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Blackwell, Leslie, and Brian R. Bamford. Newspaper Law of South Africa. Capetown, Juta & Co., 1963. 112p. B304
Includes such restrictions on the freedom of publication as registration and licensing of newspapers, restrictions on court reporting, and laws relating to defamation, indecency and obscenity, sedition, and race relations.
[Blackwood, William]. Report of the Trial by Jury, Professor John Leslie against William Blackwood, for Libel in "Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine." Reported by William Bennet. July 22, l822. Edinburgh, Printed for W. and C. Tait, 1822. 161p. B305
A professor of physics at the University of Edinburgh was awarded damages for libel in an article that accused him of claiming for his own other men's discoveries.
Blades, William. The Enemies of Books. London, Trübner, 1880. 110p. (Revised edition published by Elliot Stock in 1902 in the Book-Lover's Library) B306
A whimsical essay which includes chapters on destruction of books by fire, water, dust and neglect, ignorance and bigotry, bookbinders, collectors, servants, and children. The edition examined, ironically, is printed on such poor paper that a mere turning of the page is enough to crumble it.
Blagden, Cyprian. The Stationers' Company; A History, 1403-1959. London, Allen & Unwin, 1960. 321p. B307
A general account of the history of the agency that played a major role in controlling the production and distribution of books and printing in England during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. References are made to the Company's role in the licensing of printing, the granting of the right of search and seizure of unauthorized printing, the carrying out of various decrees of the government to control printing, and the role of the Company in copyright.
Blair, Ross M. Pennsylvania's "Right to Know" Laws. Columbia, Mo., Freedom of Information Center, School of Journalism, University of Missouri, 1960. 1p. (Publication no. 39) B308 §
Discussion of the Open Meeting Law and the Open Record Law, passed by the Pennsylvania legislature in 1957.
[Blair, Sam C.]. A Judge Favors TV Cameras. Columbia, Mo., Freedom of Information Center, School of Journalism, University of Missouri, 1958. 5p. (Publication no. 2) B309 §
An account of the first television coverage of a murder trial in Missouri, approved by Circuit Judge Sam C. Blair. Includes text of an interview with Judge Blair by KOMU-TV News-Director Phil Berk, in which TV coverage of the trial is discussed.
Blakely, Robert J. "Threats to Books." ALA Bulletin, 46:291-92+, October 1952. B310 §
"Books must be regarded as a symbol of the process of free communication." The author examines the enemies of free communications, then lists four ways in which the library can offer leadership in the field of liberal adult education--ways to combat ignorance, anti-intellectualism, and similar enemies of free communication.
Blakeman, Charles E. Thoughts on Books to Read and Books to Burn. A Compilation in Three Parts, Containing Evidence that Pure Minds and Useful People are Not the Product of the Cheap Trashy Novel. [Hermon?], Calif., 1906. 152p. B311
Blanchard, Florence B., comp. Censorship of Motion Pictures. [Chicago?], General Federation of Women's Clubs, 1919. 24p. B312
The Federation prefers state movie censorship boards to the National Board of Review, an agent of the industry. The compiler, chairman of the Federation's Motion Picture Committee, quotes from movie trade journals to "show the real views of the industry when they talk among themselves." The pamphlet includes a model state censorship bill, lobbying instructions, and advice in setting up a motion picture study program to promote censorship.
Blank, Blanche D. Municipal Regulatory Licensing; a Study of Sixteen American Cities. New York, Columbia University, 1952. 293p. (Ph.D. dissertation, University Microfilms no. 3681) B313
The study concludes with a review of two special licensing problems: censorship and public relations, the former an "unnecessary evil."
Blank, Joseph P. "The Ordeal of John Henry Faulk." Look, 27:80-96a, 7 May 1963. B314
A blacklisted TV performer wins $3,500,000 libel damages against the publishers of Aware and vindication of his reputation in a 6-year court battle. Bulletin 16 of Aware, the publication of a private organization "to combat the Communist conspiracy in entertainment communications," had blacklisted Faulk. This led to his dismissal from CBS and kept him from getting any work in the communication industry. Louis Nizer was the attorney for Faulk. The editors of Look comment: "The guilt for John Henry Faulk's ordeal is shared by all--magazines, newspapers, radio and television, advertising agencies and just plain citizens.
Blanshard, Paul. American Freedom and Catholic Power. Boston, Beacon, 1950. 350p; 2d ed., rev. and enl., 1958. 402p. B315
This controversial study of the American Catholic hierarchy as a pressure group includes a chapter on censorship and boycott relating to books, magazines, radio, and the motion picture. In the Personal Prologue: The Duty to Speak, appearing in the revised edition, the author writes of the efforts to suppress and discredit the first edition of his book, including a New York Times ban on advertisements of the book (later lifted) on grounds that the chapter on birth control was "particularly objectionable since it involved highly controversial matter of a religious nature." The Calendar of Significant Events, 1947-1957, in the revised edition, lists various efforts by the Church at censorship of books and movies.
