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-------. Truth v. Ashhurst; or, Law As It Is, Contrasted With What It Is Said to Be. London, Richard Carlile, 1823. 16p. (Written in December 1792; first published in 1823. Also in his Works, Edinburgh, William Tait, 1843, vol. 5, pp. 231-37) B203
Bentham in this first work on freedom of the press, attacked the English common law of libel as being judge-made and dangerously undefinable. He comments on the practice of excluding truth as a defense in libel cases: "I fear this paper is a sad libel--there is so much truth in it." Bentham wrote this essay in 1792 in answer to a charge delivered to a grand jury by Sir William Ashhurst, Judge of King's Bench, and printed by the Constitutional Association of that time, but Bentham's essay was not printed until 1823.
Bentley, Eric. "Release the Evergreen Review!" Village Voice, 9(33):5, 4 June 1964. B204
A Grove Press advertisement reprinting an editorial in which the theater critic urges the police to release the 20,000 copies of Evergreen Review seized at the bindery in Nassau County on orders of the District Attorney for alleged obscenity.
Benton, Josiah H., Jr. A Notable Libel Case. The Criminal Prosecution of Theodore Lyman, Jr. by Daniel Webster in the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts, November Term, 1828. Boston, Goodspeed, 1904. 117p. B205
Lyman was a wealthy Bostonian who supported Jackson in the election of 1828. An article by Lyman in the Jackson Republican (29 October 1828) so infuriated Webster that he sued Lyman for criminal libel, alleging that Lyman had accused him and other Federalists of wishing to break up the Union and reannex New England to England. The jury could not agree and the case was dismissed.
Benton, Paul. "If This Be Heresy--" Quill, 19(1):9, January 1931. B206
Individuals have rights just as newspapers have rights; there are two sides to freedom.
Benton, William L. "Freedom of Information: the Role of the State Department." Department of State Bulletin, 16:352-67, 23 February 1947. B207
The Assistant Secretary of State reviews the campaign for a free world press being waged through the United Nations.
-------, and Paul Porter. "Freedom of the Press--World Wide." Department of State Bulletin, 14:156-62, 3 February 1946. B208
The role of the United Nations in establishment of world freedom of information. Economic factors form a major barrier in the international transmission of news.
Berg, Louis. "How End the Panic in Radio-TV? The Demagogic Half-Truth v. the Liberal Half-Lie." Commentary, 14:315-25, October 1952. B209
A proposal on how to clear innocent performers, unjustly accused by Red Channels of Communist associations.
Berger, Marcel, and Paul Allard. Les Secrets de la censure pendant la guerre. Paris, Éditions des Portiques, 1932. 383p. B210
Exposé of allied military censorship in Paris during World War I, written by former censors.
Bergman, Robert E. "Should We Censor Political Broadcasts or Risk Liability for Defamation." South Dakota Law Review, 4:173-80, Spring 1959. B211
Deals with the dilemma created by the Port Huron decision of the Federal Communications Commission, 12 F.C.C. 1069 (1948).
Bergson, Philip. "State Censorship of Television." Federal Bar Journal, 10:151-61, April 1949. B212
"Censorship of television film programs by state authorities represents a radical departure from the concept of uniform regulation and imposes a heavy economic burden that will fatally retard the development of the infant industry."
Berkman, Alexander. "Blast Raided." Mother Earth, 11:726-27, January 1917. B213 §
The Blast was an anarchist periodical edited by Berkman, which came under government surveillance for its antimilitary expression during World War I.
-------, and Emma Goldman. Anarchism on Trial; Speeches . . . before United States District Court in the City of New York, July. [New York, 1917]. 87p. (Reprinted from Mother Earth, July 1917) B214
The authors were convicted under the wartime espionage act for issuing pamphlets urging disobedience to the draft.
Berkowitz, Leonard. "The Effects of Observing Violence." Scientific American, 210(2):35-41, February 1964. B215
"Experiments suggest that aggression depicted in television and motion picture dramas, or observed in activity, can arouse certain members of the audience to violent action." The findings have a direct bearing on discussions of the harm or lack of harm to the immature viewer observing violence. The author concludes that "effective catharsis [offered as a defense of violence in TV] occurs only when an angered person perceives that his frustrater has been aggressively injured. From this I argue that filmed violence is potentially dangerous. The motion picture aggressivism has increased the chance that an angry person, and possibly other people as well, will attack someone else."
Berkson, Seymour. "Facing the Foreign Censor." Journalism Quarterly, 13:7-16, March 1936. B216
Efforts by European dictators to restrain American correspondents.
-------. "Freedom of the Press and American Foreign Policy." In Quincy Wright, ed., Foreign Policy for the United States. Chicago, University of Chicago Press, 1947, pp. 339-48. B217
"Only if such universal freedom of information becomes an accepted and established fact in our global life shall we be truly on the road to mutual understanding and real world peace." The author appeals for greater attention to world freedom of communication as a dynamic weapon against international hatreds and misunderstanding.
