New-York tribune., 1918-08-21
Affid avit Calls
Upon Patriots to
Quit Hearst Papers
New Mexico Court Hears
Reply to Publishers Plea
for Injunction

SANTA FE, n. NJ, Aug. 2O.-The en-
tire Southwest to-day was watching the
progress of the most important legal
battle that has arisen from the out
burst OF American feeling against the
Hearst newspapers
The issue at stake in this legal war
is whether the citizens have the right
. to fight what they consider pro- German
newspapers here at home while the
boys "over there" are fighting the Huns
at first hand. In other places Hearst
has instituted court action to prevent
city councils from passing ordinances
to bar his publications, but the case
now before the New Mexico Supreme
Court at Santa Fe is considered more
important because it has to do with
what American citizens may or may not
do--to the Hearst publications.
The reason why Hearst chose New
Mexico as the place to fight out the is
sue was probably because the situation
here had become moro critical Ito
HearsD than perhaps any place else.
When New Mexico started on the trail
OF the newspapers which continued to
defend and praise Germany, even after
American boys had been killed in bat
tic against the Huns, 1t started in dead
ly earnest. The Governor of the state
became one of the leaders in the anti
Hearst campaign.
For some time after New Mexico
became warmed up to the lob Hearst
employed the same tactics which he
mad been using in the East and else
where. He dispatched several ennis
sarles to try to smooth things over.
hlred local lawyers to make speeches
in his defence and inserted advertise.
ments in those papers which would
PRINT them. 1t soon became apparent.
however, that these tactics would not
work in New Mexico.
Hearst Turns to Courts
Then Hearst turned to the courts,
filing the famous suit now in the Su-
preme Court He sought to enjoin New
Mexico citizens from further activities
toward driving his publications out of
the state. The suit named the leaders
OF the New Mexico antiHearst war,
including Governor Lindsey, ATTORNEY
General Patton. Walter Nj. Danburg,
general secretary of the New Mexico
Council of Defence; Guthrie Smith,
editor of the councils official organ.
"The New Mexico War News" and
each member Of the Council of De-
fence and the Bernalillo County Coun-
Gil of Defence. The two defence bodies
also were named as organizations.
Many of the leading attorneys of the
state volunteered to defend the suit
for patriotic reasons. ATTORNEYS for
the defence collected affidavits from
the defendants to show the defendants
reasons for trying to keep Hearst pub
lications out of the state.
Holds Hearst Real Evil
One of these affidavits, BY Guthrie
Smith, stripped Of its legal phrase
ology, reads, in part:
Holding Hearst Hcarstism and
the Hearst publications to be anti
British, un-Amcrican and pro-Gcr-
man. afiant says that he and the
other defendants in this cause de-
sired to strike at the root of the
evil; that the root of Hcarstism and
the Hearst publications is Hearst
himself; that to strike intclliEcntly
and effectively at the root of the evil
1t was necessary to stop reading and
supporting every publication CON
troIlcd or dominated by William Ran
dolph Hearst; that. therefore, the