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Show COUNSEL CLASH Ifl LIBEL TRIAL Definition of "Anarchist" Figures in Work of Selecting Se-lecting Talesmen. MOUNT CLEMENS, Mich., May 13. Military preparedness and definitions were the chief topics on which talesmen from which to select a jury for the million-dollar libel suit of Henry Ford against the Chicago Tribune were questioned ques-tioned today. Elliott O. Stevenson of counsel for the defendant and Attorneys Alfred J. Murphy Mur-phy and Alfred Lucking for Mr. Ford were in many clashes during the day over the lines of examination. Mr. Lucking accused ac-cused Mr. Stevenson of seeking to get before the talesmen arguments for military mili-tary preparedness, which, Mr. Lucking said, Mr, Stevenson knew could not be brought in as evidence later. "Preparedness does not figure in this case at all," asserted Mr. Lucking. "All this evidence which the defense has gathered gath-ered on the subject is so much junk. When Mr. Stevenson asks these talesmen whether they would be prejudiced against a defendant for urging preparedness he is using a subtle strategy t get it before be-fore the jury, or men who may be jurors." Mr. Stevenson argued that the attorneys attor-neys for the plaintiff had opened the gate for such questioning by themselves asking ask-ing talesmen if they would call a man an anarchist for holding views opposed to the military system. He was allowed to proceed by Judge Tucker. The talesmen were of one mind on all the questions. They would not, they answered, an-swered, regard a man as an anarchist because he believed that international difficulties could be settled without blood- While Mr. Stevenson was defining the term "anarchist," as he said the term was applied by the Tribune to Mr. Ford, meaning one who spent hundreds of thousands thou-sands of dollars in attempting to Influence Influ-ence the public and congress against preparedness, pre-paredness, and thus weakening the government gov-ernment to the point of anarchy, Mr. Lucking interrupted hotly: "We object, your honor. Why, on that basis half the United States senate is anarchistic. We object also to the assumption as-sumption that the Tribune can create definitions of words such as anarchy. We decline to accept the Tribune as a standard stand-ard for definitions." The talesmen expressed themselves In favor of preparedness, but admitted that there was room, for an honest difference of opinion as to what constitutes preparedness. pre-paredness. The gist of their answers was that Mr. Ford had a right to his opinions and the Tribune had the same right. |