The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1919-04-02
End INDICATION

fContinued from Page One.l
building as Mr.. MacLennan's dingy
little office at the corner OF Elghtn
and Kansas Avenue.
John Waters carried on the abuses
of Mr.. MacLennan. He compared
| him to Judas because of the publica-
i ton of a peace advertisement at the
| beginning of the war and referred 10
! the State Journal as paper holoils
a black flag" over the community;
| Joseph Waters carried the abuse stlil
| farther and compared Mr.. MacLen-
| nan with Benedict Arnold, the traitor,
| because of the publication of this ar
ticle The State Journal was referred
to as a. -scandalous sheet
| In his testimony and in the tesu-
mony of witnesses it was shown that
the Topeka State Journal and MI
MacLennan did all in their power 10
aid in every war activity and that hun
dreds of columns of space were de-
voted to these activities without re-
muneration.s J. r. Burrow, director
| of the Fourth Liberty Loan drive, told
| the jury that the Topeka State Jour
nal did everything it could to aid IN
! the Fourth Liberty Loan drive ana
that more than a million dollars were
raised thru newspaper publicity alone
here before committees were sent out
to solicit subscriptions.
| Article a Loan Booster.
1t was when there was fear that To-
peka and Shawnee county would not
| raise their loan quota that the State
| Journal published articles telling about
persons who were not doing their duty
and were not subscribing to the loan
according to their means. one OF
these articles stated that there wes a
barber between Sixth and Eighth
streets who had not subscribed. No
names were mentioned in this article,
but L. E. Decker, barber in the Anti
septic barber shop at the corner of
Seventh and Kansas avenue, COM
planned the article referred to him.
! The article was published on Friday,
i October IL, 1913. and on the following
Monday Decker filed suit for $4,000.
without ever having asked Mr.. Mac
Lehman to publish a correction, apol-
ogy or explanation. Decker admitted
on the witness stand that Arlington,
one of his attorneys, went to his house
on the evening of the day the article
was published to make plans for filing
the suit
A large number of witnesses were
put on the stand by both the plaintiff
and defendant, and many editorials
and news articles and one advertise
| ment from the Topeka State Journal
were introduced in evidence. One of
Decker's claims was that an illness fol-
lowing the publication of the article
) was caused by worry over it. The de-
PENDANT showed that Decker's own
physician had pronounced this illness
r. B. Stewart was put on the stand as
an expert witness and testified that
heart leakage" could not be caused
by worry. McKeever, in his argu-
ments, told the jury that Decker had
either testified falsely when he stated
that his illness was caused by worry
over the article or that he had made
a false statement when he collected
sick benefits from the Moose lodge
thru a benefit application in which it
| f1f cd illness
leakage caused by flu"
More Waters Abuse.
When the verdict was returned at
AIS o'clock Tuesday afternoon, Jo-
seph Waters, who was in the court
room. representing Decker. the plain
tiff. burst into a volley of oaths,, de-
claring that the jury was fixed and
that the verdict was one of the most
"damnabIe'' he had ever known.
Shaking his fist at F. D. Coburn,
former secretary of the state board OF
agriculture, and foreman of the jury,
he yelled, despite the fact that Mrs.
Decker and other woman members OF
the family were in the court room:
This is the - - verdict in the
history of the local courts. You had
the jury under your hand. Never
again will 1 allow such a - -
man as you sit in a jury for me-"
) His curses continued until Judge
} Carver attempted to quiet him He
} turned around and walked away as
Mr.. Coburn started to take his rat and
coat from peg. Then he returned to
the door near which MIR. Coburn was
standing and renewed his vdtriolic as
saults.
a Prompt Verdict
The verdict was returned in a much
shorter time thai had been expected.
1t was stated that on the first ballot
| the jury stood IL to 1 in favor of the
, defendant. The one man who vote
against the defendant was at once
asked if he objected to another ballot
! and he stated that he did not. Then
: those who were favorable to the de-
: PENDANT stated their reasons to the
twelfth man, whereupon the seco nd
ballot was taken, all of the jurors
l voting in favor of, the defendant.
The jurors who sat in the Gaze were
the following:
| P. c. Daum, farmer.
i c. H. Leep. farmer.
A. F. Lectzy, wholesaler.
Charles Gerteisen. retired railroad
man.
John Kresie, retired farmer
F. D. Coburn. former secretary of
board of agriculture. now red.
} o. P. Bickelhaupt. farmer.
4 J. D. Walker. retire : railroad Off
I cial.
l T. W. Dare, retired farmer.
n. E. Galloway. retired travelling
man.
H. s. Putney. head Road Metal Sup
, ply Co.
Edward Bowman. ms rance man.
AG NJ IT ovI