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La Barre, Weston. "Obscenity: an Anthropological Appraisal." Law and Contemporary Problems, 20:533-43, Autumn 1955. L1 §
"This discussion has attempted to show, through comparative examples, the anthropological relativity of obscenity, whether in words, artistic representations, nudity of various parts of the body, or publicly prohibited acts." This article is part of a series on Obscenity and the Arts.
"Labelling, Another Form of Thought Control." New Zealand Libraries, 15:17-18, January-February 1952. L2 §
Lacy, Dan M. [Censorship and Freedom]. Address at Session on Censorship and Freedom, 1960 Biennial Conference of American Civil Liberties Union. [New York, ACLU, 1960]. 30p. mimeo. L3
The managing director of the American Book Publishers Council covers the broad field of the government and freedom of communications, including censorship in the realm of subversive literature and obscenity (discussion of Roth v. U.S.), freedom and secrecy of government information, the government's role as buyer and purveyor of books, and the relationship of government to the communications system in the United States through policies of the FCC, antitrust laws, postal rates, and copyright.
-------. "Censorship and Obscenity." ALA Bulletin, 59:471-76, June 1965. L4 §
Unlike seditious and heretical work, objected to because they may lead to an illegal or undesirable action, blasphemy and obscenity are considered as offenses in themselves. The intensity of objection to verbal and pictorial reference to sex arises from the fact that "in no other area of human life does society attempt to exercise a control so rigorous over an appetite so imperative." Such intensity is paralleled only in reaction against communism or racial integration--"the other two foci of censorship." Lacy charges librarians with responsibility not only for defending their own rights to acquire and circulate material but to provide community leadership in opposing censorship.
-------. Freedom and Books. Address to the Georgia Library Association, 24 October 1953. New York, American Book Publishers Council, 1953. 12p. mimeo. (Reprinted in Nieman Reports, January 1954; excerpts in Daniels, Censorship of Books, pp. 155-59) L5
The importance in a democracy of the freedom to write and read. Advice to librarians for withstanding the pressure of censorship.
-------. "Freedom and Books." Southeastern Librarian, 4:14-26, Spring 1954. L6
A review of recent efforts in the United States to ban books that describe sexual experience in detail. Censorship takes three forms: state or municipal commissions, police lists, and unofficial committees. In attempting to combat pornography without resort to court action, these groups are likely to interfere with legitimate books. Personal views and prejudices of the individuals or groups may become the standards employed. Publishers object to a code of self-regulation because the real pornographers would not join and because the code, in itself, would be an act of censorship. Librarians are under pressure from unofficial groups to exclude books that are obscene, that deal favorably with the United Nations, or whose authors are suspected of left-wing association. They are also criticized for not having books with the point of view of the complainants.
-------. Freedom and Communications. Urbana, University of Illinois Press, 1961. 63p. (7th annual Windsor Lectures) (2d ed., 1965. 108p.) L7
The author looks at the whole system of communications--books, newspapers, magazines, radio, television, films, schools, and libraries--noting the great technical changes and the growing demands placed upon the agencies of communications. He also notes serious weaknesses in the communications system, such as the failure to achieve wide enough distribution of knowledge and the tendency for uniformity and oversimplification. He calls for a reassessment of public policy in the area in which the communications industry operates.
-------. "Freedom of the Press." Religion in Life, 30:7-16, Winter 1960-61. L8
Christian concern with freedom of the press must include opposition to extralegal censorship, encouragement of the press to give a fair voice to minority views, concern with legislation affecting broadcasting, support of the schools as a free forum of wide-ranging views, and support of school and public libraries. The Church should resist well-intentioned but hysterical efforts to set up committees outside the law to attack textbooks, purge newsstands, ban books from libraries, or exert pressures on newspapers.
-------. "Obscenity and Censorship." Christian Century, 77:540-43, 4 May 1960. L9
The author examines the charge that dissemination of pornographic materials in the United States has reached dangerous proportions. He discusses four categories of sex literature: hard-core pornography, borderline "girlie" magazines, frank fiction, and scientific sexual works. He finds little evidence that the relative importance of hard-core pornography has grown greatly or that there is any cause for hysteria. Few psychologists see sex literature as a major cause of juvenile delinquency; such literature reflects rather than influences moral standards.
-------. On Obscenity and Censorship. Columbia, Mo., Freedom of Information Center, School of Journalism, University of Missouri, 1960. 10p. (Publication no. 38) L10 §
An address at the 1960 biennial conference of the American Civil Liberties Union. Lacy considers the problem of the government as censor--the moderate censorship of Customs, the "almost furtively administered" Foreign Agents Registration Act as it pertains to mailing of political propaganda, and the Post Office Department's action against obscene publications. He recommends that the ACLU, in light of the Roth decision, concern itself with defending only those publications having some slight "redeeming social importance." He notes the growing trend toward secrecy in government affairs and in the control of information derived from government-sponsored scientific research. Another area of government control is in the selection of textbooks for schools. Since the only feasible way for tens of millions of Americans to get books is through public libraries, there must be freedom of library book selection. He sees a reduction in threats to libraries. Finally, he considers the government's role in influencing the economic circumstances in which the media of communications operate.
