FOREST AND STREAM. 



[APRIL 30, 1891. 



THE VREDENBUROH-PESHALL CASE. 



THE trial of jSIr. Chaa. J. Peshall, charged -with libel, for 

 having said that, the accounts of the American Kennel 

 Club were jiiggled.was concltided last Friday,-wheu the jury, 

 having weighed the evidence in the case, brought in their 

 finding that there was no libel in what Mr. Peshall had 

 written. 



The evidence was sumnied up on Thursday afternoon. 

 Judge Martine concluded his charge shortly after 1 o'clock 

 on Friday, and the jury retired. They were an intelligent 

 set of men, "a jury 'of business men," as the Court had 

 characterized them'; and among the twelve were three prac- 

 tical book-keepers. Their first ballot .showed 7 for acquittal 

 and 5 for conviction; the second 8 for acquittal; the third 9. 

 There it stood; and so determined were the 3 for conviction 

 that in the jury room a disagreement was thought inevit- 

 able. Then they sent for Mr. Vredenburgh's books. It was 

 discovered that although these were a part of the evidence 

 iu the case, they had already been taken back to the A.K.C. 

 office; but after'an hour's delay they were brought into court 

 and by consent of counsel on both sides were delivered to 

 the jury. The three jurors who had all this time been 

 standing out for conviction took a look at the books. There 

 was no further argument nor delay. The jury returned to 

 the court room, and Foreman Samuel Levon announced the 

 verdict. "J^ot guilty." 



The case grew out of Mr. Peshall's criticism of the man- 

 agement of the A. K. C. This began in the winter of 1888-9, 

 and was continued, until on June 19, 1890, in an article pub- 

 lished in FOREST AND Stream, Mr. Peshall charged that the 

 financial management of the club, as evinced by the treas- 

 urer's reports, was false and fraudulent. As a reply to this 

 article Sec. ■ Treas. Vredenburgh preferred counter charges 

 against Mr. Peshall and summoned him to appear to answer 

 them at a special meeting of the advisory committee in July, 

 1890. Mr. Peshall denying the jurisdiction and even the 

 legal existence of the committee, refused to appear. The 

 committee refen-ed the charges to theclub. The controversy 

 over the accounts was continued in FOREST AKD Stream. 

 On Sept. 18 Mr. Vredenburgh made a complaining affidavit 

 before, the Grand Jury charging Mr, Peshall with libel. The 

 charge was based on the article of .June 19, and specified in 

 particular the following paragraphs which we copy as they 

 appear in the indictment: 



I have also opposed the financial manaeement of this Club 

 rtneaning the said American Kennel Olubl and for fear that I may 

 nave been misuuderstood, permit me now to say that the financial 

 management as eriaced by the reports made, are not only false 

 and fraudulent, false, because they are not true, and fraudulent 

 because they have been made with the intention to deceive. 



the _ 



burgh]" staVcd'to ine out of his own mouth, substantially that I 

 had made no mistake in nominating Mr. Belmont, as he had come 

 Into the oflice mourning over the smallness of the bank account 

 and replenished it with a large sum of money. At the annual 



I meaning ^^^^ ^ . . 



ports, commencing from Dec. 5, 1888. and showing tbe halancn as 

 reported at the previous meeting $5.39, and on Jan. 11, ,'61,228.28. If 

 any book-keeper will now take these two amounts and examine 

 them, there is only one conclusion that he can come to, and that 

 Is this, that thev are false. The item of 81,338.28 win not earned 

 by the Club [meaning the said American Kennel Club], there was 

 no possible resource from which the club could earn this item, and 

 the club [meaning the said American Kennel Club] did not earn 

 it, it was either borrowed, book-keeped or juggled into the ac- 

 cotmts. 



