The Arkansaw traveler., 1885-05-02
HOW TO AVOID LIBEL SUITS.
tPeck,s Sum-

 quest for light on subject of interest to every newspaper man, and may possibly help somebody out oftrouble:
 MILWAUKEE, April 10 1885 Geo. H. Yenowine, My Fellow Sinner :-I have received your communication asking me to tell you some of my experiences in h- bel suits, and how have got along dur ing my brilliant career, saying as many things as have, without getting sued for
 libel. Let me congratulate you on the splendid Sunday paper you had born un- to you on Easter Sunday, and then will enlighten you on the libel business. have made great many people mad in my time, and it is wonder that 1 have not been sued for libel, but honestly, 1 never had papers served on me by a sheriff, while some of my neighbors, who have not said half as mean things, have libel suits till they can't rest. There are several ways to get out of libel suit. have had men come to my office mad enough to chew nails, and they would go away tickled and happy. One man went away wiping blood of his nose. tod him if he was aggrieved at what had said in the paper would put on the boxing gloves with him, we would settle it ths, way, and when he was not looking pasted him one in the nose. heard an- other man tell his grievance, and of fered to shake dice with him, and he agreed, and sawed it of on to him and he invited me out to drink, and that set- tied it. O, there are dozens of ways to get out of libel suit One way is to re- tract. retracted once, for a man, and the retraction was so much worse than the original libel, that he hung himself, but they cut him down before he choked to death. Late years have been unus. ually careful about saying anything to hurt a mans feelings, and that is the best way. However, couple of years ago had close call for libel suit. You re- member Day, who used to keep a carpet store on Broadway. He came here from Peoria, Ill, and opened real nice store, and was splendid man, but somehow he got easily rattled. At the time of the Newhall fire, Day got it into his head, that Gen. Sharpe, of the Soldiers Home, was next to murderer because he didn't send the fire engine in here, and Day went east to New York and to Washington, bowling about Sharpe. He was wild on the subject, and wouldn't lis- ten to reason. Those who investigated the matter, found that Gen. Sharpe could not be blamed, but Day kept on footing his horn, aud now that he has passed away from earth, many of his friends think that his head was overburdened with business cares, and that he was not responsible. We'll, almost every citizen WAS disgusted at the prominence that Day assumed in the matter, being all most stranger, and made an item in my paper to the effect that certain citi- zen was making an ass of himself in the Gen. Sharpe matter. Day saw the pa per and was hot. Nobody, guess, had ever called him an ass before, and he felt It. He came to see me, and proposed to commence suit for libel claiming heavy damages. He was so mad he could not st still in a chair. He claimed that where he came from, in Peoria, a man would be sent to the penitentiary for libel- ing prominent citizen. Finally, after he had got through, he asked me what had got to say, and said it. SaysI:
 "Btother Day-(he was a member of the same church l was a brother-in law, in l have been much interested in your talks in church, and have only one fault to find with you. You are too fresh. You came here stranger, and tue first Sunday you were in church you talked everybody blind. You are on your feet half the time in any church meeting, and your opinion is the only one you believe in at all. People in the church think you make an ass of yourself there. You have made an ass of yourself in this Gen. Sharpe business. and if you get into court will put you on the witness stand and prove by your own testimony that you have mace an ass of yourself. You do not realize that you can't come here rom Peoria and own the whole town in three months. People have to live here year or eighteen months before they can run this town. If you don't like the way they do business here, go back to Peoria, while the walking is good. Now, I'll tell you what will do. You and | don't want law suit, with a lot of law yers to pay, because our church would be ashamed to sec two brethren quarreline Your are member of the Merchants sASSV~oesoA, on0 oAA nut IOu XO 10 the president of the association and ask him to appoint five of the best members on special committee. Then you take the article from my paper, stating that you have made an ass of yourself, and show it to them, and make your state ment, and claim the amount of damages you think is due you, and whatever the say is your due, will give you check for, and that will settle it, and save law suit, and will bet you a ten dollar note that four out of five of the committee will say you made an ass of yourself, and will bet you ten more you will admit it yourself"
 Day listened to me, thought minute after had spoken my piece, and then got up and put out his hand to me and said: ct is just barely possible have made an ass of myself You don't owe me cent of damages. Let it drop" And j. dropped, and we were pretty good friends after that. That was my last case of libel. lfyou libel man, Yenowine, you must reason him ou. of law sui, or A