-------. "The Catholic Church as Censor." Nation, 166:459-64, 1 May 1948; 166: 499-502, 8 May 1948. B316
The first article deals with Catholic censorship of books and magazines, the second article with Catholic motion picture censorship. Blanshard concludes: "No one questions the right of the hierarchy to influence its people in matters of art and literature . . . But the censorship operations of the hierarchy have gone far beyond religion and decency. They have extended into the world of politics, medicine, and historical research, and have impaired the integrity of the media of information which serve non-Catholics as well as Catholics. Most serious of all, the hierarchy has stifled judgment among its own people by refusing them permission to read both sides of important controversies on matters of social policy."
-------. Communism, Democracy and Catholic Power. Boston, Beacon, 1951. 340p. B317
A comparative study of systems of thought control as exercised by the Vatican and the Kremlin, and the relation of each to the American tradition of intellectual freedom.
-------. The Irish and Catholic Power; an American Interpretation. Boston, Beacon, 1953. 375p. B318
A study of Ireland as "The No. 1 exhibit of Roman Catholic power in the English-speaking world." Numerous references to censorship of books, movies, and birth control information.
-------. The Right to Read; the Battle against Censorship. Boston, Beacon, 1955.339p. B319
A survey of censorship as it is practiced in the United States today in the realms of politics, religion, race, sex, education, and crime. Includes essential historical and legal background.
-------. "Roman Catholic Censorship: Movies." Nation, 166:499-502, 8 May 1948. B320
While supporting the Legion of Decency's opposition to pornography, Blanshard charges the organization with being "far more concerned with Catholic dogma and with Catholic social philosophy than with decency."
"Blasphemy." Correspondent, 2:204-6, 21 April 1827. B321
The writer advocates free expression of religious ideas and opposes legal protection from criticism for any specific body of religious thought. The Bible itself, he maintains, is filled with blasphemies.
"Blasphemy." Westminster and Foreign Quarterly Review, 120 (n.s.):1-25, July 1883. B322
A review of six recent publications relating to blasphemy law: James Stephen's, A History of the Criminal Law of England (1883), four reports of the blasphemy trials of G. W. Foote, and a report of the trial of George Bradlaugh. The editor concludes that "these prosecutions are opposed both to the spirit and the interests of Christianity itself" and are contrary to the laws of England.
"Blasphemy and Blasphemous Libels. "Canada Law Journal, 19:183-88, 15 May 1883. B323
A discussion of the British law of blasphemous libel as revealed by the case against Charles Bradlaugh for publication of the Freethinker. Judge Coleridge points out that if attacks on the Christian religion are to be punished criminally because the Christian religion is part of the law of the country, it would be reasonable to punish criminally attacks upon the monarchy, primogeniture, or marriage laws-all part of the fundamental law.
"The Blasphemy Controversy." Spectator, 56:348-49, 17 March 1883. B324
In order to be fair, we should punish the writer who ridicules Christianity only to the extent that we would be willing to punish one who ridicules a non-Christian religion.
Blasphemy Laws; What They Are and Why They Should Be Abolished. London, Committee for the Repeal of the Blasphemy Laws, 1912. 4p. B325
"The Blasphemy Sentence." Spectator, 56:313-14, 10 March 1883. B326
Defense of George W. Foote (Queen v. Foote, Ramsay, et al.), in his conviction for blasphemy in distributing the Christmas number of the Freethinker. The author, while defending the blasphemy laws, objects to the severity of punishment (one year in prison). He also questions the inequity of punishing only for vulgar atheistic expression while allowing refined expression of the same ideas to go free.
Blau, Lois. "The Novel in the High School Library; Censorship or Selection." Wisconsin Library Bulletin, 60: 178-80, May-June 1964. B327 §
Bleackley, Horace W. Life of John Wilkes. London, Lane, l917. 464p. B328
A vindication of Wilkes, whose fame, the author argues, has been "influenced more adversely by political prejudice" than that of most public men. Wilkes is best known today as a symbol for the fight for freedom of the press in eighteenth-century England. R. W. Postgate, in his biography, That Devil Wilkes, rates this work as "incomparably the best" among numerous Wilkes biographies.
Bledsoe, Thomas. "Hierarchy over Hollywood." Protestant, 7:8-1, June-July 1946. B329
"If Roman Catholic domination of censorship continues, the film screens of most of the world will be Hooded with pictures such as Going My Way, The Song of Bernadette, and The Bells of St. Mary's, which glorify priests and the Roman Catholic Church. But even the faintest suggestion of the church's role in support of fascism in Italy and Spain and other countries, or its alignment with the rich and reactionary, as in Mexico, against the people will be entirely suppressed. Also, in the past, when any criticism of organized religion or its representatives is made, Protestants or Jews will bear the brunt of the dubious or villainous roles."
Bleyer, Willard G. "Freedom of the Press and the New Deal." Journalism Quarterly, 11: 22-35, March 1934. B330
-------. Main Currents in the History of American Journalism. Boston, Houghton Mifflin, 1927. 464p. B331
Includes an account of the historical development of freedom of the press and censorship in the United States.