Berman, Manuel K. "Regulation of Radio Broadcasting." Boston University Law Review, 13:60-73, January 1933. (Reprinted in Buehler, American v. British System of Radio Control, pp. 202-19) B218
A review of the development of regulatory legislation, including the Radio Act of 1927 which is discussed in detail. The author recommends extending the powers of the Federal Radio Commission.
Bernays, Edward L. "Needed: A Grand Strategy." Saturday Review of Literature, 25(10):10, 7 March 1942. B219
Editorial in a special issue devoted to censorship and propaganda. The issue also includes Bernay's review of Mock's Censorship, 1917.
Bernberg, Benedict. "Freedom to Read." Times Literary Supplement, 3194:357, 17 May 1963. B220
A letter to the editor discussing the powers of British customs, post office, and police to confiscate allegedly obscene matter, particularly as these powers are affected by the passage of the Obscene Publications Act of 1959.
Berndt, Frank. "Anti-Obscenity Legislation." Western Reserve Law Review, 12:425-30, March 1961. B221
Notes on Commonwealth v. Blumenstein, 396 Pa. 417, 153 A. 2d 227 (1959).
-------. "A Free Press and a Fair Trial: England v. the United States." Western Reserve Law Review, 13:147-61, December 1961. B222
A comparative study of the handling of the dilemma created by the conflicts of two democratic principles.
Berninghausen, David K. "Book Banning and Witch-Hunts." ALA Bulletin, 42:204-7, May 1948. B223 §
"All librarians must become acutely aware of the trend toward suppression of opinion. They must protest against all attempts at censorship and all legislation or acts of government agents that could threaten intellectual freedom." The author describes censorship attempts by various groups and efforts by librarians to combat them.
-------. "The Case of The Nation." American Scholar, 19:44-55, Winter 1949-50. B224
"The issue involved in The Nation's ban [from the New York City schools] is not the study of religious beliefs, nor is it tolerance versus intolerance . . . The issue is freedom of inquiry, freedom to examine alternative points of view before coming to a conclusion." Letters in the American Scholar for Spring 1950 (pp. 234-36) support and defend the charges made against the New York City Board of Education.
-------. "Climate of Intellectual Freedom in America Today." Michigan Librarian, 28:5-11, March 1962. B225
-------. "Film Censorship." ALA Bulletin, 44:447-48, December 1950. B226
An account of the restrictions placed on certain films at the Peoria (Ill.) Public Library after objections to them from the American Legion. The episode led the Council of the American Library Association to declare that the Library Bill of Rights shall apply to films and all media of communications used or collected by libraries.
-------. "Free American Library." Bulletin, New Hampshire Public Libraries, 47:73-76, September 1951. B227
In a talk before the New Hampshire Library Association, the author advises librarians to stress the importance of the Library Bill of Rights, to enlist the aid of respected citizens, and to adopt a positive program of book selection.
-------. "Frontiers of Freedom." Library Journal, 76:1071-73, July 1951. B228
Suggestions on how librarians can meet attacks of pressure groups, including the use of the Library Bill of Rights.
-------. "History of the ALA Intellectual Freedom Committee." Wilson Library Bulletin, 27:813-17, June 1953. B229
Talk given at the American Library History Round Table, Chicago, February 1953.
-------. "Los Angeles County Has Censorship Board." Library Journal, 73:1545-46+, 1 November 1948. B230
"Los Angeles County supervisors decided on September 28 to create a board of censors to examine all books in the county library. Each five supervisors will appoint one censor to control books purchased and circulated . . . In other cities attempts at censorship have been made by individuals or groups, but here is the first open creation of an official board of censors, appointed by county supervisors."
-------. "On Keeping Our Reading Free." Educational Leadership, 6:104-8, November 1948. (Reprinted in Educational Digest, January 1949) B231
"The seeker after knowledge is entitled to access to alternate views and the right to learn in an unbiased atmosphere . . . and the well-ordered school library offers this balanced set-up for freedom of thought and expression."
-------. "Publicity Wins Intellectual Freedom." ALA Bulletin, 43:73-75, February 1949. B232 §
The chairman of the ALA Committee on Intellectual Freedom describes recent incidents where censorship efforts collapsed when such activities were brought to the attention of scholars, educators, parents, publishers, and authors.
-------. "The Right To Read." Nation, 175:30-31, 12 July 1952. B233
A summary of the position of the American Library Association determined in its Committee on Intellectual Freedom meeting on the subject of the dissemination of information, 28 and 29 June. Quotations from members of the committee.
-------, and Richard W. Faunce. "An Exploratory Study of Juvenile Delinquency and the Reading of Sensational Books." Journal of Experimental Education, 33:161-68, Winter 1964. B234
The authors test the working hypothesis that there is no relationship between juvenile delinquency and the reading of "sensational books," matching 39 institutionalized juvenile delinquent boys with 39 non-delinquents. The study showed that delinquent boys were no more apt to have read sensational books than the nondelinquents, although they were more prone to have read adult books with erotic content. No inference of a causal relationship between delinquency and the reading of sensational books was made.
