-------. Censorship Bulletin. New York, The Council. Published periodically since December 1955. Varying titles and frequency. A102 §
This publication of the trade association of book publishers reports from time to time on incidents of book censorship, actions or proposed actions by federal, state and local authorities, and by private groups that "tend to abridge the freedom to import, publish, distribute and circulate books through commercial and literary channels, or to deny access to information."
-------. Recent Censorship Developments. New York, The Council, 1953. 6p. mimeo. A103
-------. Recent Pressures on Books. New York, The Council, 1953. 12p. mimeo. A104
American Broadcasting Company. Program and Adrertising Policies. New York, ABC, 1962.68p. mimeo. A105
Contains standards of propriety for broadcasts of news and public affairs, programs involving religion, politics and controversial issues, contests, and programs intended for children.
"American by Decree." New Republic, 22:262 63, 28 April 1920. A106 §
Criticism of a proposal that only native-born American citizens be allowed to draw out foreign language books from public libraries, and of an Oregon law prohibiting the publication of foreign language newspapers and periodicals without an accompanying English translation.
TheAmerican [Catholic] Hierarchy. "Censorship." In Catholic Mind, 56:I80-86, March-April 1958. A107
"Because freedom of the press is a basic right to be respected and safeguarded, it must be understood and defended not as license but as true rational freedom. The uncritical claims for liberty, so often made in our day, actually place that liberty in jeopardy." Annual statement of the American Hierarchy, 17 November 1957.
"American Censorship in France." Review of Reviews, 57:205-6, February 1918. A108 §
Censorship of American news of World War I by military authorities in France.
American Civil Liberties Union. Academic Freedom and Civil Liberties of Students in Colleges and Universities. New York, ACLU, 1961.15p. A109
Includes statements on student publications, radio and television broadcasts, and distribution of pamphlets.
-------. Annual Report. New York, ACLU. Published annually since 1920. A110 §
Each report reviews the significant civil liberties activities in the nation for the preceeding 12 months. The title and contents of the report have varied over the years. The 1943 annual report, Freedom in Wartime, for example, contrasts the freedom of public information in World War II and the lack of freedom in World War I; the 1963 report bears the title To Secure-To Use-These Rights. The 1964 report is titled Defending the Bill of Rights: The Stakes Grow Higher. This report, under the general heading, Freedom of Belief, Expression and Association, summarizes censorship of communications in general (books, magazines, motion pictures, radio, television, and newspapers), and discusses academic freedom, religion, general freedom of speech and association, and freedom of labor. The archives of the ACLU in the New York Public Library and Princeton University Library include scrapbooks, correspondence, and records relating to cases in which the Union has participated since its organization in 1917.
--------. Bills in Congress for Freedom of the A~ir. New York, ACLU, 1936. 16p. A111
Bills provide for (1) equal facilities for both sides of controversial issues, (2) periods of unrestricted discussion of public issues,(3) complete, open station records on requests for time, (4) protection of stations from civil and criminal court actions, and (5) creation of a broadcasting commission.
-------. Bills in Congress for Freedom of the Air. New York, ACLU, 1938. 12p. A112
Bills carry the same provisions as those in 1936, except for the omission of the broadcasting commission.
-------. The Case of Reed Harris, Student Editor at Columbia University. His Expulsion for Criticism of College affairs, and Subsequent Reinstatement. New York, ACLU, 1932. 16p. mimeo. A113
Harris was editor-in-chief of the Columbia Daily Spectator. His editorials had attacked college football, ROTC, anti-Semitism, the Republican Party, the secret society "Nacoms," and ultimately, the preparation and serving of food in the University's John Jay Hall. The last criticism led to his expulsion.
-------. Censorship of Comic Books. New York, ACLU, 1955. 16p. A114
The statement opposes censorship of comic books as a violation of the First Amendment.
-------. Civil Liberties. New York, ACLU. Published periodically since 1931; at present, montllly except July and August. A115 §
Source of current events on press freedom and censorship in the United States. includes reports on cases in which the ACLU is a party.
-------. Combatting Undemocratic Pressures on Scbools and Libraries: A Guide for Local Communities. New York, ACLU, 1964. 14p. (Reprinted in Illinois Libraries, May 1966). A116
"The purpose of this pamphlet is to prepare men and women in our cities and towns for such attacks [demands for immediate and drastic changes in our school curriculums and library policies] so that by careful, cool, and skillful organization-always using the democratic process, always permitting these outsiders and other pressure groups a proper hearing-these charges can be turned aside without impairing the basic soundness of our schools and libraries, or shaking the morale of the community. By doing so, the basic right of all citizens to criticize their public institutions, honestly and dispassionately, will be preserved."
-------. Jehovah's Witnesses and the War. New York, ACLU, 1943. 36p. A117
Includes references to the freedom to distribute literature and the right to play records.
-------. Obscenity and Censorship. Two Statements of the amercian Civil Liberties Union. New York, ACLU, 1963. 8p. A118
(1) Text of the public statement issued 28 May 1962, based on the Board of Directors action of 16 April 1962.(2) Text of the press release of 14 Febraury 1963, summarizing the amicus curiae brief filed with the U.S. Supreme Court by the ACLU and ohio CLU.
