The Watertown weekly leader. [volume] (Watertown, Jefferson County, Wis.) 1912-1917, 1913-05-30
ROOSEVELT LIBEL
JURY IS SWORN IN
Panel Secured After 81 VenIre-
men Were Examined.
ELEVEN ARE MARRIED MEN
Colonel Shows Great Interest in Elk
animation of Prospective Jurymen
While Defendant Newett
Exhibits Little.

Marquette, Mich, May 2S.-A suit
involving allegations of drunkenness
on the part of Theodore Roosevelt,
former president of the United States,
is being heard here beginning Tues
day by jury composed of four min
ers, three teamsters, two farmers, one
blacksmith, one locomotive fireman
and one woodsman
Colonel Roosevelt who is suing
George A. Newett, an Ishpeming news
paper publisher, for $4,000 damages
because OF an editorial charging him
with drunkenness, was the first wit
ness today.
The following is the list of the jury
men:
Joseph Robear, Ishpeming, team
ster, age twenty-five, married; Will
liam Pryor, Marquette, locomotive
fireman, age twenty-seven, married;
Robert Bruce of Powell, woodsman,
aged fifty-four, married; W. H. Mat
thews of Gwyn, mining clerk, age
twenty-five, married. William Fass-
tender, Marquette, teamster, age TWEEN
ty-eight, married. John Frederickson,
Negaunee, miner, age thirty-one,
single; Gust Polcen of Wells, married,
blacksmith, age thirty-two; William
Sharp of Negaunee, born in England,
age thirty-three, teamster, married;
John A. Johnson, farmer, Marquette
county, age thirty-siX, married; Will
liam Garrow of Ely, miner, age TWEEN
ty-six, married; Andrew P. Johnson,
age sixty-eight, miner, lives at Hum
boldt, married; Thomas Howard, age
ffty-two, farmer, of Chocolay, mar
ried.
Lawyer James H. Pound of Detroit,
the chief counsel for the prosecution,
was much more particular in his ex-
animation of jurors than W. P. Bel
den, the chief lawyer for the defense,
and demanded the removal for cause
of five prospective jurors to the de-
fense's one. Lawyer Pounds favorite
two questions were:
DO you regard calling a man a
thief or drunkard or uttering other
libel against him as joke or a seri-
Gus NATTER" and IF you are selected
as juror in this case will you permit
anyone to approach you and endeavor
to influence your verdict"
Lawyer Belden also had two favo-
rite questions. The first one was:
Have you any prejudice against a
newspaper, during a campaign, max
ing charges against the character or
bo1 of oR
vided that those charges are true?"
Lawyer Belden's second best question
was, viii you be Influenced by the
fact that one of the parties in this
suit is national figure and a former
president of the United States, While
the other is country editor?"
And during all the questioning of
the veniremen, Colonel Roosevelt sat
quietly just inside the railing of the
court room between James A. Garfield
and George A. Shiras of Marquette,
who is entertaining Colonel Roose-
velt at his home. The colonel showed
the deepest and most profound inter
est in the case and sometimes sat
leaning over in the direction Of the
juror who was being examined, and
with his eyes fixed sternly on the
mans face. Sometimes an answer by
a venireman would cause him to
whisper excitedly to Garfield or
Shiras, but he exchanged no words or
even look with his counsel. Editor
Newett, who is a tall, spare man Of
possibly fifty-fve years Of age, with
iron gray hair and mustache and
rudy complexion and looking more
like colonel of cavalry than a coun-
try editor, did not take the eager
interest in the trial displayed by the
colonel, but sat stiff and grim by the
side Of his counsel