| Show NEWSPAPER MEN APPEAL TO THE GOVERNOR OP A to save them from the acts of a legislature their spokesman is mildly reprimanded for using strong language pa april 21 Every important newspaper in waa represented at the hearing on the grady salua libel bill by governor pennypacker today in the hall of the bouse of representatives senta tives attorney general carson sat with the governor throughout the hearing but neither indicated what would be the governors action on the measure the governor and attorney general arrived in the hall promptly at 10 and were greeted with applause the governor said the bill was a very important ona and ho was anxious to hear both sides and he suggested thit two reports from each bridei be heard in order to save time he also suggested that the opponents of the bill be heard farat tho opening speech was made by chas emory smith of the philadelphia press who was presented by thomas V cooper of the media american at the out set of air smiths address governor pennypacker took exception to his use of the word insolently and suggested that it would be well for the speakers to omit strong hen mr smith ac cepter the suggestion haying at the same time that he spoke strongly because he felt lr smith said in part at the outset I 1 beg to thank your excellency on behalf of my associates for granting tin s hearing you have given us what the legislature ruthlessly and insolently denied us this bill was rushed through that body with i ing if not indecent haste in contempt of the spirit odthe constitution and as I 1 believe in disregard to iiii letter it I 1 deeply affects our rights and our prop i erty we asked for the li earing to which we were entitled in the commonest fair play among men we were contemptuously refused all opportunity to defend our rights and to protest against what we believe to be a monstrous wrong and chii shameful coin 1 pel u to appeal to the fajr new the rectitude and the justice of the governor of the we are here in great numbers from all parts of the state we are of one accord and we arc profoundly in earnest we that our most vital rights and interests arc at blake and we must in common manhood defell them now and hereafter we stand for the just liberty of the press but not for its abuse we do not object to any wholesome restraint upon irresponsible malicious malj cious and licentious journalism nor do we desire that he bars against libel publications shall be letdown let down we accept the holds us responsible for actual djury when inflicted by our publications even though inadvertent and unintended for we know that this is one of the necessary risks of our business in the main the press reflects the public tono and temper it is what the people lakeit and what tho people want the great folly of this bill is that it 13 utterly ineffective and futile for the purpose for which it ia really designed while it exposes reputable newspapers to the constant and unavoidable danger of costly vexatious and blackmailing gluts it must fail of it plain intent while it is infinitely iu other diorec tioff the very essence of libel ia that the publication shall be of a defamatory or character the law now rightly holds the newspaper responsible for publication of that nature but this bill would incorporate a new principle in the code it would make any publication actionable in which there haa been degli 1 gence even where there is nothing of a defamatory or injurious character it does not require that the matter should be libelous libe lous and so this bill practically makes every incorrect publication actionable tio no matter what its character what unlimited fields of litigation what boundless sources of annoyance aro opened in this provision the great newspaper has fifty or more men on the it has correspondents it haa all the thousand agencies of the associated press ia intelligence canies conies to il through all cheso multiplied souris this vast machinery ii the indispensable condition 0 modern enforce ln force the utmost vili ganco and how is it possible in human nature with all this to prevent the mistakes for mistakes inflict actual injury the newspaper is now liable aid there is full redress as there ought to be but how shall this abw danger of emotional or imaginary dunager du nages shall physical and mental suffering be measured jt ii intangible income it lies locked lip sn the heart ot tho imagination of the complainant nant he chooses lo 10 to it and how can it be or estimated and in what cases may it not be claimed in the presentation of the news of the day errors will inevitably creep in the errors not under this billbe libelous lib clous they need only result fram may be called negligence or may be regarded as showing negligence at some point thus every error every misprint every mistake in any single element of a statement may be made the basis of a puit for damages what shark will not leave tho trail of the trolley in his hunt for prey to pursue the newspaper in this more prolific field the bill is special legislation in that it excludes weekly newspapers it treads the weekly and carefully il voids stepping on it this is no accident the language is three times repeated in the course of the bill and every time inthe same peculiar terms and with the famo exception there a ro monthly or weekly biweekly bi newspapers it is a contradiction 0 teran thero are only forty semiweekly papers in pennsylvania the weeklies in pennsylvania number and the dailies number to declare that a statement is a libel when printed in dailies and not a libel when printed in weeklies ii simply grotesque this bill ia utterly powerless to stop the particular kind of publication which it aims at but it encompasses legitimate publications with an unlimited network of embarrassment and vexation it would cripple and curtail the presentation of the regular and proper news of the day it would start up a whole wann of speculative shysters shy and curbstone blackmailers it infringes the just and constitutional liberty of the press and would impair that valuable protection tor public morals and public rights which is found in the searchlight of publicity it is special legislation in undertaking to make law for daily newspapers while exempting the weekly from its operation it perpetrates a gross wrong in seeking to fasten the principal responsibility upon tho agent the agent not only does not commett the of fence but where ho has not even the power to prevent it alex simpson jr a philadelphia lawyer in urging the governor to sign the bill said the highest court of pennsylvania has declared that there is a feces anity for in th claws governing and read ocoral other ions by the tiu preme court to prove ai contention that the liberty of the press should be restrained C dale another philadelphia attorney alo al o spoke in favor or the bill thomas V cooper a member of the legislature said that never since the adoption of the constitution of 1873 had a bill passed the legislature with only two readings as anis libel bill passed he said constitution had been undoubtedly violated in passing the bill cyrus T darr attorney for the heading kagle argued that the bill discriminates against the newspapers of in favor of those printed in other states and circulated in this slate the governor concluded the hearing by saying 1 I am obliged to you gentlemen for the you have given me |