Berns, Walter F. The Case of the Censored Librarian: Censorship of Obscenity. Chicago, American Foundation for Continuing Education, 1959. 30p. (Case Stories in American Politics, no. 8) B235
A fictional but plausible account of a public library board faced with charges, brought by a local society of Minute Women, of having obscene books on the library shelves. The issue, intended to stimulate adult group discussions, is presented objectively, without a conclusion.
-------. Freedom, Virtue and the First Amendment. Baton Rouge, La., Louisiana State University Press, 1957. 264p. B236
A review of what the author regards as widespread dissatisfaction with the U.S. Supreme Court decisions in First Amendment cases made in the 1950's. Includes a table of cases.
Bernstein, Charles. "Cameras in the Courtroom." Quill, 48(12):12-14+, December 1960. B237
A review of Canon 35 of the American Bar Association, from its inception following the Lindbergh-Hauptmann trial to the present.
Bernstein, Harry. "Free Minds in the Americas." In Ángel del Río, ed., Responsible Freedom in the Americas. New York, Doubleday, 1955. pp. 224-38. B238
On the "free circulation and exchange of ideas" between North and South America since 1700.
Berry, Dean L. "Validity of Motion Picture Licensing Statute." Michigan Law Review, 58:134-37, November 1959. B239
Discussion of the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Kingsley International Pictures Corp. v. Regents of the University of the State of New York, 360 U.S. 684 (1959). The distributor of the motion picture, Lady Chatterley's Lover, had applied to the Motion Picture Division of the New York State Education Department for a license and became involved in decisions which eventually reached the Supreme Court. The Court ruled that the licensing statute was an unconstitutional restraint on free speech, since it denied a license to a film simply because it advocated certain ideas.
[Berry, Ira]. The Liberty of the Press Vindicated and Truth Triumphant! State versus Ira Berry for an Alleged Libel on Cyrus Weston . . . [Augusta, Maine? 1832?]. 20p. B240
"Victim of the desperation and folly of the federal party."
Berry, John L., and W. M. Goodrich. "Political Defamation--Radio's Dilemma." University of Florida Law Review, 1:343-59, Fall 1948. B241
The radio broadcaster is faced with a conflict in opinions of the courts and the FCC as to whether he is liable for defamatory material presented by political candidates, who are given time in accordance with FCC directives. The authors recommend that Congress clarify the ambiguity of the Communications Act.
Berry, John N., III. "Demand for Dissent?" Library Journal, 89:3912-17, 15 October 1964. B242 §
The article reports on a survey of public library coverage of "the fringes of political and social thoughts," responses from 100 public libraries on their holdings of periodicals on a "roster of dissent." The author found librarians generally willing to cooperate with the analysis. "In many libraries the attempt to provide material presenting all points of view is an emphatic success. More often, however, it is eroded by the reliance on selection criteria of doubtful validity--demand and available indexing--or it is left to chance . . . We are left with the feeling that public libraries in the United States continue, very cautiously, to cling to the middle of the road."
-------. "'I Fear for the Ladies.'" Bay State Librarian, 53(2):9-10, 12 April 1963. B243 §
Account of a hearing before a Committee of the Massachusetts legislature to consider a bill to abolish the state's Obscene Literature Control Commission. The Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts and the Massachusetts Library Association supported the bill. "The censors irrelevantly used mother, God, and country, in old fashioned fourth of July style to overwhelm a committee of legislators, of politicians." The bill was reported unfavorably.
Bertram, G. B. "Young Girl." New Zealand Librarian, 14:244-46, September 1951. B244
A public librarian comments on the traditional concern of patrons who wish to protect the young girl from the immorality of modern fiction. He notes that library books are sometimes burned by an irate patron (but only after they have been read through) "in an attempt to shift the conviction of sin in reading on to the source of supply or the corrupt writer."
Besant, Annie. An Autobiography. London, Unwin, 1893. 368p. B245
In 1877 this English theosophist and social reformer published, with Charles Bradlaugh, a birth control pamphlet entitled Fruits of Philosophy, a work written by the American physician, Charles Knowlton, and first published in 1832. They were tried on charges of immorality (Regina v. Charles Bradlaugh and Annie Besant) but were acquitted. "We are unanimously of opinion that the book in question is calculated to deprave public morals, but at the same time we entirely exonerate the defendants from any corrupt motives in publishing it." The trial attracted widespread attention in England and over 200,000 copies of the Knowlton booklet are said to have been sold within a few weeks.
-------. Is the Bible Indictable? London, [Freethought Publishing Co., 1877?]. Pamphlet. B246
During the obscenity trial for publishing Charles Knowlton's birth control pamphlet, Mrs. Besant published a series of articles in the National Reformer entitled, Does Not the Bible Come Within the Ruling of the Lord Chief Justice as to Obscene Literature? These were later condensed and issued as a separate pamphlet under the title Is the Bible Indictable? The pamphlet quotes some 150 Bible passages which, under existing English law, would likely be considered obscene.