-------. "A Self-Policing Code for Book Publishing?" Publishers' Weekly, 177:48-50, 8 February 1960. (Also issued as a separate pamphlet by the American Book Publishers Council) L11
Testimony before the U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on Postal Operations in opposition to a publishing industry code or reviewing authority which he believes would be "a grave, indeed an intolerable, mistake. . . Any 'code' that forecloses discussion of specified themes or situations, or predetermines the attitudes to be taken toward them, or defines in advance the language that may be used in describing them, or otherwise prescribes for an author what parts of life he may deal with and in what ways he may deal with them--though it will not outwit the evil-mindedwill by that much limit the freedom of the writer of integrity . . . I hope . . . that the day will never come in this country when books are not free to challenge and attack, to shock and offend, to call established institutions and traditional thinking into question, to confront complacency with impudence and to test with the weapons of ridicule and satire."
-------. "Should the Book Publishing Industry Set up a Self-Policing Program?" American Scholar, 29: 407-8+, Summer 1960. L12 §
The author is opposed to a code for book publishing.
-------, and George P. Thomson. "Censorship." In Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1959. vol. 5, pp. 117-21. L13 §
Historical development of censorship in the United States and Great Britain, including actions by customs and postal authorities and censorship of motion pictures, radio, and television. Special attention is given to wartime restrictions.
Lacy, George. Liberty and Law: Being an Attempt at the Refutation of the Individualism of Mr. Herbert Spencer and the Political Economists; an Exposition of Natural Rights, and of the Principles of Justice, and of Socialism and a Demonstration of the Worthlessness of the Supposed Dogmas of Orthodox Political Economy. London, Sonnenschein, Lowrey, 1880. 377 p. L14
Chapter 10 deals with Liberty of the Press and Freedom of Speech. The author opposes unabridged freedom of expression.
Ladas, Stephen P. The International Protection of Literary and Artistic Property. New York, Macmillan, 1938. 2 vols. (Harvard Studies in International Law, no. 3) L15
Vol. 1, International Copyright and Inter-American Copyright. Vol. 2, Copyright in the United States of America and Summary of Copyright Law in Various Countries.
Lader, Lawrence. The Margaret Sanger Story and the Fight for Birth Control. New York, Doubleday, 1955. 352p. L16
"In 1912, when she launched her crusade for birth control, to print a pamphlet on the subject or to open a birth control clinic was a serious crime." Mrs. Sanger battled the police and the vice societies and frequently went to prison in defiance of the Comstock law, which classified all information on contraception as pornography.
"Lady Chatterley: Judged by Her Peers." Economist, 197:1215-16, 17 December 1960. L17
Editorial on the debate in the House of Lords on a motion to ban for all time not only Lady Chatterley but all the writings of D. H. Lawrence or any other writer of books of a similar nature.
"Lady Chatterley: Turn Up for the Book." Economist, 197:536, 5 November 1960. L18
Editorial on the trial of Lady Chatterley's Lover under the Obscene Publications Act and the acquittal of the publisher, Penguin Books.
"Lady Chatterley's Lover: Printers' Censorship?" Economist, 195:518, 7 May 1960. L19
An unexpurgated Penguin edition was postponed because printers declined to set it in type, presumably through fear of legal action.
La Follette, Robert M. "People Demand a Free Press." La Follette's Magazine, 12:161, November 1920. L20
In a front page editorial La Follette charges that education is of little avail so long as the "sources of current news are poisoned and editorial comment controlled by sordid and mercenary influences . . . It is doubtful if the American people can ever emancipate themselves from the merciless exploitation of the colossal monopoly which controls markets and prices, until they shall establish a free and independent press."
Laidler, Harry W. Boycotts and the Labor Struggle; Economic and Legal Aspects . . . with an Introduction by Henry R. Seeger. London, Lane, 1914. 488p. L21
Includes a discussion of press control in labor conflicts and "conspiracy" charges as a means of suppressing boycott propaganda. The author affirms that boycott notices are protected as a part of freedom of the press.
Lake, Albert C. "Pursuing a Policy." Library Journal, 90:2491-94, 1 June 1965. L22 §
In advocating a written policy in public library book selection, the author states, "I am not only concerned with its effectiveness in improving the quality of library collections but also in its use as a defense against outside pressures." Despite the official position of the profession on intellectual freedom as expressed in the Library Bill of Rights and the articulate position of the library press, there is a lack of unanimity among librarians on the relative importance of intellectual freedom as a library problem. He calls for "rational debate in the library profession with the widest possible participation, not necessarily to achieve a consensus but rather to bring about a greater understanding of the issues involved."
Lamar, William H. "The Government's Attitude toward the Press." Forum, 59:129-40, February 1918. L23
The solicitor of the Post Office Department interprets that agency's ruling with respect to the Trading with the Enemy and Espionage Acts.
Lamb, Edward. No Lamb for Slaughter. New York, Harcourt, Brace & World, 1963. 248p. L24
An American financier describes (chapters 10 through 13) his four-year ordeal in clearing himself of false charges of being a Communist. The charges were levied against him by the Federal Communications Commission and sustained by a parade of hired witnesses when he attempted to renew his radio and television licenses. When Lamb was cleared by the Commission in 1957, TV Digest wrote: "It is clear now that the Lamb case was conceived by an inept and fumbling Commission which bowed to pressures of the times when communist hysteria was at its peak." Former Attorney-General Howard McGrath served as defense attorney; Senator Estes Kefauver wrote the foreword to the book.
