The morning times., 1896-12-10
GAS LIBEL SUIT SETTLED
Court of Appeals Confirm the Deci-
sion for Lansden.
Case Grew Out of the Hearings
Before the Congressional
Committees.

Judgment for S12 800 against Charles
B. Bailey, secretary, and John Leetch,
general superintendent of the Washington
G;islight unpany, was confirmed Yesterday
by the court OF appeals in an opinion rem
dcred by Chief Justice Alvey, in the suit
for libel brought by Thomas &. Lansdeh,
a former cmploye OF the company.
The entire trouble grew out of AN article
in the Progressive Age, which rather crit
ically reviewed some alleged statements
OF Iansdeu as To the cost of producing
gas. Because OF the article Lansden sued
the Washington Gaslight Company for
500 GOO. claiming that The published mat
ter was inspired by its Officers. The
lower court rendered IA Judgment for Mr.
Lansden for over $4,000. and McssrS.
Bailey and Lectch took an appeal, with The
above result
The testimony in the case disclosed that
in 1893 Lansden, who was then In the EN-
pioy of the gas company, was SsuHHioned Dy
President Mclean and told to prepare a
statement OF what lac could testify to before
a Congressional committee about the pro
ductoi Of gas Tie article went on TO
charge LanSden witir having made differ
ent statements before the Congressional
committee The plaintiff proved, however,
in Ills suit that he Gd llot testify but once,
on which occasion lie told the Senate com
mittee that gas oouid bc put into the holder
at from 80 To 32 cents per thousand feet and
could he distributed for from 20 TO 22
cents per thousand. This was III s94 and
he was no longer employed by the gas
company,
Mr.. l.ansien showed that the year before,
in 1898. while employed by I resident Me
Lean, the latter had caused him to prepare
a statement as to the production OF gas.
He had not testified TO those statements
however, they being merely submitted TO
Mr. Mclean. who read them over. lt
was nothing more than memorandum and
originally COMMUNICATING as TO the costof
gas. Lansden stated that President Nc
Lean said TO him: You say nothing about
the cost Of gas and he told Mr. Mclean
that the cost of gas must come from him.
the President. or from the secretary He
was thereupon furnished with a statement
putting the gas in the holder at .4S3S
cents per thousand feet and cost of dis
tributiou at 40o9 per thousand; that the
plaintiff said to Mr. Mclean at the time:
1t cannot be possible that your gas costs
that ruuch?'' To which the president re-
piled that they were entitled To charge IN
terest He then wrote in the figures, tell
ing Mr. Mclean:
IF the committee ask me, / will give
these as your figures
This information was not given by Lans-
den to a Congressional committee His
statements. the next year, were widely
published and the Age, after some COM
munication with Secretary Bailey of the
gas company, published an article show
ing up what they termed the two state
ments.'
Notwithsta nding the contention of the
gas company to the contrary, the court
| of appeals decided that the article in ques-
| ton was libelous. and that there was no
| question but what Mr.. Lansden could main
| tain suit against the gas company if the
| corporation had made itself liable for the
| publication of the libel
The court Of appeals held that the prne
| cipal question was whether the defendants
| that the alleged libel was not actually
| written and published by either of the de-
| PENDANTS viz: Secretary Bailey and Super.
| intendent Leetch. 1t was shown how
| ever. that the. article was based on in
| formation furnished in letters from the
| defendants to Mr.. Brown, the publisher of
| the Age.
| A fine question of law was determined
| by Chief Justice Alvey, who held that d
! person was responsible for so much of an
| article as he inspired. The gas company
| contended that if the jury should find
that they did not inspire the entire article
| of appeals decided adversely on this
| point, holding that the defendants were
| liable for as much as they had inspired
| J. j.. Darlington and J Altheus- johnson
| represented Mr.. Lansden.