Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1914-01-23
AGENT WINS HIS
SUIT FOR LIBEL
81, 500 Verdict Against Dover
Paper for Alleged SANDER
GUS Article.
Especial to the Newark stnr.J

YOUNGSTOWN, Jan. 23.-John w
Roberts, claim agent for the Morris
County Traction Company, obtained
a verdict of $1,000 damages in the SUI
preme Court yesterday before Judge
Black, in his suit against James H.
Bolitho, Charles P. MacFall and WILL
lam H. Matthews for criminal libel.
Mr.. Roberts contended that an article
that appeared In a paper published
by the Socialist party of Morris
county, called the Morris County
Educator" referred to him, although
no names were used.
The article referred to "claim
agent of certain trolley company"
as being among various things good
citizen should not be. Mr.. Matthews
and Mr.. MacFall were put on the
stand by Elmer King, Mr.. Roberts's
counsel, and swore to being the edi-
tor and business manager respec-
lively of the paper, which is pub
lished at Dover, in Morris county,
though printed at Reading, Pa. Mr..
Roberts and Otto G. Schultz, secre-
tary and treasurer of the trolley COM
pany, testified to a conversation in
the trolley company's office, during
which Mr.. Bolitho. who is lawyer,
was alleged to have said that Mr..
Roberts was all the article said he
was and that he had the affidavits
in his pocket to prove 1t and more.
Mr.. Bolitho, on the stand, denied
making any such statement and de-
MED that he was the author of the
article as charged by Mr.. Roberts.
Wrote of the 'Dopey Doctor"
1t appeared that Mr.. Bilitho's
client, Valent Milanak. had been in
jured In a trolley accident at Rock
away. Mr.. Bolitho admitted writing
a letter to Mr.. Roberts in which he
accused the latter of "shyster" tao
tics in handling the case, and another
letter to the trolley company in which
he heaped vituperation upon Mr.. Rob-
erts as its claim agent. In the Rob-
erts letter Mr.. Bolitho had promised
tic SHOW him up" Dr. George Fos-
ter, of Rockaway, also appeared in
the case as having attended Milanak,
and was alleged to be the physician
to in the articles as the
"dopey DOCTOR"
Mr.. Bolitho entered a general denial
of his authorship of the article, but
Mr.. King read to the jury certain
phrases from the letters written by
Mr.. Bolitho to the trolley company
and to Mr.. Roberts that Mr.. King
claimed bore a similarity to phrases
appearing in the article complained
of, and also called the attention OF
the jury to the fact that Mr.. Bolitho
has used the word "shyster' in his
letter to Mr.. Roberts, spelling it in
another way, and that the same
word. similarly misspelled, appeared
in the newspaper article.
Mr.. Matthews and Mr.. McFall,
through the questioning of their
counsel, Henry Carless, asserted the
article was general in its nature, and
did not mean any particular trolley
company or claim agent.
When the jury was being selected
there were several challenges made,
the plaintiff and the defense each
several. Mr.. King asked
each 1uryman IL he was a member of
either the Socialist party or of a
labor organization. Mr.. Carless, in
summing up the case, asked the jury
not to be biased against the paper
because 1t was issued by Socialists,
but was halted by Judge Black, who
said that the policies of the paper had
and that If there was any man on the
jury who would be swayed by such a
he was not fit to serve.
No attempt was made by the de-
tense to disprove the assertions made,
their contention being that Mr.
Roberts was not meant, It took the
Jury less than one hour to decide
upon a verdict.