Omaha daily bee., 1905-06-30


| 7. f. Enright, 1903 Cunning.
James A. Hawkins, 202 North Twentieth.
I William II. Clark, 233 Rees
Stung to bursting by Attorney Connell's 3
resuscitation of the vile language used
| against Edward Rosewater in some of his
vituperative vaporings last year, r. r.
Howell yesterday butted in while Con-
nell was calling the attention of the jury
in the criminal libel suit to his language.
Mr.. Connell at once sharply objected to
| Howell interruptiug him.
| You have able attorneys in the state
prosecutor and his assistant to take care
| of your interests and you cannot interrupt
me-"
Judge Day also handed Mr.. Howell the
admonition to let the county attorney do all
the obJecting that is to be done by his side
And Mr.. Howell subsidized. He squirmed
though, while Connen was making Iis
statement to the jury.
| When the jury was sworn County Attor-
ney Slabaugh made his opening statement
lie outlined the events in Howell's political
life leading up to the publication of the
alleged libel and said the case will be
brief on the part of the state. 1t will con.
sst of the article complained of and OF
the testimony of Mr.. Howell himself, who
will attempt to prove 1t libelous.
"Uneasy Rests the Head"
w. j. Connell, Mr.. Rosewater's attorney
followed. He had hardly got fairly started
before the fun began. Howell shifted with
almost every sentence, and as the attorney
developed the line of defense ne has ir
mind he grew very nervous. Every few
minutes he would lean forward and urge
the county attorney to object to what Con
, | nell SaViuR These nhieCtiODS hapap
quite numerous, but the attorney for the
defense went ahead within the court:
ruling to give the jury a proper idea Of
all the circumstances preceding the print
ing of the alleged libel After tracing the
career of Mr.. Rosewater from his arriva
in America boy, he rapidly limneC
some of the more prominent events in th'
life OF the prosecuting, or prosecuting
Witness" as he characterized him, from the
time when he was born into influential en-
! vironments, through Annapolis academy
then out of the navy he had been trainel
) to serve, into other lines. and to Omaha
where his influential connections secured
} him the position Of city engineer. tn,
attorney took him along to the point wher
he made a trip to New York and Phila
delphia. Here was where the trouble
started" Mr.. Connell said. He intimate'
|
manager of the water plant, but wa
turned down. That shortly after his re
turn a resolution appeared in the cit!
council to empower the city engineer t,
make an investigation of the water work
; system. A little later a proposition wa
, | advanced to have a certain friend o
Howell made director of the water com
pany at salary of $1,000 year. The com
pany was informed, said Mr.. Connell. tina
, II this was done things would run smoothly
otherwise there was trouble ahead. Th
J suggestion was not adopted, and soon tn
. batteries of the city engineer were turne
on the company.
Printed the News.
1t was at this point said the attorney
where Mr.. Rosewater learned of the fact
In his capacity as an editor of a grea
paper. Always opposed to blackmail o
any company or person, he had printe
certain articles for the information OF an
people who might be concerned. And ther
the controversy started which develope
Q the present suit
"Mr. Rosewater had no personal feelin
; in the matter" said Mr.. Connell III
, never had any enmity toward Howell, an
even today has no personal feeling agains
= him. He merely desired and had the feaI
less purpose as he always has had,
n protect the citizens and the public corpora
tions by exposing people sailing unde
= false colors 1t Is his right and privieg
| TO do So and the law recognizes the dut
of a newspaper to the community to con
:, ment on the acts of any man who put
i himself before the public as a candidat
g for public office
;. Reading from The Bee of November
y 1904, in which the alleged libel appeare,
IS Mr.. Connell directed the jurys attentio
81 to the fact that in the article over NJ
i Rosewater's signature there is no mentio
OF bribery
q THE bribery notion was in Howell
70 mind" said he, mot in Rosewater'
Unless the old saying is true th5
g "a guilty conscience needs no a,
% cuser,' there is no possible grour
IS in this extract from Rosewaters lettt
to Howell for framing a charge of briber
l. All of the bribery business in this con
!; plant is in the construction placed on II
II article in the surrounding innuendo'
90 which the county attorney copied into Il
% complaint after Mr.. Howell had draw
10 It up to suit himself"
90 Howell ms n Lawmaker.
al He reviewed Howells legislative wol
90 In a scathingly analytic humor and pr
0O sented to the jury some pertinent fac
= and deductions, in which Mr.. Howell cou
90 find no consolation. Incidentally he demon
90 mated the actions of the prosecuting wi
M ness as being responsible for foisting upC
the city Of Omaha 'The most denoraliziI
and costly piece of legislation ever inhict
y upon this city or any other"
70 Concluding his address to the jury
G. to what he expects to prove with referen
" TO Mr.. Howells acts and his underlyii
ID motive in this prosecution, Mr. Conn
a read the entire letter written and publish
'e by Mr. Rosewater. In doing so he shot
a. ~ ~