The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 18??-1935, 1909-10-01
GOVERNMENT GETS
SEVERE RAP FROM
A FEDERAL JUDGE
ORDERED TO PROCEED WITH
LIsEL SUIT VS.. lNDIANAP-
OILS NEWS.
WON'T GRANT DISAPPOINTMENT
Defendants Can't BE Lett up In
The Air Until The Government
Sees Fit to Pull The String And
Let Them Down."

Sees Flt 70 run NC SUING $40
Let Them Down."
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. Sept. 3d.
Judge Anderson. of the United States
District Court, has refused an appli-
cation by the Department of Justice
for a recontinuance Of the preliminary
hearing of Delavan Smith and Charles
r. Williams, proprietors of the In
dianapolis News. who are under in
dictment by the Federal grand jury OF
the District OF Columbia, charged with
having criminally libelled Theodore
Roosevelt. Douglas Robinson, William
Nelson Cromwell, Charles P. Taft and
others by intimating in published
articles that there was corruption In
the purchase of the Panama Canai
zone by the United States from the
two French companies.
The hearing was continued last
June until Oct. IL. The Government
Wednesday asked for recontinuance
until after the trial of the publishers
of the New York World on similar
charge. which is set for Oct. 20, IN
New York City. The application was
made through Charles w. Miller, uhi-
ted states Attorney for this district
Attorneys for Messrs. Smith and VIII
Hams who are opposing their removal
IN the District of Columbia for trlsI'
protested against further delay IN the
proceedings and the court upneio
them.
/ "you may write to the Attorney Gen.
; eral.' said Judge Anderson to MI
Y Miller that will not approve OF Iur-
: Their delay in this matter
l. He added that he knew, OF COURSE
that Stuart Mcnamara, an attorney
of the Department of Justice, specially
assigned to the Panama libel cases.
could not be in New York ana III
diananolis at the same time, but ne
held Mr.. Mcnamara should have seen
70 II that the New York World triai
was postponed until after the indian
r apolis case was concluded.
"The subject matter involved Is the
same as l understand it" SAID the
Judge "Of course the decision OF the
s. New York court could have no enect
Of ,non the decision of this court, out II
,e might have an effect upon the attitude
~ of the Government in the Indianapolis
le case, whichever way the New 4orA
OIL case was decided"
~ United States Attorney Miller tolo
the court that he had no advice tna'
an the case against the Indianapolis
Ill News would be dismissed if the Ne"
n York World trial resulted in the &C
us ouittal of the publishers of that news
~ papers. !,
it nudge Anderson continued that i
re the Government is prepared 10 prose
Nv cute the New York World on Oct. ~
in II hsould be prepared to prosecute TN
list indianapolis News on Oct. IL. Messrs
Smith and Williams, he said, were II
~ CUSTODY, DelHS uAuSi O~'
OF thew we're in jail. The court conciuo
se' ed:
en- Now. the question is: here ar
en- men indicted in the District OF Coium
an bia the indictment returned some tim
ago and proceedings begun here In
or Government waits utnil it is ready Z
RS, nroceed and begins proceeeoinss
ly, Tbese men are arrested and brougn
he into court on criminal charge a
Iol- that time nobody was ready ana
lie went over to later day. Then, aIte
nai the defendants introduced their test
ere monv the Governments counst
My claimed they were surprised, AT an
md rate thew wanted time to meet ce
The tain matters. They claimed they al
18th not know the matters the defendant
100 were going to bring up and the tiin
was fixed almost four months iate
Now the court is asked upon this sta'
~ facts to indefinitely postpone
BE not to any particular time, just put
ow and leave the defendants up IN u
air until the Government sees NJ
in null the string and let them down.
of will not grant further continuance
"a