-------. The Persecution of the Jehovah's Witnesses: The Record of Violence against a religious organization unparalleled in America since the attacks on the Mormons. New York, ACLU, 1941.24p. A119
-------. Policy Statement on Pressure-Group Censorship. New York, ACLU, 19S2. 6p. mimeo. (Excerpts in Daniels, The Censorship of Books, pp. S8-S9). A120 §
-------. The Post Office Ban on "Revolutionary Age" . . . New York, ACLU, 1931. 7p. A121
In July 1930 the U.S. Post Office Department banned from second class mail Revolutionary Age, the weekly organ of a faction of the Communist Party. Action was taken under the Espionage Act of World War I, invoked for the first time in ten years. Judge John M. Woolsey of the U.S. District Court in New York upheld the ban, maintaining that the work advocated violent rather than constitutional measures for modifying the government. Arthur Garfield Hays argued for the defense that the language, while revolutionary in nature, did not suggest immediate forcible action. In this pamphlet the ACLU urges the repeal of the wartime law which permits the Post Office to serve as censor of political matter.
-------. Private Group Censorship and the NODL. A Statement by the American Civil Liberties Union. New York, ACLU, 1958. 12p. A122
". . . a number of private groups, particularly church-related organizations, have prepared blacklists, threatened and imposed general boycotts, and awarded unofficial certificates of compliance. The most active of these groups is the National Office for Decent Literature."
-------. A Proposal to Promote Public Discussion over the Radio. New York, ACLU, 1934. 8p. mimeo. A123
-------. The Prosecution of Mary Ware Dennett for "Obscenity" New York, ACLU, 1929. 8p. A124
"After distributing her pamphlet 'The Sex Side of Life' for 10 years, Mrs Dennett was brought to trial by Post Office officials and convicted in the Federal Court at Brooklyn for sending 'obscene matter'-her pamphlet-through the mails. She was sentenced to pay a $300 fine or serve 300 days in iail." The Mary Ware Dennett Defense Committee, composed of leaders in educational, religious, and medical work, was organized by the American Civil Liberties Union to appeal the case and the defendant was represented by Morris Ernst and associates. The decision of the Federal Court was eventually reversed by the Circuit Court of Appeals, Judge Augustus N. Hand, writing the opinion.
-------. Radio Censorship. Report Submitted to the American Civil Liberties Union by a Special Committee ,advocating a Thorough-going Inquiry by the Federal Government. New York, ACLU, 1934. 9p. mimeo. A125
A special committee, appointed by the ACLU to study restrictive practices in radio broadcasting, recommends a federal investigation.
-------. Religious Liberty in the United States Today: A Survey of the Restraint on Religious Freedom. New York, ACLU, 1939. 48p. A126
-------. Repeal the Special Police Powers of the New York Vice Society. New York, ACLU, 1931. 8p. A127
-------. Scandal and Defamation! The Right of Newspapers to Defame. Unique Minnesota Law empowers judges to suppress papers by injunction. First such use of judicial power in American history. Chicago Tribune takes the case to the U.S. Supreme Court, where it awaits decision. New York, ACLU, 1931. 8p. A128
-------. Statement on Censorship Activities by Private Organizations and the National Organization for Decent Literature. New York, ACLU, 1958. 12p. (Reprinted in Downs, The First Freedom, pp. I34-38 and Gardiner, Catholic Viewpoint on Censorship, pp. I73-78). A129
Appendix includes list of NODL banned books.
-------. The "Vanguard" Problem at Brooklyn College. Memorandum and Opinion of the Academic Freedom Committee of the American Civil Liberties Union. New York, The Committee, 1951. 17p., I1 p. mimeo. A130
Report of an investigation of the revocation of the charter of Vanguard, the student newspaper at Brooklyn College, for alleged violation of a rule on "double editorials."
-------. War-time Prosecutions and Mob Violence Involving the rights of free speech, free press and peaceful assemblage. (From April 1,1917, to March 1,1919) . . . New York, National Civil Liberties Bureau, 1919. 56p. A131
Includes reports on 56 espionage cases under World War I statutes involving freedom of the press or the distribution of literature. "This list of cases is compiled &om the correspondence and press clippings ofthe National Civil Liberties Bureau. It is by no means a complete record." The Bureau later became the American Civil Liberties Union.
-------. War-time Restraints; Texts of federal laws and regulatios affecting utterances, communication, enemy alien, labor, etc. New York, ACLU, 1942. 32p. A132
What Freedom for American College Students? A Survey of the Practices affecting Student Activities and Expressions. New York, ACLU, 1941 . 48 p. A133
Student publications are discussed on pages 35-38.
-------. What Shocked the Censors. NewYork, ACLU, 1933. 100p. A134
A catalog of cuts made by movie censors of the state of New York.
-------. What's Obscene ? New York, ACLU, [1944?]. 8p. A135
Relates to Post Office censorship of Esquire, Sunshine and Health, and Dr Popenoe's book, Preparing for Marriage.
American Committee for Democracy and Intellectual Freedom. The Text Books of Harold Rugg: an analysis by George H. Sabine, Arthur N. Holcombe, Arthur W. MacMahon, Carl Wittke, and Robert S. Lynd. New York, The Committee, 1942. 28p A136
Statement by a group of social scientists on a series of high school texts under attack.
