Former President Theodore Roosevelt On Trial in Marquette County

As I was looking through various trials that have incorporated the Cleveland-Cliffs Company in Marquette, County, I came upon a source that said Teddy Roosevelt went on trial in Marquette.  Though this has little to do with my research I decided to check it out.  Here is the rundown.  Roosevelt was a frequent traveler to the Marquette Iron Range during campaign stops.  He came to town during his campaign for President in 1912 as the "Bull Moose" party candidate, a party he introduced after losing in the Republican primaries to William Taft.  On October 12 of that year an article was written in the Ishpeming Iron Ore Magazine which stated that Roosevelt, "lied, swore and was not infrequently drunk on his trip through the area."  This caused Roosevelt to sue the editor of the Iron Ore Newspaper, George A. Newton for defamation and slander.  Newton was a staunch Republican, as most newspaper editors and leading officials in Marquette Country were during this period, and was upset over Roosevelt's split from the party. During the trial, Roosevelt called upon witnesses to his trip that proved he was never drunk and acted in a proper fashion.  After he made his case, Newton and his lawyer, who happened to be the lawyer of the Cleveland-Cliffs Company as well rested because they could not prove he was drunk at any point during his trip.  This resulted in a ruling for the plaintiff, President Roosevelt, who was awarded 6 cents after his attorneys attempted to receive $10,000, which Roosevelt disagreed with.

As I write this I can't help but somehow relate this directly to my research.  The role of the Republican Party's strong presence in Marquette County has an role in the content of the miners.  During this period 80% of the public officials were Republican and these are the same officials who played a role in the squashing of labor reform.  But with this, Republicans were not alone. The Finnish communities strong opposition to the Socialist Movement and their ideology forced the lack of labor reform as did the corporate paternalism exhibited by the Cleveland-Cliffs Company.

If you would like to read more about arguably the most notable Libel Case in United States History I have posted a link to an article below...

http://www.michbar.org/journal/pdf/pdf4article263.pdf

Former President Theodore Roosevelt