The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-01-20
LIBEL MYSTERY STILL IN AIR Grand Jury Begins
 Investigation. MANY WITNESSES ANSWER Western Unions Manager Forced
 to Produce Telegram. Charles P. Taft, Brother of the Presi- sent-eIect, Was one of the wt-
 ncsses to Appear Before
 Grand Jury.

ernment, or individuals, or both, in-
 stituted the proceedings for libel. in ! connection with the Panama property,
 still remains a mystery in so far as
 the general public is concerned.
 So completely have the tracks of the complaint been covered that not the
 slightest intimation has been given which would clear up this important and much discussed point
 The Federal. grand jury here today I continued its investigation into the matter and a number of witnesses
 were examined. Principal among these were Messrs. Douglas Robinson. broth.
 er-in-faw of President Roosevelt. and | Charles P. Taft, brother of the Pres
 silence regarding their testimony. and
 absolutely refused to say whether or | not they appeared as plaintiffs. All the Washington correspondents who were cited to appear, gave infor-
 nation establishing their connection with either The New York World or l The Indianapolis News. while several
 news dealers and newsboy testified
 to having sold the papers to the gen. eral public. Other witnesses will be I heard tomorrow.
 Interest in the case continues un-
 abaked. and 1t is now hinted that an l indictment will be brought in the Dis- | THfEt OI COluf1lDb1s TekdIulGSS QA any action taken in New York or Indianap- oils. In that event, the prosecuting ohfcers of the Government entertain no 1 fear of their ability to bring here those ! who may be made the defendants. For many years the decisions in the libel
 suits against Charles A. Dana, pub- | fisher of The New York Sun, which relieved the defendant from the neces- 1 sity Of appearing in Washington to stand trial, stood in the way of ac- 1 tions such as has now been brought. l But now, 1t is contended, 6 change in l the courts and q change of the law have negatived those decisions. The District code expressly provides lfor punishment for libels but the Cow ernment's legal officers maintain that the deanition of a lfhei must be ob- Istakned by resortfHg Co fhe common flaw It therefore leaves no room for debate that the present inquiry is not Eaesd upon . statutes but upon the common law. Tn the interest of the public welfare"
 LtbeI where malicious intent to in- jare is supposed to exist, is a criminal offense in the District of Columbia. District Attorney Balxer is basing this case on the. ground that an alleged crime against citizens of the United States had been brought to his atten- ton and that it is his duty to investi- gate ana DFlhH to trlal, thc pSFSoH UT persons supposed to be guilty of the alleged crime.
 The corridors and witness room in the United States court house swarm ed with newspaper men and others summoned to give testimony before the grand jury. In addition to the Wash inEton correspondents subpoenaed, there were on hand, A W. Tracey, as- sistant to MT, Hornaday, of The In- nnt. UIa the Presidents brother-in-law; H. F. Tan. manager of the Western Union Telegraph Company; J. w. Dunbar John H Becker and J. O. Spandler l0- cal news dealers and William Smith. a newsboy.
 Mr. Robinson was the first witness. For a long time preceding the giving of his testimony, he was closeted with District Attorney Baker. He was in the grand jury room only five minutes. He declined to give any information regarding his testimony.
 Refuaed to Produce Copies.
 Mir. Tan refused to produce copies of any teIegrams or give any evidence without an order of the court. In consequence the grand jury, accom- panied by District Attorney Baker and with Mir. Tan in custody, proceeded to the criminal court where Justice Gould issued the necessary order. Mir. Tan explained to the court that the Vest ern Union Telegraph Company held all messages to be confidential and pri yate and that ne would not make any statements unless the court so direct ed him. The jury then went back to their room and MT. Tan underwent his examination.
 Otto Carmichael, the head of the Washington bureau of The New York World, was subjected to a rigid exam inatfon and was on the stand for a considerable time. He identified cer- tain editions of The New York World and stories appearing in them refer ring to the canal purchase. Ills as- slstants Messrs. Albert and Conway, were called and gave corroboratIve tea timony.
 In addition to identifying the several editions of The New York World, the District Attorney offered to prove to the grand jury that Messrs. Carmichael Albert and Conway were salaried em- ployes of The World, engaged in the gathering of and writing of news items for that paper.
 The newshoy, William Smith. as well as the three news dealers. all testified to their having received numerous copies of The New York World of the date named in the subpoena and to having sold them to the general pub Iic
 Charles F. Taft. brother of President elect Taft, against whom some of the libelous articles are said to have been directed. arrived at the court house at I2:s0 and after brief conference with 1 District Attorney Baker. entered the grand jury room. The testimony of Mir Taft consumed but five minutes time. | He declined to discuss the case In any way
 The examination Of James P. Horna- day lasted but few minutes. His tes- timony was confined simply to the fact that he was the Washington corres- pondent of The Indianapolis News and to the Identification of files of his pa per. The grand jury then adjourned until tomorrow.
 Mir. Engelman was questioned by both United States District Attorney Stimson and Assistant District Attor- ney Waite for nearly three hours. The investigation for the day was then dis continued. 1
 The others who had been subpoenaed were notified at the close of the session to be on hand tomorrow morning.
 The subm .ssIon of the briefs to Judge Ward by the government and defend 1 ants vva d noakunnad at O late ho,,r ..