Bess, Donovan. "Miller's Tropic on Trial." Evergreen Review, 6:12-37, March-April 1962. B247 §
At the time of writing this article, at least 50 criminal cases had been brought to trial in the United States for the sale of Henry Miller's Tropic of Cancer. This is the dramatic account of the 9-day trial in San Rafael, Calif., in which Mark Schorer and other literary figures testified for the defense. The jury found the defendant not guilty.
[Best, Paul]. To Certaine Noble and Honourable Persons of the House of Commons assembled in Parliament. The Petition of Paul Best, Prisoner in the Gate-house in Westminster. London, 1646. B248
In 1644 Best, an educated gentleman and student of theology, submitted his manuscript on the doctrine of the Trinity to a minister friend "for his Judgment and advice only." The "friend" turned the manuscript over to the authorities; Best was ordered by the House of Commons to be hanged for his offense. There was some dispute over the legality of the form of punishment for such an offense and, instead, he served three years in prison.
Beth, Loren P. "The Legion and the Library. New Republic, 127:11-13, 14 July 1952. (Reprinted in Daniels, The Censorship of Books, pp. 169-72) B249 §
The attack on the film program of the Peoria (Ill.) Public Library by the Americanism Committee of American Legion Post No. 2, which precipitated a heated dispute over censorship. The films objected to as containing Communist propaganda were: Brotherhood of Man, Boundary Lines, and Peoples of the USSR. An explanatory reply to Beth's article by Hazel C. Wolf, member of the Peoria Public Library Board, appears in New Republic for 11 August 1952.
-------. "Toward a Model Movie Censorship Law." Massachusetts Review, 2:770-74, Summer 1961. B250
The author opposes a system of prior censorship of the movies on the grounds that it assumes guilt before there is reason to suppose that a crime has been committed; it does not allow a trial or even an administrative hearing, and, contrary to practices in a criminal trial, the defendant must prove his innocence, often at great cost. Beth suggests that the real reason for treating the movies differently than other media is that they have a greater mass appeal and are more likely to corrupt the ordinary person. He calls for replacing prior censorship with court action after the fact.
Bettelheim, Bruno, ed. "Sex and Violence in Books, Magazines and Television: How Much Can--and Should--Parents Censor?" Redbook, 123:60, 132-49, May 1964. B251
Betten, Francis S. The Roman Index of Forbidden Books Briefly Explained for Catholic Booklovers and Students . . . With a Summary of the Index. St. Louis, Herder, 1909. 69p. (Also in Fordham University's Catholic Mind series, nos. 23 and 24, 1907; 2d ed., Loyola University Press, 1932) B252
Bettman, Alfred, and Swinburne Hale. Do We Need More Sedition Laws? Testimony of Alfred Bettman and Swinburne Hale, Late Captain Military Intelligence Division, General Staff, U.S.A., before the House of Representatives. New York, American Civil Liberties Union, 1920. 22p. B253
Testimony before the Committee on Rules, U.S. House of Representatives.
Betz, I. H. "Dr. Thomas Cooper." Humanitarian Review, 10:56-61, July 1911. B254
Biographical sketch of Cooper, including his conviction under the Sedition Act of 1798 and his resignation as professor of chemistry at South Carolina College, in 1834, because of liberal religious views.
Beytagh, Francis X., Jr. "Right of News Media Personnel to Refuse to Disclose Confidential Sources of Information." Michigan Law Review, 61:184-91, November 1962. B255
Appeal of Alan L. Goodfader, 367 P. 2d 472 (Hawaii, 1961).
[Biddle, John]. The Spirit of Persecution Again broken loose, By An Attempt to put in Execution against Mr. John Biddle Master of Arts, an abrogated Ordinance of the Lords and Commons for punishing Blasphemies and Heresies. Together with, A full Narrative of The Whole Proceedings upon that Ordinance against the said Mr. John Biddle and William Kiffen Pastor of a baptised Congregation in the City of London. London, For Richard Moone, 1655. 23p. B256
Biddle, a theologian and "father of Unitarianism," was imprisoned on several occasions for publishing blasphemous doctrines and his books were ordered to be burned. This pamphlet, probably published by his friend Richard Moone, accuses the "Beacon Firing" Presbyterians with responsibility for the persecution of Biddle. (The case against the Rev. John Biddle is summarized in Schroeder, Constitutional Free Speech, pp. 265-69.)
Bierstadt, Edward H. "Mon Ami Moore." Bookman, 56:719-22, February 1923. B257
History of the Jurgen case, with quotations from the court's decision.
