The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1899-02-12
HORSE ON THE BUTCHER.
The Inter Mountain, Wins It's
Libel Suit.
VERDICT OF The JURY ii
of the Same Opinion as the De-
fense-Rey Sued for
$4,000.
Neigh, neigh; it was not beef.

tain Publishing company for printing
story that Rey had sold some horse
meat for prime rib roasts of beef, was
concluded in Judge Leslies court yes
terday and the jury, after having been
out few minutes, returned a verdict
for the Inter Mountain. The only ue-
| Tense ito the action was an effort to
prove that the meat to which the news
paper had reference, was. in fact, horse
meat. The verdict of the jury would
| indicate that the Jurors were Of the
| opinion that the defense proved that it
was horse meat.
The case for the plaintiff was closed
soon after the trial was resumed yes
| terday morning, but Harry Wesson, ex-
| sanitary inspector for the city, was
recalled for further cross-examination.
He said that the meat he exhibited to
j. M. Barber and Policeman Matthews
was the same piece Barber had testi-
| fled that it was a cooked piece, still
warm when he saw it, dark in appear
ance and unusually thin and lean Mat
thews testified that when he saw it it
was parboiled, looked white and was
an ordinary piece of beef. Wesson said
he took it to Reys shop and Rey show
ed him $50 pounds, from which he said
it had been cut. The witness said he
| condemned the whole piece because it
was musty and spoiled and ordered it
sent to the crematory. He had prev
iously condemned meat at Rey's shop.
Did you ever find any horse meat
there?"
Not that I know Of
The defendants attorneys made a
motion for non-suit, which was sub
mitted without argument and was over
| ruled by the court. Judge Leslie said
that if it We're not for a statute es-
pecially bearing on the case, he would
sustain the motion. He said it was for
the jury ito say whether the publica-
ton was false, and if false, whether
Rey was injured in his business by it.
The court said he would, however, in
struct the jury that Rey could not re-
cover for any damage to his character
or standing.
Charles Anderson, who bought the al
legged piece of horse meats was the first
witness for the defense. He said he
went to Rey's shop and asked for two
bits worth of boiling meat and Rey
gave him five or six pounds.
Il thought he was giving me an aw-
full lot of meat for 25 cents,'' said An
derson, land it looked rather peculiar"
He took it home and gave it to his
wife to cook for dinner After it had
been on the stove a While it began to
smell loud. lF.H
IF had went into a stable it could
have smelled no more like horse than
that did," he said They tried to eat
some of it, but it gagged them. Before
it had been cooked it was red and
coarse grained, and the ribs We're wide
and thicker on one side than on the
other
On DISCRIMINATION by Mr. Hall,
the witness said he was now engaged
in the livery business.
And that meat smelled just like
livery stable?"
1T did"
Anderson was asked to state from
what portion of the carcass the piece of
meat had been cut
IF you will give me veterinary
book, I'll show you," replied the wit
ness
The book. however. was not produced,
and Anderson simply said that in his
opinion the meat was part of a horse.
c. P. Tobin, city sanitary inspector,
said he knew nothing about the meat,
except what others told him, and when
he saw 1t he was led to believe that it
was horse meat and turned it over to
DR.. Shultz, the city health officer.
Joseph Volker, the next witness. es-
titled that he was in the city health
office when the meat was under inspec-
ton there. He tasted it, and in his
opinion, it was horse meat. Volker had
eaten horse meat before and was ia
miliar with it. With three others he
was lost in the mountains of Arizona
for three months, during which time
they lived on boiled horse meat. He had
also eaten horse meat in the old coun-
try.
From your experience as an eater of
1,Inre liz IL
whether the meat you saw in the city
hall was horse meat or not?"
1T tasted just the same.'
Volker said horse meat tasted sweet
and he was asked to describe the taste
of beef and mutton. but he said he was
not an expert on it.
You are only an expert on horse
meat?"
II know horse meat when I eat it,"
DR.. w. NJ. Shultz, the city health Off
Ger, was called and started to tell what
he knew about the piece of meat, but
an objection was made and sustained.
Attorney Root said he would like to
show that DR.. Shultz had intended to
make chemical test of the meat, but
that Rey, fearing the test would be
damaging to him, had the meat stolen.
statement by saying that anyway the
meat mysteriously disappeared. DR..
Shultz said he could not tell wheth-
er it was horse meat or not.
Mrs. Charles Anderson testified that
as soon as she saw the meat which her
husband brought home, she noticed that
it looked different from beef and SMELL
ed different when it was cooking, and
she had experience as a cook and
housekeeper since 1865. She said the
meat was cooked one evening and the
health officer did not get it until the
next morning.
DR.. McGregor, a. veterinary surgeon,
testified that he examined the piece of
meat in question and it had the appear
ance of horse meat. and he believed at
the time that it was horse meat though
he didn't like to swear that it was. 1t
was of a coarse fibre, dark in appear
ance and the ribs were thick 1t might
have been part of a lean, old COW.
Frank Trainor, a reporter on the In
ter Mountain, who wrote the meat
story, told the jury that he wrote only
what was told him and that he made
no further investigation.
Nt,n