The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1883-04-13

ton in the case of privileged articles is rebuff
ted by the privilege, but that presumption
may be restored by showing a state of things
which. as / said before, would take the con-
duct of a writer outside the privilege. In de-
terminIng a matter of that kind you must
look at the subject matter and The accusation.
The subject matter is privileged In this case,
but in what way has the accusation
been made? Upon the one side it is con-
tended that the very framework of the arti-
Gle, that the very expressions used in it, that
the very zeal in publishing, that the COM
ments made, all show that it was not done
for the purpose of aiding the university or of
aiding the public, or doing publicduty, but
for the purpose of hurting Professor MacLean.
On the other hand it is contended that Mr..
Scripps was a stranger to Mr.. MacLean, that
he had no feeling against him. that he had
stuck honestly and correctly to the charge
which was being circulated in the Canadian
papers, that the comments of the paper and
all the circumstances, the headlines and
everything in connection with the article,
were really justified by the information
which came to him through the Canadian
papers, and were proper subjects of COM
ment, and were commented upon in decent
and proper and unmalicious way"
This statement of the law and of the use
and abuse of the privilege is certainly broad,
fair, liberal, and yet just to all parties-the
public, the press and the plaintiff. 1t is in
effect what the Journal has asked for and
demanded on behalf of newspapers, and
no more; because, for the present, it is i'm
possible in this land of boosted freedom to
get anything else or better, such, for in
stance, as the law is in royalty ridden, mon
archical England. The privilege of the press,
as eXpounded by the Michigan court, is
ample enough to secure any reputable news
paper from wrongful oppression in the fair
discussion of public questions or in attack
ing public malfeasance. Inside the lines of
this privilege every newspaper ought to be
morality and official purity. Outside of
these lines the newspaper should be severely
punished. But the oppression in this State
is, that by our laws any characterless scamp
can put a newspaper to the annoyance and
expense of defending a libel suit when
it is perfectly evident that the pa
per has none other than q public
object in view, while the idea of the
privilege" of the press is one entirely for
eign to the judicial and legal mind of Indi-
ana. There will come a time when the
newspaper will be regarded as a friend and
ally not an enemy, and then libel suits will
be permitted against it only when the
plaintiff presents to some lawful authority
the evidence of prima facie case, and re-
ceives permission to persist in the prosecu-
ton. When that time of protection to the
press shall come, coupled with the enforce
ment of the severest penalties against news
papers which libel and SANDER for malice or
because it puts little money in their cof-
fers temporarily, then we shall have a bet
ter, stronger and more influential press and
a correspondIngly improved condition OF
official life and general society.