Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1920-12-03
DEVILS LAKE
EDITOR MUST
FACE TRIAL
F. S. Austin, Townley News
paper Man, Rernanded to
District Court.

Austin, editor Of the Devils Lake
World. Ramsey county organ OF tho
Nonpartisan league, yesterday was
remanded to- the district court on
charges OF having published In. the
World Office q few days before the
last election a circular wherein a
number of Devils Lake business men
and two clergymen are alleged to have
been libeled. Austin's bail was fixed
at $1,000 by Police Magistrate D. G.
Duell, before whom, he was arraigned.
Besides Austin. Jacob. Canter, fore
mar in the World mechanical depart
ment,' and Leonard Sharf, are also
held for district court on similar
charges, with the amount Of bail the
same In all cases. Canter is charged
with having supervised the printing
OF the circular and Scarf with having
distributed it throughout the adtoin-
ing country. %$9 i
A number Of c~o-defendants With
Austin We're discharged by Magistrate;
Duell for insufficient evidence. They
are Martin Hoghaug, said to be a
stakeholder in the World corporation.
~. ". Smith, county Nonpartisan
manager, Carl Aaberg, Eugene and
John ,stesser, charged with having
circulated the circular.
Makes Vile Charges.
The circular which led to- the arrest
OF Austin and tho other defendants
was distributed two days before cleo
tion. 1t implied that Edward +.
Flynn. president of the city commits
sion here, had received graft from the
100000 paving job the past summer;
that Rev. e. Garfield Walker, rector
Of the Church Of the Advent had used
indecent and vulgar language in his
addresses against the Nonpartisan
league; that A. B. Jackson, Jr., score
tary of the. Bovey-Shute & jackson
Lumber company had shortweighted
in coal; that the Devils Lake Journal
was yellow and traitorous; that its
managing editor, Thomas F.. Nc
Carthy is a .traitor-poet." 1t insinu-
ated that Rev. Prentiss Hovey Case,
pastor of the Westminster P~resbyteri-
an. church, had been driven out Of the
state Of Idaho by peace officers while
talking against the Nonpartisan
league, and it hurled epithets at silver
Serumgard, A. r. Smythe, local
lawyers, who had opposed the league,
and J.aP. Mann, president of the
North Dakota Retail Merchants asso-
citation.
Deaf Mute Is Witness.
The most damaging witness against
Austin at the hearing yesterday was
Henry Morris, instructor at the Devils
Lake School for the Deaf. who is also
linotype operator and is employed
occasionally by the Devils. Lake
World. Morris, who can neither speak
nor hear gave his evidence by
of the sign language, which was in
terpretedl by President Mcclure of the
school,. n
Morris testified that he set on the
linotype machine in the World office
the type used in the alleged libelous
circular, and that while he was set
ting it, which vas on Sunday, eOctoa
Der 21, Austin was there and knew
what was being set. a
Austin, in. an&editorial in the World
a few days after election, denied
entphatically that the circular was
printed in his Office or that he ever
saw q copy Of 1t until it was shown
him by Sheriff Ed Elliott, who served
upon Austin a demand signed by those
mentioned in the circular. for a re-
traction of the >libelous statements
contained in it.
. Linotype Slugs Exhibited.
e. j. McCannon, a printer employ
ed by h World, testified that he
resurrected out of the office lead cast
ing pot the linotype "slugs' from
which the circular was printed and
turned them over GA. E. Wheeler,
local attorney, who in turn gave them
to States Attorney Relic F. Hunt. Mr.,
Hunt produced the slugs in court to-
day as Exhibit B. McCannon testi-
fled, however, that he was not in the
World office when the circular was
printed, but later he was accused by
Austin and Canter, the foreman, Of
having stolen the slugs and turned
them over to the states attorney for
evidence. He gave as his excuse for
taking the slugs out of the office his
desire to secure the SEQ reward Of
fered for evidence that would lead to
the arrest of the publishers of the
circular, and he said hat he ALREADY
has received half of that reward.
William M. Anderson, attorney for
the defense. attempted to make Nc.
Cannon say hat he had set the slugs
up on h 9 linotype machine himself,
but McCannon denied emphaticaIly
that he saw them until after he heard
of the reward and that, searching for
evidence in the Office, he found the
slugs in the metal pot.
Defense Offers No Evidence.
The defense refused to offer any
evidence, and the court denied Attor-
ney Anderson's motion to dismiss
Austin. Canter and Scarf, although
he consented to dismiss the other de-
PENDANTS. the evidence showing that
none of them were in the World Office
while the circular was being CONF
posed or printed.
Other witness were Carl. Aaherg.