The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1907-10-29
ON DEBS' TRAIL.
Attorney General BOnaparte
After the Appeal to Reason.
Socialist Paper at Girard Stlrs
Up Excitement.
ATTACKS OFFICIALS.
Now Seek to Have Outside Page
of Paper Called Wrapper.
Then Debs and Associates
Could Re Reached.

Girard, Kan. Oct. 29.-Acting I'M
der special instructions from Attorney
General Bonaparte, United States dis
trict Attorney Bone of Topeka has be-
gun criminal proceedings against
publishers of the Socialist paper, the
Appeal to Reason. Fred D. Warden,
editor; Eugene V. Debs, editorial
writer, and other members of the
staff, because of a cartoon and article
that it is stated, were Objectionable to
Mr.. Bonaparte and President Roose-
welt. This order was issued after the
district attorney investigated the case
and reported to the department of
justice that there were no grounds for
indictment The first article to which
the administration at Washington OBJ
jected was written by E. V. Debs, and
was a denunciation of the president
for his attitude in the Haywood case
in Idaho. Another article specified is
an offer of a reward for the kidnap-
ping and return to Kentucky of Will
liam Taylor, fugitive ex-governor OF
that state, after the United States SUI
preme court in the Moyer-Haywood-
Pettibone habeas corpus appeal had
decided kidnapping to be an act OF
legality" 1t was pointed out that
President Roosevelt had personally
contributed to the defense fund of
Caleb Powers. the defendant in the
Goebel murder case, While erandlng
the Idaho prisoners as undesirable
citizens
After the matter had been dropped
for lack of sufficient grounds. as the
district attorney said, on which TO
base an indictment. the Appeal to
Reason published a cartoon by Ryan
Walker caricaturing both ATTORNEY
General Bonaparte and President
Roosevelt, after which the attorney
general ordered the case re-opened.
The action against the Appeal to Rea-
federal statutes, which 1t is hoped to
So construe as to define the first page
Of any paper as its cover or wrap
per-" The law prohibits the mailing
of any paper when there appears upon
such "cover or wrapper" any delinea-
lions, epithets, terms or language OF a
scurrilous, defamatory or threatening
character, or calculated by the terms
of manner or style of display to reflect
injuriously upon the character or con-
duct of another, and provides PEN
atty "for each and every offense". of
five years Imprisonment at hard labor,
or $4,000 fine. or both.
Postoffice Inspector Chance of Fort
Scott informed the Appeal manage
ment that the case had been closed on
the records of the postof1ce depart
ment but that it had been re-opened
at the direction of Attorney General
Bonaparte. The Appeal to Reason
manageme7t argues that a conviction
would establish precedent which
would enable the administration to ex-
ercise rigid censorship over all papers
during a national campaign next year.
suppression of undesirable" cartoons
and eliminating unfriendly matter
from the first page.
The editor of the Appeal to Reason
is already under Indictment IN the
federal court for publishing and mail
ing articles rejecting on President
Roosevelt His trial will be called in
the November term of the United
States district court at Fort Scott.