The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-10-12
ARGUMENT MADE
 IN PANAMA CASE
Hearing Against Editors Begins
 In Indianapolis
MERE POLITICAL MATTER
Judge Anderson in Commenting Upon Action to Remove Case to Washington Declares It Is
 Not Criminal Matter.

Not Criminal Matter.
 Indianapolis. October 11.-That the so- called Panama libel case was more or less of a political matter" was the com ment of Judge A. B. Anderson of the United States court of this district at the close of the argument today in the hear ing of Charles R. Williams and Delavan Smith, proprietors of the Indianapolis News, whom the government is seeking to remove to the District of Columbia for trial on the charge of criminal libel
 The court said that it wished not to give an impression that it had formed an opinion in the merits of the case but that it wished to point out the trend of the argument toward it's further en- lightenment as to whether or not this was probably the cause for the indittment of Messrs. Williams and Smith by the federal grand jury of the District of Co., lumbia for criminal libel in their hav- ing published articles intimating that there was a graft of $2S000,0Q0 in the sale of the Panama canal zone to the United States by the French company.
 What is the guilty intent to be shown
  court asked Stuart MeNamara, special attorney of the department of justice, in charge of the proceedings The judge went on to explain that he was in doubt that it could be shown that the defend- ants had malicious forethought to fiber former President Roosevelt President Taft, Charles P. Taft, William Nelson Cromwell, J. Pierpont Morgan, Douglas Robinson and others.
 Political Project.
 "The whole Panama canal project is q great political project" said the court, "and there has been and is much honest expression of divergent. opinion as to the advisablity of having chosen the Panama route in preference to the Nica- raguan route, and, now, since the cost of building the canal is so much larger than at first estimated, as to whether or not the United States should own any Atlantc-to-Pacifc canal.
 "The press has a public duty to per form and in political discussions 1t seems to me that the concession of the libel should be greatly different from the con- ception that should apply to case Of libel on a persons private character. am not seeking to prejudice the case at this time; 1 am only seeking for light on the question of whether criminal llbel may be possible in this matter. Crim- inal libel is a crime against society.
 The court was not satisfied, Judge An derson said, that the published articles complained of charged crime against the persons alleged to have been injured If a set of Americans, the court con- tinued. went to France and bought up the securities of the French Panama Canal company for $12,000,0O0, as alleged and sold them to the United States Tor $40,0OO 900, it should be regarded as nasty piece of business but In no sehse a crime.
 Crime Charged.
 Mir. McNamara interposed that in his opinion a crime was charged for the reas- on that it was alleged that the "syndl- cate used it's influence upon the admin jstration at Washington to put the deal through" and that if the charge were true, Theodore Roosevelt, Elihu Root ana w IT Taft. persons in authority, were in criminal complicity with the "syndlcate to swindle the people of this country.
 Ut is my personal opinion' said the court, that liberty is best preserved py passing over some aspects of an alleged uhel of the nature now under considera- ton. which should not be passed over in q libel case of g personal or private char acter"
 MT. McNamara, in his argument during the day maintained that the Indianapolis News, though printed at Indianapolis, was published in Washington as well as in many other sections, that copies Of the paper were sold in public there, and that therefore the crimes charged were com mitted in Washington as well elsewhere. Judge Anderson asked MT. McNamara how, in his opinion, 1t should be decided where such libel case should be tried. MT. McNamara said he thought the first court in which an action were brought should have jurisdiction. The judge here upon suggested that If this view of the | matter were adopted the question would 1 arise whether or not proceeding for | libel might lie in 100 different jurisdictions.
 Bar to Proceedings.
 1 And also in this view" added the court, | would a conviction in one jurisdiction be a bar to further proceedings in the same matter in 100 other jurisdictions? 1 MT. McNamara said he was not prepared l to answer this question. He cited authori ties which he said would show that the | United States supreme court had ap- l proved removal for trial from one United l States district and to the District of Co., lumbia in proceedings similar to this pros i ecution of the publishers of the Indian | apolis News.
 1 John D. Lindsey of New York, coun- 1 sel for the New York World, who is | attending the hearing here, joined in l the discussion by asserting that the &C., | tion against the Indianapolis News and similar action against the publishers | of the New York World had been defined by MT. Roosevelt in his public 1 statement in which he declared that the American people and their government had been maliciously libeled in the | Panama canal controversy and that the action to be brought was not in redress of the wrongs of any individual citi- zen. fn
 Mr. Lindsey opposed the conception that these defendants should be moved | from one part of the country to an- other and said that the setting of such a precedent would be destructiye of the principle of liberty.
 MT. McNamara devoted a large part of his argument to attempting to es- tablish the fact of criminal libel on the part of the defendants. He said the records at Washington absolutely refuted charges of corruption In the Panama purchase, that the defendants had not considered these records In publishing the charges complained of' and that whatever was the intention in their minds, the act they committed amounted to criminal libel
 | We cannot go into investigation or the subjective state of minds of the defendants" said Mr. McNamara, we can only judge from the outward acts