Ervin v. Record Publishing Co.

[80]

SHAW, J.

The plaintiff recovered judgment for damages against defendant in an action for libel. The defendant appeals. from the judgment upon the judgment-roll.

The defendant is a publisher of a newspaper in the city of Los Angeles. As a part of its daily issue it published what was known as the “pink sheet” or “sporting edition,” in which was contained sporting news, with pictures of prizefighters, wrestlers, and other persons of that class, and other news relating to sporting events. The charge made in the complaint is that it maliciously published in a “sporting edition” or “pink sheet” of its newspaper, of and concerning the plaintiff, the following article:—

“Too Early for the Queen.

Ah Wing Wired ‘Queen Mab’ to Meet Him But Hour Was Too Early.”

“Mab Ervin, ‘Queen Mab,’ has a great admirer in one, Ah Wing, champion Chinese pugilist of the world. Ah Wing arrived in Los Angeles Monday morning from his home in Sacramento, to put the finishing touches to his condition for his battle Friday night with Eddie Menny at the pavilion of the Pacific Athletic Club.

“Before he left home, he wired ‘Queen Mab,’ asking her to meet him, at the depot at 7 a. m., but the hour was too early for her majesty and Ah Wing came into town with nobody to welcome him. He was dressed in his bulliest and brassiest Chinese costume, consisting of a pair of pale blue flowered trousers, a dark blue broadcloth jacket and a black pot shaped chapeau surmounting by a cute little rosette of red silk.

“The first time he was here he had on his second best suit. The queen interviewed him and made the biggest hit of her life. This time Ah Wing wore his best clothes because — well, because he wanted to look well in the eye of her majesty, and he never dreamed that she wouldn’t be at the depot to meet him. He forgot that one of the prerogatives of royalty is to do as you please, and Ah Wing was sad as he came into The Record office to find Queen Mab.

“There are some things which are better left unsaid, so it is best to pass over the meeting between the queen and her humble subject. Some things are too sacred for mere words.”