The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-10-19


 careful and reputable newspapers of the country. asked that some light be thrown on this alleged scandalous transaction. At once MT. Roosevelt. then President. assumed that the. gov- ernment had been libelied, and direct ed the Department of Justice to bring suit against the editor and proprietor of The News for libel Thus it was | that the case of the government which in this case was Theodore Roosevelt and William Nelson Crom- well--went into the courts of the United States and the case has just been decided. so far as the court for the Indianapolis circuit or district could decide if.
 Of course there is nothing strange. improper or unusual in a newspaper being sued for libel. That happens frequently. but in thss case the mon- strous proposition was put forth by sisC AetOSSNStb oaAhthkohfAAtOn Lue case should be tried in Washington. Ignoring the principle so long and weil established that e suit for libel must be brought in the State and locality where the libel was alleged to have been promulgated and where the defendants have their legal residence. the government sought to bring the defendants to washington to stand trial for an offence committed in Indianapolis. if there was really any offence in the case.
 This outrageous attempt to force defendants to go to Washington to be tried was based on the transparent ly fiimsy plea that inasmuch as The News was circulated in the District of Columbia the libel had been pub lished there and the alleged nbeIlers could be tried there. A little reflec- ton will convince any one of the ut tefiy untenable position thus assumed by our. 'goyernnent--meaning Rooss- welt and Cromwell. Carried to its only logical conclusion, the position taken would mean that a charge made against a newspaper for libel can be tried wherever the said newspaper is circulated.
 Was not this a monstrous and out rageous contention? If 1t had been. or should be upheld. The News could be prosecuted and its editor and proprie- tor forced to attend and defend them selves in any Federal court in the United States. What is infinitely worse, if the libel had been uttered against a private individual in any portion of the United States the court of any county district or circuit in which the paper Is circulated could take Jurisdiction and summon the de- fendants to appear there for trial. It is easy to see what an intolerable outrage this would be. and thus to understand why Judge Anderson so positively denied the right of the gov ernment to force the defendants to go to Washington, and held that if The News was guilty of libel the offence had been committed in Indianapolis and The News could be tried mo- where else. Whether the case can be appealed to a higher court. or whether it will end where it Is we cannot say. but we do say that If the present ad- ministration ifs not as conceited and bull-headed as the former was 1t will let the matter end where it is. Even verdict in its favor, if such a thing were possible, would add nothing to it's credit or reputation.
 As we have intimated. there Is a theory and a principle involved. and 1t is among the most important of all connected with free government. That Is the freedom of the press. which may well be called the paIla- dium of our liberties as a free people. We remember to have at some time read a speech delivered in Parliament by an eminent British statesman on this subject. We cannot quote his exact language. but he went on to say that though kings and nobles. states men and citizens might be corrupt. | yet he added in substance "as long as the press Is left free and untramelled defy you to encroach one iota upon the liberty of the people of England"
 These were not his exact words. but they convey the idea he was contend ing for, and if It was or is true in England how much more is 1t true in this country where a free press has been our boast and pride from the foundation of a free government on this continent.
 But there is a condition as well as ] q theory involved in the case we i have been discussing. In the first | place. was there any libel? Judge [ Anderson hints about as plainly as a man in hIs position could do. that the i questions or intimations of The News were pertinent and proper. and that the government is morally bound to -,.- .. .t-s -.oe,,, G..s- s..,Io5oro.,, y,o,,s-