American Federation of Labor. Buck's Stove and Range Company Injunction Suit andContempt Proceedings. A Compilation of Reports of tbe Executive Council and President Gompers to the Toronto Convention of the American Federation of Labor, November8-20, 1909, together with the Report of theCommittee on President'l Report, Report of the Committee on Boycotts, and Vice-President Mitchell's Address, Etc. Washington, D.C., AFL, 1910. 37p. A137
Relates to a case of contempt of court for violating an injunction in an industrial dispute. The AFL had placed the Buck's Stove and Range Company on its "We Don't Patronize List," after which the company secured an injunction in the District of Columbia Court of Appeals against any action interfering with the company's product, including any publication. When the American Federationist carried a story about the case, President Gompers and two other AFL officials were found in contempt of court and given jail sentences. The case was in the courts until 1914 when it was settled under the Statutes of Limitations.
[-------] Organized Labor Says No. NewYork, National Civil Liberties Bureau, 1919. 4p. A138
Free speech and press resolutions adopted by the conventions of the American Federation of Labor and the National Woman's Trade Union League, June 1919.
American Forum of the Air. Free Speech and Cenorship in Wartime. Washington, D. C., Ransdell, 1942. II p. (vol. 4, no. 10) A139
Participants: James L. Fly, Byron Price, Roy E. Larsen, Dwight Marvin, and Raymond G. Swing.
What Are rOur Children Reading Washington, D.C., Ransdell, 1953. I0p.(vol. 16, no. 1). A140
Participants: Katharine St George, Morris Ernst, Charles Fahy, and Clarence Hall.
American Legion. Department of Michigan. Evaluation of Instructional Materials; Statement Adopted at the Convention, GrandRapids, Mich., August 19-22, 1948. Detroit, The Legion, 1948.Sp. mimeo. A141 §
In the midst of the widespread attacks on subversion in public school textbooks made by some members of the American Legion and other patriotic groups, a special committee of the Michigan Department of the American Legion issued this dispassionate and obiective statement on evaluating textbooks. It was later adopted by the National Convention.
American Library Association. "How Libraries and Schools Can Resist Censorship." Library Journal, 87:908, 937, 1 March 1962. (Reprinted in Illinois Libraries, May 1966). A142 §
A statement approved by the Council of the Association, January 1962. Lists six principles that every library should establish to place the institution in a firm position with respect to censorship pressures, and six items of advice if an attack does come.
-------. Labeling; a Report of the ALA Committee on Intellectual Freedom. Chicago, ALA, 1951 4p. (Reprinted from the ALA Bulletin, July August 1951; alsoappears in the ALA Bulletin, November 1953). A143 §
This statement, adopted by the ALA Council, 13 July 1951, rejects the proposal sometimes made that controversial works in a library be so labeled. Labeling, the report states, is a censor's tool and violates the Library Bill of Rights.
-------. "Library Bill of Rights." ALA Bulletin, 42:285, July-August 1948. (Reprinted in the ALA Bulletin, November 1953; inDowns, TheFirstFreedom, p. 336 and as a separate broadside by the ALA) A144 §
Briefly speaking, this statement provides that no book be excluded from a library because of the race, nationality, or political or religious views of the writer; that books "should not be proscribed or removed from library shelves because of partisan or doctrinal disapproval"; that libraries should resist the pressures of censors; that libraries should enlist the support of allied organizations in resisting abridgment of free access to ideas; and that they should not deny the use of library facilities because of race, religion, national origin, or political views. By action of the ALA Council, 3 February 1951, the Library Bill of Rights was interpreted to apply to all materials and media of communication used or collected by libraries. The statement was amended, 1 February 1961, to include this paragraph: "The rights of an individual to the use of a library should not be denied or abridged because of his race, religion, national origins, or political views." An earlier Library Bill of Rights, based on the Des Moines Public Library statement, was adopted by the ALA Council in 1939. A proposed revision of the Bill of Rights is presented in the 1 March 1967 issue of Library Journal (pp. 984-85).
-------. "Overseas Library Statement."ALA Bulletin, 47:487, November 1953. (Reprinted in Downs, The First Freedom, pp. 339-40). A145 §
In June 1953 the Council of the American Library Association approved this statement defending the freedom of American overseas libraries, which were then under attack by a Congressional Committee and being subjected to the "confused and fearful response of the State Department."
-------. Intellectual Freedom Committee. "Book Selection Principles." ALA Bulletin, 45:346-50, 5 November 1951. A146 §
The Committee examined the book selection policy of the Detroit Public Library, recommending a rewording of the section which deals with the distinction made in book selection between the main library and the branches. Librarian Ralph A. Ulveling replies to the Committee in the March 1952 issue of the ALA Bulletin, defending the Library's statement.
-------. Freedom of Book Selection; Proceedings of the Second Conference on Intellectual Freedom, Whittier, California, June 20-21,. . .Edited by Fredric J. Mosher. Chicago, ALA, 1954. I32p. A147
Contents: Introduction by Paul Bixler. I. Areas of Controversy. Science and Pseudo-Science by Louis N. Ridenour, Morality and Obscenity by Eric Larrabee, and Politics and Subversion by Harold D. Lasswell. II. The Rerponsibility of Choice. The Administrator's Problem by Virgil M. Rogers, The Publisher's Responsibility by Douglas M. Black, The Responsibility of the Literary Critic: Some Indirections for Selecting Good Books by Paul Jordan-Smith, The Librarian's Responsibility: Not Censorship, But Selection by Lester E. Asheim. The Appendix contains the statement on Freedom to Read adopted by the American Library Association and the American Book Publishers' Council, and President Eisenhower's Letter on Intellectual Freedom. The article by Lasswell is reprinted in Downs, The First Freedom, pp. 235-42. The conference was sponsored by the Committee on Intellectual Freedom, the Book Acquisitions Committee, and the Board on Acquisition of Library Materials of the American Library Association.