May 8, 1858, the American Kennel Club treasurer's [meaning the 

 said A. P. Vredenburgh's] report shows 8128.01 on Band. Secre- 

 tary goes to Europe, returns Dec. 3,1888. Dec. 6, WSS, mak^s a 

 report dated Dec. 5; balance on band $5.39, At the same meeting 

 asked to have reaistration fee increased 100 per cent., because 

 stud book was always published at a loss. On same month states 

 to the writer, received a large amount of money from the presi- 

 dent. Feb. 31, 1889. makes two reports on one day, which show 

 upon their face fully as much jugglery as cauld have been gotten 

 into one report in two days. 



January, 1830, secretary and treasurer [meaning the said A. P. 

 Vredenburgh] published an annual statement showing that from 

 and during the year 1889 he [meaning the said A. P. Vredenburgh] 

 had received from the dog niea and breeders of th's country 

 S8,313.26, and that he [meaning th^ said A. P. Vredenburgh] and a 

 few others had esoeuded S7,03T.6«, and yet he [meaning the said 

 A. P. Vredenburgh] fails to show in any of his reports where the 

 dog men and breeders have received any benefit from thp expen- 

 diture of this monev; for no stud book was published during the 

 year and for some two months thereafter, 



Mr. Vredenburgh's affidavit was sustained by others sworn 

 to by Messrs. Jas. L. Anthony and A. C. "Wilmerding. Upon 

 these an indictment was fotind by the Grand Jury, and on 

 Sept. 25, at a time when the A. K. C. had convened in secret 

 session to suspend him, Mr. Peshall was arrested on a charge 

 of criminal libel. He pressed for an early trial, but the pros- 

 ecution put the case ofi:' with one excuse and another, and it 

 was not until after numerous postponements— nine it is 

 said— that he finally succeeded last week in getting his case 

 before a jury. The trial began Friday morning, April 17, 

 was resumed' on Monday, and concluded on Friday last. 



Mr. Peshall, who is a lawyer, conducted his own defense 

 and did it with great skill. The old saw is that a man who 

 tries his own case has a fool for a client. Mr. Peshall did 

 not illustrate the truth of the saying, though his position 

 was recognized to be a difficult one; and it was a tremendous 

 physical and mental strain on the man: and when, on the 

 afternoon of the fifth day of the trial, he came to tbe sum- 

 ming up, he exhibited manifest signs of exhaustion. From 

 the beginning he showed that the prosecution was notgoing 

 to catch him napping at any stage of the game. If ever a 

 lawyer pleaded a case with a firm conviction of the merits 

 of his side it was Peshall defending Peshall. This unmis- 

 takable sincerity had its effect upon the jury from the first. 

 Those who heard the man knew that, right or wrong, he be- 

 lieved he was right; and before he finished he had made 

 most of them share this belief with him. His opening 

 address was a creditable effort, with passages marked by 

 true eloquence. The lines of defense— the points which he 

 endeavored to prove— were that the publication of the 

 article was justified because the charges contained in it were 

 true, were made withottt malice and in the belief that they 

 were true, that the article was in reply to the personal 

 attack on himself in tbe American Kennel Orizette, that 

 his prosecution for libel was only part of a scheme to "down 

 him" in the estimation of dog men. All this he endeavored 

 to show for the most part by the prosecution's own wit- 

 nesses. The direct examinations by As.sistant Di.strict At- 

 torney Mclntyre were as a rule brief, and most of the ques- 

 tioning was done by Mr. Peshall on his cross examinations; 

 he kept Mr. Vredeiiburgh on the stand about two full days. 



A tremendous mass of testimony was brought out: the 

 stenographer's transcript comprises over 500 type written 

 pages of letter paper. We cannot attempt to give more than 

 a small portion ot it, selecting those parts which relate to 

 the points to which most interest appeared to be attached. 

