Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1913-05-31
Roosevelt's Attorneys Con-
tinue Testimony Showing
That. Colonel is Near
hAbstainer.
NEWSPAPER MAN ON
WITNESS STAND FIRST
Describes Trips With Form
er President and Denies
That He Was Ever In
toxicated.

Marquette, Mich, May % Five
witnesses for Colonel Roosevelt, a
relative. former member OF the
Rough Riders regiment, q former loco
motive fireman, newspaper man and
: former Judge, testified today IN
Colcnel Roosevelt's suit for nnel
axainst. George A. Newett, the 1shpem
ing newspaper owner.
All ofs the witnesses called by the
nlaintiff asserted that the colonel was
only a moderate user OF lntoxlcants..
The substance of the testimony as
given by Philip Roosevelt, young
son OF the coloners cousin; Cnaries
willis Thompson, q New York news.
j paper man; Andrew A. Abele, former
locomotive fireman; Edwin Emerson
4 Cuban rough rider and campaigner'
and A., z. Blair, a former common pieas
fudge of Ohio was that during nis
campaign in Cuba with the houen
Riders, Colonel Roosevelt drank only
black coffee or water, and never
liquor OF any kind.
That during his political campaigns
the colonel drank champagne only oc-
casionaIly and never to excess,
s. That while Colonel Roosevelt Kept 2
lsrre and varied supply OF wines at MS
home he never indulged in them EN- I'M.
moderately.
cellar" Philip Roosevelt said.
Colonel Roosevelt as usual since the
beginning OF the hearing listened with
the keenest interest to the witnesses
denial from the stand that the former
president OF the United States IRE
ouenly "got drunk" as charged in the
editorial published, by the defendant.
Resume hearing. 8 i,
Charles Willis Thompson OF New
York, for nine years washington
correspondent, and since 1908 a
political writer for New York news
paper. testified this morning.
..As washington correspondent" he
said II used to go to the white house
10 see Mr. Roosevelt saw him usual
" alone. sometimes in the morning,
and sometimes in the afternoon, usual
" in his office but some times when
in order to lose not minute he re-
ceiycd visitors while lying in the bar
ber's chair. never detected the odor
Of liquor on his breath, never saw him
In tie slightest degree under the In
flueuce of liquor, and never saw MS
manner when in any way 1t changed
from his ordinary one"
"Ever 20 on any trips with him?"
II was with him on his 1900 mile
swing around the circle last year,
which lasted a month. afterWard
Ioined him at the Mercy hospital, Chi
cago. when he was shot and stayed
there until he went to Oyster Bay.
Went there with him and stayed there
until election. Two weeks after he was
shot in Milwaukee he went to New
York on two occasions to address large
mass meetings, and went with him
and reported them.
"On these trips did you see much of
him."
"I saw him constantly. at all hours
OF the day and night, and never saw
him take, a drink or affected with
LIQUOR. When he left the car followed
him"
did you ever see him take
drink" !.
"Only at dinners of the Gridiron
club, when he had glass of cham
pagne in front of him. He would oc-
casionally take sip from 1t. Nearly
all the time. though. he was too busy
talking or watching the stunts per-
formed by the gridironers. He always
made speech on these occasions and
they were among. the best he ever
made. He always left the dinners when
they were about half over to go back
to the white house to his work"
Never Heard Rumors.
Asked whether there had been any
discussion in Washington Of his drink
ing habits, the witness replied:
ssI never heard it discussed during
the seven years that he was there. If
It was discussed it must have been
outside of Washing gton, and 1t was my
business to know every rumor that
was floating around in that city. It was
what l was there for"
"Could he have got drunk on the
train without your knowing it?''
"He couldn't even have been slight
" affected by liquor without my
knowledge of It. either on the trip or
at Oyster Bay"
The witness testified that on the
trip to San Francisco, the railroad
company, by order Of the colonePs
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