Blied, Benjamin J. "The 'Prisoner of State' and Its Author." Historical Bulletin, 27:81-83, May 1949. B332
The story of Dennis A. Mahony, editor of the Dubuque Herald, and his imprisonment in Washington, D.C., for alleged disloyalty, 1862.
"Blind Guides." Freeman, 7:172, 2 May 1923. B333
An editorial in opposition to the New York censorship bill sponsored by the Clean Books League and critical of the National Association of Book Publishers for not taking a stand against the bill.
Bliven, Bruce. "The Future of Free Speech." In Problems of Journalism; Proceedings of the American Society of Newspaper Editors, 1934. Washington, D.C., ASNE, 1934, pp. 124-31. (Summarized in Quill, June 1936) B334 §
The editor of the New Republic describes three types of self censorship: censorship to please the readers, censorship for reasons of economic profit, and censorship to keep out of trouble. The current economic crisis threatens freedom of the press.
-------, and E. H. Harris. "Should the Government Operate Radio Broadcasting?" Public Utility Fortnightly, 14:747-51, 6 December 1934. B335
Summary of a debate before the Fourth Annual Assembly of the National Advisory Council on Radio in Education, Chicago, 9 October 1934. Bliven was editor of the New Republic; E. H. Harris was chairman of the radio committee of the American Newspaper Publishers' Association.
Blodgett, Virginia J. "Censorship and the Teacher of English." Hoosier School Libraries, 2:16-18, April 1963. B336
"Blood and Rage." Newsweek, 27:100-102, 24 June 1946. B337
A Greenwich Village bookseller was the first to defy attempts to censor Albert C. Hick's biography of Trujillo, Blood in the Streets.
Bloom, Edward A. "Johnson on a Free Press; a Study in Liberty and Subordination." ELH, 16:251-71, December 1949. B338
A study of Samuel Johnson's philosophy of a free press and the basic problem of human liberty upon which it was founded. "At times Johnson appears to be conservative in the matter of a free press to a point little short of reaction. Yet at other times he is almost radical in denouncing violations of liberty. The answer involves no inconsistency by Johnson. Actually he was quite positive in his deference to reasonable authority but as firmly adverse to any acts which, according to his own lights, constituted oppression by that authority."
-------. "Neoclassic 'Paper Wars' for a Free Press." Modern Language Review, 56:481-96, October 1961. B339
A study of the period in England between the expiration of the licensing act in 1694 and the passage of the Fox Libel Act of 1792, a period that "witnessed an unprecedented outpouring of fugitive publications-mainly broadsides and pamphlets-devoted to the subject of a free press."
Bloom, Sigmund L. "Newspaper Advertising--an Interference with a Fair Trial by Jury?" University of Pittsburgh Law Review, 22:601-9, March 1961. B340
Notes on cases involving newspaper advertising which bear on an issue currently before the courts, including the recent case of the Washington Observer, Washington, Pa.
Bloomenthal, Lawrence R. "No Pictures Allowed." American Photography, 33:492-96, July 1939. B341
The right to take pictures of unwilling subjects is still a source of controversy. The author discusses a decision by the Maryland Supreme Court relating to photographing and publishing the pictures of defendants in a criminal trial.
Bloss, Meredith. "For Action." ALA Bulletin, 47:463-64, November 1953. B342 §
An itemized program for positive action by librarians in helping to preserve the freedom to read.
[Blount, Charles]. A Just Vindication of Learning, and of the Liberty of the Press: or, an Humble Address to the High Court of Parliament In behalf of the Liberty of the Press, by Philopatris. London, 1679. 24p. (Reprinted in Harleian Miscellany, vol. 8, pp. 290-300) B343
Blount, a deist and radical Whig, writing under the pseudonym of Philopatris, argues against the continuation of the English licensing act which is about to expire. He recommends liberty of the press as the best cure for ignorance, giving nine arguments against licensing: (1) censorship is the evil creation of the Inquisition, (2) censorship is an affront to learning, (3) it is prejudicial to the book and the author, (4) it vilifies the whole nation, (5) it is a reflection on the church and clergy, (6) it is a dangerous practice for any government, (7) it injures the licensers, (8) we can hardly blame the Mohammedans for their ignorance when we practice the same restrictions, and (9) "licensing and persecution of conscience are two sisters that ever go hand in hand." Sensabaugh, in his That Grand Whig, Milton, shows (pp. 58-61) by parallel text, the striking similarity of idea and phrasing to Milton's Areopagitica. In 1693 A Just Vindication of Learning was ordered to be burnt by the common hangman. Similar action was taken against Blount's Anima Mundi (1673) and his Life of Apollonius Tyaneus (1680). The latter cast doubt on Christian miracles.
