The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1909-10-29
NO LESE MAJESTE
I'M THIS COUNTRY
Ending of Libel Cases Against
News of indianapolis Makes
Press Victory.

San Francisco Chronicle, October 13.
Most people have probably forgotten
that the editor and proprietor of the
Indianapolis News have been indicted
at Washington for criminal libel in al
leging, or virtually alleging, that mil
lions of the money paid by the United
States to the French stockholders of
the Panama Canal went to American
citizens who had purchased the stock
at a small price and who divided their
profits with unnamed officials of our
government. Substantially those state
ments were made in the News and also
in a New York paper. As copies of
both papers reached Washington in
due course of business, it was claimed
by the government that the crime of
libel was committed in that city and
that the then President, Roosevelt,
Secretary Taft and his brother, Charles
P. Taft; Nelson Cromwell, counsel for
the French company; J. P Morgan and
others were the persons libeled. The
editors and proprietors of the papers
were indicted in Washington, the Unit
ed States attorney acting under eX-.
press instructions from President
Roosevelt. Since then the government
has been trying to bring the indicted
newspaper men to Washington for trial.
The newspaper men object to that as
evidently intended to be oppressive,
not only in haling men hundreds of
miles from their homes for trial, but
in haling them into a jurisdiction in
which executive influence is all-pervad-
ing and where the truth would not be
permitted to be given in evidence. The
accused newspaper men say that there
are United States courts in Indianap-
oils, where the paper is published,
where the accused persons live and
where, if anywhere, they should be
tried for the alleged libel.
The evidence seems clear as negative
evidence can be that neither Cromwell
nor Morgan had been connected with
any improper payments of money, if
any were made, nor would any one
have thought of connecting the former
or present President with anything i'm
proper. Nevertheless President Roose-
welt was enraged at what he designated
libel upon the United States ''gov-
eminent, - and directed the prosecution.
The ease on trial at Indianapolis is on
an application of the United States for
the extradition of Messrs. Williams and
Smith for trial at Washington.
For the purpose of directing the at
tention of the United States attorney
to the exact points on which the court
wished to hear arguments, Judge An
derson on Monday expressed the views
he held quite freely. In order to secure
extradition from one jurisdiction to an
other it is necessary for the goven-
ment to show "probable cause for
finding the indictment, and the Judge
frankly stated that it did not then
seem TO him that it could be shown
that the accused had any malicious in
tent to libel the President or any other
of the persons named. but that the arti-
Gle was written in furtherance of the
of the objects of very bitter political
campaign and, however Objectionable.
should be ignored unless obviously CON
veying a direct personal libel. The
Judge said:
1.-The press has a public duty to per
form. and in political discussions it
seems to me that the conception of
libel should be greatly different from
the conception that should apply to a
ease Of libel on person 5 private char
acter."
| In other words, the Judge intimated
that in this country the crime of libel
could not be committed against '1gov-
eminent and that the crime of .slese
majestic does net for rs exist. Yes
terday Judge Anderson followed M his
expression of the dav before bv dis
missing the proceedings against the de-
! PENDANTS