Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 34, Number 11, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 8 October 1901 — LIBEL IN ENGLAND. [ARTICLE]

LIBEL IN ENGLAND.

*9tß*rdTlier«3o Glt« CaueFfiC f W* is defendants. fA eljMjttlme ago p young playwright sold a piece to a London manager and drew a small royalty each/week, which was paid by check. One week when the playwright presented tho check to the bank for cashing It was returned to him marked “No funds.” The playwright had the check framed and hung conspicuously in his study. He took pleasure in pointing it out to visitors and making biting comments until one day the manager’s lawyer called and told the young man that he was committing a serious libel on the manager, whereupon the check was taken down at once. Over in England the railway companies, or at least one of them, put up in the station placards bearing ,ihe names of passengers who had violated rules of the road, with addresses, the nature of the offense and finds imposed. The offenders took the matter into court, and now the placards show only the words opposite the offense, “A passenger.” It frequently happens that names given to villains and ridiculous characters in fiction will duplicate in real life. A certain English novel had its scene laid on the west coast of Africa, and the villain of the hook was a major in the army, supposed to" be stationed there. To the novelist’s dismay there appeared one day out of the unknown a real major, bearing the name of the villain of the novel, who also had been stationed on the west coast of Africa. In vain the unhappy author protested in the consequent action that lie had never seen or heard of the plaintiff. A verdict for the latter was given, with substantial damages. A Birmingham lawyer held that one could libel a man effectually enough by leaving out his name. He brought an action against a local paper for persistently omitting his name from its reports of cases in which he professionally was engaged. Presumably lie imagined that the loss of the advertisement he would have obtained by his name repeatedly appearing was damage enough, lie was nonsuited, however.