The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-05-13
NEW LAW OF LIBEL
is SUSTAINED BY GOVERNOR OF
PENNSYLVANIA.
WOULD NOT VETO THE BILL.
PENNYPACKER GIVES REASONS
FOR SIGNING 1T.

| Governor Declared There Is Moth
ing in the Bill to Prevent News
papers from Making Proper Pub
IicatiOns-He Strives to show
What Constitutes Proper Publ
cntiOns-He Gives "a List of Alleged
Improper PublicatiOns-Reputa
Press Nothing to Fear.
Harrisburg Pa, May 12.-Gov. PEN
nypacker approved the Grady Salus liz
/ bel bill to-day and at the same time is
sued a long statement, giving the rea-
sons for his action. The bill, which
was in the Governors hands for more
than a month, goes into effect imme-
diately and repeats all laws or parts of
laws inconsistent with the new act.
The Governor says in his statement
that there is nothing in the terms of
the measure which prevents any news
paper from making such comments up
J on legislative measures or upon the Of
fetal acts of state, municipal, county,
or public officers as are proper informa-
ton for the public or are in the line
of legitimate public discussion. Contin-
uing, he says:
THE bill in it's application is not
confined to officials, but affects as
well, the citizen or business man, whose
conduct constitutes no part of the right
of the public to information. The cor
poration officer who has been falsely
charged with crime; the manufactures
who is falsely accused of being
drunken brawler; the woman whose
! domestic griefs have been unfeeling1y
| paraded, or whose chastity is Inn
properly suspected; the student who
has been falsely accused of murder;
the clergyman who has been cruelty
malgned; the quiet citizen whose
| peace of mind has been destroyed by
| the publication of evil gossip; the
! merchant whose credit has been affect
| ed by groundless rumorS; the sufferers
from reckless. but not necessarily
! malicious, publications are given the
right not to prohibit publication, but
| to recover damages which they have
| sustained, provided they prove negli-
gence or lack of care on the part OF
the publishers of newspapers.
All Really Occurred.
"All of these are instances of what
has in fact recently occurred. A
mayor of our chief city has been
called a traitor: a senator of the
| United States has been denounced as
yoke1 with sodden brain, and with
| in the last quarter of century two
| Presidents of the United States have
been murdered. and in each instance
the cause was easily traceable to in
| tiammatory and careless newspaper ut
| terance.
"A cartoon in daily journal of May
2 defines the question with entire pre-
cision. An ugly little dwarf represent
| ing the Governor of the common
wealth, stands on a crude stool. The
| stool is subordinate to and placed
| alongside a huge printing press, with
wheels as large as those of an OK team,
and are so arranged as to give the idea
| that when the press starts the stool
and its occupant will be thrown to the
ground
Put into words, the cartoon asserts
to the world that the press is above the
law and greater in strength than the
| government. No self-respecting peo-
pie will permit such an attitude to be
long maintained. In England a CEN
fury ago the offender would have been
| drawn and quartered and his head
| stuck upon pole without the gates. In
America to-day this is the kind of ar
rogance which goeth before a fall"
| would Mean General lmpurtty.
The Governor says If such abuse of
| the privileges allowed the press is to
! go UNPUBLISHED. if such tales are per-
mitted to be poured into the ears of
men and to be profitable, it is idle to
contend that reputable newspapers can
maintain their purity
He also says that many years ex-
| perience on the bench have led him
to the conclusion that crimes are wide
| ly propagated, not by the malice, but
! by the reck1essness of the press, and
that in certain classes of cases, among
| them murder. the accused were at
! times convicted or acquitted before
| they reached the court room.
\ Gov. Pennypacker says the reputable
press need have no fear of the opera
| ton of the law, but that it will have
a repressive effect upon the evil ten
| denotes of modern Journalism.