[-------]. Reasons Humbly offered for the Liberty of Unlicens¹d Printing. To which is Subjoin'd, The Just and True Character of Edmund Bohun, The Licenser of the Press. In a Letter from a Gentleman in the Country, to a Member of Parliament. London, 1693. 32p. (Signed "J.M.") B344
An attack on the English press licensing system in general and Edmund Bohun, the Surveyor of the Imprimery (censor), in particular. The pamphlet, designed to influence the discontinuance of the licensing act which had been revived in 1685, is based largely upon Milton's Areopagitica, as was Blount's earlier pamphlet, A Just Vindication of Learning (1679). Sensabaugh, in That Grand Whig, Milton shows the similarity between Areopogitica and Reasons Humbly offered by use of parallel texts (pp.155-62). T. Holt White, in his 1819 edition of Areopagitica, terms Blount's pamphlet as "sort of an abridgement of Milton's work," noting that the initials are presumably for John Milton, fellow Whig. While Blount copied from Milton, Locke, in turn, is believed to have been influenced by Blount in drafting the House of Commons document favoring the discontinuance of licensing. Hilgers, in his Der Index der verbotenen Bücher, gives Blount as much credit for ending licensing as Milton and Locke combined. Blount was responsible for getting Bohun dismissed from his job as censor by means of a trick. He presented for licensing a work, King William and Queen Mary Conquerors, which Bohun, failing to recognize as satire, had approved. Reasons Humbly offered is reprinted in Blackburne's Remarks on Johnson's Life of Milton (1780) and in a volume of tracts edited by Francis Maseres in 1809.
Blount, Sir Thomas P. Censura Celebriorum Authorum: sive, Tractatus in quo varia virorum doctorum de clarissimis cujusque seculi scriptoribus judicia traduntur . . . London, Richard Chiswel, 1690. 746p. B345
"It is a bibliographical dictionary of a peculiar kind and may be described as a record of the opinions of the greatest writers of all ages on one another" (DNB). This work deals more with literary criticism than with freedom of the press, but it is the source of much information on censorship of particular works.
Blow, George. "Press Comment on Pending Trials." Virginia Law Review, 38:1057-74, December 1952. B346
"The Blue Pencil." New Statesman (London), 6:57-59, 23 October 1915. (Reprinted in Living Age, 18 December 1915) B347
A lampooning of Britain's wartime press censorship. "If the Press Censorship does not grow more effective, it at least grows more amusing." The author cites examples of blue penciling of Kipling and Browning. "The censorship is justified in throwing as much dust in the eyes of the Germans as it can; it is not justified in stuffing as much cottonwool as it can in the ears of the English . . . The censor must not work in the spirit of a priest overlooking the choice of books in a village free library, but in the spirit of an admiral preventing the leakage of supplies into the hands of the enemy."
"Blue Pencils: 'Strong' Drama Wins over Censorship in New York and Omaha." Literary Digest, 123(22):7, 29 May 1937. B348
New York's Governor Lehman vetoes a theater licensing bill; Methodist Bishop Oxnam defends Idiot's Delight in Omaha.
Blumenfeld, F. Yorick. Regulation of Television. Washington, D.C., Editorial Research Reports, 1959. Editorial Research Reports, 2:953-70 1959) B349 §
Inquiries into network programming and existing controls over broadcasting in the United States and Great Britain. New proposals for regulating television are considered: imposition of programming standards by the FCC, network policing, magazine concept of programs, advisory groups, and reform from within.
Blumenthal, Walter H. "American Broadside Whipt." American Notes Queries, 3:67-68, January 1965. B350
An extraordinary case of the whipping of an offending broadside, Edward Cole's A Letter to A Gentleman in New York, by the "common Whipper" in Milford, Conn., 21 November 1755. The work tended "to beget Ill Will."
Blunden, Edmund C. Leigh Hunt's "Examiner" Examined . . . New York, Harper, 1928. 263p. (Reprinted by Archon Books, Hamden, Conn., 1967) B351
In 1812 John and Leigh Hunt, editors of the London Examiner, were found guilty of libel on the Prince Regent and given prison sentences of two years. In 1821 John was again imprisoned for political libel. The book discusses the trials and gives general consideration of the law of libel and political liberalism.
["Blushing Post Office and the Fine Arts."] Metropolitan Magazine, 39:6, March 1914. B352
An editorial discussing the temporary suspension of the magazine by the New York postmaster for reproducing Paul Manship's Wood Nymph's Dance and Playfulness.
B'nai B'rith. Anti-Defamation League. The Broadcaster's Code. More or Less Free Speech? Chicago, The League, [1939?]. 8p. (Fireside Discussion pamphlet, no. 27) B353
"The Fireside Discussion Group of the Anti-Defamation League presents for open discussion the very controversial issue of the Code recently adopted by the National Association of Broadcasters. This pamphlet . . . is prepared for educational purposes only. There is no intent to influence one side or the other in this controversy."
Boas, Magda van E. "'Naked' and 'Nude' in Art." Sexology, 28:388-91, January 1962. B354
Boaz, Martha T. "ALA's Intellectual Freedom Committee." Wilson Library Bulletin, 39:651, April 1965. B355
The chairman describes the Committee's areas of responsibility-watching for proposed or actual restrictions on authors, books, booksellers, or libraries; seeking ways to give assistance to those involved in abridgment of the Library Bill of Rights; enlisting the support of other groups; seeking support for a legal aid program; and initiating research on the effects of reading.