-------. Trial by Battle: The Case History of a Washington Witch Hunt. Santa Barbara, Calif., Center for the Study of Democratic Institutions, 1964. 24p. (Occasional Paper on the Free Society) L25
A revised version of the section of Lamb's autobiography, No Lamb for Slaughter, dealing with the melodramatic trial in which Lamb was forced to defend himself against charges of being a Communist in order to renew his radio and television licenses. In an introduction, Harry S. Ashmore, of the Arkansas Gazette, notes that "many of the hired character assassins employed by the federal government in the trial went off the federal payroll only to find similar employment with official agencies of the Southern states." The Lamb case is the lineal antecedent of the 1964 favorable ruling on the Pacifica Foundation broadcasting licenses, the text of which is given as an appendix. The ruling stated in part: "We recognize that as shown by the complaints here that provocative programming as here involved may offend some listeners. But this does not mean that those offended have the right, through the Commission's licensing power, to rule such programming off the airwaves . . . No such drastic curtailment can be countenanced under the Constitution, the Communications Act, or the Commission's policy, which has consistently sought to insure the maintenance of radio and television as a medium of freedom of speech and freedom of expression for the people of the Nation as a whole."
[Lambert, John]. The Case of Libel, the King v. John Lambert and Others, Printer and Proprietors of the Morning Chronicle: With the Arguments of Counsel, and Decision of the Court . . . London, Printed for J. Debrett, 1794. 68 p. (Also in Borrow, Celebrated Trials, vol. 6, pp. 69-85 and Erskine, Speeches, vol. 2, pp. 371-453) L26
Lambert, the printer, and James Perry, the editor, were tried before Lord Kenyon for a libel against the king. Thomas Erskine delivered a notable speech for the defense and Perry spoke in his own behalf. The jury delivered a verdict of "guilty of publishing, but with no malicious intent." When Lord Kenyon refused to accept this as a verdict the jury found the defendants "not guilty." A New York edition, including the trial of William Cobbett, was published by D. C. & P. Burkloe in 1810.
Lambert, Richard S. The Cobbett of the West. A Study of Thomas Latimer and the Struggle between Pulpit and Press at Exeter. London, Nicholson and Watson, 1939. 254p. L27
The story of Thomas Latimer, editor of the Western Times, Exeter, England. A lifelong champion of liberal causes and freedom of the press, he was prosecuted for libel on several occasions, once by the militant Bishop of Exeter. In this case, which involved the right of the press to criticize the pulpit, Latimer was acquitted after a distinguished defense by Alexander Cockburn. The verdict was widely acclaimed by the English press.
Lamm, Richard. "Constitutionality of Local Ordinance Prohibiting Distribution and Sale of 'Crime Comic' Books. Katzev v. County of Los Angeles (Cal. 1959)." California Law Review, 48:145-51, March 1960. L28
Lamont, Corliss. Freedom Is as Freedom Does; Civil Liberties Today. New York, Horizon, 1956. 340p. L29
In a chapter, entitled The Drive Against Cultural Freedom, Lamont summarizes the attacks made by government and private groups during the last decade to curb expression in art, literature, science, and religion. He refers to attacks on such movies as Pinky, The Birth of a Nation, The Moon Is Blue, Oliver Twist, and The Miracle, the blacklisting of radio and television performers, and the controversy in Detroit over the art work of Diego Rivera. He also refers to the book-burning in State Department overseas libraries during the McCarthy era and the various Post-Office actions against "subversive" publications.
Lamont, William A. Marginal Prynne, 1600-1669. London, Routledge and Paul, 1963. 250p. (Studies in Political History) L30
A new study of the public life of this prolific Puritan pamphleteer, who suffered torture and imprisonment for defying the authorities in his writings. Based largely on a study of Prynne's pamphlets and the vast amount of literature that surrounds them.
Lamoreux, Stephen, comp., The Right of Privacy--A Bibliography: 1890-1961. Pullman, Wash., Washington State University Press, 1963. 54p. mimeo. L31 §
An annotated listing of books, pamphlets, and articles covering various phases of the right of privacy, prefaced by an essay on the subject. Includes numerous brief or specialized articles not listed in this bibliography.
Lander, Byron G. "Stillness in Lincoln, Illinois." Focus/Midwest, 2:10-11, May 1963. L32 §
"College officials [Lincoln College] sided and abetted the local news media in suppression of the news so that they could quietly dismiss an instructor whose views differed from those of donors of the college."
Landis, James M. "Freedom of Speech and of the Press." Encyclopaedia of the Social Sciences. New York, Macmillan, 1931. vol. 6, pp. 455-59. L33 §
Landis, Simon M. A Full Account of the Trial of Simon M. Landis, M.D., for Uttering and Publishing a Book Entitled "Secrets of Generation." Phonographically Reported by C. R. Morgan, M.D. Philadelphia, The First Progressive Christian Church, 1870. 76p. L34
The case of Commonwealth v. Landis, Philadelphia, 1870. Dr. Landis, a minister and physician, was charged with having published a sex education book that was "lewd, filthy, and corrupt." Despite able counsel, a verdict against the defendant was assured when Judge William S. Pierce refused to allow fellow physicians to offer testimony of the medical truth or value of the book. A new trial was refused and the maximum sentence imposed--$500 fine and one year in prison.