 The notorious balance of 81,228.28 was, as a matter of course, 

 the first subject of inquiry by Mr. Peshall. In fact it never 

 disappeared for long, and was heard of all through the trial, 

 and made a farewell ai^pearance only in the charge to the 

 jury. We shall give to-day only that part of the testimony 

 "(ol* a portion of it) which had to"do with the sum of 81,228.28 

 and the items composing it. To this item the cross examin- 

 ation always returned, even after the defendant had, as Mr. 

 Mclntyre complained, "traveled all over creation." Here is 

 a protest by tbe Court, on the second day: 



The COURT: I am not going over the accounts of this club 

 any more than is pertinent to this question . You are charged 

 •mth. having uttered and published a libel. "Whatever re- 



lates to your defense— whatever relates to the claim that is 

 apparently made, that the statements that the accounts 

 were incorrect are true— whatever tends to show that you 

 were correct or incorrect, I must certainly allow: but I do 

 not want to be drawn into any side issue that may not have 

 that tendency and pertinency, and I am not going any 

 further unless I atu clear that that is the situation. 



Mr. Peshall: Well, t£ Your Honor please, these are ac- 

 counts that I have been attacking. I have been attacking 

 these accounts right along. 



The Court: Well, haven't you all that you want? This 

 witness has told you. 



Mr. Peshall; I understand that, your Honor. But I 

 propose now— this is the first opportunity that I have ever 

 had to get these items, and I want them now. 



The Court: I am not going into the general bookkeeping 

 of the club. It may have been good or bad bookkeeping, 

 and I care only for the portion that relates to the charge 

 here. 



Mr. Peshall: It all relates to the indictment. Please hand 

 me the indictment. 



The Court: Now, Mr. Peshall, without going over all 

 that, if you can sitow here and elsewhere that the accounts 

 are incorrect— is not that what you want to show? 



Mr. Peshall: Yes, sir. 



The Court; And without going into the entire book- 

 keeping of the club. Do you think it serves the interest that 

 you represent to do that? 



Mr. Peshall; It certainly does; and I will state here— 



The Court: You will have this jury so beclouded with 

 figures that they will not know where they are when they 

 get through. , , , , 



Mr. Peshall: Well, if thev are not more clouded about 

 them than the dog men throughout the country, why, it 

 will be lucky. 



The Court; I assume that, because I confess that I am be- 

 clouded myself as to the figures, but I depend upon the jury, 

 who are business men and better mathematicians than 1 am. 



The first witness called for the prosecution was Mr. Alfred 

 P. Vredenburgh, who testified that he was the secretary and 

 trea.TOrer of the American Kennel Club at an annual salary 

 of *1,800; had held the office since May, 1886, Described the 

 composition of the American Kennel Club and its purposes. 

 The constitution and by-laws of the club were introduced 

 to show his duties as an officer. The witness testified that 

 he had charge of the publications and finances of the club 

 and made his annual reports in February. Had a conver- 

 sation with the defendant in May, 1890, at which time he 

 had assured him that the accounts were perfectly correct in 

 every way, and the defendant's response was a simple reiter- 

 ation of his accusation. The witness had brought with him, 

 and they were subsequently put in evidence, a copy of For- 

 est AND Stream, June 19, 1889, containing the alleged libel; 

 also the treasurer's book of the A. K. C, including the 

 bank pass book (Chatham National Bank), stub of check 

 book and returned checks, minute book of the A. K. C. to 

 January, 1890; invoice book, containing the bills paid by the 

 A K. d.; a ledger of the A. K. C: daily cash book from Jan- 

 arv. 1887, to April, 1888, and another one from April, lb88, 

 to April, 1889; also the American. Kennel Gazette forPeb- 

 ruarf, 1880. Mr. Peshall subseouently called for a large 

 red-bound ledger, in which he claimed the A. K. <1. accounts 

 were formerly kept; but Mr. Vredenburgh denied its ex- 

 istence. 



