Jamestown weekly alert. [volume] (Jamestown, Stutsman County, D.T. [N.D.]) 1882-1925, 1914-02-12
ANOTHER TR0l g.E
CHAPTER Fol 1.-THE
COURIER news
FARGO M1NISTER-EDITOR BRINGS
SUIT FOR DAMAGES.
I Alleged Misrepresentation Bought
Newspaper Elephant.


lowing tale of woe:
Another chapter in the adventures
of the Courier-News opened yester
day when a suit for $4,000 was filed
in the district court by L. T. Guilds
attorneys, Watson & Young, against
A. Y. More, former owner Of the
News. His attorneys are Pollock &
Pollock. The papers in the suit are
dated December 2, 1913.
Invested $4,000.
The complaint states that Mr..
Guild was engaged as pastor in the
Methodist denomination, and that for
a number of years his earnings have
been in the neighborhood of $4,000,
that himself and wife had accumulat-
ed some $4,000 which he was in,
duced by Mr.. More to invest in form
ing stock company and taking over
the Courier-News, and that he re-
signed his pastorate and became en-
gagged in the enterprise depending
upon certain representations which he
AYERS have since proved to be false. "
The Representations.
Among these was the representa-
ton that the progressive party, of
which it was the organ, was second
in the state and would give the paper
united support; that the paper was
in good repute and of wide ihflu-
ence; that it was sound financially
and on paying basis and was re-
turning a profit month by month:
that it had a large subscription list,
and that the property was worth
$4,000, an invoice being given.
Has Lost Money.
The complaint further states that
he relied upon these statements and
40 invested. resigning his pastorate
and came with his family to Fargo
and took the management Of the
Courier-News. He AYERS that ii fact
the progressive party had practically
no organization in the state and that
the Courier-News was in disrepute
and discredited, that it had been sue
cessively the organ of variety of
factions and parties and that it had
an unbroken record for bad faith f.
nancially; and that large number
of respectable citizens had at differ
ent times invested money in it, al
ways losing. The result of this was
to make them feel unkindly toward
the paper. The paper had long been
stsinkhole" for the investors and
that it was running behind at the
time it was sold to this corporation.
Circulation Padded.
The charge is made that the sub
scription list was grossly padded and
misrepresented, and the value of the
plant greatly misrepresented, and
that the uncollected subscriptions
were overestimated and were in fact
only small per centage of the value
represented by defendant.
The complaint states that the above
facts were not discovered until after
he had entered upon the management
of the paper, that as soon as he did
discover them he repudiated the
transaction, that at defendants re-
quest he continued to manage the pa
per and to avoid injury to it and en-
barrassment to defendant he waived
the proposed RECESSION, choosing rath-
er to hold the defendant for dam
ages, which he sets at $4,000, with
interest from Sept. 10, 1913.
More Makes Answer.
The defendant, A. Y. More, admits
that he was owner Of the Courier
News, that the company was organic
ed, that he received mortgage upon
the plant for part of the purchase
price. He denies that the plant was
misrepresented, and that he received
more than $4,000. He admits va
rious episodes and incidents but
maintains that he had no responsible
ity toward them and that the general
reputation of the paper must have
been known to the plaintiff before he
Joined in organizing the company and
taking it's management.
Circulation Padded.
In regard to the suit filed Mr. Guild
states that he examined the circula-
tion lists, as did some circulation ex-
perts at that time, but it was impos-
sible to discover what afterwards be-
came plain, viz, that a large number
of names thereon were of persons
who entirely repudiate their subscrip-