What Headlines May Say (Cont'd.)

The Wisconsin Supreme Court fortnight ago ruled that a headline may not be made the basis of a libel action unless it is libelous of itself, apart from the accompanying story (TIME, March 23). Last week substantially the same question was argued in Macon, Ga. in a libel case brought against the Macon News by a Professor William Joseph Bradley of Mercer University.

The News in 1929 reported that Professor Bradley, as trustee for the estate of his brother, had been disallowed $706, expenses claimed in the administration. The disallowance was said to be purely technical, and there was no imputation of dishonesty to Professor Bradley. He did not challenge the truth of the newspaper account. What he did challenge--and sued for $25.000--was the headline. It read: ALLEGE PROFESSOR JUGGLED FUNDS.

In Wisconsin this headline would be held nonlibelous because it referred only to some professor, did not identify Professor Bradley. In Georgia the judge threw the case out of court.

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