The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1919-05-22
$4,000 VERDICT is
WON BY CHALONER
Jurors Later Say Actions on
Stand Proved His Sanity
to Them.
HE SEES FINAL VICTORY
Says Subconsciousness Told
Him He'd Get 100000
Plans Further Suits.

Whoever may be '1oony" now it's not
John Armstrong Chaloner. at least in the
eyes Of a jury which yesterday in Fed
eral court awarded him q verdict Of
$4,000 against the Eveninp Post for
libel after less than an hours delibera-
ton on Chaloner's remarkable perform
stand before them. Tho paper had al
luded to Chaloner in 1909 as an assas<
sin who had had the forethought to have
himself declared insane before he shot
his man.
After they had returned the verdict
members of the jury said yesterday that
no man who performed the feats of intel
lect which Chaloner performed before
them could be crazy.
Chaloner was not in court when the
verdict was returned. When the Jury
retired at about 4 40 o'clock In the after
noon he hied himself to a stenographer's
office, where he was busily engaged in
the preparation of a brief for suit
which he Is bringing next month when
a reporter for THE SUN informed him of
the verdict.
Splendid! Finel" he cried. his face
breaking into a broad grin. He threw
aside his papers and gave both the re-
porter and the stenographer resound-
ing thwack on the shoulder.
Thirty thousand dollars - he went on
happily. We'll. I'd rather have had
thirty thou and the question OF my
had the whole hundred. This Is Just
splendid.
Says He Predicted $4,000.
"And let me tell you how my old sub
consciousness predicted this. Three
quarters OF an hour ago l walked into
Kaplan, Cosman & Streusand's ONCE and
they asked me jokingly what my sub.
consciousness told me the verdict would
be. / told them that before l left Vir-
ginia had n bunch I'd get about $40
o0o--and 1 guess that's the closest In
round numbers tina; IL could come"
Chaloner sees far more in the decision
than the award OF the verdict He seei
assurance of victory in his fight TO have
his mental stature established in THU
State and to control his property.
When my case was before Supreme
Court Justice Tierney here in 1917" he
said, Justice Tierney said in effect
Let him come and prove himself sane.
That's just what has happened now.
And it's happened the only way
could allow 1t to happen without my
| initiating the move. My family has tried
to get me to initiate 1t, but never woulC
do It because that would look as il
was admitting that I was insane wnel
| they said / was. | would never for q
moment permit that assumption to b,
made, because l have left the bulk of m,
estate to the University of Virginia and
the University OF North Carolina. II
acknowledged that had ever been
lunatic the validity of my requests Nigh
be attacked by my family. Now the,
| can never do 1t. They would have (,
attack my will either In the Southern O.
IN the Federal courts. and both have hei,
me sane without my ever Acknowledge
that was insane.
ut shows how the chances of life tur,
Tout. Here out of this terrible tragedy O
the killing OF John q. GilIard I an
brought nearer to the control OF m,
estate. for which / have been fghtinI
FOR twenty years. nearer to all that
have wanted-and all through a libe
suit"
Immediately upon the return of tn
verdict William NJ. wherry. Jr.. counse
for The Evening Post, moved that Il b.
set aside as excessive and contrary T.
the evidence. Judge Augustus n. Hand
| who presided, reserved dec ision and sal,
he would accept briefs Judge Hand Il
charging the jury had instructed II tina
the libel was equivalent TO calling Chal
oner murderer and that a verdic
should be returned in his favor II tn
defence did not Justify the term by proc
OF its truth. He instructed the jur,
that the description of the shootin
rested almost wholly on the testinion,
OF Chaloner himself. and that In weigh
Ing his story to the effect that Gillar
had met his death by the discharge o
revolver in Chaloners hand while n
and Gillard were struggling. either b.
accident or by the pressure of Gillard'
own fingers on the gun, the jurors mus
take into account their opinion OF hi
mental capacity.
ChalOner WrOnEed. Says Juror.
Judge Hand also charged the jur
that It must determine whether II ha
been proved that Chaloner would be as
sumed by the average reader of tn
Posts paragraph to be the person re
ferred 10 therein.
The jury apparently resolved all thes
To-, H.