The Montgomery advertiser. [volume] (Montgomery, Ala.) 1885-1982, 1907-05-29
LIBEL SUITS
ODE TRIED
Supreme Court Decides
Conner Cases.
NO DEMAND FOR RETRAcTI0N
Majority Of Court Holds Notice is
Not Required.
Rresent Governor Brought Action For
$4,000 For Alleged Libel Daring
His Race For Nomination For
President6f Railroad
Commission.

The Supreme Court yesterday re-
versed and remanded the suits of
Braxton b. Conner, now Governor of
Alabama, against the Herald
Publishing Company and the Louisville
and Nashville Railroad Company for
alleged libel, holding that the City
Court of Birmingham had erred in sus-
tanning the demurrers of the defend
ants. that the complainant had not de-
manded retraction or correction FIVE
days before bringing the sufO The de-
cision In The Age-Herald case was
by bare majority of the court.
The court held that the part of the
section of the Code requiring five days
notice, affected only publishers of
newspapers and even as regarded them
was not operative when only actual
damages were asked.
The suits upon which the opinion
was handed down yesterday were for
damages in the sum of $4,000 for an
alleged libellous article published in
The Age-Herald on April IL, 1904,
when Governor Conner was candidate
for President of the Railroad Com
mission, as an advertisement paid for
by the Louisville &c Nashville Railroad
Company, which was sued for $4,000,
while The Age-Heraid Publishing
Company was sued for $500.
The article was printed under the
caption communicated" a method
adopted by several newspapers to in
dictate that 1t and similar articles
were political advertisements. The
caption of the article referred tn Co
! r1er's peculiar sense of honor" and
said that he had tried to do" the rail-
road. The body of the article was an
affidavit of Ed Dickert who alleged
that he was a section foreman for the
Louisville and Nashville Railroad Com
pany in Birmingham, and that he had,
as section foreman, repaired side
track at the Avondale Cotton Mills,
that he had told Governor Conner. pres
ident of the mills, who asked for the
information, that the charge for the
work would be $780, and that Governor
Conner had offered to pay this money
to Dickert personally, and for Dick
ert's own benefit. instead of to the
railroad company for which he worked.
Governor Conner brought suits, for
damages on account of alleged libel.
The complainant alleged that the ar
ticle had been falsely and maliciously
published for the express purpose of
injuring him as candidate for the
Office of President of the Alabama Rail
road Commission.
No Demand For Retfaction.
The defendants demurred to the com-
appear in the complaints that demand
had been made upon defendants for
correction or retraction of the alleged
lihel, and the lower court. the Birm-
ingham CITY Court, sustained the de-
murrers The question of demand for
correction or retraction and five days
notice before bringing suit was based
upon an act of February 90, 1899.
amending Section 1441 of the State
Code, the clause bearing most closely
upon the suit. being as follows.
- Before any suit for libel shall be
brought for the publication of an arti
Gle In any newspaper in this State, the
aggrieved party shall. at least five
days before beginning suit, serve no.
tice in writing on the publisher or
publishers of said newspaper, at their
principal office of publication, IL with
in the State, specifying the statements
in the said article which he or they
alIege to be false and defamatory, and
If it shall appear on the triap of said
action that said article was published