Evening star., 1960-11-03
TesfimonyE Ends
In Libel Suit
Against Times

Against Times |
MONTGOMERY, Ala, Nov. 3
(AP). Testimony was COM
pleted late yesterday in the
trial Of q $500,0 libel suit .
against the New York Times
and four Alabama Negroes. The
case Is expected to go to the
jury today after closing argu-
Tlnents.
Attorneys for the Times put |
only three witnesses on the
stand, all of them employees of
the newspaper.
Their testimony was designed
to show that the newspaper |
accepted in good faith the con-
troversial advertisement which
prompted the suit by Montgom-
cry Police Commissioner L. B. !
Sullivan and similar legal ac-
tons by two other city com.
missioners and the Governor Of
Alabama.
Only the Sullivan case is on
trial now.
Contend No Consent
Attorneys for the Alabama
Negro defendants continued
their move to show that the
names Of the four appeared
in the advertisement without
their consent.
The four are the Rev. Ralph
D. Abernethy and the Rev.
Solomon Seay, ST., of Mont
gomery. the Rev. F.. L. Shut
tlesworth Of Birmingham and
the Rev. j. e. Lowery Of Mo-
bile.
Although Times attorneys
produced evidence that a Negro
leader, A. Philip Randolph, had
notified the newspaper that the
indorserS Of the ad had con-
sented to use Of their names,
Negro attorneys for the four
drew conflicting testimony.
New York Writer John Muir
ray testified that names of the
four were not in the list origi-
nally covered by a letter from
Mr.. Randolph. He said their
names were added by Bayard
Rustin Of New York, executive
director Of the Committee to
Defend Martin Luther King,
which sponsored the advertise
ment.
Defense Testimony
The last witness of the day
was Harding Bancroft, secre-
tary of the New York Times
Co., who testified that the
newspaper considered the ad as
having no reference, direct or
indirect. to Mr.. Sullivan.
Times advertising salesman
Gershon T. Aronson and d.
Vincent Redding, manager of
the Newspapers advertising
acceptability department, testi-
fed that they found no reason
to question the advertisement.
Mr.. Redding said he de-
pended on regulations of some
indorsers Of the ad in deter
mining its reliability. Asked
to name them, he mentioned
Mrs. Ralph Bunche, DR.. Harry
Emerson FoSdick, Mrs. Eleanor
Roosevelt, Norman Thomas,
Harry Belafonte, Nat King Cole,
Marion Brando and several
others less well known.
Earlier, Mr.. Sullivan testified
that he was libeled in the
advertisement, although he
conceded that, as far as he
knows. his reputation has not
suffered. However, he con-
tended that the ad implied i'm
proper conduct by police and
thus reflected on him as the
police commissioner.
The advertisement sought
funds for the Rev. Martin
Luther King, jr., when the
Negro intsgration leader was
charged with lying about his
Alabama State income tax re-
turns. He ultimately was
acquitted. 1t also dealt with.
handling of demonstrations by
students of Alabama State Col
lege.
1t said in part that truck
loads of police armed with
shotguns and tear gas ringed
the campus" during March 8
student demonstration, and
that at one point, their din
ing hall was padlocked in an
effort to starte them into sub
mission"
1t also accused what it called
southern violators" of bomb
ing DR.. Kings home. arresting
him seven times for minor
offenses, and getting him in
dicted on the perjury charges.
Hall Not Locked
The Times has said it later
found the dining hall never
was padlocked during the
demonstrations. Attorneys for
the newspaper sought to show
that this, a reference to ex-
pulsion of some students and
the income tax indictments
could not possibly have REFERRED
to Mr.. Sullivan because he had
nothing to do with such mat
ters. g
The Times and the four Ne
groes also have been sued by.
Montgomery Mayor Earl James
and Commissioner Frank Parks
for $500,000 each. and by Gov
John Patterson for 81 million.
In addition, seven other libel
claims are pending in Federal
court in Birmingham as a re-
suit of a series of stories by
Times Reporter Harrison Sails
bury about racial conditions in
and around Birmingham. Mr..