Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1871-1872, 1871-12-15
LIBEL SUIT.
Damages Claimed-S2,00

Yesterday we got wind of the fact that Q
genuine libel suit is to be our next sensa-
ton. In fact, that it has been cooking
up" for some little time past, and that pro-
ceeding have already been instituted by the
injured parties. The Rock Island Union
was implicated, at the start, bat by some
tirst-class squirming through convenient
knos-hole, has managed to get ON the safe
side of the legal Jordan. To-day We waded
through voluminous documents and arrived
at the following facts:
Technically stated, the suit is between
"Msry Ellen Blakely, minor, against
Christopher Armstrong, Jr."
The plaintiff sets forth that she has here
totore borne 8 good name, fame, and credit;
that she Is daughter of John and Ellen
Blskely, of Bowling Township, Rock Island
County; that she has never committed the
crime Of perjury, or any other crime; that
defendant, greatly enjoying her happy sta.e
and condition, contrived wickedy aud ma
liciously to iDjure her good name, fame
and credit, and bring her into public
infamy, scandal, and disgrace among her
neighbOrs and the good people Of the state
and thus cause them to believe her guilty o
the crime of perjury, and sObject her to tn,
pains and penalties Of the law there spper
tanning; and to vex, harass, Cypress, impov
erish, and wholly ruin her; and TO impescl
her honesty, integrity, and reputation That
with these objects in view, he did, on tn
llth day of November, in a certain news
paper Of that date, published and circulated
in Rock Island County, aud called "Th
Weekly Union" procure to be written
printed, and published, false, scsndalou,
and defamstory libel concerning the plsir
tiff, in the form of letter Published owe
, the nom de plume of Gamma Alpha Jr
charging her with the crime of perjury
Damages are set at the figure of 81, 900, an
, the case will come up for hearing at Ih
January term of the Circuit Court.
The offensive communication was pul
Q lished 10 the Daily Union of November l0tl
d a copy OF which lies before US. We extrs'
J. the following paragraph, as showing th
e animus Of the article
o az have few families in my mind al pre-
!. ent who are very fair illustrations of h
workings of ignorsnce and avarice. Whe
the sch. oil IS IN session, the children aIten
day about that IS, one goes to school OF
OF family of i've, and the other four sta
st home. Next day No. goes and No.
2 stays at home, so that out of every weel
b each pupil goes one dAy-quite saving
} time and also Of books, as one got does a.
and thai set q first reader, the cad of whIc
they have never yet reached. What Ia II
,. RESULT Bobby or Mary Ellen, John {
Dick, THE names Of the children Of Blake
3 -Argus), as the case may be, can neith'
lie read, write, or cyuher, sBc like their pr
genitors, live but 10 banker after other
q possessions. What wonder then that The
have been known TO perjGre and re-peIur
. themselves? False swearing is considers
~ by them as honorable, If by that mesas the
can svenge their malice. Lines csunt
bound their greed. Gain is their God, al
by his shrine they worship with all the il
difference to justice which has chsrscte
~ lied an Intoxicated Pagan who surveye
is with blood-shot eyes the lines While
c. were to bind his strong armed neighbor,"
2 The man who would s,oop to use sue
); envenomed language toward mere childre
g. can certainly claim no sympathy from Il
e public, even though his charges we're .ru
q which it is asserted they are not new
paper that admits such stuff TO its column
without a word Of inquiry, is reprebensib
in the highest degree. And when GaB'm
Alpha Jr. gets through nth bis pressr
sjw, We sugges; that he invest little
a. his leis ure time in studying English Gran
3 mar and Competition. instead of Rrumb 10
at what children may or may not be study
# ing.
We have been told that the editor of 10
. Union at FIRST refused to divulge the nam
a, of his correspondent. but Mr. jackson, {
:, the firm of Sweeney..& jackson, gave him
q brief and affecting interview, q little crsv
fishing ensued, and the name Of the grei
rural cham piou Of education WAS revealed ,
70 an Adnring world.
d p. S. The plaintiff is only sixteen years
: age, and states that her HcquAintances hsy
. ceased having anything to do with her o
account Of the ISLANDERS pot forth by th
d correspondent of the Union Sweeney
jackson are the attorneys for the prosecr
ton.
f. ". SPENCER has large stock of fiji
" Table Cutlery bought for the Holidays.