Landon, Perceval. "War Correspondents and the Censorship." Nineteenth Century, 52:327-37, August 1902. L35
"The present article will attempt to indicate some of the conditions under which correspondents work on active service, and a rough scheme for securing the ends of both the censor and the censored will be suggested, though it is the opinion of the writer that the true course is rather to exercise care in the appointment of censors and in the original formation of the corps of correspondents than to hamper the latter with irritating restrictions afterwards."
Landor, Ronald A. "The Fallacy of 'Balance' in Public Library Book Selection." Library Journal, 91:629-32, 1 February 1966. L36
"A sane community is one that seeks to identify its real problems and to discuss them rationally. The public library is more likely to be helpful in this quest if its materials are selected according to criteria of excellence and not by a balancing act." Irresponsible, badly written political writings have no more place on the shelves of the public library than does hard-core pornography.
Landry, Robert J. "Radio and Government." Public Opinion Quarterly, 2:557-69, October 1938. L37
"In conclusion, we find that commercial broadcasting criticizes the FCC for being too harsh. Pressure groups to the contrary declare it is not strict enough."
Lane, Tamar. What's Wrong with the Movies? Los Angeles, Waverly, 1923. 254p. L38
Contains a chapter on movie censorship.
Lang, Andrew. "The Evolution of Literary Decency." Book Lover, 2(5):1-5, Autumn 1900. L39
The author attributes the rise in prudishness in English fiction, which had once been robust and bawdy, to the rise in the readership of the middle class, particularly of women, and to the moral revolution of the Wesleyan movement.
Lang, Fritz. "Freedom of the Screen." Theatre Arts, 31:52-55, December 1947 L40
A Hollywood film producer with experience under the Nazis is critical of all censorship, but censorship of the movies in particular. "The way of real security and progress lies neither in the blind acceptance nor in the indiscriminate rejection of new ideas; they must be scrutinized, tested, and, if found of value, adopted. The censor would deny us the right to examine what is new." Censorship never cured a social evil. It is sheer hypocrisy to suppose that those who serve as censors are wiser or more mature than those whom they strive to protect. Children, evidence shows, absorb from pictures what they have already learned from their environment. While recognizing that some self-censorship of the movie industry may be necessary, it should be flexible and sensitive to changes in public understanding and taste.
Lang, George. "Free Press and Religious Freedom." Vital Speeches, 5:693-99, 1 September 1939. L41
"A free press is at one with the Christian religion in affirming the dignity and worth of the plain man. It is also obvious that a free press is at one with those who affirm the service of reason to promote human welfare."
Langford, John A. Prison Books and Their Authors. London, W. Tegg, 1861. 357p. L42
Contents: Boethus, Earl of Surrey, Cervantes, Walter Raleigh, Robert Southwell, George Withers, Lovelace, Bunyan, Dr. Dodd, James Montgomery, Leigh Hunt, and Thomas Cooper.
Lanning, R. J. "German Periodicals and Canadian Censorship; An Interim Report." Pacific Northwest Library Association Quarterly, 4:47-48, January 1940. L43
Discusses Canadian censorship of German periodicals during World War II under the Trading with the Enemy Act.
"Lantern Bearers; Censorship and the National Board." Survey, 35:9-14, 2 October 1915. L44
Censorship of the movies in the early days of the industry.
La Palombara, Joseph. "Is the Press Too Free?" Pacific Spectator, 7:51-60, Winter 1953. L45
American newspapers are operating in twentieth-century society with a nineteenth-century concept of press freedom. The newspaper publisher often considers his paper as private property, immune from private or government interference. The author recommends vigorous application of the antitrust laws to newspapers, a legal compulsion to publish a reply or to correct erroneous statements, the creation of trusteeship newspapers such as the London Times, and, as a last resort, the establishment of municipally owned newspapers for those cities with a newspaper monopoly.
Lapica, Ray. "The FCC: Protector or Censor?" Southern California Law Review, 38:634-66, Summer 1965. L46
"The FM program-splitting rule seems to be a questionable extension of FCC control, for it seeks to accomplish through government regulation what economic pressure will gradually solve."
Laprade, William T. "The Freedom of the Press: an Outworn Shibboleth?" South Atlantic Quarterly, 35:212-19, April 1936. L47
The author reconsiders the question of freedom of the press in light of the change in the character of the daily newspaper from that familiar to the controversialists of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries and the framers of the Constitution to the modern daily newspaper and its publisher who has become a merchandising capitalist. "The monopolistic character of the enterprise of gathering and dispensing news and current comment and its profound influence of the material thus dispensed in shaping mass emotions certainly raise the question whether a publisher chiefly interested in earning profit is the most suitable trustee of this undertaking?"
Lardner, John. "Let 'em Eat Newspapers." Newsweek, 45:92, 14 March 1955; 45:95, 21 March 1955. L48
An exposé of widespread police censorship in Detroit and the work of Inspector Herbert W. Case. Action was taken against works of Hemingway, Farrell, Dos Passos, Salinger, Havelock Ellis, and Hans Christian Anderson. The obscenity list, known as the "Detroit Line," is compiled each month by Inspector Case.
