Life, 1905-01-19 · page 20 of 38
Life — January 19, 1905 — page 20: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This article documents **Life's only libel suit**—a legal victory following the **1903 Iroquois Theatre fire** in Chicago, which killed hundreds. Life had previously published safety warnings about theatre fire hazards. After the Iroquois disaster, Life ran a critical illustration accompanying a picture from the theatrical entertainment "Mr. Bluebeard," produced by **Klaw and Erlanger** (major theatre operators). The image highlighted dangerous exit conditions and fire safety failures. Klaw and Erlanger sued for $100,000 in damages. At trial before Judge Wallace, Life's lawyers proved the theatre owners held financial interest in the venue, were its booking agents, and produced the show—justifying the publication's use of their names in criticizing safety conditions. The jury ruled in Life's favor. The article celebrates this as vindication for Life's long campaign pressuring theatrical managers and city officials to prioritize public safety—a prescient advocacy, given the tragedy that followed.
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Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
‘LIFE: LIFE’S ONLY LIBEL SUIT. N Lire for January 2 1yog, appeared the ;\ picture and text shown \ below, It was not « pleas- Ox ant thing to pr ud was \ an especially grewsome sub- eaject. for Lire’s columns But there was reason for it, Phe Troquois fire with its great and needless loss of life had oc- curred only ree weeks before. gto for rding of T The public was beginnin » The safegu: man lite in New York red for k's theatres, which public indigna- ad clan Was encountering the usud expense by the ions and official delays. These were procured avoidance of for the parties in interest to de over the time until the publ should grow indifferent: throv its forgetfulness For many vears Lire, in its dramatic columns, nsistin that more regard should be paid by our t managers and by the i nd fire departments to the pro} human lite theatres. In its issue for April 6, 1899, in speaking of ¢ New York theatre which used the follow expres- was then a fire trap Imost prophetic of the Chica ons which were aln It is sincerely to be hoped that no one will ever ra f+ Fire! pictur rformance of a summer eveni a panic h: els of ro and dire umn an leavin 1. Should there b the theatre a panic, and shor ha time, thos hing and pu! behind would pile in a way most »9 top of one anoth Should alarm of fire, there mi, d horrible to ima; n actual fi instead of t be accompaniments 1 bur: the hke of which New (It is only fair to the proprietors of the Casino to say that since the Iroquois fire the Casino has Lire.) entertainment been greatly remodeled. Fp. “Mr, had had a run in New York and with which Lire 1 Bluebeard” was an whieh readers were familiar. To bring the point of the picture more directly home and to emphasize it, there was added to it the form of announcement used by its proprietors on their programmes. after the appearance of the picture in Lire, the owners of this journal were sucd for libel by Messrs. Nlaw and Erlanger, the damages to their feclings and reputations being laid at $100,000, Phis is the only suit for libel that has ever been brought against Lire. The case came to trial be- Wallace y of business men in the United States Ci the third of t Messrs. Ordway and \Wierum, tore Judge and a jur y of representative cuit Court on present: month. Live's counsel, owed explicitly and at detail the condition of the theatre and. its in gr exits at the time of the fire, It was also shown that Messrs. Kaw and Erlanger were the recorded own- ers of a quarter interest in the theatre, that they were the booking agents of the theatre and were Mr, Bluebeard.” the producers of This was held to be a sufficient justification of Lare’s use of their names in the text. iter leaving the court room. the jury found a verdict in f Five minutes avor of Lire. MESSRS. KLAW AND “MR. BUCEREARI Iogvors THEATRE. LANGER PRESENT Late oF Thr comicbooks.com