The Farmington times. (Farmington, St. Francois County, Mo.) 1905-1926, 1909-01-22

distributed it among the stock.
holders of the old French company
and threatened to bring suit on
the part of the Government for
libel against Joseph Pulitzer, pro-
prietor OF the World, etc.
The World declared that these
statements of the President were
untrue and that he must have
known thut they were untrue when
he made them; that instead of the
$40, 600, 900 being paid to the
French Government. it was paid
to j p. Morgan < Co., and that
Cromwell had testified to the fact
that only $50 900, 900 of the sum
was paid to the French liQuidator
Of the old company under an agree
ment entered into between the
liquidator and the American com.
pany and the balance ($lj, 600, 000)
was distributed among the new
company stockholders. In short
that the Government had paid
$40, 900. 600 for a property which
it might have bought for much
less, and that an Ammerican spec
ulative syndicate made $lj, 600, =
600 out of the transaction.
If the government was swndled
in this manner it is not the first
nor the only time that it has been
robbed by predatory syndicates
and special interests, and it is diff
cult to see how the publication Of
the facts or alleged facts can be
construed into IA libel against the
Government. If the publications
made by the World are libelous, if
the President, or Mr.. Cromwell, or
any of the people associated with
the American Panama Canal com
pany or syndicate, or any member
OF Congress or of any department
of the Government thinks he has
been libeled, he has the right to
bring suit against the World and
the other papers.
Who or what is the Govern
ment? Not Mr.. Roosevelt, nor any
agent OF the Government Theo-
retically and constitutionally, if
not practically, the People are the
Government, and they have not
been slandered by the publications.
II any of their agents-aud the
President is only an agent to help
carry out the will Of the people,
however much he may yaunt him
self-feel themselves damaged by
any publications of the press, they
have their redress under the law of
libel, but it is not the province of
Government to assume that it has
been slandered by anything charged
against any of its agents and insti.
tute suit on lite own account.
The old alien and sedition
laws" which assumed that the
Government" had power to Grim
inally punish citizens for circulat-
ing statements alleged to injure
the Government" were regarded
as so obnoxious and contrary 10
the spirit of our republican form
of government that they were re-
pealed over a hundred years ago.
This last action of Mr.. Roose.
welt, in causing the summoning of
the representatives of the offend.
ing papers before the Federal
Grand Jury, is warmly criticized
on two important points:
/. That in using the Federal
Grand Jury as a secret inquisition
to seek his own ends and further a
personal feud he is acting illegally.
.. That if his plan further
contemplates his entry into court
to obtain punitive damages for Ii
bells published about a Government
transaction, he cuntemplates q rev.
dictionary step in conflict with the
fundamental principles underlying
the United States Government"
The New Bedford Standard
makes this pertinent observation:
What is happening in Washing