Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1905-09-13

Milwaukee, Sept. 7.-Charles f. Pits
ter brought suit yesterday against The
Milwaukee Tree Press company for
$250,O00 damages on allegations OF
libel Joined as defendants are Harry
P. Myrick, managing editor; Theodore
Kronshage, Jr.. president of The Free
Press Co. H. A. J. Upham. James X.
Ilsley. John H. Tweedy and Howard
Greene.
The suit grows out Of articles al
legged to have been printed about Mr..
Phster in The Free Press in connec>
ton with Mr.. Pfster's indictment by
the grand jury on a charge of the
larceny as bailee of $4,000.
There are 81 folios to the complaint
and included are head lines and clip
pings from the newspaper against
which suit was brought One section
of the complaint says:
For many years the defendant has
pursued policy defamilg and Win
flying Mr. Pfster and foAowing out
this line of policy has for many
months, from day to day, caused vio-
lent and infamatory articles to be
published defamatory to the plaintiff.
These articles have insinuated that
he was guilty of various crimes and
misdemeanors and other Illegal acts;
that the defendant pursuant to said
policy mas by many publications mali
ciorsly attacked him and DETAINED him
and by Il direction of the said de-
PENDANT has maliciously pursued and
prosecuted and maligned and DETAINED
plaintiff and has published many ma.
licious falsehoojs of the plaintiff"
The complaint also says that the
adoption and pursuit of said policy
has been purely malicious on the part
of each and every of the said defend
ants and has been pursued solely for
the purpose of maliciously and wrong
fully villifying and hbellng plaintiff
and degrading him in the public es'
TEEN and iniuring him in his reputa-
ton and business"
An Alleged Libelous Article.
Quarles, Spence & Quarles and
Thomas NJ. Kearney are attorneys for
Mr.. Pfister.
In the complaint fled by them upon
behplf of Mr.. Pfster with Sheriff
Ce.y it is alleged that IN article pub
llsr 81 on Aug. 8, maliciously in
teaded to convey the charge that Mr..
Pfster was at the head ard manager OF
an organized band of bride givers ana
criminals who were operating in the
state of Wisconsin, and that the indict-
ment of Mr. Pfster was the natural re-
suit of the criminal course long fol-
lowed by him and those with whom he
was associated.
The alleged libeIous article was
headed Only an Incident" Accord
ing to the complaint it said in part:
THAT the indictment of Mr.. Pfisref
on the $4,000 charge is only an incl
dent.
1T is an outcropping of the most
thoroughly organized system Of graft
that has ever disgraced this state or
city.
The republican machine was organ
ICED for the aggrandizement Of its
members.
THE members used the whole state
as a private snap. Every city has its
subsidiary machine. That of Milwau-
kee was the most important. Mr.. PTS
ter was its main engineer"
The complaint alleges that the arti-
Gle said further on under the same
caption on Aug s: "One paper (mean-
ing The Milwaukee Sentine0 would
print the news and occasionally throw
bomb into Mr. Pfister's camp.
ut was silenced by a change of
ownership" the complaint alleges that
the defendant charged.
1t is contended in the complaint that
this alleged statement carried an in
situation that Mr.. Pfister bought The
Milwaukee Sentinel to prevent 1t from
publicly charging him with bribing
public officials
The complaint says that in another
portion of the same article it was
said: And now that paper is in the
embarrassing position of having rs
chief owner tmeaning Mr.. Pfster) in
dicted for the commission of felony
The interesting allegations concern
ing repuh. can machine politics consti-
tutes the eighth cause of action.
Demands sc5o,ooo Damages.
In its concluding paragraphs the
complaint demands damages of $780,
600 upon allegations that the good
name. reputation aud credit of Mr.,
Pfster have been injured to that
amount. The various business and
commercial enterprises in which Mr..
Pfster is interested are set forth in
this connection