Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1913-06-03
TUESDAY, JUNE 8, 1873.
ROOSEVELT DAMAGE SUIT
Defendant Admits Mistake and Plain.
tiff 10 Masnanimous.

Marquette, Mich, May 31.-Col.
Theodore Roosevelt today won his
libel suit against George A. Newett,
who charged that the colonel with
drunkenness, and waived damages
after the defendant had uttered re-
traction. = The jury awarded the NOM
inal damages of six cents provided In
such cases by. the laws Of Michigan,
Each party to the suit VIII have 10
pay his own expenses. ses.,s,-,,.,,.,.s,,.,.
Judge Flanagan instructed the
jury to bring in a asverdict for the
plaintiff. which they did without leay-
ing their seats. The 'colonel left lot
Chicago and the east at $50 this
afternoon, less than two hours after
the conclusion of the case.
when the afternoon session began,
the air wos electrical with expect-
ancy..
plaintifr, resumed the reading Of depo-
sitions. 1t was noticed, however, that
he ignored the testimony Of some wit
nesses. ljThe next move was sudden.
"The plaintfff rests" remarked At
torney James II. Pound, in q matter
OF fact manner. William T. !. Belden
of Ishpeming, who with Horace An
drews of Cleveland, was Mr.. Newett's
attorneys, said:o -
"The defense will call Mr.. Newett.
A ruddy-cheeked man, whose color
did not disguise the fact that ne was
suffering from some serious Illness
took the stand. In his hand he car
ried a manuscript. When the defen-
ant began reading, Colonel Roosevelt
moved to the edge Of his chair, and
BETRAYED an excitement which his
rigid jaws could not hide. Mr. Newett
was well along in his reading before
the colonel, whose position seemed
like that of a man about to leap for
ward, lost the tense look on MS
face.
TT Is fair to the plaintiff to state
that I have been unable to find In any
section of the country any individual
witness who Is willing to state that ne
has personally seen Mr. Roosevelt
drink to excess.
At this the plaintiff smiled and re-
laxed. The, colonel broke into a grin
again when Mr.. Newett said, with ref
erence to the mass Of testimony ad-
duced by the plaintiff, 81 am forced
to the conclusion that I was mis-
taken" }leI-iIa 4.i5l,st
The statement admitted that a
search of the country had been made
to Investigate stories OF persons al
legged to have knowledge that Mr..
Roosevelt drank to excess, but In
every case the stories fiattened out to
mere opinions or hearsay. The libel
was published in good faith. Newett
said, in the belief that 1t was true
and proper information. That It was
true the defendant said he believed,
until the trial opened.
No demand for retraction ever
q n Ia he .ko I'D a nd xrrh a
the bill was filed against him, there
was nothing left for him to do but
make preparations to contest the suit.
Forty depositions were taken In vari-
GUS parts Of the country, but to use.
or attempt to use them, would be TO
continue an injustice which had al
ready become apparent to him and to
his attorneys. 56 t,i
Leaving the stand, Mr.. Newett look
ed In the direction OF Colonel Roose-
velt, but the latter was whispering to
his counsel. Attorney Pound then
said: i j5iaN gas b. .sitcs
with the courts permission the
plaintiff would like to make brief
announcement" 10 - 'Al fsisi tsys :
The fudge nodded and Mr.. Roose-
Welt arose. Bowing to the court the
colonel said he would waive the mat
ter Of damages save for the nominal
amount provided by law. raS S9ttt
Speaking Of his purpose In institut-
ing suit he said: .t,a,t,s,e
II wish at once for all during my
lifetime to deal with those slanders
80 that never again will 1t be possible
for any man in good faith to repeat
them"
Here recess was taken. tF,1
Judge Flanagan read his charge
to the jury Immediately after recess.
Speaking Of Colonel Roosevelt, as the
plaintiff, Judge Flanagan said:
Certainly he has convinced the
court, not only that he never was
drunk but that he Is now and always
man" 9st t's
At the same time court held that
Mr.. Newett, in publishing the edito-
rial, was not actuated by actual III
will toward the plaintiff and that he
acted in good faith.
But as the court held the jury to
the plaintiff had he not waived his
right to damage would have sustained
verdict in any sum up to the
amount claimed in the plaintiffs dec
laration $4,000. AS soon as the fore
man, William Matthews, the miner,
81 years old, reported the verdict as
directed by the court, court adjourned
and Colonel Roosevelt stepped for
ward and took the hand Of each jur-
or. 81 thank you, gentlemen, each
was splendid, perfectly splendid"
7, Matthews, smooth -shavep Q. and
youthful, said the jurors had been
much impressed with the testimony
Of each witness.
after Mr. Roosevelts testimony I
think we were impressed chiefly with
that Of Mr., Garfield and Mr.. Riis,"
said Mr.. Matthews. The statement
of Mr.. Newett himself that he could
not doubt that Colonel Roosevelt was
a temperate man after considering the
character. Of the witnesses was Just
how we felt"
~ The scene IN the little court room
in the reI county building on the hill
overlooking Lake Superior never for
a moment during the "a hours and 45
tending over five days, lost its DRAM
attic interest. Gao mr u.8ar a,.vD
Hour after hour Mr.. ,Newett, al
though suffering from a serious
malady and with pain always Wis
ible in his face, sat listening to the
testimony given against him by for
mer members Of Colonel Rooseveit's
cabinet, literary men, doctors, natu-
ralists and others Of national reputa-
ton. Ten feet away sat Colonel
Roosevelt, the plaintiff. The bal
comics and the seats behind the law
yers' inclosure were always filed.
Mr. Newett was the first to leave
the court room, but although fire.
quently halted by persons who wished
to express their admiration Of the
manner in which he had acknowl-
edged himself in the wrong, he was
on his way to his home in Ishpeming
before the colonel left the building.
The colonel had to hurry to catch his
train which left at $50 o'clock and
on it besides the colonel, were James
r. Garfield, w. Emlin Roosevelt,
William Loeb. Jr., and others.
asras asea.-,~As