Larned, J. N. "Improper Books." Library Journal, 20:35, Denver Conference of Librarians, 1895. L49
"It is important that every possible effort should be made, in the management of a public library, to avoid the appearance of an assumption of arbitrary censorship over the literature supplied to its readers." The attitude of the library toward questionable books is one that "will cast responsibility for the possession and use of them, as far as may be, on the public for whom the library is maintained." Comments of the superintendent of the Buffalo Public Library in one of a series of papers on undesirable books in public libraries.
Larrabee, Eric. "The Cultural Context of Sex Censorship." Law and Contemporary Problems, 20:672-88, Autumn 1955. (Reprinted in Downs, The First Freedom, pp. 193-201) L50 §
Based in part on the author's paper on Morality and Obscenity in the American Library Association's Freedom of Book Selection. Larrabee observes "the universal human inability to draw a sharp line between lust and love."
-------. "Morality and Obscenity." In Freedom of Book Selection; Proceedings of the Second Conference on Intellectual Freedom . . . Chicago, American Library Association, 1954, pp. 23-41. L51 §
-------. "Pornography Is Not Enough." In his The Self-Conscious Society. New York, Doubleday, 1960, pp. 99-118. (Also in Harper's Magazine, November 1960) L52 §
A review of the struggle between the literati and the Philistines over censorship of sex expression. "The true obscenities of American life," according to Larrabee, "lie in our vicious consumption of human suffering, in virtually every form and medium. By comparison, the literature of sexual love would seem vastly to be preferred. The only real question is whether pornography is enough, whether literature alone can do the trick, and whether the tentative liberties now allotted to a handful of authors will undo the damage of over a century of censorship before another puritan cycle begins." This chapter originated in a speech published in the American Library Association's Freedom of Book Selection, 1954.
Larsen, Samuel J. "The Stroke of the Blue Pencil." Catholic Digest, 20(11):72-75, September 1956. (Condensed from the Home Messenger, August 1955) L53
While most objections to censorship come from those who wish to produce something really censorable, some objections are well taken. The censor has sometimes blundered and banned a work of art, e.g., Shaw's Mrs. Warren's Profession. The most damaging thing that can be said of censors is that they ignore artistic expression. "About 75% of the films rated as 'morally unobjectionable,' might also be listed as 'morally inane.'"
Larson, Cedric. "The British Ministry of Information." Public Opinion Quarterly, 5:412-31, Fall 1941. L54
An account of the early and often hectic years of the agency established in Great Britain to counteract Nazi propaganda efforts.
-------. "Censorship of Army News During the World War, 1917-1918." Journalism Quarterly, 17:313-23, December 1940. L55
-------, and James R. Mock. "The Lost Files of the Creel Committee of 1917-19." Public Opinion Quarterly, 3:5-29, January 1939. L56
In the course of writing a book on the Committee on Public Information (Creel Committee) in World War I, the authors discovered in the basement of a War Department building a Committee file that had lain forgotten and untouched for 20 years. The article is based on information revealed by the documents. Some documents are reproduced in print or facsimile.
Larson, Lorentz. "Censur och lagstiftning mot mindelvärdig litteratur." Skolbiblioteket, 3:70-73, 1957. L57
A review of legislation against objectionable comics and "inferior literature" in Great Britain, Germany, Austria, and France.
Lasch, Robert. "For a Free Press." Atlantic Monthly, 174:39-44, July 1944. (Reprinted in S. S. Morgan, Opinions and Attitudes in the Twentieth Century, pp. 472-83. L58
An editorial writer on the Chicago Sun has written this prize-winning essay on freedom of the press in which he charges irresponsible editorial control as a major obstacle to a free press.
-------. "A Real Threat to Freedom." Nieman Reports, 1(3):7-8, July 1947. L59
If the Associated Press decision handed down by the U.S. Supreme Court is undone by House Resolution 110, protection from press monopoly is removed.
Lasker, Albert D. "Freedom of Advertising and a Free Press." Vital Speeches, 1:27-32, 8 October 1934. L60
"No more vicious calumny has ever been put forth than the suspicion that the press in any major or important way can be influenced editorially by the advertising patrons." A free press is possible in America because of its advertisers. "End free advertising and you will largely end a free press such as we have known." Address of the chairman of the board of Lord & Taylor before a Conference on Retail Distribution.
Lasker, Edward. "Censorship of Motion Pictures Pursuant to Recent Supreme Court Decisions." UCLA Law Review, 1:582-92, June 1954. L61
Laski, Harold J. "Civil Liberties in Great Britain in Wartime." Bill of Rights Review, 2:243-51, Summer 1942. L62
Includes a discussion of the powers and operation of the British Home Secretary, under Regulation 2D, to suppress objectionable publications.
-------. Freedom of the Press in Wartime. London, National Council for Civil Liberties, 1941. 16p. L63
The intellectual leader of the left wing of Britain's Labour Party criticizes the action of the Ministry of Information in the wartime suppression of the Daily Worker and the Week. Laski prefers that the government issue a warning and require the editor to offer proof that his intentions were not subversive.
-------. Laski v. Newark Advertiser Co., Ltd. & Parlby, before Lord Goddard, Lord Chief Justice of England and a Special Jury. London, Daily Express, [1947]. 398p. L64
The well-known political scientist and leader in the Labour Party brought action against the newspaper for a statement quoting Laski as declaring that if the policy of the Labour Party should not be put into effect by constitutional means, he advocated "revolution by violence." The jury found that the newspaper report was fair and accurate and judgment was given for the defendants.
