The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1919-04-02
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building as Mr.. MacLennan's dingy
little office at the corner of Eighth
and Kansas Avenue.
John Waters carried on the abuses
of Mr.. MacLennan. He compared
ton of a peace advertisement at the
beginning of the war and referred TO
the State Journal as paper holding
"black flag over the community;
Joseph Waters carried the abuse still
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 q "ScandalouS sheet.
In his testimony and in the testl-
mony of witnesses it was shown that
the Topeka State Journal and Mr..
MacLennan did all in their power to
aid in every war activity and that nun
dreds of columns of space were de-
voted to these activities without re-
enumeration. 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 and
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 was
barber between Sixth and Eighth
streets who had not subscribed. NO
names were mentioned in this article,
but L. E. Decker, a barber in the Anti
co IT. ha
Seventh and Kansas avenue, COM
planned the article referred to him.
The article was published on Friday,
October II, 1918. 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 Addington,
| 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
4
heart leakage caused by flu" and DR..
| 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
was stated that his illness was heart
leakage caused by flu"
| More Waters Abuse.
When the verdict was returned at
| 4:15 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
| "damnable' 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 l allow such a - -
man as you sit in 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 lat and
coat from a peg. Then he returned to
the door near which Mr.. Coburn was
standing and renewed his ''itriolic as
saults.
A Prompt Verdi t.
The verdict was returned in a much
shorter time THAI had been expected.
] 1t was stated that on the first ballot
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
voting in favor of the defendant.
The jurors who sat in the Gaze were
the following:
P. C. Daum, farmer
| 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
| ]. d. Walker, retire railroad Off
T. w. Dare, retired farmer
n. E. Galloway, retired travelling
man.
H. S. Putney. head Road Metal Sup
ply Co.
Edward Bowman. ina-.rance man.
As soon as Mr.. MacLenna- heard