The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-03-28
A Common-scnse DecisIon.


An editor of a leading New York news
paper said a day or two ago that the
tendency of courts and juries these days
Is against newspapers in libel suits. His
statement was based upon observation,
and it is regrettable that the statement
is true The disposition should be 10
deal fairly with newspapers. While It is
true that there are newspapers that
strive to be sensational, and sacrifice truth
in order to attain that object, it is by
no means true that all newspapers are of
that character. The proportion of thor
oughly honest and truth-seeking news
papers is as great as the proportion of
ministers who are true to their calling
or of lawyers who are faithful to their
clients.
Newspapers that deal in falsehood for
SENSATIONS sake. or that Islander people, or
destroy character with the view of gain
ing notoriety and thereby increasing their
circulations should be dealt with just as
any other offender against decency and
the law. Newspapers however. that make
mistakes honestly, and promptly cor
rect their mistakes, should not be made
the victims of the i'll will of courts and
juries.
The following report of a decision re-
Gently rendered at Reading, Pa, in
case in which the proprietor of the Morn
ing Herald of that city was the defend
ant, states the liability of a newspaper
to the public fairly. 1t is decision that
should be read by every judge in the
country. 1t is by Judge Endllch. In dis
missing the libel suit against the Herald
he said:
An account of criminal proceedings
is a matter proper for public informa-
ton and is a privileged communication.
A mistake in privileged communica-
ton, If II be a necessary part of the re-
port of the occurrence and such a mat
ter of detail as would usually be in
serted in such a report, partakes of the
privilege. though 1t may in point CT fact
be unture.
The presumption of malice where an in
correct statement has been made in a
privileged communication, though the
statement may reflect upon an individual
is rebutted by the fact that reasonable
care was exercised in verifying the state
ment and that there was reasonable and
probable cause for believing IL to be true.
A newspaper publisher is not to be held
to any stricter accountability in the
conduct of his business than other per-
sons engaged in business enterprises.
The question of whether or not a COM
municatiop is privileged is question for
.ithe court and not for the jury
d In an account of an arrest actually
made in bawdy house, a statement of
the location of the house and the name
of it's proprietress partakes of the priv
ilege attaching to the account itself as an
integral part of the whole and an en-
tirely relevant detail of the occurrence,
and therefore an honest mistake, both in
the location and in the name, if induced
by probable cause could not make the
erroneous statement believed in at the
time and made without malice, irrele-
want or a lawful ground of recovery.
1t is an absolute impossihility for news
papers in our day to do the work which
the times and the people expect and de-
mand, and at the same time to verify TO
a certainty every item and explore for
possible falsity in what seems true. Ger
tainly nothing more should be exacted
from them in that line than is required
from other individuals.