Sol Horowitz

Senator Owen of Oklahoma introduced a bill into Congress to remedy a bad condition.

The days are past when a horsewhip or a lead bullet were applied to an editor who said things that people did not like. Nowadays there is only the Law to protect the public. Among the leaders in the journalistic profession such a thing as deliberately publishing a false statement is out of the question. There are a very few publications who are none too scrupulous in regard to fact. But even in the best intentioned newspaper offices mistakes will occur.

Sometimes these mistakes ate damaging to a person mentioned. Yet for the injured person to go to law would be costly and uncertain. He writes a letter to the paper. If the paper does not publish it or publishes it in an obscure corner, it is often cheapest for him to accept the injury and let the matter drop.

Senator Owen proposes in his bill to bar from the mails any newspaper which refuses to publish an affidavit denying, correcting or explaining "any statement made in that paper. The affidavit must be not only published, but published on the same page, in the same position as the statement denied, corrected or explained."

Superficially the proposal seems fair. Actually such a law might lead to harmful consequences, might become absolutely ridiculous, consider the hypothetical case of Sol Horowitz:

Geraldine Bernhardt's hundred million dollar jewels had been stolen. Two days later the police recovered a wrist watch, part of the booty, which had been pawned. Every reputable paper in the city published the story prominently on its front page. In the story it is told why the recovery of all the booty is believed imminent, how the police expect shortly to have all the criminals in custody, how upset Geraldine Bernhardt is. It is also mentioned that the wrist watch had been recovered in the pawnshop of Sol Horowitz, 12 South Orange St.

Next day all the papers bear prominently on their front page the following announcement (or its legal paraphrase) : Yesterday this paper published the statement that Geraldine Bernhardt's wrist watch was found in the pawn shop of Sol. Horowitz, 12 S. Orange St.

I deny first that my right, proper and legal name is Sol Horowitz and I further deny that my pawnshop is at 12 S. Orange St.

I do solemnly swear that my right, proper and legal name is Solomon Horowits and further swear that my pawnshop is at 12 1/2 S. Orange St.

I do further swear, in explanation, that Horowits (spelled with an s) was the name of my father, my grandfather, my great grandfather, and all other of my ancestors in the male line known to me, and that therefore my name is similarly spelled. I swear that Solomon is my given name although sometimes I have been familiarly and improperly called Sol.

I further swear that for the last two years, four months, and six days I have conducted at 12 1/2 S. Orange St. a pawnshop at which are advanced loans of large value, at very, cheap interest, a high grade service much appreciated by the persons of the community.

I further swear that No. 12 S. Orange St. is occupied only by Pung Chow, a Chinese laundryman.

And further I swear not.

(Signed) SOLOMON HOROWITS