Norwich bulletin., 1913-05-29
The S0briety
 Of Roosevelt
SEVERAL WITNESSES TESTIFY
 REGARDING IT.
NOT ON HIS BREATH
All Declared That They Had Never Noticed Liquor--cortan of Hear say Testimony to Be Barred.

| MdrQueIt6, MICH, May Zo-Meu WHO 1 have been associated with Colonel l Roosevelt in public life, who met him l on the night when he returned from 1 his African hunting trip and news | fpapernen who accompanied him on | his various political campaigns, testi- fled today in Colonel Theodore Roose- velts $10,000 libel suit against George 1 A. Newett, a newspaper owner of 1 Isnpeming, Mich. that the former 1 president not only was not a drunk ard but that he was notably extreme 1 ly temperate in the use of intoXicants.
 Not Apparent in His Breath.
 It would have been impossible, the
 witnesses said for Colonel Roosevelt | ever to have been under the influence
 of liquor without the fact becoming | known to his associates. It would have been equally impossible, they
 testified for him to have drunk liquor
 with any regularity without the smell
 of it on his breath being apparent to
 his friends who testified
 The Colonel ChuckIes.
 Once Colonel Roosevelt gave vent to | an audible chuckle. That was when Robert Bacon former secretary of
 state. in telling of his acquaintance
 with members of the Roosevelt fam 1 fly, said the colonel was the father of
 five children, although he has six, 1 Colonel Roosevelt's. sense of humor
 was awakened at once by this lapse l of MT. BacOn'S memory and the
 hearty chuckle which he vainly tried
 to smother in his hands caused a rip
 pie of laughter about the courtroom. Certain Hearsay Evidence Excluded.
 The days proceedings were marked ! by an important ruling by Judge
 Richard c. F1annigan, which in the
 introduction of evidence by the de- l fense will have the effect of excluding
 certain kinds of hearsay testimony. 1 This ruling came after a prolonged
 argument during which the jurors
 were excluded from the room and aft 1 CT attorneys for Colonel Roosevelt had urged for the exclusion of certain l kind of testimony which they said
 might be introduced by the defense 1 through dispositions taken from per
 sons in different parts of the country.
 Runnors Not to br Admitted.
 The effect of the ruling was that 1 Colonel Roosevelts general reputation 1 is an issue in the case and testimony 1 bearing upon his reputation may be l introduced, but that rumOrs or reports about his reputation coming from l persons not qualified by experience to | judge shall not be admitted In the 1 future progress of the hearing, it was 1 explained in court.a person who has | travelled extensively with the former | president or who has been associated
 with him with any degree of constan-
 cy may testify as to his reputation.
 But man who heard the colonel de-
 liver a political speech or saw him | for only a few moments in crowd may not testify as to his general rep utation. although he may tell how the
 colonel acted or appeared at that par 1 ticular time.
 James H. Pound and William H. Van l Benschoten, Colonel RooseveIts at 1 toneys. said the ruling was agreeable l to their argument. Horace Andrews 1 one of MT. NeWetts counsel, deScrib- 1 ed the present civil action as "a semi
 criminal case" and pleaded for unre- stricted ruling on the admission of ev 1 idence by the defense.
 Usually Drank out of Courtesy. l Almost every phase of Colonel 1 RooseveIt's public life was touched up
 on by today's witnesses. All of them 1 spoke with emphasis when they eX- 1 pressed personal knowledge in deny ! ing, as the editorial charges, that the | colonel "gets drunk and that not in 1 frequently, and all his intimate friends l know it" It was asserted that when | ever Colonel Roosevelt drank cham | pagne, or wine or mint jUlep, it was l out of courtesy to his host at some public funcSIon. that he often took l only mouthful from a wine glass and i that on one occasion he ordered a railroad company not to place in his i special car the usual supply of liquors usually placed in such cars.
 l The witnesses were MT Bacon, Tru- man H. Newbury, former secretary of ! the navy, John Callan O'Laughlin, ] Washington newspaper correspondent; | Jucius r. Curtis a New York news
 paper man and Gilsou Gardner, a
 newspa per man. who testified.
 Same Question to Each Witness. Repeatedly and in various phases the same question was put to each wit, l ness
 Have you ever known MT. Roose- welt to be under the influence of i liquor on MT. Roosevelts breath ?" and the answer invariably was neg l ative.
 Just as often questions were put as | to whether the colonel was in the habit | of drinking intoxicants regularly in any quantities and the answer again ] was mega tive.
 Mir. OLaughlin, who said he knew Colonel Roosevelt for many years and
 who went to a point on the Nile to
 meet the colonel on the latter's re- turn from the interior of Africa, put
 q degree of positiVeness to his an
 swers by saying:
 Suggestion Seemed Silly.
 'I not only never knew of the l 1 f1uence of liquor but any suggestion 1 that he ever was, appeared to me, on account of my intimate acquaintance with him, to be absolutely silly 1 It was a question put to MT. 1 OLaughlin that brought about the
 argument of attorneys over the ad- instability of certain testimony Mir. | O'Laughlin was asked whether he had | heard a general report circulated among newspaper men that the colonel was In the habit of getting drunk. Aft 1 CT the courts ruling he was permitted to answer. His answer was that he 1 had heard such rumors but that he l regarded them as wholly unfound- ed and not worthy of notice
 MT. NeWberry and MT. Bacon were equally positive as to Colonel Roose- velts habits Of sobriety
 RooseVelts Side May Finish Today. Memories of the Cuban campaign were brought to Colonel Roosevelt as he sat in the courtroom. A telegram was handed him from Hugh T. Hal bert of st. Paul, AIinn referring to a letter which the colonel wrote while l in camp in Cuba to l.. Guttmann. Cor sicana, Texas, about the use of