-------, Barrett H. Clark, and Sidney Howard. Jurgen and the Censor. Report of the Emergency Committee Organized to Protest against the Suppression of James Branch Cabell's "Jurgen." New York, Privately printed for the Committee, 1920. 77p. (Edition limited to 458 copies) B258
Contents: Preface by James B. Cabell, Letter from John S. Sumner of the New York Society for the Suppression of Vice, Report of the Emergency Committee, Morals, Not Art or Literature by Edward H. Bierstadt (title borrowed from Anthony Comstock), List of Signers of the Protest, Letters to the Emergency Committee (from prominent authors), Letters to the Publisher, and Echoes from the Press.
Bignell, M. A. Report of the Meeting of the Inhabitants of Calcutta Held 5th January, 1835, to Take into Consideration the Propriety of Petitioning the Governor-General in Council or the Legislative Council of India to Repeal the Press Regulation Passed in 1823 . . . Calcutta, 1835. B259
[Bijur, Nathan]. "A Decision for Liberty." Birth Control Review, 1(14):2, 8, June 1917. B260
The opinion of Justice Bijur of Superior Court of New York in the case of Message Photoplay Co., producers of the film, Birth Control, v. George H. Bell, commissioner of licenses, New York, granting an injunction against the commissioner. "The libertarians of America will read with hope the views of freedom expressed therein."
Biklé, Henry W. "The Jurisdiction of the United States over Seditious Libel." American Law Register, 50:1-26, January 1902. B261
"The power of the United States . . . results from its power to maintain its own integrity and establish its own efficiency. Seditious libels . . . are such as threaten to impair that integrity and destroy that efficiency. Over such libels, therefore, the jurisdiction of the United States must be held to exist in order that the true balance between liberty and licentiousness of the press may be maintained within the jurisdiction of the nation, as well as within that of the state."
Bilgrey, Felix J. "Some Questions Concerning Movie Censorship and the First Amendment." Record of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York, 18:32-46, January 1963. B262
In discussing the issues of movie censorship the author raises these broader questions: Should society restrain freedom of expression in any manner? Should we admit the existence of other interests so overriding that they can justify the displacement of speech? He predicts that legislatures, sensitive to the pressures for regulatory schemes, may enact measures which will ultimately be struck down by the courts.
-------, and Ira Levenson. "Censorship of Motion Pictures--Recent Judicial Decisions and Legislative Action." New York Law Forum, 1:347-52, September 1955. B263
Bill of Rights of the United States. 16 mm. b/w and color movie, 20 min. Chicago, Encyclopedia Britannica Films. B264
The story of the struggle for human freedom culminating in the American Bill of Rights, including development of the freedom of the press.
"A Bill to Secure the Liberty of the Press." Dublin Review, 7:518-40, November 1839. B265
A history of the English law of libel, prompted by an attempt at codification of the law by the Maltese Commissioners. The author criticizes the extreme harshness of existing British libel law and notes the efforts of the Commissioners to remedy the arbitrary exercise of power in applying the law to the Island of Malta.
Binder, Carroll. "The Dangers of Secrecy." Nieman Reports, 9(3):32-34, July 1955. B266
Large doses of government secrecy, like large doses of patent medicines, may destroy the body we are trying to save.
-------. "Failure of a Mission; Not Freedom but Restriction is Aim of Majority of UN Subcommission on Information." Nieman Reports, 6(4):12-15, October 1952. B267
"Mr. Binder wrote this report of the UN Subcommission on Freedom of Information . . . as he finished his term on the commission and returned to his editorship of the Minneapolis Tribune."
-------. "A Plea for Adequacy of News Distribution and Free Flow of Information." U.S. Department of State Bulletin, 26:508-12, 31 March 1952. B268
In a statement before the UN Subcommission on Freedom of Information, the United States representative presents the American views on the free flow of information. There are three major weaknesses in world news coverage: lack of objectivity, lack of adequate coverage in underdeveloped countries, and restrictions on movement of correspondents and censorship of what they write.
-------. "Shadow of Global Censorship." Saturday Review of Literature, 34(12):8-9, 33-35, 24 March 1951. B269
A report on the deliberations in the United Nations over a preamble for a Convention on Freedom of Information, presented by one of the United States representatives. He reports on the determined effort of some delegates to restrict freedom of information in the name of the United Nations.
-------. "U.S. Urges Noncompromise on Principles of Freedom of Information." U.S. Department of State Bulletin, 24:194-97, 29 January 1951. (Also in Vital Speeches, 1 March 1951) B270
The United States representative on the United Nations Committee to Draft Convention of Freedom of Information sets forth the American objections to Article 2, limitations to press freedom. The American position was for complete freedom for correspondents and newspapers.
-------, and Raul Noriega. "Freedom of Information." Rotarian, 79:6-7, October 1951. B271
An American and a Mexican delegate to the UN committee, writing a convention on freedom of information, present their views on the subject. "The right to seek, receive, and impart information without government or any other control is one of the most precious of all freedoms. Without such freedom of information no other freedom can be secure."