-------. Freedom of Communications; Proceedings of the First Conference on Intellectual Freedom, New York City, June 28-29,1952 . . . Edited by William Dix and Paul Bixler. Chicago, ALA, 1954. 143p. A148
Contents: Introduction by Paul Bixler. I. The Library and Free Communications (William Dix, chairman). Free Communications-An American Heritage by Julian Boyd, The Significance of Free Communications Today by Alan Barth and The Library's Responsibility in Free Communications by E. W. McDiarmid. II. The Present Problems of Book Selection (Milton E. Lord, chairman). The Large Research Library by Verner W. Clapp, The Large Public Library by Ralph Munn, The Small Public Library by Jerome Cushman, and The Problem-A British View by Robert L. Collison. III. Pressures-Where From and How (David K. Berninghausen, chairman). Pressure Groups and Intellectual Freedom by Harwood L. Childs, and A Statewide Experience (California) by John E. Smith. IV. Our Common Stake in Free Communications (Luther Evans, chairman). Book Publishing by Donald S. Klopfer, The Press by Lester Markel, and Broadcasting by Merle Miller. Conference Summary by Alan Barth. Appendix A, Library Bill of Rights; Appendix B, Labeling Statement; Appendix C, Selected Bibliography on Intellectual Freedom.
-------. Freedom of Inquiry. Supporting the Library Bill of Rigbts; Proceedings of the [Third] Conference on Intellectual Freedom,January 23-24, 1965, Washington, D.C. Sponsored by the american Library Association Intellectual Freedom Committee. Chicago, ALA, 1965. 70p. (Digested in Freedom of Information Center Publication, no. 149). A149
Contents: More Than Lip Service by Martha Boaz, Censorship and Obscenity by Dan Lacy, Can Reading Affect Delinquency? by William C. Kvaraceus, Censorship and the Public Schools by Lee A. Burress, Jr., Freedom to Read and Racial Problems by Charles Morgan, Jr., Freedom to Read and Religious Problems by Theodore Gill, Freedom to Read and the Political Problem by Wesley McCune, and Defending the Freedom to Read in the Courts by Edward de Grazia. A section on censorship as seen by other groups includes statements from the National Education Association, National Council of Teachers of English, American Studies Association, American Library Trustees Association, New Jersey Committee for the Right to Read, Freedom of Information Center, and National Book Committee.
-------. Newsletter on Intellectual Freedom.Published periodically since 1952. Beginning with vol. 9, nos. I-2, June 1960, the Newsletter, then a quarterly, was published for the American Library Association by the Freedom of Information Center, School of Journalism, University of Missouri. Beginning with vol. II, no. I, October 1962, the Newsletter became a bimonthly publication, issued by the Intellectual Freedom Committee, American Library Association, under the editorship of LeRoy C. Merritt. (A 14-year cumulative index, prepared by students of the School of Libraranship, University of California (Berkeley), is available in two parts: Part I, 1952-62; Part II, 1963-65). A150
§
Issues report news and opinions on the defense or abridgment of intellectual freedom, with special attention given to libraries and the mass media. New books and journal articles on intellectual freedom are listed.
-------. Reports. Annually in ALA Bulletin since 1940. A151 §
In May 1940, the Council of the American Library Association created a standing Committee on Intellectual Freedom to Safeguard the Rights of Library Users to Freedom of Inquiry. The Committee was intended "to throw the force and influence of the ALA behind any individual librarian or any library board confronted with any demands for censorship of books or other material upon a library's shelves." The first brief report of the Committee under the chairmanship of Forrest B. Spaulding, appeared in the Bulletin, August 1940.
American Library Association. Library Administrative Division. Access to Public Libraries. a Research Project. Prepared for the Library Administrative Division, American Library Association by International Research Associates, Inc. Chicago, ALA, 1963. 160p. A152
"This is a study undertaken for the American Library Association. It is designed to examine the scope and extent of limited access to public libraries throughout the United States, with particular reference to the problem of racial segregation in Southern libraries.... The position of the American Library Association in this area has been recently emphasized by a revision of its Bill of Rights which proclaims that 'The rights of an individual to the use of a library should not be denied or abridged because of his race, religion, national origins or political views.'"
American Library Association. Office of Library Film Advisor. "Special Edition on Censorship of Film Collections." ALA Film Newsletter, I5 September 1950. 4P. mimeo. A153 §
Deals largely with the case of film censorship in the Peoria Public Library, "the first clearcut instance of pressure upon public libraries to remove certain 16 mm films from public library film collections."
