Abilene weekly reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1888-1935, 1913-06-05
All His Witnesses Say He Has Good
Habits.
AND his REPUTATION is GOOD
Roosevelt Won Point when Judge
Ruled That Hearsay Evidence
Would Not Be Admitted
Jury Did Not Hear.


life, who met him on the Nile when
he returned from the African hunt
ing trip, and newspaper men who
accompanied him in various political
campaigns, testified in COLI Theo-
dore Roosevelt's libel suit against
George A. Newett, a newspaper own
err Of Ishpeming, Mich, that the
former president not only was not
q drunkard, but that he was notably
and extremely temperate in the use
Of intoxicants.
1t would have been impossible, the
witnesses said, for Colonel Roose-
welt to have been under the influ-
ence of liquor without the fact be-
coming known to his associates,
Throughout the hearing OF the
case, in which the former president
is suing for $4,000 damages be-
cause of the publication last Octo-
Der Of an editorial charging him with
getting drunk, Colonel Roosevelt
listened with evident satisfaction to
the testimony Of former members of
his cabinet and of newspaper men.
Frequently his face lit up with a
smile as some incident of his cam
paigns or hunting trip was related
from the witness stand.
For almost six hours of testimony
taking, or argument by attorneys,
Colonel Roosevelt occupied his chair
just back Of his counsel. He sat
sometimes tilted back against the
railing, twitching his watch chain
and occasionally casting the glints
of his thick eyeglasses toward the
balconies crowded with women and
sometimes leaning forward to whis-
per to his attorneys.
The days proceedings were mark
ed by an important ruling by Judge
Richard G. Flanagan, which in the
introduction of evidence by the de-
tense will have the effect of exclud-
ing certain kinds of hearsay testi-
mony. This ruling came after q
prolonged argument, during which
the jurors were excluded from the
room and after attorneys for Colonel
Roosevelt had urged the exclusion
of certain kind Of testimony which
they said might be introduced by
the defense through dispositions TAX
en- from persons in different parts
of the country.
James H. Pound and William H.
Van Benschoten, Colonel Roose-
velt;s attorneys, said the ruling was
agreeable to their argument. Hor-
ace Andrews, one of Mr.. Newett's
counsel, described the present civil
action as "a semi-criminal case"
and pleaded for an unrestricted ruiz
ing on the admission of evidence by
the defense.
Almost every phase Of Colonel
|Roosevelt's public life was touched
upon by the witnesses. All of them
spoke with emphasis when they ex-
pressed personal knowledge in de-
nying as the editorial charges, that
the Colonel "gets drunk and that
not infrequently, and all his intimate
friends know It,"
It was asserted that whenever
Colonel Roosevelt drank champagne
or wine, or mint julep, it was out
of courtesy to his host at some pub
Ilic function; that he often took only
mouthful from a wine glass and
on one occasion he ordered a rail-
road company not to place in his
special car the usual supply of liq-
uors usually placed in such cars.
The witnesses we're Mr.. Bacon,
Truman H. Newberry, formerly sec
rotary Of the navy; John Callsn
lo'Laughlin, a Washington newspa-
per correspondent; Lucius F. Cur
It's, a New York newspaper man, and
ellison Gardner, newspaper man,
who, after having testified the day
before, was recalled.
Repeatedly and in various phrases
the same question was put to each
witness.
"Have you ever known Mr.. Roose-
Welt to be under the influence of
lliquor?" or "Have you ever smelled
lliquor on Mr.. Rooseyelt's breath ?"
and the answer invariably was neg
alive.
AS often, questions were put
whether the Colonel was in the habit
of drinking intoxicants regularly in
any quantities and the answer again
was negative. Mr.. O'Laughlin, who