Bingham, Major, William Bingham, and Patrick Lavelle. Report of the Trial of an Action for Libel . . . wherein the Rev. J. P. Lyons, Parish Priest of Kilmore . . . was Plaintiff, and Major Bingham, William Bingham, Esq. and Patrick Lavelle, were Defendants . . . Taken down by Walter Glascock. Dublin, Printed for George Folds, 1834. 102p. B272
The defendants were brought to trial for a letter in the Mayo Constitution that was allegedly abusive to the parish priest. The trial exposed the unsavory conditions of the time, the quarrel between Catholics and Protestants, the oppressive taxation of state and church, and brought forth a series of cross-charges that were humorous at times. The jury could not agree on a verdict and the case was dismissed.
[Bingley, William]. The Extraordinary Case of William Bingley, Bookseller, Who, on the 11th of June, 1768, was Committed to Newgate upon a Writ of Attachment of Contempt. London, William Bingley, 1770. 121p., 15p. B273
Proceedings against the vendor of No. 50 and No. 51 of John Wilkes's paper, North Briton, including an account of his arrest, his commitment to prison for supposed contempt, "where he has ever since remained, without trial, conviction, or sentence."
[-------]. a Sketch of English Liberty! Illustrated by Precedents for Proceeding in Attachment and by Interrogatories in the Court of King's Bench, in a Matter of Libel; Being the Case of a Free Citizen (William Bingley) who was . . . Imprisoned for a Supposed Libel, Without Trial, etc. London, William Bingley, 1793. B274
Bingley was a printer who was brought before Lord Mansfield, in 1768, on charges of seditious libel for having published a letter from John Wilkes reflecting on the administration of courts of justice in general and Mansfield's in particular. Instead of a jury trial the Justice substituted "interrogatories" and when Bingley refused to submit to questioning, sentenced him to jail for contempt of court. Bingley, backed by friends and contributions, steadfastly refused to submit, spending three years in prison before Judge Mansfield was finally persuaded, on threat of a Parliamentary investigation, to release him. Bingley continued to edit North Briton from his jail cell. The Bingley episode in relation to the larger political scene is described in Rea, The English Press in Politics, 1760-1774.
Birch, J. E. V. "Librarian's Daughter." New Stateman, 48:184, 14 August 1954. Discussion, 48:210, 21 August 1954;48:234, 28 August 1954. B275
The borough librarian of Taunton, Eng., discusses the handling of complaints from readers who object to literary works in the library, complaints usually prefaced by the question: "Would you be happy if you knew your daughter was reading stuff like this?"
Birchall, Frederick T. "Getting at the Facts Despite the Censor." New York Times Magazine, 15 October 1939, pp. 3 ff. B276
Difficulties of American correspondents in getting news past European censorship.
Bird, F. B. K. "Freedom on the Air." Canadian Welfare, 27:2-3, February 1952. B277
The author defends the four principles of free speech adopted by the Canadian Broadcasting Corp., against critics who do not approve of broadcasts of controversial issues.
Birkenhead, Frederick E. S. "William Cobbett's Libel Trial." In his Famous Trials of History. New York, Boardman, 1929. vol. 2, pp. 253-62. B278 §
Cobbett's trial before Lord Ellenborough, 15 June 1810.
Birkhead, L. M. Missouri University Sex Questionnaire and Its Significance. Girard, Kans., Haldeman-Julius, 1929. 63p. (Little Blue Book, no. 1498) B279 §
Story of the ban of a questionnaire on student sex practices and opinions, issued by a research agency of the University of Missouri. The affair caused a furor throughout the state and several faculty members were fired. A copy of the questionnaire is included.
[Birney, James G.]. Narrative of the Late Riotous Proceedings Against the Liberty of the Press, in Cincinnati. With Remarks and Historical Notices, Relating to Emancipation. Addressed to the People of Ohio, by the Executive Committee of the Ohio Anti-Slavery Society. Cincinnati, Ohio Anti-Slavery Society, 1836. 48p. B280
Relates to public sentiment in Cincinnati against abolitionists and the destruction of the presses of A. Pugh, printer of the Philanthropist, the Ohio Anti-Slavery Society organ.
Birney, William. James G. Birney and His Times. New York, Appleton, 1890. 443p. B281 §
Birney was a leader in the fight to overthrow the power of the slavery interests in suppressing freedom of press, speech, and right of trial by jury.
Birrell, Augustine. Seven Lectures on the Law and History of Copyright in Books. New York, Cassell, 1899. 228p. B282
Origin of copyright in England, the relation of the Stationers' Company to copyright, the battle of the English booksellers for perpetual copyright, legislative enactments since Queen Anne, and the copyright situation in England at the turn of the century.
Birth Control Review. New York, 1917-33; new series 1933-40. Monthly. Edited by Margaret Sanger. B283
This journal, in taking a positive position in behalf of freedom of birth control information, frequently met with opposition from postal authorities. It was suspended from July through November 1917; again in August 1918 it was banned because of a review of Marie Stopes's Married Love. The journal was mailable in Canada but not mailable in the United States.