American Library Association and American Book Publishers Council. Freedom to Read Statement. Chicago, American Library Association, 1953. 8p. (Prepared by the Westchester Conference of the ALA and the ABPC, 2 and 3 May 1953. Subsequently endorsed by the American Booksellers Association, the Book Manufacturers' Institute, and the National Education Association. Reprinted in the ALA Bulletin, November 1953, Wilson Library Bulletin, September 1953, Daniels, The Censorship Books, pp. 149-54, and in Downs, The First Freedom, pp. 337-39. Reprinted with comments in the saturday Review, 11 July 1953, Library Journal, 6 July 1953, and Time, 6 July 1953. A154
Following a vigorous preamble against censorship, the statement lists six propositions, which are summarized as follows: publishers have an obligation to provide wide diversity of views without the necessity of endorsing views, a book should be iudged as a book, not by the affiliations of the author; extralegal efforts to suppress reading matter should be reiected labeling should be rejected; and both librarians and publishers should contest encroachment upon the freedom to read.
American Lutheran Church. Board for Christian Social Action. The Church Looks at Immorality in Print and on the Screen. Columbus, Ohio, The Board, [1959?].14p.A155
American Municipal Association. Regulation of Handbill Distribution: Legal Problems Involved. Chicago, The Association, 1940. 20p. (Report no. I36). A156
Examples of municipal ordinances and decisions are given as a guide to city officials. American Newspaper Publishers' Association. Bulletin. New York, The Association, 1895-1926? Irregular. A157
A number of issues during the early years of the century were devoted to publishing the decisions of significant newspaper libel cases, in a subseries, headed "B" Special. Examples: Frank N. Morse v. Times-Republican (Iowa), 1904; Kate Corr v. Sun Printing and Publishing Co. (New York), 1904.
American Railway Literary Union. "Knowledge and Virtue." The American Railway Literary Union; Its Origin, History and Constitution; for the United States and British American Provinces, March, 1865. [Rochester, N.Y.]. Published for the Union, 1865.15p. A158 §
The Union was organized in 1857 by Jonathan Sturges of New York at the suggestion of a director of the Illinois Central Railroad "to secure, with as little disturbance as possible of the business talent, capital, and engagements now existing, a healthful improvement in the Literature upon thoroughfares." A constitution was adopted in 1864. The organization, working closely with the Y.M.C.A., was a forerunner of the vice society, but its emphasis from the very beginning was on the positive side-providing good literature on trains and in stations.
American Railway Literary Union and Pure Literature Bureau. Information and Suggestions Regarding Pernicious Literature.Guide to All Who Would Aid in Its Suppression. Philadelphia, 1882. (General Circular no. S)A159
Advice to newsdealers, booksellers, and libraries on how to avoid pernicious literature.
American Recreation League. The Menace of Motion Picture Censorship. Washington, D.C., The League, n.d. 20p. A160
"How you can help to defeat the movement to shackle free speech and save the motion picture industry."
American Secular Union and Freethought Federation. answers by the American Secular Union and Free thought Federation in Reply to the Protests against Our Literature, which was Prepared for Circulation to shuw the Folly and Illegality of Bible Reading in the Public schools . . . Chicago, American Secular Union, [1903]. 24p. A161
The answers were prepared by E. C. Reichwald.
American Society of Newspaper Editors. Bulletin. Wilmington, Del., 1941. date. Monthly. A162
Frequently contains reports and commentary on events related to freedom of the press.
-------. "Canons of Journalism." In various issues of ASNE Proceedings of annual conventions; also in Schramm, Mass Communications. Urbana, Ill., University of Illinois Press, 1949, pp. 236-38. A163 §
Statement of the responsibility of a free press to society. I. Responsibility. II. Freedom of the Press. III. Independence. IV. Sincerity, Truthfulness, Accuracy. V. Impartiality. VI. Fair Play. VII. Decency. The Canons of Journalism were adopted by the Society in 1922 as a means of codifying sound practice and just aspirations of American journalism.
-------. "A Declaration of Principles by the American Society of Newspaper Editors. Adopted July I2, 1957 in San Francisco." In Problems of Journalism; Proceedings of the American Society of Newspaper Editors, 1958. Washington, D. C., ASNE, 1958, p. 230. A164 §
The American people have an inherent "right to know." To exercise this right they must be able to gather information and to publish and distribute it without prior restraint or censorship and without fear of punishment not in accord with due process. The members of the Association are concerned, both as citizens and as agents of citizens, with threats to the "right to know." The Association has authorized its officers and directors to resist encroachment upon these liberties.
-------. Problems of Journalism; Proceedings of the Annual Meeting. Washington, D.C., ASNE, 1923-date (except 1945). A165 §
Each annual proceedings discusses some aspect of freedom of information. For example, reports of the Committee on Legislation and Freedom of the Press prepared by R. J. Dunlap and Grove Patterson appear in the 1929 and 1930 volumes; a report of a Special Committee on Libel by Stuart H. Perry appears in the 1935 volume; a report of the Committee on World Freedom of Information by Erwin D. Canham appears in the 1948 volume; reports from the same Committee by Basil Walters appear in the 1949 and 1951 volumes; reports by James S. Pope and Carroll Binder appear in the 1951 volume. The 1951 volume also includes a summary of a report of the wartime Censorship Study Committee prepared by Jack H. Lockhart; and a summary of recent legal developments in The People's Right to Know by Harold L. Cross. A useful summary of the work and publications of the ASNE that relate to freedom of the press is given in U.S. Library of Congress, Freedom of Information; a Selectire Report on Recent Writings, 1949.
