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Court CensuresSalesman SamEditor Before005H. RA7AH. WHATDOfht*?THOUGHT9UHE.5Mni BUT FIRST I «T€ IjETTER TOSBC.REImposing FineWAUTED M6TAKETART OF STATE,IA) WOOOUTSHOWSIGHT*,Taw poo3AhiT'OAViJudcr Robert S. CowieI7w arn# Wheaton AgainstFuture PraetieeiiW’hca-Declanng that Herbert E. ton, pubhher of a weekly Hokah,Minn., paper who had entered a plea of guilty to criminal libel charges, has been “engaged in a racket and that if he ever come before him againyou bet-!;*me.»#charged with criminal libel ter sm ear it am ay from me because y ou mill get more consideration from ! some other judge than you will from jJudge Robert S. Cowie in cir- ! K •« .. t . 4K_; .u‘l I^na'rr,n„.^U-/ con^raMe rxpew in the1 hp fdl »C! dll Option of pctXifijJ S5v . f | # littfrtttt A# learset f nmZZZ do ZZL Z .A-Itnal « » lawsuit of this kind. I amtaking those things into consideration and 1 am further taking intoand costs or serving §0 days in the county jail.At the same time the court gavehope that this prosecution will teach you that there are some things that are sacred, some things that are beyond the right and privilege of anythe defendant credit for entering plea of guilty to the charges.When the Hokah publisher mas rraigned before Judge Comic. hewaived the reading of the complaint and entered his plea. The charge of criminal libel had been filed against Wheaton by Albert F. Riley, former sheriff. Judge CowieSaid;man who happens to have a news* comideration t he fact that generally j paper outfit, to commercialize. It isin the enforcement of the lam*, the going a long way beyond the boastedbig idea is not the seriousness of i freedom of the press to permit thisthe punishment for the violation of * kind of thing to go on. A man that♦the lam*, but the certainty of punishment w hen we have a violation of thecriminal law.,That is why I say it isn't the extent of the punishment as much as it is the certainty of punishment.Enters Flea of Guilty4 *Norn*, in your case. Mr. Wheaton1 wanttoiaythii: That ttie publici-\«» «• -vou *d • » »• 10 »*»“ ,l.on of this, article, by your pica of'1' vntakes anonymous letters and uses them as a basis of a flammg newspaper headline, regardless of the truth and regardless of the consequences. is entitled to more punishment than 1 am going to give you. but I think this is going to be a les-!ft\•sWell. Mr. Wheaton. 1 am taking consideration in imposing sentence upon you, the fact that you have frankly come into court and by your plea of guilty have confessedyou ever come before me againIguilty, you admit was wholly un- j charged with criminal libcl, you bet-founded’and based upon pure rumor. ,cr 5,ro becauoeIn my notion, you have been engaged. Mr. Wheaton, in a racket, a news-!the fact that you published a libel-. , # v.Oil* artic le with report to the . ',aPpr rack,*, 'ou havc bren sclhn*,DELICIOUSyour nemspapcrs at the expense ofthe reputation of citizens generally in this city. You have published stuff in your paper and this is one sample of it, upon which you had nothingwhatever to base your very seriouscharges of graft against an honorableyou m ill get more consideration from some other judge .han you mill from 11 me.**it the judgment and sentence of the court that you, Herbert Wheaton. be punished by a fine of fifty dollars and the costs of this action.\and in default of the payment of such fine and costs, that you be imprisoned in the county jail of this county until such fine and costs are paid.t~tA€ £ntik£J a ftu/ysheriff of this county and a man whomade a very fine reputation as lt;ninety days from to-nurVfAppetizingsheriff. I think, largely as a result of your false and utterly unfounded statements, this man. or rather his brother, was defeated for re-clcc-tion. I think it is a despicable may of earning a living, prying upon the private, personal and social affairs of the citizens of this community by inflammatory and exaggerated newspaper articles, for the sole and only purpose of selling your newspaperand selling advertising space.Lesson To Defendantday.Farmer Broke SealOf Corn Crib, Charge-(Special) • in the eastOscarof• *W’aukon. la.—Sorlie. farmer in the east part this county, mas brought into justice court here Monday, charged with unlawfully breaking the seal of his corn crib placed there by order of the secretary of agriculture of the United State.Macaroni Productnoumkesiclc lyienergyI am not saying anything thatisn t kntm n to^ost of the from his farm and the alleged of-this court room, that that has been .___________. . -_____,The crib contained the 1934 crop1IliI]year., • „ . t fense occurred in June ofyour meant A earning « livelihood. I j Hf aswr„ hc hil(1 Krounds for 1|sm I ...... ........ ..j—k ............ I jft ffivrp«fi im^n t «*as# i he
Newspaper Details
La Crosse Tribune and Leader Press
La Crosse, Wisconsin, US
Wed, Oct 30, 1935
Page 23
Full Page
Clipped by
La C.
WI, USA 24 Jan 2023
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