Bixler, Paul H. "Censorship and Selection: The Librarian as a Trustee of the Public's Right to Know." In University of Illinois Library School, The Nature and Development of the Library Collection, Champaign, Ill., Illini Union Book Store, 1957, pp. 117-33. (Allerton Park Institute, no. 3) B284
-------. "Don't Split Collections." Library Journal, 76:2064-65, 15 December 1951. (Reprinted in Daniels, The Censorship of Books, pp. 175-77). B285 §
We do not win the war against communism "by imitating the censoring, repressive tactics of the enemy" or by "putting the words of Lenin, Marx, Stalin, and William Foster out of sight in a locked case, or simply by talking to ourselves about democracy." This is in answer to a proposal by Detroit Librarian Ralph Ulveling (Library Journal, August 1951) to segregate the public library collection.
-------. "Footnote on Propaganda." Progressive Librarians' Council Bulletin, 2:3-4, February 1941. B286
The author recommends two basic tests to apply to propaganda: "(1) Is the source or part of the source hidden? (2) Is the propaganda fundamentally 'dishonest'?" If the answer is "yes" the propaganda should not be added to the library.
-------. "Introduction." In Freedom of Book Selection; Proceedings of the Second Conference on Intellectual Freedom . . . Chicago, American Library Association, 1954, pp. 1-9. B287 §
-------. "Introduction." In Freedom of Communication; Proceedings of the First Conference on Intellectual Freedom . . . Chicago, American Library Association, 1954, pp. 1-8. B288
§
Bjorseth, Lillian. Turbulence in the Privacy Field. Columbia, Mo., Freedom of Information Center, School of Journalism, University of Missouri, 1964. 7p. (Publication no. 133) B289 §
"In this paper is explained the lack of statutes in this area and the further unrest caused by the entrance of electronic eavesdropping."
Black, Creed C. "On the Way: Standby Censorship." Bulletin of the American Society of Newspaper Editors, 466:1, 4, 1 July 1963. B290
Black, Douglas M. "The Responsibility of Choice: The Publisher's Responsibility." In Freedom of Book Selection; Proceedings of the Second Conference on Intellectual Freedom . . . Chicago, American Library Association, 1954, pp. 67-74. (An adaptation appears in the Antioch Review, December 1953) B291
§
A publisher discusses the publisher's obligation to issue controversial books, illustrating his views from his own publishing experience with Velikovsky's Worlds in Collision, Edmund Wilson's The Memoirs of Hecate County, and the impending publication of Lord Jowett's book on the Hiss trial.
Black, Edwin, and Harry P. Kerr. American Issues: A Sourcebook for Speech Topics. New York, Harcourt, Brace & World, 1961. 243p. B292
Section 5 deals with censorship. Following an introduction, there are reprints of speeches and articles by Leslie G. Moeller and Clark Mollenhoff (freedom of access to information), Fred B. Millett (The Vigilantes), John Fischer and John C. Murray (pros and cons on the National Organization for Decent Literature). Questions that follow (pp. 198-200) relate largely to forensic points.
Black, Forrest R. "Debs v. the United States--a Judicial Milepost on the Road to Absolutism." University of Pennsylvania Law Review, 81:160-75, December 1932. B293
The author contrasts the liberal decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in the Schenck case ("high-water mark" of liberalism in freedom of speech) with the departure from these liberal views (one week later) in the Debs case in order to "get its man." Neither decision went so far as to accept Jefferson's idea as expressed in the Acts of Toleration: "It is time enough for the rightful purpose of civil government for its officers to interfere when principles break into overt acts against peace and order." The author discusses the Debs case in the framework of the evolution of freedom of the press and speech in Anglo-American law.
Black, H. Campbell. "Libel of the Dead." American Law Review, 23:578-87, July 1889. B294
Libel of the dead "is still indictable at the common law in England and it is recognized as a specific offense, by statute in some American states and is indictable in the others unless the common-law rule has been expressly abridged."
Black, Henry T. "Radical Periodicals; Their Place in the Library." Mena, Okla., Commonwealth College, 1937. 12p. mimeo. B295
Four pages of text introduce a selected list of left-wing periodicals. "Radical periodicals cannot be [logically] barred from the library merely because they contain propaganda . . . since 'conservative' and 'reactionary' journals abound in all libraries, if the library itself is to escape being an agency of propaganda, it must provide a more balanced diet." The fact that they are not indexed is not a valid excuse.
Black, Hugo L. "The Bill of Rights." New York University Law Review, 35:865-81, April 1960. B296
In the first annual James Madison lectures, Justice Black discusses the extent to which the Bill of Rights limits the federal government. No superior public interest justifies the abridgment of the Bill of Rights. The First Amendment itself and the interpretation of it by James Madison, who introduced it in Congress is unequivocal. "If the Constitution withdraws from Government all power over subject matter in an area, such as religion, speech, press, assembly, and petition, there is nothing over which authority may be exerted." Justice Black considers the First Amendment "the heart of the Bill of Rights. The Framers balanced its freedom in religion, speech, press, assembly and petition against the needs of a powerful central government, and decided that in those freedoms lies this nation's only true security. They were not afraid for men to be free."
