A Candidate for Governor Sues Two Seattle Papers for $100,000 Each
Henry J. Snively says the Post-Intelligencer and Press-Times libeled his West Virginia record in the final days of the 1892 campaign.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
Henry J. Snively, Democratic candidate for governor, brought an action yesterday in the superior court against the Post-Intelligencer Publishing Company to recover $100,000 for alleged libel in printing articles in last Saturday's issue concerning Snively's career in West Virginia. The complaint filed in the case sets out that the defendant "wickedly and maliciously composed and published of and concerning the plaintiff in a newspaper called the Seattle POST-INTELLIGENCER the false and defamatory matter following to-wit." Following this clipping from the POST-INTELLIGENCER, containing the alleged libelous matter, are made a part of the complaint. The reading then continues as follows: "That by means of said false and defamatory publication, the plaintiff was and is injured in his reputation to his damage in the sum of $100,000." He therefore asks judgment for that amount.
No less than five well-known lawyers appear as Snively's attorneys. They are James Hamilton Lewis, C. Gilman, C. Voorhees, Junius Rochester and John Fairfield.
A similar suit is brought against the Press-Times Publishing Company to recover $100,000 for the story about Snively's career printed in Saturday evening's Press-Times.
Messrs. Carr & Preston have been retained by the Press-Times Publishing Company, and Messrs. H. Piles and A. E. Burleigh by the Post-Intelligencer Company.
“That by means of said false and defamatory publication, the plaintiff was and is injured in his reputation to his damage in the sum of $100,000.”
Political candidates still sue news outlets over coverage, though the legal standards and the sums have changed. In 1892, a Democratic gubernatorial candidate went after two Seattle papers at once, turning a campaign dispute into a public fight over reputation and press power.
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