-------. "Sedition: The Case of the Daily Worker." New Statesman and Nation, 2:743, 12 December 1931. L65
The recent convictions of the printers and journalists connected with the Daily Worker for incitement of the armed forces of the Crown to mutiny prompts the author to a criticism of the Seditious Libels Act. He recommends the interpretation of the sedition laws given by American Justice Holmes in the Abrams case.
Laski, Marghanita. "Obscene Literature." New Statesman, 47:634, 15 May 1954. Discussion, 47:664, 22 May 1954; 47:700, 29 May 1954; 47:733, 5 June 1954; 48:44, 10 July 1954. L66
In a letter to the editor the writer challenges some of the thinking about corruption by literature. For example, she points out, 5,000,000 copies of a particularly corrupting series have been sold. At 2 readers per copy, "this means that one-fifth of the population is already corrupt." No corrupted young person has ever been offered in evidence. Miss Laski is answered by several correspondents, including S. D. Francis in the 29 May 1954 issue.
Lasswell, Harold D. "Atmosphere of Censorship." In California. University. School of Librarianship. Climate of Book Selection. Berkeley, The School, 1959, pp. 41-49. L67
-------. "Censorship." In Encyclopaedia of the Social Sciences. New York, Macmillan, 1931. vol. 30, pp. 290-94. L68
A discussion of the concept of censorship from the earliest times to the present day, with selected examples.
-------. "Politics and Subversion." In Freedom of Book Selection; Proceedings of the Second Conference on Intellectual Freedom . . . Chicago, American Library Association, 1954, pp. 42-55. L69 §
"The continuing study of national security problems calls for self-knowledge, knowledge of the Soviets, knowledge of the peoples in between."
-------. "Propaganda and Mass Insecurity" Psychiatry, 13:283-99, August 1950. (Reprinted in Stanton and Perry, Personality and Political Crisis) L70
A discussion of interrelations among propaganda, mass insecurity, censorship, totalitarianism, individual freedom, and national security.
-------, Ralph D. Casey, and Bruce L. Smith. Propaganda and Promotional Activities: An Annoted Bibliography. Minneapolis, University of Minnesota Press, 1935. 450p. L71
This volume, together with a continuation of the work by Smith, Lasswell, and Casey, Propaganda, Communication, and Public Opinion, represents a comprehensive bibliographic coverage of propaganda literature. A section on censorship is given on pp. 382-401.
Lathrop, Charles N. The Motion Picture Problem. New York, Federal Council of Churches of Christ in America, Commission on Church and Social Service, 1922. 51p. (Excerpts on Control of the Motion Pictures in Rutland, State Censorship of Motion Pictures, pp. 146-62) L72
An objective discussion of various proposals for improvement of the moral quality of movies: the "thirteen points" for regulating standards of films, set up by the National Board of Review; arguments pro and con on state regulatory boards and provisions of the five laws in operation (Maryland, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Kansas, and New York); and proposals for federal licensing of producers to do business through interstate commerce. The author is inclined to favor some form of general business licensing, rather than censorship boards, which would place responsibility upon the industry rather than the government.
Laud, William. The History of the Troubles and Tryal of the Most Reverend Father in God, and Blessed Martyr, William Laud, Lord Archbishop of Canterbury. Wrote by Himself, during his Imprisonment in the Tower. . . . London, Printed for Ri Chiswell, 1695. 616p. L73
Under the Long Parliament, Archibishop Laud was brought to trial on charges of high treason for his conduct of the licensing of books. The enemies he had made among the Puritans (especially William Prynne) by his Star Chamber proceedings now returned to persecute him with a vengeance. Laud was found guilty of more serious charges and was hanged. His chaplain and licenser was required to make public recantation from the pulpit of the errors of his judgment on printing.
-------. A Speech Delivered in the Starr Chamber, on Wednesday, The XIVth of June, MDCXXXVII. At The Censvre, of John Bastwick, Henry Burton, & William Prinn; Concerning pretended Innovations In the Church. London, Richard Badger, 1637. 77p. L74
The Archbishop of Canterbury, an arch enemy of the freedom of the press, especially when it involved the Puritans, delivered this speech praising the king and members of the Star Chamber and vilifying the defendants and their theology. Prynne and the others were shorn of their ears and sentenced to life imprisonment. The king ordered the printing and distribution of Laud's speech but it was generally received with bitterness.
Laugesen, Richard W. "Freedom of Speech and Press--Anonymous Communication." Dicta, 37:384-88, November-December 1960. L75
Notes on the anonymous handbill case, Tally v. California, 1960.