-------."Report of the Committee on World Freedom of Information." Editor and Publisher, 78:5+, 16 June 1945. A166
The Committee proposes that the following provisions be included in the peace treaties following World War II: (I) not to censor news at the source, (2) not to use the press as an instrument of national policy, and (3) to permit a free flow of news in and out of signatory countries. The Committee consisted of Carl Ackerman, Wilbur Forrest, and Ralph McGill, chairman.
-------. "Report on the Wechsler Case."Nieman Reports, 7(4):25-29, October 1953. A167
A committee was appointed by the president of the ASNE, at the request of James A. Wechsler, editor of the New York Post, to study and comment on the hearings before the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Investigations of the Committee on Government, held 24 April and 5 May 1953. The case involved Senator McCarthy's questioning of Wechsler about books he had written and the editorial policies of the Port. The committee of newspaper men could not agree on whether or not the hearings constituted a threat to freedom of the press. In a separate statement, four members of the committee, J. R. Wiggins, Herbert Brucker, William M. Tugman, and Eugene S. Pulliam, Jr., concluded that freedom of the press was seriously endangered by the hearing. "Newspapers put to the necessity of explaining to government agencies, legislative or executive, their news and editorial policies, under oath, would exist in such permanent jeopardy that their freedom to report fully and comment freely inevitably would be impaired.... The people suffer some diminution of their rights to know fully and comment freely upon their own government whenever a single newspaper however worthy or unworthy, is subjected by one Senator, however worthy or unworthy, to inconvenience, expense, humiliation, ridicule, abuse, condemnation and reproach, under the auspices of governmental power . . . In our opinion, therefore, whatever inconvenience results, whatever controversy ensues we [newspapermen] are compelled by every command of duty to brand this and every threat to freedom of the press, from whatever source, as a peril to American freedom."
-------. American Textbook Publishers Institute. American Way of Publishing: Your Safeguard against Subversion in Textbooks. New York, The Institute, 1953.&p. A168
Written in the form of a letter from a member of the Institute to a school superintendent. The publisher discusses how textbooks are prepared, how they can be improved, and how local school administrators can meet criticisms and attacks directed against textbooks.
-------. Attack on Textbooks. New York, The Institute, 1951. 2p. A169
"The American Theatre and the Censors." Life, 2:17--21, 31 May 1937. A170
An account of the campaign by actors, playwrights, and theatergoers to defeat the theater licensing bill in New York; photographs of scenes from stage plays banned in New York, including Mrs.Warren's Profession (1905), The Captive(1927), and Mae West's Sex (1927).
Americanism Protective League, New York. Smash Censorship! Report Grand Mass Meeting, Madison Square Garden, Jan. 14, 1924. New York, The League, 1924.22p. A171
The League was formed in oppositon to the proposed New York Clean Books Bill and other censorship measures. Some 5,000 persons attended the mass meeting, addressed by Bernarr Macfadden, Herman Bernstein, Louis Joseph Vance, and U.S. Senator Magnus Johnson. Their speeches, and brief messages in opposition to censorship from Dr. Frank Crane, Senator William E. Borah, and Judge Ben B. Lindsey, are included. Dr. Crane calls for law instead of censorship. "Censorship implies that people shall be prevented from doing wrong. Law implies that every citizen shall be free to do wrong, but shall be held responsible for the wrong he does."
America's Town Meeting of the Air. Do We Have a free press Newyork TownHall 1939 bulletin vol. 4no10) A172 §
Secretary of Interior Harold Ickes accuses the American press of being under the control of and dependent upon advertisers, more concerned with their pocketbook than with the public welfare. Frank E. Gannett, newspaper chain owner, defends the press and charges the Roosevelt administration with a systematic campaign against press freedom. Also included are newspaper editorials taking issue with Mr. Ickes' criticism.
-------. Is the American Press Really Free? New York, Town Hall, 1946. 24p. (Bulletin vol. I2, no. 25. Reprinted in Baird, Representative American Speeches: 1946-47,pp.159 76). A173
Participants: George V. Denny, Jr., ErwinCanham, Morris Ernst, Michael Straight, and John R. McCrary, Jr. Attorney Ernst deplores the lack of press freedom in many cities where the newspaper and radio are under single control and where chains are forcingout small independent papers. He recommendsa sliding scale for postal subsidies, revisionof the tax laws, and divorcing control of newsprint and radio stations from newspaper owners. Erwin D. Canham of the Christian Science Monitor denies that diversity of ownership guarantees freedom of the press.
-------. Is There Too Much Censorship of War News ? New York, Town Hall, 1944.23p. (Bulletin vol. 9, no. 46). A174
War correspondent Henry J. Taylor believes that, while the Office of Censorship is doing a good job, censorship is sometimes being used to cover up military and political mistakes. Clifton M. Utley, Chicago newspaperman, believes that, while censorship is sometimes an annoyance, it is generally necessary to protect our military operations.
-------. Propaganda and Censorship in Wartime. New York, Town Hall, 1941. 24p. (Bulletin vol. 7, no. 9) A175
Participants: Roger Baldwin, Morris Ernst, Eugene Lyons, and John R. McCrary, Jr.
-------. "Should Libraries Restrict the Use of Subversive Publications?" ALABulletin, 34:P5-P14, August 1940. A176 §
A "Town Meeting" program, conducted by George V. Denny at the fourth general session of the American Library Association Conference, 1940. Speakers were Gilbert Bettman and Arthur Garfield Hays. They were questioned by Carl H. Milam, Secretary, American Library Association.
