Evening star., 1895-03-21
where the Injury Was Done.

Where the Injury Was Done.
From the New York Evening Post.
The journalistic world has been thrown
into some agitation by the proposed depor-
tation of Charles A. Dana, the editor Of the
Sun, to Washington. to be tried there on an
Indictment for criminal libel found by the
grand jury of that city on the complaint Of
one of its citizens. The publication of the
libel consisted In the sale Of the Sun in the
same place, and the plaintiff asks for the
trial Of the editor before Washington
jury. Some nice points of law are. we oe-
lieve. raised by the case. which will doubt
less be ably argued this week before Judge
Brown of the United States district court.
On them we do not profess to have any
opinion. but the arguments against Dana s
deportation based on justice or expedlency
seem to us to have but little weight. A per-
son Hbeled has undoubtedly the right IN
the forum of morals to have the case ex-
amined and the libeler punished at the
scene of the injury. because the injury con-
sists in the presumed loss of the good
opinion of his neighbors. If 1t has not IN
jured him in the estimation Of his neigh
bors he has really suffered no wrong, and
the only good reason for the interference
of the public prosecutor is the prevention OF
breach of the peace. which is, in fact, the
reason on which the old common law prose-
cution for libel was originally based. The
conviction of Dana for libel on Mr.. NoyeS
IN q city IN winch Ndf. NOyeS Is entiTely Uu-
known, and in which nobody feels any par
ticular interest in him, would do him very
little good. 1t is only in Washington. in all
probability, that any one has noticed the
libel in Dana's paper or paid particular at
tention to it. The conduct Of the proceed
ings. therefore, two hundred and thirty
miles from the libeled mans residence
would really make them of very little value
as vindication, even IL he got conviction.
+. Another justification for Mr.. Noyes'
action is to be found in the strong local in
f1uence of Dana's paper. In every libel suit
brought against a newspaper In this city
its readers and admirers are remorselcsSly
challenged by the opposing counsel If they
appear on the jury panel. This Is an ac-
Acknowledgement of the influence OF news
papers In pervertang mep's moral Judgment
which every lawyer feels bound to make.
There is. however, another class which can
not be kept Off juries In this way. and that
is the people who are terroriZed by news
papers, who dread the daily editorial ridi-
cule and abuse. This is avery large class
and an important one for suitors, because
it is silent and cannot be identified Against
this class Mr.. Noyes would have to contend
If he tried his case here, and also against
the disposition of the small fry OF the press
to stand by a big brother tn trouble. in Or
der to get a puff from him, or in order to
avoid in the future Inconvenience similar
to those to which Dana is now exposed.
There are certain occasions when news
papers stand together like one, however
much they may seem to quarrel at other
times. . What is most extraordinary,
however, in the objection to deportation is
that every other crime than libel is triable
only in the state county in which it is
committed. The notion that it should be
tried where the criminal is caught or where
he happens to reside, Is quite novel. If
Dana had assaulted Mr.. Noyes in Wash
ington the argument that Mr.. Noyes must
come on here to get the law OF him would
excite merriment. In fact, the doctrine
that an indictable press offense ought some
how to be treated differently from other in
dictable offenses is relic Of the time when
the press was the main defender of public
liberties and the government it's most
dreaded enemy. 1t is very much out of
place now. when a large part of the ac-
ing of individuals and the exploration of
private life.