[Laughing Horse]. "Symposium of Criticism, Comment, and Opinion on the Subject of Censorship." Laughing Horse (Taos, New Mexico), no. 17, February 1930. 32p. (Willard Johnson, editor) L76
In response to Editor Johnson's request for comments on Senator Bronson Cutting's fight in the U.S. Senate against Customs censorship, a group of prominent literary and public figures express their opinions. Brief but cogent and often witty comments from Carl Sandburg, Maxwell E. Perkins, Edward C. Aswell, Will Irwin, John Dewey, Arthur D. Ficke, Sherwood Anderson, B. W. Huebsch, William Allen White, Witter Bynner, Margaret Larkin (she accuses the publishers of encouraging censorship), Ellery Sedgwick, Alfred A. Knopf, Mabel Dodge Luhan, W. W. Norton, Upton Sinclair, Mary Austin, E. B. W. (assistant editor, The New Yorker), Camilo Padilla, John Metcalfe, John Collier, Haniel Long, Lincoln Steffens, Evelyn D. Scott (reports on interview with John Sumner), Harriert Monroe, Henry G. Leach, Cyril Kay-Scott, Josie Turner, and Logan Clendening. Ironically, an insert notes, a cartoon by Will Shuster, intended for the publication, was suppressed by the man who was entrusted to send the cartoon to the engravers.
Launer, Seymour. "News-Gathering Agencies and Freedom of the Press." St. John's Law Review, 19:128-34, April 1945. L77 §
Discusses the issues raised in the case, U.S. v. Associated Press, 52 F. Supp. 362 (1943), then awaiting a U.S. Supreme Court decision. The supporters of the Associated Press maintain that mandatory requirements with respect to changes in the Association's bylaws are an infringement on the right of a free press; the Government position is that, under cover of a Constitutional right, the Association is attempting to monopolize the free flow of information.
Laurencelle, Ulric G. "Censorship and Obscenity." Canadian Bar Journal, 4:223-32, June 1961. L78
A discussion of the "Saskatchewan paper," a report of the Saskatchewan subcommittee on civil liberties dealing with censorship and obscenity which was presented to the Canadian Bar Association at its annual meeting in September 1960. The report stated that "the utmost freedom possible should be accorded the general adult public in its choice of literary materials, films, and other exhibitions, and that each group should have the right to establish its norms and standards, so long as none attempts to force these norms and standards upon others, and so long as they are not positively and clearly harmful to classes such as children who require special care and protection." The committee favored positive measures to promote good reading rather than negative controls, which are largely ineffective.
Lauter, Vita, and Joseph H. Friend. "Radio and the Censors." Forum, 86:359-65, December 1931. (Reprinted in Summers, Radio Censorship, pp. 154-68) L79
"Radio censorship, practiced by all commercial broadcasters, is governed throughout by the caprice of the broadcaster, who is limited only by the provisions of the Federal Radio Act of 1927." The author mentions instances of censorship to show how controversial issues, both large and small, are aired, or not aired, in a censored way. He is unsure whether government control would in any way ameliorate the present situation, but thinks perhaps it might clear away some of the inconsistency now prevalent in censorship.
Lavine, Harold, and James Wechsler. War Propaganda and the United States. New Haven, Yale University Press, 1940. 363p. L80
A contemporary study of World War II propaganda published for the Institute for Propaganda Analysis. Numerous references to the related topic of censorship.
Law, William. Absolute Unlawfulness of the Stage-entertainment Fully Demonstrated. London, W. & J. Innys, 1726. 50p. L81
"The Law and Fanny Hill." Bookseller, 3038:1326-28, 14 March 1964. L82
Discussion in the House of Commons of prosecutions of Fanny Hill under the Obscene Publications Act, 1959, and the confusion existing in the prosecution and sale of the work in England and the United States.
"The Law and the Obscene." Economist, 182:985, 23 March 1957. L83
Editorial concerned with the "outdated muddle" of the present law of obscenity in England under which magistrates have to order the destruction of the good along with the bad.
"The Law of Blasphemy." London Magazine, 19 (n.s.):360-62, November 1827. L84
A satirical criticism of Lord Tenterden for his decision in the case of the Reverend Robert Taylor, convicted of blasphemy. The author criticizes the use of the meaningless phrase--"for Christianity is part and parcel of the law of the land." It is no more part and parcel of the law of the land than it is part and parcel of Lord Tenterden's wig. It is solely a belief in the truth, subject to critical inquiry.
"Law of Contempt; Liberty of the Press Defined by Idaho Supreme Court." Lawyer and Banker, 6:73-81, April 1913. L85
"The Law of Libel." Western Law Journal, 2 (n.s.):499-503, August 1850. (Reprinted from the New York Tribune) L86
"The Law of Libel and Its Results." Law Journal, 13:611-15, 5 October 1878. L87
A criticism of the law of libel as it is now interpreted and administered. The author suggests it is in the public interest to leave to the jury the decision whether or not the information complained of is in the public interest and whether its publication can be considered malicious. He cites the case of heavy loss at sea because of the pernicious practice of sending out unseaworthy ships, a practice not properly criticized in the press because of an earlier, unfavorable decision in a libel case against a press that had criticized the practice.
"Law of Libel and Liberty of the Press." Westminster Review, 3:285-321, April 1825. L88
An essay based on reviews of two current books: Francis Place, On the Law of Libel; With Strictures on the Self-Styled Constitutional Association (London, John Hunt, 1823. 73p.) and Richard Mence, The Law of Libel (London, Maxwell, 1824. 595p.). The review, published anonymously but attributed to John Stuart Mill, seeks to prove that "the law of England is as unfavorable to the liberty of the press, as that of the most despotic government which ever existed." Whatever liberty exists is not because of but in spite of the law.
