Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-01-04
Panama Libel Suit Beyond Su-
preme Courts Jurisdiction.
OPINION WAS UNANIMOUS
Case Might Have Been Taken Before
a State Tribunal.
NEW YORK PAPER INVOLVED
Criminal Proceedings Instituted
Against Newspaper for Alleged
SANDER of Prominent Men.

The effect. in brief. of yesterdays de-
cision of the United States supreme
Court i'm the Panama libel suit. brought
in the name of the government against
the New York World. was that the leu
eral court had no jurisdiction over the al
legged offense because the case might
have been brought in a state court
Chief Justice White in delivering the
unanimous opinion of the court said:
First, that adequate means were al
forded for Furnishing the circulation OF
libel on a United States reservation ny
the state law and in the state courts
without the necessity Of resorting to the
courts of the United States for redress.
Second that resort could not be had to
the courts of the United States to PUNISH
the act of publishing newspaper libel pE
circulating a copy of the newspaper OH
the reservation upon the theory that such
publication was an independent oHense'
SEPARATE and distinct from the primary
printing and publishing of the Hbelous
article within the state OF New YORK
without disregarding the laws OF that
state and frustrating the plain purpose
of such law, which was that there should
be but a single prosecution and conVlc-
ton.
''These propositions being true, it fol-
lows, in the light of the constructor
which we have given in the act OF 1913,
that the court was right In quasnins .i0
Indictment as not authorized by that act.
No other conclusion, we think, was pos-
sible as the court could not nave sustain
ed the Indictment without giving 10 Tue
statute a meaning directly coiiiIc'iis
fixed to it.
Not Applicable in All Cases.
THE ruling which we now make does
not. of course, extend to subject which
is not before us. 1t follows, therefore,
that we do not intimate that the rule
which in this case has controlled our de-
cision would be applicable to case which
uas wholly committed on a reserVa-
ton. disconnected with acts committee
within the jurisdiction of the states, anu
where the prOsecrS'a for sucn crime ~
the courts of the United states, las soIs1a
state law. was in all respects in harmony
Herewith" T..
This case grew out of a publication in
the World in October. 1908, renectlhg UPON
Taft. his brother, Charles P. Taft, Doug
las Robinson W.. n. Cromwell ana j. r.
MORGAN by intimating that through lnti
mate acquaintance with the PRESIDENT anu
the Secretary of War the c1Vliiahs nau
been able to reap a profit in buying the
Panama canal from the French company
and selling it to the United States.
President Roosevelt sent a special mes
sage to Congress in which ne urseu TIE
government to prosecute Joseph Pulltzer,
owner of the New York World. for libel.
Under orders from Mr.. Roosevelt, cr1m!-
nal proceedings were Instituted through
Attorney General Bonapare in the courts
of the District of Columbia against both
the World and the Indianapolis News
Defeated in Indianapolis Case.
The government was completely defeat
ed in the indianapolis News case. United
States District Attorney Heating of In
dianapolis resigned his position rather
than assist in the attempt to remove the
defendants from their homes to the DIS
trict of Columbia for trial. In his letter
of resignation he declared himself not In
accord with the government in its attempt
to put a strained construction on the law,
believing that the principle struck at the
very foundation of the government. United
States District Judge Anderson at lndi-
annapolis discharged the defendants.
In the face of this decision there was no
attempt to remove Mr.. Pulitzer and his
associates from New York to the District
o
refused to allow the case against them
to be brought In the state courts of New
York, and insisted that the New York
publishers be prosecuted In the federal
courts of New York. An indictment was
obtained by District Attorney Stimson,
recently candidate for governor of New
York, from the federal grand jury i'll the
southern federal district Of New York,
charging the New York publishers with
criminal libel on the ground that they had
circulated twenty -nine copies Of the is
sue containing the articles complained of
| in the military reservation at West Point,
and one copy in the New York post Of
flee, which building is federal property.
Based on Act of 1898.
| The act upon which the government
relied as authority for this prosecution
was that of July Z. 1895, to protect the
harbor defenses and Notifications of the
federal government. 1t was founded on
the act of March 3, 1925. which was the
| first federal enactment of this character
When the case was brought before Judge
ground that the court had no jurisdiction
| in the case.
| It was commended on behalf of the pub
fishers that the libels charged, if they
| were libels. were cognZable in the state
| courts and could have been punished
there: that there was no federal libel la "
and that whatever the language OF the act
to protect harbor defenses the whole his
tory of the law of libel showed 1t was
not applicable.