The sun., 1916-12-09
WOMAN THE STAR
AT CORRIGAN TRIAL
Audience Thought T. r. Would
Be, but His Services Were
Not Needed.
SAYS BOOK FIRM KNEW
Wife Of Author Witnessed
Conference With Vice-Presi-
dent, She Tcstifies.

Although Col. Roosevelt failed to APP
pear as a witness yesterday and stir
things up a woman witness put ginger
into the trial OF the 100000 libed suit
which Magistrate Joseph +. Corrigan Is
bringing against the Bobbs- Merrill Com
pany for publishing Gods Man" She
was the former wife OF George Bronson
Howard. author OF the book.
When It was made known that the
Colonel was expected to be a witness the
! air in the courtroom Immediately seemed
to have,a higher electric potential. But
the spectators were disappointed, as the
| Colonel. who was quite willing to appear
AS a character witness for the Magis-
trate, vas to be called only If attacks
were made on the judicial reputation. So
when the trial was adjourned the Magis-
trate went to tell the Colonel he would
not be needed. and the Colonel settled
down again to lambasting mollycoddles.
She. now Mrs. Margaret Saville Of
| Port Jefferson. l.. l.. when called to the
stand before supreme Court Justice
Con by Henry W. Arnold. attorney for
the Magistrate. stated that she was lily
ing with Howard In a -ottage near Port
jefferson during the summer OF 1915
when he was putting the las; coat OF
thought on the novel, In which "Magis-
trate Cornigan' Is so described that he
| could never be mistaken for the hero.
Just before last Christmas. about
three months after the book had made
It's debut. Mrs. Sayville said. she went
with Howard to see John j. Curtis. vice.
president of the publishing firm. about
getting some royalties for the reform
,..o,tx I,s IA. ri ushnaa hook NNnS nlh-
licly mentioned as being needed to
shock the city into mending its ways"
II was when Attorney Arnold asked
her to relate what the two men said in
the office at "a Union Square that Mrs.
Saville first appeared rs "A hostile W.T.
n~ess-,oward everybody. She refused IL
state the conversation, saying crispl":
Frankly | haven't been given a tair
deal in this case, and for that reason |
do not care To say what Mr.. Curtis OF
Mr.. Howard said. l want to talk t.
Mr.. Curtis first"
Justice Con wouldn't allow anv con-
ference in court no matter how private
between "A witness FOR the plaintiff and
a member OF the defendant company
and having been admonished respectfully
but firmly to tell her story she said that
Howard asked Curtis what he would tic
IL Judge Corrigan brought a libel suit
, Sne sdlu
"Mr. Curtis remarked that ii wou,t
sell the book and be better for it
This testimony was considered by tho
plaintiffs counsel to be in line with hi
contention that the publishers knew
when Gods Man was published tina
its author had torrid feelings toward
Magistrate Corrigan.
When Nice-President Curtis OF the
publishing company was put on the
stand he said he didn't remember seeing
Howard in December last, and though
he had some dealings with the then Mrs
Howard concerning royalties he couldn
fix the date nor recall whether she APP
reared in person. lie denied that Jude'
corrigan or a libel SUIT was ever men
toned between them. and said that unit
the suit he had never heard OF the Mag
lstrate or jefferson Market Court. though
he had lived here fifteen years.
A deposition from Treasurer Merrill
in indianapolis, Ind, was read TO tn
Jury In which he said the book concer'
had no literary agent and characterize
as a dramatic" agent Carl Bernhard
who was represented as sponsoring tn
novel through the press.