The Governor and the Libel Suit: A Battle for Political Character
When Governor Elisha P. Ferry sued the 'Democratic Press' for accusing him of selling pardons, he ignited a fierce debate about the limits of press freedom and the nature of public character.
We learn that Governor Ferry has commenced a suit against H. L. Blanchard, the ostensible editor of the Democratic Press, for libel in publishing as an assumed fact that the Governor makes a practice of selling pardons. That statement, without positive proof, is what would be regarded in almost all civilized countries as a malicious and criminal attempt to defame and materially damage a citizen without any justifiable cause. The author, under the simplest rules of social ethics, should be classed with other criminals of like grade.
Governor Ferry is entitled to the thanks of all good citizens for being the first person in high position in this Territory who has had the nerve to attempt to bring one of these social pariahs to justice and thereby check a system of personal defamation which is the main pabulum of disreputable prints, to the great scandal of public decency. It will be represented, of course, as an attempt to muzzle the press; but every publisher who has any pride in his vocation, or any respect for public decency, will regard it as in the interest of journalism.
“Men and women in their social relations are at the mercy of the vile horde who delight in the destruction of private reputation as a dog delights in carrion.”
The tension between 'disreputable prints' and official character remains a hallmark of regional politics. Just as Governor Ferry attempted to use the courts to silence accusations of corruption in 1878, modern figures continue to grapple with how to manage public reputation in an era of rapid, often unchecked, digital discourse.
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