[-------]. "Justice Black and First Amendment 'Absolutes': A Public Interview." New York University Law Review, 37:549-62, June 1962. B297
In an interview by Professor Edmond Cahn of New York University School of Law, Supreme Court Justice Black declares that when the First Amendment states that "Congress shall make no law respecting . . . abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press," it means no law. The intent of the first Amendment was extended to apply to the states by the Fourteenth Amendment. Upon questioning, Justice Black stated he would apply the prohibition to laws relating to personal as well as seditious libel. The latter, he said, consists of prosecuting people who are on the wrong side politically. When asked if he would exclude obscenity in the coverage by the First Amendment he replied that "my view is, without deviation, without exception, without any ifs, buts, or whereases, that freedom of speech means that you shall not do something to people either for the views they have or the views they express or the words they speak or write." He further stated that he does not subscribe to the "clear and present danger" rule.
The Black Dwarf, A London Weekly Publication. London. Edited by Thomas J. Wooler. Vol. 1, no. 1, 29 January 1817 to vol. 12, December 1824. B298 §
A periodical devoted to radical reform, dedicated to the Prince Regent "hoping that he will wake to a full knowledge of Himself, his Ministers, and his People, before it is too late." It was frequently critical of royal and parliamentary acts that abridged freedom of expression. Volume I (1817) contains numerous articles dealing with freedom of the press: (1) Southey, the poet laureate of England is criticized for taking legal measures to suppress his own youthful work, Wat Tyler (no. 9). (2) William Cobbett is accused of "running away" to America in the face of a threat to his liberty (no. 11). (3) The arrest and trial for libel of Editor Wooler, on an "ex officio information," for an article on the right of petition is reported in issues nos. 15, 17, 19, 20, and 23. (4) A series of letters to the editor by "Fabricus," dealing with the law of libel (nos. 23 through 28). (5) Death of the Trial by Jury in Cases of Alleged Libel, an attack on packing of juries by the Office of Master of Crown (no. 45). (6) Progress of Persecution: Approaching Trial of the Editor, including a discussion of the prevailing doctrine that "truth is a libel" and that "the greater the truth, the greater the libel" (no. 47). (7) Mr. Hone's Acquittals (nos. 48 and 49). A list of nineteenth-century English unstamped and radical papers is given in the Cambridge Bibliography of English Literature, vol. 3, pp. 815-18.
"Black Out." Times Literary Supplement, 3193:341, 10 May 1963. B299
Comments on the South African Sabotage Act (1962) which prohibits reporting of any remarks made by a list of about 100 citizens, and the Publications and Entertainments Act.
Blackburn, Anna F. "Recent Decisions on the Extensive and Intensive Aspects of the Guarantee of Free Speech and Free Press." Ohio State Law Journal, 5:89-98, December 1938. B300
A summary of state and municipal court decisions.
Blackmur, R. P. Dirty Hands or the True-Born Censor. Cambridge (Eng.), Minority Press, 1930. 15p. (Minority Pamphlet no. 5; reprinted in Censorship, quarterly report of the Congress for Cultural Freedom, London, Spring 1965) B301
A British literary critic interviews an American customs censor, whose definition of a classic is "a dirty book somebody is trying to get by me."
"Blackout Journalism.'' Columbia Journalism Review, 2(2):5-12, Spring 1963. B302 §
This issue of the journal is devoted to presenting basic data for understanding the New York newspaper strike. It includes a staff report on the extent of the interim news devices, the tenor of the national debate over the strike, and the immediately perceptible effect on the established papers. The issue carries a report on strike negotiations written by A. H. Raskin (pp. 14-27) and an article entitled A Public Policy on a Newspaper Strike by Clayton Knowles and Richard P. Hunt (pp. 28-33). An editorial discusses the implication of the strike on First Amendment freedoms.
Blackstone, Sir William. "Libels; Liberty of the Press." In Blackstone's Commentaries on the Laws of England (1765-1769). Edited by St. George Tucker. Philadelphia, Birch and Small, 1803. Book IV, chap. 11, par. 13, pp. 149-53. (A modern edition of Blackstone was edited by Bernard C. Gavit and published in Washington, D.C., by Washington Law Book Co., 1941. 1040p.) B303
Blackstone's concept of freedom of the press, followed religiously by many eighteenth century English jurists and by some Americans in the early days of the Republic, was narrowly proscribed. "The liberty of the press," he stated, "is indeed essential to the nature of a free state; but this consists in laying no previous restraints upon publications, and not in freedom from censure for criminal matters when published . . . if he publishes what is improper, mischievous, or illegal, he must take the consequences of his own temerity." Utterances, both spoken and written, true or false, which defamed the government, were criminally libelous. The editor of this edition, the eminent Virginia jurist St. George Tucker, gives his own more liberal interpretation in Appendix to vol. 1, pt. 2, Note G, pp. 1-30.
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