-------. "Censoring Censorship." Michigan Librarian, 17(3):16-17, October 1951. B356
"In light of the First Amendment to the Constitution, we believe that it is not only desirable, but essential to curb censorship and to promote freedom of speech in order to maintain a free world."
-------. "What to do Before the Censor Comes-and After." Newsletter on Intellectual Freedom. (American Library Association), 14(5):59-60, September 1965. B357 §
These 20 suggestions to librarians who may become involved in censorship cases represent practices and policies which have been tried and found useful in several communities.
"Bobbsey Twins, the Swimming Hole, and Censorship in South Carolina." Southeastern Librarian, 6:87-89, Summer 1956. B358
Bodas, Mahader R. Freedom of the Press in India; Its Origin and Progress. Poona, "Shri Manik Prabhu" Press, 1898. 33p. B359
The author is High Court Pleader in Bombay.
Bode, Carl. "Columbia's Carnal Bed." American Quarterly, 15:52-64, Spring 1963. B360
The author explores the serious and frivolous (generally rare) literature dealing with sex in nineteenth-century America, some of which met with censorship. Among the serious sex works are those of Robert Dale Owen (Moral Physiology), Charles Knowlton (Fruits of Philosophy), Nicholas F. Cooke (Satan in Society), and David G. Croly (The Truth About Love). Bode also gives examples of early American pornography.
Bodwell, Charles S. "Enforcement of the Obscenity Laws." Light, 192:5-7, January-February 1930. B361
A report in this journal of the World Purity Federation, from the secretary of the New England Watch and Ward Society.
Bogart, G. Henri. "One Bane of Prudery." Medicine Times, 31:341-46, February 1912. B362
Censorship of works on sex education and birth control.
Bohun, Edmund. The Diary and Autobiography of Edmund Bohun, Esq., with an Introductory Memoir, Notes, and Illustrations, by S. Wilton Rix. Beccles, Eng., Privately printed by Read Crisp, 1853. 148p. (Edition limited to 150 copies) B363
Bohun was appointed licenser of the press under William and Mary, a position which he found painful and difficult. He held it only five months and was dismissed when he approved Blount's work, King William and Queen Mary Conquerors. Bohun subsequently moved to America where he became chief justice of South Carolina. In his autobiography, Bohun reports in detail on his experience before the House of Commons leading to his dismissal, and on other aspects of his brief career as licenser. The editor provides extensive notes on the licensing system.
Bok, Bart J., Francis Friedman, and Victor Weisskopf. "Security Regulations in the Field of Nuclear Research." Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, 3:321-34+, November 1947. (Reprinted in Summers, Federal Information Controls in Peacetime, pp. 65-71) B364 §
Three physicists evaluate security regulations with respect to the release of scientific and technical data developed by the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission and the effect of these restrictions on research.
Bok, Curtis. "Censorship and the Arts." In Civil Liberties under Attack. Philadelphia, University of Pennsylvania Press, 1951, pp. 107-28. B365
An essay by the Philadelphia judge whose decision in the case of Commonwealth v. Gordon, 1948, has been cited as an example of a mature and sophisticated approach to sex expression in modern literature.
-------. "Censorship through the Open Market Rather than the Police Station." Publishers' Weekly, 157:1885-87, 29 April 1950. (Also separately published by the Philadelphia Book Clinic, 1950. 13p.) B366
An address by a Philadelphia judge at the Fifth Annual Philadelphia Book Show at Franklin Institute. "I believe in the censorship of the open market rather than the police station. No publisher who prints a lot of smut because a ban has been lifted will make much money: actually, it is the ban that keeps the price up-when the market is open the demand seals itself off and the pickings are scarce."
-------. Commonwealth v. Gordon, et al. The Opinion of Judge Bok. New York, Printed for Blanche and Alfred Knopf by Grabhorn Press, 1949. 57p. B367
A famous decision on obscenity which freed the five Philadelphia booksellers arrested in a police raid and brought to trial, 3 January 1947, on charges of violating the Pennsylvania obscenity statutes.
-------. "If We Are to Act Like Free Men . . ." Saturday Review, 37(7):9-10, 56-57, 13 February 1954. B368
In an address at the National Book Award ceremony, the Philadelphia judge who received acclaim in the literary world for his decision in the obscenity case, Commonwealth v. Gordon, speaks of some of the philosophical aspects of law and the First Amendment, noting that abridgment of the right of free speech takes on different shapes, on different occasions, at different times. In recent months the efforts to regulate sound-trucks caused a great outcry, while the ten-day strike which silenced New York newspapers was generally accepted. The present tolerant mood of the courts toward free expression could change if, for example, crime comics could be linked positively with delinquency. The force of custom is more effective than the force of law in applying sanctions on publishing and reading.
