Aberdeen herald. [volume] (Aberdeen, Chehalis County, W.T.) 1886-1917, 1892-08-11
FAMOUS LIBEL SUITS
HOW VERY SELDOM PLAINTIFF
GAINS ANYTHING.
Editor Godkin's Mishap-Funny Expe
rience of George Jones of the New
York Times-Ignatius Donnelly Gets
Six Cents and Mr.. Malloy $4,000.


always of interest-to newspaper readers.
In view OF the suit pending against the
HERALD the following material has been
gathered together for its readers benefit:
Mr.. Edwin l.. Godkin, Of the New
York Evening Post, is a constitutional re-
former and vigorous assailant. Add
that he is north of Ireland man and be-
gan his literary career by writing a some
what Orangeish history Of the religious
discussions, and the reader will readily
see why any little accident in his news
paper career affords much interest to
friends and opponents alike. His recent
arrest was just adenough to be funny.
There is politician in New York who
married a sister Of the noted Victoria
Woodruff and Tennie Claflin and is
otherwise locally celebrated. OF him the
Post recently spoke as an "ex-keeper OF
a dive" He straightway employed a
lawyer who had various reasons for not
loving Mr.. Godkin, and the next Sunday
morning the latter was aroused from a
sound sleep by an officer with a warrant
for his arrest on information for crimi-
nal libel. But he did not 60 behind bars.
Friends gathered rapidly, bail was given,
and SO Larry" as ocular rivals call
him, got away from court in time to at
tend church. This incident has once
ora ot,rtIoJ tIo J;,o,,eo;,, nc J., Elol
laws, and they are found to be in even
worse confusion than ever.
In similar case a friend once con-
doled with the late George Jones, OF the
New York Times, who replied: ooh. is
that all? Why there are only six suits
now pending against the Times. This is
bad year for EN-. Two been in the
newspaper business thirty-five years and
have always had from four to sixteen
libel suits on hand and have never yet
paid one cent damages" Mr.. Matthews
of the Buffalo Express, gave similar testi-
mony. Out of a dozen heavy suits but
one went against him, and in that case
the verdict was for 81 900.
Other papers have not been SO FORUM
ate. The New York Herald paid to
Mr.. Malloy, of South Carolina, $4,000
merely for making this little statement:
1.-THE leading citizens of Edgefeld think
that one Malloy, white man who some
time ago was suspected OF burning his
own store for the purpose of obtaining
the insurance, kindled the fire which re-
suited so disastrously." This is the case
in which Judge William James Wallace,
of the United States circuit court, made
the remarkable descision that the Herald
had told SO big and palpable lie that it
did no harm!
This is not burlesque. Here is the
exact language of the Judge: "The orig
inal publication, although it's sensational
character and fragrant mendacity were
we'll calculated to outrage the feelings of
the plaintiff, was SO destitute OF color of
truth that it could not seriously injure
him in the estimation of the immediate
To good many persons this sounded
like polite way OF saying that the Her
aid (or its correspondent was such liar
that its word could injure no one. And
strangely enough, some people have an
idea that this is law. But it isn't, No
man can take advantage of his own
wrong, and the biggest liar in this COM
munity is as responsible for his own words
as George Washington. There's lots of
fun in libel suit-for all except the par
ties-and by curious and not we'll UNI
derstood law they seem to run in groups.
At one time the managing editor OF
the Mail and Express was just beginning
to breathe freely when the Evening Tele-
gram was sued by Anthony Comstock,
the Times by a publishing firm, and the
Sun by Fred Gerhard and Pierre Loril-
lard, the lasfasking for $50 900 each. At
the close of the week Foster Coats, who
recently left the Mail and Express for
the Press, declared that there was but
one paper in New York that had not
sued or otherwise in trouble, and that
was the Banner of Zion. The Sun had
published that Pierre Dorillard lost
1925, 900 at baccarat and had spoken OF
Fred Gerhard as a BLACKBOARD. None of
the suits amounted to much.
A curious case convulsed an eastern
city some years ago. An evening paper
gave thrilling account of four attempts
to murder young married woman by
connivance Of her husband When suit
was brought and the reporter was called
on for his proof, it was discovered that
his main witness was in the penitentiary
at Joliet, Ills, the next in Importance in
the New York penitentiary at Auburn,
and the third was police sergeant, who
declared he had told the reporter no such
thing. Ruin to the publisher seemed
certain.
AT this juncture statesman OF emf
nence who owed much to the paper came
to the rescue. lie had been public pros
ecutor for years, knew the record OF every
crook and criminal in the county and
held in his hands the power to crush
many OF them. He summoned them one
by one to his Office and made each detail
his knowledge of the plaintiffs The re-
suit was record which caused the Judge