, and on satisfying him
self of the formal regularity of the in
dictment he viii issue a criminal war
rant for the arrest of lIegsrg. Dana and
Latin. The commissioner also hxes
the amount of bail The accused have
the right TO apply for a writ of habeag
corpus to contest the prina facie 5uf-
f1CienCy Of the procedure before being
arraiSned on the merits OF the indict-
ment-< 1t IS expected the transmission
Of the Indictment to New York and
the arrest of the accused viii be ac-
comphShed within day or two.
VIII Soon BE Arrested.
The Indictment as returned contains
three counts. setting forth different
circumstance of criminality in pub
fishing the libel The proceedings are
according to the common law. which
as modified by certain acts of Con-
6reS5 constitutes the jurisprudence of
| the District Of Columbia. Before spen-
flying the three criminal counts, the
! indictment sets up the circumstances
and motives leading up to them. 1t
states that the Associated Press is an
Incorporated news agency for the wide
distribution of news, with branches in
! New York, Chicago. Washington st.
Louis, San Francisco and throughout
the country. Its affairs are conducted
by board Of directors. of which Mr.
[ Moves is a member The indictment
/ states the international organization OF
| the United Press, which has Charles
! A. Dana as president and William A.
Latin as yice-pTesident. Mention is
made OF the two rival associations to
show the dnimus of the subsequent
4 acts charged against Dana and Latin.
! 1t also gives the organization of the
Sun Printing and Publishing aggocia-
| ton, with Charles a. Dana as editor
| and William A. Latin as publisher.
/ The three counts Of criminal libel are
/ then given The first count states that
I on February p last the New York Sun
4 published an editorial, from which the
! following is an extract:
The First Count.
1.-THE corporation Cmeanfng the Asso-
ciated Press) IS organized under the
4 Illinois state law, and the provisions
Of the statute respecting the personal
I liability of directors are amusing. we
commend a careful study of them to the
unfortunate newspaper managers who
I have been roped in They may see
their way to making such a thoroughly
dishonest director as F. B. Noye5. OF
I washington. for instance, refund to
them the amount Of the extra assess
ments out of which they have been
buncOed."
The Indictment, after stating that
the foregoing libel was circulated in
New York city. charges also that on
the same day, Me5sr5. Dana andSSIaf-
fin sent 300 copies of the paper to
Washington. and thereby published
the libel in Washington. The two ac-
cused are charged with full knowledge
Of what appears in the editorial col
umns of their paper and with Te5pon'
sibflfty for the same.
The second count refers particularly
to the publication of the libel in Wash.
ington.
The third count lis general in terms
accusing Dana and Latin of compo5-
ing and publishing a criminal Hbe
without specifying the Sun or detailed
circumstances of the charge.
The first count is the most specific
; and gives the sraYament Of Int
charges on which the grand Jury acted
Language of the Law.
Besides the foregoing. there are fea
lures Of libel set forth and there is the
Z usual formal and severe language OF
the law in specifying an allegation ol
: crime The proceedings have been un
: der the direction OF District Attorney
> Dirney, also he has assigned Assist
: ant District Attorney Taggagt to con
4 duct the case before the grand jury
Being a criminal and not a civil case
the prosecution is conducted by tn,
public officers as an offense agains
the public rather than as against al
, individual, the theory OF the Law being
> a libel against Mr.. Noyes, OF any othe
citizen. is an offense against the peae
! and quiet Of the community. TO b.
: prosecuted in the same manner as an
! other disturbances OF the public peace
d When the warrants are issued
! | Messrs Dana and Latin viii hav'
9 three courses open to them. They ma!
/ submit to arrest and decline to Civ
. bail. in which case they viii b
brought to Washington to stand trial.
they give bail it will insure their com
ing to Washington at the time the cas-
: is called in the United States court
:, = In the meantime. they may test tn
: sufflciency of the facts of the indiet
n1ent. without going into its details