Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1913-06-04
Tells S LIQUOR L USE /:
ROOSEVELT in LIBEL SUIT sAD-
MITs DRINKING LIGHT WINES, "
DENIES OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES.
REVIEWS HIS LIFE ! !; T. STORY
Colonel Declares That lin Fifteen
Years He Consumed Less Than
Dozen Drinks Of Whisky,
Then BY Doctors Order.

Marquette, Mich, May 29.-'1 am
not either q total abstainer nor a pro-
ihibitionist, but l am very abstemi-
Gus" this was Theodore Roosevelt's
description Of himself in relation to
intoxicants as, given On the witness
stand here Tuesday In the hearing OF
his $4,000 libel suit against George
.Newett, editor Of the 1shpeming Iron
Ore. Newett had editorially charged
the former president with getting
drunk, and that not infrequently.
Roosevelt denied the truth Of this
statement fatty and said he had never
been drunk in his life. Z.
Colonel Roosevelt told the story OF
his life and his counsel. James H.
Pound. in spite Of objecti Ions. asked
many questions that made the colonel
tell about the various high public Of
ices he had held, his Cuban cam
paign, the books he had written. his
life in the west, and the attempt to
iassassinate him at Milwaukee.
Mr.. Roosevelt said. with great earn
festness, that he. never drank . high
ball or q cocktail In his life; that he
had never been under the influence Of
liquor to the slightest degree and that,
while not a total abstainer. he was
very. nearly one. In fifteen years. he
declared. he had consumed less than
. dozen drinks Of whisky. and then
Usually under u doctors order. the
whisky being measured in . graduated
glass. He never took two drinks OF
whisky in thefsame day and. while at
state banquets he sometimes took
single glass, of champagne in obedt-
sence to custom. he never had wine on
his private table, On two occasions
the colonel had DRANK mint tuleps
away from Washington. but the fcoun-
sell brought out the fact that one Of
these occasions was in st. Louis and
the other at Little Rock. ssis s34sss
The cross-examination OF Colonel
Roosevelt by Attorney Horace A.An.
drews OF Cleveland was disappointing
4 to the audience in the courtroom, In
sasmuch as 1t brought out no damaging
admission Colonel Roosevelt notonly
held HIS own. but seized every oppor-
tunity Of saying things that strength
ened his direct examination and un-
doubtedly produced as good an effect
on the jury az 1t seemed to do on the
people In the courtroom. II
The other witnesses examined dur
ing the day were men OF national
prominence who have been intimate
with Colonel Roosevelt for years and
who testified they had never seen him
under the influence OF liquor and that
he only drank champagneSat state
sbanquets, white wine to the extent Of
one glass at formal dinners, and no al
coholics OF any kind at his own table.
These witnesses were Jacob Riis Of
New York, author OF How the Other
Half Lives and prominent as q So
biologist and 1eformer; DR.. Alexander
Lambert, a,famous authority on alco-
holic and drug diseases and physician
to the Roosevelt family; Dr.. p. M.
Rixey, surgeon general OF the United
States army. retired, and personal ply
stefan to Colonel Roosevelt while the
latter was president and H. ellison
Gardner, q Washington newspaper man
who had been with Mr.. Roosevelt on
almost all OF his campaign trips. "a