The Ogden standard. [volume] (Ogden City, Utah) 1902-1910, 1909-10-13
LIBEL SUIT STARTED BY THE
GOVERNMENT is DISMISSED

7 Hon. Then rather suddenly IL became
known that 1t could be procured for
forty millions.
Now, there were a number of peo
pie who thought there was something
wrong. A committee Of the u. S sen.
ate was appointed to investigate these
matters. The committee met as stated
in these articles. These men who kneu.
all about IT, William Nelson Cromwell
upon having certain questions put to
him stood upon his privilege as IN
| attorney and refused to answer TO
my mind that was just grounds for
suspicion. | am suspicious about it
| now,
Hero was a newspaper printing the
news or trying TO. Here was this
matter up for discussion. and I am not
| willing to say that the differences were
too strongly drawn
This indictment charges these de-
| fendants with commission of a crime
In the District OF Columbia. Now, the
constitution of The United States In
one OF the amendments provides that
tho accused shall he tried in tho state
or district whore the offence Is com
mitted
The indianapolis News is owned
by these defendants. conducted and
published by them, printed In Indian.
apolis. At the time covered by the
indictment. II had daily circulation
of about ninety thousand copies. All
,, but about two thousand were circulal.
ed and disposed of In the state OF
Indiana; some four or five hundred
more in one or two of the adjoining
states and TO the District of Columbia
there was sent by mall ABOUT 90 copies
10 subscribers, persons who ordered
them sent The defendants nave no
agent or bureau Office and maintain
no agent or bureau In Washington.
so the question. is do the defend
ants when they prepare and publish
fifty copies In the city of indianapolis
and deposit them in the United States
( mall 10 be transmitted by mail 10
nifty subscribers. in Washington-do
they publish these fifty copies in
Washlnglon2 If they do. If they did.
the court has jurisdiction of the Of
Tense. But II they did not, then the
court hns neither jurisdiction of the
ofGense or over the defendants
Everything that the evidence shows
that the defendants do or did, they
do and did In the state of Indiana
city of Indianapolis. | have thought
about this thing a good deal and il
seems TO me | am compelled TO take
one o. two views, and there is moth.
ing between them. Either when
newspaper owner or proprietor does
wat the evidence in this case shows
those defendants did print and de-
poslt In the mails for circulation these
papers containing therein, for the pur-
pose OF this statement, ,llbelous articles
either they are guilty here and In eV.
cry county district or jurisdiction
into which these papers go, or they
arc only guilty here. There is no
middle ground TO take.
when the defendants put these
papers containing those lbelous
articles into the postof1ce here in
indianapolis and they went through
the malls throughout the country into
tho various states. counties and dis.
tricts OF the United States il became
a crime. a separate ard independent
crime In every one OF the counties.
districts or states into which the pa
pers went or there was but one crime
and that was here
The counsel for the government
supposed a case where n newspaper
is deposited in Indianapolis and cir
culeted throughout the niDety-two
counties Of Indiana, ] asked whether
they could be prosecuted In every
county and the counsel thought they
could and iu tho absence OF this
statute taey could. Then suppose
there was an Indictment In Posey