Imperial Valley press., 1930-03-07
FREEDOM ESSENTIAL

Declslon rendered by the Cuyahoga county tOho)
court OF appeals IN reversing verdict of contempt
against two newspapernen, is of pa articuar interest
to those connected with the fourth estate and should
hold equal interest for the layman, containing as i
does several innovations in Interpreting the law.
The accused men, the editor and an editorial writer
on the Cleveland Press judged in contempt by
by superior court Judge after the paper had print
ed an editorial crtcizing the Judges action toward
horseracing
As has generally been the custom in such cases the
Judge sat IN the hearing the contempt charge which
he had brought against the writer's Referring to this
the appellate court decision says: Gle should have
referred the to associate and have given his
statement as witness rather than judge from the
bench"
Continuing the decision says, Because man gets
on the bench, does not necessarily that he has
changed his temperance his liability get excited
and il he could himself above the rest Of mankind
and sit in judgment grievances in which he is the
injured party would establish dangerous prece-
dent
To us it has always seemed to endow man with
greater degree of mpartiaty and impersonaty than
nature equips any of with, permit him to act as
judge in in which he Is by the nature of affairs,
also the complainant.
There is doubt that the dignity, sanctity and in
tegrty OF the courts must be upheld but being human
institutions, they are likely to and such isa
bic TO honest criticism which all, acc6Idmgste the
appellate court decision, that occurred in the Clee
land case
1T is better for Judge to be ruffed and agitaed
than Is 10 close the mouth OF the speaker TO the pub
lie the decision states In other words. it is better
that the IEeSS be free speech be Tree the right OF
semblage be free and the right to air views be free
rather than that they be uttered III fear and trenb
ling"
The doctrine OF free speech, free asserblage and
free press, for which Tom Pane, Franklin and other
patriots abored in Revolutionary days has been OF
the fundamentals which this government was
founded It has been stifIed considerably in recent
years until there is general-feeling that the office
holder is superior the citizen who places him there
"a free people must have free press and must have
the right freely to express their thoughts the decs-
ion concludes.
The laws Of the country provide punishment Tor
newspapers individuals guilty OF slander o. libel.
Newspapers in particular more likely to AVOID
these crimes than are individuals The individual
gossip runs amuck blasting characters and regulations
by accusations that may may not be true. Often the
innuendo OF the gossip is harmful than the d.
rect accusation.
Newspaper workers are trained to avoid the pitfalls
of and doubt and to deal only with facts They
taught to realize that mans character IS sacred
that the courts equally a2cra@ 2aG that It news
papers foremost duty to aid in uph0laing the Law.
This does not prevent it from crlticlzlng a tune
ton of the newspaper equally as important as giving
the news. To throttle It dong would be to de-
prve the people Of The only voice they have TO express
themselves.
The Cleveland decision cannot help but clear the at
mosphere OF much that has been used veil to pre-
vent the free exercise Of the rights OF free people