New-York tribune., 1908-05-22
HIS LIBEL DAMAGES 81
KENPNER ACT. TRIBUNE.
Discharged Postoffce Official ne
couers That Sum.

The libel suit Of Louis Keinpner formerly super
insendent 81 the registry system IN the fos.oino
rera-1rneut at Washington. against Inc IiteuH
Association. which has been on trial this week pc
- Trs-,os T,,ora and fury in the Supreme
Court was ended yesterday by verdict OF 'he
jury in kensner's favor for g.
Ar the end of the investigation of certain oi-
visions of the f9ostofce Department in ls'S con-
s.tas .- T T2-isfow Fourth Assistant Post
rnsstsr General, hempner was, On the recollineh
oation of General Bristow. removed from HIS =.
fee on the grounds, among Others, tha' as an du-
rninistrative officer he lad been either hlconiPe
tent or inexc,saby negligent; that ny eTasTe ano
misleading answers he had attempted TO conceal
from the inspectors the irregularities OF MS a
rninistration; that he had used his superior poSi
rion in tyrannical and unwarranted ways 10 IN
-irnidare the clerks under him from giving anIor-
NATION to the inspectors which it was their pam
duty TO give when called upon to do so: and 1hat
he had deliberately violated the revenue laws ps
q systern OF petty smuggling and endeavoreo TO
use the Presidents order as to 'g1fts ana souNe-
Mrs as a cloak for his Illegal acts
The first publication that appears to have been
made of the charges against Kenlpner for snug
Cling was contained in the issue Of The tribune
Of September 3. 1903. The investigation mao iloI
then been completed, but the published arucie
stated that Kempner had already at that time
been found by the Postofice inspectors to have
carried on systematic smuggling of Cuban cigars
through the registered mails; that proof hao thus
far been obtained Of the importation OF between
fftv and sixty boxes of cigars which the pay
raent Of duty was evaded, and many OF which were
sold for prices in the neighborhood of s. a box;
that when confronted with the facts helnpner'
who had long been under investigation. attempted
70 belittle his offence the same ground that
had been pleaded by all Of the Postoffice ofclals
who up to that time had been detected in dlshoh-
est practices-1hat the amount Of which the gov
eminent had been defrauded was too small to war
rant Official action in the premises.
Counsel for The Tribune pleaded that this was a
fair and true report Of public and official proceed
irgs and therefore that the publication was prlNl-
legged and the plaintiff could not recover dam
ages even though il were not shown that he act
ally had been guilty Of the crime Of smuggling as
no malice shown on the part Of the defend
ant. But Justice Dugro held that, as the heading
Of the article was He Struggled Cigars" this
constituted charge Of the crime of smuggling
INDEPENDENT Of the official proceedings, and that,
therefore the plaintiff entitled 10 recover DAM
ages unless the defendant were able to show to
the satisfaction OF the jury that hempner had
actually been guilty Of this crime
Upon cross-examination by Colonel Henry w
Sackett, counsel fer The Tribune. Kempner ad-
nitted that he actually had received something
like forty boxes Of cigars from Cuba upon which
ne had paid nc duty. and that such portion OF
them as he had not smoked himself he had sold
10 persons il Washington at about s. a hundred
He insisted, however that he had not intended
defraud the government; that he was only 1ol-
lowing the practice OF many others including some
who were his suPeriors in the Postoff1ce Depart
ment; that he justified in assuming that his
acts were innocent because Of these practices and
because OF certain Of the rules Of the department
70 which he referred He went so far on the
witness stand swear that he did not KNOW at
The time that cigars received into the United
States from Cuba were subpect TO any duty; that
II was the business of officer Jacksonville.
Florida. to discover whether incoming cigars We're
subject 10 duty and that if they passed that officer
without being marked for duty he was justified in
believing that they TO oe admitted free.
Judge Dugro, in his charge to the jury, which
counsel upon both sides declared to be most fair
and impartial. made keen analysis Of the testi-
mony that had been ELECTED from kempner on
cross-examination, including his testimony that
although he had been smoker since boyhood. ana
had been for wears a prominent official in the
Postofhce service, he did not know that any duty
was rayable upon cigars brought into the United
States from Cuba after the American occupation.
But he charged the jury that under the law the
defendant was bound satisfy them, by a fair
preponderance Of evidence, that Kernpner had act
that If the defendant did not do they should
give 10 the plaintiff such damages as would fairly
compensate him for the injury he had suffered.
AS the case given 20 the jury at a late hour
on Wednesday evening, the court ordered a sealed
verdict When opened and the verdict of
s. in favor OF the plaintiff announced in
court Yesterday morning, kempner was not pres
eut Small as il is this is the largest verdict that
has been rendered against The Tribune Association
in the Supreme Court in many years. the verdicts
10 ALI other having been either for the de-