On cross-examination by Mr, Peshall, the witness testified 

 that at the December, 1888, meeting he had read his treas- 

 urer's report, showing a balance in the treasury of S5.39, and 

 that his next report was that of February, 1889; that he had 

 never made an annual report for 18S8; that the February re- 

 port was the Treasurer's account from Dec. 5, 1888, to the 

 time of the meeting, February, 1889. That reporfc was as 

 follows; 



BEPORI BEAD AT ANNtfATj MEEXDSfG, FEB. 21, 1889. 

 'rEEASDBEB'S BWORT, J889. 



A. K. a. Account. 



Balance on hand Deo 5, 1888, 85 39 



Received from clubs for annual dues ^ « 



Received for registration of prefixes 15 00 



$390 39 



Expenses, 



Returned dues to Tenu. P. and P. S. Association, 



said club withdrawing its aoolication SSlO Oo 



Stenographer, meeting Dec. C, 1888 25 00 



Office furniture 16 00 



Petty expenses ij^ob a* 



Balance • • • • • • S333 45 



GuJjs in Arrears for Dues. 



American Field Trials Club $WOQ 



National Poultry Association, Atlanta, Ga 10 00 



Sta iJord Kennel Club 10 00 



Wins ted Kennel Club . . . ■ 10 00 



A. P. Vredenbukgh, Treasurer. 



TllBASUEEK'S UEPORT, 1889, 



of moneys received bv tbe A. K. C. from all sources, and of ex- 

 penses of every description to Feb. 16, 1889: 

 Receipts to Jan. 11, 18^9 as per balance carried 



forward to new cash faoo'<< •• $1328 28 



Receipts frotn .Tan. 11, 1SS9. 



Prom registrations, Stud B^ok 183 00 



Sales of Stud Book 145 50 



Advertisements, Stud Book 50 00 



From registrations, Gazette 141 in 



Sales, GazetU „ -50 



Advertisements, Gazette... 9 00 



Subscriptions, Gazette . o 00 



Annual dues, active members 90 00 



Annual dues, afisociates "Vl xi? 



Claims for prefixes • 15 00 



$2375 53 



Mx-penses from Jan. 11, 1S89. 

 For Stud Book, including editor's salary on ac- 

 count of lastyear 8191 29 



For Gazette ■ 865 64 



For club - 19i ol S'^l 44 



Balance on hand. 



$1B24 09 



A. P. VbedekbttbGH, Treasurer. 



Asked to explain the item of t^370 in this statement, the 

 witness, consulting his ledger, testified that it was made up 

 of club dues paid as follows: 



.luly 24, Dues, Southern Field Trial Club §10 



Albany Kent el Club 10 



Washington City Kennel Club 10 



Virginia Field Spirts Association. 10 



Tbe Tennessee Poultry and Pet Stock Association 10 

 The Ohattabocchie Valley Exposition Company.. 10 



The Gordon Setter Club 10 



The Maryland Kennel Club 10 



Tbe Rochester Kennel Club 10 



The Columbia's Financiers' Club 10 



Pacific Kennel Club 10 



Michieau Kennel Club 10 



The Beagle Club 10 



The Westminster Kennel Club 10 



The Fox-Terrier Club 10 



The Collie Club 10 



The St. Berrard Club 10 



The New England Kennel Club 10 



The Pittsburgh Kennel Club 10 



The New .Tersey Kenufl Club 10 



The Mascoutah Kennel Club 10 



The Philadelphia Kennel Club 10 



The Georgia Poultry and Pet Stock Association,. 10 



The Cincinnati SuortRjnan'a Association 10 



The Khode Island Kennel Club 10 ' 



24, 

 24, 

 31, 

 14, 



Aug. 6, 

 31, 



Oct. 23. 



Ueo. 5, 

 5, 

 5, 

 8, 

 10, 

 10, 

 13, 

 13, 

 14. 

 15. 