-------. Should Minority Groups Exercise Censorship Over Books and Films? New York, Town Hall, 1949.22p. (Bulletin vol. 15, no. 2). A177 §
The discussion revolved around objections to the movie, Oliver Twist, with opposite points of view taken by two prominent Jewish lawyers, Henry Epstein and Morris Ernst. Epstein argued that minority groups had a right to persuade others to reject false ideas about them even to the extent of using censorship. Ernst argued that no group, minority or majority, had a right to practice censorship, even to guarantee fairness to themselves. Freedom of ideas transcended the right of such security. Robert J. O'Donnell was the other member of the affirmative John Mason Brown joined Ernst in representing the negative.
-------. What Is Freedom of the Press ? New York, Town Hall, 1936. 29p. (Bulletin vol. 1, no. 20). A178 §
Three newspaper men, Heywood Broun, Will Irwin, and Julian S. Mason give their views on how the right of a free press is being exercised in the United States. Broun stresses the need for "integrity" of newspaper reporting as more significant than mere freedom to print or not to print. Mason sees Mr. Broun's movement to unionize newspaper writers (American Newspaper Guild) as a threat to a free press.
-------. What Should be the Function of Our Overseas Libraries? New York, Town Hall, 1953.16p. (Bulletin vol. 19, no. II). A179 §
United States overseas libraries became the center of controversy when Senator McCarthy's investigating committee charged that 30,000 volumes were written by Communists or fellow travellers, and the Department of State ordered their removal. Congressman Charles J. Kersten and Dan Lacy, managing director of the American Book Publishers Council, discuss the purpose of these libraries and the kinds of books that should be included.
Ames, Hector. "Censoring the Film Kiss." Motion Picture Magazine, 12(I) : 12, 166, December 1916. A180
A humorous reporting of the unofficial "kissing rules" announced by the Kansas state board which handles appeals of motion picture companies from decisions of the state movie censor. The report recommends a sliding scale on the length of movie kisses, depending on such factors as age and circumstances. "Soul kiss, dispute. Brewster [Attorney General] favors a limit of fifty-seven feet [a foot per second]; Sessions [representing the Governor] says not more than twenty-three feet. Botkin [Secretary of State] not voting."
Ames, Winthrop. "Censorship of the Stage: A Counter Proposal." Review of Reviews, 75:399-402, April 1927. A181 §
The chairman of the Committee of Nine Producers, Actors, and Authors outlines the proposal made by the Committee as an alternative to political or state censorship of the stage, such as that proposed in the bill pending in the New York legislature that would put the New York stage under control of the Regents of the University. The alternative proposal would have plays suspected of impropriety iudged by a jury of seven members, drawn by lot from a panel of 300 representing "wise contemporary public opinion.
Amis, Kingsley. "The 'Cheesecake' Periodicals." Author, 66:28-30, Winter 1955. A182
Analysis of British magazines that consist of "representation, usually photographic, of scantily-clad young ladies in provocative poses." While the contents are often vulgar and trivial, there are "no reasons for regarding cheesecake as in itself wrong, dangerous or important."
Amory, Cleveland. "Speaking Out: Paperback Pornography." Saturday Evening Post, 236(13):10 12,6 April 1963. A183 §
"It is high time that thinking persons stopped shouting 'censorship' in the pathetically few cases when a book is declared, by some duly constituted court, to be, in the court's considered judgment, obscene . . . Even one such action and clear court recognition of obscenity as obscenity would go a long way toward discouraging the large amount of paperback pornography which uses fear of censorship as its mask. What is needed on the obscene scene is, in short, less double-talk about censorship and more court action on obscenity."
Anderson, Archibald W. "The Nation Case." Progressive Education, 25:151-57, March 1949. (Reprinted in Downs, The First Freedom, pp. 353-59). A184 §
A history of the New York City Board of Education ban of The Nation from New York high schools. The author, a professor of education at the University of Illinois, quotes extensively from the various documents, pro and con, submitted in this widely publicized case.
Anderson, Frank M. "ContemporaryView of the Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions." American Historical Review, 5: 45-63, October 1899; 5:225--52,July 1900. A185
Contemporary newspaper commentary on the resolutions denouncing the Alien and Sedition Acts. The Virginia Resolution was the work of James Madison, the Kentucky Resolution the work of Thomas Jefferson.
-------. "The Enforcement of the Alien and Sedition Laws." Annual Report of the American Historical Association, 1912. Washington, D.C., The Association, 1914, pp. 113--26. A186
A study of the enforcement of the Alien and Sedition Acts made from an examination of newspapers of the period, the Pickering and Jefferson papers, the archives of the State Department, and other contemporary records.
Anderson, John. Military Censorship in World War I; Its Use and Abuse, in New Zealand. Wellington, N.Z., Victoria University, 1952. 296p. (Unpublished Master's thesis) A187
Anderson, Paul Y. "Mainly about Publishers." Nation, 138:559-60, 16 May 1934. A188
The writer criticizes the report on freedom of the press adopted by the American Society of Newspaper Editors as a work of hypocrisy and smugness. The danger to freedom is not from Franklin D. Roosevelt and Hugh Johnson but "arises from the fact that so many of the men who have been intrusted with--or have acquired--the privilege of exercising that freedom have used it to grasp special privileges and profits for themselves." The "freedom of the press" clause has no place in the NRA code, which is concerned with business practices, not content of newspapers.
