Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1909-01-21
NEW YORK NEWSPAPER MEN
SUBPOENAED TO APPEAR Be
FORE FEDERAL GRAND JURY
EFFORTS TO GET INFORMATlON
FROM DISTRICT ATTORNEYS
OFFICE PROVE FUTILE.
NEVER BEFORE IN ANNALS OF
GOVERNMENT HAS SUCH AC-
TON BEEN TAKEN.

ton correspondents OF out-of-tOWn pa |
pers and a local newsboy yesterday |
received subpoenas to appear this |
week before the federal grand jury |
and give testimony presumably in
connection with the statements ap
pearing in their publications bearing
on the Panama canal purchase. So
far as 1t has been possible to ascer-
tain, these were the only ones cited:
Otto Carmichael, Charles S. Ambert
and E. Jesse Conway, all OF the New
York World staff; James HOrnaday OF
the Indianapolis News; jeremiah Mat
theWs of the New York Sun; Harris
NJ. Crist of the Brooklyn Eagle, VIII
lam Smith, a newsboy of Washington
engaged in selling New York papers.
With the exception of CrisC, who is
commanded to go to New York and
present mself tomorrow morning
before the grand jury o. the circuit
court Of the southern strict, the par
ties are directed to appear before the
federal grand jury of the District OF
! Columbia Tuesday morning. The
World staff also were directed to bring
with them the files of the paper Tor
September, October, November and
December, 1908, Gin the case of the
United States versus the Press Pub
fishing company, publishers of the
New York World
All the parties when interviewed
declared that they were wholly ignor
ant of the nature Of the case regarding
which they were called upon to testi-
! f..
| There is no doubt here that the
subpoenas all have to do with the suit
! for libel which it is believed has
been brought by the government in
! New York against The World. 1t was
| the publisher of the World IN connec-
ton with the publisher of the Indian
apOlis News, Joseph Pulitzer and
Delayan Smith, whom the president, in
letter dated December l last to Will
lam Dudley Foulke, in response to one
from him, were severely denounced.
And in his special message to con-
gress December Is, regarding the
charges of corruption by or on behalf
of the government in the matter OF
| the canal purchase, the president an
nOunced that the attorney general had
under consideration the form in which
proceedings for libel against Pulitzer
should be brought.
Nowhere in the annals of the gov
eminent has such an action before
been taken as the United States gov
eminent sung for criminal libel. The
president in his message was most
emphatic in saying that it should not
be left to private citizens to enter the
sU t, and he was particular to state
that he did not believe Eve should
concern ourselves with particular in
dividuals who wroe lying ard l.belous
editorials, articles from correspond
ents, or articles in the news columns
The real offender is Joseph Pulitzer
editor and proprietor of The World
IT. therefore is inferred that the CORE
spondents were summoned as wit
nesses and not with the ultimate idea
of making them co-defendants.
! All efforts to get any information at
the office Of the district attorney here
regarding the particular statute under
which the suit has been brought
| failed District Attorney Baker left
his Office early and went to his home
in Germantown, Md, and could not be
reached. His assistants utterly re-
| fused to discuss the matter in any OF
| it's phases Attorney General Bona
parte was not to be found and officials
Of his department were equally silent.
AS soon as the subpoena was served
upon him, Mr.. Carmichael got in
touch with his office in New York and
left on an afternoon train for that
city. where he will hold a conference
with his superior officers. Il do not
know what it is about" said Carmich-
ael before leaving, land have had no
information from the office about tn
matter"
That every effort was made to pre-
vent any leak" in New York before
the subpoenas were served, is evI
denced by the fact that Mr.. Crisis
subpoena was directed to John
Crist the endorsement later being
written upon it that John" was a fic-
titious name. The fact that he has been
ordered to appear before the federal
court in New York is regarded as evil
dence that if the purpose had been en-
| tertained to bring such an action il
| the New York state courts it had been
abandoned perhaps owing to the adj
vice from United States District At
torney Stimson that such a course
was not feasible. or. again. perhaps.
because of the refusal Of District At
torney Jerome. to undertake to pre-
sent such a case to a state tribunal.
Grand jury proceedings in the Dis
trict of Columbia are always conduct
ed with the greatest secrecy; the dis
trfct attorney strongly resents any
effort to seek information for the
press as to the procedure in such
cases before an indictment has been
secured, and offenders are subject to
severe penalties for interference with
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