Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1909-10-13
GOVERNMENT LOSES IN EFFORT
TO HAVE EDITORS TRIED
IN WASHINGTON.
COURT DISCUSSES RIGHTS
OF NEWSPAPERS TO PRINT
Charges of corrl:p.oa il Panama Deal
Must Be Tried in ln...na If at ALL
Court Says No crims Was Com.
mitted in Neutrality-suspicious. News
of the Day,
of the Day.

against DelavaM Smith and
Charles r. Williams, proprietors of the
Indianapolis News, who were resisting
to the District of Columbia for
trial under grand jury indictment
charging them\ with having committed
libel in publishing articles al
leging there was corrupt profit of
S2S,000,000 in the sale of the Panama
canal to the United States.
THAT man has read the history of
our institutions to little purpose" said
Judge Anderson in concluding his de-
cision. who does not view with APP
prehension the success of such a pro-
ceeding as this to the end that citizens
could be dragged from their home to
the District of Columbia, the seat Of
stances of this. case The defendants
are discharged"
AT the close of argument in the
hearing OF Afessrs Smith and Williams,
Judge Anderson said ne was too busy
with other matters to write a long
opinion in the case, tho it clearly was
one of great public interest and inn
portance and involved several complex
questions of procedure in the United
States courts. He would proceed. he
>said~t TO sum up at once his view of the
evidence and the argument.
Continuing the court says:
This Indictment charges these de.
PENDANTS with commission of crime ir
the District of Columbia. Now, the
constitution of the United States, il
one of the amendments provides tina
the accused. shall be tried in the state
or district where the offense is com.
mitted.
"The Indianapolis News is owned b,
these defendants, conducted and pub
lished by them, printed by them in tn:
city Of Indianapolis. state of Indiana
AT the time covered by this indictment
ut had daily circulation bf about 90,
900 copies. All but about 1000 were
circulated and disposed of in the stat'
Of Indiana some 400 or 500 more in one
or two Of the adjoining states, and t.
the District of Columbia there were
sent by mail about fifty copies to sub
scrfbers, persons who ordered then
sent. The defendants have no agent %
bureau or Office, and maintain no agen
or bureau or office in the city of Wash
ington in the District of Columbia 70
the circulation Of papers within tina
district.
Only Ono Conclusion.
$50 the question is Do the defend
ants, when they prepare and publish
fifty copies in the city of Indianapoli
and deposit them in the United State
mail in this building to be transmitte
by mail to fifty subscribers in Wash
ington. do they publish those fit
they did. the court has jurisdiction O
the otfense. will not go so far as t
say that it has OF the defendants. Blu
if they did not then the court ha
neither jurisdiction of the offense G
over the defendants.
ITO my mind there is but one con
clusion to be drawn. Everything tina
the evidence shows that the defendant
do or did they do and did in the stat
Of Indiana, city of indianapolis, count
of Marion. am not here to say cha
il these defendants had an agent il
Washington to whom they sent for cir
culation copies of this paper. the
!. might be amenable TO prosecution i
Washington. if they could be arreste
in Washington.
i II have thought about this thing
good deal, and it seems to ME I ar
compelled to take one of two view.
and there is nothing between then
Either when a newspaper owner .
tproprietor does what the evidence j
this case SHOWS those defendants dit
composed, printed and deposited in tn
mails for circulation these paper
containing them for the purpose of thi
statement. libelous articles. either the
are guilty here and in every countr,
district or jurisdiction into which thes
papers go, or they are only guilty herr
There is no middle ground to take.
Il When these defendants put thes
papers containing these ! will llereaf
ter call them 'libelous. articles int
the postoffice here in indianapolis an
they went thru the mails turnout til
country into the various states. .,coun
ties and districts of the United State
either it became a crime. a separat
and independent crime in every or
of the counties, districts or states int
which the papers Went, or there wa
but one crime, and that. was here.
No Crime at Washington.
"rhe counsel for the governme,
bs.nnnsed arcase where a paper is Gle
posted in Indianapolis and circulate
t thruout the ninety-tWo counties of Ir
: diana. j asked whether they could I
prosecuted in every county and II
counsel tllr1--,li ...eyscorll. and in Il
absence IF t'iis statute they cou
Then suppose there was an indietmei
in Posey county. waIl1 they have II
trial and pre- seJa.iiln il, Marion cour
|. "? The rnrnsc! for s,',e governmel
, thought In would. I - not think :
J at all. ] ain - certain 81 II .l,a. ! fe
like saying know il. The theory
that it becomes a crime in the jar
, diction whcyc it3is eirrul:tcd. Stiff
, must be a separate crime. If there
, something in the circulation. in Il
IL a.. n.