Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1896-05-01
CURRENT NEWS AFFAIRS.
Woodbury-Herald Libel Suit.

The Hearing Began Tuesday at Bur-
IIngton, Before Three supreme Court
Judges, and IL Now In Progress.
The libel suit of Gov. Woodbury. against
the Rutland Herald began Tuesday after
noon at the court house in Burlington with
Chief Judge Ross and Judges Rowell and
TYLER on the bench. Seated within the
bar at one table were Gov Woodbury. and
his attorneys, d. j. Foster, ex-Gov.
w. p. Dillingham;, and Seneca Haseton,
ex-minister to Venezuela. At another ia
BILE sat p. w. Clement and r. a. Perkins
of the Rutland Herald association and
their attorneys, G. A. Prouty, c. NJ. Wilds
and p NJ. Meldon.
The agreement relative to the method of
trial and the award and settlement Of dam
ages was read by MI. Foster, followed by
the declaration of the case based on the al
legged libelous article in the Herald OF Au-
gust I, 1895. This article was headed
"Gov. Woodbury. as rumseler," and in
its main allegation it charged that at the
Van Ness House, Burlington, owned by
Gov. Woodbury., rum was sold straight
along" and that this had been done ''day
after day, and days and nights and Sun
DAYS, and week after week and year after
hocus-pocus and beating the devil around
the stump in the business, but nothing has
interfered with the regular and prompt SER
vice of rum to guests of the Van Ness
House, as guests of hotels are served every
where" 1t was also charged that rum was
sold on other premises in Burlington owned
by Gov. Woodbury.. Gov. Woodbury.
asked the Herald to retract this charge,
which it refused to do, whereupon libel
suit for $4,000 damages was brought.
Mr.. Foster, in stating the case for Gov.
Woodbury., said his counsel expected to
make it appear in evidence that fifteen
years ago when Gov. Woodbury., then a
private citizen, bought the Van Ness
House, he adopted the resolution that he
would not sell or traffic in intoxicating
liquor; that he was prompted to this by
motives affecting him as man, as a citi-
zen and as the father of a family; that
that resolution and those motives have re-
manned with him unimpaired through all
the intervening years and that he has to
the best of his ability conducted the Van
Ness House in accordance Herewith. The
management of the hotel had been entrust-
ed TO others, but Gov. Woodbury's in
structons to his managers at all times
were fully in accordance with the resolu-
ton he adopted at the outset; and his
managers in good faith have endeavored
to carry out those instructions.
Mr.. Prouty made the opening statement
for the defence in few words, saying that
they would endeavor to show that the
statements in the alleged libelous article
were true in every detail, etc. Witnesses
were then called by the defence, drummers
mostly, who testified that they had ordered
liquors of the Van Ness House bell boys
and had seen liquors served in the dining
room. Witnesses were introduced to prove
that liquors were served at the "drummers'
banquet" at the Van Ness House, about
which so much has been said. The read
ing of voluminous dispositions then began.
Those first read were from former employ
es of the Van Ness House, who described
the "bell boy process" so called, of OBJ
tanning liquors for guests. By these
means bell boys were given money and
sent out of the house to get liquors on the
order of guests.
Wednesdays session of the court was
occupied with the evidence of the Herald
in defence. Additional evidence of bell
boys was put in about the way they had
-6ee0- sent out to get liquors for guests.
Sometimes money was given them from
the Office for this purpose. One witness
testified that in 1893 Gov. Woodbury. Or
dered that no charge for liquor be made
on the books. If liquor was wanted it
must be furnished by the boys on their
own account.
The most important evidence was that
of P. W. Clement, the chief proprietor of
the Herald, and the main defendant in
this suit, who testified that on three or
four different occasions ale and wine had
been furnished to him and friends who
were with him, at his order, at the Van
Ness House tables. Once he had a bottle
of champagne in his room, and once, after
a meeting of the Rutland railroad directors,
he ordered up cocktails for the company.
On none of these occasions was anything
said by hotel employees about going out of
the house for the liquor and he saw no
difference in the way that liquor was
served in the Van Ness House from the
way the same thing was done in other ho-
tells.
The dispositions presented included that
of Harry Devere, now of the Brooks House,
Brattleboro, FOR II years head waiter at
the Van Ness House.