The Evening statesman. [volume] (Walla Walla, Wash.) 1903-1910, 1905-01-25
Effort to Gag State Press

such owner be an individual. partner
ship. limited partnership. joint stock
, company, or corporation, If it shall be
shown that the publication complained
of resulted from negligence on the part
of such owner. proprietor manager or
| editor, i'm the entertainment of the
facts or in the publication thereof,
compensatory damages may be re-
covered for injuries to business and
reputation resulting from such publi-
cation, as well as damages Tor the
physical and mental suffering endured
by the injured party or parties; ana
whenever. in any such action 1t snali
he shown that the matter complained
of is libelous. and that such Hbelous
matter has been given special promi-
| nence by the use of pictures, cartoons,
headlines, display type or any other
matter calculated to especially at
| tract attention, the jury snail have the
| right to award punitive damages
against the defendant or defendants.
Sec. 3. That from and after the
passage of this act, each and every
newspaper published in this common
wealth, whether the same be publlsned
| monthly, bi-weekly, semi-weekly, or
daily, shall publish in every copy OF
every issue on the editorial page in u
conspicuous position, at the top OF
reading matter, the name of the owner
| owners, proprietor or proprietors OF
| such newspaper, together with the
| names of the managing editor thereof;
and if the said newspaper or news
papers shall be owned or published by
a corporation then the name OF the
CORPORATION shall be published, to-
gether with the names of the president
secretary, treasurer and managing ed
| itor thereof: and if the said news
paper or newspapers shall be owned
or published by partnership or part
nership limited, then the name of the
said partnership or partnership limit
ed, shall be published in like manner
Sec. 4. In the event of any change
being made in the proprietor, owner
publisher or managing editor of any
newspaper, or the office of president,
secretary or treasurer of any corpor-
alton owning and publishing said
! newspaper, or any change in the name
of the co-partners, the said change or
| changes shall be duly set forth in the
next edition, or issue, of said news
paper, following said charge or
charges.
Sec 5. Any person, firm, limited
partnership or corporation, publishing
| a newspaper in Washington which
omits. fails or neglects to carry out the
provisions of sections three and four
of this act, and make the publication
| required by the preceding sections,
shall lbe guilty of a misdemeanor; and
upon conviction thereof shall be fined
not less than $500, nor more than $1,000.
| Sec 6. All acts or parts of acts in
are hereby revoked"
ls Unsound Legislation.
This bill of Senator Bakers mas not
,, vet been enacted into law and may
never be. Good lawyers regard it as
unsound legislation and declare that it
could not withstand an attack upon
it's constitutionality. It is printed in
| full, however, as indicative of the
temper of certain members of the
legislature who may or may not at one
time or another have had their feelings
lacerated by some heartless publication
of their doings.
| The attitude of those legislators who
are openly favoring the enactment of
this or a similar measure is being
closely watched by the publishers of
newspapers throughout the state. Such
| Legislation is naturally regarded as an
intrusion upon the rights of the press
and an attempt to curtail the freedom
of fair and honest publication. That
it would succeed in the latter purpose
is impossible, and that any misplaced
conceive is incredible.