The Cairo bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1???-1928, 1909-06-02
DELEVAN SMITH AND OTHERS
IN COURT AT INDIAN.
AFOLiS.
COvERNMEhTLOSTPO|NT
When Judge Anderson Decided tc
Take Testimony, Which Purport.
ed to Show No Libel in Pan
ANA Canal Editorials.

Indianapolis, June 1.-Delevan
Smith and Charles r. Williams, own
ers of the Indianapolis News were
before Judge Anderson Of the United
States court of this district today re
aisting removal TO the District of
Columbia for trial on indictments
charging them with having com,
mitted criminal libel in publishing
articles intimating that there was an
enormous graft in The purchase by
the United States of the Panama
canal zone. Smith and Williams were
Indicted by the grand jury of the Dis
trict of Columbia Jointly with the
proprietors of the New York World
Not Criminal Libel
The attorney for the defendants
maintained today, and sorght TO
prove his points oy the evidence pre-,
sented that the newspaper publishers
were MOI guilty of malice necessary
to complete criminal libel and that
they had not committed an ofense
for which they could he removed
from one district to another for trial
and that the Indictment charging
them with criminal libel was base
less
Government Resists..
Fha government resisted th0 intro
ductiGn Of evidence in the hearing,
the attorneys contending that II was
iueSsential for the committing magis-
1rate to hear the evterce The ex-
hihits of editorials printed in The In.
dianapolis News, they held, were
lihelous Il they violated statute of
the District OF Columbia provid NJ
thot erimtuuf libel may lie in the pub
lleation of an article not justified ini
truth
The government maintained that
on the face of the indictment and in
formation The defendants should be
trang feYred TO the District of Colum
bia for trial
Decides Against Government.
r Judge Anderson ruled against the
government He called attention to
the necessity of proving express, not
implied, malice in prosecution for
criminal libel Malice in a civil ac-
tion, he said, was very different from
malice in a criminal case Implied
malice in newspaper publications
might be sufficient to jrstify iulR
ment for damages against the pub
Usher, but in criminal action a diff
ferent degree of malice was required
1t must he express malice, The court
decided to hear the evidence
Ernest l.. Lewis, correspondent of
the News. denied that he had anvil
instructions as to handling the Pan
anna canal matter in dispatches from
Chicago during the presidential cam
paign
Managing Flitor Williams testified
that he had not written the editorials
complained of by the government
though he approved of them as in
tho interest of public morality and
integrity.
Rowland Wrote Editorials.
Mr.. Howland. who wrote the edi-
torials. said he wrote them because
he thought the subject was the big
gest thing in the campaign" and he
should not have discharged his duties
if he had not discussed it, He made
no personal investigation and did not
know personally that c. p. Taft was
interested in the Panama transfer.
Still Suspicious.
Answering the questions of tteI
government attorney, Rowland said
he was suspicious at the time, is still
suspicious. and believed he had good
reasons for everything he wrote.
Earlier in the afternoon Delavan
Smith was on the stand and said he
had no personal knowledge of the
editorials before they were pub
lshed
The case may be submitted tomor
row evening