Kingsbury County independent. (DeSmet, Kingsbury County, S.D.) 1894-1929, 1908-12-25
ROOSEVELT WILL
PROSECUTE JOSEPH
PULITZER FOR LIBEL
Attorney General Instructed to
Begin Proceedings Against
New York World Editor.


statement concerning the purchase Of
the Panama canal property by the
United States, ~denouncing in strong
language charges that there was any
thing wrong in the ACQUISITION by the
United States of the canal property.
CROMWELL GOT $1,000
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,
600 for his work, his fee having been
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
received some of the money in the final
liquidation of the company's affairs.
II is, Of course, possible that Amer
leans might have been interested in
money thus paid to banks by liquidat-
ors. But the total sum so distributed
was so small that even if Americans
were ultimate receivers of il, they did
not profit much by their transaction.
Shot at Smith.
These stories" he continued, "were
first brought to my attention as pub
lished in a paper in indianapolis, called
"the News" edited by Mr.. DeIavan
and libelous in charge, and false in
every essential particular. Mr.. Smith
shelters himself behind the excuse that
he merely accepted the statements
which had appeared in a paper printed
in the New York World, owned by Mr..
Joseph Pulitzer. II is idle to say that
the known character of Mr.. Pulitzer
and his newspapers are such that the
papers we're believed by nobody. I'm
fortunately, thousands of persons are
i'll informed in this respect, and believe
the statements they see printed, even
though they appear in . newspaper
published by Mr.. Pulitzer"
utterly Baselsss."
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.
They are false in every particular from
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
for campaign purposes and in part
stories originally concocted with a view
of possible blackmail. The inventor of
the story about Mr.. Charles p. Taft,
fer instance, evidently supposed that
at some period of the Panam pur-
chase Mr.. w. H. Taft was secretary of
war. whereas, in reality, Mr.. w. Ii.
Taft never became secretary of war
until long after the whole transaction
in question had closed.
SrotherinIaw Innocent.
The inventor of the story about Mr..
Douglas Robinson had not taken the
trouble To find out the fact hat Mr..
Robinson had 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 the
trouble to read the public documents,
which would have Informed them that
Mr.. Root had nothing to do with the
purchase, which vas entirely arranged
through the department of justice UNI
der tie then attorney general, Knox.
Now these stories, as a matter of
fact, need no investigation whatever.
No shadow of proof has been or can be
produced in behalf of any of them.
They consist simply of a string of in
ldkt1ObS llptic. III 80 ~ 80 -
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. ! do not believe
we should concern ourselves with the
particular individuals who wrote the
lying and libelous editorials, a~rticels
for correspondents or articles IN the
news columns.
Pulitzer Real Offender.
THE real offender is Mr.. Joseph Pu-
liter. editor and 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
the good name of the American people.
1t should not be left to a private citi-
zen to sue Mr.. Pulitzer for libel. He
should 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 betrays his trust, a public servant
who is guilty of blackmail. or theft, or
financial dishonesty of I'M kind, and
a man guilty as Mr.. Joseph Pulitzer
has been guilty in this instance.
ut is therefore a high national duty
TO bring to justice this yillifier of the
American people, this man who wan
tonly n wickedly and without one
shadow OF justification, seeks to black
en- the character Of reputable private
citizens and to convict the government
Of his W country in the eyes of the
civilized world of wrong doing Of the
basest and foulest kind, when he has
no one shadow Of justification of any
| sort or description for the charge he
has made. The attorney general has
under consideration the form In which
the proceedings against MIR. 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, 900, 900 for the canal property
and saws IL was no concern OF the
president what the new Panama COM
pany did with the money. Explaining
the method of concluding the purchase.
the president says:
Knox Did tho Work.
The Panama canal transaction was
actually carried through not by either