["Law of Libel; Review of a Treatise on the 'Law of Libel and the Liberty of the Press' . . . by Thomas Cooper; and of The People v. Croswell"] Southern Quarterly Review, 12:236-68, July 1847. L89
The Law of Libels . . . London, Printed and sold by M. Thrush, 1765. 304p. L90
Contents: Trial of the North Briton; Defence of the Liberty of the Press; The Most Considerable Cases in the Law Books Relating to Libels, Precedents of Remarkable Sentences for Libeling; Trial of the Seven Bishops; History of the British Constitution; Trial of John Peter Zenger; Rights of the Lords and Commons to Suppress as Enemies; Ministers of Arbitrary Power; and the Magna Charta.
"The Law of Obscene Literature." Albany Law Journal, 16:220-23, 29 September 1877. L91
An account of the Bradlaugh-Besant trial in London for publication of the birth control pamphlet, Fruits of Philosophy.
"The Law of Obscenity." Social Service Review, 11:108-9, March 1937. L92
Two court cases are discussed--one dealing with birth control articles, the other with the 1937 decision of a New York magistrate in dismissing a complaint against James T. Farrell's A World I Never Made.
"The Law of Obscenity: New Significance of the Receiving Group." Indiana Law Journal, 34:426-41, Spring 1959. L93 §
By confining the test of prurient effect on the receiving group, it is possible to allow scientific organizations to pursue research under existing obscenity laws. Notes involve the Institute for Sex Research at Indiana University in the case of U.S. v. 31 Photographs (1957).
"The Law of Sedition in India: A Study." Bombay Law Journal, 8:5-23, June 1930; 8:82-84, July 1930. L94
A brief history of sedition law in India, beginning with the 1837 penal code and including prosecutions for sedition during 1924-29. The author notes the disparity between the severity of punishment in India and in England. The second article compares Indian and South African sedition law.
"The Law Relating to Blasphemy." Law Journal, 64:182-83, 17 September 1927. L95
A review of British statutory and case law on a subject which "has caused our judges to differ amongst themselves more intensely than they have ever done upon any other." Special attention is given to the case, Bowman v. The Secular Society (1917).
"Law Relating to Blasphemy." Law Magazine, 8 (3d ser.):247-80, 1860. L96
Lawrence, D. H. A Propos of Lady Chatterley's Lover; being an essay extended from "My Skirmish with Jolly Roger." London, Mandrake Press, 1930. 63p. L97
Lawrence's own account of the suppression and pirating of his book. He discusses his use of taboo words that shocked the readers and led to censorship both in England and America, and the purpose behind the sex frankness of the book. "I want men and women to be able to think sex, fully, completely, honestly, and cleanly." He concludes with a discussion of the historic attitude of the Church toward sex expression.
-------. "Introduction to These Paintings." In his Paintings of D. H. Lawrence. London, Mandrake Press, [1929]. 33p. unnumbered. L98
In this criticism of contemporary English painting and praise of modern French painting, Lawrence considers the English fear of sex, beginning in the Renaissance, a major reason why England has produced so few painters. Fear of syphilis, particularly, gave a fearful blow to English sexual life, and in turn affected artistic expression. English painters have delighted and excelled in landscape paintings but have avoided the human figure. In the introduction to his Pansies (London, Secker, 1931, pp. 5-6), Lawrence refers to the Scotland Yard seizure of the MS and the need to omit certain poems in order for the book to be published.
-------. Pornography and Obscenity. New York, Knopf, 1930. 40p. (First published in This Quarter [Paris], July-September 1929; in London published by Faber and Faber [1936] as the first essay in Lawrence's Pornography and So On, pp. 11-53; reprinted in Lawrence, Sex Literature and Censorship, edited by Harry T. Moore, pp. 64-81, and in Downs, The First Freedom, pp. 171-80) L99
"What is pornography to one man," writes Lawrence, "is laughter of genius to another." Lawrence defends the role of the arts in openly stimulating sex feelings. Pornography, on the other hand, is the "dirty little secret," insulting and degrading to sex, and indefensible. He denounces word prudery as a mob habit.
-------. Sex, Literature, and Censorship. Edited by Harry T. Moore. New York, Viking, 1959. 128p. (Compass Books, C58) L100
Includes an introduction, D. H. Lawrence and the "Censor-Morons" by Harry T. Moore and the following essays by Lawrence relating to freedom of sex expression: Introduction to Pansies (unexpurgated edition, dealing with taboo words); State of Funk (the Englishman's fear of sex expression); Pornography and Obscenity (an attack on the "dirty little secret"); and A Propos of Lady Chatterley's Lover. The book includes the full text of Judge Bryan's decision in the U.S. District Court (1959) restraining the New York postmaster from excluding from the mails the Grove Press edition of Lady Chatterley's Lover. The English edition of Sex, Literature, and Censorship (Heineman, 1955) contains an essay by H. F. Rubinstein, The Law Versus D. H. Lawrence.
[-------, and Henry Miller]. Pornography and Obscenity; Handbook for Censors. Two Essays by D. H. Lawrence and Henry Miller. Foreword by Russell F. Knutson. Introduction by Maurice Parmelee. Preface by Florenz Arslen-Masratoff. Michigan City, Ind., Fridtjof-Karla, 1958. 54p. L101
Pornography and Obscenity by D. H. Lawrence was originally published by Alfred Knopf in New York in 1930; Obscenity and the Law of Reflection by Henry Miller is reprinted from Remember to Remember, New York, New Directions, 1947.
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