New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1916-08-14

The answer Of The Tribune Associa-
tion to the complaint in the 100000
libel suit brought against il by Green
hut Company, Inc, has been served and
was filed Saturday in the County
Clerks Office by Sackett. Chapman &
Stevens, the attorneys for the defend
ant
This answer is a long one of about
1900 words, exclusive of the exhibits
annexed 10 il. II contains a statement
of most Of the details Of the extraordi-
nary litigation of which this libel suit
is the outcome. and which grew out OF
the series of articles by Samuel Hop
kins Adams on pernicious and dishon-
est advertising and trade methods
which have appeared in the columns Of
The Tribune during the last year and
| half.
As stated in The Tribune's answer,
the plaintiff corporation was organized
in September, 1915, to take over the
business of its bankrupt predecessor
j. b. Greenhut Company, Inc, which
had previously succeeded to the business
! of the corporations Greenhut-Siegel-
/ Cooper Company, Greenhut & Co. and
| Siegel cooper Company in the conduct
/ ing of the large department store on
/ Sixth Avenue and Eighteenth and Nine
! teenth Streets. For many years the
! management OF these corporations had
| been in the sime hands and had been
generally advertised and known as
/ "Greenhut's" and "The Big Store"
Advertising Methods Attacked.
The first of Mr.. Adams's articles re-
garding the fake" trade methods and
advertising used by this establishment
was published in the spring of 1915 and
contained charges against its trade Ind
advertising methods as grave as any
thing in the publications sued upon in
Tho present libel suit. II also contained
the statement that The Tribune had
! refused to carry the advertising OF
Greenhut's because of its bad methods.
No complaint was ever made by any
one connected with Greenhuts respect
ing any statements contained in that
eiticle or any assertion made that
there was anything in it which was not
true; nor was any libel suit brought
upon it. Soon after its publication
J. b. Greenhut Company. Inc,
went into bankruptcy, and in Septem
Der, 1915, the plaintiff corporation took
over the stock of that insolvent con
corn and what was left Of its good will.
As stated in the answer filed Satur-
cay, The Tribune Bureau of lnvestiga-
tons still continued to follow up COM
riaints regarding the advertising and
other trade methods Of Greenhut's, and
particularly the manner IN which II ad-
vertiscd and conducted the sale of the
stock of the bankrupt A. ID. Matthews
Company in January OF this year.
On Friday, February 4. The Tribune
published announcements that on the
following Sunday there would appear
in it's columns "story" by Mr.. Adams
of the manner in which he was at
tracted by the advertisements Of this
sale and how she went forth to see anc
to buy" One Of these announcements
was headed Fake Sale at Greenhuts,
and went on to state that Samuel
D
Greenhut's and found that the sale sup
posed to contain only the stock of the
BANKRUPT A. D. Matthews Co. was
really a fine tumble of Greenhut trash,
Siegel- Cooper relics and enough gen.
uine Matthews merchandise to lend
FEASIBILITY to the occasion.
"It's as clear a case of juggling
labels and marking up prices as The
Tribune Bureau of Investigations ever
encountered-eve among the Kosof-
skys and Finkelstein-W illards of re-
tail trade. The whole amazing story
of how the honest name of respected
concern like the Matthews Company
can be put TO such uses in the face OF
the new advertising law now in force
is told in detail-with descriptions OF
how each purchase was made. and with
expert appraisals of valuations-in day
after to-morrow's issue OF the Sunday
Tribune
Injunction Was Procured.
Readers of The Tribune will remem-
Der that Greenhut's obtained from
Judge Newburger, in the Supreme
Court, temporary injunction forbid
ding the publication on Sunday, Feb
ruary 6, of the announced Adams story
OF Such 1ake SAFE, ana tndl TINS WAS
served upon The Tribune before the
Sunday issue Of the paper went to
press.
This extraordinary procedure, abso-
lutely unprecedented in the history of
newspaper publication in this state,
necessarily prevented publication Of the
article upon that Sunday; but when
! Henry W. Sackett, as counsel for The
Tribune. presented 10 the court his ar
guments, showing that without excep-
tion the highest appeal courts, both
state and Federal, had uniformly held
that such an injunction was beyond .he
powers of court of equity, was in vio-
lation of the State and Federal Con-
stitution and of the guaranteed protec-
ton to freedom of the press, Justice
Cohalan, before whom the matter was
argued, promptly vacated the injunc-
ton.
This ban having been lifted, The
: Tribune soon afterward published Mr..
Adams's "story" as it had been an
nounced on February 4, to which was
appended a recital of other damaging
facts discovered BY The Tribune Blu
reau of Investigations after the in
junction was granted.
/ Rose & Paskus, the attorneys for
Greenhuts. did not appeal from JUS
tice Cohalan's order vacating the in
! junction but some weeks later asked