The Pittsburgh Press (November 1, 1940)
ROOSEVELT-WILLKIE CONTEST NOT NEW
Denver, Nov. 1 (UP) –
This Roosevelt vs. Willkie business is old stuff – at least 140 years old, librarians of the Colorado Supreme Court discovered today.
It seems that James I. Roosevelt of New York received a promissory note from Jacob Mark and Co., of New York, for $1,366.66 in 1799, according to a copy of American decisions found in the library.
He later endorsed it and turned it over to one Ed Wilkie. Sometime later the note was found to be usurious and void, so Wilkie sued Roosevelt.
The case of Wilkie vs. Roosevelt became a celebrated one. The judge instructed the jury to find for Roosevelt in the first trial but the jurors were obstinate and brought in a verdict for Wilkie.
A new trial was ordered and the jurors found for Willkie a second time.