Los Angeles herald., 1909-11-10
SUES RECORD FOR
100000
ALLEGING LIBEL
PRESIDENT OF HERALD COM
PANY CHARGES MENDACITY
DECLARES EVENING EQUALIZATION
MALIGNED HIM
Statement Characterizes as Ridiculous
and Malicious Series of Articles
Written PurposeIy to In
lure Character
SUIT for 100000 damages against

A SUIT for 100000 damages against
IA the Record Publishing company
"A was filed today in the superior
court by Thomas e. Gibbon, president
of Los Angeles Herald company. The
complaint alleges libel. The complaint
was prepared by Works & Works in
company with Anderson q Anderson,
attorneys.
The reasons of Mr.. Gibbon for bring
ing this action are contained in the
following statement:
Since The Los Angeles Herald,
whose policies | control, has seen fit to
oppose Mr.. Mushet's candidacy for
mayor of this city on grounds which
appeared to the proprietors of The
Herald to justify the opposition to his
candidacy by paper devoted to the
welfare of Los Angeles, the Record,
which has been promoting his candi-
dacy, has been filled with personal
abuse and villification of me.
ut has not hesitated at any sort of
falsehood concerning myself which
appears to have suggested itself to
the person responsible for the Records s
political articles. A good many OF
these falsehoods were for time con-
Veyed by inference in the form Of
questions, which may have prevented
their being technically libelous. on last
Friday however, the Record, in re-
ferring to Mr.. f. 7. Earl, proprietor of
the Express and myself, stated They
have been driven to such desperate
straits that they have attempted to
purchase perjured testimony against
Mr.. w. c. Mushet. This, of course,
is a direct charge of attempted sub
ornation of perjury, which is crime
under the laws of the state of Cali
fornia, and, IL untrue, it is of course
libel"
I'm point of fact, through all this
campaign / have never had any de-
tective in my employment and have
never attempted to secure evidence OF
any kind against Mr. Mushet, other
than that contained in the written
and printed record which he has made
as auditor of the city of Los Angeles.
The Herald, under my direction, has
published portions of this record that
show his opposition to the schools or
the city and no attempt has been
made. either by Mr.. Mushet or his
supporter, the Record, to specifically
deny any statement published in The
Herald.
"As an instance of the reckless cam
paipn of mendacity and misrepresen-
tation that the Record has conducted
may be cited a statement In It's issue
of Yesterday i'm which ii is chargeu
that | was opposed to Mr.. Mushet be-
cause he knew of my real estate
holdings adjacent to San Pedro har-
bor.' In point of fact l do not own
one cents interest, legal or equitable,
in any real estate nearer san Pedro
than the corner of Twenty-fifth street
and Harvard boulevard in this city,
which is occupied by my residence;
"I suppose some people may say that
/ have the means of getting even
with the Record by abusing personally
the nroprietors of that paper in return
for the personal abuse and falsehoods
which 1t has leveled at me. On taking
control of The Herald, however, i gave
notice that that paper would not III
dulge in personal Journalism. Because
a newspaper differs with 1t in politics
The Herald will not indulge In per-
sonal misrepresentation or abuse OF
the proprietors OF that paper. "A
nroper respect for our readers enforces
this rule in conducting The Herald
Therefore, when am made the sub
iect of personal abuse and mlsrep-
resentation by another paper / have
only the recourse that other citizens
have, to wit. an appeal to the courts
for vindication and protection against
such unwarranted invasion OF personal
rights. | have taken this course by
bringing an action for libel against the
Record based on some of the utterly
unfounded falsehoods that it has pub
lished concerning me in this campaign
''I am determined to show that in
this city and county man shall not
be exposed to all the vilification, abuse
and falsehoods which the Imagination
of a constituencies newspaper writer
can evolve, simply because he sees NJ
to oppose the candidacy FOR pupho
OFFICE of a man whom he believes un-
worthy to hold the office that he