The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1908-12-18
ROOSEVELT WILL
PROSECUTE JOSEPH
PULITZER FOR LIBEL
Attorney General Instructed to
Begin Proceedings Against
New York World Editor.

Roosevelt today sent to the senate a
statement concerning the purchase of
the Panama canal property by the
United States, %denounc,ng in strong
language charges that there was any
thing wrong in the ACQUISITION by the
United States of the canal property.
CROMWELL GOT S220,Ooo.
The president has complete infor-
nation in his possession in the shape
of certified copies of the records of the
now Panama Canal company. taken
from the books in Paris for William
Nelson Cromwell, attorney for the
company, who negotiated the sale to
this country. Mr.. Cromwell got $780,
passed upon by the French courts.
There were no American names in the
long list of stockholders of the New
Panama Canal company. There are,
however, names Of certain banks which
rece!ved some of the money in the final
It 10. Of course, possible that Amer
cans might have been interested in
money thus paid to banks by liquidat-
ors. But this total sum 80 distributed
was so small that even If Americans
were ultimate receivers Of it, they did
not profit much by their transaction.
Shot at Smith.
"Thsse stories," he continued. "were
first brought to my attention as pub
!ished in q PAPER in Indianapolis, called
the News" edited by Mr.. DeIavan
Smith: The stories were seurrilou.
and i'belous in charge. and false in
shelters himself behind the excuse that
ne merely accepted h statements
which had appeared in q paper printed
in the Now York World, owned BY Mr..
Joseph Pulitzer. It is idle TO say that
the Known character of Mr.. Pulitzer
and his newspapers are such that the
pape:s were believed by nobody. un-
fortunately, thousands of persons are
i'll informed in this respect, and believe
the statements they see printed, wen
though they appear in . newspaper
published by Mr.. Pulitzer"
bitterly BaseIe.s."
Summarizing the charges made in
this connection. the president says:
These statements sometimes appear
In the editorials, sometimes in the news
columns. sometimes in the shape OF
contributions from individuals either
unknown or to be of bad character.
beginning to end. The wickedness of
the slanderers are only surpassed by
their faulty. So utterly baseless are
the stories that apparently they repre-
sent In part merely material collected
Tor campaign purposes and in part
stories originally concocted with a view
OF possible blackmail. The inventor Of
the story about MI. Charles p. Taft,
for instance. evidently supposed that
at some period OF the Panama pur-
war. whereas, In reality, Mr.. w. H..
Taft never became secretary of war
until long after the whole transaction
in question had closed.
Brotheriniaw Innocent.
The inventor Of the story about Mr..
Douglas Robinson had not taken the
trouble to find out the fact that Mr..
Robinson not had the slightest con-
nection. directly or Indirectly, of any
kind or sort with any phase of the
Panama transaction. from beginning
to end. The men who attacked Mr..
Root In the matter had not taken the
trouble to read the public documents,
which would have informed them that
Mr.. Root had nothing to do With the
purchase. which was entirely arranged
through the department of Justice un-
der the then attorney general. Knox.
Now these stories, as a matter of
fact, need no investigation whatever.
Nc shadow of proof has been or can be
produced in behalf of any Of them.
They consist simply of a string of in
famous libels. In form they are in
part libels upon individuals, upon Mr..
Taft and Mr.. Robinson, for instance,
but they are in fact wholly. and in
form partly a libel upon the United
States government. 1 do not believe
we should concern ourselves with the
particular individuals who wrote the
lying and libelous editorials, articels
for correspondents or articles in the
news columns.
Pulitzer Real Offender.
The real offender is Mr.. Joseph Pu-
liter, editor end proprietor Of the
World. While the criminal orfense Of
which Mr.. Pulitzer has been guilty is
in form a libel upon individuals, the
great injury done is in blackening
1t should not be left to a private citi-
zen to sue Mr.. Pulizer for libel. He
ould be prosecuted for libel by the
governmental authorities. In point of
encouragement Of iniquity, in point OF
infamy, of wrong doing, there is moth
ing to choose between a public servant
who betraNs his trust, a public servant
who Is guilty of blackmail, or theft, or
financial dishonesty Of any kind, and
q man guilty as Mr.. Joseph Pulitzer
has been guilty in this instance.
1T is therefore a high national duty
American people. this man who van
tonly and wickedly and without one
shadow of Justification, seeks to black
en- the character of reputable private
citizens and to convict the government
of his own country in the eyes of the
civilized world of wrong doing of the
basest and foulest kind, when he has
not one shadow Of justification of any
sort OF description for the charge he
has made. The attorney general has
under consideration the form in which
the proceedings against Mr.. Pulitzer
shall be brought"
The president refers to various pa
pers which he transmits with his mes
sage and calls attention to numerous
utterances and acts relating to the
canal and purchase. He cites the act
of congress by which he was authorized
to pay $40, 600, 900 for the canal property
and SANS 1t was no concern of the
president what the new Panama COM
pany did with the m Explaining
h method of concluding the purchase.
the president "
Knox Did the Work.
The Pananla canal transaction was
actually carried through not by either
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