The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1895-04-03
DR.. KENNEDY'S REPUTATION
For Injuries Sustained He Wants
$4,000 from the Free Press.
DENIAL OF RESPONSIBILITY
Editor z. J. Lynott and Proprietor +. A.
Bcamish Are the Defendants Case
to Go to tho Jury Today.
Other Cases In the Courts.

Publisher Il. A. Beamish and Editor
n. ]. Lynott, of the Sunday Free Press,
of this city, are defendants in a civil
libel suit for damages In the sum of $l0,-
600 that was begun in the main court
room before Judge Gunster yesterday
morning. DR.. w. p. Kennedy, of Price
burg, is the plaintiff, and his attorneys
are C. w. Dawson and George ID. Tay-
lor. The defendants are represented by
Attorneys Joseph O'Brien and John p.
Kelly. The testimony of plaintiff and
defendants was finished yesterday, as
well as the arguments of counsel on
both sides. Judge Gunster will deliver
his charge this morning and then the
case will be placed in the hands of the
jury.
The basis Of the suit Is an article that
appeared in the North End correspond
ence of the Free Press on Sunday, June
10. 1892. II. II. C. Maloney was then the
Providence correspondent and the al
legged libelous lines were penned by him.
He occupied a seat yesterday within the
bar enclosure and looked forth from a
pair Of eyes. the left one Of which was
enshrouded in mourning.
In 1892 an organization known as the
Progressive Endowment Guild" of
Priceburg, was formed. DR.. Bilheimer,
another physician of that borough, was
appointed medical examiner. Corre-
spondent Maloney claimed to know that
DR.. Kennedy was SO nettled at not be-
ing appointed medical examiner that he
made use OF phrases more forcible than
elegant in commenting on the choice
made by the organization. Mr.. Ma
loney, on the following Sunday, charged
DR.. Kennedy with lack of professional
etiquette. In winding up the article Mr..
Maloney wrote, 1.-THE reputation Of a
society is of more Importance than that
of an individual who regards not his
own"
The Article Offered in Evidence.
The first proceeding on the part of the
plaintiff was to offer the newspaper and
article in evidence. Mr. Lynott was
then called by the plaintiff and he re-
| fused to state who the editor of the
Free Press is, but he admitted that Mr..
| Beamlsh is the proprietor. Mr.. Beam
ish was called, too, and he answered
| that he is the proprietor of the Free
| Press but refused to disclose the name
of the editor. Mr.. Lynott, he said, is
| the manager and publisher. This closed
the plaintiffs side Of the case and At
| torney Kelly asked the court to take
the case from the jury on the ground
that the article did not contain any
thing libelous. Judge Gunster ruled
that this was a question for the jury to
decide.
The defendants case was then opened
and the substance of it was that neither
| Messrs Beamish nor Lynott wrote the
article or saw it before their attention
was drawn to it when a summons of
libel was served on them. They never
had any malice against DR.. Kennedy,
| and they claimed that the plaintiff had
not proven that the publication of the
article had injured him, either in repu-
tation or from a pecuniary standpoint.
Attorney Dawson presented law points
to the court, and in arguing them re-
| marked that the inference might be
strongly drawn from the sentiment hid
den in Maloneys article that DR.. Ken
nedy is moral leper Judge Gunster
adjourned court at $50 because one of
tic yuIOIS Htu W SlNe Testimony III a
case pending in No. court room.
Other Court Cases.
The trespass suit of Charles p. Hal
lock against Stroud & Chamberlain. in
No. court room, before Judge. Ed
wards, went to the jury at $3.50 in the
afternoon, and at adjournment a ver-
dict had not been agreed upon. The
defendants admitted that they mined
some coal from beneath the property of
the plaintiff, but it was done through
the negligence of a mining engineer
employed by them. The jury will find
it devolved upon them to render ver-
dict for the plaintiff, but they must use
their best judgment in determining the
amount of the damages.
The jury in the case of Mrs. Fannie
Aswell against the city went to the
West Side yesterday morning and
viewed the premises. When they re-
turned Judge Mayer charged them, and
they had not reached a verdict at ad-
journment. A.suit to recover rent was
then put on trial in No. court room.
Carson & Davis, grocers of the West
Side, are the plaintiffs, and J. e. Shiffer
is the defendant The plaintiffs side
had finished its evidence at adjourn
mpnt