The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1894-11-30
The Law of Libel.

Our esteemed Gentle contemporary
the Salt Lake Tribune, has just lost
one of three recent big libel suits that
testify to its pluck and fearless dis
charge Of public duty-lost it because
the jury, in obedience to the political
character.of the alleged libel. split along
party lines. Nine of the jurors, being
Democrats, voted to mulct the paper,
because it is uncompromislngly Repub-
lican; and inasmuch as three-fourths
verdict in civil cases is decisive in Utah,
| their biased finding stood. However in
addition to moving for a new trial,
| unjust verdict, The Tribune next day
boldly reiterated the original charge,
namely that one Brown, Democratic
election inspector, had Illegally thrown
out the votes of Republicans fully en-.
titled to vote, and invited a new suit.
Incidentally, it suggests the following
overhauling of the law of libel;
When Il newspaper traduces a man and
unjustly holds him up to scorn and con-
| tempt, for an offense of that kind the pa
per ought to be confscated, because the
journal that does that forgets the mis-
sion of an honest newspaper. 1t lowers
newspapers generally in the estimation Of
honorable men: it wounds the profession
| in vital part, besides doing a great in
| justice to the citizen. But when in the in
| terest of the public good to serve public
purpose q newspaper pictures q dis
| turbing element in a community, or q
vicious and INSCRIPTIONS man, and calls
| him to order. then such a newspaper
| ought not to be put to the trouble of Il
| suit, and the law ought to be changed to
| make such a man, when he begins Il suit
through pure spite, knowing he has no
possible grounds for the suit, and having
no expectation except to wreak such re-
| venge as can be obtained through q
blatherskite argument before jury; such
contestant ought in advance to he
forced to give bond for all the expenses
of the trial in case he fails to establish
that he has any cause. Fortunately, the
public is quick -witted, and it knows by in
stinct whether the attack of u newspaper
| is lust or unjust. The real truth shines
out through the types, and while news
paper cannot be too careful in its at
| tacks, there are times when those at
! tacks are part of its duty, and the public
| feels q sentiment of gratitude when it
sees such attacks, for the newspaper fixes
| in type what the decent citizen instinc-
lively feels should be said.
This seems to present a fair basis of
amendment, which might profltably be
considered in Pennsylvania as well.
! We merely voice the experience of news
papers generally when we say that
ninety-nine hundredths of the libel COM
plants made against the publishers of
reputable journals come from men who
if the truth were known, had, in the be-
ginning, no characters to lose or, to
use the expressive words of Judge Good
win himself, who would be dollars in
pocket If they could lose their present
characters entirely" 1t Is only in rare
instances that good men are wantonly
libeled. The growing intelligence of the
reading public-to say nothing of the
growth in dignity and character Of the
newspaper profession itself-is making
these instances necessarily fewer. The
bulk of libel litigation comes, as We
have said, from shysters and pettifog-
gers, who If they were made to give a
conditional advance bond for costs be-
fore instituting suit, would speedily
turn tail and stink away.