The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-09-23
BUTTERWORTH
THE WORLDS ASSAULT ON THE ooM-
MISSIONER OF PATENTS.

Ht First Printed n Fake story About His netng
Robbed BY = lHaokunan In Atlantic City ana
Then said rat re HAD Been Locked Up In
Cell and Haa Been Fined for IntoHication.
WARRINGTON. Sept. 22.-Major Benjamin But
terworth. the Commissioner Of Patents, has
been made tho victim of a libolous story in the
New York World. Yesterday that paper, in q
despatch from Atlantic City. told how Major
Butterworth had been brutally assaulted and
roboed at the summer resort by a hackman with
whom he had been drinking. Major Butter
worth promptly denied the story in the Wash.
ington afternoon papers. To-day the World
printed as a local nows item, without an At
lsntic City date line, that Major Butterworth
was locked up in a police cell aud fined 50. 10 for
intoNication. 1t also gave some alleged remarks
OF the Commissioner in which no admitted that
he had boon drinking. Naturally Major Butter.
worth's friends are indignant over the attempt
to involve him in a scandal. To a Sun reporter
he said:
The attempt OF the World to vilify my good
name, disgrace me and ruin my reputation and
business and political standing by Its articles
bic; did not care, 80 much about the original
srtieie IN yesterday's paper SAYING that had
that some enterprising but careless newspaper
man had been taken in by some one represent.
ing himself to be me. and had sent the story to
the paper, which accepted 1t without an at.
tempt 10 verify IL. But the article this morning
was low. mean, miserable, villainOus. and ut
terly contcmpiiblc. 1t would be ~fiattery to
call 1T cowardly. Apparently some one
in tho New York office took advan-
tage of my absence to strike at me In
such a manner that | cannot reach them. They
could. easily have found out that | was not
in Atlantic City at the time l was supposed to
have been assaulted. Other papers sent report.
ers to see me yesterday. Tho World made no
attempt to hear my story, but deliberately
printed a vile, malicious falsehood about me,
and that. too, without showing where IL came
from. l can see nothing in It but a plot to
had better be guarding their own names and
regulations. 1t has dono me irreparable dam.
aye by scattering broadcast throughout tho
country ly ng reports concerning me, which I
cannot hope To contra iict in all quarters where
they have been circulated, and which will affect
me for years To come. | have received tele-
grams and letters from all parts OF the country
asking about my condition. was l seriously hurt,
and SO on. A New York lawyer with whom I
have an appointment to boar a case wrote and
asked II ] would be able to hear his case. or
should he put IL or n while until l had recov-
cred. Many Of my friends wrote and said thcy
did not believe the part about my being drunk,
but asked II had been seriously assaulted. 1t
seems to me that certain persons have an inter-
est in making IL appear that l am not n 1T per-
son to occupy the position / do. | shall GER
tainly have the matter investigated and lind
out who is responsible for the outrage. l was
at home with my family on Monday night. and
they could easily have reached me. no mat ter
how late the hour. Yesterday morning ] was al
my office. and still no attempt was made to SEQ
me about the alleged assault"