The citizen. (Honesdale, Pa.) 1908-1914, 1909-06-04
Indiana Editors Case Put
Off Until October.
GOVERNMENT ASKS MORE TINE
Says It Will Produce Hitchcock,
Mack, Cortelyou and Some of
J. Pierpont Morgan's Asso-
ciates as Witnesses.

indianapolis, Ind, June 3.-After a
sharp controversy in which the court
took prominent part over the merits
of the Panama scandal" the govern
ment won point in its prosecution of
Charles r. Williams and Delevan
Smith, owners of the indianapolis
News, indicted by grand jury In the
District of Columbia on the charge of
criminal libel In publishing intima-
tions that there was enormous graft In
the purchase of the Panama canal by
the United States.
1t was the second day Of the hearing
before Judge Anderson in the United
States district court on the govern
ments application for an order remov-
ing the defendants to the District of
Columbia for trial.
At the request Of Federal Attorneys
Stuart Mcnamara and Charles w. Mil
Ter. Judge Anderson continued the case
until Oct. II to permit the prosecution
to introduce as witnesses Frank III.
Hitchcock, former chairman Of the Re
publican national committees: Norman
Il. Mack, chairman of the Democratic
national committees; George b. COrtel-
you, former secretary of the treasury;
certain members Of the office staff of
]. Pierpont Morgan x Co.. and certain
officers of various departments of the
government at Washington.
The defense protested against con-
tinuance, saying the government
should have been prepared at this time
to submit all its evidence. and the
court ut first seemed to approve, but
on statement of the opposing cOun-
sci as to what it was expected to prove
by the new witnesses the court decid-
ed to hear the further evidence.
Mr.. Mcnamara declared it was i'm
possible to anticipate the wide scope
that the case had taken on. He pur-
posed to prove by Messrs. Hitchcock
md Mack. he said. that they both had
made public announcements that the
story" offered to both of them for a
consideration that there was cOrrup-
ion in the Panama transfer was "a
fake" originated by bnckmale1s who
ut first hoped to get money from Will
lam Nelson Cromwell. but failed. The
story was published in the New York
World. and the same journal printed
Mr. CrOmwell'S denial of it on Oct. 3.
Mr.. Mcnamara said he expected to
prove that the defendants had knowl-
edge of the denial when they prepared
the editorial articles published rn.r: T.:
the Indianapolis News.
Ipl al hn
doubt aS to the relevancy of further
evidence for the reason. he said. that
he himself was impressed by the fact
that Mr.. Cromwell had refused to tell
the senate Investigating committee the
names of his clients, who composed a
syndicate for "AmericaniZing" the ca
nal. a plan that afterward was aban-
doned. The public might justly infer,
the court said, that there was some
thing wrong somewhere in the transac-
ton in which $4OOOO.0OO of its money
was expended.
Mr.. Mcnamara cOmbated the court
on this point saying that the fact that
Mr.. Cromwell subsequently declared
that no American received n cent of
profit from the sale and that other
prominent men and newspapers had
absolved Mr.. Cromwell, Charles p.
Taft, Douglas Robinson and ]. Pier
pont Morgan from suspicion of cor
fuption in the matter should have
caused the owners of the indianapolis
News'not to publish the charges in the
alleged libelous manner in which it did
publish them.