Anderson, Robert L. "Free Speech and Obscenity; A Search for Constitutional Procedures and Standards." UCLA Law Review, 12:532-60, January 1965. A189 §
"This comment directs itself to what appears to be a parallel development in the obscenity field to Kingsley and Roth. In two decisions handed down on the same day in 1964-, A Quantity of Copies of Books v. Kansas and Jacobellis v. Ohio-the Supreme Court once again attempted to clarify the nonexisting law concerning the constitutional requirements for discovering and disposing of obscene materials, and the constitutionally imposed standards for determining what materials are obscene." The author concludes that the majority of the Court "intends to protect those forms of expression of a serious nature, maintaining a great deal of toleration for the manner of representation. In addition, it apparently will not proscribe materials having any artistic quality.... The Court will seemingly protect material which attempts to portray ideas facts, concepts or interests that, though repugnant to the majority, nonetheless insures access to and expression of unorthodox views."
[Anderton, William]. In Account of the Conversation, Behaviour and Execution of William Anderton, Printer. [London, 1693]. A190
Anderton was charged with high treason and tried for printing two books which "tended to incite rebellion." He was found guilty and hanged on 16 June 1693. Siebert, in his Freedom of the Press in England, notes that Anderton and Twyn were the only printers to be executed for high treason in England during the later Stuart period.
[-------_]."Mr. Anderton's Plea at the Old Bailey." In Sawbridge, A Collection of Scarce and Valuable Papers. London, 1712, vol. I, pp.228-32. A191
[-------]. "Trial at Old Bailey for High Treason in Publishing Treasonable Libels, London, 1693." In Howell, State Trials, vol. 12, pp. 1245 ff. A192 §
Includes account taken from the British Sessional Papers and from reports published by Anderton's friends.
Andrew, M. G. " 'A Free and Responsible Press': the Findings of an American Study of the Press and How They Apply to Canada." Food for Thought, 8:5-11, February 1948. A193
A discussion of the report of the Commission on Freedom of the Press.
Andrews, Alexander. The History of British Journalism from the Foundation of the Newspaper Press in England to the Repeal of the Stamp Act in 1855, with Sketches of Press Celebrities. London, Richard Bentley, 1859. 2 vols. A194 §
A comprehensive record, arranged topically, including biographical sketches of leading journalists. Vol. I carries through the eighteenth century and vol. 2 to 1855. There are accounts of some 75 British press trials and an extensive discussion of the American Colonial press.
Andrews, Sir Linton. "Cramping the Press." Fortnightly (London), 163 (n.s.): 391-97, June 1948. A195
The chairman of the Joint Editorial Committee of the Newspaper Society and the Guild of British Newspaper Editors charges that restrictions on newsprint limit seriously the free expression of opinion on public affairs. Reduced space forces editors to omit or compress news and to put different news in different editions.
Andrews, William. "Punishing Authors and Burning Books." In Old Time Punishments. London, Simpkin, Marshall, Hamilton & Kent, 1890, pp.90-103. A196
Anello, Douglas A. The Regulatory Role in Broadcasting. Washington, D.C., National Association of Broadcasters, 1964. 21p. A197
The general counsel of the NAB, in an address before the Iowa Broadcasters Association, states that the "fairness doctrine" inhibits rather than encourages free discussion.
Angell, James R. "Radio as a Safeguard of Freedom in a Democracy." Proceedings, National Education Association, 1941. Washington, D.C., NEA, 1941, pp.170-73 A198
Angell, Sir Norman. "Freedom of Discussion in War Time." Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 78:194-204, July 1918. A199
Censorship experience in World War I written from the British point of view.
-------."Raiding the Enemy's Diplomacy". New Republic, 11:324--27,21 July 1917. A200 §
Censorship of the liberal press, while permitting free circulation of conservative and reactionary newspapers, has played into the hands of the German and Austrian militarists.
Anglo-Americanus, pseud. Remarks on Zenger's Tryal, raken out of the Barbados Gazette's. For the Benefit of the Students in Law, and others in North America. [New York, Bradford, 1737]. 36 leaves. (Reprinted with bibliographic notes in Katz's edition of the Zenger trial, 1963, pp. 152 ff.) A201
A pamphlet critical of the legal arguments of the defense in the John Peter Zenger trial. Consists of two letters which originally appeared in the Barbados Gazette of 20 and 29 July 1737. The first letter (reprinted in the Katz edition) was signed "Anglo-Americanus." Evans' American Bibliography attributes the letter to Jonathan Blenman, King's Attorney of Barbados. The second letter, less persuasive and not reprinted in Katz, was signed "Indus-Britanicus." The first letter was answered by James Alexander in Franklin's Pennsylvania Gazette.
-------.Remarks on the Trial of John-Peter Zenger, Printer of the New York Weekly Journal, Who was Lately Try'd and Acquitted for Printing and Publishing Two Libels against the Government of that Province. London, Printed for J. Roberts, 1738. 27p. A202
A London edition of the letters by "Anglo-Americanus" and "Indus-Britanicus," originally appearing in the Barbados Gazette.
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