Evening journal., 1907-09-21
POST IS SUED
BY GOLFERS
Legal Fight Between Pub
fishers and Noted Food
Manufacturer
New York Times.

New York Times
Papers were served yesterday on C.I
w. Post of Battle Creek, Mich. Presi-
dent of the Postum Cereal Company,
Ltd, manufacturers of Postum" and
Grape Nuts" and Bradley Garretson,
the New York manager of the company,
in a suit for S75OO0O damages brought
against the company by the proprietors
and the editor OF Golfers Weekly
The complainants allege that an ad
lvertisement signed by the company and
printed widely in newspapers through
out this country and Europe on Sep
tember 4 was libelous. There are three
lcomplainants, Peter f. Collier, Robert
Collier, the owners of the magazine,
and Norman L. Hapgood, the editor,
each asking for S250.OOO damages.
Charles +. Kelley associate Of James |
w. Osborne, counsel for Golfers, an
nounced also that he had every reason |
to believe that Mr.. Post wrote the ad- |
lvertisement himself, and that criminal |
proceedings would be brought against |
him personally at once. Mr.. Post ad- |
mitted yesterday TO Times reporter
that he wrote the advertisement COM !
lplained Of
The trouble started over an editorial
which appeared in the issue of Collier
ANA July g II AtdA III RaA
zone widely circulated paragraph la
bors to include the impression that
Grape Nuts will obviate the necessity
of an operation for appendicitis. This is
lying and. potentially, deadly lying.
Similarly, Postum continually makes
reference TO the Endorsement Of "A dis
tinguished physician or a prominent
. health oficial' persons as mythical,
doubtless, as they are mysterious"
$4,000 to Have it Printed.
Mr.. Post replied in a half-column ad-
vertisement which he admits cost him
$4,000 to have printed. The particular
A., paragraph to which the Golfers and Mr..
4 Hapgood object, read:
d when a journal wilfully prostitutes
:. its columns to try and harm a reputable
manufactures in an effort to force him
n to advertise it is time the public knew
l. the facts. The owner or editor of Col
j. lier's Weekly cannot force money from
us by such methods
g The entire article was couched in
c such strong terms that several New
York papers communicated with Col
: liers before they published it, In all
- cases, however, the magazine gave per-
mission for the printing of the adver-
: ltisement
Taking up the statements made in
Golfers editorial with reference TO the
- legitimacy of the medical Endorsements
lof Grape-Nuts and Postum, Mr. Posts
advertisement said: I'VE are here 10
wager Golfers Weekly or any other
skeptic or liar, any amount of money
they care to name, and which they care
Z to cover, that we will produce proof to
. any board Of investigators that we have
never yet published an advertisement
d, physician or health official on Postum
or Grape Nuts when we did not have
the actual letter in our possession"
The complainants also take exception
- to another paragraph, which reads.
Some time ago the manager OF Coll
o liers Weekly got very cross with us
because we would not continue to ad-
vertise in his paper"
The complainants declare that the
contract with the Postum Company
n was broken off by themselves after a
long correspondence with the company
n, in which it practically pleaded to have
the advertising continued.
In a statement given out yesterday
from Mr., Osborne's Office. a history OF
IL the correspondence was given. 1t stated
q that the first question Of the turning
down of tho Postum advertising came
ItH IA -NNffAHnNAf ANNNf wien "a lEkltl
was received from a subscriber. OF
which he had pasted the annual an
nouncement of Golfers that it wouC
accept mo advertisements making
claims to medicinal effect or extrava-
- giant in claim.H and a copy of a recent
- Postum advertisement printed IN Tho
magazine which asserted that Grape.
. Nuts had cured a case Of nervousness,
- and heart trouble. Beneath the clip.
> ping the subscriber had written, Con.
sistency, thou art a jewell
- Controversy Over Advertising.
The receipt Of this communication re.
suited in the writing Of a letter b,
Conde Mast advertising manager OF
Golfers to Mr. Post, which said: "Ow.
ing TO the advertising policy recent,
adopted, it will be impossible for us C
publish the style of copy that yot
are sending us for Postum and Grape.
Nuts"
on November 20 Mr.. Post replied in q
letter which said. according to tn,
statement: Il have never written, tC
my recollection. a Postum or Grape.
Nuts article that makes any claims II
that direction. l will be Obliged to vol
for any announcement of mine tina
makes claim for medicinal ingredient
i or results"
Then followed a long correspond
ence in which Mr. Post went into
detailed explanation Of the difference ii
/ his mind between food and a medi
/ cine" The matter finally came to
ihead on December is, when Mr. Mas
wrote to the Grandlin Company of Bat
1 tie Creek, which handles the Postum
advertising, saying: I'VE cannot in
sert this copy in view OF our recen
= decision in reference to advertising O
a medicinal character''s
1t was later learned that Mr.. Pos
| was in town and the papers were ais
] served upon him.
He readily admitted that he wrote tn
alleged libelous advertisement himsel
and continued:
And shall probably write som
| more Of them, too. shall fight thi
Y ease TO the bitter end"
AIENAJ CACEC <NE