Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1872-02-29
Largest Circulation in The District
Reading Matter on Every Page.
WASHINGTON CITY:
HTRSDAY..... ...February 70, 1877
Libel suits Against Editors.

Itsct ms that " Arlington IS not the only place
where Eewsiarer publishers are mulcted
thToUEh tbc agency of housing lawyers and
add, Iattd Jurors. Under narrow construction
OF the 'aw OF libel, lately Chicago paper was
made the victim of just such an outrageous YER
diet - that rendered by jury here in the case
o. Wm. Prince against the Evening Star Com
psny- Another Chicago rarer-the TriJune-
recognized everywhere as one of the ablest and
most diguit.d Tapers IN the country, takes up
tue CEdgols in behalf of the press in the follow
'ug Cogtnt and convincing language:
There seems to be urgent need for a radica.
r. COZ >fIUCtiOn Of the law of libel, upon COM
mon - r.Sc priEciplCS-oT for the continuance OF
~un.r means that may afford a reasonable guar
aEtcc against the congregation in one jury-box
AZ twelve individuals unanimously smitten with
JuGic.s. blindness or emotional idiOcy-Or for
both. TO impose penalty of 2,500 for the
Publication in newspaper of a report of pro-
CeCGiTss had before a county Officer and duly
recorded by bim in a book kept for that purpose
- stretch OF the indiscTetiOD allowed to jaries
t1at eneht to eonsign IFS perpetrators to the
ue1CSt a~y lum for imbeciles. N yTessm>s the
TLtStsEse - m1iics ChsTs GH the CIRCUMSTANCES 40
10 Sh,t- nat there could be EoHe. 1t Furnishes
81 MT the act Of putting into "A newspaper what
- already made public property by being placed
ia the recorded proceedings of = public Off GER.
IL l. taking q leaf from the law OF the seven
tcenth century. and tranSplanting il into the
administration of justice in the last half OF the
nineteenth. IL violates equity. public policy,
and common sense: and il steadily followed up
III a similar spirit by courts and iuTes for a wear
would compel publishers to eliminate the ele
mcnt OF current news from their columns and
Ill them with choice selections from last sea-
sons aims nae. er the textbook of the late Ia
II rented j. Miller. Such penalty was imposed
by jury in one of our courts yesterday. Under
all the circumstances, a. we gather them from
the charge OF the Court, and the facts develop
ed on the trial the verdict is an outrage upon
the rights of the newspaper press. The mater
JaL!isisi technically HbsiONS, bHt a. lcas Oh
tGiHsd entirely legitimate ray, and there tcas
81 rdcr- II malice SholrR an he pHtlicGtiOn. On
the contrary, as soon a. its fasity became known
an ample and complete retraction was printed
in the same paper, and toita tAiS, a. appears, tts
iR i1Tsd party disposed 10 be satisfied at the
time 4ffsI trGrf eHtsTpTiSia9 legal geRti.sea got
hold If tie affair." and. ruth t-iGt appears 20 hare
bern a t-sllgrouHdsd fGih in the capacity IF tie
0rsrGGs j4rsBiGR TOR the preparation of lli0n1nf
fp5-fg. Conducted IL % tte Issue adore Bleati0R-
at
IL i TO the credit of the Tribune that it male
this energetic protest against the verdict of a
j Ury IN case where the victim was a rival
paper with which the Tribune was on bad terms
But the T1JUHs secs, all Thoughtful Jour
naiiSts must see, the necessity that the press
should make common stand to protect them
SELVES from construction of the oppressive libel
law that makes il possible for jury to bring in
>uCh vtrjIcts rs these recorded.