[-------]. "Judge Bok Clears the Nine Novels Involved in Pennsylvania Trial." Publishers Weekly, 155: 1512-13, 2 April 1949. B369 §
Summary of the 53-page opinion in Commonwealth v. Gordon, a case involving definition of obscenity in literature. Novels included are by James Farrell, William Faulkner, and Erskine Caldwell.
-------. "This Duty of Freedom." Saturday Review, 36:27-28, 11 July 1953.(Reprinted in Daniels, The Censorship of Books, pp. 36-39; Downs, The First Freedom, pp. 457-60) B370 §
An eloquent plea for freedom of speech and the press: "Above the bare legal right to speak or to read is the courage to use these rights well: to speak clearly, bravely, and accurately, and to read with understanding. On the other side is the right to maintain a lighted silence, and this right must still be fought for."
Boles, Donald E. The Bible, Religion, and the Public Schools. 3d ed. Ames, Ia., Iowa State University Press, 1965. 408p. B371
From one point of view the exclusion of the Bible from the classroom is an effort to separate church and state; from another point of view it represents censorship. This work gives the historical background on the issue and discusses state constitutions, laws, court cases, and attitudes of pressure groups. A list of important court cases and a bibliography are included.
Bolitho, William. "Eyes and Ears of Democracy." Survey, 57:731-33, 1 March 1927. B372
"The modern news press can be killed so easily-but never used." The author draws from experiences in Great Britain during the General Strike, in Italy under dictatorship, and in Europe under wartime control, showing that the press becomes the first victim of a despot.
Bollan, William. The Freedom of Speech and Writing upon Public Affairs Considered, with an Historical View of the Roman Imperial Laws against Libels . . . the Bringing of the Rock into the Tower . . . The Different Treatment of Libels There . . . with Observations on the Proper Use of the Liberty of the Press . . . London, Baker, 1766. 160p. (A 49-page abridgment was published in London in 1772 under the title Essay on the Right of Every Man in a Free State to Speak and Write Freely . . . Excerpts and commentary appear in Levy, Freedom of the Press from Zenger to Jefferson, pp. 83-94) B373
A legal history of suppression of free speech and press, from ancient times to mid-eighteenth century. The author is best known as Massachusetts' colonial agent in London. He criticizes the tyranny of the Star Chamber, the persecutions of the Levellers, and the existing practice of substituting trial by judge for trial by jury. While accepting the general principles of seditious libel, Bollan argues for reforms in procedures-the right of the accused to plead truth as a defense, and the right of juries to judge falsity and malice. The former was recognized in America in the decision of the Zenger trial, the latter was recognized in England by the Fox Libel Act of 1792. Levy (p. 83) calls Bollan's work, "surely the eighteenth century's most learned work in English on the liberty of the press."
Bolte, Charles G. "Security Through Book Burning." Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 300:87-93, July 1955. (Reprinted in Downs, The First Freedom, pp. 242-47) B374 §
A witty and sententious article with numerous quotes from those who approve and those who disapprove of book burning. Lenin is quoted as favoring censorship, a fact "offered free of charge to those who still want proof that any American who favors book burning is guilty of Communism by association." "For us," Bolte writes, "there can be no security through book burning; only the rigid crust of conformity."
[Bonaparte,Charles J.]. Transmission through the Mails of Anarchist Publications . . .Washington, D.C., Govt. Print. Off., 1908. 11p. (Senate Document no. 426, 60th Cong., 1st sess.) B375
The statement of the Attorney General advising President Theodore Roosevelt that "in my opinion, the Postmaster-General will be justified in excluding from the mails any issue of any periodical, otherwise entitled to the privileges of second-class mail matter, which shall contain any article constituting a seditious libel and counseling such crimes as murder, arson, riot, and treason." In transmitting the letter, Roosevelt expresses his intention to act on this advice. "When compared with the suppression of anarchy [Roosevelt writes] every other question sinks into insignificance. The anarchist is the enemy of humanity, the enemy of all mankind, and his is a deeper degree of criminality than any other. No immigrant is allowed to come to our shores if he is an anarchist; and no paper published here or abroad should be permitted circulation in this country if it propagates anarchist opinions." Relates to the suppression of La Questione Sociale of Paterson, N.J.
Bond, Edward. "Censor in Mind." Censorship, 4:9-14, Autumn 1965. B376 §
The author of the play Saved describes his experience with censorship by the Lord Chamberlain. One of the banned scenes is reproduced. "If dramatists were given the new freedom that has finally been given . . . to novelists, there might be a powerful renaissance in the English theatre, a striking assertion of the cultural and moral ability-at a time when it is being said we have to rediscover a national identity."
Bond, Elizabeth M. "Censorship and Your Library." Minnesota Libraries, 17:208-10, September 1953. (Reprinted in Illinois Libraries, May 1966) B377 §
The head of the Reference Department, Minneapolis Public Library, examines the Library Bill of Rights, point by point, explaining what it means, what the implications are, what pressures have been brought to bear by groups, and how such pressures can be met.
