The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-01-27
MIR. HAPG00D
 IS NOT GUILTY Sensational B1acknlail
 Case at an End. THE SPEECH OF MR. JEROME Says Colonel Mann Should Be in Custody. Any Man Who Gets Money from James R. Keene or ,. Pierpont Morgan
 should Not he at Large,
 He says.
HE SPEECH OF MR. JEROME

New York, Jan. 26.--An unusually sensational trial came to an end today when jury in the criminal branch or
 the Supreme Court reported that Nor man Hapgood, editor of Golfers Week. Iy, was not guilty of criminal libel. The | case has been on trial several weeks.
 The verdict was rendered ten minutes
 after the case had been given to the
 jury. The charge against Mr. HapEood was brought at the instigation of Jus | tice Joseph NJ Deuei of the Court Of Special Sessions and was based upon an i editorial in which the editor criticised
 Justice Deuel for his connection with Town Topics
 | The real interest in the case was due
 to the fact that the names Of scores or 1 persons of the highest social and nnan- | cial standing became involved through | the efforts of the defense to prove that the statements contained In the sltAaSSa l libel were correct and. therefore, Jss- l tified. To attain this end some Of the | inner workings of Town Topics. a 1 weekly publication which circuiat@a
 extensively in social circles, was laid
 bare. It was in this connection ana
 also through testimony concerning 1 limited edition book which bore the
 title, Pads and Faucies. that the
 names of prominent persons became
 involved. "Fads and Fancies' was sold l to supScFloets @e SA'SSV A
 copy. ,..
 Among the witnesses who testified
 at the trial were Commodore Gerry
 O. H. P. Belmont. H. S. Lehrs E. N Baker of Baltimore. Colonel Mann. Jus~
 tice Deuel and Robert J. Collier.
 Speech of Jerome. 1 q will not attempt to disguise from
 you the utter loathing and contempt
 SeeI for some of the witnesses who have |
 ney Jerome to the jury today In his argument for the prosecution m kAe | action for criminal libel brought
 against Norman Hapgood, editor ok t@at- Hers Weekly, on complaint or Justlc3 Joseph M. Deuel. of the Court of sps- cial Sessions.
 have been wandering through vanity fair" said Mir. Jerome. 'switnessing ex- hfbttions of human weakness and t0ilys and in some instances or human deEradation." The case was expected 70
 go to the jury today after MT, Jerosne larEurient and the charge to the Jury l Continuing MT. Jerome said:
 .'It may be that I ought not 10 ne l bere rrosecutine one of the best friends ! I have got for crime which in my l private judgment believe ne ought 70 | have done and which l might nave done in his place, with more heat and more vim than he displayed The law | not 10 restrict the liberty of the press 1 has provided that if the published artt-
 clA be true and published with Justifi- | able ends, 1t Is a defense On the ground | of excuse the prosecution conceass that ! this publication was honestly made m | 4 belief that 1t was true. If you find | that the article was true you have got 1 to acouit-
 Personal JournaIism.
 "Now let us see the character of this ! Fss ArnFsa \
 Shepard has told you that Colonel Mann has stated that is was the na- tural evolution of personal journalism, | If that is true. 1t ought to he appltca--
 ble to more than one daily paper Tn
 New York whose trend is that way. | There Is scarcely morning paper that
 does not print vile scandals and oh- l scene matter. don't see what inter | est 1t conseryes to publish such stun, don't see what interest articles relat- ] ing to tho adultery of this or that per- l son have for you and me.
 ! Does it serve any useful puTpnEeT | Is it other than filth? It Is put there | for no other purpose than thought ok | paying dividends to the stockholders. ! The average newspaper Is run from tho ! cnuntinRroom standpoint. Many of the | advertisements are but a corruption
 fund to induce quiet about this, that or
 the other. This 1t not a pleasant state- | ment to make. but if you ask the aver 1 age newspaper man why certain pa- per let up on certain proposition his
 reply win he: Why didn't you see that
 ad of so and SOP
 ''These papers haven't yet reached ] the condition that this vile sheet has
 reached. am not here to justify Town
 Topics !"
 i Justification of the editorial denounc- | ing Justice Deuel. N. Jerome said
 means that Deuel was part owner of ! the paper. censor and revisor Of the l proof and that the paper which he edi- 1 ted in part. extorts money and prints | scandal. It is alleged that he threat 1 ened to make public the family skele-
 tons of society people unle-' given money"
 The MIsdOings of DeueI. The District Attorney asserted that ! Judge Deuel did not violate the stat
 ute which forbade him to practice law
 in court. but said. Tn my opinion he violated the statute in carrying on bus mess. IL cannot be said that in car~ r rying on business he neglected his ju- dicial duties. As a justice, I will say
 for him that he conducted his Judicial ! duties honestly. fairly and well. Crow ing gray and with his back to the wall, | Deuel violates the city charter in an endeavor to provide S'r himself in old | age. He does what a great judge who l took a position from a trust company l did before him. Don't say that he Ia a | vampire or blackmailer because he viO- l lates the city charter There is not a i scint Ia of evidence to show that Jus | tlce Deuel knew about the borrowing l of thousands of dollars by Colonel 1 Mann.
 | "There Is not a scintilla of evidence | to show that F. Clarence Jones was | blaickmailed. He made a loan on col- | lateral If you gentlemen happen to know Thomas F. Ryan don't shelleye | that you would think that much prog
 ress could be made with him along the ! lines of blackmail. He has been abus- ! ed and villihed in the papers for years | and he Is not very sensitive. He has | dealt with commercial guerrillas and
 would not he shaken do VII by Colonel [ Mann.
 Financiers and Mann.
 This old man has been a power in railroad affairs and has been driven to