The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1899-02-11
BEFORE JUDGE LESLIE
The Ludwig Rey Libel Suit on
Trial.
THE HORSE MEAT STORY
Rey Alleged That His Sales Fell Off
After the Publication of the Article,
but Could Name None Who
Had Left Permanently.

The $4,000 damage suit of Butcher
Ludwig Rey against the Inter Noun
tain Publishing company, growing out
of the publication of story in Sep
TENDER, 1897, regarding the sale in
Butte of what some of the city author
tiles thought was horse meat, was on
trial before Judge Leslie and Jury in
Department l. of the district court YES
terday. The jury was composed of
Richard Kemp, Patrick McEvoy, John
w. Shackleton, John GUILTY, J. ]. Muir
ply, J. H. Trerise, John Atkins, A. M.
Day, Adolph Reichle. William Mat
thews, l.. O'Toole and John Fitzger-
aid
Rey was the first witness put on the
stand, but before he gave any testi-
mony the defendants attorneys made
an objection to the Introduction of any
testimony on the ground that the COM
plant failed to state a cause of action
and that the matter set forth in il was
not libel per Sc. The objection was
argued and was then overruled by the
court Rey testified that before the
publication of the horse meat story his
cash sales amounted to $50 and S65 a
day and his credit sales to $40 and SIS
a day. After the publication the cash
sales dropped to $40 or $12 a day and
the credit sales to $50 or $50 a dav. AL
though the article only referred to IAN
Italian butcher on East Park street"
Key knew he was the butcher referred
to, and his customers knew it, too.
On cross-eXamination by Attorney
10 wit t.o;I
and book accounts both fell off after
the publication of the horse meat story,
and number of his customers left
MN. However, when asked to name
some of the customers that left him
ne could only recall Pete Nadeau and
Joe Lazarri, and said that thew re-
turned after few weeks, after they
had learned that there was nothing in
the horse meat story
II. WeSson, eX-Sanitary inspector for
the city. was the next witness. He was
IN once at the time the meat question
came up, ana came into possession of
a piece of the suspicious meat. He
showed the meat to several persons and
then went to Rey's shop to see if he
could get more of the same kind of
meat He saw about $50 pounds of if
and was about to state that Rev
showed him a carcass from which the
suspicious piece had been taken. but
ne was not permitted to do so. and
without any further examination he
was excused
{. j. M. Barber, a butcher who had
peen SHOWN a piece of meat by Wes-
son. was called to give his opinion as
to the character Of it, but as he did
not know that it was the same piece
referred to in the Inter Mountain arti-
Gle, he was not allowed to testify re-
gardins it, and then in an effort to es-
tabllsh the identity of the meat Rev
and Wesson were recalled, but all they
knew was what somebody else had told
them. The PLAINTIFFS ATTORNEYS vera
laundering about at sea and We're
finally compelled to call Sanitary Po-
ilceman c. p. Tobin, one of the de-
fendant's witnesses, for the purpose Of
Identifying the prime hunk of meat
Tobin said he saw the piece and talked
about it to Trainer, an Inter Mountain
employe, but did not know what be-
came OF 1T afterwards. Then Wesson
and Rey were called again and Attor-
ney Root wanted to know how long
this see-saw' business was to be kept
up. Rey was asked if he could identity
the piece of meat shown him by Wes-
son, and with all the assurance and
positiveness conceivable he said he
identified the piece, although it had
been cooked, as piece that had been
SUI Ny mn anu iidFtnS come from the
front quarter of a COW in his shop
Mr.. Hall asked Rey where he got the
cow, but he was not permitted to say
because it was immaterial He was
however, allowed to repeat that he rec
ogn1zed the cooked chunk as a piece
from the front quarter" of that par
ticular COW.
Butcher Barber was once more sum-
moned and he said the piece of meat
which had been shown him by Wesson
was beef, but that it was an unusual
looking piece of meat, as it was thin
and dark. 1t was "a shade or two
darker than the ordinary COW meat.
He did not know how horse meat
looked when it was cooked He had
never tasted any of it and did not sell
1t in his shop. He could not tell wheth-
er cooked horse meat would look any
thing like the piece he saw or not
Police Officer Matthews, who was
once butcher himself. saw the piece
of meat and gave it as his opinion that
1t was an ordinary piece of beef
A man named Sargento, delivery
clerk and solicitor for Rey, said that
the morning after the publication 10
persons refused to give him an order,
but all came back but three.
What sized families did these Gus
toners have?' asked Mr.. Root.
About $40 a month";" said Sar-
gento.
A man named Levi testified that he
was a hide buyer and often visited
Rey's shop. He never saw any horse
hides or horse meat there.
T. Rey was once more recalled and was
on the witness stand when court adj
journed for the day,