Omaha daily bee., 1919-11-21
Newspaper and Editor Or.
dered to Pay $1,000 for
Telling How Omaha Police
Get Court Evidence.
TRUTH OF CHARGE NOT AT
ISSUE IN CONTEMPT CASE
Judge Redick Puts Court
Above Press and Even Public
In Pending Case-Decision
Will Be Appealed.

Final judgment was given and
sentence pronounced in the con-
tempt case against The Bee by
Judge Redick in the district court
at 10 yesterday morning.
The orchestral accompaniment of
anathema from all the spirits of
evil, that sought to find protection
behind the prosecution of the case,
died down and the hand clapping of
the hangers on gave way to grins
Of anticipation, as the dire moment
OF Judgment arrived and the silence
of the court room heralded the pro-
nouncing of the dread sentence:
One thousand dollars fine, and
costs, for The Bee Publishing COM
pany, and $1,000 fine, with costs, for
the editor n-chief of The Bee, Vic
tor Rosewater.
Lo, the mountain labored and
brought forth mouse! ...
And all because The Bee had pub
lished the apparently undeniable
truth that police of the city of Oma-
ha, and one Capt. H. P. Haze in par
ticular, through their hatred of The
Bee for its exposures of inefficiency
and rottenness, and through fear of
further exposures of the man
handling of truth and justice and
the wild, reckless and criminal mis-
use of the power of the department,
had sought to frighten and muzzle
The Bee by securing the Indictment
of one of its reporters, j. Harry
Moore, on false charges of having
taken a part in the court house riot;
the indictment having been secured
upon the testimony of two boys,
both of whom had been convicted
and sentenced to 90 days for par
ticipation in the riot, and both of
whom through fear or remorse for
what they had done voluntarily con-
fessed and swore in affidavits to the
fact that their testimony had been
untrue, and had been extracted from
them by Police Captain Haze by
promises from him that he would
get them out of Jail"
Truth Not Denied.
HS u utl VI lliC Slldi &c was Hot
denied throughout the trial of the
case.
Proof of the truth of the charges
was offered in court. and parts of it
was admitted to the record to the
extent that--i will go before the
supreme court to be considered in
the final decision.
This proof, and proof OF the truth
of the affidavits, was excluded upon
the ruling of the court that:
THE truth or falsity of The charge
has no bearing upon the point in
issue, which merely is whether or
not the publication might be taken
as tending to obstruct the operation
of the functions of the court by cis-
crediting the witnesses for the
state"
The fact that the "discredit" had
been placed upon the boys by them
selves, in their confessions, and
that the paper had made no COM
ment and cast no "discredit" ex-
cept what appeared to be warranted
by the undeniable facts, appeared
to have no weight as being a proper
matter for the paper to make
known to the public, as against the
right of the court to have it with
held from the public until such time
as the court found time or leisure,
sin the weeks or months to come, to
take up the trial of the case.
The Public Is the "Goat."
The fact that crime had been
committed was not denied. \
The fact that the police captain
had gotten two boys to commit per-
jury before body of such sacred
judicial character as the grand jury
of the people was neither admitted
nor denied.
The fact that the boys who knew
the truth were held concealed from
the public in a cell of the county
prison, a prison belonging to the
public, was not denied.
The fact that the truth that these
boys could tell would not become
known to the public unless news
paper. through its power and agen-
cies. uprooted or dug out the facts
and printed them Nor the public to
read. was not denied.
The pnblic was the goat"
The police could do what they
pleased, get indicted whom they
pleased, il they could, by any means
they could, and remain concealed
by the secrecy of the grand jury
room. and the protection afforded
by the court under the dictum that
a states witness cannot be discred-
tied. no matter whether or not the
charge might be true.
That the public would have to re-
main in ignorance, until such time
as the case came up i'll court was
not denied. ......
That the case might not come up
for months, was not denitN.
And that when it did come up in
ffto,t;r,..f ~, p.u. r.,, fnIuu,n E1yel