 17, 

 19, 

 20, 

 28, 



31, 

 31, 



Jan. 2, The Massachusptts Kennel Club 10 



4, Tbe Worcestpv Kennel Club 10 



11, Tbe Hartford Kenntl Club 10 



12, Tbe Wi=coTJS!n lsenn-1 Olnb 10 



31, TbeOleveiimd K-nnpl Club 10 



SI, Tbe Amen -an M i-ii ff Ohio 10 



23, The RenPFflaer Kennel Club. 10 



23, The Svracu'e Kennel Club 10 



2!i, The Fort Schinler Kennel Club 10 



26. The Gordon Setter Clnb 10 



Feb. 4, Tbe St. Paul Kennpl Club 10 



- 0, The Toledo Kennel CI ab 10 



Mr. Peshall then asked for the receipts of this nature sub- 

 sequent to Dec, 5. 1S3S (the date of the|5.39 balance), and the 

 testimony ran as follows: 



Q, Now, will you tell the Court and jury how many dollars 

 you got iu after that; that is, commencing on Dec. 8, how 

 many clubs paid ?10 each? A. Twenty-six. 



Q. Twenty-six? A. Yes, sir. 



Q. Now, will you look at that account and see how you 

 can get 26 clubs to pay in S370 there, and -190 in the other ac- 

 count? A. Yes, sir. 



Q. Well, tell us how it is. A. The statement of the treas- 

 urer was broueht up to the annual meeting of Feb, 6, '89, 

 which made $370, received from dues from -37 clubs. The 

 statement that I made, running back from Jan. 11, includes 

 in that, as you will see, only dues from active members — ?90 

 —which were paid in between the 11th day of January and 

 the date of the Kith of February, 



Q. Now, will you take your pencil and figure out and show 

 us how you make that? You may be a better figurer than I 

 am, I don't pretend to be a bookkeeper, A. Well, I can do 

 it very well. On the I2th of January I received $10. 



Q Well, who did you receive that from? A. From the 

 Wisconsin Kennel Club. That is one. On the 21st 1 received 

 from the Cleveland Kennel CI ub ■-'10. On the 22d of January, 

 from the American Mastiff Club. SI 0, On the 23d of Jan- 

 uary, from the Rensselaer Kennel Club, .-^lO. On tbe 2,3d of 

 January I received from the .Svraeuse Kennel Club SIO. On 

 the 25th of .January I received $10 from the Fort Schuyler 

 Club. On the 26th of January 1 received SlO from the Gor- 

 don Setter Club. That make.'t seven. On the 4th of Febru- 

 ary I received SlOfrotu the St. Paul Kennel Club. On the 

 6th of February I received *10 from the Toledo Kennel Club. 

 That is 9. 



Q. Now, that is the ninth. Now, will you acconnt to us 

 and tell us in reeard to the other. That makes 9 clubs that 

 paid after Jan. 11, does it? A. After Jan. II. 



Q. And there were how many clubs that paid between Dec. 

 .5, 1888, and Jan. 11? 



The Court: That would be Jan. 11, '89? 



Mr.. Peshall; Yes, sir. Dining the latter part of Decem- 

 ber and commencing the 8th of December. A. 20. 



Q. How many are ten 20's? A. 200. 



Q. How do you account for .?370, then? A. Well, simply 

 between Jan. 24 and Dec, 5, there were eight clubs that paid 

 applied on the new payment; of dues. 



Q. Now, let me ask you this question; You made a report 

 on the 5th of December and read that report at the meeting 

 of December? A. Yes. 



Q. And you said you had $5.39 on hand? A. Yes. 



Q. Where was tliis money? A. It w.as waiting to go on 

 the new account: it belonged to the account. 



Q. You did not report it' A. No. 



Q. You had it? A. Yes .sir. 1 had it, 



Q, Then you had— then your account on the 5th of Decem- 

 ber was not correct, and you had §80 raoreiu your possession 

 than you stated? A. My account is correct, because— 



Q Now, answer my question. You are under cross-ex- 

 amination. 