Bond, Richmond P., and Katherine K. Weed. Studies of British Newspapers and Periodicals from Their Beginning to 1800. Chapel Hill, University of North Carolina Press, 1946. 233p. B378
A source of bibliographical information on the struggles of early British newspapers.
Bonnard, G. A. "Two Remarks on the Text of Milton's Areopagitica." Review of English Studies, 4:434-38, 1928. B379
Commentary on the accuracy of the various texts. The author believes T. Holt White's text to be more accurate than those edited by John W. Hales and Edward Arbor.
Bonner, Hypatia (Bradlaugh). Charles Bradlaugh, a Record of His Life and Work, by His Daughter, Hypatia Bradlaugh Bonner. With an Account of His Parliamentary Struggle, Politics and Teachings, by John M. Robertson. London, Unwin, 1894. 2 vols. B380 §
Bradlaugh was a British social reformer and advocate of freethought. In 1868 he was brought to trial under the Stamp Act for publication of the National Reformer, and acquitted. Collett, in his History of the Taxes on Knowledge, calls the defense of Mr. Bradlaugh "the most valuable personal contribution ever made to the liberty of the press." Bradlaugh was associated with Annie Besant in the publishing of Charles Knowlton's Fruits of Philosophy, for which they were both brought to trial.
-------. Penalties upon Opinion; or Some Records of the Laws of Heresy and Blasphemy . . . London, Watts, 1912. 113p. B381 §
A résum&@233; of the efforts in England, from the twelfth century to the early twentieth, to challenge the restrictions of church and state against heresy and blasphemy. Includes references to significant state trials and acts of Parliament.
Bonwick, James. Early Struggles of the Australian Press. London, Gordon & Gotch, 1890. 82p. B382
References to early newspaper libel trials, personal confrontations, and difficulties with government officials. Arrangement is by province and then by name of newspaper.
"Booby Trap." Time, 59(10):73-75, 10 March 1952. B383
An account of the problems faced by the American delegation to the UN Conference on Freedom of Information, a project which Delegate Carroll Bender announced had "boomeranged."
"Book Ban Attempted in California; Ministers and Priests of Arcadia." Christian Century, 79:1576, 26 December 1962. B384
An editorial concerning the Arcadia, Calif, council of churches' request to the city council to order the public library board to ban Nikos Kazantzakis' The Last Temptation of Christ. The editor defends the right of people to read and decide for themselves whether or not the book is worthy.
Book Banning. 14 min., b/w movie. New York, Columbia Broadcasting System. (See It Now television program) B385
The story of the woman who conducted a crusade to ban certain works from San Francisco high schools.
"Book Burning: Where U.S. Officials Stand." U.S. News & World Report, 34:37-40, 42, 45-46, 26 June 1953. B386
Text of President Eisenhower's "Don't Join the Book Burners" statement at Dartmouth, 14 June 1953; testimony of James Conant, U.S. High Commissioner for Germany, made under questioning by Senator McCarthy at hearing, 15 June 1953, to the effect that Communist books should not be on the shelves of U.S. information libraries overseas, and McCarthy's retort: "They were not removed till we exposed them." Report of an interview on the same day with Secretary of State Dulles dealing with his Department's policies on "book burning." Text of interview with President Eisenhower two days later, explaining what he meant by his earlier reference to "book burners."
"Book Censorship Condemned as Un-American and Undesirable." Current Opinion, 73:517-18, October 1922. B387
Discussion of proposals for voluntary censorship in America made by John Sumner of the New York vice society. There are quotations from Mr. Sumner and from such opponents of the proposal as George Creel, Booth Tarkington, and Heywood Broun.
"Book Censorship in Ireland." Literary Digest, 100:23, 2 February 1929. B388
George Russell, in the London Spectator, gives the background and some of the provisions of the censorship bill pending in Ireland. "The Irish Free State through the publicity given to its censorship bill, and because of other activities by its moralists, has become, with Tennessee, a butt for the wits of the world."
"Book Censorship in Ireland." Saturday Review (London), 146:262-63, 1 September 1928. B389
"Book Censorship in New Zealand." Bookseller, 3017:1756-59, 19 October 1963. B390
An account of the Indecent Publications Act of 1963, which aroused a storm of controversy within the government and the book trade. Under the Act a tribunal of five appointed members "would appear to have the power to ban any book considered by it to be undesirable and to confiscate stocks."
"Book Censorship in the Air." New Zealand Libraries, 13:118-19, June 1950. B391
Press comment on proposals to modify New Zealand's Customs censorship.
"Book Censorship in the Commonwealth." Author, 71:91-93, Autumn 1960. B392
The article considers obscenity law and administration in Britain, New Zealand (the new Indecent Publications Act), South Africa, and Canada. "At present . . . it seems that the Commonwealth, in its attitude to writers and readers, is considerably less liberal than we are at least trying to be in this country, and less venturesome than America, which has struggled harder than most countries toward an adult standard of literacy."
