Los Angeles herald., 1907-05-19
MUzZLE IS
READY FOR
NEWSP PAPERS
Boise Attorney Says
It Should Be
Applied
Declares, However, That
Orchard Interview
Was Regular
Judge Wood Is Advised That 1t Would
Be Well to Promulgate a Strin-
gent Order in the Hay
wood Case
BY Associated Press.

BY Associated Press.
BOISE, Idaho, May 1S.-Prosecuting
Attorney Koelsch has completed his in
vestigation of the circumstances under
which Harry Orchard, principal witness
for the state in the Steunenberg mur-
der case, was interviewed today and
presented the district court with re-
port exonerating from the charge Of
improper motives all persons connected
with the incident.
He found that the only motive that
the newspaper men had in interviewing
Orchard was to obtain news from him.
In announcing the report Judge Wood
said that it called for no action and di-
rected that it be filed.
The report is in part as follows:
II of course investigated the matter
with the view solely of determining
of our penal laws or contempt upon the
court. 1 take it for granted that with
the question of the propriety or taste
of the publications under consideration
1 have nothing to do, at least nothing
in an official way
In order to come within the pur-
view of our statute defining and pun
ishing improper attempts to influence
juror or person summoned as a juror,
such attempt must have been made in
tentionally and corruptly, and If sc
done it is a felony.
"a publication during the course of a
trial which reflects upon the court or
assails the litigants, or seeks to intimi-
.,y;f dc a
Jury an opinion upon the merits of the
controversy, or threatens them with
public odium or attempts to dictate
their decision, or in any improper way
endeavors to influence their determine
tion, is contempt of court.
Motive Not improper
81 am able to report that my investi-
cation of the matter entirely dfsproves
that any improper motive actuated any
one connected with the publications un-
der consideration. 1t was published
purely as a matter of news which the
correspondents had been eager to get
for long time but had been denied
the opportunity of getting.
when this opportunity was finally
given to them they seized it with avid
ity and with no other than that it would
be a front-page, scare-head matter.
This was natural Orchard, the chief
actor in the tragedy that was perpe-
trated in the murder of former Gov
ernor Steunenberg, had been denied
from the newspaper men for months.
No one had heard any authoritative
statement about him. He became mys-
terious.
"Stories of his physical and mental
breakdown circulated and found their
way into the press. No wonder then
that newspaper men should want to see
and interview him. No wonder that
newspapers should overlook the impro-
priety of publishing such interviews at
this time. The Associated Press men
and others became so insistent to see
him that their request was finally
granted. 1 am able to state and do
state this privilege was granted them
solely because Of their repeated requests
the slow yielding to their persistency.
"It never even entered into the minds
of those who granted this privilege that
there could be anything improper in
their action, and no improper motive
actuated them.
"I want to emphasize that my inves-
legations absolutely disprove any i'm
proper motives on the part OF any one
who permitted these interviews. That
the other statements contained in the
under consideration were
not made at this particular time with
any improper intent is also further evil
denced by the fact that various state
ments have repeatedly, for long time
prior thereto, appeared in the press.
Scores Newspaper
During the investigation my atten-
ton was directed to the fact that for a
long time a certain paper had devoted
itself almost exclusively to publishing
matter tending to discredit persons
likely to be called as witnesses in the
pending case, and when l answered
that two wrongs never could make one
because others had not
been punished for contempt was not a
defense, 1 was assuered by both the
Statesman and by the Capital News
and by each correspondent of outside
papers circulating in Ada county whom
l was able to interview, that they
would gladly obey and abide by such
rule as your honor might lay down
any publication that would
in the slightest degree tend to obstruct
the proceedings of this court or any
thing in the nature Of an opinion as to
the merits of the case on trial.
'I therefore request that your honor
make and promulgate an order along
these lines as stringent as the law will
permit and l promise to make every
effort within my power and authority
toward a rigid enforcement of the same
and bring before the court every in
fraction of the same law, regardless of
whom the offender may be-"
Up to adjournment this afternoon the
state had consumed five of its ten chal-
lenges and the defense four of its
so that there remain unex-