The War On News

A record of government actions against journalism and fact-based reporting, from the first press laws to today

Incident

United States: President Theodore Roosevelt seeks criminal libel indictments against the New York World and the Indianapolis News over Panama Canal reporting

United StatesRSF 2026 rank: 64th of 180

Engraving of an empty press briefing room with a lectern and rows of chairs

President Theodore Roosevelt sought federal criminal libel indictments against the publishers of the New York World and the Indianapolis News after they reported that he and other officials had profited from the United States' purchase of the Panama Canal. Federal courts in New York and Indiana dismissed the indictments, and the Supreme Court upheld that result in 1911.123

What happened

After newspapers including the New York World and the Indianapolis News published stories alleging that President Theodore Roosevelt, the Secretary of War and other individuals had profited from the United States' purchase of the Panama Canal, Roosevelt sought criminal libel prosecutions against the publishers. A federal grand jury in the Southern District of New York, the federal trial court for Manhattan, returned a true bill against the Press Publishing Company, publisher of the World, on March 4, 1909, charging fourteen counts of criminal libel under an 1898 law applying New York's criminal code to federal enclaves such as West Point and a New York City post office. A parallel case, United States v. Smith, was brought against the Indianapolis News, in which Vice President Charles Fairbanks held a financial interest unknown to most of its readers; Roosevelt sought to prosecute that paper in Washington, D.C. Judge Albert Barnes Anderson of the federal court in Indiana ruled in 1909 that any offense would have occurred in Indiana, not the capital, and could only be tried there. The Supreme Court, in United States v. Press Publishing Co., unanimously quashed the New York indictment on January 3, 1911, holding that no federal criminal libel law covered offenses on federal enclaves.12456378

What reason was given

Stated justification

Roosevelt said the newspapers had libeled him, the Secretary of War and other individuals by publishing stories about who had profited from the Panama Canal purchase.4

What changed for reporting

The prosecutions threatened the World and the News with criminal liability for their reporting on the canal purchase; both cases were dismissed before trial, on venue and jurisdictional grounds, without a conviction.68

Timeline

1909

4 March 1909
United States: President Theodore Roosevelt seeks criminal libel indictments against the New York World and the Indianapolis News over Panama Canal reporting

Who acted

NameRole in this incidentOffice at the time
Albert Barnes AndersonruledJudge, United States District Court for the District of Indiana
Edward Douglass WhiteruledChief Justice of the United States
Theodore RooseveltorderedPresident of the United States

Outlets and journalists

NameKindRelation
The Indianapolis Newsoutletaffected
The New York Worldoutletaffected

Sources

  1. United States v. Press Publishing Co., 219 U.S. 1 (1911)Cornell Law School, Legal Information Institute, 1911-01-03, primary. Source record
  2. United States v. Press Publishing Co. (1911)The First Amendment Encyclopedia, Middle Tennessee State University, 2023-07-30, reporting. Source record
  3. United States v. Smith (Ind.) (1909)The First Amendment Encyclopedia, Middle Tennessee State University, 2009-01-01, reporting. Source record

Claims and evidence

Each numbered claim quotes the source it rests on.

  1. A federal grand jury in the Southern District of New York returned a true bill charging the Press Publishing Company, publisher of the World, with fourteen counts of criminal libel.a grand jury in the circuit court of the United States for the southern district of New York found a true bill against the Press Publishing Company, charging the commission of alleged criminal libels, set out in an indictment composed of fourteen counts.United States v. Press Publishing Co., 219 U.S. 1 (1911), Cornell Law School, Legal Information Institute, 1911-01-03.Claim 962, checked 2026-09-26.
  2. The indictment alleged that the President, the Secretary of War and certain private individuals had been criminally libeled by the World's articles.Those who were alleged in each count to have been criminally libeled were, at the time of the publications, the President of the United States, the Secretary of War, and certain private individuals.United States v. Press Publishing Co., 219 U.S. 1 (1911), Cornell Law School, Legal Information Institute, 1911-01-03.Claim 963, checked 2026-09-26.
  3. Vice President Charles Fairbanks held a financial interest in the Indianapolis News that most of the paper's readers did not know about.The case involved the Indianapolis News , a paper in which, unbeknownst to most of its readers at the time, Vice President Charles Fairbank s had a substantial financial interest.United States v. Smith (Ind.) (1909), The First Amendment Encyclopedia, Middle Tennessee State University, 2009-01-01.Claim 967, checked 2026-09-26.
  4. Roosevelt initiated the libel prosecutions against Pulitzer and other publishers over stories alleging he had profited from the Panama Canal purchase while president.Theodore Roosevelt initiated libel prosecutions against Joseph Pulitzer and the other publishers of newspaper stories that had alleged that, while serving as president, he had profited from the sale of the Panama Canal.United States v. Press Publishing Co. (1911), The First Amendment Encyclopedia, Middle Tennessee State University, 2023-07-30.Claim 964, checked 2026-09-26.
  5. Chief Justice Edward White wrote the unanimous Supreme Court opinion quashing the indictment because no federal crime of libel existed.Chief Justice Edward White’s opinion for a unanimous Court quashed the indictments, recognizing that there was no federal crime of libelUnited States v. Press Publishing Co. (1911), The First Amendment Encyclopedia, Middle Tennessee State University, 2023-07-30.Claim 965, checked 2026-09-26.
  6. The Indianapolis News had published stories questioning the finances of the Panama Canal purchase, and Roosevelt considered the stories libelous and sought to prosecute the paper.The News had published stories questioning the financial aspects of acquisition of the Panama Canal. President Theodore Roosevelt considered these stories libelous and sought a libel prosecution in Washington, D.C.United States v. Smith (Ind.) (1909), The First Amendment Encyclopedia, Middle Tennessee State University, 2009-01-01.Claim 966, checked 2026-09-26.
  7. Judge Albert Barnes Anderson ruled that any offense would have occurred in Indiana rather than the nation's capital, so the case could only be tried in Indiana.his more important contribution for First Amendment purposes was in ruling that if any offense had occurred, it had taken place in Indiana rather than in the nation’s capital and thus could only be prosecuted in IndianaUnited States v. Smith (Ind.) (1909), The First Amendment Encyclopedia, Middle Tennessee State University, 2009-01-01.Claim 968, checked 2026-09-26.
  8. A contemporary law journal described the Supreme Court's decision as "a landmark, one of the substantial guarantees of the continued freedom of the press."a contemporary law journal described it as “a landmark, one of the substantial guarantees of the continued freedom of the press.”United States v. Press Publishing Co. (1911), The First Amendment Encyclopedia, Middle Tennessee State University, 2023-07-30.Claim 969, checked 2026-09-26.