The daily banner. (Cambridge, Md.) 1897-2008, 1913-05-28
7. R. DENIES HE
DRINKS WHISkEY
Never in His Life Had a Cock.
tail or HighDaIL
DOESN'T SMOKEOR DRINK BEER
Colonel Testifyng In His Libel Suit
Admits Using White Wines and DC.
casionaIIy Champagne and Sherry.

GOlOHcl lCotf'yiiS III ITO IipS' SA''
Admits Using White Wines and Oc.
casionaiIy Champagne and Sherry.
Marquette, Mich, May %. - In a
crowded little courtroom here Theo-
dore Roosevelt appeared in what is
probably a novel occasion in history,
when he, former president of the
United States, defended himself under
oath against an allegation of drunken
ness. His direct testimony and cross
examination lasted an hour and forty
minutes.
He appeared as witness in his $10.-
900 suit for libel against George A.
Newett, newspaper publisher, of Ish-
peming, who lin an editorial charged
him with drunkenness.
During direct examination by his
counsel, Mr. Pound, Colonel Roosevelt
related briefly the history of his life
and then in detail related his daily
mode of living and habits for many
years past.
: He declared that he is not an intem-
perate user of intoxicating liquorst
that he does not like the taste OF most
liquors and abstained almost entirely
from their USE He emphatically stated
that not since he had become of age
had he ever been in the slightest de-
gree under the infiueace of intoxicants.
Severe discrimination of an hour
failed to shake his direct statement as
to the extent of his drinking.
The leading points in his testimony
were:
81 have never drank cocktail or &
highball in my life. With exceptioI1&
noted I never drank whisky or brand
except under the advice OF phy
clan. l don't care for the taste
either.
81 don't smoke and / don't drihX
beer, because | dislike smoking an
dislike the taste of beer. never hav
drunk whisky or brandy except whs1(
the doctor prescribed it, or possibly on
some occasion after great expesurRx
when | was chilled through. But it has
been certainly fifteen or twenty YEAR
since | have drunk it because of bd
ing chilled
81 have never drunk beer nor do +
drink red wine The only wines that
have drunk have been either white
wines Madeira, champa gne or very oc-
casionally a glass of sherry
At home Z Often at dinner, will
dl ink wine glass or two OF A1aue5ra
In summer instead OF the Madeira,
will often drink tall glass of white
wine and appollinaris water.
"At public dinners | sometimes drink
glass of champagne, or perhaps two
I think that on the average this means
that l will drink champagne about
once a month.
mint juleps very rarely drink. In.
the White House we had mint bed;
and l should think that on the average
1 may have drunk half dozen mint
juleps year.
''Since l left the White House fours
years ago, to the best of my memory,|
I have drunk mint juleps twice, one
occasion at the country club at ST
Louis, where l drank part of glass of;
mint julep, and on another occasion at!
big lunch given me at Little Rock5
Ark, where they passed around the
table loving cup with the mint juleps
in it, and I drank when the cup was
passed to me.
"The only other occasions on which
l have drunk whisky have been when
it has been prescribed by the doctor.
During the last fourteen years do
not believe l have drunk whisky
straight, or with water, more than hall
dozen times"
The colonel at another stage of his
testimony said that he preferred tea to-
brandy and milk and doughnuts tos
champagne.
Jacob Riis, social worker, was also.
a witness. "The statement that Colo
mel Roosevelt was drinking man is a.
monstrous lie" he said with emphasis,
in answer to the question Does heS
drink any whisky or brandy?"
Dr. Alexander Lambert was the next
witness. He said that had the colonel
been an excessive user of alcoholic
liquor he never would have survived
the shock when he was shot at Mil
waukee last year. DR.. Lambert has
been on numerous hunting trips with
Roosevelt in North Dakota, Colorado,
Louisiana, and Wyoming and has
known him personally since 1891. The
witness said he was an expert on al
coholic cases and had treated 10000 OF
them.
From your personal experience with
Mr. Roosevelt on trips and in official
life at Washington, would you say he
was a man who drank to excess or
not?" DIR. Lambert was asked.
The witness replied with emphasis
that the eX-president was extremely
temperate.
DR.. Lambert said that the first time
he was called upon to give his profess
sional services to Colonel Roosevelt
was when the latter was at the Mercy
hospital in Chicago suffering from the
wound he received from the bullet at
Milwaukee Dr. Lambert was asked
his opinion as to Colonel Roosevelt's
chances Of recovery had he been a
constant user of alcoholic liquor.
"He would not have recovered" vas
the reply ITO his splendid physique,
imprisoned by alcoholism, he Dyes his