"Book Censorship Is Reaching Epidemic Proportions." Publishers' Weekly, 163:1058-60, 28 February 1953. B393
A review of recent efforts by local censorship groups to ban books and magazines through extralegal means as an outgrowth of the hearings of the Gathings Committee. References are made to efforts to enact drastic legislation against obscenity. The 30 May 1953 issue reports further censorship efforts in many localities.
"Book Selection or Censorship; Summary of a Panel Discussion Which Took Place at the APLA Conference, May 20, 1960." APLA Bulletin(Atlantic Provinces Library Association), 25:17-22, Fall 1960. B394
The Bookseller. London, J. Whitaker & Sons, 1858-date. Weekly. B395
This organ of the British book trade carries notes and news about book censorship problems at home and abroad.
"Boom or Boycott." Spectator, III:238-39,16 August 1913. B396 §
Relates to the action of the British Circulating Libraries Association's rejection of Hall Caine's The Woman Thou Gavest Me, and Caine's attack on the policies of the Association.
Boone, Ilsley. Evolutionary Psychology . . . Also some information by and about Theodore Schroeder. Stamford, Conn., The Next Century Fund, 1949. 62p. B397
Biographical and testimonial data on a leading proponent of freedom of speech and the press.
-------. On the Non-Obscenity of Nudist Pictures. [Mays Landing, N.J., American Sunbathing Association, 1942]. 4p. (Reprinted from Sunshine & Health, October 1942) B398 §
The executive secretary of the American Sunbathing Association presents the nudist point of view, citing court decisions, with particular reference to the official journal of the Association, Sunshine & Health. He concludes that "such pictures as are illustrative of bona fide nudist publications, whether books or periodicals, cannot fall within scope of the statutes directed against lewd, lascivious, obscene and indecent pictures." He argues that to deny the organization the right to set forth its teachings by use of nude figures would be to deprive it freedom of the press guaranteed by the Constitution. The obscenity law was not intended to be used as a weapon by which a minority social view might be suppressed. An article on censorship and the nudist press by Donald Johnson, appears in the 1961 Eden Annual.
Booth, George F. "The Freedom of the Press." In Worcester Fire Society, One Hundred and Fiftieth Anniversary of the Worcester Fire Society. Worcester, Mass., The Society, 1943, pp. 16-33. B399
The publisher of the Worcester Telegram and Gazette reviews the struggle for a free press in America that took place during the lifetime of the Society. "The freedom of the press is not primarily for the protection of newspapers and other publications; it is for the protection of the rights of the whole people. With the right of free speech, a free press is the greatest protection against tyranny . . . that we, as a people, possess . . . A free press is the organ through which democracy breathes."
Booth, Wayne C. "Censorship and the Values of Fiction." English Journal, 53:155-64, March 1964. B400
A professor of English advises high school English teachers to keep a "freedom portfolio" of arguments to combat censorship. He submits a statement entitled What to Do with a Literary Work before Deciding to Censor It, which he recommends giving to a parent who wants to censor Catcher in the Rye. He argues that a good censor will refuse to draw conclusions on any element of a book taken out of context, but will read the complete work and, in fact, study it as in a classroom situation A good censor should judge the true value of a book as a whole, not by the expressed value or behavior of a single character, which may be repudiated by the author's implied criticism. After analyzing Catcher in the Rye he concludes that it is a moral and important work; by contrast Peyton Place, aside from the sexual offenses, is immoral and shoddy and deserving of contempt.
Borah, William E. Andrew Hamilton. Remarks of Hon. William E. Borah of Idaho in the Senate of the United States, Monday, January 15 . . . 1934. Inscription on Tablet to Commemorate the Distinguished Public Service of Andrew Hamilton; also Address of Harry Weinberger, Chairman of Tablet Committee . . . Washington, D.C., 1934. 7p. B401
Hamilton was the defense attorney in the celebrated John Peter Zenger libel case.
-------. "Censorship Heavier Than Russian Muzzle: Senator Borah Characterized the Espionage Bill; Senator Cummins in Voicing his Opposition, Criticises President Wilson." New York Times Magazine, 29 April 1917, p. 2-3. B402
-------. "Free Speech for Free Americans." Christian Century, 52(18):570, 1 March 1935. B403
"The great problem of representative government, as I see it, is not alone that of coping with those who openly advocate the destruction of representative government, but rather how to deal with the forces--economical and political --which grow restless and sometimes defiant under the restraint of law." It is a libel on the American people to assume that so considerable a number are susceptible to infection by foreign "isms" that they need to be watched, protected, and controlled. Loyalty means "loyalty of the government to the people just as much as it means loyalty of the people to the government." Extracts from an address before the American Society of Newspaper Editors.
Boroson, Warren. " 'Introduction' to 'Some Thoughts on the Science of Onanism' by Mark Twain." Fact, 9(2):19-21, March-April 1964. B404
§
"Suppressed since 1879, a minor masterpiece by America's greatest humorist is here published for the first time . . . In the entire history of bawdy literature, perhaps no work has been the subject of such high-handed suppression and such shamefaced secrecy."
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