Evening star., 1923-04-19
S1Q,OOQ,0DO CHICAGO
+ LIBEL SUIT ISLOST
No Divine Right Today, Rules
Higher Court on Newspaper
Criticism of City.
By the Assoc ia ted Press.

By the Assoc lated Press.
SPRINGFIELD, Ill, April 1s.-Only
in the days Of the divine right o.
kings could it find a reasonable basis
for prosecution. the supreme court %
Illinois stated in dismissing, yester
day, the SIC, 900 900 libel suit filed by
the city of Chicago during the ad-
rninistration Of former Mayor VIII
liam Hale Thompson against the Chi
The supreme courts decision. whicn
upheld freedom of speech and free-
dom of press, marked, so far as could
be ascertained from reported cases:
States had ruled whether a munlcf-
pality could be libeled.
Recovery for material damages was
sought by the city from the Tribune
for alleged IibeIous statements pub
lished by the newspaper IN the gu
bernatorial campaign of 1920 when 1t
supported John Oglesby and the city
administration favored @ hle LEN ,srGaa smal,-
was injured by publication of de
famatory matter"
Rights Of Criticism.
OF the right Of individuals or news
papers to criticize the government.
the courts opinion said:
since the magistrates are servants Of
the people, the magistrates can Go
wrong, and the people have funda
mental right to criticize them and to
expose their fnefffciency and corrup-
tions that they may be displaced.
The court did not pass on the truth
or faIsity of the statements printed
in the Tribune. but took up freedom
Of speech and freedom Of the press
$50 long as critics of government
refrain from advocating violence or
the governments overthrow" the
court said, "every citizen has right
to criticise an inefficient or corrup-
government without fear of civil, as
we'll as criminal, prosecution"
OF the suit itself the court said,
This action is out Of tune with the
American spirit and has no place in
American Jurisprudence"
The libel suit was the first on rec
ord in America in which a municipal
ity sought to restrict criticism of its
corporate acts. 1t resulted from news
and editorial articles published in the
Tribune.
The bill alleged that the city had
been damaged. in that the articles
had kept investors from buying bonds
Of the municipality, and had infiu-
enced contractors and others who had
business dealings with the city TO de-
mand onerous terms of payment. 1t
was alleged that the city's credit had
been reduced, and that In this respect
1t had suffered as would a private in
dividual or an industrial corporation
under like circumstances.
The bill asserted that the city was
suing in it's corporate rather than
its government capacity, and to bring
out the distinction. pointed out the
numerous ways in which it conducted
business through its municipality
owned water works, its department
of streets and alleys and Its purchase
Of supplies for fire, police and other
departments.
Attorneys for the newspaper de-
INJURED to this pleading. and the find-
| ing OF the lower court on October IL,
1921. was that this demurrer was we'll
founded. The attorneys for the
| newspaper argued that the city could
+! functions in order to act in the ca
! pacity of the private corporation.
They also declared that If the right
of file such a suit were upheld, j.
the free press guarantees Of the fed
eral and state constitutions.
Defense From Libel.
,, Judge Harry C. Fisher. of the cir
cult court OF Cook county. upheld
/ the contentious of the defense In
every particular. He quoted Section
a., Article II, Of the Illinois constitu-
tion, providing that every person
| may freely speak. write and publish
on all subjects. being responsible for
! the abuse OF that liberty" and that
| the truth. when published with good
motives ana ror 1OStlnaDle endS, Snall
be sufficient defense for libel.
The Judge said that legitimate re-
straints on freedom of speech had
been narrowed down to four heads
! blasphemy. immortality. sedition and
defamation. He dismissed the first
two as not involved in the suit, point
: ed out that counsel for the city had
admitted that the Tribune's articles
were not seditious and then held that
defamat ton could exist only If the city
| could, by some legal fiction. be re-
garded as a private corporation.
He then said that no decisions OF
Illinois courts in which municipalities
were involved had even limited that K
city might at will throw off its char
acter of public governmental
agency. He said that the constitu-
tfonal restraints against interference
with freedom of expression applied
with as much force to a city as II did
to the state or any other govern
mental subdivision. Judge Fisher
added:
This suit is not in harmony with
the genius, spirit or object of our in
stitutions. 1t does not belong in our
day. 1t fits rather with the genius
of rulers who conceived law not in
the purity Of love for Justice bur in