Mr. jVlClKTTPvE: If your Honor please— 



Mk. Pe.?hall: I protest. This is cross-examination and it 

 certainly is no time to come to his rescue. 



The CoirKT: Mr. Peshall, you must not talk quite so 

 much. Kverybody is with you but the District Attorney. 

 If vou talk so much the Court cannot hear you. 



iViR. McInttre: And I am certainly against hira on this 

 line of examination. ^ 



The Court: Now, put a new question. Let us have it; 

 agai a. 



Mr. Pes^h.-vll: Q. You say that you had -§80 in yoiu- pos- 

 session that you did not report as trpa-mrcr'' A, I did. 



Q. Then your account that you. made then — the report that 

 you made at that time— was not true? A, It was true. 



Q. It was trtte? A. Yes. The S8U .applied to a subsequent 

 time. It waspaid in advance— there i.s the difference— before 

 it was due. 



Q. You had the money in your possession as treasurer? 

 A. And it is here credited. 



Q. Was it credited in December? A. No, sir. It was 

 credited alreadv, but it was paid. 



Q. You say it was paid iu July or August— along there? 

 A. Yea, sir. 



Q. And you had it in your possession as treasurer of the 

 American Kennel Club?" A. Yes, 



Q. And you did not account for it at the December meet- 

 ing? A. No, sir. 



Q. Then, it it was your duty to account for the money at 

 the December meeting— for the -ISSO— then your account was 

 not true? A. 1 held that money in trust for these clubs. 

 Q. You were treasurer of the club? A. 1 was. 

 Q. And you had tbe money? A. Yes, sir. 

 Q. And those clubs looked to the American Kennel Club 

 for that? A. Yes. 

 Q. And you were secretary and trea.surer? A. Yes. 

 Q. And you had the money and did not report it? A. That 

 is true. But that money was not due until the following 

 December. 



The witness then testified that he had never as treas- 

 urer at any meeting of the club given the items making up 

 the sum of f:l,228,28, but he had given them to a number of 

 the members of the club. Had never published them in the 

 sporting papers nor in the Kcnvel (Jazelte. Had been re- 

 quested by defendant to do so. Had made in 1890 a detailed 

 report for 1889, so that the dog men throughout the country 

 knew where the money he spent bad come from and where 

 it went to. Had in .January, 1888, published a report for 

 the year ending 1887, because the FOREST AND STREAM had 

 questioned the defendant's statements respecting the finan- 

 cial condition of the A. K. C. 

 Returning to the item of ^1,33S.2S, the defendantresumed: 



Q,. Will you give us the items now, Mr. Vredenburgh, 

 going to make up that item of .^1,228,28? A. 1 will. I com- 

 menced on Jan. 10, 1888, with S650.04, 1 received from mem- 

 bers' dues ?3l0. I received for registration of prefixe.':' S42. I 

 received for traveling fund SIOO. Received for sundries, in- 

 cidentals. §7.90. Received for the registering of dogs §3,138. 

 Received for sales of stud book S997. Received for tabulated 

 pedigrees gol. 50. Received for advertising ?4.2.5.35. The total 

 receipts were 84,714.(59. The disbursements for salaries, rent, 

 printing, postage, expressage and incidental expenses dur- 

 ing the period amounted to •1^3,466.41, which disbui'sements 

 deducted from the receipts of §4,714.69 leave a balance of 

 §1.328.38. 



Q. Now, Mr. Vredenburgh, vdll you allow me to recall 

 your attention again to this accotmt, which was filed in 1890 

 —January, 1890. Now, will you look at that stud book for 

 1888 and tell me how much money was in the stud book 

 account, at that time, of this sum Of 81,228.28 that you 

 claim? A. It must have been the diff'erence between 

 §1,328.28 and S3S3.45— about §900, This is in my following 

 ledger. 



The Court: Q. The difference between what? A. $3.33.45 

 Ms. Peshall: Q. N'ow, what was the balance on hand ^ 



